Caribbean Beach FAQ part V

[zima-cheryl]

1. Is August good time to go ? (end of Aug)
2. I saw someone mentioned - free dining plan for Aug/Sept dates - how do I find that out?
3. Is dining plan worth it?
4. Which part of the resort to stay at ? (which is close to all the action and bus stops )
5. How many days are must to see all the parks?? I mean how many days we should plan? The CBR itself sounds so wonderful so I would love to just spend a day there.
6. Any reco on character dining? how do you reserve that?
7. Any advantages of booking directly with Disney?


We wil not be going there (to Florida DW) that often so want to make this a worthwhile and memorable trip for my daughters (7 yrs old).

THANK YOU in advance )

Just adding my 2 cents on a couple of these...

(1) As others have said it is very hot/humid that time of year. But we often go in Aug or Sept. & enjoy it. It tends to be less busy than mid-summer or spring break.

(2) If you decide to do this yourself sign up for All Ears, Mouse Savers, and some Disney e-mails and check the websites (like this one) often. If you are on the mailing list you may hear that way, and usually it doesn't take too long for the buzz to hit over here or on Facebook or where ever.

(3) There are several dining plans -- primary two are all counter service or 1 counter & 1 sit down meal each day. DH & I like the dining plan simplly for the convenience of having the majority of our food pre-paid. I don't know that you save a lot of $$ on it (at least not just for 2 adults). Keep in mind you still have to pay for extras (alcohol, tip, additional sides, etc).

(5) We often plan one 'off' day in the middle of our trip. Sleep late, relax at the pool, and re-charge to tackle the 2nd half. So spending a day at the resort is a great idea.
I would say at least 4 days of touring (one per park). On our upcoming trip we are doing 5 park days, giving us 1 day to circle back & hit anything we missed or want to do one last time. If you haven't been in a long time or if you have a larger/slower group you may need more time to get through things, so adjust accordingly.

(6) Our favorite is Crystal Palace w/Pooh & Friends @ Magic Kingdom. On the flip side, we would not do Donald Duck at Animal Kingdom again. Too large & not nearly enough face time w/the characters.

(7) That is personal preference... How "hands on" are you? Some folks love the constant checking, calling & monitoring of their vacation. It is like a prequil to the vacation for them.
Personally, I like the idea of one call & done. We use a TA & I can't fathom ever doing it myself again!!
She can get just as good a rate as we can through Disney. All reservations & ADRs are in our name & under my phone # so I can monitor & change if I want to (but why when she does it for us ) Her agency is always monitoring for specials & sometimes she knows before me when they are coming out. She is up at 6am making ADR's on booking day while I'm still snoozing away in bed. They also can book extras (hard ticket parties, tours, add ons, etc) for you. I find her (and the whole staff) is a great resource. Since they are WDW specialist they have someone who has been there/done that for everything. Question about a tour, ride, restaurant, resort, whatever.... someone can tell you about it & help you decide if it is right for you. Our TA has saved us a lot of $$ by talking me out of dumb ideas and makes the whole process really smooth. So based on our experience & if you have a lot of questions (like about the dining plan) a TA may be the way to go (PM me if you want & I'll give you our agent's name).

 

[My sister's princess]

One week until we arrive at CBR

I have requested we be in Jamaica, I hope that my request works out !

 

[iminla]

Thank you very much for your response.

These are the major parks/attractions - (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon) - correct?

If our flight is at 5 PM - what is the check out time?? We need to be at the airport by 3 PM so we need to get Magical Express around 1 PM - i assume. SO i don't really have time to visit any park that day PLUS the day we arrive - we arrive at airport at 5:30 - so i am assuming that we will not check-in until 7 PM so no park that day. So should I just purchase 8 day pass instead of 10 days???
Does Disney site allow you to customize the tickets or it will automatically give me 10 days if my travel dates are 8-28 to 9-6???

 

[jcemom]

Thank you very much for your response.

These are the major parks/attractions - (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon) - correct?

If our flight is at 5 PM - what is the check out time?? We need to be at the airport by 3 PM so we need to get Magical Express around 1 PM - i assume. SO i don't really have time to visit any park that day PLUS the day we arrive - we arrive at airport at 5:30 - so i am assuming that we will not check-in until 7 PM so no park that day. So should I just purchase 8 day pass instead of 10 days???
Does Disney site allow you to customize the tickets or it will automatically give me 10 days if my travel dates are 8-28 to 9-6???

Yes, those are the main parks/attractions... plus Downtown Disney and Disney Quest.

Magical Express schedules your pick-up for approximately 3 hours prior to your departure flight, give or take 15 minutes (not sure about international flights, that's for flights within the US). Check out time is 11:00, but you can check out earlier if you want to, and spend your last morning doing whatever you'd like. You could hit a park for a few hours. (You'd need to be at the bus stop by noon-ish to get back to CBR in time.) Or you could spend the morning hanging out at the resort, swimming, relaxing, etc. You might also choose to go to another resort (or a park) for a goodbye character breakfast.

