Caribbean Beach Preferred or Standard with this itinerary?

[pixiedust33]

I haven’t stayed at CB in years and, while I remember it being huge, a lot has changed since I was there with the Skyliner and the Riviera being next door so I need help! I am booking a (mostly) resort only stay for 5 or 6 nights in March and need help deciding if preferred even makes sense for me.

I’ve picked this resort because I intend to do at least two partial days of resort hopping via the Skyliner: one morning at the Boardwalk area with Cape May cafe and surrey rentals and another morning exploring AoA with my Cars-loving son. I’m also intending to walk over to the Riviera to do brunch at Topolinos one day. Otherwise we plan to mostly use the feature pool, the QS and TS restaurants at the resort, the campfire and the playground and movies under the stars. We will likely add one day at MK and an afternoon at Disney Springs, but I would plan to use Minnie Vans, which I think mitigates most of the logistics there. Given that itinerary, I actually thought Aruba would be the most convenient area to get to the Skyliner and the Riviera, while still being not too far from the central pool area , and it seems those are standard rooms, not preferred. Is that right? It seems like I might end up paying more for a room that is actually less convenient for my specific purposes if I book preferred. But, Trinidad also seems very inconvenient to everything so maybe it is worth booking just to avoid that?

Is preferred just ANY room in Martinique or Barbados?

 

[dansdad]

I haven’t stayed at CB in years and, while I remember it being huge, a lot has changed since I was there with the Skyliner and the Riviera being next door so I need help! I am booking a (mostly) resort only stay for 5 or 6 nights in March and need help deciding if preferred even makes sense for me.

I’ve picked this resort because I intend to do at least two partial days of resort hopping via the Skyliner: one morning at the Boardwalk area with Cape May cafe and surrey rentals and another morning exploring AoA with my Cars-loving son. I’m also intending to walk over to the Riviera to do brunch at Topolinos one day. Otherwise we plan to mostly use the feature pool, the QS and TS restaurants at the resort, the campfire and the playground and movies under the stars. We will likely add one day at MK and an afternoon at Disney Springs, but I would plan to use Minnie Vans, which I think mitigates most of the logistics there. Given that itinerary, I actually thought Aruba would be the most convenient area to get to the Skyliner and the Riviera, while still being not too far from the central pool area , and it seems those are standard rooms, not preferred. Is that right? It seems like I might end up paying more for a room that is actually less convenient for my specific purposes if I book preferred. But, Trinidad also seems very inconvenient to everything so maybe it is worth booking just to avoid that?

Is preferred just ANY room in Martinique or Barbados?

In our opinion, no matter what your itinerary is, it makes no sense to pay extra for a Preferred over standard. Aruba 51 and Jamaica 45 are our favorite locations. They are in between both skyliner stations and not far at all from Riviera. Plus the rooms in those 2 buildings are closer to Old Port Royale and the main feature pool than some of the preferred rooms.

 

[pixiedust33]

In our opinion, no matter what your itinerary is, it makes no sense to pay extra for a Preferred over standard. Aruba 51 and Jamaica 45 are our favorite locations. They are in between both skyliner stations and not far at all from Riviera. Plus the rooms in those 2 buildings are closer to Old Port Royale and the main feature pool than some of the preferred rooms.

This is sort of what I was thinking, which made me wonder if I was missing something obvious! The Disney site didn’t seem to specify which buildings preferred included so I was relying on a third party site and was wondering if it was outdated about which rooms were categorized as preferred.

 

[dansdad]

This is sort of what I was thinking, which made me wonder if I was missing something obvious! The Disney site didn’t seem to specify which buildings preferred included so I was relying on a third party site and was wondering if it was outdated about which rooms were categorized as preferred.

Preferred rooms are located in Martinique and Barbados.

