Hi all! Just back from CBR! We had a fantastic time at the parks, but unfortunately, we have decided that on-site is not for us. I grew up in a large family (5 girls) so we always just rented a house as it was more economical and provided more space. DH and I also went for our honeymoon and we staying off-site as we couldn't afford on-site. With the current deals, we decided to give on-site a try.
Even though I requested Jamaica twice prior to leaving and again during online check-in, we were initially put in Barbados 16 next to the main road. All you could hear were the buses passing on the road. We called the front desk and asked for a transfer and were given Jamaica 41. Our luggage was delivered via Magical Express just fine. Jamaica was quiet, relaxing, and a short walk to Old Port Royale.
We usually go to WDW in July so we thought crowds were extremely manageable with short wait time for rides and attractions. We got everything we wanted to get done and more at the parks!
Unfortunately, bus service leaving the parks at night was a NIGHTMARE!!! Getting to the parks in the morning was not a problem - we waiting 15 minutes at most. Park close was a totally different story. The shortest time we waited for a bus at the end of the night was 30 minutes. One night at the Magic Kingdom we waiting - no joke - an hour and 15 minutes. And there were at least 4-5 buses worth of people behind us in line.
Now before I get flamed - I did the research before choosing a resort. I have been to WDW 15 times over the course of my life. I understand how the Disney system works. I also understand that CBR is one of the larger resorts at WDW. But, with that being said, we watched 2 Pop Century buses pull up every 15 minutes, while only 1 CBR bus pulled up every 25 minutes.
I felt horrible for the parents in line (we don't have kids yet) whose kids were tired and just wanted to go to sleep. I couldn't imagine putting my little ones through that when I can just hop on the tram and then throw them in the car to sleep on the way to our hotel.
Check-out was another disaster. We scheduled a bell services pick up for 9:30am (we needed to be on the 10:30am Magical Express bus). When we hadn't been picked up by 9:50am we called the front desk who transferred us to a not-so-magical bell services cast member who told us our van had just been dispatched. Bell services finally picked us up at 9:58am. I was panicked that we would not have airline check-in completed and still make the 10:30am bus. Fortunately, an airline check-in cast member noticed my distress and took us to the front of the line. So we got our luggage checked and we made our bus.
It's nothing against the resort itself. CBR is beautiful! The high priced, low quality food (which we expected) and the bus system (which was worse than we expected) just put me off to staying on-site again. Extra Magic Hours and Magical Express alone just aren't worth justified the higher cost of staying on-site.
I'm more than willing to give Disney my money; I'm just not willing to let Disney waste my time waiting in a ridiculously long line for a bus at the end of a long day or not picking me up when I have a scheduled time and I need to make a certain bus. We'll be back to WDW, but we'll be staying somewhere other than a Disney resort.
Anyway - this thread was a great source of information about CBR and I thank all of you who take the time to answer questions to make another family's vacation go a little more smoothly!
Even though I requested Jamaica twice prior to leaving and again during online check-in, we were initially put in Barbados 16 next to the main road. All you could hear were the buses passing on the road. We called the front desk and asked for a transfer and were given Jamaica 41. Our luggage was delivered via Magical Express just fine. Jamaica was quiet, relaxing, and a short walk to Old Port Royale.
We usually go to WDW in July so we thought crowds were extremely manageable with short wait time for rides and attractions. We got everything we wanted to get done and more at the parks!
Unfortunately, bus service leaving the parks at night was a NIGHTMARE!!! Getting to the parks in the morning was not a problem - we waiting 15 minutes at most. Park close was a totally different story. The shortest time we waited for a bus at the end of the night was 30 minutes. One night at the Magic Kingdom we waiting - no joke - an hour and 15 minutes. And there were at least 4-5 buses worth of people behind us in line.
Now before I get flamed - I did the research before choosing a resort. I have been to WDW 15 times over the course of my life. I understand how the Disney system works. I also understand that CBR is one of the larger resorts at WDW. But, with that being said, we watched 2 Pop Century buses pull up every 15 minutes, while only 1 CBR bus pulled up every 25 minutes.
I felt horrible for the parents in line (we don't have kids yet) whose kids were tired and just wanted to go to sleep. I couldn't imagine putting my little ones through that when I can just hop on the tram and then throw them in the car to sleep on the way to our hotel.
Check-out was another disaster. We scheduled a bell services pick up for 9:30am (we needed to be on the 10:30am Magical Express bus). When we hadn't been picked up by 9:50am we called the front desk who transferred us to a not-so-magical bell services cast member who told us our van had just been dispatched. Bell services finally picked us up at 9:58am. I was panicked that we would not have airline check-in completed and still make the 10:30am bus. Fortunately, an airline check-in cast member noticed my distress and took us to the front of the line. So we got our luggage checked and we made our bus.
It's nothing against the resort itself. CBR is beautiful! The high priced, low quality food (which we expected) and the bus system (which was worse than we expected) just put me off to staying on-site again. Extra Magic Hours and Magical Express alone just aren't worth justified the higher cost of staying on-site.
I'm more than willing to give Disney my money; I'm just not willing to let Disney waste my time waiting in a ridiculously long line for a bus at the end of a long day or not picking me up when I have a scheduled time and I need to make a certain bus. We'll be back to WDW, but we'll be staying somewhere other than a Disney resort.
Anyway - this thread was a great source of information about CBR and I thank all of you who take the time to answer questions to make another family's vacation go a little more smoothly!
Don't know, the combo's I've seen all were) of the room with the king bed being a handicapped accessible room. If it's in a configuration with a roll in shower that would mean no seperate sink area from the bathroom area, but one big bathroom with no tub but a big shower with a fold down seat. 
