Carribean Beach....Nervous

[nikkie876]

I was hoping that the 'seasoned' Disney veterans can offer some assistance. We have a party of 5 adults and 4 kids going to Disney in May. This will be the first time visit for my parents and the first time on Disney property for my kids and I. My husband has stayed on Disney property about a dozen times.

With that being said my husband was very insistant that we stay at the CBR in the Pirate Rooms with water view. Now after reading everyone's reviews it looks like the new rooms are located in Trinidad South. I'm scared that this will be a horrible experience....between the location from OPR and the buses picking us up last...

I'm tempted to change it to a different location, but the kids are excited about the Pirate Room....

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[One Lil Spark]

Please keep in mind that you're going to WDW! :sohappy:

Don't think too much about the reviews you read or anything negative of the sort. Your Disney vacation is what you make of it, and being able to stay in a Pirate room will be amazing.

Just go and have a phenomenal time!

 

[nikkie876]

Thank you for reminding me... I need someone to knock some sense into me every now and then :brick:

I get all caught up in the planning and worry about every little thing because I want to make sure is magical for everyone...

I know once I get there all the stress will just melt away...

 

[coltow]

I agree, think happy thoughts. Generally when we go to WDW rom location doesn't really matter to us. We have only requested an actual location once and that was at Poly. We have never been disappointed with any location WDW has put us.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I feel that some times people make too much of room location around here. Disney is not looking to make anyone's vacation less enjoyable because they have a far away room. Yes, your walk may be a little bit longer than being somewhere else, but what is another 2-3 minutes in the grand scheme of things? The buses won't forget about you either. If a bus fills up at one stop then they will make sure another is dispatched to get you to where you are going. Relax and enjoy your Disney vacation.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

We have a party of 5 adults and 4 kids going to Disney in May.

When are you going in May? If it's not a busy time, the buses shouldn't be crowded. We ended up not going to OPR very often and it really didn't matter to us. We still had a great time.

 

[nikkie876]

We are going May 10th to May 17th...Happy Mother's Day to ME!!

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I guess it all depends on your attitude. I suggest keeping yourself entirely in the "yay! I'm in Disney World on vacation!" state of mind above all else. Then you're guaranteed to have a good time no matter what.

If you put a lot of stock into making sure the place you're staying in is really nice, then I'd look elsewhere than Caribbean Beach. I will state that the grounds and the overall look of the resorts is very nice. It's kept up and everything has that fresh, tropical islands feel to it. But when you step inside your room, don't expect anything more than a basic Motel 6 room with perhaps Pirate or Nemo decor.

But if your attitude is more of the "we're only going to be in our room for sleeping and little else, so it's not that important", then a stay at the CBR would be just fine for you, provided you don't mind the very small beds and bath.

We stayed in the Aruba area (bldg 53) the week of 1/24 - 1/31 of this year. There was a decent length walk just to get to the bus stop, and we found it the norm to wait longer than 20 minutes for the particular bus we wanted. We also found that it could be quite a hike in walking from our building just to get to OPR and the food court. We weren't particularly fond of that too much.

But, again.....you're gonna be in DISNEY WORLD and you're going to have a great time no matter what.

 

[bostondrtdog]

Stayed at CBR last sept and will NEVER stay there again. The rooms are very dirty. The beds are small and very uncomfortable. My g/f ended up with a rash from what I am assuming was "bed bugs." The fridge in the room was broken. It was a horrible experience..

 

[One Lil Spark]

Yet again, nikkie876, please understand that not every experience is the same. Just enjoy yourself and know that you will be having the time of your life!

Please be sure to let us know how it all turns out. I (along with many others) are curious to know how amazing your trip will be.

 

[MKCP 1985]

Stayed at CBR last sept and will NEVER stay there again. The rooms are very dirty. The beds are small and very uncomfortable. My g/f ended up with a rash from what I am assuming was "bed bugs." The fridge in the room was broken. It was a horrible experience..

but that's not the new pirates section.

In all likelihood, something will go wrong no matter where you stay. If you have a "I'm going to have fun" attitude, it will be a great experience. Where else are you going to find a hotel with pirate rooms????

CBR is not my favorite either, but that's not the point. Don't be nervous - enjoy the trip and make some memories while you can!

 

[Phonedave]

I was hoping that the 'seasoned' Disney veterans can offer some assistance. We have a party of 5 adults and 4 kids going to Disney in May. This will be the first time visit for my parents and the first time on Disney property for my kids and I. My husband has stayed on Disney property about a dozen times.

With that being said my husband was very insistant that we stay at the CBR in the Pirate Rooms with water view. Now after reading everyone's reviews it looks like the new rooms are located in Trinidad South. I'm scared that this will be a horrible experience....between the location from OPR and the buses picking us up last...

I'm tempted to change it to a different location, but the kids are excited about the Pirate Room....

Thanks in advance for any advice!

CBR is probaly my least favorite of the moderates. I just really don't like the way they have the Customs House set up. Maybe it's because I never rent a car and have a last day "method". The last day is always a late flight out. I hit the parks in the AM, then come back to the resort, hang out at the pool, change in the locker room, eat a final meal at the resort, and then - in a relaxed mode, take the DME to the airport.

