Hey gang. I know I need to read more and I know this has most likely been asked before but I’m going into information overload and need a Jiminy Cricket to help me out. I have booked a room at the Caribbean Beach Resort in ealry October for 5 nights, 4 days at the parks. I am bringing a 4 year-old and a 10 year old, both girls. I know we will likely by-pass Epcot and do MK 2 times.
I keep reading not-so great things about the CBR and better things about Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter. Sooo…
I see a lot of great reviews about CBR. It has a laid back tropical feel to it. The biggest complaint they get is that it’s large and spread out. That’s an issue for some, but not for others. Did you request a room in a closer building? Or book a preferred room to ensure it’s closer? The only ones that are definitely furthest away are the pirate rooms. CBR also has one of the higher rated Mod level pools and it has a kids splash area that the other mods don’t.
On the other hand French Quarter gets good reviews because it’s much more compact so walking to the pool or main building is easier. It does only have one bus stop which can mean easier access and less time sitting on the bus, but can also mean bigger crowds where you might potentially have to wait until another bus comes along. It also has the boat to DTD which is a really nice little cruise if you have plans to be in that area, and you can pool share with Port Orleans Riverside.
Both resorts have their own pro’s and con’s so take a look at pictures of the resort grounds and room pictures and pick the one that appeals to you the most. They are both nice resorts and you aren’t likely to regret either decision. If you decide to change the process is easy and you just need to call.
Thanks so much for the reply. You’ve helped a lot. The book ranks CBR kinda low, but for the resons you mentioned. I chose a water view room, but not a preferred. Will I be able to request a room closer to the main pool/ front area with the fax room request? If so, do I need to wait until 5 days out or can I make my request by phone earlier?
It actually ranks it as 4 stars out of 5. From that page you can also click on the Room Finder which will show you exactly which types of rooms are located where on the map and you can see the options for which ones are closest to the main building/pool/bus stop. If you find one you’d like you can click on it to see the view from the room and also add it to the automatic TP fax request tool.
Once you’ve done that from your dashboard you can add any other special requests that you have and the touring plans folks will automatically fax your room request in five days before your trip.
Looking at that I would guess your best best is going to be martinique 24, 25, or 26. Then next would be Jamaica 45 or 51 as it has the walkway over the lake to the main building.
My DSis has stayed there and LOVED it! We spent an afternoon there and the grounds are simply beautiful! We also have friends who have stayed at each Moderate resort and now keep going back to CBR as their very favourite of them all.
The pool is awesome. We stayed in the pirate rooms on our last trip, so I can say for sure that it is a hike to get to the main building. All in all though, I would agree that it is a nice relaxing atmosphere there. It may be in need of some sprucing up, but it seemed like they were already starting that while I was there, and from what I’ve heard it has continued.
I have stayed there and would not hesitate to stay again. We stayed in Jamaica. There is a bus stop close to this building. We were generally the first picked up and dropped off. We had a short walk to the main pool and the food court. It was just the hubby and myself, though.
I think if you leave enough time the busses are not an issue. I cannot speak too the bus issue if you are in a preferred room.
Busses are what they are. You will have to make stops at other areas on your way out and in. But it does make it so you always have a pretty short walk from the bus to your room.
Room preference I totally up to you. The preferred will get you closer to the main building. If you would rather have the view of the water, I might stick with that. Sometimes being closer to the building means that it can get loud. I liked being a little further away, and the other pools at the villages are nice too for a quick dip.
We loved CBR. Our kids did, too. The pool, the food, the hammocks by the beach. I wouldn’t switch if I were you. Never had a problem with buses, either. We were pretty far away from the pool/food/shopping, but we made it work. I’d book preferred next time or make sure to select “close to food” as my one and only selection at pre-check-in.
Think we are going to try CBR this oct trip… We’ve done POR and weren’t blown away by any means… It’s nice but… Eh. only way we change is if dh says we can go back to WL heehee! Try it out! It could never be bad, it’s Disney after all!
only way we change is if dh says we can go back to WL 
heehee! Try it out! It could never be bad, it’s Disney after all!