Caribbean Beach Resort FAQ Part 3

[pistachio]

I would love to hear from anyone who has requested one of the newly refurbed rooms. I am just wondering what they were told.

FWIW, I just called this morning to ask about requesting one of the newly refurbished rooms. The CM said she knew nothing about it. She told me about the pool refurb and said if the rooms were being refurbed, CRO would have received an advisement. She also said that if they do schedule it, reservation holders would receive a notification.

 

[DerrickC]

We're staying in CBR Aug 24 - Aug 31.

I've been lurking in this thread ever since booking our Disney vacation, but this is the first time I've read something here which required me to register and actually make a post.

Does anyone know for sure about the refurbed rooms having / not having fridges? I don't want to call Disney just because I read an online rumor which concerns me, but since I booked CBR expecting a fridge, I'd sure like to get what I thought I was getting. Suggestions?

Should I just wait until we arrive, then complain about a missing fridge at that point, if need be, hoping that some "Disney Magic" kicks in?

 

[DisneyWorld30th]

We're staying in CBR Aug 24 - Aug 31.

I've been lurking in this thread ever since booking our Disney vacation, but this is the first time I've read something here which required me to register and actually make a post.

Does anyone know for sure about the refurbed rooms having / not having fridges? I don't want to call Disney just because I read an online rumor which concerns me, but since I booked CBR expecting a fridge, I'd sure like to get what I thought I was getting. Suggestions?

Should I just wait until we arrive, then complain about a missing fridge at that point, if need be, hoping that some "Disney Magic" kicks in?

If your room is missing the fridge, you can call guest services and they will bring you one. This is a free service for all moderate resorts.

 

[safetymom]

Personally I would wait until you get there to see if you have a fridge or not. Nothing has been said by Disney that they are removing the fridges at one of the moderates.

At this point it is only a rumor.

 

[riu girl]

By the looks at today's pool photos (from WDWMagic) and last weeks photos (from SafetyMom), the children's water structure appears to be a AquaPlay 200 from Whitewater. You can see photos and Schematic of similar units here:

http://www.whitewaterwest.com/products.php?product=AquaPlay
(I can't give you a direct link - just click on AP200)

You'll notice this new attraction will have a tipping bucket, twist slide and pair of slides. It will also have spray nozzles and jets.

This structure is similar to the Nickelodeon resort found in Orlando. This will be a great addition to the new pool area!


I myself am excited to see this resort get so much attention.

Could someone please direct me to the most recent photos from WDWMagic? I am unable to find them. Thank you

 

[DisneyWorld30th]

Here you go:
http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts_news.htm

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Could someone please direct me to the most recent photos from WDWMagic? I am unable to find them. Thank you

Go to: www.WDWMagic.com
then slide down the page and on the left side you will see the article that states new pictures of Carribean Beach Resort pool refurb.
Hope that helps.

 

[riu girl]

Thank you

 

[mari360]

I can't wait to see the pool finished.....

 

[who me?]

Had an interesting experience with customer service yesterday which, because of all the recent posts about CBR preferred rooms I thought I should share.

Without getting into a 30,000 word post basically I had two reps tell me that the definition of a 'preferred room' at CBR means you will be ”near a pool, not the feature pool” and near a bus stop. When I questioned this the first rep she was rude and told me that Barbados and Aruba have the most preferred rooms because they are closest to the check in building. I suggested that she double check to which I was told to call back if I wanted to verify but she was right and would not / could not forward me to a supervisor (this was well into a 7 minute call).

I called back and the second rep told me that I was 'misinformed' to believe that only Trinidad North and Martinique had preferred rooms. I asked him to double check he was very abrupt so I asked for a supervisor because I want to be certain I am getting a room in Trinidad North or Martinique which is what I was told when I made my reservation several months ago. He said that he would xfer me but that she would 'tell me the same thing' that he had told me.

BTW – they both verified that I am booked in a preferred room so there was no misunderstanding.

Of course the supervisor told me that the CBR preferred rooms are in the Trinidad N and Martinique and that she wasn't sure why I was given the wrong information but a notice would go out to supervisors to be sure all reps understand the definition of a CBR preferred room. She was very nice.

I don’t expect all the reps to know everything about all the resorts without having to do some research that would be impossible. However, this seems like pretty basic info for someone representing Disney assisting customers with resort choices … moderate vs value, standard room vs preferred etc.

My experience thus far with booking this trip, making dining reservations etc has been wonderful. Had only one rep been incorrect (and adamant in their knowledge) I wouldn't be sharing this but since it was two reps and there are so many recent posts with questions about the refirb, fridges, preferred rooms etc I thought it was appropriate to share my experience.

My suggestion is if it doesn't sound right it might not be. Ask for a supervisor if you feel you are not getting the correct information.

 

[mickeystoontown]

FWIW, I just called this morning to ask about requesting one of the newly refurbished rooms. The CM said she knew nothing about it. She told me about the pool refurb and said if the rooms were being refurbed, CRO would have received an advisement. She also said that if they do schedule it, reservation holders would receive a notification.

That's pretty much what I was told too.

 

[who me?]

That's pretty much what I was told too.

see... now when I booked (in April for October) I was told that they were refurbing the rooms section by section along with the pool....humm.

 

[Mazzy]

So many different stories - the mind boggles!

 

[mickeystoontown]

We will be celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary and my son's 11th birthday while at WDW. I know that the food court had small cakes but I can't remember what was on them.

Was thinking about either just getting a cake from the food court or ordering something for my husband and son.

Can anybody help me out?

 

[who me?]

So many different stories - the mind boggles!

yes but when you call 407 W DISNEY you should get the same answer each time not wonder if the information is correct when we chat here we get opinions and experiences, when you call them there should only be one answer ... the correct one. Either the CBR rooms are being refurbed or not; either Trinidad N is a preferred room location or not etc ... just throws me off a bit I guess.

 

[safetymom]

At this point Disney has not announced a refurb at CBR so I wouldn't worry about it. Once they do the cast members will tell you if you try to book there. Just like they did when the main pool was closing and they do advise you now about it.

Sometimes it is how you ask the question that you get different answers. CBR is the only moderate to have a bookable preferred location. Sometimes CM's think you are asking for a room or location that lots of people ask for.

 

[DisneyWorld30th]

I'm concerned about my King Room. Will my king room be in the preferred section or the standard section?

There are four room categories. Standard Room, Preferred Room (Up charge), Water Room (up charge) and King Room (up charge).

 

[who me?]

Thanks Safety Mom - the comment was made to me about the refurb on the rooms was made when I booked as they explained the status and time frame of the pool refurb. Maybe they have changed the plan or have delayed but I was told that it was happening this summer, it was info that they offered I didn't ask about it.

Regarding the preferred room, part of the problem was that they were not willing to admit they might be mistaken. I was very clear "when I booked I was told that Trinidad N and ...." after a guest points out to them they might be wrong they should look into it, not argue and continue to give bad info. I understand not being experts in all aspects even by Disney standards that is unreasonable. Had they made any effort to investigate my very simple question they would have learned that they were not giving accurate information.

I don't want to dwell or be a downer that wasn't my intention, just want people to know that sometimes even dealing with Disney directly you have to do your homework and ask questions.

The count down is on and we couldn't be happier to be planning our first Disney trip in 8 years! Seems to me from all the feedback here that that the CBR is a great place to stay ~ thanks for the great info.

 

[CleveRocks]

I'm concerned about my King Room. Will my king room be in the preferred section or the standard section?

There are four room categories. Standard Room, Preferred Room (Up charge), Water Room (up charge) and King Room (up charge).

CBR has 33 buildings. Each building has 64 rooms. Six of the 33 buildings are preferred location buildings, meaning that there are exactly 384 preferred location rooms.

Some of those 384 preferred location rooms have water views. Some of those 384 preferred location rooms have king-size beds. And undoubtedly, a few of those 384 preferred location rooms have a water view AND a king-size bed. [There are also water view rooms as well as king-size bed rooms in every village in CBR. They are NOT concentrated in the preferred location areas.]

Disney allows us to book and pay for only one type of "upcharge" (using your lingo). Strange as it seems, Disney won't allow us to pay 2 upcharges to book and thus guarantee two of those upgrades simultaneously.

If you want, for example, a king-size bed in a preferred location room, you can't possibly guarantee both of those. What you must do is choose which is more important to you ... which one is the deal-maker/deal-breaker? Book THAT one, and request the other.

If you happen to get a room that has 2 or all 3 of those upgrades, you have truly been sprinkled with pixie dust!!!

 

[safetymom]

Regarding the Jim Hill rumors. I got to see one of the new rooms at CBR today. I looked through the window in Martinique. The room looks like the pictures. It was a Nemo themed room. They still have the old carpeting. The bed has a bed skirt now.

As far as the fridge, there is a chest of drawers with a door that looks like that is where the fridge goes. I have stayed in other hotels with that same arrangement so I don't think the fridge is gone.

The bedspread has the same colors as before but different characters on it. They have a flat screen TV in the rooms.