Caribbean Beach Resort, HELP! (please)

[RedGear]

Alright, so I made reservations to stay at Caribbean beach from August 22nd to August 27th, for part of my honeymoon, (the other part we are going on a cruise in the Caribbean) but all the books I've looked in don't answer my questions about the resort, so I thought I would ask the people who would give me their honest opinion.

The layout of the resort is huge, and there are mulitiple bus stops. Which one is main bus stop? (I'm talkin the last one that leaves the resort as soon as you get on, and doesn't go to other bus stops in the resort.)

The reason I ask is because we don't want to be in an area that's the first stop so we waste like 10 minutes a day on the bus going around the resort. All the books I read said that this is a problem with the resort, and we are just trying to avoid it as much as possible.

Thanks for the help, and if I come off sounding crazy, sorry! It's just been bothering me and I wanted to get it cleared up. :lol:

 

[nmj91385]

Honestly the route of the bus depends on which park you are going to. We stayed in Jamaica last time, and there were times where we would be first and times where we would be last. It all depends on your destination

 

[Master Yoda]

Peak times will throw this off as well. If a bus is full at stop 3 it will head to the park and another bus will come for the other stops.

 

[hankhill]

Answers are near by

As all of the non official disney sites work together, I would direct you to www.allearsnet.com. Go to the section marked resorts and there you wiill find the map of the resort with the bus stops and all located.

 

[Victoria]

I have stayed at the resort numerous times and have reached the conclusion that there is very little rhyme or reason to the order in which the buses stop. It depends on crowds, the mood of the driver, the park you are going to etc. Spending time on the bus is just a drawback to staying at this resort, but is by no means a reason to cancel a reservation there. The time on the bus is relaxing and a good time to unwind.

A few other notes on the resort:
-Try and stay in Martinique or Trinidad North if you are concerned about stying close to the main area (Old Port Royale). These rooms do cost more however and you have to request them...
-Shutters, the full service restaurant, is great.
-Keep an eye out for alligators...there are a few that frequent the water areas around the resort. WDW tries to keep them out but it is Florida after all. (there have not been any reports of alligator attacks however...i guess they are friendly alligators. :lookaroun *tick tock tick tock*)
-Spend some time exploring the resort, rent a bike or a boat and have some fun.
-Don't feel like you have to visit the main pool. The quiet pools on each island are a lot closer and serve their purpose just fine. The theme pool is cool but is usually really crowded and noisy.

Hope ya'll have fun!

PS- maybe we will run into one another....I will be in wdw from the 24th to the 29th of August. I will be the one wearing the Minnie Mouse ears...:lol:

 

[Nemo14]

As others have said, there is no main bus stop, and the busses do fill up. That being said, rest assured that the bus trip is not bad, and really, what's an extra 10 minutes of bus riding anyway? You'll be in WDW after all, so relax and enjoy!

 

[WDWKat26]

As others have said, there is no main bus stop, and the busses do fill up. That being said, rest assured that the bus trip is not bad, and really, what's an extra 10 minutes of bus riding anyway? You'll be in WDW after all, so relax and enjoy!

Seriously! Where are you in such a hurry to go? WDW isn't going anywhere!

 

[RedGear]

I guess the reason I am in a hurry is because I get car sick on the buses, so I try to avoid as much as possible, espeically when I have to stand. :dazzle: and we only have 4 1/2 days, I wish we had more time.

That's weird that there is no pattern for the buses, but thanks for the info, it helps to actually have someone come out and say that there isn't one village better then the other. :lol:

 

[saltmom1]

According to allearsnet ( I think ) -do a search- there are 2 bus routes. I have seen this very recently. One starts in Jamaica and the other starts maybe in Trinidad. Jamaica and Aruba are across a footbridge and are quieter than those closer to OPR. We stayed in Jamaica ands had a 2 minute walk to the bus stop and a nice 5 minute walk to the food court and the main pool. There is a small hot tub at the main pool - great for those tired feet at the end of the day.

 

[Goofy20]

2 years ago in September me and my gf stayed in Trinidad and that was the last bus stop

 

[surfsupdon]

There are two main loops the busses can go on at Caribbean Beach:


1) -Jamaica, Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, Old Port Royale, Trinidad North, Trinidad South

2) -Martinique, Old Port Royale, Trinidad N, Trinidad S, Jamaica, Aruba, Barbados

I've stayed at Caribbean Beach way too many times to count, and originally the second loop was most common. Now with the addition of Victory Way, the first route is most usually used. Although, I find the busses pick up route 1 and then drop off route 2.

(On a side note, I always felt the OPR stop should be eliminated b/c it is sandwiched between Martinique and Trinidad N, and as a result usually never even has anyone getting on/off the bus.)

 

[Nicole]

I guess the reason I am in a hurry is because I get car sick on the buses, so I try to avoid as much as possible, espeically when I have to stand. :dazzle: and we only have 4 1/2 days, I wish we had more time.

That's weird that there is no pattern for the buses, but thanks for the info, it helps to actually have someone come out and say that there isn't one village better then the other. :lol:

I get carsick on busses too but have NEVER felt even slightly queasy on a WDW bus. Must be *Magic*.

Actually I think it helps that the busses don't make multiple stops. Just a few stops at the resort then one final stop at the park. Not like a city bus that stops every few blocks.

 

[DisneyinKC]

Our room was in the Barbados section last September. It seems like the buses usually stopped there last when picking up. We were picked up and immediately out the gate. The drop off route seemed to be driven by which park you visited that day. Sometimes we were dropped off during one of the first stops, others not until last. If the first drop off stop is Martinque, as was the case when we went to MGM, you can get off at that stop and it's a very short walk to Barbados.

 

[colliera]

Getting to Custom House

One other tip about the buses is that you don't necessiarly have to wait for the inter-resort bus to get you to Custom House. The wait for that bus can be quite long. You can however, take any bus that is going to stop at Barbados and cross the street and take the walkway to Custom House. Just be sure to ASK if the bus is stopping at Barbados BEFORE you board less the bus exits the resort and you find yourself on the way to a park! I stayed in Jamaica in January and most any bus stopped at Barbados bus stop before exiting. Also, the direction of travel for the buses seemed to be clockwise except the odd little detour made to do the Trinidad South.

Something important you might not catch on check-in is that you need to have Bell Services help you with your luggage if you aren't close enough to move it on your own or especially if you are using Disney's Magical Express unless you drove your car and will be parking near your building. DME will get your luggage TO your room but they DO NOT do pickup automatically on departure. YOU need to call Bell Services at least the night before and make arrangements to have luggage picked up at the room and stored for you at Customs House. Drivers ususally will not let you load a lot of large luggage on a bus since it could be dangerous flying luggage if a bus has to stop short.

One other point I must mention is the rooms have a design defect in the door construction like the doors at All Star Movies. The light switch to the room is built into the door frame. Be careful about not getting your fingers caught in a closing door while reaching for the light switch.