Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT Information & Questions

[dis_guy]

Are there any recent pic's of the construction?

Here's a recent video:

 

[DWFamilyof6]

I was on the Disney site and the CM chat window popped up. Just out of curiosity I asked when the construction for the food court, etc would be completed for Caribbean Beach. She said end of '19. End of '19?? I figured she must have meant '18.
I asked again, "so the temporary food tents are going to be up until end of 2019?"
She said, "Yes, but they are very nice temporary dining options."
I've got to believe she is wrong.
We have an end of Feb '19 trip booked for CB.

 

[smidgy]

Here's a recent video:

[/QUOTE
did I miss the Martinique walk through?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

The video makes me feel better about our upcoming trip! Looks like things are moving along and the villages appear to have less construction than I thought. 4 weeks from tomorrow!

 

[dansdad]

I was on the Disney site and the CM chat window popped up. Just out of curiosity I asked when the construction for the food court, etc would be completed for Caribbean Beach. She said end of '19. End of '19?? I figured she must have meant '18.
I asked again, "so the temporary food tents are going to be up until end of 2019?"
She said, "Yes, but they are very nice temporary dining options."
I've got to believe she is wrong.
We have an end of Feb '19 trip booked for CB.

She was most definitely wrong.

 

[marcais]

So I'm about to get in touch and request which village we are in. I have a vague recollection of someone in here saying that the rooms in Martinique don't have preferred status during the building work. Is that still the case?

 

[dansdad]

So I'm about to get in touch and request which village we are in. I have a vague recollection of someone in here saying that the rooms in Martinique don't have preferred status during the building work. Is that still the case?

Yes.

 

[marcais]

I just phoned and was told that the only villages that are standard are Jamaica and Aruba. I specifically mentioned about Martinique not being preferred during the renovations and she repeated that the only villages showing on her system as standard are Jamaica and Aruba.

So I've put in a request for a ground-floor room in Jamaica 45. I'd be happy enough with that if it weren't for the continued reports about buses being unreliable as we're likely to be going for RD on most of the days we're on resort.

I think on the AK & HS RD days we'll walk over to the Centertown stop and get the bus from there.

 

[dansdad]

I just phoned and was told that the only villages that are standard are Jamaica and Aruba. I specifically mentioned about Martinique not being preferred during the renovations and she repeated that the only villages showing on her system as standard are Jamaica and Aruba.

They have outdated information.

So I've put in a request for a ground-floor room in Jamaica 45. I'd be happy enough with that if it weren't for the continued reports about buses being unreliable as we're likely to be going for RD on most of the days we're on resort.

I think on the AK & HS RD days we'll walk over to the Centertown stop and get the bus from there.

In our opinion that is a great location. Hope you get it! I would not take the walk to the Centertown bus stop unless we were eating breakfast first. We know 3 families that have stayed in Jamaica over the past month and none had any issues using the Jamaica stop for RD or any other time. But obviously do what makes you feel comfortable.

 

[smidgy]

Should I watch the entire thing again? I swear I watched the entire video and he never walked thru Martinique

 

[gmugrad9]

Should I watch the entire thing again? I swear I watched the entire video and he never walked thru Martinique

Hi everyone I am new here. I am starting to have a freak out about our upcoming trip to Disney. We are staying at CBR in September 2018. This trip is a "what a crazy year, yeah we survived, lets get away trip" and I am getting so stressed I picked the wrong resort. We stayed here once before and the kids loved it. This time free dining lured me away from my go to POR Riverside but now I am thinking we should just forget free dining and change or reservation. I am worried about bus transportation, not so much about food as we really won't be eating on resort and just the feeling of being in a construction zone. I know many resorts are undergoing construction right now and even the parks are. Should I change to another resort and if so which one? Thank you everyone

 

[DisneyMom21]

Hi everyone I am new here. I am starting to have a freak out about our upcoming trip to Disney. We are staying at CBR in September 2018. This trip is a "what a crazy year, yeah we survived, lets get away trip" and I am getting so stressed I picked the wrong resort. We stayed here once before and the kids loved it. This time free dining lured me away from my go to POR Riverside but now I am thinking we should just forget free dining and change or reservation. I am worried about bus transportation, not so much about food as we really won't be eating on resort and just the feeling of being in a construction zone. I know many resorts are undergoing construction right now and even the parks are. Should I change to another resort and if so which one? Thank you everyone

Don't second guess yourself! I wouldn't give up free dining because there is a chance of bad bus service.

I was initially worried about booking here due to the bus situation, but my first choice free dining resort(YC) wasn't available for our dates so I took CBR. I am glad I did, as we will be saving quite a bit. Worse comes to worse, there is always the Minnie van. I don't expect it to be that bad though, and think we will all have a great time!

