Just back from Caribbean Beach & All Stars Movies any ?'s

[dsnylndmom]

We just got back yesterday. We stayed Saturday and Sunday at All Star Movies in the Buzz Building and then switched to the Caribbean Beach on Monday and stayed through Saturday.

We really really did not care for the All Star Movies, which is why we switched to Caribbean Beach. But we LOVED the Caribbean Beach

If you have any questions feel free to ask

 

[corvair]

What was it about the movies you did not like?? Why did you like CBR and what building were you in?? thanks..amy

 

[dsnylndmom]

Well, we knew that the rooms were going to be small so we expected that, what we didn't expect is the bugs that were constantly in front of our room trying to get into our room(we're talking 6 inch long cockroaches), the rude, snippy cast members, the peeling paint all over the resort and the pool with the murky funky water. Not to mention the sucky buses.

Oh we were in the Toy Story section building Buzz

Caribbean Beach was beautiful, the lake, the beaches the greenery. The staff was wonderful, the pools(there are like 7) were great and the rooms were roomy and nice. The kids loved searching for lizards and they also saw rabbits, frogs, ducks and even a raccoon! Plus, the drive to Epcot and MGM was like 5 minutes and the bus, except for one night, were very prompt. The only bad thing about the CB was the food court sucked, but that wasn't a big deal because we rarely ate there.

 

[TimeWarp]

What can you tell me about walking time to the food court. I read many comments that I should ask for Martinique or Trinidad N., I'd like to be close but then I realize most people will be asking for the same. So... what should I request if these two buildings are not available? And, did your family use the boat rentals? Worth the price? Is the lake completely surrounded by the CBR buildings or do you see other views by renting a water craft? Thanks.

 

[hunnypotmama]

Hi dsnylndmom! Don't I know you from another message board lol?

I am really sorry you didn't have a good stay at Movies! I have stayed there twice and didn't encounter the problems you did.

I am very glad you liked CBR...I have always wanted to stay there!

Glad you're back and that your resort situation improved!

~Heather

 

[safetymom]

dsnylndmom, could you please copy and paste your report on CBR in the FAQ thread listed below?

It would be helpful for those planning a trip to CBR. Thank you.

Timewarp, the lake is surrounded by all the buildings. There is a little area at the end near Trinidad South where there wasn't any buildings. You may see a lot of buildings but it is very pretty touring the resort by boat.

The kids loved the boats. Price is a little high but worth it.

 

[TimeWarp]

Thanks safetymom. I have been reading many of your posts including the FAQ. My boys are 10 & 11 and the boat rental is something they really would like to do. I'm just trying to get my budget straight. You may see many questions from me on your FAQ CBR sight. Do you have a thread that is Disney tips FAQ?

 

[safetymom]

Your boys will love the boats. It was money well spent for us. I look forward to your questions. No I don't have a tips FAQ.

 

[gswfan]

dsnylndmom, thanks for your report regarding CB. I'm glad you have a positive experience on your stay over there. We're going to be there Thursday and I'm glad we decided to stay at CB for our land portion of our vacation.

2 more days to our land/sea vacation!!

 

[caitycaity]

thanks for your post. we're staying at cbr on saturday and can hardly wait! it is a MUCH needed vacation.

 

[bobcat]

Wow things must hae changed in the past two weeks at ASMo We returned last week from the Buzz building and didn't have any of those problems

 

[ceecee]

Dirty pool water and peeling paint????????????? Oh, no. We are going in Sept. have never had problems with ASMO before (love bugs one year but they didn't bother us). Did you complain about the pool? What about the buses?

 

[dsnylndmom]

Wow things must hae changed in the past two weeks at ASMo We returned last week from the Buzz building and didn't have any of those problems

It was us and another family and as we walked around the resort we both noticed peeling paint all over the place and we saw the huge(man I tell you those suckers are big)around our room and all over the place where Rex, the checkers and stuff are.

The pool water in the main pool was murky both of the times when were there and all of us were extremely itchy afterwards(we didn't have this problem at the Caribbean Beach)

Dirty pool water and peeling paint????????????? Oh, no. We are going in Sept. have never had problems with ASMO before (love bugs one year but they didn't bother us). Did you complain about the pool? What about the buses?

