Swan hotel v Caribbean Beach Resort

[Jackmaxclem]

Hi...I've just booked flights for my 11year daughter and I to take out first trip to DW next May16th (for 7 days). I haven't booked a hotel yet. I have a bit of a dilemma...do i book CBR with free dining plan package (self service) which is a bit of a distance from Magic Castle and Epcot etc or do I book The Swan which seems to be a bit more grown up, nearer to MK etc but doesn't have the free dining. I guess i need to know if the dining plan is a good trade off for sitting on a shuttle bus for long periods of time as the prices come out roughly the same for the Swan (without food) and the mod hotel package....Advice would be much appreciated.
Also, Can anyone give me an idea as to how long a bus ride from CBR to Magic Kingdom will take mid May? (....lowish crowd levels from what i understand from the crowd calendar site). Thank you

 

[Disneydreamer23]

Caribbean Beach resort is beautiful I would pick that over the swan any day and having the free Dining Plan saves a lot of money if I had your choice I would definitely choose Caribbean Beach it's not that far from any four of the parks.

 

[Jackmaxclem]

Thank you, that's very helpful.... Can you remember roughly how long you sat on a bus from CBR to MK?

 

[Master Yoda]

The transportation time to MK is roughly the same for all resorts save for WL and the Monorail resorts.

This link will give you exact times. http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx

Being at S&D is great for DHS and Epcot as you can walk there, but it is not real different than any other resort for getting to the other parks.

S&D is also not a Disney resort so that means no free DME from the airport, no Magic Band, no Dining Plan. You will also be charged to park at the resort and there will also be a resort fee tacked onto your nightly rate.

While S&D is a very nice resort with a great pool, there is nothing "Disney" about them. The look and feel like pretty much any convention style resort you would find in any US city.

 

[Jackmaxclem]

That's very helpful, thank you

 

[TiggerDad]

CBR is a lot closer to the Swan than you think. They are about equal distance to Magic Kingdom.

I can't speak to the Swan's bus service, but CBR has multiple bus stops around the resort. It is spread out with lots of smaller buildings around a lake, while the Swan is one big hotel. I think most of the CBR construction is supposed to be finished by May, but not all.

 

[Jackmaxclem]

Thank you, that is most helpful!
I have to say that i was a bit concerned about the construction especially after i watched a video (taken at CBR in July) which was posted on youtube. I think that my daughter would much prefer a 'Disney themed' hotel but was a bit concerned about sitting on buses for long periods of time!!

 

[Master Yoda]

Thank you, that is most helpful!
I have to say that i was a bit concerned about the construction especially after i watched a video (taken at CBR in July) which was posted on youtube. I think that my daughter would much prefer a 'Disney themed' hotel but was a bit concerned about sitting on buses for long periods of time!!

You pretty much described the busses for every resort on property.

 

[Jackmaxclem]

lol.....un-avoidable then!!
I'm hoping that going during UK school time (not sure when the USA kids are on holidays) we will miss the most crowded/busiest times..?

 

[Master Yoda]

lol.....un-avoidable then!!
I'm hoping that going during UK school time (not sure when the USA kids are on holidays) we will miss the most crowded/busiest times..?

There really are no slow times at WDW anymore. Crowd levels pretty much start at busy and work there way up from there.

 

[nickys]

CBR is a lot closer to the Swan than you think. They are about equal distance to Magic Kingdom.

I can't speak to the Swan's bus service, but CBR has multiple bus stops around the resort. It is spread out with lots of smaller buildings around a lake, while the Swan is one big hotel. I think most of the CBR construction is supposed to be finished by May, but not all.

The construction for the new Riviera resort will still be ongoing, and it's doubtful the gondola work will be completed - the station building may be done but even that isn't certain. However I would hope the rework of the actual CBR resort will be almost done.

 

[TiggerDad]

Thank you, that is most helpful!
I have to say that i was a bit concerned about the construction especially after i watched a video (taken at CBR in July) which was posted on youtube. I think that my daughter would much prefer a 'Disney themed' hotel but was a bit concerned about sitting on buses for long periods of time!!

The bus ride in the morning doesn't feel long, because you are excited about where you are going! The one home at night feels longer. We try to avoid going back to the resort mid-day, or hopping from one park to another, in order to minimize bus time. But it's really not that bad. You could rent a car and drive to each park, but I wouldn't recommend doing that to MK because there is the extra step of getting from the parking lot to the TTC then to the park itself, which the buses bypass.