Caribbean Beach FAQ part V

[SenecaWolf]

Thanks so much for the answers PrincessAmy and lisam

 

[mickeystoontown]

For those of you who have been to the CBR recently, have they added any more resort specific merchandise?

 

[KELLY]

Can someone advise me? Once some sort of offer comes out we are ready to book CBR. We are going for 9 days. We usually stay at a value and add the WPM option. But if we drop the WPM option we can probably swing a moderate this year. But that gives us 2 pool days. Which I'm super happy about. I love the WP but it is alot of work with 2 young ones. The love it. But I think some R&R this trip would be good also.

Since we plan on using the pool and the food court quite a bit should we get a preferred room? I'm not keen on spending the extra but for convince I may do it.
Thanks

 

[dansdad]

Can someone advise me? Once some sort of offer comes out we are ready to book CBR. We are going for 9 days. We usually stay at a value and add the WPM option. But if we drop the WPM option we can probably swing a moderate this year. But that gives us 2 pool days. Which I'm super happy about. I love the WP but it is alot of work with 2 young ones. The love it. But I think some R&R this trip would be good also.

Since we plan on using the pool and the food court quite a bit should we get a preferred room? I'm not keen on spending the extra but for convince I may do it.
Thanks

We were considering getting preferred when we went back in October because so many people on the DIS, and other sites/boards, complained about how big and spreadout CBR is. I am soooo glad we didn't spend the extra $$. I just couldn't justify it. And we used the pool 1 full day and every night after the parks. Nothing better than grabbing a drink, slipping into the hot tub, and then walking barefoot on one of the beaches for tired feet.


The village that is the farthest from OPR and the main pool is Tinidad South. And that is where the Pirate Themed rooms are, highly unlikely you would be put there because they cost more. And even if you were put there and in the farthest room, it is an 8 minute leisurely walk to OPR. I know because friends of ours were staying in a Pirate room after our trip and were concerned so I timed it while also stopping to take pictures.


We were in Jamaica 45 and had a 5 minute walk over to OPR and the main pool. There are also non-preferred rooms in the same villages as the preferred. So you could be paying non-preferred $$ and be very close to a preferred room.

If you look at the map, anywhere in Aruba 51, 52, 53, Jamaica 44, 45 or 46 would be ~5 min walk. And it is such a lovely walk over the bridge in the mornings and at sunset. Just call and request one of the above locations or as close to OPR as possible, and you should be fine. Maybe it was luck, but we requested Jamaica 45 and 2nd floor and got both requests.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/cbrmap.htm

Just my $.02.

 

[billlaurie]

Cheerleaders are goneWeather is fabulous. Kids love the resort. YEAH. Still have 3 more daysNo problem with the walk. We are in Martinique 21.

 

[dansdad]

Cheerleaders are goneWeather is fabulous. Kids love the resort. YEAH. Still have 3 more daysNo problem with the walk. We are in Martinique 21.

That's great! Enjoy your last 3 days.

 

[billlaurie]

spent the whole day at CBRthe only negative about the resort is that the kids like it way too muchwe had to beg them to go to MK tonight for our dinner reservation

 

[dansdad]

spent the whole day at CBRthe only negative about the resort is that the kids like it way too muchwe had to beg them to go to MK tonight for our dinner reservation

That's great. It sure sounds like your family is enjoying CBR as much as we do!

 

[DAD21]

CBR is great. The grounds beautiful. Walking is good for you and wyou can get just about anywhere in under ten minutes or less, alot less.

 

[DiscoMinnieMouse]

Just booked a preferred room at CBR with a 30% pin code! Haven't been there since 2000 for our honeymoon so we're excited. Anyone know if they sometimes have a carribean-type band play? There was in 2000 the one night and it was fun - really added to the atmosphere.

Anyone eaten at Shutters recently? If so, how's the food?

And, the rooms are double beds, right?

Thanks

 

[KELLY]

We were considering getting preferred when we went back in October because so many people on the DIS, and other sites/boards, complained about how big and spreadout CBR is. I am soooo glad we didn't spend the extra $$. I just couldn't justify it. And we used the pool 1 full day and every night after the parks. Nothing better than grabbing a drink, slipping into the hot tub, and then walking barefoot on one of the beaches for tired feet.


