News Caribbean Beach Expansion

[danlb_2000]

I wonder what this building is going to be? It's rather large and boxy looking and not really close to much. Wonder if it will be a backstage building.

 

[rael ramone]

Have just got off the phone from Disney - we have a 14 night stay booked at CBR Sep/Oct 2017 - to cut a long story short, I'm not flying 3000 miles halfway across the world to stay in the middle of a construction site. It sounds like this is not the same as a simple pool closure or room refurbs which will affect one block at a time - it looks like major resort wide upheaval.

The call handler was unable to find any information on this construction work - not surprising really if the details of it are not yet confirmed. I would expect they will be the last people to tell.

I have reluctantly agreed to a switch to POR as there is no availability at CSR which would be my preference.

The problem is, there are only water-view rooms available at POR for our dates, which adds an additional £500 / $650-ish to the cost of the vacation. Not best impressed with Disney, as I would really expect to be comp'd the upgrade charges - I don't really see it as an upgrade.

We are only changing resort to avoid this potential construction. When I booked this in April 2016 the cost for POR/CBR/CSR was roughly the same. I think CSR was identical price and POR/POFQ came out £80 more expensive over the fortnight.

I have already sent a lengthy email to customer service. I took the change on the phone and hopefully we can sort the details out later, I was just concerned that with no availability at CSR and with POR fairly full that availability for a longer stay may be limited if I didn't take the other reservation now. I'd much rather take the switch and argue over the details after.

What do others think? Would you have switched resorts at this stage? Or am I over-reacting?

Construction within a park is understandable and to some extent only has an effect on a small part of a vacation, but I feel something like this at the resort could really detract from the vacation.

Did you try the Swan or Dolphin?...

 

[rael ramone]

I have to be honest, when I saw your name reply to this thread I thought we were getting answers! LOL

Branching off what you said - In order for me to be happy to pay a deluxe price for ANY room CBR they better really out do themselves. I read somewhere that they are adding (or replacing) a few Barbados buildings as well as doing something with the water ways. I would assume they should add a new restaurant and pool. I'm trying to imagine it but I just can't picture it yet lol. Also it is hard to believe that DVC would become cheaper. Unless the goal is to make an affordable DVC home resort? But that seems unlikely...

OH GREAT just realized with more building comes more bus stops LOL ... who wants to stop 10 times after a long day at the park?

I've said this in other threads..... the best Fastpass one can have at the WDW resort is access to a car - either your own or a rental. Even if you stay within the bubble the entire trip.

 

[rael ramone]

"We also have other kinds of expansion opportunities, like hotels, for instance, where not only do we have the property but we've seen such high occupancy rates in Orlando and in California, that we believe that it would be smart for us to build more hotels out -- we have no announcements to make, per se -- but build more hotels out at both sites and take advantage of what we're seeing there. That clearly is very beneficial to us."
~Robert Iger

Universal has been building at a constant pace. It would make sense to add inventory to existing sites where infrastructure, transportation, and amenities are already in place. All Disney would have to do is scale up the number of rooms and staffing with minor enhancements to existing facilities (as opposed to building everything from scratch).

The same reasoning is why Disney has built DVC at existing sites. It's cheaper. It's also faster.

My non-insider Spidey Sense says that the expansion at any moderate resorts will be more rooms... DVC will continue to be attached to existing DVC and/or Deluxe properties.

 

[IMFearless]

Did you try the Swan or Dolphin?...

Unfortunately Swan/Dolphin isn't an option for us because we are from the UK on a free dining package which can't be used at the Swan or Dolphin. It also prevents us from switching to a value resort as we would then loose the free dining entitlement. This being said we did look at SSR but at this stage there are only 2 bedroom suites available which is overkill.

 

[Jahona]

This was posted on reddit by someone staying at CBR the beginning of March.

In an effort to continually improve the Guest experience, we often refresh our offerings and atmosphere. In preparation of your upcoming stay, we would like to make you aware of Resort refurbishment work that will be taking place during your visit.

We are pleased to share that we are working to enhance our Resort with the addition of a new food and beverage location. During your stay, it is possible you will see and hear construction in progress specifically around the pirate-themed rooms in the Trinidad South region of the Resort. Though some disruption may be unavoidable, we are making an effort to minimize the impact on your experience. As a result, any work most likely to cause a noise impact will not begin until 9:00am.

Additionally, the Trinidad South Pool will be unavailable due to refurbishment. During this time, we invite you to make a splash at any of our five other leisure pools and our Fuentes del Morro Pool featuring a waterslide!

Please know that we are working to ensure that your stay is both comfortable and enjoyable. If you need assistance with your reservation, please contact your original booking agent as listed on your confirmation letter.

 

[danlb_2000]

This was posted on reddit by someone staying at CBR the beginning of March.