Trudging over to the Customs house puts a kink in that.

Now, having said how CBR is my least favorite - let me also say, I would stay there again in a heartbeat. I really had no problems with the place. I don't like the Customs House thing, that is true, but aside from that, it is a perfectly fine resort. I have stayed there before, and if the need arises I will happly stay there again.

-dave

 

[wdweric2.0]

Wow...really moderator. u deleted my posts why? cause im new here and dont get to voice my opinion?

 

[CleveRocks]

OP, a few comments ....

1) Trinidad South will NOT be the last bus pick up for buses going to Magic Kingdom and to Downtown Disney ... it will be the 4th of 7 for those buses.

2) It's all a matter of perspective. Yes, you will be the final pick-up for buses going to Epcot, DHS and AK. But that also means you won't have to wait around through all the other pickups at the other villages.

3) Some people prefer Trinidad South because of its relative seclusion. I'm not one of them, but there are peoplw who feel that way.

 

[DISMOM]

When planning our 2008 trip, I read reviews of Port Orleans and found tons of reviews slamming the housekeeping. I read that things were dirty in the rooms, dusty, dirty bathrooms, ect...
Well, I made reservations there anyway, and we had a hugely fabulous time.!!! Would go back there in a heartbeat. We were able to get a room at Riverside at the last minute for the first nite of our trip, [didn't expect to be at WDW a day early] and we were freely upgraded to a water view room at the French Quarter and had a great vacation.
Take things with a grain of salt and have a wonderful, fun-filled vacation. We have been in May for all three of our trips. Love it. Can't wait to go back. Tell Mickey that we said hi.:wave:

 

[Gucci65]

I'm in the minority here because I love CBr - it is my favorite moderate resort! My room was huge, I could watch Illuminations from the beach or draw back the curtains and watch them from my room.

I loved the pool. I liked the food court and it was a little bit of a walk for us. It was a shorter walk to the custom house and that didn't bother either.

Buses were always a little crowded and if it was too full for you to climb aboard, another would come right after. You are in Disney!!! Relax and enjoy!:sohappy:

Would love to stay there on my next trip, but don't wanna pay the extra $$$$ so I'm staying at Pop.

Booked my sister in CBR for her vacation last year and it is now her favorite moderate!!

 

[Wakkie Nu Nu]

Cbr

I wouldn't worry at all... we love CBR, and as for the rooms being poor quality, a lot has changed. We just came back from a late-Jan week at CBR, and in addition to being in a smells-like-it's-brand-new renovated room, the building next to ours (in Jamaica) was completely closed and being fitted out after its overhaul.

We had stayed at CBR two years prior, and yeah, the room wasn't half as nice... but not anymore! I'm not sure what areas have yet to be renovated, though.... Also, anyone whose issue is size or amenities within the room just isn't a "Moderate" person... and that's totally okay! They'd clearly be more suited to a Deluxe... CBR is the standard size/layout of the POs (and I'm sure as CSR as well, though I've never stayed there personally).

The bus service was quick and efficient for us.. our stay spanned a slow time (mid week) and two busy times (sandwiched between Marathon weekend and MLK weekend), and we never had much of a wait. Frankly, I enjoy having the small, convenient, less crazy-packed island specific bus stops. Waiting 20 seconds to stop at other islands isn't a big issue to me, and it seemed to help crowd control as well... All I know is we seemed to wait MUCH longer for buses at POR/FQ than we did at CBR, though I know there's no rhyme or reason for that.

The beaches around the lake are great, being able to see Illuminations is great, and I really enjoyed that Old Port Royale was set aside where it was. The Food Court was always manageable, the theming was good, and the stores were very shoppable.. nice pool bar, too! The walk to OPR can be daunting (like at all the moderates except maybe POFQ), but you can always cut across Caribbean Cay, the island in the middle of the lake.

Needless to say, we really enjoyed CBR.. it's our first choice on the moderate level, and the renovated rooms have been a massive upgrade... IMHO, of course Have a wonderful trip!

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

We stayed at POR in 2007. We asked for one of the rooms that were closer to the lobby. We did not get one of those rooms. Instead, we were in one of the rooms with a less desired location. It wasn't that bad. Actually, we quite enjoyed the room. We had to walk a little more to get to the main building, but it was still fun.

 

[The Mom]

Wow...really moderator. u deleted my posts why? cause im new here and dont get to voice my opinion?

No, because rather than a general pro & con discussion, it was becoming an argument between two specific posters. You may certainly voice your opinion about the topic at hand.

 

[Fashionista007]

I'm in the minority here because I love CBr - it is my favorite moderate resort!

Me too! I've stayed there 3 times and loved it. And this is coming from a person who has also stayed at each and every Deluxe resort.

I do agree that it is a long trek to the central house where the eateries are but I rarely eat at the hotels anyway. Just keep in mind that it's not a top of the line resort so don't expect it to be. It's great for the price