The New Caribbean Beach FAQ Part VII

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

I would like to thank safetymom for over seeing the previous CBR PAQ Threads. I just hope I can do our favorite moderate resort justice!

Breaking News!!!
CBR is currently undergoing a room refurbishment. The rooms with 2 doubles will include the long awaited switch to Queen beds. The King rooms will keep the King beds and get new furnishings. The Pirate Rooms are excluded from the refurb. There is now confirmation of Murphy Beds being installed in some of the rooms which will up the occupancy from 4 to 5. The rooms with the Murphy beds are mixed in with non Murphy bed rooms in every village completed so far. So far the entire Village of Jamaica has been completed and all of Aruba has been completed. They have now started on Barbados 11. Logically, that would mean that Martinique is next the followed by Trinidad North. If they keep up the current pace, my best guess is that the will finish up with Preferred locations by the end of December. More updates to follow as more guests report back.

Picture of the Murphy Bed

Photo courtesy of Mickeystoontown

DISNEY'S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT General Information

Welcome to the CBR FAQ's Part VII.

Please sit back, kick your shoes off and enjoy reading about CBR. If you have any questions we will be glad to answer them. There are many friendly and knowledgeable people who hang out here.
I know these resort FAQ Threads get very long and it may seem like a chore to find the answer to what you are looking for. I will do my best to keep as much pertinent information on the first page. So if you are new to CBR, please read the first page. If after doing that you still have questions, fire away!

Phone: 407-934-3400 – Please note this number will not get you directly to CBR, it will get you to a Call Center.

For Shipping Packages:
900 Cayman Way
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Mailing Address For USPS deliveries:
Post Office Box 10,000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000
(If you use this address, items will go to a central hub and then distributed to the resort)

How to contact Guest Relations:
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Caribbean Beach has free wi fi at Shutters, Old Port Royale Food Court, Goombay Games, Calypso Trading Post and the Straw Market and the resort rooms.

CBR opened Oct. 1988. The resort is arranged around a 42 acre lake. The size of the resort is 200 acres and has 2,112 guest rooms.

Where can I find a map of CBR?
http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/CBMapFront.pdf

The Villages:
There are 6 villages at CBR.
Trinidad North- 192 Rooms - Terra Cotta, Bronze, Green color scheme
Trinidad South - 384 Pirate Themed Rooms Terra Cotta, Bronze, Green color scheme
Martinique - 384 Rooms - Sea Blue, Red/Pink Trim color scheme
Barbados - 384 Rooms - Salmon, Pink/Teal color scheme
Aruba - 384 Rooms - Pink Purple with Teal Roofs color scheme
Jamaica- 384 Rooms- Yellow, Blue

From the Martinique Courtyard - Courtesy of Toffeewoffy

Jamaica Courtesy of mickeystoontown

Jamaica 45

Bedding:Two Double beds, refurb to queens currently underway, are in each room except rooms with king beds. Rollaways $15.00 plus tax. Pack-n-Play available on request (under 3 years)

Each village has its own pool.

Rooms can accommodate up to 4 people. There is a curtain between the room and the sink area. Coffeepots, full size ironing boards and irons, hair dryer are provided. Mickey bar soap and shampoo is provided daily.
They are all 2 story buildings. They have no elevators. They also now have refrigerators in every room.

Preferred locations
Martinique it will be buildings 24, 25, 26. In Trinidad North it will be 31,32,33. The additional charge will be $15 per night.

How do I check in at CBR? Where can I buy tickets?

You will need to stop at the guard shack before entering CBR. Be sure to have your room confirmation and a Photo ID to show the guard. He will direct you to the Customs House. There is a guest services window in the Customs house. They can help with information, priority seatings, ticket information.

