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We are planning a large trip for next June. 14 people, 4 rooms, 3 cars, and a partrage in a pear tree. I have never even visited the CBR. Some of the family does not want to stay at Port as we have stayed at this resort many times.
So, What is CBR like? How long does it take to get to the parks by bus? Is the food court good? Rooms good? How much extra to stay closer to the main buildings?
Help me make our decision or help convince others in the family not to stay here.
Our family has stayed here twice. We love the grounds. It's very beautiful. The location of CBR was nice but our first stay the room was in need of renovation and that kept us from going back for several years. We decided 2 years ago to try CBR again since the rooms had been renovated. We did not get a preferred room which was a mistake. Even though we were close to the bridge across to the food court we hated being so far from the food court, pool, and the main building. We did take the bus a couple times, once to MK and once to BB. It seemed like every park we were trying to get to we'd have to wait for a long time for the bus. It always seemed several busses for other parks would go by before ours would come. We favor POFQ over all other moderate resorts. It's nice to have a short walk to everything no matter what room your in. I like the food court, boat to DD, location, and grounds. But there are a lot of people who love CBR. It's just what you like.
I much prefer CBR to POR. One of my favorites! Love the tropical atmosphere, food court is nice, love the whole experience!
:wave:
I love it for theming, environment, and offerings. But I hated it for transportation. Some people haven't had this experience, but i always seemed to be waiting a ridiculous amount of time for a bus or cramming myself into one. I started getting a rental at the airport once I was old enough, and my most recent CBR stay was just dandy! :thumbsup:
Is the transportation problem due to the frequency of the buses or that they get filled quick and the last stops get passed over? It always seems that buses come for everywhere except where you want to go. One day every park would come but none for epcot. The next day three epcot's in a row and none for DHS. Is this the problem?
I think it probably could be part of the problem. Essentially, where at most resorts, the bus gets to the resort, picks up people and leaves - this one, the bus arrives, stops at 5-6 different spots to pick up people and then leaves, the gap time makes the trip to the park seem longer to me. And depending on where the loop starts/stops, you could end up being stuck standing or fighting for the last seat every time.
We stayed there about a year and a half ago, in a pirate room. It's not my favorite resort due to how big it is. We didn't ride the buses...instead drove to the parks with the free parking. Even so, it felt like just driving back to our room took forever (the pirate rooms are way in the back). I like the food court and pool...it's just far. We'll be staying there again this year because my son really loved the pirate rooms. I wouldn't even consider staying in a regular room, though.
We stayed at the pirate rooms. Buses were fast, I didn't expect this after reading comments. Food was also very good. we had a blast! Couldn't ask for a better trip:thumbsup:
We've stayed in a number of resorts, but CBR will always be our favorite. We've stayed there 11 times. Most recently, we've been in Aruba.
We loved the theme, the grounds, etc. we never had a problem with buses, probably because we were very flexible with our schedule.
The atmosphere, especially early in the morning or late at night, is great. You can always find a quiet place to sit and relax.
We even enjoyed the walk to/from our village across the bridge to Parrot Key to Old Port Royale late at night. It was so peaceful after a crazy day at one of the parks.
travel -- you can practically see the eiffel tower from the aruba side, so you are pretty close to epcot and dhs. I felt like the drive to the parks was not bad at all (compared pofq at least) and our busses were awesome last June. I thought the bus system would stink but we got really lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by squad51
food court - the only thing I didn't like was how it was split up and you had to go to each section to see what they had. but the lines never seemed too bad (maybe we went at good times). breakfast food was what you would expect, but they had some caribbean fare that was a nice change.
and I would highly recommend getting a preferred room esp if you have kids. we stayed in aruba which apparently is a closer room the the main bldg and I am sorry, it STUNK. I hated walking across the bridge with a stroller, and it almost downpoured one night all of a sudden on my way back with dinner in tow. If I go back I will get a preferred room, for sure.
the resort itself is very nicely kept as far as grounds go, and the pool is fun for kids. but housekeeping was not impressive for us and that a/c was LOUD as HECK. We saw so many runners in the early hours... I will say one thing, our one year old would wake up at the butt crack of dawn sometimes (like 4 am, he wasn't used to sleeping in somewhere different, and we didn't want him to wake the MIL) and in an effort to get him to rest longer we would walk around outside with him in his stroller and watch the sunrise. Even though it sucked getting up that early, it was one of my favorite memories with my little family walking around in the peace and quiet outside on those beautiful grounds.
