Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, Better for Kids!
Written: Nov 18 '07 (Updated Nov 18 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Transportation, pools, and early-late extended hours for resort guests, huge!
Cons: Three hours for luggage delivery? Also limited action on site of the resort.
The Bottom Line: If you want a no fuss vacation, Disneys Caribbean Beach Resort is great for family and kids. Transportation, a food package, and nice pools are available.
|
|
|
| JBduckling's Full Review: Disneys Caribbean Beach |
After a business trip had changed destinations, my Disney room reservation had been changed to Disney's Caribbean Resort instead of one of the convention hotels. All in all, it was a pleasurable experience!
I had done my homework on another Disney property, which was more convention orientated. However, I decided to bring my family down, and the folks recommended the Caribbean Beach Resort instead. I am glad we made the change. Room price was $165 a night which is considered moderate.
First, use the Disney Magical Express bus service from the airport to your room. If you have enough time, you can go on line with your reservation information and book a Disney bus to your hotel, in this case, it was to the Caribbean Resort. You put special Disney tags on your luggage, specially unloaded at Orlando International Airport and delivered to your room. After switching properties, I was fearful they would be mishandled, not the case. However, it took three hours to get your luggage delivered to your room AFTER check in.
The Disney Magical Express dropped us off at the resort check in area, away from rooms. The front desk staff was courteous, as it came up I was booked twice. She checked on the reservation, canceled one of them, and made sure no other "live" registrations were out there for me family. After checking in and receiving resort information, we went to our room, via a shuttle Disney bus.
Our room was a standard double-double size, near the pool, on the second floor. It was quiet, a refrigerator was in the room, TV was nothing special, a standard hotel TV. Internet connection was $9.95 a night, but instead of near a table, the connection was located on the nightstand, making it cozy to use, a bit awkward. Bathroom vanity and sink was separate, with a very small shower/bathtub. Really, how much time do you spend in the room? Room was always clean, plenty of towels, shampoo and soap. Complimentary coffee was also provided.
We had a pool in the Jamaica complex, right outside our door. Since we were waiting for our luggage, the boys shorts were fine, as they wanted to jump in immediately. Weather at night was in the 60's, pool was a toasty 89. There was another pool at the Port complex, which included a mini-slide and a whirlpool. This was available to all guests. There were plenty of deck chairs around the pool, towels were provided at the port pool, not at the local one. There was a laundry near the pool, for self service wash and dry.
A huge bonus was the "extended morning or evening hours" for resort guests. One night MGM-Disney was open for an additional 3 hours, 8pm-11pm for resort guests. You bring your room key for your party, get a wrist band, and can stay late to enjoy attractions missed. This is a nice benefit to Caribbean Beach Resort guests. Every day, a theme park is open early or closing late for the enjoyment of resort guests only. We got to hit a couple of MGM attractions which otherwise were too long of a wait.
The Port complex included a small cabana bar, a food court, concierge service, and a gift area. The food court had a sit down restaurant, The Shutters, which was OK and Disney pricey. The food court offered kids meals for under $5 which were fine for our boys and regular fare was typical for a food court, sandwiches, salads, etc. Prices were from $6-$10 and also included a side. After five nights, though, I had had enough and would have needed a change. Disney also had a "buy a mug" promotion at the Caribbean Resort. For $12.95, you could refill your thermal cup as long as you stayed in the resort. At $2 a pop for coffee and soda, the mug purchase was a wise investment. The Gift shop was standard Disney, with pins, souvenirs, some small snacks, etc. Nothing special. There is also a nice 1.3 mile walkway around the complex for strolling or jogs. This wrapped around the internal lake of the complex.
The Disney theme parks, along with Downtown Disney were all accessible via the Disney transport system. At the Caribbean, the major mode was the bus but boats and monorail could be accessed via the Epcot terminal-ticket area. We did not rent a car nor taxi during our trip, it was not needed as Disney transportation got us around, timely from the resort. If we stayed any longer, I think a car would have been in order. All Disney transportation from the airport, on the resort, to the parks, back to the airport is complimentary.
Check was automatic, no problems. Bellman stored our luggage so we could spend an extra half day at the Magic Kingdom. We took a bus back to the hotel check in area, picked up another bus to the airport and on our way. Disney has the entire process as a science. Only complaint for the Caribbean Beach Resort was you are in the middle of no where, unless you take a bus to Downtown Disney, you are stuck! And after five days, patience was running thin.
Disneys Caribbean Resort is great for families with kids, however, after five days, it was getting a bit stale.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
JBduckling
|
 in Sports & Outdoors |
 in Sports & Outdoors |
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: The Great State of Wisconsin
Reviews written: 432
Trusted by: 187 members
About Me:
The boys have Mommy's good looks. There's a resemblance between me and cat. Poor Kitty!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.