Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT Information & Questions-Old Thread-New Thread Link in Post 1

[dansdad]

Ok. So ive researched this resort for few months since we booked. We've only stayed at por bc we're a family of five. Im just now realizing today how large this resort when i read question about INTERNAL buses! so my question is how much larger is cbr than por?? Im concerned about amount of walking. We aren't in preferred room, only standard. Should i worry? We r in good shape. But even a healthy person takes a beaten after a full day in the parks.

If you remove the Village of Trinidad South where the Pirate Themed rooms are located, CBR has about the same footprint as POR. The size of CBR is one of the things that gets really blown out of proportion on the DIS. In my estimation 75-80% of the non-preferred rooms are between a 4-8 minute walk to OPR and the main pool. We have stayed in every village, except Trinidad South (Pirate Rooms) and have never felt it was a hike to get to OPR and the main pool. In our 45 nights at CBR we have never once felt the need to use the Internal Bus and never have. We have had our car with us on 3 trips and all 3 the only time the car moved was when we checked out. Martinique 21-22-23, Jamaica 45 and Aruba 51 are all under 4 minutes to OPR and main pool. That means there are 320 rooms that are just a tad bit further than any of the preferred rooms.

We were huge POR fans until having to switch to CBR for Free Dining years ago. We have not been able to go back to POR because CBR won us over. Give it a chance, it's a beautiful resort.

 

[Kevin355]

Ok. So ive researched this resort for few months since we booked. We've only stayed at por bc we're a family of five. Im just now realizing today how large this resort when i read question about INTERNAL buses! so my question is how much larger is cbr than por?? Im concerned about amount of walking. We aren't in preferred room, only standard. Should i worry? We r in good shape. But even a healthy person takes a beaten after a full day in the parks.

I am 51, have had both knees replaced, stayed at CBR 4 months after my last TKR (September 14) and had no trouble with the distance. I think that the size of CBR is way overblown. It is not like walking from Manhattan to the Bronx. There aren't many places at CBR that I can't make it to OPR in under 10 minutes. The footbridge in the middle of the resort knocks a lot of time off of the walk.

 

[ricosuave]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but disney site is stating preferred room can fit 5 now! The only rooms that have a max occupancy of 4 are the pirate rooms.

 

[dansdad]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but disney site is stating preferred room can fit 5 now! The only rooms that have a max occupancy of 4 are the pirate rooms.

Awesome. Thanks for the update!

 

[PlutoLover93]

Beach Roll Call updated as of this a.m. The Dis is acting crazy again and I'm not getting the correct alerts or email notifications. UGH!

Count me in for November 7-17th please =)!!!

 

[Goose4lax]

We are booked!!

August 20 - 30, 2015.

Looking forward to CBR as it sounds so nice and relaxing. I don't know if the kids will like the pool or playground more.

 

[anniemae]

Ok. So ive researched this resort for few months since we booked. We've only stayed at por bc we're a family of five. Im just now realizing today how large this resort when i read question about INTERNAL buses! so my question is how much larger is cbr than por?? Im concerned about amount of walking. We aren't in preferred room, only standard. Should i worry? We r in good shape. But even a healthy person takes a beaten after a full day in the parks.

We worried about this also. We requested Jamiaca and it was a good location. There are some buildings that are far from the food court area, still not a terrible walk, but as you said, Disney requires so much walking, it's the last thing you want to do at your resort. Do a quick search and you will come up with the best buildings to request. We were in Martinique once and that was good too. I don't know the building that is closest to the food court, but there is a building right by the bridge that goes over the water. I know people who refuse to stay at cbr because of the sheer size of the resort, but we enjoy it. Definitely had a bigger feel to it than por, which is very intimate.

 

[KSR0330]

That said, I've never felt the rooms are dark. The lights in the room do a nice job

The sunlight can come thru the mini-blinds while still maintaining some privacy. The curtains are thick and room darkening for sleeping.

Thanks! I'm glad there's mini blinds to let some natural light in! I want to experience the "sunny" in "sunny Florida"!