The village that is the farthest from OPR and the main pool is Tinidad South. And that is where the Pirate Themed rooms are, highly unlikely you would be put there because they cost more. And even if you were put there and in the farthest room, it is an 8 minute leisurely walk to OPR. I know because friends of ours were staying in a Pirate room after our trip and were concerned so I timed it while also stopping to take pictures.


We were in Jamaica 45 and had a 5 minute walk over to OPR and the main pool. There are also non-preferred rooms in the same villages as the preferred. So you could be paying non-preferred $$ and be very close to a preferred room.

If you look at the map, anywhere in Aruba 51, 52, 53, Jamaica 44, 45 or 46 would be ~5 min walk. And it is such a lovely walk over the bridge in the mornings and at sunset. Just call and request one of the above locations or as close to OPR as possible, and you should be fine. Maybe it was luck, but we requested Jamaica 45 and 2nd floor and got both requests.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/cbrmap.htm

Just my $.02.

Thankyou. I think we will just stick with a standard room. Here is hoping FD comes out for my dates now. This is the first time and along time we don't have airfare even booked. But we need FD or we will be staying at pop again.

 

[opal6779]

Hi, just wondering if the beds at Carribean Beach are double or queen? I thought I saw that they were double but the other moderates are queen - now I cant find where I think I saw that! thanks for the help!

 

[vacation_junkie]

Hi, just wondering if the beds at Carribean Beach are double or queen? I thought I saw that they were double but the other moderates are queen - now I cant find where I think I saw that! thanks for the help!

Def..not a queen sized bed...im use to a Super-king bed. Going to those beds felt like I was sleeping in a single bed

 

[mjo99]

7 days to our first Disney and first CBR stay!!!

Does anyone know if there is an age requirement on the jacuzzi? We definitely would not let DD in by herself to bother other adults, but if we're the only ones in, she'd like to try it. Our YMCA here says you have to be 7, so no doubt that's why she can't wait (she's almost 6). It drives her crazy that she can't. Just curious.

Also... lots of the pictures on the net show the pool having a bridge over it. From all I can figure, that's the old pool and the new pool has no bridge. It looks like the same Spanish fort just without the cross bridge. Is that correct? How exactly does the new pool differ, then? I've heard it's tons better, but the pictures with the bridge looked pretty awesome, too, so not sure what changed.

Anyone here use Kids Night Out? We are considering it for 2/29, which of course is the day MK is open 24h. They have fabulous reviews online and we are inclined to ty it. Our kids are almost 6 and just turned 3.

7 more sleeps!

 

[kck182]

Is there a 24 hour pool at CBR? We love swimming at night when we stay at Pop and I can't tell which pool, if any is open late?

Also is the walk insane for a pirate room? We are already commited to the room, we told DS, but I just want to prepare myself mentally.

Thanks!

 

[dansdad]

Is there a 24 hour pool at CBR? We love swimming at night when we stay at Pop and I can't tell which pool, if any is open late?

Also is the walk insane for a pirate room? We are already commited to the room, we told DS, but I just want to prepare myself mentally.

Thanks!

The main pool is definitely open 24 hours. I am about 90% sure that the quiet pools are also 24 hours, but we only used the main pool late at night because the jacuzzis are only at the main pool.

I sure don't think the walk is insane for the pirate rooms. From the farthest point of Trinidad South to OPR it is 8 minutes at a very leisurely pace.

 

[billlaurie]

We just returned home from our stay at CBR. The beds are doubles, not queens. My husband and I were comfortable in them even though we have a king-size bed at home. We are usually wiped at the end of the day from so much fun that we are happy to have a soft place to lay our heads. All the pools are open 24 hours but we only went in the main-pool/jacuzzi. I believe there was a sign on the jacuzzis that said children under a certain age had to be accompanied by adults but I don't recall them being restricted entirely from using them. During the day kids of all ages seemed to be in and out of the jacuzzis. The lifeguards weren't monitoring them, just the main pool, which by the way, was fantastic. I couldn't get my 9 and 12-year-old boys out of it. We walked around the whole resort and a CM let us explore the pirate rooms. They didn't seem that much further from the spot where we were staying. We were in Martinique 21. It was a little walk to OPR, but not excessive and it was entirely enjoyable. The resort is lovely. I definitely wouldn't pay extra to be in a "preferred" location but we don't mind walking a bit. If you get the DDP, you will need to walk off all those dessert calories
Sad the vacation is over. Now back to reality

 

[mickeystoontown]

We just returned home from our stay at CBR. The beds are doubles, not queens. My husband and I were comfortable in them even though we have a king-size bed at home. We are usually wiped at the end of the day from so much fun that we are happy to have a soft place to lay our heads. All the pools are open 24 hours but we only went in the main-pool/jacuzzi. I believe there was a sign on the jacuzzis that said children under a certain age had to be accompanied by adults but I don't recall them being restricted entirely from using them. During the day kids of all ages seemed to be in and out of the jacuzzis. The lifeguards weren't monitoring them, just the main pool, which by the way, was fantastic. I couldn't get my 9 and 12-year-old boys out of it. We walked around the whole resort and a CM let us explore the pirate rooms. They didn't seem that much further from the spot where we were staying. We were in Martinique 21. It was a little walk to OPR, but not excessive and it was entirely enjoyable. The resort is lovely. I definitely wouldn't pay extra to be in a "preferred" location but we don't mind walking a bit. If you get the DDP, you will need to walk off all those dessert calories
Sad the vacation is over. Now back to reality

I'm happy to hear that you had a great stay! I agree with you on the preferred locations but, like you, we don't mind walking so we are good with wherever Disney puts us. If you decide to write a trip report, please let me know, I'd love to follow along.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

We just returned home from our stay at CBR. The beds are doubles, not queens. My husband and I were comfortable in them even though we have a king-size bed at home. We are usually wiped at the end of the day from so much fun that we are happy to have a soft place to lay our heads. All the pools are open 24 hours but we only went in the main-pool/jacuzzi. I believe there was a sign on the jacuzzis that said children under a certain age had to be accompanied by adults but I don't recall them being restricted entirely from using them. During the day kids of all ages seemed to be in and out of the jacuzzis. The lifeguards weren't monitoring them, just the main pool, which by the way, was fantastic. I couldn't get my 9 and 12-year-old boys out of it. We walked around the whole resort and a CM let us explore the pirate rooms. They didn't seem that much further from the spot where we were staying. We were in Martinique 21. It was a little walk to OPR, but not excessive and it was entirely enjoyable. The resort is lovely. I definitely wouldn't pay extra to be in a "preferred" location but we don't mind walking a bit. If you get the DDP, you will need to walk off all those dessert calories
Sad the vacation is over. Now back to reality

Welcome back. Thanks for the nice review. My boys love the CBR pool too! And I agree, I wouldn't pay for preferred, the walks from the other sections are not that long at all and are very enjoyable.

 

[mjo99]

We just returned home from our stay at CBR. The beds are doubles, not queens. My husband and I were comfortable in them even though we have a king-size bed at home. We are usually wiped at the end of the day from so much fun that we are happy to have a soft place to lay our heads. All the pools are open 24 hours but we only went in the main-pool/jacuzzi. I believe there was a sign on the jacuzzis that said children under a certain age had to be accompanied by adults but I don't recall them being restricted entirely from using them. During the day kids of all ages seemed to be in and out of the jacuzzis. The lifeguards weren't monitoring them, just the main pool, which by the way, was fantastic. I couldn't get my 9 and 12-year-old boys out of it. We walked around the whole resort and a CM let us explore the pirate rooms. They didn't seem that much further from the spot where we were staying. We were in Martinique 21. It was a little walk to OPR, but not excessive and it was entirely enjoyable. The resort is lovely. I definitely wouldn't pay extra to be in a "preferred" location but we don't mind walking a bit. If you get the DDP, you will need to walk off all those dessert calories
Sad the vacation is over. Now back to reality

Welcome back and thanks for the review and jacuzzi info! Nice that the CM let you check out the pirate rooms. I don't mind walking, either, especially outside in wam weather in a beautiful place.

That's really what we are paying to be able to do! So I don't mind the walk from Trinidad South at all. Just so long as we remember everything we need to when we go to the pool and one of us can run back with our 3 year old if he's melting down and needs to nap.

I am already a little bit sad that we will only be there 5 nights and 4 days. I keep trying to figure out how we'll get to do all the park stuff we want to, AND be able to hang out and relax at CBR. We may have to sacrifice Epcot. My kids are 3 and almost 6 so that seems like the way to go. The first and last days we'll do MK, the second day we'll to AK, and the 3rd day we'll either do half Epcot or we'll just hang at CBR. Just the more I read about how beautiful and relaxing CBR is, the shorter our stay feels. Wish we could stay a little longer.