Back from a week at CBR (Jan 5 12th)
This was our first time at CBR, and to be honest with you I was looking forward to it, but was also a bit nervous of the resort size and multiple bus stops. I thought I would share some of my experiences as a newbie.
We arrived on Thursday morning around 10:30 am and I wasnt sure if our room would be ready. I had already told my husband and sister-in-law that we may need to have them hold our carry-ons and go out for a while before we could get into our room. However we were pleasantly surprised during check in and our room in Martinique was ready for our arrival! We were in room 2541, close to Old Port Royal and between two bus stops.
During our walk to the room we walked by the marina, our small beach with very welcoming hammocks (yes we did use them later on in the week) and all the beautiful landscaping. Our room was clean and looked great. The Nemo decorations were subtle and the size of the room was fine for 3 adults. Our luggage was still on the way over to us via Magical Express so we knew it wouldnt be there for a little while. My DH was running the Half Marathon during the trip so we went over to ESPN World Wide Sports to sign him in and get his goody bag. After that we went down to Downtown Disney for the rest of the afternoon and had dinner at T-Rex. We were on the dinning plan and were very happy that T-Rex had just been added to the restaurant list. The only thing that was different about our experience there, they had to run each card to access the available table service for that person (even though we were all on the same reservation and at any of the Disney restaurants they could take one card for all of us). The meal was great, it was a bit loud in there but thats the experience and it was a lot of fun.
During the week we used the busses every day, I would say my only SLIGHLTY negative point during the stay were the multiple stops during the bus route. It wasnt over all annoying or added on much extra time, but I have to be honest and for me, it was a bit tiresome. Nothing that would detour me from staying there again though!
The food court was excellent, the staff was very friendly and very helpful, the food was hot and yummy. The seating area was always clean and tidy. They even had cast members going around and if they saw you were done with your meal would clean away your tray and trash. Very friendly and helpful. I have to say, Ive stayed at several other resorts and the food court areas tended to be busy and congested, this one was surprisingly not. There were always tables available and the lines were never overly long.
The pool area was great, we used the hot tub the night before the race and it was so relaxing. My DH stayed at the pool the day of the race to soak his weary bones and had a great time both in the pool and in the hot tub. Every night they would play a different movie next to the pool/bar area which was a nice relaxing event to go to (we didnt make any of the showings, we were out and about at the parks. I did want to make one, but never had the chance). There were also events during the day that we didnt get to try out as well. Lots to do over at CBR!!
We did take a walk around the resort and there were some areas there were quite a bit away from Old Port Royal, I was very glad to be closer to the main building. Once again, the landscaping was beautiful, even in January there were many areas that had flowers and greenery (which was nice to see with my New England eyes).
Overall, I really liked CBR. Highlights were the friendly staff, the food court, the overall resort location!! We were really close to many of the parks. Oh and the beds were really comfortable as well, yes ours was still a double, but it was fine. Oh and we had wi-fi in our room. Lowlights (for me) were the multiple bus stops, but again, it wasnt bad and shouldnt stop anyone from staying at that resort. The busses ran frequently. Only during one night was there a long delay when we were trying to get out of Magic Kingdom following EMH. Every other bus stop had come and gone and all the folks standing in the other lines were happily on their way back to their home when we were waiting for our bus to arrive. But that was the only time we really had to wait, so I chalk it up to a great trip!!
I hope everyone looking forward to their upcoming trip has a great time at CBR, I know I did! Actually, I wish I was there now!