Disney's CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT Information & Questions

[Lsdolphin]

How long does it take to walk between the CB skyliner station and Riviera?

if your at the CB Skyliner station why not just take the Skyliner to the Rivera station?

 

[adie_9]

if your at the CB Skyliner station why not just take the Skyliner to the Rivera station?

We are thinking about walking over to the CBR station from RR in the morning for a visit to HS.

 

[Spazz2k]

Just back from a 3 night stay at Caribbean Beach from Thursday to Sunday and my wife and I agree, that of the hotels we have stayed at so far post covid, this one seems the most normal. I say this because pretty much the entire resort minus Sebastians is open and running with obvious changes to social distancing. Some things are strange, some things are normal, but overall we enjoyed it more than the deluxe hotels we have stayed at since reopening.

Some thoughts and observations...
Main Pool and Bar are only open 9am to 9pm. Pool bar has no chairs and only 1 bartender so the line for just drinks can get real long during the mid to late afternoon on the weekends. Pools at main and quiet pools are the busiest pools we have seen since reopening...they are not bad in the morning, but by about 4 they get pretty crowded.

Quite pools are open 24hrs and they do not lock them. We were able to hang out with some friends till about 1am Friday night, and when a few cast members came to clean, they said we are fine and we could hang out all night if we wanted.

Our room was in building 42 of Jamaica which made for easy access to Skyliner and main pool, it is kind of in the middle. Jamaica note...not sure if it is from people coming from other side of resort, or guests just coming into CBR, but the parking lot fills up in the morning with people just parking there to use the Skyliner to DHS.

We only rode the Skyliner to DHS in the afternoon and evening...so no lines, but we did see the line at 9:00am on Saturday morning headed to DHS and it was pretty large. Rode Skyliner to Epcot early on Saturday and it was not a long line and moved quickly. No issues there or back from Epcot.

Mask compliance was fine at the resort, we did notice a lot of people walking around the lake that would keep mask off till they got close, then put them on and took them off after passing...this was pretty common. Also a lot of people running with and also without masks...doesn't bother me, just stating as I have seen people ask the question about "do I have to wear my mask while running"

Anyone with a question, feel free to ask

 

[moustach]

Just back from a 3 night stay at Caribbean Beach from Thursday to Sunday and my wife and I agree, that of the hotels we have stayed at so far post covid, this one seems the most normal. I say this because pretty much the entire resort minus Sebastians is open and running with obvious changes to social distancing. Some things are strange, some things are normal, but overall we enjoyed it more than the deluxe hotels we have stayed at since reopening.

Some thoughts and observations...
Main Pool and Bar are only open 9am to 9pm. Pool bar has no chairs and only 1 bartender so the line for just drinks can get real long during the mid to late afternoon on the weekends. Pools at main and quiet pools are the busiest pools we have seen since reopening...they are not bad in the morning, but by about 4 they get pretty crowded.

Quite pools are open 24hrs and they do not lock them. We were able to hang out with some friends till about 1am Friday night, and when a few cast members came to clean, they said we are fine and we could hang out all night if we wanted.

Our room was in building 42 of Jamaica which made for easy access to Skyliner and main pool, it is kind of in the middle. Jamaica note...not sure if it is from people coming from other side of resort, or guests just coming into CBR, but the parking lot fills up in the morning with people just parking there to use the Skyliner to DHS.

We only rode the Skyliner to DHS in the afternoon and evening...so no lines, but we did see the line at 9:00am on Saturday morning headed to DHS and it was pretty large. Rode Skyliner to Epcot early on Saturday and it was not a long line and moved quickly. No issues there or back from Epcot.

Mask compliance was fine at the resort, we did notice a lot of people walking around the lake that would keep mask off till they got close, then put them on and took them off after passing...this was pretty common. Also a lot of people running with and also without masks...doesn't bother me, just stating as I have seen people ask the question about "do I have to wear my mask while running"

Anyone with a question, feel free to ask

Thanks for the report! I'm considering a switch from POP to Caribbean, do you have pictures of how crowded the pools were? Also, was it a challenge getting buses in the morning? Would you recommend Jamaica if we care about transportation?

 

[Spazz2k]

I do not have any pictures of the pool from this weekend..sorry. Also we didn't do any bus stuff this trip, yes Jamaica is very convenient for transportation..it is easy to get to the Skyliner and bus station.