If arriving via Disney’s Magical Express you will be dropped off at the Custom House. After you check in, you have a couple of choices to get to your room. If you have your luggage with you, you can have Bell Services take you and your luggage to your room. If your luggage will be delivered to your room by Magical Express you can either walk to your room or take the internal shuttle to your village. To the right of the check in desk there is a side door that leads directly to the Internal Shuttle bus stop.

Some folks do not like the fact that the Check-in/Check-out area is in a separate building from the food court, gift shop, etc. I actually find this to be a good thing. By having this in a separate building, it keeps the food court area less congested and chaotic. There is no reason to go to the Custom House other than to Check-In or Check-Out. There is a Concierge Desk near the food court that can handle anything that the front desk would.

Inside the Custom House - Courtesy of mickeystoontown

Inside the Custom House - Courtesy of mickeystoontown

How far is it to walk around the lake?

The distance around the lake is 1.4 miles. It is great for walking or jogging.

What is the island in the middle of the lake?

The island is called Caribbean Cay(used to be called Parrot Cay). It has several play areas for kids and some tucked away romantic benches for adults. There are bridges that connect the island to the mainland. It is great to walk around the island and enjoy the views.

Can you swim in the lake?

No. Swimming is not allowed in any of the lakes on WDW property. You may play on the beaches, but no swimming in the lake.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

The Nemo Rooms

The guest rooms at CBR are the largest of the Moderates at 340 sq. ft as opposed to 314 sq. ft. There is a Cuisinart 2-Cup pod type coffee maker in the room. I will get a picture shortly.

The TVs have HDMI, Component and Composite connections that are accessible.

This is how the Nemo themed rooms currently look. I will update once pictures of the refurbished rooms come in.

The bedspread is now gone and turned into a runner.

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of Toffeewoffy

Courtesy of mickeystoontown

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of safetymom.
As you can see here, the beds are on a pedestal so no storage under the bed.

Courtesy of safetymom.
We have found that with the fridges located inside a cabinet, there is not enough air flow to properly cool. We have started leaving the cabinet door open when leaving the room. When doing this, we sometimes can get the water bottles in the back to freeze. The new fridges may be more efficient, but if you feel the fridge is not cold enough try leaving the cabinet door open.

Courtesy of Mickeystoowtown

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtey of Toffeewoffy

Courtesy of safetymom.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

The Pirate Themed Rooms

The Pirate Themed Rooms are all located in Trinidad South. Trinidad South is the furthest Village from Old Port Royale and the feature pool. Even at a relaxed pace it is about 8-10 minute walk from the furthest point of Trinidad South to Old Port Royale. I timed this while stopping to take pictures along the way. Trinidad South has its own quiet pool and bus stop so you will be very close to both of those.

These pictures were taken of a handicapped accessible room so the bathroom in a standard Pirate Themed Room will be different.

Courtesy of safetymom.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

I have been told from a very reliable source that the Children's Splash area will be closed for some work from September 2nd -26. They said that the main pool will NOT be affected. It is only the Children's Splash area

Pirate Themed Feature Pool

All of the Disney resorts have started closing the main feature pools and hot tubs once the lifeguards go off duty. This was sort of the rule before, but as long as you were quiet you were fine. CBR has a gate around the Pirate Pool and is locked once the lifeguards are gone. Currently, the Pirate Pool is open from 9AM until 11PM. Those hours are subject to change during the winter months.

Pool use is for registered guests of CBR and DVC members. During peak occupancy times, DVC members may not be allowed to use the pool.

Pools are heated to approximately 82 degrees at all Walt Disney World Resorts.

For safety, diaper-age children must wear plastic pants or swim diapers.

Towels are provided at the Pirate pool.

There is a large bin of life jackets that can be used by guests free of charge.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of safetymom.

There are 2 hot tubs.

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of safetymom.

There are 2 slides.

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of safetymom.

I have been told from a very reliable source that the Children's Splash area will be closed for some work from September 2nd -26. They said that the main pool will NOT be affected. It is only the Children's Splash area

There is a children’s splash area for guests under 48”.

