Suggestions On Caribbean Beach Resort

[DisneyPrincess21]

I am planning a upcoming trip for December09 and my first stay on property last year I stayed at POFQ and was planning on staying there again, and then I thought about wanting to try something different. I have never been to the Caribbean beach resort so I wanted some tips on what everyone thinks of this resort. And some of the best things it offers over the other moderates.
And do any of the villages offer better views of WDW then the others such as the fireworks shows at night? On the map on Disney's website it looks like we are right next door to MGM And just across the street from World showcase, Is that correct And which village would give you the best views of these parks?

[beksy]

I went with Aruba but I'm biased since that's where we stayed. We really enjoyed it though. Most of the time we were first or second for the buses and never had trouble getting seats. It is across the resort from the food court, main pool, store, but it does have it's own quiet pool that was never busy and there is a nice walk across an island to reach the Port Royale where the food court, pool, etc. are located. There's also an internal bus that will drop you off at it. If you want to be closer to the Port Royale, I'd suggest getting a preferred room (Trinidad North I think?). That could save you a lot of steps but we enjoyed the walk and seeing the wildlife at nights and in the mornings. I may be wrong, but I don't think fireworks can be viewed from any of the islands. On our first night we were in the quiet pool and could hear and see smoke over the trees but that was all. I wouldn't let that affect my decision. Good luck deciding! We really enjoyed our stay and would stay again.

[RAIDER]

Ive stayed at Barbados ,Jamaica and Trinidad South .
Now it all depends if you have a car on your stay ( we did )

Barbados was my favourite out of the 3 .Basically as it was near the entrance to the resort so it was easy to get out and in when going to the parks and out of the 3 it was the most quietest especially for the private pool

Jamaica is only a bridge hop away to Port Royale ( the restuarants etc ) and the most scenic

Trinidad South again is the furthest away at the other end of the resort but i wouldnt go back there again by choice if i could help it :thumbsup:

[CleveRocks]

I am planning a upcoming trip for December09 and my first stay on property last year I stayed at POFQ and was planning on staying there again, and then I thought about wanting to try something different. I have never been to the Caribbean beach resort so I wanted some tips on what everyone thinks of this resort. And some of the best things it offers over the other moderates.
And do any of the villages offer better views of WDW then the others such as the fireworks shows at night? On the map on Disney's website it looks like we are right next door to MGM And just across the street from World showcase, Is that correct And which village would give you the best views of these parks?Part of Walt Disney's vision was not ruin "the show" by letting you see that you are in the real world. He wanted his guests immersed in whatever reality he built for them at that moment. So even within one of the theme parks, you really can't see other parts of the theme park.

It's the same at most of the resorts. At most of the resorts, you can't see parts of the theme parks, or of other resorts.

And so it is with Caribbean Beach Resort. You can't see Epcot or Disney's Hollywood Studios from inside the resort grounds.

You CAN see some of the higher fireworks from IllumiNations. It's not like one village is better than another for this. You just need an unobstructed view of the horizon to the northwest. All of the villages will have a spot or two that affords such a view.

I can't vote in your poll. This is because it lacks some vital information. I'll explain ...

CBR is comprised of 6 villages. Five of the 6 villages have 6 numbered buildings apiece, and 1 village has only 3 numbered buildings.

There is a room category at CBR called "preferred location." This means being in 1 of the 6 buildings closest to Old Port Royale, the complex that has the food court, shops, and so on.

At CBR, the preferred location buildings are all 3 buildings in Trinidad North (31, 32 and 33), and 3 of the 6 buildings in Martinique (24, 25 and 26). because these are a separate room category, these rooms cost more per night, and must be reserved (you can't merely request it).

CBR has another room category called Pirate theme room. The pirate rooms are located exclusively in Trinidad South.

So, as you can see, unless you book a pirate room you can't possibly be in Trinidad South, and unless you book preferred location you won't get a room in Trinidad North or half of Martinique.

This leaves you with Jamaica, Aruba, Barbados, and the non-preferred-location half of Martinique.

Of these, Barbados is, overall, the farthest walk to Old Port Royale. Jamaica and Aruba are mirror-images of each other ... no real difference between te two.

If you do not wish to pay for a preferred location room but want to be as close as possible to OPR, my suggestion would be to request one of the following buildings (in no particular order): Aruba 51, Jamaica 45, and Martinique 22.

By the way, CBR also has some other room categories, room categories that, just like preferred location, cost more per night and must be reserved rather than requested. "Water view" means a room with a view of the lake (Barefoot Bay) or of the village quiet pool. Since every village has some lake frontage and its own pool, every village has an equal number of water view rooms. "King-size bed" is a pretty self-explanatory room category.
King-size bed rooms are scattered throughout the resort ... they aren't gathered in one specific village or another.

The Trinidad South rooms have NO king-size beds, as the pirate theme rooms don't have king-size beds as part of that theme.