Choosing a hotel

[lizzyb5280]

We will be at WDW in November for my DD's third birthday. It will be her, my husband, and myself. I am a paraplegic, FT wheelchair user, and this will be my first trip to WDW since being in the chair. I'm interested if any of you have done Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans (either side), or Pop Century in a wheelchair, and if so, what were your experiences?

Right now we're booked at Caribbean Beach, but I'm having second thoughts. Our room will be in a preferred building near Old Port Royale, with a king bed and a rollaway. However, the booking CM said that it would take us two busses to get to the parks; one internal bus that goes around the resort up to the Customs House, where we would catch the busses to the parks. This seems like it would be rather time consuming, esp. given the risk of busses being full.

We really can't afford to stay level higher than a moderate level resort. I had heard negative things about the convention atmosphere at Coronado Springs, and we're from Louisiana so the theming at Port Orleans wouldn't be as exciting to us, though if it would be a more accessible option I'd take it. Our initial plan had been Pop Century, but reading Passporter's Open Mouse had me questioning whether or not we'd have enough space at Pop, plus at only three (turning three during the trip, actually), I'm not sure how DD would do in an adjoining room, though it would be nice to have an extra bathroom.

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Yep, have stayed at CBR twice now and have a serious love for the place.

The CM you talked to is wrong. There is an internal shuttle, that is true. But you have NOTHING to do with that bus when going to the parks. Each bus for all of the parks (DTD also) makes a visit of all of the busstops at CBR. So you can hop onto any bus at the busstop right at your village.

Busses being full? Never once had that experience with CBR, other than once leaving a park after the closing of it (which can be expected). I tend not to do rope drop nor park closings. Combine that with the fact that many folks do not like CBR at all when using a mobility aid. Why is to-tal-ly beyond me, as I LOVE the resort. But you wont hear me complaining though, less 'competition' for those wheelchair spots on the bus.

Especially since you've booked preferred rooms you'll be close to all of the important spots. OPR for the food court, main pool, shop and concierge service. A busstop at each village, what more can a person want?

The only downside of CBR as far as I'm concearned is the style they did the floor at OPR. It's a bit bouncy as it's tiles in their natural shapes, thus leaving some space between tiles etc. Having said that, I love the resort and it's CM's. As far as mods go, there is no other resort I even consider staying at.

 

[KPeveler]

I was not a fan of CBR for decor reasons (pre-renovation), but I just spent my honeymoon at CSR, and I had NO problems with the conventioners at all. We were in Casitas 3, and it was PERFECT. This was also my honeymoon, so I liked the spread out, quieter atmosphere. Pepper Market was good, and I never had a problem with buses.....

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to both DisBoards and disABILITIES!

I would stick with CBR for several reasons. One of the most important is that the rooms there are larger (340 sq ft) than any of the other moderates (at 314 each) and much larger thant the values (at 260 sq ft).

And the CM you talked to was at a call center, probably not in Florida and has probably never been to WDW.

When you call Walt Disney World, unless you really know a direct number, you will get one of two offices.

The Disney Reservations Center (DRC) includes Walt Disney Travel Company (WDTC), Central Reservations Office (CRO), Disney Dining, and some other lesser known information lines. To the best of my knowledge the DRC locations are in the International Drive area, Tampa, Houston, Salt Lake City and somewhere in North Carolina. There may be more. Some of the people working at the DRC call centers may never have been to either WDW or DL (or both).

The Main Switchboard (407-824-2222) is also where all calls to Disney Resorts go if you are dialing the phone number on the back of your reservations form. Also that is where calls go if you dial the Operator from your room, and possibly even calls to the Front Desk. The Main Switchboard people will, if asked, also identify themselves as Guest Services. They can put you through to any number on WDW.

At both DRC and MS they have access to a computer which has lots of Guest Information and it is very well organized. Actually, all CMs who have access to a terminal, or who even can access the "Cast Portal" from off-site, have access to this Guest Services information. I will often open an extra window when I am responding to people and go into the Portal for the latest official information.

Being a CM, I will (unfortunately) state that on a lot of questions you will get much mre accurate answers here than from a call center CM.

 

[lizzyb5280]

Thanks for the input everyone! I too thought it odd that the busses to the parks would only stop at the customs house, so I'm glad to have confirmation that is not the case. Largest room size for price was also a reason I was interested in CBR, as well as the fact that beach vacations in a chair would be tricky (though I do plan on searching out somewhere with beach chairs when she's older), so this will allow DD to get a little touch of what a trip to the beach would be like.

From all the threads I'm reading, you all seem to be great resources, so I look forward to picking your brains over the next few months!

 

[dclfun]

I've stayed at all the WDW resorts- three times in the last few years at CBR. I had no problems at all and think the grounds are gorgeous. My only real issue, as Goofieslonglostsis mentioned is the tiles in OPR and also outside OPR on the walkway. It was actually painful for me to go over that much bumpiness, and forget trying to carry something. I wish they'd have put in a sidewalk size walkway within that outdoor area for those travelling in w/c's or even having a sleeping child in a stroller. Pop can be pretty crowded and I've often waited through more than one bus arrival to board a few times when there were tons of people in ECV's. We stayed at Coronado in one of the newly renovated rooms this past October. WOW! The rooms were truly deluxe with gorgeous furnishings, white down comforters, pocket doors to a really large bathroom which were easy to open. They have a really nice food court and snack bar type area- and if you're on the DDP you'll get the best value there. So...if it were me I'd choose Coronado, ask for an accessible preferred newly renovated room and my second choice would be CBR. Wherever you stay, I hope you have a great vacation!---Kathy

 

[billsfan]

Have you ever thought about renting points from a DVC member for your November stay. Renting points for one week at the BLT in a lake view studio might cost about the same as one week at CBR in November and you would get the Monorail transportation for Epcot & Magic Kingdom.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have not stayed at any of the POP resorts, but have stayed at CBR, PO (both Riverside and New Orleans) and Coronado Springs.

I agree with not changing. I think you will be happy with CBR (especially since your main reason for thinking of switching was because of the misinformation about the bus).

At CBR, the only time you have to go to Customs House will be when you first arrive at the resort to check in and when you check out. If you use Disney's Magical Express, it will deliver you and pick you up from the Customs House.

Other than the bumpy areas that other posters mentioned, I love CBR. It was the first Disney resort we ever stayed at - the year it opened and it still has a fond spot in my heart. As was mentioned, the rooms are the largest of the Moderates, which makes
Here's a link to the wdwinfo page about CBR, which includes links to pictures and a map.
The main pool at CBR is a zero entry pool, so you can roll right in with a water wheelchair.

Coronado Springs is also a very nice resort, (link to page with a link to the map) with nice paths leading all around the resort. It's a different atmosphere than CBR, but very nice. The food court there (Pepper Court) has a large variety of food.
The pool there has a transfer tier (bump steps) for pool access and does not have a zero entry as far as I know.

 

[lizzyb5280]

Ohh, thanks for pointing out the zero-entry pool, Sue! I was a swimmer in high school (pre-SCI), and love to get in the pool any chance I get. God bless heated pools!