If your incoming flight is scheduled to land at 5:30 pm, you'll probably be checking in around 7:00ish, so you've estimated that pretty well, I think. I'd plan to grab a quick service dinner at the food court and take a walk around the resort.

 

[KELLY]

Is there only one place to do laudry at CBR . We are going for 10 days so we will need to do a load of the girls clothes. They always seem to have to change beacuse of Mickey bars ect. So I was just wanting to see if there is bulding specific laundry area or one general area?
Thanks

 

[KELLY]

Is there only one place to do laudry at CBR . We are going for 10 days so we will need to do a load of the girls clothes. They always seem to have to change beacuse of Mickey bars ect. So I was just wanting to see if there is bulding specific laundry area or one general area?
Thanks

Never mind I found my answer on the first page.

 

[zima-cheryl]

Thank you very much for your response.

These are the major parks/attractions - (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon) - correct?

If our flight is at 5 PM - what is the check out time?? We need to be at the airport by 3 PM so we need to get Magical Express around 1 PM - i assume. SO i don't really have time to visit any park that day PLUS the day we arrive - we arrive at airport at 5:30 - so i am assuming that we will not check-in until 7 PM so no park that day. So should I just purchase 8 day pass instead of 10 days???
Does Disney site allow you to customize the tickets or it will automatically give me 10 days if my travel dates are 8-28 to 9-6???

A few additional comments....
Keep in mind Blizzard Beac & Typhoon Lagoon are both water parks. If you are not big into water slides & such you may not need to hit both. I know for some folks a water park is a water park. Something to consider. You may want to do 1 water park & use the other day for one of the big 4.

Check out time is probably 11am (but double check the CBR site for exact checkout time). That is the time you have to be out of your room. That may be earlier than your pickup time for ME back to the airport. If that ends up being the case you can check your bags with bell services at the front desk & they will hold them for you until the bus arrives.

You should also check to see if your airline participates in ME checkin. Some airlines (I know Delta for sure) you can actually check in & print your passes right at the resort which lets you by-pass some lines @ MCO. You still have to deal with bags & security, but it saves you some hassle.

My suggestion for arrival day would be Downtown Disney. Lots of good restaurants, shopping & a few things to do (Characters in Flight, street musicians, etc). So it is a good way to ease into your week.

You can customize your tickets & nights however you want. Go play around on the website & you will see it is pretty user friendly. And you can play without actually purchasing.
I wonder for that many nights if you might be better off with an AP & that discount if it is available? Or if you are going back at some point, maybe a no experiation pass. This is where I like having a Travel Agent (TA). They do all the math (which I'm horrible at) and in the past our TA has talked me out of some expensive mistakes.

 

[iminla]

Thank you all for your help.

I did use the free dining offer and booked 9 nts/10 days stay at CBR. I am so excited - it is our first visit.

I put in a request for Martinique BUT when I looked at the map - i think Jamaica buildings look so nice. WHich one is better? ANy preference??? ANy advice???

 

[lbuzz52]

Thank you very much for your response.

These are the major parks/attractions - (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon) - correct?

If our flight is at 5 PM - what is the check out time?? We need to be at the airport by 3 PM so we need to get Magical Express around 1 PM - i assume. SO i don't really have time to visit any park that day PLUS the day we arrive - we arrive at airport at 5:30 - so i am assuming that we will not check-in until 7 PM so no park that day. So should I just purchase 8 day pass instead of 10 days???
Does Disney site allow you to customize the tickets or it will automatically give me 10 days if my travel dates are 8-28 to 9-6???

We stayed at CBR last week. Our flight time was 5:05 and our ME time (domestic flight) was 2pm. We got to the airport, took our time, used the potty, and still were in line for security by 3pm.
That morning, we used the internal bus to go to the custom house. We did our airline checkin and checked our bags. We left our carryons with bell services. We paid some room charges on some credit cards. There is a regular bus stop across the street, so when we were done we used the cross walk and hopped on the MK bus. We didn't get there till close to 9:15 but we rode about 5 rides, met the last of the ten princesses, sat and had lunch at Casey's on main street, watched the move it shake it parade, and said our goodbyes to Disney. About 1230. We got off at the same bus stop on the way back. I'm not sure which it was but you can see the custom house when you ride. We had plenty of time at custom house when we returned.

 

[lbuzz52]

We just got back from 9days/ 8 nights at CBR. It was our first stay and we really enjoyed it. We spent more time at the resort than usual and it was a great place to do so.

We stayed in Jamaica room 4419. I thought the location was perfect for us. We were next to the corner room.
If you walked out of our room there was a walkway directly against the building. If you turned left it took you towards the ice and vending. If you turned right you passed the corner room and then it led you past another room (the back of the building) you were then at the entrance to the quiet pool, the beach, and the laundry facility for the village.
Back at the door to our room- another pathway ended at our room. If you took that pathway left you were at the designated smoking courtyard (about 4 rooms down, couldn't smell it) . If you took it straight it led you between two buildings to the bus stop. And if you took it right it led you to the bridge to Old Port Royale. I picked this location because I thought it would be central to both the bus stop and OPR while being near our village amenities. And it was.
The walk to OPR seemed lengthy only the very first time. After that it was familiar and did not seem far at all. We walked there probably at least once a day.
Most mornings we were greeted at our door by bunnies! We also saw a couple turtles, and tons of lizards. If you like frogs go outside while the sprinklers are on! They would come out of the vegitatiom and sit on the sidewalk waiting for the water to stop.
We had 4 people in our room- two adults and two children. We had 2 suitcases, 2 carryons, a backpack, a diaper bag, and 2 strollers. We had plenty of room. We were nervous about this because our last stay was in a 2 bedroom deluxe. But it was fine. We set up a pack n play in between the bed and the wall by the door We could open the door all the way without hitting the pack n play plus we could walk between it and the bed. We had requested a crib but were told they no longer have real cribs because of safety issues.
I didn't really have any issues with cleanliness. There was a little dirt in the shower edge- but it was just that stuff that is super hard to get out at the edge of the tile and the grout. More of an age issue than a laziness issue. We did end up leaving the mousekeeping a note though. Each day they left the blinds open when they were done cleaning. This left the room hotter and also enabled everyone to see how messier we are! But after the one request to close the blinds they did it for us the rest of our stay.
We had no problem with buses. Jamaica stop was sometimes first, sometimes in the middle. That was nice because it meant we always got a seat. There were a few instances where people had to stand but mostly for park returns. It took up to maybe 10 minutes to make all the stops in the resort if Jamaica was picked up first. We typically had a bus in under 5 minutes and many times before we even sat at the bus stop. The only long wait was for downtown Disney. We saw two buses for every park before we saw the downtown Disney bus and it took probably 15 minutes waiting but we think we barely missed one when we got there.
With the exception of one who was probably just having an off day, all the cms were very helpful and friendly.
I would definitely return here with no reservations. We still have more resorts to try out, but I'm certain we will be back again.

 

[lbuzz52]

I have a request for anyone currently there or going soon.
My dh LOVED the pillows there. I thought about maybe ordering him a couple for fathers day. Could someone look at the pillows and pm me with any information on the tags. I know they might not tell how to order them but even manufacturer I formation could get me started. Thanks!!!

 

[mcd2745]

Thank you all for your help.

I did use the free dining offer and booked 9 nts/10 days stay at CBR. I am so excited - it is our first visit.

I put in a request for Martinique BUT when I looked at the map - i think Jamaica buildings look so nice. WHich one is better? ANy preference??? ANy advice???

I like Jamaica 45 (44 is good too). They are close to the bridge to OPR and are close to the beach/quiet pool/laundry.

Since you took the free dining promo...I hope you started trying to line up reservations for your TS credits. If not...you better start.

 

[iminla]

mcd2745 OR ANyone here: Can you help me/guide me regards to dining??

My daughters are 7 (alomost 8 when trip time) - they love princesses ))

Do i look at the park first then rserve dining or Reserve dining first then worry abotu the parks??

We are there from 8/28 (reach at 5:30 MCO) to 9/6 (flight at 7 PM frm MCO).

Any help please???

 

[minnie mum]

mcd2745 OR ANyone here: Can you help me/guide me regards to dining??

My daughters are 7 (alomost 8 when trip time) - they love princesses ))

Do i look at the park first then rserve dining or Reserve dining first then worry abotu the parks??

We are there from 8/28 (reach at 5:30 MCO) to 9/6 (flight at 7 PM frm MCO).

Any help please???

Since your 180 day window is WAY behind you, I'd check for availability first if you're hoping for something like CRT, Akershus, or any other really popular spot. Then plan your parks based on this. Then fill in the rest of your ADRs.

That is actually the reverse of what I normally do. I prefer to look at the crowd calendars and select my park days, then get any special dining "must-do's".

And just a tip with the ADR's- don't specify a particular time on your request, just which meal (B,L,D). Gives the computer more leeway and if more than one time is available it will give you a choice. If you have any problems online, call WDW Dining had talk to an actual person.

Good luck.

 

[iminla]

Minnie Mum - how do you look at crowd calendars??? I mean where do i find them???
We are travelling 8/28 to 9/6 - can you help me find out please????

Also for CRT - is lunch better than dinner??

