Trouble deciding - WL or CBR to save $300?

[wdwobsessed]

Hi,

I currently have a FTP booked for Labor day week at the WL. I have stayed at the WL before and liked it "fine" ... we thought the rooms at WL were kind of small and the view was "eh" unless you can afford courtyard (we can't). However, we liked the lobby and the decor / details. The pool was nice and we liked the closeness to MK. CM's were also nice. I said I would stay there again, but only courtyard!! Well, the package price was way below any other deluxe resort .... so we opted for WL, standard view as courtyard is too $$.

I could have booked CBR instead for $300 cheaper. My main concern is that our only experience with a non-deluxe was when we stayed at ALL Star Movies and we did not like it. The rooms and grounds were fine. It was the fact that we had such a long walk to the pool / food court / bus stop. Then at every park our bus stop was the furthest away. We also found the CM's left something to be desired. I guess we felt a little more like "cattle" than "guests." It also took FOREVER to get to a park and back on the busses because All Stars seemed so far away from everything but AK. I joked with DH about being able to save tons if we just stayed at the AS again and he said "Not on your life, no way"

So my worry is that CBR will be the same? Room size is not a factor because the rooms are just as big as WL. I'm sure we would like the theming. I'm worried about the same issues being a problem with busses and extra walking and the time it takes to get to parks.

How would you compare CBR to the All Stars? How would you compare WL to the CBR?

Can a family who typically likes deluxes and disliked the AS be happy with CBR?

Or should I just bite the $300 and stay at WL?

Money is tight!!! So this is a concern for us.

Thanks!

WDWO

 

[daannzzz]

Caribbean Beach is very much in the middle of WL and All Stars as far as amenities go. As far as length of walk to pools and food court that is a toss up. You could be assigned a room that is a long walk to the food court, shops and main pool. CBR however has 6 other pools, one in each village. There is a bus stop in each village as well. You are never very far from a pool or bus stop. You could request a room in Matrinique or Trinidad North and that would put you close to the main area but as you know your request is not guarenteed.

 

[clutter]

Hmmm, I like the all stars just fine, expecially for the money it saves us!!!

I the walking was a pain, but it never bothered me.

However, I LOVED CBR. First the bus stops are at each island, so you don't have just the one, common stop at the hotel. That being said, it can be a trek to get to the food court. (and I see a lot of complaints about the walking distance to the stops) You could request one of the islands right next to the food court, but being Labor Day, I don't know that you'd get it. However, we got our first choice, Aruba, across the cay, when we were there in May, and they were supposedly over 90% full. I really enjoyed the walking at CBR, it has such an island feel. So that 7-10 minute walk was a treat!

But I'm not a big WL fan. It was "fine", but not really worth the extra money. I love the All Stars, love the price, and it works fine for us. But we usually have a car, so the walking wasn't too much of an issue. But I fell totally in love with CBR.

Good luck making your decision. Whatever it is, have a great time!!!

 

[jel0511]

wdwobsessed - I actually had the EXACT same quandry as you for our July trip. We wanted to extend our stay and we were out of DVC points. We really didn't want to spend too much money, since we had just been to WDW in Feb, and were just trying to be conservative. Whenw e were there in Feb, we visited the CBR. It is a beautifual resort and we "thought" it would be o.k. s our extender. Well, after MUCH thought and our "dislike" for the All Stars, we decided to move to WL for the following reasons.

1. I have a dislike for the "motel" feel to the place. I like inner hallways when getting to your room. Seems like you get less bugs this way.
2. Even though there is a bus stop at every village, it take a good 10 - 15 minutes to drive around the resort, without having to stop at each village to let people off/on. Seemed like it would be a trek just to get out of the complex.
3. The possibility of being far from the food court/pool area. I wouldn't have minded a 5 minute walk, but anything more than that is a trek, especially when you're trying to get breakfast for my two hungry kids!!
4. We peeked into one of the rooms there, and again, I got that motel feel. It looked a LOT like the All Star room, just a tad nicer IMO.
5. The WL is one of our favorite resorts and we just feel comfortable there.
6. It's not like the extra money was going to kill us. I'm actually still trying to convince DH to stay at the GF for those days!!!

I have to say that I think the CBR is a beautiful resort, just not for us. Again, there is a resort for everyone at WDW, which is whyit's such a great destination.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Thanks so much for the input you guys! So fast too!

Lori --- I have to say that your post was the clincher for me that we are going to stick with WL. I know that we will be happy there and we need to play it safe since we will be "stuck" in one place for 7 nights. I'd still like to try CBR someday for a shorter trip.

Thanks

wdwo

 

[AspiringCindy]

You've made the right descision! Even though we haven't stayed at CBR, we have stayed at POR, ASMu and WL. Of course WL is our favorite, but when we are on a budget, I definitely prefer AS over most of the moderates. With AS, you get a motel-like room,but you also get a nice price. I don't feel that the savings is that significant of the moderates over WL. If you were not happy with ASMo, then I don't think you would like CBR.
*I do hear that CSR is really nice though!

 

[BostonMouse]

While room size may be comparable, bed size may not. WL has queens while the moderates have fulls. Maybe it doesn't matter to you but we prefer a larger bed.

 

[Pig Pen]

When we finally stayed on site (All Stars) we were impressed and thought it was fabulous.

Then we "splurged" on a moderate .... "no more All Stars for us!"

Well, we just returned from a stay at VWL and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!

No more moderates for us!

 

[kdibattista]

For $300 I would definitely book WL!!!!

 

[BrianD]

Believe me, stick with WL, you'll be glad you did!

 

[wdwobsessed]

Yeah ... we have stuck with the WL and I'm glad! Like I said, we have stayed there before and liked it fine. We are really YC fans but that was another $500 and just out of budget this time!!

I'll try a moderate sometime when we are splitting our stay. The resort is important to us so we want to make sure we are happy being somewhere for 7 days!

I'm getting really excited.

Thanks for the reassurance.

wdwo