Caribbean Beach FAQ Part IV

[diputs]

When you are the last guest to check in after midnight, there is nothing magical about check in....we got building 39 in Trinidad South, the farthest back on the property, parking lot view, but still not bad. The minute they finally called for someone to come get our luggage for us, they immideately shut everything down - they were ready to go home.

I am hoping to get some clarification regarding the above comment. I will not be getting into Orlando until midnight, so I will probably not get to CBR until 1am or so.

Am I going to have any issues checking in this late?

 

[dis_guy]

Shouldn't be a problem. On our last trip we were delayed 3 hrs in Denver and got to CBR around 1:00 AM. No problems at all and the van to take us to our rooms was very quick. They even held our luggage until morning, though now you'll have your bags with you as DME stops at 10:00.

 

[diputs]

THanks for the quick response. One other quick question.

I keep hearing mention of the resort being really large and that it takes 10 minutes to get from Trinidad South to the Dining Hall.

What do people consider long walks? If something was a 10 minute walk, I would consider that short as I have a different reference than others. I do not own a car and walk everywhere.

How long is the walk to Epcot Center? Can I walk to Epcot?

 

[KimRaye]

I keep hearing mention of the resort being really large and that it takes 10 minutes to get from Trinidad South to the Dining Hall.


How long is the walk to Epcot Center? Can I walk to Epcot?

It is a large resort, (NOT 10 mins from TS to OPR tho!), but you CAN NOT walk to Epcot! Nor would you want to!
Take the bus!


As for the late check-in, we also had this 'problem'. I tagged one bag for ME, but we came in after 10pm. ME took our bag anyway!! THAT was a problem! Our other carry-ons were with us, but this one bag eluded us. In the end, after several discussions at MCO with ME and at CBR LS, we got our bag within 30-45 mins of arriving! Albeit about 1:30 am, but we had our bag!

 

[bjscheel]

Well, we're back from our stay! This morning we were in CBR! I would definitely stay there again. It was so pretty!

We had Jamaica 43, second floor corner room overlooking the Jamaica pool. Great location. We only had one towel animal, the octopus that was there when we arrived. The room seemed clean, but there was still a used Sprite in the fridge. We checked in around 3:00, and went to the pool. By the time we got back to the room our luggage was there.

The beds were not very comfortable, but as the week went on we were too tired to notice. The first night was long though. The pillows were too fluffy. DH would like the beds to be bigger.

I liked that it had a heat/ac unit right there that you could turn on and off. At Pop we had a thermostat but it never seemed to do what you told it to. We generally had ours off. The ceiling fan made a light kachingka sound so it was off most of the time.

The Jamaica bus stop was often the first to get picked up and the first let off, so that was nice. Our only somewhat lengthy wait was at Epcot around 3:00, about 20 minutes.

We really liked the Jamaica beach and spent some time drawing in the sand yesterday! We mostly went to the Jamaica pool since it was so close but did venture to the main pool our first afternoon. DD8 spent most of her time at the pirate ship. She is more like 51 inches but it was her speed and she didn't look much bigger than anyone else. DD11 stopped in and did a slide or two and didn't get kicked out

Before going, I had not considered how we would get the luggage to Custom House to get checked in at RAC. I saw that we could call Bell Services (sorry, I've never had to use them at the values, so I was unfamiliar with the process). We called the night before as we had a 7 am ME bus. The girl was hard to understand but we finally determined that Bell Services would come to our door at 6am. He was there on the dot and we rode in a van to Custom House. Worked very well!

 

[texasteacher35]

How early do we need to be at the bus stop to get over to Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace by 8:30ish?? I am so worried about being late..I have never stayed off the monorail ,so this is scary for me!! LOL

 

[KimRaye]

How early do we need to be at the bus stop to get over to Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace by 8:30ish?? I am so worried about being late..

Are your ressies at 8:30, meaning you should be there about 8? Then leave at 7, jmho. Always overcompensate, time-wise. We had a CM ADR one morning tho, and since NO ONE ELSE was on our bus headed to MK (our connection to the Contemporary), and the driver asked where we were going - he took us directly to the Contemporary! Now we were really early! But super service!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the info. We wouldn't be buying bottled water, all 4 of us have stainless steel insulated water bottles that we plan on using and just refilling at water fountains in the parks.

Has anyone used Garden Grocer for fresh produce and was it good quality? We eat a TON of fruits and veggies and I'd love to have some on-hand in our room.

We ordered bananas from Garden Grocer and they were perfectly fine. We were able to choose between "green" and "yellow" bananas. We chose green because we wanted them to last throughout our 10 day stay.

 

[ILuvTinkerbelle]

Just upgraded from All Star Sports to CBR PIRATE room!!! Whoo Hoo! Could someone tell me which page some pics from these rooms might be? I want to show the kids when we tell them. They are going to die when they see the pirate pool!! So exctied here today and I can't tell anyone@! LOL

 

[MusicMouse]

Pictures of the new pool are on page one of this thread, and pictures of the pirate rooms can be found here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1845975&page=16 in post #238. Have a fantastic time, and be sure to tell us all about your experience at CBR when you get back!

 

[ILuvTinkerbelle]

Awesome thanks! That room looks AWESOME! My kids are going to freak when they see it!!!

Where is the pirate pool located? Is it by the pirate themed rooms?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Awesome thanks! That room looks AWESOME! My kids are going to freak when they see it!!!

Where is the pirate pool located? Is it by the pirate themed rooms?

The pirate pool is located at Old Port Royale which is approximately in the center of the resort. The pirate rooms are located in the village of Trinidad South. There is a quiet pool in each village. I timed my walk from Trinidad South to Old Port Royale and it took me about 6 1/2 minutes at a leisurely pace.

 

[Stormin'theCastle]

I've asked over on the restaurant boards but was wondering if anyone had been to Shutter's for dinner lately? Looking for reviews and/or pictures. We want to spend an evening at the resort but still have a sit down meal.

I want to hear about Shutters too! Anyone?

 

[IcedMudd]

Hi everyone. We just booked CBR for our very first EVER WDW visit! Yay! Anyway, I have a question and I apologize if it's already been asked, I couldn't find the answer.
I saw somewhere that someone mentioned height restrictions for the Pirate Pool Play area for kids. Does this mean that parents cannot go into the area with their children?
Thanks!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Hi everyone. We just booked CBR for our very first EVER WDW visit! Yay! Anyway, I have a question and I apologize if it's already been asked, I couldn't find the answer.
I saw somewhere that someone mentioned height restrictions for the Pirate Pool Play area for kids. Does this mean that parents cannot go into the area with their children?
Thanks!

Of course parents are always allowed to be with their children. The height restriction is to keep older children 9, 10, 11 out of the area so they don't hurt the younger children. Take a look at the pics on page 130 so you have a general idea of size, proximity to the main pool, etc.

 

[IcedMudd]

Thanks! I appreciate it!

I'm excited! lol

 

[woodleygrrl]

Just got back from 6 days of WDW for a conference, 2 nights of which were spent at CBR. We had a pirate room in Trinadad South on the second floor overlooking the quiet pool and the laundry rooms.

The room was super cute and big enough to accomodate my folks and I. The beds were cute but super uncomfortable. other then that, the landscaping was beautiful and I would definiely consider staying there again if I were to stay at a moderate. The rest of our nights we were at the Dolphin and we paid about the same rate there for a MUCH more luxurious room and an illuminations view to boot.

 

[ILuvTinkerbelle]

Thanks for the info on the pirate pool. My sons are 9 & 11 but on the short side, however they would really like to go and play with their sister who is only 2.5......I am hoping that it will be 1) empty when we go and that 2) like you all said as long as everyone is being kind no one will mind.

 

[KimRaye]

Thanks for the info on the pirate pool. My sons are 9 & 11 but on the short side, however they would really like to go and play with their sister who is only 2.5......I am hoping that it will be 1) empty when we go and that 2) like you all said as long as everyone is being kind no one will mind.

I would think in your case that people would make an exception. I think they are only trying to exclude the rowdy older youngster(s) maybe, from taking 'control' of the kid area. Kinda like those jumping jack things - when the big kids get in there (in numbers), it's not safe for the little kids anymore.
Have fun!

 

[bjscheel]

You know, when you see pictures of that thing, you think that the older kids would really want to play on it. But when you get there in person you can see that it is really scaled for the little ones. DD11 wanted to check it out, sure, but a slide or two and she was done with it. She went back to the main pool for the real slides. So it may not be that disappointing for bigger ones to not spend much time there.