Caribbean Beach FAQ part VI

[wdwmaw]

We had a wonderful stay at CBR from April 13-20th. We were in Aruba 5227, a short walk across the bridge to OPR, which was a closer bus stop for us than our Aruba bus stop. We had requested an Aruba room with a water view, and we couldn't have had a more beautiful spot...great for pictures early in the morning.

I was surprised at the white bed coverings when we checked into our room, and asked a Mousekeeper about the Nemo bedspreads. She said "no more." Our room was completely de-Nemo'd...no wallpaper border or anything, but it was still beachy and beautiful and we loved it. Later that afternoon on the bus to the parks, we passed the Dumpster in the the Aruba parking lot and there were the Nemo bedspreads, all crumbled up together in a huge plastic bag. If I'd had extra luggage room.....kidding!!!

All in all we loved our stay at CBR (with an extra shout to Mike the bartender at the Banana Cabana! ) and everything about our Magical week at Disney World. Can't wait to go back in 2016! (Should I be counting the days yet??)

Would love to see some photos of the new decor, this is very exciting news

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[bigbabyblues]

wdwmaw, here are a couple of pics of our room from earlier this month. Please ignore our stuff and ds on the bed, I took these on day 7 or 8. I also posted them on the CBR picture thread.

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[delilah18]

What kind of wallpaper border do they have now?
Cant really tell from your pic?

 

[pxydst]

it looks kind of ...Blahhh!?!?!?

 

[carly chloe]

We love CBR but those beds look terrible. Looks like a bed with sheets and no comforter. Hate it. We're going in Dec. and I hope it looks nicer by then.

 

[Linda T.]

I am not crazy about those white sheets either. I hope when we go in July, they have some type of comforter on the bed. I agree it looks blah.....

 

[daannzzz]

I agree. I was not super fond of the all white comforter with a small throw on the end of the beds that they have been doing at many, many hotels. Some have a pretty nice comforter with a pattern on it so it looks better. This crap at the Caribbean Beach though looks like you have walked into a room that has not been completed by housekeeping.

 

[dansdad]

I am not crazy about those white sheets either. I hope when we go in July, they have some type of comforter on the bed. I agree it looks blah.....

They won't. All the WDW resorts are getting rid of the comforters.

 

[maxiesmom]

it looks kind of ...Blahhh!?!?!?

Blah seems to be the wave of the future, unfortunately. Glad I got to stay at CBR before they took away the Nemo theme. At least that had some snap and pop to it!

 

[bigbabyblues]

What kind of wallpaper border do they have now?
Cant really tell from your pic?

We still had the Nemo border in our room. I don't know if they will be taking that down now or not.

As far as the white linens....I saw a few pics before our trip, and I wasn't crazy about it either. It looked better in person, but a splash of color somewhere would have been nice. You can't really tell from the pic, but the top thing wasn't a sheet, it was like a thin duvet, I guess? It was soft to sit on, and had a little design through it, also in white. Someone had mentioned that on this thread also before our trip, and we took an old comforter with us in case we needed it. I got cold a couple of nights, and I was glad we had it. I'm sure we could have asked for extra blankets, though.

We had a great stay at CBR this time, no complaints at all. I had planned to do a detailed review but haven't gotten around to it.

Short review:
Housekeeping was great! Our room was clean when we arrived, no bugs, no dirt, no mold, no damp/musty smell, no crumbs from previous guests, no spots on the mirror, etc. We didn't receive any towel animals, but that is not an issue for us either way. The second day, we were resting while housekeeping came by and had the privacy sign on the door; they didn't knock, but we received a phone call a few hours later to see if we needed anything, and they brought us a bag of towels and things a few minutes later.

Food Court: We ate at OPR several times, usually for lunch or dinner. We didn't have any trouble finding a table, although it was very crowded the day we left when we went down about 9:45 for breakfast. There were always CMs cleaning the drink refill area, stocking the condiments, wiping off tables, etc. All of the food we had was hot when it should have been or cold when it should have been. All of the food tasted fine, the only minor complaint was that DS12 didn't like his pasta salad--personal preference, not bad food.

CMs: We didn't encounter one rude or unpleasant CM the entire trip, not at CBR or anywhere else.

Buses: What can I say, they were Disney buses! We used them about half the time, drove our own car the other half. We had to wait at MK park closing one night for about 25 minutes, and the line was already long when we got there. Not sure what happened there, when we got to the stop, it seemed like it had been quite awhile since a bus had been there. The CM working that area apologized for the delay, and two buses showed up one right after the other.

I think that's about it, I would be glad to answer any questions if I can.

 

[wdwmaw]

wdwmaw, here are a couple of pics of our room from earlier this month. Please ignore our stuff and ds on the bed, I took these on day 7 or 8. I also posted them on the CBR picture thread.

