Why Do Some People Dislike CBR?

[donnajz]

I am booking a 2 week vacation for this May...just DD19 and myself. I keep going back and forth between POP and CBR. My first choice would be POR, second choice POFQ; however, standard rooms are not available when we are going. We stayed as POP before and loved it...but we love the moderates more due to the extra sink, fridge in room, and probably mostly because of the covered bus stops with seats.

People seem to either love or hate CBR so I am wondering what makes you dislike CBR?

 

[SusieBea]

I've never understood this either. The only thing that occurs to me is the "perception" that it's too spread out, that there's too much walking to the central area where the food court and feature pool are.

 

[DebbieB]

I've stayed there a couple of times and liked it. I thought the tropical landscaping was beautiful. My first trip I stayed close to the food court (Martinique), the second time about a 5 minute walk (Barbados).

 

[Mousemommy1]

Honestly, you will find that people either love or hate all of the Disney resorts. None of the resorts are going to be a fit for all people, so there will be lovers and haters. For us, we stayed at CBR in Feb 2011 and we found it to have beautiful grounds, clean rooms, great Mousekeeping (which we had read was not so great). We did find that it was quite large, I think a PP had stated that when she stayed in Barbados, it was a 5 minute walk to OPR...however, we were in Barbados...and perhaps if it were just DH and I, it would have taken 5 minutes, but after a full day in the park, with 2 small children, the walk was about 10 minutes with them either dragging behind, or us carrying them all the way over...not ideal. That was our biggest detractor to the resort...oh, and we didn't like the internal bus set up, as it seemed like we were always the last stop when we just wanted to get off!!! Other than that, I think I would go to CBR again, if it was just DH and I, but not with the kids.

 

[goofy4tink]

Why? Because no one resort is going to 'get it done' for everyone. I'm one of the few people you will find that just doesn't care for the GF. I have absolutely no desire to stay there. But, I love BW!! Also love Pop and POR. I tried OKW and found it just wasn't my cup of tea, but others absolutely love it there.
Not surprising that some don't care for CBR. After all...not everyone loves chocolate!!!

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

For me, it was the overall feel of the resort. It just wasn't to my liking, at all.

We love the vibe at Pop (and price) so much more.

 

[tosha27]

Just subjective opinions. People with different personalities like different things. And it also depends on the experience. I did not like CBR and would choose a value resort over it any day.
We stayed 2 days in May 2010. I don't know if it was just bad timing/luck but we did not enjoy our stay. We were about as far away from the food court as you could get. The food court was very disappointing compared to others. I didn't realize we were on the last bus stop when we booked this place. Only being there 2 days this was an issue with us. We saw a lot of snakes which kind of creeped me out, but it is Florida so I guess it's the norm. (haven't seen them anywhere else though).
Honestly, I just did not feel the magic a CBR, whereas at the All Stars it just feels magical. I like all the little kids running around crazily and all the big colorful things.
Maybe I would have a different opinion if my husband and I were going alone and seeking peace and quiet.

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking CBR, it is a beautiful place, but I think it just depends on what type of stay you are looking for. The pros - nice lake, bicycle/boat rentals, cool pool, you can see some of the fireworks, and it's peaceful. The cons - bus service slow, potentially long walk to food court, food court not impressive. (My opinion of course)

We chose POP for this trip because we couldn't afford a deluxe and Pop has it's own bus while keeping with the big gaudy decorations that my kids love. lol

 

[bgraham34]

For me I did not like the bus situation there. It took us forever to get around the resort. I also felt the grounds were run down at the time of my visit. I also did not like the theming of the rooms. I felt they were more like a standard hotel room outside of Disney.

 

[disnut8]

For us, the specific reason for us ranking Caribbean Beach last on the moderate list was the position of the hot tub at the main pool. I know that sounds silly but there were too many kids using it as a hot swimming pool. We stayed there twice and it was the same each time. Also, I didn't like checking in at a place separate from where the food court/restaurant and gift shop were. Just seemed way too hectic as everyone was confined to that area and people had to stand around to wait and kids were running everywhere. At the other places, the others not waiting in line to check in could at least escape to another section.

That being said, I would be hard pressed to do any moderate again (we've stayed in all of them) because of the buses. I'd much rather do Pop's queue lines in the sun than sit through five different resort stops before we even left the grounds.

 

[dansdad]

I am only quoting these to illustrate what pp's have said. Not every resort will suit every person.

For us, the specific reason for us ranking Caribbean Beach last on the moderate list was the position of the hot tub at the main pool. I know that sounds silly but there were too many kids using it as a hot swimming pool. We stayed there twice and it was the same each time.

We prefer the position of the one hot tub because my wife and I can enjoy it and still keep an eye on our son in the pool. When we were there, the hot tub behind the big slide never had kids in it.

Also, I didn't like checking in at a place separate from where the food court/restaurant and gift shop were. Just seemed way too hectic as everyone was confined to that area and people had to stand around to wait and kids were running everywhere. At the other places, the others not waiting in line to check in could at least escape to another section.

For us, this is a big plus for CBR. We would much rather not have the chaos of a front desk in the same area as the food court, gift shop and arcade. We only deal with the front desk 2 times during a stay as opposed to using the food court etc multiple times a day every day.

I'd much rather do Pop's queue lines in the sun than sit through five different resort stops before we even left the grounds.

We prefer sitting at a shaded bus stop and sitting in an air conditioned bus for 10 minutes, the time it takes to make a full loop of CBR, than wait for said bus in the sun.

Again, only highlighting why there are so many different choices on Disney property. There truly is something for everyone.

 

[DizDaD7]

Its not so much that its hated, but more to the fact that we are just doing a comparison. To me yes its the 4th best mod out of 4. That being said its still disney. Even though i choose csr and both port orleans over cbr doesn't mean i wouldn't stay there. I would stay in cbr or any value rather than stay in a trump plaza or waldorf astoria. Why? Because its Disney run. People are allowed to bave different opinions. Likes n dislikes. So most of the time when they say they dont like cbr, tell them your going to pay for a trip for them and they are staying at cbr& cbr only, then lets see if they turn it down.....my guess is hella No.

 

[kelleigh1]

I only read the first 2 posts, but I'll toss in my 2 cents - for what it's worth. Oh, since it's my opinion and that's what you asked for, I guess it's worth something.

Hubby and I have been to WDW together twice (both been separately before) and the first time we stayed at POFQ. Fell in love with it. We decided we wanted to try all the Mods, so for the 2nd trip, we went with CBR. Thought for sure we would love it. We were married in Jamaica, so we thought the CBR resort would be a good fit. But we just never felt the magic.

It had nothing to do with it being spread out. We like to walk, so we had no problem with that and we even requested a room in the furthest "island" from the main pool, etc. It's hard to explain, but as I said already, we just never "felt" the magic like with did at POFQ. Perhaps it had something to do with the renovations taking place at the main pool when we were there. This was a huge undertaking. If I remember correctly, we did know that the renovations would be taking place and we were ok with that, but what we didn't know is that the walkway would be blocked and we'd be forced to walk out into a parking lot. This was rather dangerous, especially at night as it wasn't well lit. And during the day, the staff people who drive those carts to transport mousekeeping, etc....they drove like maniacs. I thought for sure we were going to be hit.

I also never felt as though the CM's that we interacted with imparted any Disney Magic in their personalities and attitudes. There were very few who seemed outgoing and personable.

As I said, hard to explain, but just no magic.

This was nearly 5 years ago, and the pool renovations are done, so maybe we'd feel differently now. And there are plenty of people who love it there so it could just be a matter of taste. I'm not one who will listen to others opinions, but I still always like to try things out for myself. I don't "wish we'd never stayed there", but I don't think we'll be rushing to go back.

(And our next trip is a big celebration for us, so we're splurging and going Deluxe, so our Trip Around the Mods is on hold at the moment. We still need to visit CSR and POR. Looking forward to trying those too.)

Oh and I just wanted to add, we rent a car and drive to/from the parks, so our opinion isn't based on the buses either.

 

[Kay1]

Long ago we got a couple of dingy rooms and wrote
cbr off our list. Then we tried a Pirate-themed room two years ago and loved it. It will never be our favorite mod but we may try it again someday.

 

[Wendy31]

We stayed at CBR one night last year before checking into the WL the next morning. It was our arrival night, so we had driven all day. I had also stayed up the entire previous night packing & cleaning house.

All that to say, I was very tired the entire time we were at the CBR, so my views may be a bit distorted!

We had always wanted to stay at the CBR because of the themeing, &, since our youngest DS was 2, we realized, if we were ever going to stay there, this past trip would be the the only time we could!

PROS:

I love the themeing of the CBR! It's so bright & cheerful & tropical!

I like having water around me, so I like how the resort is centered around the "lake".

My kids really liked the pool.

The beach at night was so nice... we were able to sit in chairs & watch the high fireworks from Illuminations.

The room was clean & quiet.

We were in Martinque, so we were close to the food court & pool. I'm not sure how I would feel if were further away.

It felt very tropical "village-y".

I liked how the food court was laid out in a "street market" type theme.

We had dinner at Old Port Royale, &, on our way back to our room, a castmember came out of one of the rooms & she had a bag of Cheerios. So she started feeding the ducks & was giving Cheerios to the nearby kids so they could feed the ducks as well. My kids thought that was neat.

The kids' meals came in little sandbuckets & shovels which I thought was cute.

CONS:

The food at Old Port Royale wasn't really that good - but we were only there for one meal, so maybe it was just an off night. However, we were there around 5:00ish, so not really too late for dinner, & the hamburger buns were dried out & stale. The fries were cold.

The dining room in Old Port Royale was freezing!!!! I'm a southern girl & a big fan of indoor AC, but this was seriously cold. Even DH said it was freezing. Which could be why the fries were so cold.

We were in one of the Nemo rooms, & it seemed a bit worn to me - even though I know it's been recently refurbished. Not the bed coverings & stuff like that but things like the toilet & the bathtub & the floor in the bathroom.