 

[PoshMom]

If you remove the Village of Trinidad South where the Pirate Themed rooms are located, CBR has about the same footprint as POR. The size of CBR is one of the things that gets really blown out of proportion on the DIS. In my estimation 75-80% of the non-preferred rooms are between a 4-8 minute walk to OPR and the main pool. We have stayed in every village, except Trinidad South (Pirate Rooms) and have never felt it was a hike to get to OPR and the main pool. In our 45 nights at CBR we have never once felt the need to use the Internal Bus and never have. We have had our car with us on 3 trips and all 3 the only time the car moved was when we checked out. Martinique 21-22-23, Jamaica 45 and Aruba 51 are all under 4 minutes to OPR and main pool. That means there are 320 rooms that are just a tad bit further than any of the preferred rooms.

We were huge POR fans until having to switch to CBR for Free Dining years ago. We have not been able to go back to POR because CBR won us over. Give it a chance, it's a beautiful resort.

I am 51, have had both knees replaced, stayed at CBR 4 months after my last TKR (September 14) and had no trouble with the distance. I think that the size of CBR is way overblown. It is not like walking from Manhattan to the Bronx. There aren't many places at CBR that I can't make it to OPR in under 10 minutes. The footbridge in the middle of the resort knocks a lot of time off of the walk.

We worried about this also. We requested Jamiaca and it was a good location. There are some buildings that are far from the food court area, still not a terrible walk, but as you said, Disney requires so much walking, it's the last thing you want to do at your resort. Do a quick search and you will come up with the best buildings to request. We were in Martinique once and that was good too. I don't know the building that is closest to the food court, but there is a building right by the bridge that goes over the water. I know people who refuse to stay at cbr because of the sheer size of the resort, but we enjoy it. Definitely had a bigger feel to it than por, which is very intimate.

Thanks to everyone for reassurance. I'm not so worried now. Can't wait to be there! It looks really neat and relaxing.

 

[nilla]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but disney site is stating preferred room can fit 5 now! The only rooms that have a max occupancy of 4 are the pirate rooms.

I THINK (but could be wrong) that some preferred rooms have the Murphy bed in them to accommodate a 5th person, but not all preferred rooms have this.

 

[dansdad]

I THINK (but could be wrong) that some preferred rooms have the Murphy bed in them to accommodate a 5th person, but not all preferred rooms have this.

That's correct, some of the preferred rooms have the Murphy bed. But @ricosuave posted that because up until yesterday you were unable to book a preferred location with a party of 5.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but disney site is stating preferred room can fit 5 now! The only rooms that have a max occupancy of 4 are the pirate rooms.

Thanks for the heads up!


Beach Bum Roll Call updated as of this a.m.

 

[PoshMom]

so, i know there's no way of knowing which would be better. but i have to ask...should i request a building or just take my chances on getting a good location? and do they ever give free upgrades to a preferred room if i only paid for standard room? the cm i talked to yesterday on the phone said no. i thought i read on here that that's not always true. thoughts, suggestions?

 

[mickeystoontown]

so, i know there's no way of knowing which would be better. but i have to ask...should i request a building or just take my chances on getting a good location? and do they ever give free upgrades to a preferred room if i only paid for standard room? the cm i talked to yesterday on the phone said no. i though i read on here that that's not always true. thoughts, suggestions?

You can always put in a request for a specific village/location but it is just that, a request. We have been upgraded to a preferred room location twice when we only booked a standard location so it does happen. Not quite sure how often but it can happen. If you really want and/or need a preferred location, then it's best to just book it and be assured that's what you'll get. Having said that, we always book standard as the walks to us aren't bad at all and we've stayed all over the resort with the exception of Trinidad North and South.

