Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review

I enjoyed my stay at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, a moderate Disney resort, and wanted to share the information you need to plan your visit. 

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Overview

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is a Disney World moderate resort. With over 2,000 rooms, this is a large resort with a Caribbean theme. There are 24 hotel buildings spread across five resort sections named for Caribbean islands Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica, Martinique, and Trinidad. Each section has three to six hotel buildings which are themed in fun Caribbean colors.

As you walk the mile-long trail around the resort, you’ll notice that it is centered around Barefoot Bay. The resort is relatively quiet and has a relaxing feel. Landscaping is lush and tropical. Each section of the resort has a beach area on the lake with chairs and hammocks. Also found in each section is a pool and Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountain.

Caribbean Beach Resort Rooms

Rooms in Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort are spacious and provide some nice amenities. Each room has either two Queen beds or one King bed. Another option is a pirate-themed room which as two double beds. Between the beds, you’ll find two power outlets and two USB outlets.

Some rooms also have a child pull-down bed which turns the sofa into a bed, a nice feature but it will only work for a small person.

Rooms have a table with two chairs. A glass-door refrigerator will keep your snacks or beverages cold. Just inside the door, there is a shelf with pegs to hang things. This is a nice touch and a great place to hang up hats, jackets, or ponchos.

There is no closet in the room. However, in the bathroom area, you’ll find an area to hang clothes and a small room safe. For privacy, the bathroom area can be separated from the rest of the room by a barn door.

The bathroom area has two sinks. The shower is pretty basic but it does have dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. H2O.

Dining at The Caribbean Beach Resort

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has several available dining options.

A new table-service option, Sebastian’s, offers a Latin and Caribbean menu from 5:00-10:00 each day. You might enjoy Jerk Chicken or Coconut Shrimp & Grits. While I wasn’t able to get a reservation for Sebastian’s during my stay, I’ll definitely make it a point to dine here in the future.

Centertown Market is a quick serve restaurant in Old Port Royale. Centertown Market is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You might enjoy a Cuban sandwich or fish tacos. I had a Jerk Chicken bowl that was pretty tasty. The menu posted on a video screen. Note that the restaurant is not open all day long, it closes for portions of the day. Menus are not displayed when it is closed. However, you can visit the Disney World web site to get the latest Centertown Market menu to see their offerings.

Another quick serve option is the Spyglass Grill, located near the pool in the Trinidad section of the resort.

By the main pool, you’ll find the Banana Cabana, a pool bar offering burgers, salads, and a variety of beverages.

One interesting thing to note is that beverage glasses for the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines found in the quick service restaurants have a RFID on the bottom. You can use the freestyle machine to get a limited number of refills during a limited time. Note that there are Freestyle Coke machines in several locations throughout the resort. If you buy a resort mug, you won’t have to walk all the way to the main building to get a beverage.

Caribbean Beach Resort Pools

The main resort pool is the Fuentes del Morro Pool, located by Old Port Royale. This has a nice pool with a slide, a fantastic splash pool, and a hot tub. There are poolside games and activities throughout much of the day such as water balloon games and the Jammin’ Pool Party Bash. The hot tub is located in a quieter section of the pool area.

Each section of the resort has its own swimming pool. These are nice pools that don’t have all of the action at the main pool.

Other Caribbean Beach Resort Amenities

There is a lot to see and do at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Walk the over one mile trail around the resort and you will find beach areas with chairs and hammocks for each section of the resort. On a small island in the middle of Barefoot Bay, you’ll discover a playground and some quiet sitting areas.

There are fun daily activities like Mickey Tie-Die, Bingo, trivia, and a photo scavenger hunt. Some activities have an extra charge. You can also play games like foosball or billiards.

At night, you can watch a movie under the stars. There is a great selection of G and PG movies like Enchanted, Bambi, and Monsters, Inc. Note that also showing some PG-13 movies like Avengers: Infinity War. You’ll get a movie schedule when you check in.

Caribbean Beach Resort Transportation and Parking

Resort check in is at Old Port Royale. Whether arriving by Disney’s Magical Express or by your car, you’ll stop here first. Short term parking is available during check-in.

If you have your own car, there are parking lots available for each of the resort sections. You can park near the building with your room. However, you may still need to walk a bit to get to your room. There are outside stairs and an elevator for each building. Note that Disney now charges a daily parking fee.

Once parked, you may find it easier to use the resort bus transportation to get to the theme parks. Since the resort is large, you may also want to use bus transportation to get around the resort. There are bus stops provided for each section of the resort.

Busses are the main transportation provided to the theme and water parks. The bus stops are a sheltered area and some seating is provided. Expected wait times for busses to different locations is provided on a TV monitor. Buses loop around the resort stopping several times before heading to their destination.

This resort is located near Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Typhoon Lagoon water park. Expect a short ride to these destinations and a longer ride if you are heading to other Disney World parks.

I highly recommend using Disney’s bus transportation rather than driving to the theme parks. While you may have to wait 15 minutes for a bus, the overall time to your destination is usually less than if you drive. Busses will drop you off near to the park entrance. If you drive to the Magic Kingdom, you’ll park at the Ticket & Transportation Center, then you’ll need to take either a monorail or ferry boat to get to the park.

In Fall 2019, the Disney Skyliner will provide an additional transportation option to get to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

Upcoming Changes to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Upcoming changes to the Caribbean Beach Resort include the new Disney Skyliners. This service which will start operating in the Fall of 2019 is intended to provide easy transportation to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Note that construction of the Skyliners required putting large metal posts near some of the buildings. This will likely impact the nice view for some rooms. Noise may also be a factor.

Another change is the construction of the new Disney’s Riviera Resort, a Disney Vacation Club resort. Located at the end of Barefoot Bay, this resort changes the view and feel of the Caribbean Beach Resort. With the addition of 300 rooms, the Riviera Resort is likely to have an impact on the area.

Thanks

Thanks for reading this review of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. I hope you found it to be helpful. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

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