 

[Lynne G]

We had a room in Martinique that was a few minute walk to the bus stop, not that far from the pool and food, and across the rarely a car go by street to the Rivera sky liner station. Preferred room that was a 5 person room, even though 2 of us.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

For your itinerary, I would want a room in Martinique. It's close to the QS, TS, and feature pool. Easy walk to the bridge for playground and evening movies. Martinique is also right next to RIV for more access to great QS and TS. You can use the skyliner station at RIV. Martinique is the first bus stop in the loop giving you first on/first off. It's also a small section which means fewer people at the quiet pool.

If you were going to be using the skyliner every day, Aruba would be a great section. Although Aruba 51 would be a good choice for your plans, you could easily be assigned a room in Aruba 54, 55 or 56 which would be a really long walk to the amenities you are planning to utilize daily.

 

[pixiedust33]

For your itinerary, I would want a room in Martinique. It's close to the QS, TS, and feature pool. Easy walk to the bridge for playground and evening movies. Martinique is also right next to RIV for more access to great QS and TS. You can use the skyliner station at RIV. Martinique is the first bus stop in the loop giving you first on/first off. It's also a small section which means fewer people at the quiet pool.

If you were going to be using the skyliner every day, Aruba would be a great section. Although Aruba 51 would be a good choice for your plans, you could easily be assigned a room in Aruba 54, 55 or 56 which would be a really long walk to the amenities you are planning to utilize daily.

I'm replying to your comment but I guess this is really just more of a general question - do you know how often you do get a room request granted at CB if it's as broad as a particular section? I know very specific requests for other resorts (in particular the balcony request at the Poly, which I dug deep into on our last trip) are often *not* granted, but wondering if the odds are better here because it's so broad? But I also can't see why anyone would want Trinidad, in particular, so fear that I will end up there.

I see the argument you're making that Martinique may be best but I think Aruba also has some pros with the Skyliner access, and I'm also fine with Jamaica for the same reason, but just really don't want Trinidad. Though, I also don't really want Barbados either - the farther room blocks seem farther than Aruba just across the water? So I also wonder if I'm better just saving some money and rolling the dice a bit. Since we're not going to be walking all days at the park, it doesn't seem like the end of the world to take a 10-15 minute walk to the pool area either.

 

[dansdad]

I'm replying to your comment but I guess this is really just more of a general question - do you know how often you do get a room request granted at CB if it's as broad as a particular section? I know very specific requests for other resorts (in particular the balcony request at the Poly, which I dug deep into on our last trip) are often *not* granted, but wondering if the odds are better here because it's so broad?

Requests are never guaranteed, but I will say that we've had very good luck with ours. We've stayed at CBR a total of 12 times now and every time our requests are "2nd floor, 45 or 51". We've gotten 2nd floor every time, 45 nine times, 51 twice and 44 once.

But I also can't see why anyone would want Trinidad, in particular, so fear that I will end up there.

Unless you book a 5th sleeper room you will definitely not be in Trinidad.

I see the argument you're making that Martinique may be best but I think Aruba also has some pros with the Skyliner access, and I'm also fine with Jamaica for the same reason, but just really don't want Trinidad. Though, I also don't really want Barbados either - the farther room blocks seem farther than Aruba just across the water? So I also wonder if I'm better just saving some money and rolling the dice a bit.

To us, the central location to everything that most of Jamaica and Aruba have trump the preferred rooms closeness to Old Port Royale and the Main Feature pool. Saving money too is just icing on the cake.

Since we're not going to be walking all days at the park, it doesn't seem like the end of the world to take a 10-15 minute walk to the pool area either.

No room is a 15 minute walk to the Main pool. The only rooms that are at most a 10 minute walk are the furthest rooms in Trinidad. Which unless you book a 5th sleeper room, you won't be in.

 

[pixiedust33]

Requests are never guaranteed, but I will say that we've had very good luck with ours. We've stayed at CBR a total of 12 times now and every time our requests are "2nd floor, 45 or 51". We've gotten 2nd floor every time, 45 nine times, 51 twice and 44 once.