For all table service dinners - I HAVE to make reservations???

Can TS be exchange for counter service meal or NOT???

 

[mcd2745]

Minnie Mum - how do you look at crowd calendars??? I mean where do i find them???
We are travelling 8/28 to 9/6 - can you help me find out please????

Also for CRT - is lunch better than dinner??

For all table service dinners - I HAVE to make reservations???

Can TS be exchange for counter service meal or NOT???

how do you look at crowd calendars??? I mean where do i find them??? - try easywdw.com

For all table service dinners - I HAVE to make reservations???- Only if you want to eat. Walk-ups are pretty much next to impossible these days.

Can TS be exchange for counter service meal or NOT???- no, they don't allow this.



For your daughters, try to get a breakfast ADR at Akershus (Norway pavilion in Epcot). It's only one TS credit per person (CRT is two and required a credit card hold).

On the WDW dining reservations site, just put in a date and a meal (B/L/D - like PP said) and it will show the available times for all restaurants. And be sure to check the box for only restaurants on the dining plan. Get yourself some ADRs to start. Then, between now and your trip, you can try to tweak them.

 

[minnie mum]

Minnie Mum - how do you look at crowd calendars??? I mean where do i find them???
We are travelling 8/28 to 9/6 - can you help me find out please????

Also for CRT - is lunch better than dinner??

For all table service dinners - I HAVE to make reservations???

Can TS be exchange for counter service meal or NOT???

easywdw.com is a free site that can give you calendars that also recommends the park to avoid or the best park for each day. The crowd level for the whole WDW resort is listed on line 4 (I think). Levels range from 3/10 early in your stay, to 7/10 over Labor Day.

touringplans.com (the internet site associated with the Unofficial Guide books) also has crowd calendars that predicts not only overall WDW crowd levels, but individual park crowds. This site has a fee.

WDWParkHours.com is another site I use. It doesn't have crowd predictions, but I use it's customizable calendar to make a record for my trip. Down load a calendar for your dates (I just copy and paste to a new Word Document), then you can add your ADRs once they're made, highlight what park you'll be at each day. When I print this just before the trip I also add all the phone numbers, resort confirmation numbers and other needed info on the back of the sheet. Compact and comes in handy.

But I digress.

1. CRT. Lunch or dinner: doesn't matter at this point. If it's important then just take whatever you can get. If you can't get it (very likely) then try for Akershus at Epcot. They have Princesses there too.

2. Ok. Reservations (ADRs). You'll see lots of people who say they get seated at TS restaurants just by walking up and asking. Probably true. But if you're on the dining plan and want to get your money's worth, you NEED to make an ADR for each of your TS meals. Why risk being turned away? And Labor Day combined with Free Dining means demand for ADRs will be high. You can find lots of info about restaurants, reviews, and ADRs over on the Disney Restaurants forum.

So once you've made your "absolutely must-have" ADRs, and have then selected your park days accordingly, make the rest of your ADR's based on which park you'll be in each day. And don't forget to account for any TS meals that will be 2 credits (like CRT, HDDR, signature dining).

3.Can you use a TS credit to pay for a CS meal? I'm pretty sure you can, but why would you want to? It's a horrible waste of money.

 

[iminla]

Thank you Minnie Mum )

I already was able to CRT (lunch), Arkershus (breakfast) and Crystal Palace (dinner).

I wasn't able to get the fantasmic package :-(

Do you think Spirit of Aloha show will be good to reserve??? worth it?? (my kids are 7 yrs old) - they love to watch hula dancers )) we are vegetarians so I know most of these TS meals will be truly wasted since not too many choices - specially a tthis show - mostly polynesian food, right???

 

[mcd2745]

Thank you Minnie Mum )

I already was able to CRT (lunch), Arkershus (breakfast) and Crystal Palace (dinner).

I wasn't able to get the fantasmic package :-(

Do you think Spirit of Aloha show will be good to reserve??? worth it?? (my kids are 7 yrs old) - they love to watch hula dancers )) we are vegetarians so I know most of these TS meals will be truly wasted since not too many choices - specially a tthis show - mostly polynesian food, right???

The Fantasmic package is very tough to get if you don't book it 180 days out - especially since they only show Fantasmic twice a week. Very few cancellations pop up for it either.

Haven't heard or read too many good things about the Spirit of Aloha show. Plus, you already have one two-credit meal (CRT).

As vegetarians, Garden Grill may be a good option for your family. Check out the dining section on Allears.net for menus and there is a section for vegetarian choices

http://allears.net/din/vegtsparks.htm

 

[PamelaKay]

After working an 8 hour day and then traveling to CBR, I thought a nice dacquiri next to the pool would be a great way to start a relaxing evening and my vacation. Can anyone tell me if the mail pool at CBR has a bar?