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

We've been here since 8/7, leaving 8/21. There's a few things that I haven't been crazy about. First day, even at 4pm they still didn't have our room ready. Since we're here for 2 weeks, we had requested a corner room, we finally ended up taking one without a view so that we could actually unpack at 4pm. I get the minimized housekeeping, but at over $200 per room (somewhere between $210 and $250 depending upon the day of the week) I would have expected that Sebastian's would have been opened, and that it wouldn't be quite so random as to getting trash and towel service.

The mask compliance has been okay. I'm actually one of the folks that does laps on the jogging trail (my wine earnings) and I keep my mask off unless I'm approaching someone else. I have seen a mixed bag, but haven't felt uncomfortable.

We have had terrible luck with the skyliner, LOL! It seems as no matter what time we elect to ride, that's when it closes down. I'm not sure if I am sold on the idea for future trips.

We have had a great time, and for the most part very manageable waits. We have only done about 3 hours a day in the parks. DH has Parkinson's Disease, so even with DAS, with no shows to spend extended periods relaxing, he can't last any longer. We have seen it all multiple times...boarding group 16 on the day that we tried, and feel like it's been a good trip.

The dining has been a bit tough. We have avoided DS at night, and the resort restaurants have been limited. The limited menus mean that it hasn't been worthwhile to repeat a particular venue, so 2 weeks worth is not easy. I'm looking forward to more choices next trip.

 

[manhattan]

We are thinking about walking over to the CBR station from RR in the morning for a visit to HS.

I would say not even 10 minutes. We walked one day from Aruba to the CBR station and that was about 5 minutes (the path winds and the crosswalk was in a weird spot). And we walked from Aruba to RR and that was definitely less than 5 minutes - and that was pushing a stroller!

 

[manhattan]

Thanks for the report! I'm considering a switch from POP to Caribbean, do you have pictures of how crowded the pools were? Also, was it a challenge getting buses in the morning? Would you recommend Jamaica if we care about transportation?

Here is a picture of the pool - everyone really just kept to their little group. Sorry that it is sideways - I can't figure out how to rotate.

 

[adie_9]

I would say not even 10 minutes. We walked one day from Aruba to the CBR station and that was about 5 minutes (the path winds and the crosswalk was in a weird spot). And we walked from Aruba to RR and that was definitely less than 5 minutes - and that was pushing a stroller!

Awesome! We will be using our stroller too!

 

[vinmar4]

Just came back from a 4 day stay.

The main pool was crowded at around 4 - we had to wait about 15 minutes with only two people in front of us. There were plenty of chairs - though none with an umbrella. About 45 minutes later I happened to look up at the entrance gate and there was a much longer line of people waiting to get in. I also saw people waiting for the person working the exit gate to walk away and then they just walked in through the exit We were in Aruba building 51 with a partial view of the lake. Was able to get a microwave delivered

For HS - we left our room at 9:10 - got to the Skyliner which ended at the bottom of the ramp, long line that moved at a descent pace for temperature check, but then we were pulled aside to have the diaper bag checked, which turned into a long process of removing everything and then repacking - we did not have to do this at AK. Made it through with less than two minutes to 10. Opened app, was adding my family to the group and all BGs were gone! In seconds!!!!! I looked at my phone and it was still 10:00. Everyone around me was excited, not me. Long lines at the blue umbrellas, so we just decided to enjoy the park. At 2 I tried again and the app just kept crashing - but somehow we were assigned backup group 81. At 6:30 we get the notification! The girls were so excited - the got in - they said the ride broke down for about 40 minutes but they loved it. Seems like shortly after the lightning struck.

We got stuck at the Boardwalk when the Skyliner went down due to the weather and the chaos at the bus stop was unreal. If you can uber back - totally recommend. People weren't waiting - being rude to the dispatcher and no social distancing.

Parks were a little more crowded - able to do all rides - but that was being at parks from opening to closing. Some rides were walk-on, while others like ToT were an hour wait.

Food was limited - so we enjoyed going off property to grab dinner.

Any questions - let me know!

Hello,
We are arriving this Sat and staying some days at Riviera, our DD wants to go to DHS to celebrate her 18th birthday, she got to choose where we should go and eat on her day. We are aware that DHS is possibly the most crowded park besides MK. We don't have to get the boarding passes if we can't , we already got them this past March. We would like to know when you saw that park not that crowded. We will go during the week ,but we are trying to decide at what time we should arrive , if we want to do some other rides. We have dinner reservations for Topolino's at 7pm.
TIA

 

[crayon3448]

We were there this week and got to Skyliner around 8:45 (starts running at 9am). People were already in line, but the CMs were holding the line at the entrance, so even though it looked really full, there weren't that many people ahead of us. Once they let people onto the ramp at 9 and started running, we were on in a snap. We were through temp and bag check, scanned into the park and on our way to the first line (slinky dog) before 9:30. They actually started running the ride before 10 and we were able to ride and THEN walk all the way back down to ToT and RnRC for the 10am RotR virtual BG dump.

