I think everybody will enjoy their stay at the CBR. We had been to WDW 10 times before we decided to splurge and stay onsite at the CBR. We instantly fell in love with the CBR. It's like getting a Disney vacation and tropical/beach vacation all rolled into one.
Jamaica is a great village to request without paying the extra money on a preferred location. We were in Jamaica Building 41, Room 4154. The upstairs, non-smoking room faces a beautiful courtyard. (I have pictures but am too computer illiterate to know how to post them so if anybody wants them, just private message me and I'll e-mail them to you.) We were less than a minute walk to the Jamaica quiet pool and beach, a 3 minute walk to the Jamaica bus stop and a 5 minute walk to the food court/main pool/marina/store, etc. Another plus for the village of Jamaica is the fact that you can see portions of the Epcot fireworks from the Jamaica beach.
Hockeydadof2boys:
I think just about everybody overlooked your restaurant question since they were so excited about the CBR (which they should be).
You guys should enjoy eating some of your meals at Old Port Royale. There's a wide variety of foods to choose from at the food court. We liked the Grab N Go station when we wanted something light.
We also thought that Shutters (also at the CBR) was good. Even our picky 9 year old found something he liked on the menu.
It doesn't take long for the bus service to take you to Downtown Disney. There, you will find oodles and oodles of places to eat. We have eaten at the House of Blues once but, since we are from Louisiana and eat Southern food all the time, we haven't eaten there again. The food was good though.
Your boys would probably enjoy eating at Planet Hollywood or Rainforest Cafe and they are at Downtown Disney as well. We have eaten just about everything at both of the restaurants and have found that you can't really go wrong with anything you order.
The burgers at Planet Hollywood are all great. The lasagna is super good too. All of the appetizers are yummy.
At Rainforest Cafe, you must order the Volcano dessert. It is three large (the size of a hand) hot brownies shaped like a volcano. Inside are three large scoops of vanilla ice cream. Drizzled all over are caramel and chocolate which are supposed to be the lava. They put a sparkler on top and when they bring it out and yell 'VOLCANO'.
You might also want to check out the Hoop Dee Doo Review. It is held at Fort Wilderness. Just take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and hop on the ferry to the Fort Wilderness resort. We allotted ourselves an hour travel time and got there on time. The songs are silly, the jokes are corny and the entertainers overact but it's really good. The food is great too. The meal is served family style and includes bbq ribs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, salad, baked beans, rolls and strawberry shortcake.
After the Hoop Dee Doo Review, you might want to walk around the Fort Wilderness grounds. They have carriage rides and the store sells some unique souveniers.
At the Magic Kingdom, we always eat at the Crystal Palace for a table service meal. It is a buffet so everybody will find something they like. Pecos Bills is good for counter service.
At Epcot, we never miss Garden Grill and LeCellier (if you can get in). Counter service just depends on where we are at the time. The different countries have great counter service meals.
At MGM Studios, Sci-Fi is our favorite. Great atmosphere and great food. Everything on the menu is good. For counter service, we like Toy Story Pizza Planet or Backlot Express. Toy Story Pizza Planet has arcade games that your boys would probably enjoy.
At Animal Kingdom there are no table service restaurants yet. Flame Tree BBQ is really, really good and Pizzafari runs a close second.
Hope this helps you guys out. I'm just countin' down the days until I'm lazing around in a Jamaica beach hammock (44 days!) Lisa
