Caribbean Beach opinions please!

[DisneyorBust]

Hi everyone! My DW and DD's and I are hoping to return to WDW:mickey: in September. For those of you that have stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort, what are your opinions; good OR bad!
Any recommendations for building selection?
Is there room to set up a twin sized air bed? So DD's won't have to sleep next to each other.
Can you see any fireworks from the CBR property?
Any tips or frequent visitor info that you would like to share?
Looking forward to your responses!:D

[DDuck66]

We have stayed at the CBR several times. it is our favorite moderate resort. We always stay at Jamaica as it is located directly across the island from the food court and shops via a small bridge. It is close enough for a quick stroll to the shops or food court while still being far enough away to limit the noise. Each "island" has its own bus stop so there are no worries about waiting in huge lines. There is also an internal bus that just makes the circle if you do not want to walk to the food court.

[PixieChick]

Hi,
We loved CBR. It's a really pretty resort, very relaxing after being in the theme parks all day. It is very big and spread out so I recommend a prefered room. We stayed in Trinidad N. and it was about a 5 minute walk to the food court/pool. They say both Martinique and Jamaica are good choices to. The bus stop was very close, just outside our building. The food court was nice, very "island themed" and the gift shop was pretty big. The whole resort centers around a bay that you can't swim in but has white sand beaches with hammocks and beach chairs. You can see some of the Epcot fire works from the beach. There's a playground in the Jamaica section. Setting up an air mattress is possible but it might be a tight fit. One last thing, they are refurbishing the main pool at CBR in Sept. Each section of CBR has it's own quiet pool wich I think they are enhancing to make up for the main pool being closed. Have a great time, I'm sure you'll love it.

[MartyS]

If the sleeping arrangement for the DD's is a big deal, you might consider Port Orleans Riverside - Alligator Bayou section, they have trundle beds to accomodate up to 5 people in a room. I really can't think of any way an air mattress would fit in any of the hotel rooms. POR is closer to MK and even has a boat ride to DTD via the Sassagoula River.

[MissT]

CBR theming is nice but we prefer PORS r/t the trundle beds and the boat option. Both are good choices but if you are placed in a room far from the main building at CBR, the walk can seem like forever when you've been in the parks all day. Sept. should be better for crowds though.
Have a great trip!

[WOJO5794]

Pray you get a room located near the main building for if not, you will be walking quite a bit. Way too big a resort, way to spread out!

[crazeedizneefinatic]

We stayed last September at CBR and loved it! Be prepared, when people say the resort is huge, it is! But it was refreshing. We hardly ever saw anyone near our room and our pool that was by us never had more than 3-4 people in it. That will probably be different when the main pool is closed for rehab. To be honest the main pool looked amazing in photos but when we got there the layout was kinda weird and it was always crowded. We swam more at the quiet pools. We loved the winding little paths and the sandy beaches. The food court had a good variety and the food was good. You don't say how old your DD's are but the kids meal comes in a sand bucket with shovel so they can play at the beaches. My son just loved that. Also this resort has two shopping sections. They are next to each other but I found it to be a huge area with a great selection! We loved our stay and would go back in a heartbeat. Next year we are staying at POR since we will have 5 next year. But the year after I would love to stay at CBR again. Have fun!

[Cinderelley]

CBR is beautiful, but I would never stay there again. You can see some of the fireworks from Illuminations near the Jamaica section.

[Disney Doll]

We stayed at CBR in Feb and really enjoyed it. It is a big resort, but they have an internal bus system so we we're too bothered by the size. We stayed in Jamaica which was just a short distance over the bridge to the food court, gift shop, and main pool. I thought it was a very good location. Probably because of the size, it never felt crowded which I loved! It was just a very relaxing and tranquil environment. The hammocks on the beach were nice and there's lots of tropical landscaping. I am a neat freak and one thing I noticed was that the carpet was stained and really looked like it was ready to be replaced. That was the only negative thing I can think of from my experience. I would recommend CBR.

[trennedy]

We love the CBR. We do a prefered location and stay in Martinique. It is right by the beach. We could go out of our room and watch the tops of Illuminations fireworks from Epcot. We enjoyed the location of Martinique because it was very easy for my DD and DS to go to the pool and food court. You will want to see if the pool is done by then though. :mickey:

[wdw538884]

While it is true that you can end up doing alot of walking depending n where you are staying, I ahve always enjoyed staying inAruba. It is across from the food court and gives a great view at night of the resort with the lights reflected on the lake from the food court. I also love how it is located close to thing,especially DT Disney. Great Resort.:number1:

[RAIDER]

I ve stayed there twice and its a lovely relaxing resort . Be wary though if you have a top floor that there are no lifts so if you have heavy luggage it can be a pain ..

Ive stayed Barbados and Trinidad which are the furthest away from the food court if your not driving but as we had a car it made no difference .I must say though the end ones seem to be a tad quieter from other people i have spoken to .

The rooms are nothing to write home about but the bath and toliet room are very small indeed. The private pools are great and are of a good size . And the rooms are very large

But i would happily go there again ..enjoy your trip :mickey::thumbsup:

[mrsgaribaldi]

We've stayed there a few times and liked it also. I don't remember which areas, we never request anything special but we were always pleased with what we got. I like the quiet pools too and the gift shop. We drive so I can't comment on the buses, sorry. I think you'll like it:mickey:

[like2workout]

i love caribbean beach!! i was worried since it's so big, but they have what they call an internal bus that just continuously drives around the resort, so it makes it very easy to get around if you're not close to the food court and store. i would highly recommend it.

[divinedi]

We like CBR, stayed across the little bridge as well, sorry, don't remember the name of the section, it may have been Jamaica. We have done the air mattress thing, and at the Value Resorts, with little problem, and the rooms at CBR are slightly bigger, so it shouldn't be a problem. The only thing we did was take it down during the day, as it does take up some room, and put it up just before we went to bed. We moved the table and chairs out of the way and put it there (in the Values). I've heard of some people standing it on end against the wall for the day, but we just let out the air (electric motor on ours!) and put it away, worked well.

WOOOOHOOOOO This is my 300th post!

[King Triton]

I really liked CBR. A few comments:

- Yes, you can see fireworks at Epcot. Of course it depends on where you are. I think some of the parking lots have the best views.
- The resort is huge. I was glad to have a car, but there are several bus stops.
- I would recommend you send in a building request 5 days ahead. Try for a couple of buildings that are not too far from the center. If I remember correctly, we stayed in Jamaica and it was fine.
- I understand that the main pool at CBR will be under rehab for a good part of this year. However, each building has their own pool as well...but if the kids are into the main pool, check the rehab dates.
- One cool feature is that if you have to do laundry during your visit, the laundry is right next to the pool...so you can wash your clothes and relax by the pool at the same time.

[DisneyorBust]

Thanks for the replys everyone! It looks like we just might be able to swing a fall trip back to the "World".
Hey divinedi! Thanks for the air mattress info, it will sure save a few headaches for us.:thumbsup: