Caribbean Beach FAQ Part IV

[Bound For Glory]

First an intro, then a bus question.

We just decided in June to go to Disney. We'll (my wife and our two boys, 16 & turning 9) be there from July 16-21 staying at the CBR. We were last there in 2000 while my wife was pregnant.

Here's my bus question. Three of the days we're planning our TS meal in the park we're going to that day. On two of the days we're eating at a different resort. We're eating at The Wave at Contemporary and at Ohana at Poly. I believe there aren't busses from CBR to other resorts. The Disney website says to take a bus to Downtown Disney and then another bus to the resort.

I guess my question is really here. Would it be quicker to take a bus to Epcot and then take the monorail to Contemporary and the same for Poly? If it's the same I would think the monorail would add a little bit of fun to the trip. And would I have to transfer on the monorail? Are there 2 seperate lines; one from MK to EC and on from MK to the resorts?

Thanks for all of the great info I've gotten from everyone here. And I hope the CBR FAQ thread is the right place for this question.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I just have to say it's 22 days until my trip to the CBR and I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!

Lucky!

C/P as requested:

Did I mention we loved it. Seriously...loved it.
LOVED it.

We were in Aruba 51 which was a great bldg b/c we could get off the bus on the way home at one of three stops - Old Port Royale & walk across the bridge to our building OR Jamaica or Aruba. All three were about equal in distance to our building, which was great after a long day at the parks as the busses would go different ways depending on how they entered the resort. We only had a few minor bus issues like the day two Epcot busses came back to back followed by two DHS busses back to back while we still waited for the MK bus. But mostly we never waited more than about 10 minutes for a bus and many times they came within 5. Rarely crowded, despite crazy crowds IN the parks.

And the resort was AWWWWWWESOME! Seriously fantastic. The pool - oh man we had a lot of fun on the two slides & in the kiddie area.

So...yeah, I'm in love. We'll likely stay there again on our next trip in 3 years. Sadly my 2 year old didn't really have a lot of fun so I now know why 3 & under are free. LOL! So we're going to wait until she's 5 (which was my son's age & he had a BLAST!) and he's 8. Three years?? How can I wait that long???

I'm glad that you had a great trip. Will you be starting a trip report? If so, please post the link so I can read along.

How is the bus system at CBR. I know they don't share with any other resort but since the resort is so big is it hard to get on the bus when the park closes and opens. I know that is the biggest travel time but in the past we have had to wait 45 min to an hour because the bus lines were so packed we would have to wait till the 3 or 4th bus came to get on. Will this be the same problem at CBR.
Also, does anybody have a list of which order of building the bus picks up and drops off?

We have stayed at the CBR three years in a row and I can honestly say we never had bus issues either going to or coming from the parks. No matter which resort you stay at, the bus drivers are going to fill the buses to capacity.

Whether or not you get on the first bus or the fourth bus at the end of the day depends on what time you leave the park. If you're ahead of the crowds, your chances of getting on the first bus are greater. Of course, if you leave along with the majority of the crowds, your chances of getting are greatly reduced. We like to find a park bench and wait for at least 30 to 45 minutes before we ever leave the park. But, on the occasion when we didn't wait that long, we did have to wait for the third bus before we were able to get on. That being said, we didn't have to wait long between buses. They came within a very reasonable amount of time.

The buses at the CBR have two entrances/exits. Depending on where you are headed, the Martinique bus stop will be first to pick up/drop off or the Jamica bus stop will be the first to pick up/drop off.

Hello all! we head to CB on Sat.We booked preferred-any ideas on room requests???I asked for 2nd floor but don't know of any great room numbers to ask for??? Also, how is the parking-since this will be our first trip with a rental.We CANNOT WAIT!!I will do a wee bit of decorating on my room window for the 4th of July too!I will post pics when we return.I will tell the mouse you all said HI!

We have stayed in Martinique Building 24 and loved the location. I wouldn't be too specific with my request (i.e. an exact room number). You're more likely to have your request honored if you just give a building number.

There is plenty of parking at the CBR. We've never had a problem finding a parking space. We drive our own vehicle to WDW but find that once we get there, we hardly ever drive it. I let Disney buses take me everywhere.

 

[mickeystoontown]

First an intro, then a bus question.

We just decided in June to go to Disney. We'll (my wife and our two boys, 16 & turning 9) be there from July 16-21 staying at the CBR. We were last there in 2000 while my wife was pregnant.

Here's my bus question. Three of the days we're planning our TS meal in the park we're going to that day. On two of the days we're eating at a different resort. We're eating at The Wave at Contemporary and at Ohana at Poly. I believe there aren't busses from CBR to other resorts. The Disney website says to take a bus to Downtown Disney and then another bus to the resort.

I guess my question is really here. Would it be quicker to take a bus to Epcot and then take the monorail to Contemporary and the same for Poly? If it's the same I would think the monorail would add a little bit of fun to the trip. And would I have to transfer on the monorail? Are there 2 seperate lines; one from MK to EC and on from MK to the resorts?

Thanks for all of the great info I've gotten from everyone here. And I hope the CBR FAQ thread is the right place for this question.

I would not suggest taking a bus to Downtown Disney to transfer. The buses back to any resort from DTD seem to take forever to arrive at the DTD bus stops. I'd take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then walk to the Contemporary. There's a short pathway you can take. To get to Poly, take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and get on the monorail. Just take the resort monorail and there will be no transfers.

Hope this helps.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh and don't forget to ask if you can ride up front with the monorail driver. It's a great view.

 

[manooly]

My CBR/Disney vacation is from 8/26-9/2. How hot is it gonna be there? There will be me, my wife and our two little girls (ages 5 and 7). Just curious if anyone knows of the temps during that time of year and any good heat tips. Just wanna have the family prepared!

Thanks for your time!

- manooly

 

[Bound For Glory]

Oh and don't forget to ask if you can ride up front with the monorail driver. It's a great view.

Thanks for the advice in the previous post. Both of those travel plans sound good to me, and way better than bussing to DTD and then to the resort.

I've heard of asking to sit w/the monorail driver. But who do you ask?

BTW, I see you're from LA. The next mini-vacation for me and my wife is to New Orleans in October for a friend's wedding.

 

[Coconuts]

Thanks for the advice in the previous post. Both of those travel plans sound good to me, and way better than bussing to DTD and then to the resort.

I've heard of asking to sit w/the monorail driver. But who do you ask?

BTW, I see you're from LA. The next mini-vacation for me and my wife is to New Orleans in October for a friend's wedding.

When you are lining up at a monorail station, just ask one of the CM's that organize people in the line up area. More often than not, someone is already in there. We were lucky and got in the front from TTC to Epcot--super long ride! The view is amazing; such a different experience with all those windows around you.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the advice in the previous post. Both of those travel plans sound good to me, and way better than bussing to DTD and then to the resort.

I've heard of asking to sit w/the monorail driver. But who do you ask?

BTW, I see you're from LA. The next mini-vacation for me and my wife is to New Orleans in October for a friend's wedding.

You're welcome! When you get to the monorail station, as the monorail castmembers if you can ride up front. If they say somebody is already waiting, ask how long it will be before the next monorail comes. If it's just a little while, wait. The ride is really neat.

We are in North Louisiana and about 5 hours from New Orleans. It's a nice place to visit. Hope you guys enjoy Louisiana. Oh, don't forget to eat a beignet. They are delish.

 

[tinkerbell60]

First an intro, then a bus question.

We just decided in June to go to Disney. We'll (my wife and our two boys, 16 & turning 9) be there from July 16-21 staying at the CBR. We were last there in 2000 while my wife was pregnant.

Here's my bus question. Three of the days we're planning our TS meal in the park we're going to that day. On two of the days we're eating at a different resort. We're eating at The Wave at Contemporary and at Ohana at Poly. I believe there aren't busses from CBR to other resorts. The Disney website says to take a bus to Downtown Disney and then another bus to the resort.

I guess my question is really here. Would it be quicker to take a bus to Epcot and then take the monorail to Contemporary and the same for Poly? If it's the same I would think the monorail would add a little bit of fun to the trip. And would I have to transfer on the monorail? Are there 2 seperate lines; one from MK to EC and on from MK to the resorts?

Thanks for all of the great info I've gotten from everyone here. And I hope the CBR FAQ thread is the right place for this question.

DO NOT go to DTD to get a bus - the DTD busses take forever!!

The best thing to do is to take a bus to either MK then take the monorail to the Contemporary or Poly..... OR ......take a bus to Epcot and then take the monorail to the TTC, there you will have to transfer to a resort monorail. The Poly would then be the first stop. If you are at either AK or DHS, they both have busses that take you to the TTC so that is another option.

We will be at CBR July 15-22 staying in a pirate room. I have an almost 16 yo daughter and 12 yo son. We are eating at the Wave too - on Sunday July 19 at 6:50pm.

 

[M2DD's]

Thanks for all the great help
I have a few more ?'s

What is Caribbean Cay? It looks like you have to cross it to get to centertown.

What section is the big pool in. How is the waterslide? Any pics

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for all the great help
I have a few more ?'s

What is Caribbean Cay? It looks like you have to cross it to get to centertown.

What section is the big pool in. How is the waterslide? Any pics

Caribbean Cay is an island in the middle of the CBR lake. It has a few paths that lead you to benches, hammocks and picnic tables. It's really pretty. If you are on the Jamaica & Aruba side of the lake, you will have to walk through the island to get to Old Port Royale (where the main pool, food court, store and restaurant are).

Here's a link to the CBR map:
http://allears.net/acc/cbrmap.jpg

 

[mickeystoontown]

Oh, I forgot to mention that there are pictures of the main pool here on the CBR thread.

 

[disneyfanUSA]

Hi what time is the pool bar open to and what time is the food court open until ?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hi what time is the pool bar open to and what time is the food court open until ?

Information from the allearsnet website:

Old Port Royale features the Market Street food court, open from 6 am to midnight, with more limited hours for some of the counters. Breakfast selections include bagels, fresh fruit, Mickey waffles, eggs, and breakfast meats. Lunch and dinner selections include burgers, pizza, pasta, deli sandwiches, salads, and desserts.

Full dinners are available at the food court and at Shutters at Old Port Royale (a table service restaurant, adjacent to the food court) from 5 to 10 pm.

I couldn't find the pool bar hours.

 

[jeanylaser]

I need to know what is a Island Smoothie? What is in the Island Smoothie?

 

[Mom2SamandJames]

Our family is headed to CBR in September. It will be myself, DH, DS 18 months, and DS 4. We will be staying in a pirate room because our oldest son is totally into pirates. We know that it is the farthest from the main pool, but we are driving down so that isn't really too much of an issue for us.

We plan on spending the hottest parts of each day at the resort. What are some fun not to miss activities for our family to do at the resort in the afternoons? Thanks!

This will be our first visit to CBR. We stayed at AS Movies last year.

 

[mrFDNY]

Hi gang,
Sorry, if this question has been asked before. I have read conflicting info about the Cbr pirate rooms. My question is,
Are there pirate rooms in all the buildings, or does only one building/villiage have pirate rooms?
I want and are willing to pay the extra for a perferred pirate room, but have read that there are no pirate rooms in the perferred area. Thank you in advance.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Our family is headed to CBR in September. It will be myself, DH, DS 18 months, and DS 4. We will be staying in a pirate room because our oldest son is totally into pirates. We know that it is the farthest from the main pool, but we are driving down so that isn't really too much of an issue for us.

We plan on spending the hottest parts of each day at the resort. What are some fun not to miss activities for our family to do at the resort in the afternoons? Thanks!

This will be our first visit to CBR. We stayed at AS Movies last year.

When we were there last August, they had some activities for the kids on the beaches. I can't remember exactly what they were. I'm sorry. Some castmembers also did an impromptu limbo with the kids in the food court.

We like to laze around the beach in the hammocks while our son makes sand castles. The main pool was recently redone so that's a good place to hang out. If you don't want crowds, go to your village's quiet pool.

Oh, the island in the middle of the lake has a nice picnic area too.

Hi gang,
Sorry, if this question has been asked before. I have read conflicting info about the Cbr pirate rooms. My question is,
Are there pirate rooms in all the buildings, or does only one building/villiage have pirate rooms?
I want and are willing to pay the extra for a perferred pirate room, but have read that there are no pirate rooms in the perferred area. Thank you in advance.

Pirate rooms are only in the village of Trinidad South. There are none in the preferred locations. I timed my walk from Trinidad South and it took me just 6 1/2 minutes to make it to Old Port Royale. And, that was at a semi-lazy walk.

 

[jeanylaser]

I need to know what is a Island Smoothie? What is in the Island Smoothie?

 

[summermac]

Both slides are at the main pool which is located in Old Port Royale. Neither of them are anything fantastic but they're fun enough without paying a water park entry. There's also an awesome kiddie section with three water slides more their size and a cool dumping bucket. My son enjoyed the kiddie section but he's an excellent swimmer for his age and more often than not wanted to be in the big pool. He really enjoyed the smaller of the two slides in the main pool which I think was mostly b/c the line moved faster for that slide than the other one. The main pool ROCKS. Seriously, it's a great pool. But take my word for it and wear your sandals/flip flops to the water edge. YIKES!