We complained about the pool but got a snippy answer from a rude cm. The buses were not too hot. The filled up so quickly since there was so many people and the wait time between them was more like 30/45 minutes. But they weren't great at the Caribbean Beach either so that was the least of our problems there, but it was still a factor.

I have read many good reports about ASMo and was excited to stay there, I knew the rooms were small and was prepared for that it was everything else that killed it for us. At first I thought I was just being too critical but the other family felt the same way and even my 8 year old son was complaining about it. Maybe it was an off time or something, but it was bad enough that I would not like to return. There are too many other resorts to try out.

Sorry if my trip report is upsetting to some of you that are heading that way, but I wanted to be honest.

 

[Miscrapper]

Did you get any kind of a break on the rate when you switched to CBR?

We have friends who stayed at CBR in July after 2 previous All Star visits and they didn't think CBR was worth paying more for - they didn't think bus service was very good and they had to walk quite a ways to food court and pools.

I hope our experience at Movies in Oct is good - we have 3 rooms going so it might be hard to switch if things don't work out. We plan to request Dalmations buildings. I am sure the pool thing could change easily - after all pools can get murky and clear again with in a day or 2! And the bugs are kind of beyond anyone's control but the peeling paint - that sounds kind of icky. It is sad to see things not taken care of.

 

[dsnylndmom]

Did you get any kind of a break on the rate when you switched to CBR?

We paid $49 a night to switch, I think that's about normal rate.

We have friends who stayed at CBR in July after 2 previous All Star visits and they didn't think CBR was worth paying more for - they didn't think bus service was very good and they had to walk quite a ways to food court and pools

From our room we walked maybe 20/25 steps to the quiet pool and the walk to the food cour/main pool was very short and pleasant, maybe 5/7 minutes.

The buses weren't great at either place, but it was about 5 minutes to get to MGM and about that or a tad more to Epcot. So that was ALOT nicer than the All Stars.

For us it was a good switch, we were much more relaxed and happy for the remainder of the trip and we really enjoyed the Caribbean Beach, the CM's there was very good.

 

[jadyson]

Dsnylndmom--

I looked through your shutterfly album (great pics) and noticed you took your boys for the haircuts on Main Street. Please tell me all that you can about this.

Wait time?
Cost?
Youngest child you saw getting hair cut?

Mine will only be 16 months and he sits great for me to cut his hair, just hope he will like it.

Thanks.

 

[sters]

I have stayed at the All Stars twice and have not had the problmes you described. My only issue there is the very long wait to check in. I thought the pool areas were not crowded and very clean. I noticed (because I'm an early bird) that the CM sqeegie (sp?) the lounge chairs every single morning. As for bugs.. well, it's Florida! My room has always been clean, but cramped. Buses are okay... they each have their own to MK, which is more than I can say for the deluxe hotels around Epcot, which have to share with each other. But, buses to the other theme parks were shared, which could be a pain if ASMo was the last stop. Laundry facilities were inadequate for so large a resort, in my opinion. I'm sorry you had such an unmagical experience! You were smart to change resorts and salvage your trip.

I've never stayed at the Carribean, but my friend said that there was an internal bus around the place and THEN the regular bus, so depending on where you stayed, you could end up spending a lot of time commuting.

 

[dsnylndmom]

Jadyson~we walked right in about lunch time on a Friday afternoon, no wait. It cost $12 per child and they loved the pixie dust. If it's your child's first haircut you can get mouse ears that say First Haircut! It was sooo cute

My only issue there is the very long wait to check in.

OMG I had totally forgotten about the check in line! LOL it was ridiculous.

As for bugs.. well, it's Florida

I understand it's Florida but that doesn't mean that I want to open my door and be greeted by huge cockroaches! There was no problem with bugs at CB, so I can't attribute the bugs to just it being Flordia.

but my friend said that there was an internal bus around the place and THEN the regular bus

The internal bus and the park buses were two totally different buses. Some of the "islands" are located a long way from the Food Court so the CB provides an internal bus to get around the resort. The buses were not great at CB but they were defitnely better than the ASMo.