Caribbean Beach Resort FAQ's Part II

[AUDramaQueen]

We are thinking of changing our resort and CBR is one we might choose. We have a family of 5 as well me, DH, DS8, DD5, and DD2. Did you feel cramped at all? DD2 would take a nap - how did you handle naptime if your DS2 napped? Like the idea about the tent..I'll have to remember that. Thanks for any info.

No we didn't feel cramped at all. Since you can hide away so much of your luggage, the room stays pretty open. That curtain that separates the vanity area from the rest of the room makes a huge difference too. You have an area to get dressed and ready that's private.

Yes, my 2 year old napped almost every day in the room. We put him in his Thomas the Train tent and he was fine even if the rest of us were awake. Although I made them stay fairly quiet.

Have you seen those Play Hut pop-up tents? They fold up so small it could go in a suit case. I think they make a princess one. Anyway, we put our other son's mat from school in there, covered it with a fleece slepping bag and then put covers over that and a pillow. Worked perfectly, but we had him sleep in it a few times before we left so he would be used to it. It was like he had his own little room.

You can push the beds over a little to make more room. The tent was completely out of the way. If you just opened the door, you couldn't even see it and it's about the length of a toddler bed.

Your other children can go to one of the pools or the beaches or playgrounds while she naps. Although mine were so worn out, they usually napped too!

We loved it! Where else are you thinking of staying.

 

[TheBigQ]

No we didn't feel cramped at all. Since you can hide away so much of your luggage, the room stays pretty open. That curtain that separates the vanity area from the rest of the room makes a huge difference too. You have an area to get dressed and ready that's private.

Yes, my 2 year old napped almost every day in the room. We put him in his Thomas the Train tent and he was fine even if the rest of us were awake. Although I made them stay fairly quiet.

Have you seen those Play Hut pop-up tents? They fold up so small it could go in a suit case. I think they make a princess one. Anyway, we put our other son's mat from school in there, covered it with a fleece slepping bag and then put covers over that and a pillow. Worked perfectly, but we had him sleep in it a few times before we left so he would be used to it. It was like he had his own little room.

You can push the beds over a little to make more room. The tent was completely out of the way. If you just opened the door, you couldn't even see it and it's about the length of a toddler bed.

Your other children can go to one of the pools or the beaches or playgrounds while she naps. Although mine were so worn out, they usually napped too!

We loved it! Where else are you thinking of staying.

Thanks for the info. I have seen the Play Hut tents...next time I'm out I'll probably pick one up. I was wondering what you used for cushion but you answered that - sounds very comfy!

Right now we have ressies at OKW - 1 bedroom. I'm trying to cut down our trip expenses w/o cancelling - we could save about $1800 if we switched to a moderate. DH and I have stayed at POR already (pre kids) so we'd like to try something new. It sounds like CBR has a lot to offer and the rooms are larger then the other moderates. Probably should take advantage of being able to fit in a moderate w/o having 2 rooms while we can. We can fit in a deluxe but can't save that much amount of money - maybe the Poly.

Thanks again for the info and glad to hear you had a magical vacay!

 

[cheesehead7]

Thanks for the report AUDramaQueen. We are coming 6/30 for the holiday week. It's only our 2nd time to WDW and our 1st time staying at CBR. I know we'll love it, though I expect to be overwhelmed after staying at POFQ last year.

So glad you had a fun time.

Hey Cinderella mom, I will be there June 29th-July 7th. Can't wait!

 

[pamouselover]

Thanks for the trip report!

I do have a preferred room, but we did not request a certain building.
Do you think I should, and what building?

 

[CleveRocks]

I do have a preferred room, but we did not request a certain building.
Do you think I should, and what building?

As long as you have a preferred location reserved, the exact building really shouldn't matter.

If you REALLY want to split hairs, Martinique 26 (the closest Martinique building) is a teensy-weensy bit closer to Old Port Royale than is Trinidad North 31 (the closest TN building). In addition, buses heading for Magic Kingdom and DTD start at Martinique; Trinidad North is the 3rd stop on that route. Buses heading to the 3 other theme parks start at Jamaica; Martinique is the 4th stop on that route and Trinidad North is the 6th (next to last) stop on that route. So again, just by a tiny little hair, the edge goes to Martinique.

I stayed in Trinidad North and didn't think I got ripped off by being there rather than Martinique, but since one of the fun things about the DIS is analyzing things to death ... on paper, Martinique seems a better choice than Trinidad North, if your request is granted.

 

[Magalex]

Great report from AUDramaQueen! We will be there in 3 days I am so excited about our resort choice this vacation. I hope it will be very nice! I requested Aruba or Jamica

 

[HarbinsMom]

We just came back from 8 days at the CBR. We drove every day back and forth to the parks. The food court didn't seem to be too overwhelmed in the mornings and we ate there 3 out of the 8 nights. I highly recommed the roast turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy. VERY yummy. Hubby had the roasted pork and loved it as well. He and the boy had the Adult breakfast every morning (eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes (or grits), one piece of french toast and a biscuit) for I believe $7.95. I had the french toast every morning and loved it. My only complaint is that the refillable cups are not resort specific right now. They are all *Where Dreams Come True* and I really wanted a Caribbean Beach one.

If you have any more questions, I'll try to answer, just ask. I love reliving my trip. We had a blast.

 

[SkcMom]

Do all of the preferred locations have a playground?

 

[KimRaye]

As long as you have a preferred location reserved, the exact building really shouldn't matter.

If you REALLY want to split hairs, Martinique 26 (the closest Martinique building) is a teensy-weensy bit closer to Old Port Royale than is Trinidad North 31 (the closest TN building). In addition, buses heading for Magic Kingdom and DTD start at Martinique; Trinidad North is the 3rd stop on that route. Buses heading to the 3 other theme parks start at Jamaica; Martinique is the 4th stop on that route and Trinidad North is the 6th (next to last) stop on that route. So again, just by a tiny little hair, the edge goes to Martinique.

I stayed in Trinidad North and didn't think I got ripped off by being there rather than Martinique, but since one of the fun things about the DIS is analyzing things to death ... on paper, Martinique seems a better choice than Trinidad North, if your request is granted.

Having NOT stayed at Martinique, I can say there were FULL, NO SEATS buses by the time they hit 'also-preferred' TN. Maybe a drawback?

 

[KimRaye]

Do all of the preferred locations have a playground?

We didn't see one at Trinidad North, just a private pool.

 

[ThinkTink75]

Having NOT stayed at Martinique, I can say there were FULL, NO SEATS buses by the time they hit 'also-preferred' TN. Maybe a drawback?

Thanks for the tip. Since we will be heading to OPR for breakfast in the morning if we end up in TN in stead of Martinique with our preferred booking we will just walk to the Martiniqu Bus Stop in the morning! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[CleveRocks]

Thanks for the tip. Since we will be heading to OPR for breakfast in the morning if we end up in TN in stead of Martinique with our preferred booking we will just walk to the Martiniqu Bus Stop in the morning! Thanks for the heads up.

At a leisurely, post-breakfast pace, during the 4 or 5 minutes it takes you to walk from OPR to the Martinique bus stop you might just miss the bus you're hoping to get a better seat on (if buses run about every 15 minutes in the morning, you have a 33% chance of missing the bus during that walk). Personally, I wouldn't bother with the walk or the extra time in order to get on a bus one stop earlier.

 

[ThinkTink75]

At a leisurely, post-breakfast pace, during the 4 or 5 minutes it takes you to walk from OPR to the Martinique bus stop you might just miss the bus you're hoping to get a better seat on (if buses run about every 15 minutes in the morning, you have a 33% chance of missing the bus during that walk). Personally, I wouldn't bother with the walk or the extra time in order to get on a bus one stop earlier.

Wait a second... is there a bus stop at OPR?? We thought after breakfast we'd be having to head to a "village" to grab one.

 

[safetymom]

Yes there is.

 

[mamamary]

After bkfst in the morning we always just went to the bus stop at OPR. I think the only time we left from our bus stop (we stayed in TN) was the morning we had a bkfst at Epcot and the day we arrived after seeing our room.

 

[cinderella_mom]

Hey Cinderella mom, I will be there June 29th-July 7th. Can't wait!

We'll have our lime green Mickey tags on our backpacks, so look for us!

 

[ThinkTink75]

After bkfst in the morning we always just went to the bus stop at OPR. I think the only time we left from our bus stop (we stayed in TN) was the morning we had a bkfst at Epcot and the day we arrived after seeing our room.

Wow CBR just gets better and better! lol! I feel like there is literally a bus everywhere we turn! I am not used to this big of a resort! I am so glad we can hop right on at OPR! That makes things so simple! Thanks to whoever pointed this out to me in the first place!

 

[cinderella_mom]

Great info everyone! Keep it coming.

 

[mshawsc]

Sorry if this is on here somewhere, I tried to read through all posts but it is possible that I missed some.

Are there only stairs to get to the upper level rooms? We are traveling with my daughter who will be using a stroller & I really don't want to be lugging it up & down stairs. Is there a way to guarantee a ground level room if needed?

 

[catbertdave99]

Are there only stairs to get to the upper level rooms? We are traveling with my daughter who will be using a stroller & I really don't want to be lugging it up & down stairs. Is there a way to guarantee a ground level room if needed?

There are no elevators, only stairs. You should call now and request a first floor room, and tell them why. There is no guarantee you will get the first floor room, but they really seem to try hard to honor requests when they can.

Having said that, we had a second floor room 2 years ago, and I don't recall the steps being too bad -- but then, I wasn't lugging a stroller either!

You will LOVE CBR!!