CBR and taking the buses?

[felix367]

So this is our first trip to Disney (my wife has been, but never stayed on-site and never with our daughter, so it was some time ago) so we don't really know what to expect. We booked the Caribbean Beach Resort just based on theme and cost, without knowing anything else about the Resort or trip times. Then she buys the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (or something like that, the one that allows you to access www.touringplans.com).

Anyway, she just read in that book that travel times to and from the parks are about 2-3 hours per TRIP from the CBR! So, according to the book, you shouldn't plan on getting back to your hotel for a mid-afternoon nap, which we wanted to do with our 5 year old. Did she read this wrong or is that about right for this resort? Can we change the travel times if we rent a car and drive ourselves?

Frankly, spending 6 HOURS per day waiting for and riding a bus doesn't sound like a very nice vacation.

Thanks for any advice on this!

Sean

 

[CleveRocks]

Stayed at CBR twice, NOTHING negative to say about the buses AT ALL.

Two or three hours??? From CBR, I think I could take a taxi to MCO, wait at security, and catch a plane and land in the ACTUAL Caribbean in less than 3 hours!

No, it will never take 2 or 3 hours to get from CBR to a theme park on Disney Transport buses, not unless there is a mechanical or psychological breakdown along the way ....

 

[monorailguy01]

ok heres what I think,

1) The bus system could be slow yes, BUT does not take 2-3 hours to get to the parks.

2)Why rent a car? the bus and monorail is free. I can see if you will be going out of Disney and need a car thats understandable but to go to the parks from hotel thats just a waste of money.

2)You also have to think about this if you are getting a rental car and will be driving to the parks each day you are going to have to pay for parking 10 dollers.

4)If you plan on staying till park closes each day then yes the bus system is slow, it is like one big mob all trying to get on one bus. I would suggest take your time getting out of the parks since you have a 5 year old im sure you will not be rushing around but anywho take your time so by the time you get to the bus stop a good chunk of people have left and the line will not be so long.

5)Naps I would talk to your wife about this one. Going from a park back to your hotel for a nap is not worth it even if your kid is little, they can sleep in a stroller while you walk around the parks. The reason I say this is because I know people who have little kids and tried going back to the resort for a nap and by the time they got to the resort they did not want to go back to the parks.

I think thats all I have to say. I will check out the bus system and try to post while im in Disney I leave in 8 hours :sohappy:

 

[Space Ranger]

2)You also have to think about this if you are getting a rental car and will be driving to the parks each day you are going to have to pay for parking 10 dollers.

Not exactly true. Resort Guests can park at any of the theme parks for free.

I have also stayed at CBR. Sometimes the wait in the morning for a bus was 20-30 minutes, but this still made your time to get to the parks including the wait only 40-50 minutes. A few times we got lucky and it was much less than this.

 

[figmentmom]

Bus service to and from the CBR is a bit slower than bus service to and from Port Orleans (at least, in our experience), but it certainly isn't a two-hour proposition! My advice is to plan on leaving the resort as early as you can in the morning, before the buses are really crowded. You won't have much trouble leaving for a nap and then returning UNLESS you leave after the afternoon parade, in which case you may run into a longer wait.

Enjoy your trip! :wave:

 

[Miss Bell]

No, that book is wrong. We stayed at CBR last summer, and the longest we ever waited for a bus was probably 45 minutes, and that was after a fireworks show. The Disney buses are supposed to run every 20-30 minutes.

We leave tomorrow for our eleventh trip, most of them on-site, and I have never waited two hours for bus anywhere on property.

 

[Matpez]

The comment isn't about Waiting 2 hours, but that you should plan up to 2 hours to get from one location to another. I gave an example above as to what this actually means, like going from a resort to resort.

 

[TikiBeckie]

The comment isn't about Waiting 2 hours, but that you should plan up to 2 hours to get from one location to another. I gave an example above as to what this actually means, like going from a resort to resort.

The fact is, unless your going during Christmas or school vacations, you are NOT going to have to wait 2 hours inbetween parks and resorts anytime, sorry...but out of the 25 times I have been to disney during all sorts of times of the year, this has never once happened. We go to different resorts for dinner all the time, and sometimes it may take a full hour to go from resort, to park, to a different resort, it is never 2 hours!

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

We, too, stayed at CBR this past November. Stayed in Jamaica - 1st stop in the morning so were sure of a seat. The longest wait was 45 minutes @ MK after Wishes. Other than that, we had no problems. And I wouldn't try to come back to the room every day - maybe every other day for a nap, let her take a snooze in the stroller. Or plan an early evening a couple of days - you'll want a chance to put your feet up, too.

 

[jfries10]

My father went to WDW last May and stayed at CBR. He went with a group of his friends from work, and 2 of them required motorized wheelchairs becasue they have trouble walking too much. One thing to know about my dad and he can manage to get lost going out to check the mail!! He is terrible at directions and likes to keep things simple. With that being said, he told me the bus system from CBR was great, even with taking the extra time to load the 2 'scooters' they never had more than a 45 wait/ride time anywhere. They never waiting too long for a bus and never had any issues the whole trip. I will be staying at CBR in April and I hope to experience the same thing. I am expecting maybe 45 mintues at the most, I hate I am not disappointed!!

 

[surfsupdon]

I've stayed at Caribbean Beach 14 times total. We love it. Busses are really never a problem, no more a problem than at any other Disney Resort.