When we were still on the Skyliner on our way into the park, we saw ALLLLLL the cars being held at the parking lot entrances. Our early arrival at the Skyliner and using that instead of driving in set us up nicely to beat many other groups into the park. YMMV

*Edit to fix typo

We had almost the same experience today. Got in skyliner line at 8:45. It started running right at 9 but those 15 minutes in the direct sun with no shade were brutal and for a minute I regretted not driving. But we were through bag check, in the park and in line for MMRR right before 9:30. They started the ride early, we were off it at 9:50 and snagged a boarding pass standing right outside at 10.

 

[crayon3448]

Can't comment on buses as we haven't taken them this trip but we've had good luck with the skyliner. We are in Jamaica which is where we usually stay at CBR. It's out favorite. We actually switched from POP to CBR for the longer pool hours for this trip. Also the main pool at CBR closes for bad weather but the quiet pools with no lifeguards do not. Not sure your stance on that but the quiet pools at POP are lifeguarded so they all close.

 

[CrankyDad]

Is there a set location for the rooms that have pull down sleeper sofa? Or are they available in all the sections? Thank you

 

[dansdad]

Is there a set location for the rooms that have pull down sleeper sofa? Or are they available in all the sections? Thank you

Every building has some except in Trinidad which is Pirate Themed Rooms only.

 

[NokOnHarts]

When heading to MK & AK, what's a good time to be at the bus stop for rope drop these days?

 

[dansdad]

When heading to MK & AK, what's a good time to be at the bus stop for rope drop these days?

Have friends there now. They've been getting to the bus stop 45-60 minutes before rope drop and have been arriving in plenty of time.

 

[NokOnHarts]

Have friends there now. They've been getting to the bus stop 45-60 minutes before rope drop and have been arriving in plenty of time.

That is helpful, thanks!

 

[manhattan]

Hello,
We are arriving this Sat and staying some days at Riviera, our DD wants to go to DHS to celebrate her 18th birthday, she got to choose where we should go and eat on her day. We are aware that DHS is possibly the most crowded park besides MK. We don't have to get the boarding passes if we can't , we already got them this past March. We would like to know when you saw that park not that crowded. We will go during the week ,but we are trying to decide at what time we should arrive , if we want to do some other rides. We have dinner reservations for Topolino's at 7pm.
TIA

We only did AK on Sunday and HS on Monday. At HS my daughter did all the rides and was able to do RNR, TOT, Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog twice, but was there from opening to closing.

 

[happydwarfs]

Has anyone stayed at Saratoga Springs recently? Our stay was planned for French Quarter, but since it is closed, Disney called to move us to SS in a studio room. I had figured they would move us to CBR and had read up on here about the resort. We’ve stayed at CBR once, but it was pre-skyliner. Any thoughts comparing room accommodations, restaurants, and transportation? Most of our time will be spent in the parks with maybe an evening or two at Disney Springs. We won’t be using the pools. We’ll have a car but prefer to use Disney transportation.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Has anyone stayed at Saratoga Springs recently? Our stay was planned for French Quarter, but since it is closed, Disney called to move us to SS in a studio room. I had figured they would move us to CBR and had read up on here about the resort. We’ve stayed at CBR once, but it was pre-skyliner. Any thoughts comparing room accommodations, restaurants, and transportation? Most of our time will be spent in the parks with maybe an evening or two at Disney Springs. We won’t be using the pools. We’ll have a car but prefer to use Disney transportation.

We wrapped up a week long stay about 8 days ago at CBR and given the current bus issues, I’d research what ssr bus situation is and if better, stick with Saratoga. The skyliner is great but it does periodically go down for inclement weather so it’s not always running therefore buses to/from Epcot and DHS are sluggish. We waited about 30-45 min for buses most days. Also buses to CBR from DHS and Epcot we’re equally as slow when the skyliner was down. The only bus we never waited long for was AK. We had our car too but usually always rely on WDW transport. In 15+ years and dozens of trips, this was the worst experience we’ve ever had with Disney transportation.