The castmembers at the check-in desk weren't as friendly as some of the other check-in castmembers we've had - again, though, I was very tired. But I didn't feel like we had been "Disney-welcomed", if that makes sense.

Again, I love the themeing of the CBR & there weren't really enough negatives to make us say "never again"... although, I think I would always want a preferred room so that we could be close to the food court & pool.

 

[Magalex]

Yes, I have also notice CBR hasn't been receiving very many positive reviews lately or lots of love. But I have noticed every time one of the resorts (this time POR) is being newly renovated, it is usually the one resort that has the most posts or photos on the DIS. So right now everything is about POR. So sometimes other resorts don't have lot of attention or favorable reviews. That is probably why I wasn't able to reserve POR for our June week. But we are happy & excited for our upcoming stay at CBR in June. We did stay in June 2007 & Loved IT Our DS was 6 at the time & doesn't remember much about CBR so it will be a whole new experience for him again. Plus he is very excited about the pool.

I can probably bet if years from now CBR gets a complete overhaul, guests will be lining up & we will be wondering why no love for POR

 

[tofubeast]

For me, it is the theme. I live in S. Florida, so a Caribbean theme isn't that appealing to me because it is more familiar. Not to say I would never try CBR in the future. However, if choosing between CBR and renting points for OKW, I would go with the latter.

 

[donnajz]

Just subjective opinions. People with different personalities like different things. And it also depends on the experience. I did not like CBR and would choose a value resort over it any day.
We stayed 2 days in May 2010. I don't know if it was just bad timing/luck but we did not enjoy our stay. We were about as far away from the food court as you could get. The food court was very disappointing compared to others. I didn't realize we were on the last bus stop when we booked this place. Only being there 2 days this was an issue with us. We saw a lot of snakes which kind of creeped me out, but it is Florida so I guess it's the norm. (haven't seen them anywhere else though).
Honestly, I just did not feel the magic a CBR, whereas at the All Stars it just feels magical. I like all the little kids running around crazily and all the big colorful things.
Maybe I would have a different opinion if my husband and I were going alone and seeking peace and quiet.

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking CBR, it is a beautiful place, but I think it just depends on what type of stay you are looking for. The pros - nice lake, bicycle/boat rentals, cool pool, you can see some of the fireworks, and it's peaceful. The cons - bus service slow, potentially long walk to food court, food court not impressive. (My opinion of course)

We chose POP for this trip because we couldn't afford a deluxe and Pop has it's own bus while keeping with the big gaudy decorations that my kids love. lol

Geez...this really makes me think twice about perhaps changing to POP. We will also be there in May and snakes and bad bus service could definitely put a damper on our vacation and how we feel about CBR. The food court also sounds as though it is not that great. Have others seen snakes at CBR?

 

[CamoMama]

We were there in February and didn't see any snakes. There were tons of lizards and a bunny, but no snakes. We also had no problem with the buses, I really think bus issues could happen at any resort, so it's not as big a factor for me. A CM that I spoke to explained how it works to me and it makes sense. There are no buses dedicated to any one resort, their route changes each time they complete it. The computer dictates how many buses are going to each resort based on demand.

 

[dansdad]

Geez...this really makes me think twice about perhaps changing to POP. We will also be there in May and snakes and bad bus service could definitely put a damper on our vacation and how we feel about CBR. The food court also sounds as though it is not that great. Have others seen snakes at CBR?

I have seen snakes at every WDW resort I have stayed at. Music, Sports, POR, CBR, and Beach Club. This is Florida, they are everywhere. They have all been about 4 inches long, but they are there. Just wanted to put that out there so you are not surprised.

Bad bus service is generally not resort specific. It is the WDW bus system, not resort specific bus system, except if there's an internal bus. They are constantly rerouted and dispatched as needed.

Of the above resorts we have stayed at, we like the CBR food court the best. Mainly for the available choices and the way it is laid out. But we have not found a food court on property that we DON'T like.

Yes, CBR is spread out. But that appeals to my family. When taking a break from the craziness/crowds of the parks, we enjoy the peaceful aspect of CBR. We have been there when it's at capacity and it never felt like it.

Some people like the over the top theming of Pop, AllStars, etc. We don't. Did it still "feel" Disney, you betcha. Just more relaxed.

If you look on the DIS hard enough, you will find that every resort will have people that don't like it.

Just remember, whichever resort you chose you will be in WDW!

 

[cluvsdisney]

We were there for one or two nights a couple of years ago. It is by far our least favorite moderate resort. We were there right before the big pool refurb which I thought was nice then, I am sure it's very nice now.

I didn't like that the food court had stations with different registers so it was in and out of all the areas to decide what to get and then we had to backtrack to get what we ultimately decided to eat. It was good but the in and out was just annoying.

I know POR & CSR are also big, but CBR felt particularly spread out. I think we were in Aruba which is not terribly far but psychologically I felt like the walk from our room to the food court was very long.

I don't think the room decor is anything special. I felt like I could be in any motel in anywhere in Florida.