My family and I have been staying at the CBR since our first trip and have never had a bad experience ever. I love taking friends and family to the CBR just so they can experience the colors and soft music playing thru out the resort all day long, and the relaxing laid back atmosphere. The CBR is by far the best resort for large gatherings like yours! The staff is very accommodating at check in to get you to the area you want and will do everything in their power to help. I will try to answer your questions and add a few key points to remember if you choose the CBR.
1. Traveling with a party of 14 in Disney, allow more time then you would think to do anything! If you keep that in mind you'll not be disappointed when you wait to do the things you want.
2. Ask for section Martinique 26... in all my many trips to Disney we had a first floor corner room in that section last trip it was the best. There was a bus stop right near our room, the main pool and food court was so close we could smell the bacon cooking in the morning and hear the splashing of the pool; maybe a 3 min walk! This is a preferred section and cost maybe 10.00 more a night but well worth it believe me.
3. The rooms at the CBR are very good size bed are good size and even I was comfortable and got a good night sleep. The rooms also have been redone paint, and decor and all have a refrigerator.
4. The food court is excellent! By far my favorite of all food courts the food selection is excellent! I would recommend the The Reuben and the Jerk chicken and at 'Shutters' Prime Rib and the shrimp fritters...Not that many people eat at the resorts anymore with the free dining plan now.
5. The main pool was renovated and has new slides and is twice as big now. The kids play area and ool is new as well and all is a pirate type theme.
6. Great Long Island Ice tea at the Cabana bar beside the pool.
7. Travel time to resorts is not bad Epcot10 min.all other 15-18 mins travel time. And at the bus stops we have never waited more then 10 mins for a bus to pull up.
8. Gift shops there are 2 and don't forget to buy a coconut post card and mail it to someone.
9. There is bike and boat rentals at the main pool area as well..
10. Epcot fire works can be seen really clear from the main pool at night..
11. On the free dining plan kids can eat adults meals .. it rings up the same some glitch in their computer system.
I'm sure there are many other factors to visit CBR and maybe someone else can add to it.
I couldn't disagree more.Quote:
Originally Posted by MargaretMessler
There is only one Disney resort where an empty bus picks up people and then leaves, and that is Pop Century. EVERY OTHER WDW RESORT either has multiple internal stops (like CBR) or shares buses with other resorts.
Coronado Springs Resort has 4 internal stops.
Port Orleans Riverside usually shares buses with Port Orleans French Quarter, giving a total of 5 stops.
The Magic Kingdom-area resorts (Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian) share buses in various combinations.
The 5 Epcot-area resorts all share the same bus.
And so on.
I respectfully disagree there's a transportation problem at CBR (or at any other resort). I know that the following post is long, but I humbly say that it's worth reading; I've posted it elsewhere and others have told me it helped them understand how to interpret reports of transportation problems at resorts:Quote:
Originally Posted by squad51
The bus service is pretty much the same at all resorts; buses to each destination are supposed to run on average about every 20 minutes. So why do so many people insist it's bad one place and good at another? Human nature, or at least two aspects of human nature. One is a phenomenon you can call the "grass is always greener" effect (everyone else's experience seems better than our own), and the other is the mistaken assumption that what happens to us once is the way it usually is for most people at most times.
"The grass is always greener ...." For EVERY resort, you can find posts from people saying something like this: "We waited forever for a Magic Kingdom for a bus while we watched 4 buses for ((another park) drive on by." Seriously, there's not a resort this hasn't been written about.
The second point is perhaps the more important point. Just because you have a not-so-great experience with buses at a resort doesn't mean the bus service stinks. It could mean they were having a rough day or two. But more likely it means that you were just unlucky with timing.
My example is my stay at Polynesian a couple years ago. We noticed by our second or third day that we never, and I mean NEVER, waited more than about 2 minutes for whatever bus we wanted, whether going from resort to park or park to resort. So we started to joke about it as we walked up to the Poly bus stop in the morning or to a park bus stop when leaving a park, but it always worked that way for that entire week.
So, should we conclude from that that Polynesian has the best bus service ever? Absolutely NOT. It just means our timing was very lucky. Imagine another family that did everything exactly like we did, only they always did it exactly 2 minutes later than we did. They would've had a dreadful bus experience, as they would've waited almost 20 minutes for every single bus for an entire week. Does their bad experience mean Poly has bad bus service? Of course not, just like my great experience doesn't mean it has the best bus service.
In the same way, my great bus service at Caribbean Beach Resort in 2005 and my so-so bus service at Port Orleans French Quarter in 2006 DOESN'T mean that CBR's bus service is better than POFQ's, it just means that my individual experiences on those exact days was better at CBR than at POFQ.
And that's why we read such mixed reviews of bus service at various resorts. Just because someone had a lot of wait time doesn't mean the bus service stinks.
I strongly advise you to pick a Moderate resort based on the theme, as well as the small ways they differ in amenities.
I do agree! but another thing to keep in mind is sometimes places like POFQ visit other resorts (POR) and that in combination with how far the resort is from the parks, affects the 'bus service' and experience!Quote:
Originally Posted by CleveRocks
And yeah I know CBR has multiple stops but the size of CBR compared to POFQ and POR combined is smaller and takes less time to travel around. It also depends on where the bus you are boarding started out b/c sometimes it comes in the aruba side, sometimes martinique... and if the bus fills up they do not finish going to the other stops. Staying in aruba I felt like we were dropped off close to first, and the bus was half full when we were picked up. We would stop at stops until we got to Martinique then be on our way. Now if you leave at the buttcrack of dawn and get to the parks at opening when most everyone else does, you are not going to stop at as many stops b/c the bus fills quicker. To be honest we usually got there shortly after opening.
I know I am just ready for these next 19 days to hurry by so I can hop off and on one of those CBR buses! I'm ready to go to my "home" in the tropics! ;)
:vacation::cloud9:
whats the rush your on vacation
The rooms and exterior are really great at this resort. It feels so tropical.
The location is good as it takes only a short time to get to Epcot and DHS. The only resort better for bus travel times is Coronado.
The food court is it's downfall. Fairly plain food. The design is alright, but the food is better at other Moderate food courts.
Have stayed here 2x and loved it. No complaints about bus service, however always go 1st week of Oct so that may be a factor. The grounds are beautiful I usually get up early and go for a walk so I don't wake others. Got to see some wildlife in the trees. It was lovely. :mickey:
DH and I stayed at CBR in the Spring of 2009 and had a wonderful experience :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by squad51
The bus system was much better than expected. We never had to wait longer than 15 minutes for a bus while at the resort, but most times our wait was under 10 minutes. There are bus stops at each of the "islands" and at the food court, so they're usually never packed. It takes some time to get to MK since it's on the opposite side of the WDW property, but getting to AK, HS, and Epcot was usually only 15 minutes.
The food court is AMAZING! It really transports you to the Caribbean with the awesome themeing. There were tons of food options, so we never had the same meal twice when dining there. Tons of seating, too. You can even dine outside if you would like since there are tables with umbrellas available.
Our room was themed in "upscale Nemo" (meaning more for adult tastes - but kids will still like it). The rooms have a mini fridge (which is a blessing when you want a cold drink or snack), ceiling fan, and large changing/vanity area. It felt very spacious and even though we were right next to the pool and on the ground floor, it was quiet and peaceful.
We were given a complimentary upgrade to a preferred room in Martinique when we checked in - which we initially disliked then loved since we visited the food court (Old Port Royale) several times during our stay. I would say that it would be worth paying the extra money to stay closer to the food court so you and your family don't have to take a long hike to get something to eat - BUT CBR has an internal bus system that stops at all the "islands" and will take you to Old Port Royale in a matter of minutes! Awesome, right? :D
I can't say enough good things about this resort. I think you and your family will have a wonderful time there :mickey: