Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT Information & Questions

[Sharongal74]

I loved the walking around CBR, it was so pretty and peaceful. It was like no one else was there. I did like POR food better, but that's due to the pasta selection being better there. I wouldn't say the food was bad. My DH had several items at CBR that he though were fantastic! We liked the pool better at CBR also. i mush preferred the room decor over POR. I can't wait to go back in September! I'm sad we will only be there for 2 days.

 

[kitkat4622]

We have never stayed at CBR and our first time staying there is coming up soon. I too find it funny how people view things completely differently which is totally their right to do so. I almost rescheduled to another resort but I read so many more positive views than negative that I did not change the resort and I am sure myself and my 17 year old grandson will love the place.....I just wish it would come quicker (43 days to go)

 

[jocelyn6]

Requests can be noted on your reservation anytime from the day you book up until 4-5 days out. When within that timeframe makes zero difference. Hope you have a Magical Trip!

Thank you for the advice! We are soooooo looking forward to this trip and to get out of the snowpocalypse that we are living in right now!

 

[jamez2014]

I have never been able to truly figure out why the Unofficial Guide has had such an issue with CBR. It is our favorite Moderate by far and our 2nd favorite resort in all of WDW right behind the Boardwalk Inn. Unless you are staying in a Pirate Themed Room, the rest of CBR is the same size as CSR and POR. The furthest non Pirate Themed rooms are the same distance from the Main Feature Pool and the Food Court as the furthest rooms are at POR. We feel the food court is the best out of the ones we have tried. And we have tried them every food court on property except the one at CSR.

My theory is that CBR got a bad rep when it opened because it was the first non-deluxe resort built on property. It was designed and built to be a lower cost alternative to the Poly, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian. So of course it was not as nice as the original resorts, was more spread out, etc. I don't think it ever recovered from that. CBR was our favorite Moderate even when it was the only one without queen beds. And now that they have installed the queen beds, it's even more so.

I understand your feelings though. We were very big fans or POR and POFQ until having to switch to CBR for Free Dining years ago. We too read the horrible reviews/ranking for CBR and almost cancelled or switched back to POR. We are so glad we didn't. My whole family kept saying "did these people really stay here?" I couldn't understand it. We have recommended CBR to a whole bunch of our friends and family. Every one of them came back with glowing reviews and all have now had multiple stays at CBR.

We have been to CBR when it is at capacity and it never feels like it. We always feel like we're the only guests in our building even though we know we're not. It has such a laid back, relaxed atmosphere that is such a nice change from the craziness of the parks.


But shhh.....let's just keep this here in the CBR Thread. I don't want it getting out and making CBR more popular which will raise the price.

i was nervous till i read alot of the feedback on here, popular review sites tend to be packed with people complaining genrally, and people that are happy tend to not review, also i think a very popular reviw site, doesnt take into account where a resort/hotel has made improvements, so were they have had a bad patch and will consquently get a barrage of bad reviews its left there permantly, a fairer system would be to only take into account, say the last 12 months reviews, i think the disney resort rankings would then be re-shuffled a fair amount. just my thoughts anyway. I have stayed at SSR and POFQ so far and booked CBR as i wanted something a bit more tropical like the poly, but less exspensive, il see after this trip if i wish i booked POFQ instead.....

 

[lovingeire]

I will say I am a little nervous about our stay, but it's also because I've stayed at Riverside quite a bit recently and really love it. That said, we decided to book CBR because it was a bit cheaper during the expensive April time frame and because I haven't stayed there since the renovations and wanted to check it out. When I did stay at CBR in '09 we stayed in a pirate room and didn't think the walk was that far. (Again so subjective on the view on walking at the resorts) We also didn't have issues with the food court, but only ate breakfast there. So I'm cautiously optimistic that our stay in April will be awesome (have a preferred room booked this time) and we'll enjoy the resort and what it has to offer.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

"did these people really stay here?

I know, right????!!!

"the lowest rated Disney resort" in the Unofficial Guide

We have also stayed at all the mods, never a value so can't compare, have stayed at Poly and Contemporary... Out of all these choices CBR wins hands down. Love the peace and tranquility, the very comfy beds (soooo comfy), the pool, Shutters (omygoodness, soooo good) and above all the grounds!
Again as @dansdad says, CBR could be at capacity and you will never feel it. The buses are no worse or no better than any other mods, and the CMs are exceptional! (As is 99.9% of the entire WDW staff)

Try it, you won't regret it, and, you may just find your new Disney home!

(Also, I kind of enjoy knowing CBR doesn't get a lot of love, it keeps it a secret for me - lol!)
DH and DGS and his fiancée also love it, and funnily enough become upset when I suggest another resort... (Even YC with SAB - really?)

So again, try it and report back how your trip went!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

and we are totally unfit seniors!

LOL!

didn't think the walk was that far. (Again so subjective on the view on walking at the resorts)

Soooo subjective! To read some of these reviews you would think that (just like my dad - born in 1903) they walked both ways, uphill, through the snow FOR MILES, to a one room school house, heated only with a sputtering little stove! lol

Again I sometimes read the reports, especially on Trip Advisor, and just howl at the inaccuracies... I no longer respond, it's a useless endeavor!

 

[James McLaughlin]

I guess sometimes people just have bad experiences. Never had an issue the 3 times we've stayed. But sometimes things just don't fall into place. We stayed at DL Hotel about 6 years ago, and didn't have the best experience.

 

[buzznina]

I will say I am a little nervous about our stay, but it's also because I've stayed at Riverside quite a bit recently and really love it. That said, we decided to book CBR because it was a bit cheaper during the expensive April time frame and because I haven't stayed there since the renovations and wanted to check it out. When I did stay at CBR in '09 we stayed in a pirate room and didn't think the walk was that far. (Again so subjective on the view on walking at the resorts) We also didn't have issues with the food court, but only ate breakfast there. So I'm cautiously optimistic that our stay in April will be awesome (have a preferred room booked this time) and we'll enjoy the resort and what it has to offer.

This is us as well Our favorite Mod resort is POFQ, but like you CBR saved us a little bit of $$ and we also wanted to try it again since we have not been there in about 10 years. We also have no issues with resort sizes and no issues with WDW buses. We are not a believer in that "location, location, location" is very important and worth so much more $$. I have learned early on that I could get to the parks from any resort and the time difference is not as big as a lot of dissers post. From what I understand, OPR now has the pasta station, which is one of our favorite meals, so we were glad to hear about that. You will have the negative posters, that has never even stayed at a resort and yet comments about it. You also have a lot of people that act like a 5 minute walk is "forever" etc. I guess I am just lucky that our family no longer needs to rush everywhere when we are at WDW and have learned to relax and enjoy the resort themes and to not stress out over a late bus or over a packed monorail car

 

[IrishNYC]

I guess sometimes people just have bad experiences. Never had an issue the 3 times we've stayed. But sometimes things just don't fall into place. We stayed at DL Hotel about 6 years ago, and didn't have the best experience.

I think a lot of negative posts come from people that expect a $250 Hilton experience at a moderate Disney hotel. They don't take into account that they're paying more for Disney. I don't expect a motel 6 experience, but I'm also not expecting the same style room experience that I'd get in most other hotels in the price range that a mod falls into.

 

[CJK]

Big changes coming to Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs Resort - https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...coronado-springs-and-caribbean-beach-resorts/

 

[HopperFan]

"Also during this exciting time, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort will be reimagined with new additions to the resort’s current marketplace, Centertown, including new waterfront dining and retail shopping areas. This centralized location will offer the resort’s guests more convenient access to services, amenities and dining."

 

[rteetz]

Big changes coming to Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs Resort - https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...coronado-springs-and-caribbean-beach-resorts/

"Also during this exciting time, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort will be reimagined with new additions to the resort’s current marketplace, Centertown, including new waterfront dining and retail shopping areas. This centralized location will offer the resort’s guests more convenient access to services, amenities and dining."

Amenities are just the start for DVC.

 

[HopperFan]

Copied from Touring Plans, don't know their source

 

[SwanVT2]

Can any one compare the CBR beds to POR/POFQ beds? I have read some terrible reviews recently of the ones at Port Orleans resorts. We are torn between either Port Orleans resort or CBR for our 2018 stay. Also, I am wondering how much construction will be an issue Feb. 2018, although it seems it will mostly be dining/shopping, not room and pool spaces, which is good.

 

[dansdad]

Can any one compare the CBR beds to POR/POFQ beds? I have read some terrible reviews recently of the ones at Port Orleans resorts.

Ever since finding CBR 7 years ago, we haven't been back to POR or POFQ so we don't have recent experience with their beds. But I can say that after the switch to Queens at CBR the beds are lovely.

We are torn between either Port Orleans resort or CBR for our 2018 stay. Also, I am wondering how much construction will be an issue Feb. 2018, although it seems it will mostly be dining/shopping, not room and pool spaces, which is good.

From the official announcement yesterday, it appears the construction will be major. They will be doing extensive construction near the main feature pool so we don't know how that will be affected yet.

 

[Essexgirl]

I wish Disney would announce the date the main construction was due to start. We are arriving in mid May and it's hard to make informed choices without knowing if our holiday is going to be impacted by building work. We are traveling from the UK and staying for 14 nights, we love CBR and have been counting down the days. This trip is to celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary (but we're (Disney) kids at heart) , and this concern about what we will find when we arrive is casting a bit of a pall over things
On one of the UK Disney forums, people have been asking Disney about moving to another resort, but apparently no standard rooms are available anywhere, only preferred and the up charge quoted is huge, especially as most UK visitors stay for 14+ days.
I suppose it's a waiting game until we are given more information.

 

[disney20something]

I think a lot of negative posts come from people that expect a $250 Hilton experience at a moderate Disney hotel. They don't take into account that they're paying more for Disney. I don't expect a motel 6 experience, but I'm also not expecting the same style room experience that I'd get in most other hotels in the price range that a mod falls into.

I think that's so accurate! It's all about expectations/point of view. We fell in love with CBR knowing that the steeper price was because of it being on site, and not expecting the world from it. An open mind and taking the mods for what they do offer over a value is a must.

 

[disney20something]

Also, does anyone there right now have the current pool hours? We were disappointed by the early pool closure hours this time last year, as we used to hit the hot tub after the parks. Last year we barely touched it since it closed so early (but we'll be back in April, so worse comes to worst we can enjoy it then with later hours)...

 

[likesdisney]

It's probably too early to tell, but will the re imagining affect the pirate rooms at all? I'm hoping not, they are my favorite rooms.