 

[Kaelorian]

Don't second guess yourself! I wouldn't give up free dining because there is a chance of bad bus service.

I was initially worried about booking here due to the bus situation, but my first choice free dining resort(YC) wasn't available for our dates so I took CBR. I am glad I did, as we will be saving quite a bit. Worse comes to worse, there is always the Minnie van. I don't expect it to be that bad though, and think we will all have a great time!

Same here. I agree about not second guessing. Our first free dining choice was BC, but settled on CBR. We figure we'll just use Uber if the MK mornings are too crowded or for early adrs. The resort is still beautiful. I fully intend to take advantage of the awesome pool and relaxing on a hammock at sunset

 

[Alex8938]

Here's a recent video:

Watched your video. Can you give me a recommendation of where to stay at Carribean Beach? I will be there mid-August with my wife and 19-year old daughter. I would like to be close to transportation, pool/bar area and a reasonable food option. We are in either a garden or pool view room. Recommendation would be appreciated.

 

[MarinLezlie88]

Wanted to give my opinion on our recent trip. Me, my husband, and 13 year old daughter stayed 06/30 - 07/08. This was our 5th trip to CBR, but not within the last 4 years. I had been following this thread, so I was well informed of all the construction. I did not think it would matter to us but I was disappointed in some ways.
The new Riviera resort is huge and does take away from the look of the villages in its midst. One of the reasons we love CBR is the apparent seclusion, space, and peaceful feeling as opposed to what we experience all day in the parks. Couple this with gondolas floating overhead ( and those beams are massive!) and I get a whole new vibe to the resort. I also did not realize how much we would not like having the convenience and variety of the food court available. We got lunch once at Centertown and visited the Island market, but there was not much there. And no gift shop either. One positive that I hope stays are the Coke freestyle machines. They are available 24hrs and are often closer than refilling your mug at Port Royal.
The room was refurbished and quite clean. We did not refuse mousekeeping since we were there for a whole week. My daughter loved the Murphy bed (she is a small girl). The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were in the refillable hanging units. The hair products worked really well for my hair and were easier to dispense in the new containers. The room décor felt generic, and I miss the Nemo pattern. We were in Aruba, and as someone had mentioned before it is the last bus stop and buses were sometimes full or standing room only once arriving. They did seem to arrive within 20 mins except during very busy times or before the 4th of July fireworks.
Overall, I would stay again after the construction is completely finished. The preview pictures do look amazing and I am still hopeful that the resort will retain some of it's character.

Hey! Hey! Can i ask you a question as a CBR vet? We are wanting to stay there for our first time in about a year and a half (JAN 2020) and am looking for expert advice. Do you feel the bus's from the parks are better/easier to get on than say for instance a Value? Secondly when construction isnt going on, do you notice any bus issues?! My mother is in a wheelchair so am just wondering what to expect. Have been to WDW 10x but we always stay at a value, and last time, well..........it was a nightmare. Hoping a moderate will help this issue. Any suggestions?


Thank you so much!

 

[dis_guy]

Watched your video. Can you give me a recommendation of where to stay at Carribean Beach? I will be there mid-August with my wife and 19-year old daughter. I would like to be close to transportation, pool/bar area and a reasonable food option. We are in either a garden or pool view room. Recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks, but it's not my video, I just found it online. It's generally agreed that the most desirable non-preferred rooms are either the Aruba or Jamaica buildings that are closest to the bridge giving easy access to OPR and the main pool. We generally like to be nearer the bus stop. Have a look at a map to get an idea of relative locations at CBR and have fun planning!

 

[BraveEeyore]

Curious if anyone knows if or when the island pools close? I don’t remember ever seeing them closed for the night...

 

[dansdad]

Curious if anyone knows if or when the island pools close? I don’t remember ever seeing them closed for the night...

Officially they are open from 7AM-11PM.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I was able to switch our standard view room to a water view room. I put in a request for a Trinidad North with hopes of avoiding construction and less problems with busses. Fingers crossed! 23 days and counting!

 

[llouda30]

Hi, this is a little late, but I had posted here in April about room requests and if touring plans was worth it, we were at CBR for the first time in maybe 20 years? the last week of May with my 2 teen sons and my college son was there for 2 nights. Anyway, I was nervous about room size, construction, etc, but I thought it was GREAT!! I requested a ground floor, with a pull down bed, near the water and got all of that by sending my own fax about 3 weeks ahead. It was beautiful and I did not think the construction was much of an issue at all (we did not eat here though). Even with 5 of us in a room (3 big teen boys) I thought it was a great size, comfortable beds and a great trip. Hope that helps anyone wondering, I know we all have different views on things.