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of safetymom.

There are locker rooms with showers at the Pirate Pool.

Courtesy of safetymom.

Courtesy of safetymom.

The Banana Cabana

A nice place to get a tropical drink while relaxing at the pool. Sorry, the only picture I had is from early morning when it's closed.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

The quiet pools.

Every village has its own quiet pool. There are no towels or life jackets available at the quiet pools. The quiet pools are swim at your own risk.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

There are laundry facilities at all the quiet pools. Your Magic Band will get you access to the laundry room 24 hours a day.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Currently the machines take quarters only. There are change machines in each laundry room, but do sometimes run out of change.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

There are laundry supplies available in each laundry room at a premium.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

There are 10 washers and 12 dryers in each laundry room. It is $2 each for the washer and approximately a 20 minute dryer cycle.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Old Port Royale

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Old Port Royale, affectionately known as OPR, is where the action is.

Shutters

A table service restaurant. In 2012 Shutters got a new head chef and reviews have been very good since then. Shutters is only open for dinner and does take Advanced Dinner Reservations. We have not had any issues getting seated within 15 minutes without an ADR.

Dinner and Kids Dinner menus:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.id=308

Grab N Go Market

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Grab N Go Section of the food court pictures taken by Deb123 the week of August 4th:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1698
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1715

Food Court

The food court has 6 different stations that all serve different items. Everyone can go to a different station and get what they want, then you can all meet at the cash registers in the middle and settle up.
The handmade potato chips are fantastic. They also sell a kids meal that is served in a sand bucket that the kids can use on the beaches.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Courtesy of Toffeewoffy

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Courtesy of Mickeystoontown.

Food court pictures taken by Deb123 the week of August 4th:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1749
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1789

The following are all courtesy of mickeystoontown.

Decaffinated coffee dispensers which are near the end of the long condiment/microwave/mug wash counter:

Microwave available for guests' use:

Condiments:

Condiments and toasters:

Toasters, condiments and the mug wash sink at the end of the counter:

Gold Peak Tea

Coffee dispensers to the left of the Gold Peak tea:

Drink selections:

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Recreation and Activities

Unfortunately, in what I feel is a very shortsighted decision, the Boat Rentals are no longer offered at any of the Moderate resorts. The official word is that there was not enough interest to keep them going. If you are bothered by this and are so inclined, please make your opinion known during your next stay. Boat rentals are still active at the Deluxe resorts.

Marina Without the Boats - Courtesy of mickeystoontown

Nightly Marshmallow Roast

On one of the beaches by the Pirate Pool (I am waiting for confirmation of which one) there is a marshmallow roast. This is a nice activity and the CMs that run it are usually full of awesome WDW trivia and lore. The marshmallows and roasting sticks are provided free of charge. If you want to make S’mores you will have to bring your own Graham Crackers and Hershey Bars. Both of these can be purchases in the Gift Shop at not too big of a mark up. The start time will vary by time of year and will be listed on the monthly Activity Sheet you will get upon checking in.

Here's the Activities Calendar for September.

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/resorts/wdw/pdf/CBR-Calendar.pdf

Nightly Movies Under The Stars

Movies are played nightly in the courtyard next to the Pirate Pool. Starting times change as the time of sunset changes. They usually start 90 minutes after the Marshmallow roasting starts. The time and movie listings will be in the Activity Sheet provided upon checking in. The movies change monthly. Here are the movies for June.

8:30PM - By the Feature Pool
Sundays – Pocahontas
Mondays – Winnie the Pooh
Tuesdays – Toy Story 2
Wednesdays – Planes
Thursdays – Camp Rock
Fridays – Brother Bear
Saturdays – The Muppets

Caribbean Cay

The island in the middle of the lake is called Caribbean Cay.

Courtesy of mickeystoontown

There is a nice children’s play area located there.

There are also children’s play areas on every village beach.