 

[misstdiana]

R

Just got home Wed night from our first trip to Disney. I absolutely loved CBR. I had faxed a room request for Aruba 52 ground floor and got it. I also mentioned in the fax that it was our first trip and when we got to our room there was a phone message from Goofy welcoming us and saying he heard it was our first time here which was really nice. I liked our location because we were close to the bridge to OPR and also close to a quiet pool. The main pool is beautiful but we didn't use it because my 14 year old didn't like the crowd. Usually no more than 4 other people in the quiet pool with us which was nice.
It was so nice to be staying in a room that was only about a month old, so fresh and new I was impressed with the size of the room as well. The only glitch we had was on our 2nd night when our magic bands wouldn't open our room. Unfortunately we were so exhausted and feet were so sore that night it felt like a 2 mile walk to concierge to get it fixed, lol! The best steak I've ever had was at Shutters. It's a charcrusted New York strip and was amazing! Overall I found the staff very friendly and helpful. Housekeeping was great, we always had 8 towels in our room so plenty for pool and showers. We never had a problem with buses, longest wait was about 20 min and that was only about twice. I loved walking through Caribbean Cay and hearing the music playing. This was definitely my kind of resort.

I found everywhere we went in Disney people were so helpful and went above and beyond when they found out it was our first trip. Maybe they are always like this but they really made us feel special. We were chosen for a "magical moment" at the Liberty Inn quick service. They seated us at a special table with full linens and waited on us like a table service. It was so funny because people were staring at us trying to figure out why we had this table, lol! My husband did not want to go on this trip and grumbled about going for months. On our second day there he was already planning our next trip! The only thing we regret is not going sooner. My moody teenager that rarely smiles turned into a 9 year old again and you couldn't wipe the smile off her face. The only problem I have now is I don't know what to do with my time. I've spent months planning and researching before our trip that I'm feeling a little lost now. I guess it's never too early to start planning our next trip.

Reading up on this thread as I am hoping to book today using a visa discount and wanted to know which room would be best and close to the main building,restaurant,etc. So the thing to do is fax in a request? New at this, usually I take what I get and don't make requests.

 

[sbarisch]

R

Reading up on this thread as I am hoping to book today using a visa discount and wanted to know which room would be best and close to the main building,restaurant,etc. So the thing to do is fax in a request? New at this, usually I take what I get and don't make requests.

I would start by putting in your requests when you call to book. That way it is on your reservation from the start.

 

[RookieLady]

Just sent my fax in for room requests. 8 days to go, but who is counting. My son choose this resort for his birthday, and this thread has gotten me excited about it.

 

[HCinKC]

We have had the most luck in getting our requests when we have limited them to 2. Are standards at CBR are Jamaica 45 and 2nd floor, we've gotten them both our last 4 trips. We are way past the stroller stage so we like the 2nd floor.

I already did online check in and opted to request villages over floor, doing Jamaica and Aruba. I would love a ground floor room since we have a stroller. I called and was told that I couldn't make the request until 10 days prior. That seems odd, so I wanted to confirm that that is correct.

They use the round flat pouches/bags of coffee.

Can you use a filter and grounds or only these pouches? I have never used that kind of coffee maker. I have heard how awful the coffee is and had planned on bringing my own. I have no idea where to buy these pouches. Thanks!

 

[dansdad]

I already did online check in and opted to request villages over floor, doing Jamaica and Aruba. I would love a ground floor room since we have a stroller. I called and was told that I couldn't make the request until 10 days prior. That seems odd, so I wanted to confirm that that is correct.

That is completely incorrect. You can make room requests any time from the day you book up until 4-5 days prior to your arrival. They assign rooms 2-3 days prior to arrival so just make sure they are there before then.

Can you use a filter and grounds or only these pouches? I have never used that kind of coffee maker. I have heard how awful the coffee is and had planned on bringing my own. I have no idea where to buy these pouches. Thanks!

I don't think you can use a filter and grounds as these flat pods/pouches are really small. I will say that since they switched to Joffrey's from the Nescafe the coffee is much, much better. I really despised the Nescafe.

 

[HCinKC]

That is completely incorrect. You can make room requests any time from the day you book up until 4-5 days prior to your arrival. They assign rooms 2-3 days prior to arrival so just make sure they are there before then.

I don't think you can use a filter and grounds as these flat pods/pouches are really small. I will say that since they switched to Joffrey's from the Nescafe the coffee is much, much better. I really despised the Nescafe.

Ok, thanks! I will try calling later...maybe this evening to avoid the same person telling me the wrong info!

And I hadn't realized they switched from Nescafe. I can manage with Joffrey's I think! Worst case scenario, I am buying coffee once I get to the park.