HM
My tag from the Tag Fairy is now too long to use.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2001
- Messages
- 10,491
DD and I stayed at Cabana Bay for four nights in mid-July.
We loved it! The resort is just so clean and new feeling.
The rooms are small (we had a standard room, not a suite) but very comfortable.
We thought the towels were pretty good quality for a value resort and the shampoos and soap (VO5 and Zest) were both a flashback and quite good for use.
The resort is very large. We had a room on the 7th floor of the Americana wing and it was a really long hike to get there. It did keep us from using our refillable mug a couple times, because the thought of the walk to get to the Bayliner Diner was just too much.
Speaking of the Bayliner Diner.....the food we got there was very good. They are similar to the food courts in the Disney Value resorts in how they are set up. The dining room is large and airy. Overall I thought it nicer than any of the Disney ones.
We were on the side with a zero entry pool and the lazy river. We used both quite a bit due to the heat while we were there. We brought our own 36" float tubes and had them filled at the place where you can buy them by the river. You don't have to have one to go in, but it was nice to just relax (as much as you can with kids zooming by you without one) in. They had a DJ on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4. The one on Saturday was a lot of fun and really had the kids up and dancing.
We did take a walk to the other side to visit the other pool area. You have to go through the main building to go between the two, so a cover up is essential. There is a walkway to the second floor that you can take so you miss the lobby and leads to a path on the other side. Both sides have bars and the one on our side has a grill where we ate our first meal (sandwiches with fries or fruit). Tasty and fairly quick. We refilled our mug here a lot.
There were a lot of things we didn't take part in that are offered - games outside like pool and cornhole, an arcade, a fitness center, a bowling alley (with a restaurant), and movies on the lawn at night (we couldn't find it the night we tried and I sent a note about needing better signage to the resort).
The bus service was pretty good. Our first day we had a bus waiting each time we got to the stops. The second-fourth day, we had to wait at least couple times a day. They did run frequently so the waits were less than 15 minutes. Drop off is under the area between the parking deck and the entrance to Citywalk and an escalator ride to get to the entrance.
We did walk the pathway past Royal Pacific to our resort one night at closing to avoid the bus crowds. It's a long walk, but well lighted and no difficult terrain.
We would definitely stay there again. A very good value for the money and lots of fun.
Let me know if you have any questions.
PS-- It really didn't seem like a value resort at all. The amenities are great for their rates.
I forgot to mention that we did use Early Entry on two days. We were able to get a lot done in the Harry Potter areas (and Despicable Me) before the rest of the world was let in. Crowds didn't start really showing up until 10:30-11am at which time we were like salmon going upstream to get back to the buses to enjoy the pool at the resort. We did the parks in the morning and evening, spending our afternoons at the pool.
We loved it! The resort is just so clean and new feeling.
The rooms are small (we had a standard room, not a suite) but very comfortable.
We thought the towels were pretty good quality for a value resort and the shampoos and soap (VO5 and Zest) were both a flashback and quite good for use.
The resort is very large. We had a room on the 7th floor of the Americana wing and it was a really long hike to get there. It did keep us from using our refillable mug a couple times, because the thought of the walk to get to the Bayliner Diner was just too much.
Speaking of the Bayliner Diner.....the food we got there was very good. They are similar to the food courts in the Disney Value resorts in how they are set up. The dining room is large and airy. Overall I thought it nicer than any of the Disney ones.
We were on the side with a zero entry pool and the lazy river. We used both quite a bit due to the heat while we were there. We brought our own 36" float tubes and had them filled at the place where you can buy them by the river. You don't have to have one to go in, but it was nice to just relax (as much as you can with kids zooming by you without one) in. They had a DJ on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4. The one on Saturday was a lot of fun and really had the kids up and dancing.
We did take a walk to the other side to visit the other pool area. You have to go through the main building to go between the two, so a cover up is essential. There is a walkway to the second floor that you can take so you miss the lobby and leads to a path on the other side. Both sides have bars and the one on our side has a grill where we ate our first meal (sandwiches with fries or fruit). Tasty and fairly quick. We refilled our mug here a lot.
There were a lot of things we didn't take part in that are offered - games outside like pool and cornhole, an arcade, a fitness center, a bowling alley (with a restaurant), and movies on the lawn at night (we couldn't find it the night we tried and I sent a note about needing better signage to the resort).
The bus service was pretty good. Our first day we had a bus waiting each time we got to the stops. The second-fourth day, we had to wait at least couple times a day. They did run frequently so the waits were less than 15 minutes. Drop off is under the area between the parking deck and the entrance to Citywalk and an escalator ride to get to the entrance.
We did walk the pathway past Royal Pacific to our resort one night at closing to avoid the bus crowds. It's a long walk, but well lighted and no difficult terrain.
We would definitely stay there again. A very good value for the money and lots of fun.
Let me know if you have any questions.
PS-- It really didn't seem like a value resort at all. The amenities are great for their rates.
I forgot to mention that we did use Early Entry on two days. We were able to get a lot done in the Harry Potter areas (and Despicable Me) before the rest of the world was let in. Crowds didn't start really showing up until 10:30-11am at which time we were like salmon going upstream to get back to the buses to enjoy the pool at the resort. We did the parks in the morning and evening, spending our afternoons at the pool.
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