Pirate Room vs. Pop Standard Room

[Haley R]

We are going Feb 27-March 4 and the new offers came up today. There aren't any that match our stay for Pop, but I did see that I could get the Play, Stay, and Dine package for only $200 more in the pirate rooms at the Caribbean. I read online that the pirate rooms are the furthest away from transportation. I've never stayed at either resort. I was excited about Pop, but a moderate resort is always nice.

Thoughts?

 

[earfulofmagic]

Haven't stayed at CBR, and have no interest in staying in a pirate room, so take this part with a huge rock of salt. (I realize you may have kids, and if that is something they're really excited by, that's a point in CBR's favor. And I'm giving my thoughts as a childless adult.)

I would not pay *more* to stay there during heavy construction... which should still be well under way during your trip dates. You can read about its progress in the CBR thread, on Disney's website, or on any number of Disney bloggers' websites complete with photos. I'm not sure what state the construction would be in at that point, as far as the dining/shopping/lobby goes. They have a temporary dining setup at the moment. Depending on how you eat, though, that might not be a big deal. I prefer to eat away from the resort for the most part, so the current dining setup probably wouldn't bother me.

So that's one amenity. I guess the others would be pool, theme, and possibly bus service?

Pool is somewhat negligible to me. I love swimming and swim almost everyday during trips, but am not really convinced that the pools at moderates are always "better" because of the slides. I liked that the Pop computer pool was quiet and uncrowded every time I swam.

Theme is totally up to you. I did not think I would like the theme at Pop, and was surprised that I love it.

Can't speak for CBR's bus service, but was happy to find that Pop bus service was frequent, efficient, and often empty (except for at park closing!). Another "perk" to Pop is that AofA is right over the bridge. If you don't mind a short walk, you can always hop on a bus headed for AofA (like if you're leaving a park and it arrives before a Pop bus) then walk back to Pop. Their food court offerings are a little nicer than Pop, with some more variety.

I also love the cheery, clean, sleek, functional, modern, cozy IKEA model home (meant in the best possible way) feeling of the refurbished Pop rooms. I think they're an excellent value for the price. Not sure I'd feel the same way if I stayed in one of the older rooms, which is definitely a risk until construction finishes. Although I'd hope by late February they'd have all of 70s complete in addition to 90s/80s. That would tip the odds in your favor of getting a refurbished room.

RE: Pop, you said that your dates aren't available. Have you tried a room-only discount? Or do you need the package?

Bottom line: If there's nothing available Pop-wise, I guess I would hedge my bets by booking the CBR package for now, keeping tabs on the construction updates, and frequently looking for an opening to downgrade out of a pirate room. While also checking for Pop (or a different moderate comparable price-wise?) to open up.

Someone else with recent experience at CBR, please reply. I am totally biased toward Pop after a great first time there in September!

 

[hllb]

We stayed at the pirate rooms last time we went (5 yrs ago). They were fine but small. The theming was nice. Loved the curtain you could close on the vanity. We'd leave that light on and close the curtain and the Jolly Roger glowed and was the perfect night light. The only other resort I've stayed at was AoA in a little mermaid room. I preferred AoA. We didn't use the transportation at CBR as we had a car that trip.

All that said, I personally would skip CBR because of the construction. It sounds pretty bad.

 

[Haley R]

Haven't stayed at CBR, and have no interest in staying in a pirate room, so take this part with a huge rock of salt. (I realize you may have kids, and if that is something they're really excited by, that's a point in CBR's favor. And I'm giving my thoughts as a childless adult.)

I would not pay *more* to stay there during heavy construction... which should still be well under way during your trip dates. You can read about its progress in the CBR thread, on Disney's website, or on any number of Disney bloggers' websites complete with photos. I'm not sure what state the construction would be in at that point, as far as the dining/shopping/lobby goes. They have a temporary dining setup at the moment. Depending on how you eat, though, that might not be a big deal. I prefer to eat away from the resort for the most part, so the current dining setup probably wouldn't bother me.

So that's one amenity. I guess the others would be pool, theme, and possibly bus service?

Pool is somewhat negligible to me. I love swimming and swim almost everyday during trips, but am not really convinced that the pools at moderates are always "better" because of the slides. I liked that the Pop computer pool was quiet and uncrowded every time I swam.

Theme is totally up to you. I did not think I would like the theme at Pop, and was surprised that I love it.

Can't speak for CBR's bus service, but was happy to find that Pop bus service was frequent, efficient, and often empty (except for at park closing!). Another "perk" to Pop is that AofA is right over the bridge. If you don't mind a short walk, you can always hop on a bus headed for AofA (like if you're leaving a park and it arrives before a Pop bus) then walk back to Pop. Their food court offerings are a little nicer than Pop, with some more variety.

I also love the cheery, clean, sleek, functional, modern, cozy IKEA model home (meant in the best possible way) feeling of the refurbished Pop rooms. I think they're an excellent value for the price. Not sure I'd feel the same way if I stayed in one of the older rooms, which is definitely a risk until construction finishes. Although I'd hope by late February they'd have all of 70s complete in addition to 90s/80s. That would tip the odds in your favor of getting a refurbished room.

RE: Pop, you said that your dates aren't available. Have you tried a room-only discount? Or do you need the package?

Bottom line: If there's nothing available Pop-wise, I guess I would hedge my bets by booking the CBR package for now, keeping tabs on the construction updates, and frequently looking for an opening to downgrade out of a pirate room. While also checking for Pop (or a different moderate comparable price-wise?) to open up.

Someone else with recent experience at CBR, please reply. I am totally biased toward Pop after a great first time there in September!

I think we are gonna go with Pop. I was excited to stay there in the first place and I want to check out the refurbished rooms. They look really nice and fresh! I was hoping for the 70s. I would hope they are both done by the time we get there, but I guess we will see.

I looked into room-only discounts and they only had it available for our first day. After being on the phone with a CM for about an hour today, we decided that wouldn't be the best option for us. We are using the DDP. Thanks for the replies! I'm more excited about Pop so I guess it worked out for the best.