I believe this is unrelated since the permit does not show any work in that area, so this is probably a separate project.

 

[Jahona]

I believe this is unrelated since the permit does not show any work in that area, so this is probably a separate project.

The only thing I could see is the boxy building on the other side of Trinidad South across the pond. A dining facility would make sense there to give guests on the far edges of the resort closer options. This is apparently starting soon so I figure permits have been or will be filed here shortly. Have you seen anything else come in for that section of the resort?

 

[IMFearless]

The only thing I could see is the boxy building on the other side of Trinidad South across the pond. A dining facility would make sense there to give guests on the far edges of the resort closer options. This is apparently starting soon so I figure permits have been or will be filed here shortly. Have you seen anything else come in for that section of the resort?

Don't be silly... it's a DVC sales kiosk of course!

 

[Goofnut1980]

This resort needs help.. It needs more unified and central buildings.. If you have stayed there you know the 6 or 7 bus stops is insane!!!

Plus I always thought the rooms smelled musty here. Stayed twice.. never will again.

 

[Goofnut1980]

I own at VGF and have been more than pleased with my purchase. The appearance of the building has never been an issue to me. I also own at OKW and absolutely hate the outside appearance. My two AKL contracts are the best money I've ever spent. AKL is a vacation all to itself. My point being is that I just don't think a lot of folks even notice. To each his own I guess.

I am the same way with AKL... best points we bought. I do love my Poly points though. But a totally different feel for the vacation than AKL.

 

[peter11435]

This resort needs help.. It needs more unified and central buildings.. If you have stayed there you know the 6 or 7 bus stops is insane!!!

Plus I always thought the rooms smelled musty here. Stayed twice.. never will again.

It should be getting lots of help. This is only the beginning

 

[mwlillie]

This is going to be a very interesting price exercise for Disney. If you consider the expiration dates of many current DVC contracts and not considering the loss of perks due to resale. Even with possible lower points costs due to location and association with a "moderate" level resort/DVC, a lot of people (myself included) might consider that purchasing a resale (less perks) would actually make better financial sense this newer membership. As an example, Old Key West points are right now running about $75 a point. A savvy buyer may see the cost of a 1-bedroom suite for the next 30 years at a current "Deluxe" resort might wind up being less then the same size suite at this possible new DVC resort for 50 years.

 

[marni1971]

This is going to be a very interesting price exercise for Disney. If you consider the expiration dates of many current DVC contracts and not considering the loss of perks due to resale. Even with possible lower points costs due to location and association with a "moderate" level resort/DVC, a lot of people (myself included) might consider that purchasing a resale (less perks) would actually make better financial sense this newer membership. As an example, Old Key West points are right now running about $75 a point. A savvy buyer may see the cost of a 1-bedroom suite for the next 30 years at a current "Deluxe" resort might wind up being less then the same size suite at this possible new DVC resort for 50 years.

Let's wait and see if this is DVC or not first.

 

[surfsupdon]

I still wonder if the new tower building will be part of CBR or maybe even another Resort/DVC.

Demolition of Barbados and half of Martinique leaves a large area, and there seems to be a good size buffer between the new structure and the nearest islands of Aruba and what's left of Martinique.

Also hope that if both Trinidad North and Trinidad South remain, we can rename one simply 'Trinidad' and the other a different Caribbean island name.

I'm excited for these changes, and very curious to learn more.

 

[peter11435]

I still wonder if the new tower building will be part of CBR or maybe even another Resort/DVC.

Demolition of Barbados and half of Martinique leaves a large area, and there seems to be a good size buffer between the new structure and the nearest islands of Aruba and what's left of Martinique.

Also hope that if both Trinidad North and Trinidad South remain, we can rename one simply 'Trinidad' and the other a different Caribbean island name.

I'm excited for these changes, and very curious to learn more.

Don't assume that what you see in this permit is all that will be happening.

 

[surfsupdon]

Don't assume that what you see in this permit is all that will be happening.

That's a very cool point to consider as well.

 

[ryguy]

Maybe they are adding more traditional room options because they have lost lots of non dvc rooms at the Deluxe's. Seems like Coronado and CBR are creating more non-DVC rooms. Or maybe they are thinking about making CBR a deluxe. It certainly holds the most potential out of the moderates for a switch. If it's the latter than DVC would be part of this project. Interesting to see how this all unfolds.

 

[peter11435]

That's a very cool point to consider as well.

I would not expect much if any of the original resort to remain.

 

[Bocabear]

It's interesting to note what is going on up the road as well...Universal just brought a couple new resoerts online in the last few years and every one of those looks to be superior in every way to Disney's "Moderate" resorts. Maybe it is time Disney just upgraded these properties to be on par with what the rest of the world is doing. Sapphire Falls and Cabana Bay blow CBR out of the water.