I made reservations to stay at the Caribbean Beach during the
free dining promotion, but we could only book a standard room. Upon our arrival, do you think we can upgrade to a better category? Should we (what does "standard" mean anyway?!)? We're going Labor Day week so I have no idea how the crowds will be or how booked this resort will be. I have no experience with the moderate resorts and don't know what to expect. I'm not sure that the "standard" view will be all that bad, but, again, I have no idea. Your advice, tips and general comments about the "standard" rooms and the resort in general are greatly appreciated!
Michele
CBR has 4 "reservable" room categories: standard, preferred location, water view and king-size bed.
Except for the king-size bed, all rooms are identical on the interior ... same furnishings, same size, same amenities, etc. The only differences are in location (except of course the king-szie bed rooms have 1 king-size bed instead of 2 double beds).
As mentioned earlier, preferred location guarantees you are in one of the 6 buildings closest to Old Port Royale (which means less walking). Water view guarantees you a view of a quiet pool or Barefoot Bay, and there's no way to guarantee one or the other. And of course, there's the king-szie bed rooms. Each of these room upgrades costs $15-$26 extra per night, depending on season. The strange thing is, Doisney won't let you pay for and reserve more than one upgrade per room. In other words, you can't pay $30-$52 extra per night to guarantee yourself a king-size bed in a water view room. If you want more than one of these, you reserve one and you request the other(s).
For the OP, if you were only able to book a standard room, that must mean that all of the other categories are sold out. If Disney is getting extra money from all those other people, they obviously won't dispalce one of them, to whom they've guaranteed that type of room, in order to give it to you for free. So I'd say your only chance is other people cancelling their reservations. If one of those upgrades is important to you, you should call Disney on a daily basis and ask if there are any openings ... that worked for me last time! But again, since Disney charges for those other types of rooms, hoping to get one for free at time of check-in is a very slim hope indeed.
Personally, I wouldn't pay for a certain view at any of the Moderate resorts, because of the exterior corridors. Your door and window open onto these public walkways, so if you have your curtains wide open to enjoy your view, then everyone walking by has a great view of YOU!