Unless you book a 5th sleeper room you will definitely not be in Trinidad.

To us, the central location to everything that most of Jamaica and Aruba have trump the preferred rooms closeness to Old Port Royale and the Main Feature pool. Saving money too is just icing on the cake.


No room is a 15 minute walk to the Main pool. The only rooms that are at most a 10 minute walk are the furthest rooms in Trinidad. Which unless you book a 5th sleeper room, you won't be in.

Thank you for this super comprehensive response!! I’m sold. Hadn’t realized Trinidad was only fifth sleepers and I was actually toying with the idea of booking one totally unnecessarily because my son liked the fifth sleeper at the Poly on our last trip (entirely for playing in, he slept in a real bed). But we’re just a family of 3 (2 adults and a 3 year old), so the two queens are just fine for us. So, definitely won’t book a fifth sleeper or pay the extra for a preferred room! Aruba seems like what we want and sounds like even our worst case is better than what I was imagining. I do get why people don’t want the walk on top of rushing to rope drop or after a long park day, but this is a leisurely trip for us and we certainly don’t mind walking anyway so I’m probably worrying too much about how far away stuff is anyway.

But I love your success rate! Can I ask how you submit your request? Do you use touring plans or make a request in the app or something else?

 

[dansdad]

I love your success rate! Can I ask how you submit your request? Do you use touring plans or make a request in the app or something else?

I call the main reservation line and have the phone CM add the request to our reservation. I do this anytime from the day I book up until about 10 days out. If you do online check in, skip the request section. I call again about 7 days out and ask the CM to read me back any requests on my reservation to make sure they're there and correct. Good luck! CBR is our favorite Moderate and in our top 3 favorites overall.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I'm replying to your comment but I guess this is really just more of a general question - do you know how often you do get a room request granted at CB if it's as broad as a particular section? I know very specific requests for other resorts (in particular the balcony request at the Poly, which I dug deep into on our last trip) are often *not* granted, but wondering if the odds are better here because it's so broad? But I also can't see why anyone would want Trinidad, in particular, so fear that I will end up there.

I see the argument you're making that Martinique may be best but I think Aruba also has some pros with the Skyliner access, and I'm also fine with Jamaica for the same reason, but just really don't want Trinidad. Though, I also don't really want Barbados either - the farther room blocks seem farther than Aruba just across the water? So I also wonder if I'm better just saving some money and rolling the dice a bit. Since we're not going to be walking all days at the park, it doesn't seem like the end of the world to take a 10-15 minute walk to the pool area either.

I don't have any stats on room request success but I see @dansdad helped you out on that one. Understandably, Aruba will be less money than a preferred room in Martinique or Barbados. My reasoning is based on your itinerary. With a 3 year old, I assume you will spend a lot of time at the pool, playground, and QS. If you are across the bridge/lake, it means a lot of trekking back and forth all day. Personally, I would rather be closer to daily amenities for that reason. For the skyliner, I assume you will be taking your little one in a stroller so it's a little easier if transportation is the longer and more infrequent walk.

Either way, have a great trip! The pool and waterplay area will be a fav for your little one. Make sure to take a skyliner ride to visit Pop and AOA to explore the huge icons and characters

 

[pixiedust33]

I’m just going to tack this question on here since so many of you who replied are so knowledgeable and it kinda relates! My parents have decided they’re going to join us on this trip too, so I’m now trying to figure out the pros and cons of just adding them to our reservation versus having them book their own. The biggest pro, related to my last question, is I assume it would be easier to get close (or even adjoining?) rooms if I book together. Is it possible to request that on two different reservations?

The biggest con I see is that we couldn’t decide to do a package with 2 day tickets because my parents won’t be doing the parks - right? But I think we could each buy individual tickets in whatever quantity we want and apply to our respective accounts and I don’t think the package saves us money usually. I think photos/memory maker can be linked as long as we’re linked on the app, room doesn’t matter for that - right?

Anything else I should consider when deciding to link or not?