There is always so much hate towards bussing. Personally, monorails have given us our fair share of headaches. Always trapped/stopped on the beam waiting for the monorail ahead to reach a certain clearance away. The odor inside is rank. And the boats move ever so slow. I don't mind the busses.


(Of course I prefer walking to the parks, yeah Yacht Club!!)

Don't worry about CBR. But make sure you don't get caught in a too far away island! Walking can be a pain, especially traveling with the little one. Instead of paying extra for a "preferred location," request a room in Aruba 52 (buildings are pink, purple, red and white with green roofs) or Jamaica 44 and 45 (buildings are yellow and white with baby blue roofing). Both are a cheaper alternative with a great location. Near a bus stop and a quick 5-7 minute walk across two bridges and through a tropical island inhabited by so many animals!! Your daughter will love this walk, you will too.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

i never really understood the hate towards the busses. I have never had to wait longer than 15 minutes or so for a bus, and it has never taken longer than 10-15 minutes from any of the resorts I have stayed at to get to any of the parks. I also NEVER go during very busy times, so maybe I am missing something! To pay to get a car each day because you dont want to wait for a bus makes no sense to me...maybe I am just cheap!:shrug:

I agree! Disney transportation has always been great to me, even if it takes a few extra minutes, I always enjoyed having someone chauffer ME around instead of driving everywhere myself (like I have to do on my commute at home). As the misqoute of the travel times was already addressed, I'll just leave it at that!

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

Don't worry about CBR. But make sure you don't get caught in a too far away island! Walking can be a pain, especially traveling with the little one. Instead of paying extra for a "preferred location," request a room in Aruba 52 (buildings are pink, purple, red and white with green roofs) or Jamaica 44 and 45 (buildings are yellow and white with baby blue roofing). Both are a cheaper alternative with a great location. Near a bus stop and a quick 5-7 minute walk across two bridges and through a tropical island inhabited by so many animals!! Your daughter will love this walk, you will too.

Yes, this is where we stayed. Could see the bus stop from our room....if and when we return this is where I would request to stay again.

 

[lentesta]

I believe the actual times listed in the book are in the range of 30-45 minutes from CBR to the parks. Not sure where the 2-hour numbers are coming from.

Keep in mind the 30-45 minute estimates are door-to-door, from your hotel room to the park bus stop. They include the time needed to walk to the bus stop, wait for the bus, drive to the park, and get off the bus.

Thanks for reading the book.

Len

 

[surfsupdon]

Yes, as stated, the 2-hour number is entirely wrong. Whether it was said in the book or not, CBR is very centrally located and actual times of waiting on the bus itself are very short to get to a theme park.


However, the book does incorrectly state the rooms at CBR as only 314 square feet, when in actuality they are 340 square feet, slightly larger than at the other moderates. And they also state Barbados as the centrally located island thus providing more foot traffic and noise. To anyone that has actually stayed at CBR, we know that Barbados is way off on the side of the Resort and usually MORE quiet than Martinique or Trinidad North b/c of its remote location to Center Towne. The latter two islands have the most foot traffic and noise b/c of their close proximity to Old Port Royale and all the recreation there.

Have a great time at the Resort, don't worry about the bussing!!

 

[fudwrapper]

We stayed at the CBR early this January, and we have a 3 yr old. we used the buses the entire time, and went back to the resort every afternoon for a nap, and I don't think we ever waited longer than 15 minutes for a bus, ever. The only time we had a long wait was after Illuminations, because we were at the far end of the park, and by the time we got to our bus stop there was about 2 bus loads already waiting! but even then it went much quicker than i would have expected. don't worry about all the negativity posted here about the bus system. we use the buses solely when we go, and we have stayed at CBR twice, and i have absolutely no complaints about them. have fun!

 

[felix367]

I didn't know that lentesta. Are the times for taking a car also door-to-door? I assume they are or they wouldn't be a valid comparison, but I ask because the times to Epcot and DTD are so much faster by car than bus.

I am still a bit surprised that it takes so long for a bus to get to Epcot from the CBR, because the CBR looks like it's across the street from Epcot (at least according to Google Earth, as I've never been to Disney).

It looks like renting a car is the way to go for those times you want to go to Epcot or DTD from the CBR.

The travel time chart has been helpful.

Thanks.

 

[slappy magoo]

I'm going by sheer memory here, and I can't find it in the most current Unofficial Guide, but I remember the last Unofficial Guide I bought a few years ago suggested that people (and especially families with little kids) should anticipate going back to the resort for 2 to 3 hours to rest up (and even more if the kids are really little).

Is it possible the OP's wife just misread that passage, and instead of reading it as "try to go back to your hotel to rest for 2 to 3 hours" she thought it read "it'll take you 2 to 3 hours to get back to your resort in order to rest?"

 

[felix367]

I think that's what happened slappy magoo. She wasn't able to find where it said the travel times were 2-3 hours, and hadn't gotten to the travel time charts yet. Based on the responses here, I was able to point her to the charts and the travel times seem much more reasonable (though we will probably get a car for travel to Epcot, DTD, and the day we're at the beach).

Thanks.

 

[slappy magoo]

If that's the case, then I guess we can bid this thread a fond adieu. Glad so many of us were able to allay your concerns.

 

[lentesta]

felix367, yes, drive times should be door-to-door.

slappy magoo, love your sig. Reminds me of what someone said about the film Amadeus: "A movie no one understood, about music no one listens to."

Len