Caribbean Beach FAQ Part IV

[Caitsmama]

Ok, so how bad is it of a walk from Trinidad So. to the main pool?? I could care less about having the pirate room, i would rather be close to the main pool/ food area, but i am sure dd would prefer the pirate..

Are ALL the other rooms the nemo theme?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Remind me:
Do all villages have playgrounds?
What about hammocks?



Uh, maybe I should check the map. DUH. Figured out the playground!

Here's a pic of the Jamaica playground. Sorry, it's not a close-up.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Ok, so how bad is it of a walk from Trinidad So. to the main pool?? I could care less about having the pirate room, i would rather be close to the main pool/ food area, but i am sure dd would prefer the pirate..

Are ALL the other rooms the nemo theme?

When we walked leisurely from the TS bus stop to the food court it took 7 minutes. The bus stop is about in the middle of the TS buildings.

Yes, all the other villages are Nemo rooms.

 

[kirstiebird]

Is there a fresh water shower (indoors or out) by the main pool at CBR? We'll be moving over in the morning from the Nick Hotel (i know, yuck!) to CBR and I'm thinking the only way I'll get dd6 out of the Nick pool is to get her into the CBR pool.
However, I will be going crazy to get to MK asap and if our room isn't ready 'til 4pm and I can't at least rinse off and throw on some clothes, I may try a different strategy.
I know at Poly there is an open (i.e., out in the open) fresh water shower to rinse off and a ladies room near the pool that is large enough to "change" in --any advice for CBR?
Just lay down the law and say no pool?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thank you, that would be very much appreicated. Was the pool ever packed in August? IF we go ahead with this trip it will be a Mommy & Me,so it's me keeping a hawkeye on DD (usually it me , DH and My Mom:

I thought I had several pics of the August CBR crowds but I could only find two. Here's the outside of Old Port Royale (from the main pool side). This was taken about 9:00 a.m.

This was in Old Port Royale about 2:00 p.m.

And here are some of the theme park crowds:
Hollywood Studios about 9:30 a.m.

Epcot about 9:30 a.m.

Magic Kingdom around mid-afternoon:

Magic Kingdom: People starting to find a place for the evening parade:

Indiana Jones show (standing room only):

Fantasmic:

Magic Kingdom mid afternoon:

Hollywood Studios about 9:15 a.m.

 

[drakes]

Thank you so much.
Seeing these pics defnitely is changing my mind about August. Those crowds are similar to what we just had in Jan 2009. Standing Room only at Fantasmic and we got there 1 hour before! We were the first in to the standing room, so it wasn;t too bad, no heads in front of us and a clear view of everything. Hey I'll take that show anyway I can I love it!
Touring Plans has WDW listed as an 8 for the weeks we are looking at. As my DD is not a thrill rider we wouldn;t need to worry about the long lines, excpet maybe for Soarin, that's her favorite. But we are get up and go to the park early people, so I actually think we may be ok.
The evening MK shots was exactly how our Jan 2009 trip was - and we handled that just fine! I'm kinda excited!

Definitely rethinking!

Never done Disney twice in one year!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thank you so much.
Seeing these pics defnitely is changing my mind about August. Those crowds are similar to what we just had in Jan 2009. Standing Room only at Fantasmic and we got there 1 hour before! We were the first in to the standing room, so it wasn;t too bad, no heads in front of us and a clear view of everything. Hey I'll take that show anyway I can I love it!
Touring Plans has WDW listed as an 8 for the weeks we are looking at. As my DD is not a thrill rider we wouldn;t need to worry about the long lines, excpet maybe for Soarin, that's her favorite. But we are get up and go to the park early people, so I actually think we may be ok.
The evening MK shots was exactly how our Jan 2009 trip was - and we handled that just fine! I'm kinda excited!

Definitely rethinking!

Never done Disney twice in one year!

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by the August crowds. I thought they would be worse. In fact, we decided to go in August again this year instead of May or June.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

So the Unofficial Guide is pretty hard on CBR...but it sounds like it the 2009 edition was printed before the room renovations....? But the information you have all provided is giving me a nice warm fuzzy about our stay there this summer.

Anyway, it recommends driving your own car to all of the parks except MK. What do you think? We'll be driving down from Georgia so we'll have our car with us, so it wouldn't be a problem to drive to the parks if that's going to be a better way of getting around.

Also, are there rooms with king sized beds in all of the villages? The reservations agent didn't know.

 

[catbertdave99]

So the Unofficial Guide is pretty hard on CBR...but it sounds like it the 2009 edition was printed before the room renovations....? But the information you have all provided is giving me a nice warm fuzzy about our stay there this summer.

Anyway, it recommends driving your own car to all of the parks except MK. What do you think? We'll be driving down from Georgia so we'll have our car with us, so it wouldn't be a problem to drive to the parks if that's going to be a better way of getting around.

Also, are there rooms with king sized beds in all of the villages? The reservations agent didn't know.

We've never had a car at CBR and haven't missed it; in fact, I've really enjoyed the break from driving. I'm sure it's quicker to drive yourself to the parks, but the WDW Transportation does an amazing job when you consider how many people they're shuttling here and there all day.

There are king beds in every village, fyi -- not sure about Trinidad South with the new Pirate Rooms, though. Safetymom will know...

 

[tinkerbell60]

So the Unofficial Guide is pretty hard on CBR...but it sounds like it the 2009 edition was printed before the room renovations....? But the information you have all provided is giving me a nice warm fuzzy about our stay there this summer.

Anyway, it recommends driving your own car to all of the parks except MK. What do you think? We'll be driving down from Georgia so we'll have our car with us, so it wouldn't be a problem to drive to the parks if that's going to be a better way of getting around.

Also, are there rooms with king sized beds in all of the villages? The
reservations agent didn't know.

The reason some people do not recommend driving to MK is because once you park you then take a tram to the TTC and then take a monorail or boat over to MK. Some people feel this takes longer. Yes, the buses do drop you off closer. However, we like having our car, especially if we are staying late just to avoid the crowds on the buses. I think it is a personal choice. Overall, we really appreciate having the car there much more than I ever imagined we would.

 

[mickeystoontown]

So the Unofficial Guide is pretty hard on CBR...but it sounds like it the 2009 edition was printed before the room renovations....? But the information you have all provided is giving me a nice warm fuzzy about our stay there this summer.

Anyway, it recommends driving your own car to all of the parks except MK. What do you think? We'll be driving down from Georgia so we'll have our car with us, so it wouldn't be a problem to drive to the parks if that's going to be a better way of getting around.

Also, are there rooms with king sized beds in all of the villages? The reservations agent didn't know.

We drive to WDW so we have a car at our disposal. In our three CBR stays, we have driven our car maybe four times (all three trips were 10 days). Two of those times were to go offsite.

I much prefer having someone drive me around Disney so I don't have to worry about missing an exit or wondering who is going to change lanes, etc. etc. It's also nice to get in an air conditioned bus at the end of a tiring day and not a hot and sweltering car.

I timed our trip to Hollywood Studios the last time we were there. We sat down on the bus in Jamaica, made our way around the CBR stops and then pulled into the bus stop at Hollywood Studios. The time? 11 minutes! Not too shabby in my book.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I just wanted to add that I think the Unofficial Guide is harsh on many resorts and their transportation too.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

So the Unofficial Guide is pretty hard on CBR...but it sounds like it the 2009 edition was printed before the room renovations....? But the information you have all provided is giving me a nice warm fuzzy about our stay there this summer.

Anyway, it recommends driving your own car to all of the parks except MK. What do you think? We'll be driving down from Georgia so we'll have our car with us, so it wouldn't be a problem to drive to the parks if that's going to be a better way of getting around.

When we stayed at CBR in January I timed the trips so I could give an accurate report. Once the bus left the resort it was 3 minutes to DHS, 5 minutes to Epcot, 9 minutes to DTD, and 11 minutes to MK & AK. So not bad at all! There's more bus info in the first post here ~ http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2074555

 

[StitchLives]

When we stayed at CBR in January I timed the trips so I could give an accurate report. Once the bus left the resort it was 3 minutes to DHS, 5 minutes to Epcot, 9 minutes to DTD, and 11 minutes to MK & AK. So not bad at all! There's more bus info in the first post here ~ http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2074555

How much time did going around the resort dd to your times? It seems like about 7 to 10 more mins each.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

How much time did going around the resort dd to your times? It seems like about 7 to 10 more mins each.

Well it depends on which stop you are at and which route the bus is taking. Some buses start at Martinique and some start at Jamaica.

We were using the Aruba bus stop. Most buses only stopped at Barbados before leaving, so that was about 2 minutes. The few buses that made all the other stops before leaving took 8 minutes.

 

[KatMark]

I just wanted to add that I think the Unofficial Guide is harsh on many resorts and their transportation too.

So is Trip Advsiors. They really don't like the Disney resorts. But then they mostly go by what business travelers say and business travelers normally stay at "real deluxe" resorts--not Disney Deluxe.

 

[KSG'sDisneyMem]

I have never utilized the Disney bus transportation but is it worth it to do so you can be let off, and get on, right outside the exit of each park? I might try it this time since many of you seem to have had great luck with busses at CBR. Also, we are staying in a pirate room. Anyone interested, there is another thread on this resorts thread with pics of the new furniture in the pirate rooms, the barrels, and the compass table. The only thing not in yet, apparently, are the stacked crate dressers.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I have never utilized the Disney bus transportation but is it worth it to do so you can be let off, and get on, right outside the exit of each park? I might try it this time since many of you seem to have had great luck with busses at CBR.

I think it is totally worth it! Honestly in all of our trips we have never had any bus issues. Maybe once or twice during each trip we have had to wait for more than 20 minutes and stand on the bus. But the majority of the times the buses have come in under 20 minutes and had plenty of seats. Especially on this last trip to CBR, with most waits at 5 minutes!

 

[disneyfan61]

I am so excited!!! I just decided to book a trip today with the 4/3 deal & we are staying at CBR. We stayed there in 2004 in Martinique & we liked it. I do like POFQ better but when I called today they had CBR or CSR & I picked CBR so now I have TWO tickers & very very happy!!!!!

 

[brandilee8299]

Does anyone know which Publix is closest to CBR? I am thinking about ordering a birthday cake for my daughter for our trip in Dec. from there. We would also like to get some snacks to have in the room. I can bring a cake from there to a restaurant and they will serve it, correct? Thanks!