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Thanks for posting!! In person I am sure it looks different but in the pictures they just look like unmade beds, like they forgot the cover. For me they look like sheets tucked in. They really clash with the decor of the room

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[HiHoOffWeGo]

Has anyone given a thought that the old quilts were quite warn and if you are going to make the change to queen beds that you might want to save cost at this time on new queen quilts later? Look like the white ones they used during the Poly do over.

 

[bigbabyblues]

HiHo, I wondered if the linens were just the beginning, sort of like an "it isn't much, but it's a start" kind of thing? I know they were painting exteriors in Jamaica, but I didn't see any evidence of inside painting. I doubt they would close buildings during the summer to paint/refurb, but linen changes wouldn't take long so maybe this is just the start?

 

[Koh1977]

I wonder what will happen to the pirate rooms when they DO finally do a refurb and change over to queen beds...

 

[Pirate princess 2]

Has anyone given a thought that the old quilts were quite warn and if you are going to make the change to queen beds that you might want to save cost at this time on new queen quilts later? Look like the white ones they used during the Poly do over.

I have been wondering the same thing. So hopefully it is a step in the right direction. Or maybe Disney doesn't want the rooms to look to great because then people wouldn't leave them to go spend their money in the gift shops.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Has anyone given a thought that the old quilts were quite warn and if you are going to make the change to queen beds that you might want to save cost at this time on new queen quilts later? Look like the white ones they used during the Poly do over.

HiHo, I wondered if the linens were just the beginning, sort of like an "it isn't much, but it's a start" kind of thing? I know they were painting exteriors in Jamaica, but I didn't see any evidence of inside painting. I doubt they would close buildings during the summer to paint/refurb, but linen changes wouldn't take long so maybe this is just the start?

I'm thinking along those same lines. Even though there's been no official confirmation of room change-overs, there are the two "mock" rooms that someone posted pictures of. Now, we are seeing the linens being changed out and, apparently, the wall paper border has come down in some of the rooms as well. If they were going to do a refurb, it would make sense to not buy the more expensive linens until a new "theme" has been decided upon.

 

[amberc]

Just returned from our CBR stay and I must say, we did enjoy this resort. My kids absolutely loved the main pool, I think they would have been content to stay there and swim everyday instead of going to the parks!

We stayed in Aruba 56. It was really close to the bus stop, but it was a good little walk to OPR. Not really a big deal for us, but can see how it could be for some. What I liked about the building is that it was out of the way and very quiet...made for good rest after long days in the park!

I really hoped to do more of the resort activities like renting the bikes, watching the nightly movie, campfire on the beach, but if we were at the resort in the evening, the kiddos wanted to swim.

The buses were fine. We never waited very long, most of the time, Aruba was the second stop, so it was never full when we were picked up (except once headed to MK in the evening). Same with leaving the parks, buses came pretty regularly and were never full headed back.

All in all, we really liked CBR. One of my favorite things was laying on a hammock on the beach with my book.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[ninamouse]

Just returned from our CBR stay and I must say, we did enjoy this resort. My kids absolutely loved the main pool, I think they would have been content to stay there and swim everyday instead of going to the parks!

We stayed in Aruba 56. It was really close to the bus stop, but it was a good little walk to OPR. Not really a big deal for us, but can see how it could be for some. What I liked about the building is that it was out of the way and very quiet...made for good rest after long days in the park!

I really hoped to do more of the resort activities like renting the bikes, watching the nightly movie, campfire on the beach, but if we were at the resort in the evening, the kiddos wanted to swim.

The buses were fine. We never waited very long, most of the time, Aruba was the second stop, so it was never full when we were picked up (except once headed to MK in the evening). Same with leaving the parks, buses came pretty regularly and were never full headed back.

All in all, we really liked CBR. One of my favorite things was laying on a hammock on the beach with my book.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

How lovely to hear some positive feedback, so thank you!

I'm pleased you had a lovely trip....so excited for our visit on 109 days!!!

 

[pigletto]

Can't have this lovely thread sinking to the bottom of page 2. My trip is only 52 days away.

I am so ready for this trip. I have to get a wisdom tooth pulled tomorrow. Can I go to Disney instead?

I am so looking forward to settling in to one of those Hammocks. I've already picked out things I want to try from the counter service restaurant and I am determined to grab a snack with the kids and check out at least one movie night. Hurry up and get here August!

 

[magictam2]

Can't have this lovely thread sinking to the bottom of page 2. My trip is only 52 days away.

I am so ready for this trip. I have to get a wisdom tooth pulled tomorrow. Can I go to Disney instead?

I am so looking forward to settling in to one of those Hammocks. I've already picked out things I want to try from the counter service restaurant and I am determined to grab a snack with the kids and check out at least one movie night. Hurry up and get here August!

Keep happy thought about Disney during your dentist appointment. I don't envy you at all. Well yes I do. I wish I was going in August instead of having to wait till December.