Guided Fishing Excursions

As of now, fishing excursions can still be booked at CBR. Up to 5 guests included in the below prices:
2 hour trip 7AM or 10AM departure $270
2 hour trip afternoon departure $235
4 hour trip 7AM or 10AM departure $455

Courtesy of Sparkly

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Transportation

The only mode of Disney transportation to the parks or Downtown Disney are buses. Every village has its own bus stop and there is one at OPR. That makes for 7 bus stops within CBR. The order of pick up or drop off depends on which entrance the bus driver uses. If the bus comes in the side entrance the order is:

Jamaica
Aruba
Barbados
Martinique
OPR
Trinidad North
Trinidad South

If the bus comes in the main entrance the order is:

Martinique
OPR
Trinidad North
Trinidad South
Jamaica
Aruba
Barbados

The entire loop takes approximately 7-9 minutes from pick up until you are leaving CBR. Below are approximate travel times in minutes to the parks:

Magic Kingdom 17-19
Epcot 7-9
Hollywood Studios 6-8
Animal Kingdom 9-11
Blizzard Beach 7-9
Typhoon Lagoon 6-8
Downtown Disney 7-9

Internal Bus

There is an internal bus that continuously does a loop around the property. It stops at the 7 bus stop listed above plus stops at the Custom House. Luggage is not allowed on the Internal Buses although carry on bags are fine. If you need assistance getting your luggage from your room to the Custom House to catch the Magical Express call Bell Services. I like to call them the night before and setup a time. They will transport you and your luggage to the Custom House. If when you check in you have all your luggage with you, Bell Services will take you and your luggage to your room from the Custom House.

Early AM ADRs

The buses start rolling at 6:30AM to accommodate early ADRs at the parks. These buses do not run as often as they do normally. Instead of a bus coming about every 20 minutes, I have found these early AM buses come about every 30 minutes. When we have early ADRs we are at our bus stop 60-75 minutes prior to our ADR and we have never missed one.
If we have an early ADR at another resort, we prefer to take a taxi. By going from resort to resort via Disney transportation you need to go from CBR to a park then from that park to the other resort. That’s just too much when trying to get somewhere quickly in my opinion. I don’t think we’ve paid more than $19 including tip to go anywhere from CBR.

I have found this map to be very useful when trying to navigate WDW as a whole. You can click on the map to enlarge it.

http://www.wdwfocus.com/img/map/wdw-transport-map-full.png

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

The Gift Shop

The following pictures were taken in the resort store and represent some of the items considered as snack options on the dining plan:

All Courtesy of mickeystoontown

Food items and other items available for sale in the CBR store taken by Deb123 the week of August 4th:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1698
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1715

Gift shop/resort store pictures:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1789

The Arcade

Courtesy of mickeystoontown

Arcade picture taken by Deb123 the week of August 4th:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52021451&postcount=1715

Concierge Desk

There is a Concierge Desk at OPR. Because of this, there is no need to go to the Custom House for anything other than checking in or out of CBR. If you have any issues, I recommend not using the “Front Desk” button on your room phone. That will only get you to a call center most likely not even located on property. This is true at all WDW resorts. They still might be able to help you, but it usually is not a very quick process. The Concierge Desk can assist you much quicker than calling the “Front Desk”.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Online Check In

Once you are 60 days out from your arrival date, you will get notification in your MDE account that you are able to do Online Check In. You are not really checking in when you go through the Online Check In process. They really should call it Online Preregistration as that is what you are actually doing. You are verifying your personal information, adding a Credit Card for charging back to your room and you can also add 2 room requests. Below are the first 2 screens you come to. The first one allows you to inform them of your estimated arrival time and departure times.

This page lists the options available for room requests.

