Our 5 day stay at Caribbean Beach (5-30 to 6-4)

It was me, my wife and 18 yr old son celebrating his high school graduation. We really enjoyed ourselves and never got distracted by construction, but it was hard to avoid seeing the big new resort being built when glancing in that direction. We stayed in Aruba in room 5616 which was awesome. 2 minute walk to the bus stop, 2 minute walk to the pool and 2 minute walk to the convenience store room or whatever you want to call it- I wish they had this in every complex - so convenient to grab drinks & snacks without having to walk hardly at all, but I would imagine the rooms directly next to it may have more noise than most… The busses were pretty good, only one instance of waiting more than 20 mins. The trip around the resort was sometimes just as long as the ride to the parks depending on the crowds getting on and off, but we were never left being told we could not get on the bus. We had to stand a couple times, but it was no bother. We never once ate at the resort, but Spy Glass looked appealing. My son & I only went to Aruba pool twice for 15 or so minutes each time to say we did it, but it was nothing special. The view at night around the resort was much better than the day time due to the other resort being in plain view. We tend to spend our time at the resorts only sleeping and the rest of the time in the parks, so for the discount at CBR do to construction, it was totally worth it. Our highlights & lowlights…
Lowlights - 5 of each

  1. People moving in front of us in lines saying they are meeting up with the rest of their party (happened 4 times - just rude if you ask me - everyone should wait for each other if there is an issue)
  2. Cigarette butts and litter around the hammocks at the resort and around some of the parks/rides (there are trash cans every 30 feet wherever you are - use them people - that is unacceptable)
  3. Some parents thinking just because they have a stroller they have the right away - no!
  4. Starbucks - just yuck, so sad Disney let them in the parks, it takes away the magical experience of being on vacation and being back in the regular world
  5. Early Morning magic hours/Test Track - Disney knows when they are, so they should have the main attractions/rides working when they open, not 20-30 minutes after (it messes up my touring plan! and we park hop to maximize our time and take a 90 min break mid day)
    Highlights
  6. The service with a smile and Disney providing the best possible experience from Bell Services to Wait staff and everyone in between
  7. First time we rode Flights of Passage - best ride ever!
  8. Dining Experiences - Via Napoli (best pizza and water anywhere), 50s Prime Time(Cousin Ryan was awesome), Be Our Guest (so happy we were able to go before they change everything over in a couple months) were truly memorable.
  9. Cast members/photo pass people - were so friendly and accommodating and got great shots with many extras, Also all of the congrats to my son for his graduation
  10. My wife & son complementing me throughout the whole trip on how great everything was planned and how we got to do everything we wanted (waiting 80 mins at park close for FOP, knowing we had a FP later in the trip, seemed like a ridiculous idea to them, until after we rode it) And experiencing new things too!
    Well, that is as brief as I can be and if anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them. This was our 6th time at the World(we have only stayed at moderates) and other than one trip around Christmas time, with the Processional and Osborne Spectacle of Lights, our best ever. I can’t wait to start planning another in a couple of years.
12 Likes

Thanks for the review! We just booked Caribbean beach for August. We have stayed deluxe and value but never moderate so we are willing to give it a try. I have a preferred room booked so I was wondering what to request that would be close to the main pool, food (mainly fill water and use a microwave) and the buses, and how transportation would be.

1 Like

sounds like a great time!

1 Like

If you want to be closest to the main pool, I would request Trinidad North. As for food, during construction, each area of the resort has a hotel room made into a makeshift convenience store that has free coffee/tea and you can purchase snacks/pastries/drinks as well. I would not recommend CBR for dining unless you have no problem eating a buffet in a huge tent - we ate all of our main meals in the parks (we had a simple breakfast before hand with Poptarts/Granola bars/fruit/muffins - all available at those convenient rooms as well) The walk from Aruba to the main pool was probably around 10-12 mins depending where you are(would be the same from Trinidad South) Jamaica & Martinique are prob 5-7 mins from the pool, but each area has there own small pool which is nice too. Not sure about a microwave(you may be able to request one?) but they do have them in those convenience rooms as well. Based on the layout of the complex there should not be much more than a 5 min walk to the busses anywhere, but it does take time for them to go around the complex - have a great time and I look forward to your thoughts.