Both the above are courtesy of Princess Nikki

If what you want to request is not one of the options, I recommend calling and adding your room requests to your reservation. You can do this anytime from the day you book up until about 4-5 days prior to your arrival. All rooms are assigned 2-3 days out, so you want to have your requests listed before then.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Pics and/or details of items I am hoping to get from the awesome DIS members:

Pics and location of the fire pit
Pics of the outdoor movie area

Any of the above you guys can provide would be great. Either send a PM or email me at cbrthread@gmail.com

Thanks!!!

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Beach Bum's Roll Call ~ Who will be staying at CBR and when.

September
DLM462 18-28
connie1042 19-27
LoveSplashMountain 19-27
smidgy 19-27
MmmSuite 19-27
MagicEars 19-28
Trinity524 20-26
sewmess 20-27
laurasmom 20-27
leosmom08 20-27
deliasmom 20-27
Jack&Ryan'smom 20-27
Ava 20-27
heathjh 20-28
sbarisch 20-28
wdw4rfam 20-30
SunnyDey 21-26
Kayteemcg 21-27
Pinkzeppe 24-30
dreamit 25-Oct 4
AKFrieze 25-Oct 4
Meldev 26-Oct 3
TheGreatGafsby 26 - Oct. 3
Lovedisney2008 26 - Oct. 3
2girlsmomma 26 - Oct. 4
troyseyfert 26 - Oct. 4
gordon8219 26 - Oct. 7
casey10 27-?
stretch828 27 - Oct. 4
MegEliz 27 - Oct 9
daisy 'n Donald 28 - Oct. 3
talkdisneytome 28 - Oct. 4
JamieLM 28 - Oct. 5
Cyrra 28 - Oct. 9
MsMinnieMouse246 29-Oct. 9
pkelly6 29 - Oct. 4
Jupiter&Wolfe 30 - Oct. 4
Honeystar120608 30 - Oct. 7
Kevinisagirl 30 - Oct. 11
wdwmaw 30 - Oct. 12

October
mandis77 1-8
Brassy5000 1-8
pirate 1-11
Chaitali 2-7
HatBoxHaint 2-9
Dstigall 4-11
nycbutterfly0923 4-11
DancinDaisyDuck 5-9
laurapoppins18 6-20
my2ms0205 9-14
MnMMouse 9-23
notrub98 11-14
WindyCityGirl23 11-15
Sunspark107 12-15
jjharts 15-20
DisPrncess19 17-24
DisPrncess19 17=24
BishopsMoM 17-25
mandy321 18-25
msteffen 18-25
minniemumma 18-29
SarBear 19-24
bballurio 21-28
CantSwim63 23-28
MOdisneymom 24-30
amandaleigh2 25 - Nov 1
Donald - my hero 25 - Nov 8
Mikeyjtecumseh 26-30
mobulldog 26 - Oct. 1
kelly3927 26 - Nov 3
mparadis718 27 - Nov. 3
P'colaBeachBum 28-30
GoOfyInDisNEy 28 - Oct. 4
Gottahavemorecowbell 28 - Nov 6
tanyali26 31- Nov 7
patClairesmom 31- Nov 8

November
Grandmaof2 1-8
fiestymama 1-8
Daly 1-9
gr8tdame 1-15
summersun47 3-17
jeg721 6-22
WDW1st-timers 7-23
firegurl 8-15
Betsyboo75 8-16
sandydk 9-15
kristinesgeorge 9-16
Cindyrella8129 11-18
mousaholic 11-18
jazzman55 11-19
lilkimmyk 12-19
BStew 12-17
k3mommy 12-22
Runner225 13-16
madoucemie 13-20
bluesky481 13-23
VDrolet 14-20
Mbuksa 14-24
tinamariec 14-23
boundfordisney 15-20
JacknDawn4ever 15-22
Happy Mama Shel 15-23
jlmatheo 15-23
Gwhitten98 15-23
bcalloway 16-22
disneyseniors 18-26
Jellybass 20-27
tiggore91 20-29
afinnteach 22-20
nikkij 22-27
mevelandry 24-27
Crazy Kanga 26-30
catbertdave99 29- Dec 4
mickey1968 30 - Dec. 6

December
katyj26 3-10
ILUVDizney 5-13
WhoDat09 12-17
Kenai1972 11-17
AmyKat 12-17
tiggerjenn 12-18
TinkLovinMomma 12-19
sisterteacher 12-19
Orph 12-19
huladancer1984 12-19
welshraz 12-20
cklemesrud 12-20
mellamom2 13-18
jcondrad 13-20
Austriankrystl 13-20
colemarie 13-20
vdoucet78 13-21
laekia 13-21
Airship Ariadne 14-20
disneychristmasx3 15-22
pigletto 15-22
Mom2DisneyKids 17-26
dissupermom 17-27
dworldlovers 18-24
ChristyBey 18-25
kjd0214 18-27
Pearson85 18- Jan. 1
themommy 19-30
eecc95 20-26
Eeep 20-26
laura428 20-27
crusoe2 20-27
Kevenswife2 20-31
"Cinder" Ella's Mom 21-27
JaydaNicole 21-28
PhoenixStrength 21 - Jan. 1
jimjenkids 22-27
dae3dae3 22-30
ErinsAuntMimi 23-27
meli121824 27 - Jan 2

2015

January
Dug720 8-12
bpd528 9-14
ryckpen 25-30

February
hcox31 1-7
jdd 20-24
martiniglassesforme 21-27

March
Toffeewoffy & Sparkly 1-15
disneyfam2015 28 - Apr. 3

April
Dislaroger 6 -10
gtm 11-25

May
LadyP ?-?
awalker1015 9-16
Connie96 9-16
mickeystoontown 23 - June 6
mcever4 29 - June 7

June
JennyAnne 5-11
Beezle2 11-18
ABDonovan 13-19
NJDisneyfan06 23-30

July
howlongtillsummer? 25 - Aug. 15

August
debster41 23-31
Derryfam 24 - Sept. 5
msmith1026 26 - Sept. 6

September
Trina0981 12-18
hsmamainva 24-Oct. 2

October
Jeszee 12-26
ninmouse 18-30

November
ChrisToria 4-18
dis_guy 7-14
stitchfan75 12-22

December

MmmSuite · Jun 2, 2014

Yay! New thread!

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Because I wanted to get this new thread going before the other one got shut down, I took some liberties with pictures.

I want to thank safetymom and mickeystoontown, I hope you guys don't mind I used some of your pictures. If you have any issues with that, please let me know. :worship:

HatboxHaint · Jun 2, 2014

dansdad said:
Beach Bum's Roll Call Who will be staying at CBR and when.

Oct 2-9!

Princess_Nikki · Jun 2, 2014

Thank you, dansdad!! I'm excited for a new thread. I have pictures I will email you of our latest stay that you are looking for. I think I may have taken a few in the arcade, I'm not sure.

I also have a picture of the new h2o spa soaps, shampoos, and conditioners they put out in the rooms.

dansdad · Jun 2, 2014

Princess_Nikki said:
Thank you, dansdad!! I'm excited for a new thread. I have pictures I will email you of our latest stay that you are looking for. I think I may have taken a few in the arcade, I'm not sure.

I also have a picture of the new h2o spa soaps, shampoos, and conditioners they put out in the rooms.

Thank you!! That would be great!

BrownMomma7 · Jun 2, 2014

Thanks for the new thread! Awesome job!!! We can't wait for our first stay at CBR Sept. 19-24. Yay

MmmSuite · Jun 3, 2014

I'll be there with my family September 19th-27th!

heathjh · Jun 3, 2014

We have 26 in our party. I will be there Sept 20th- Oct 1st. The majority of our group is coming Sept 20th-28th. My inlaws decided they would rather the whole family go to Disney instead of just the two of them going to England for their retirement trip. Best inlaws EVER!!!

The New Caribbean Beach FAQ Part VII

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