The Caribbean Beach Resort opened in 1988, and was the first ever Disney hotel in the category the company now classifies as moderate.
Over the last four decades, the resort has become a favorite for many, but there are still things anyone staying at the hotel needs to consider. Across my 30 years of visiting Walt Disney World, I’ve stayed at Caribbean Beach a couple of times, and I sure wish I had known them beforehand.
No Elevators
Let’s start with one of the most glaring issues with the hotel to modern eyes: The lack of elevators. The hotel is made up of two-story buildings that are grouped into one of five villages, with shared resources, none of which feature elevators.
Now, the hotel does have wheelchair-accessible rooms, all of which are located on ground level. However, guests in standard rooms will need to climb up and down the stairs each time they leave their room… or return from a long, likely hot park day.
Sprawling Grounds
The Caribbean Beach Resort’s grounds are LARGE. While this does mean that there are some beautiful views around the property, it also means a stay there usually involves a lot of walking to reach common areas and transportation. This can especially prove to be an issue for those with mobility issues, as some of the resort’s paths are made up of hills and uneven sidewalks.
The hotel DOES feature an inter-hotel bus service that can take guests around the hotel. However, it’s important to remember that taking these buses can add a lot of travel time.
Double the Skyliner?
The Caribbean Beach Resort is on the Walt Disney World Skyliner line, giving guests access to the gondola system. As mentioned above, some of the resort’s rooms are far from the Skyliner station. However, there is a silver lining here: Some of these rooms are actually in much closer walking distance to the Riviera Resort’s Skyline station, meaning that these guests potentially have two stations to choose from.
Access to the Fuentos del Morro Pool
The Caribbean Beach Resort is home to one of Walt Disney World’s more elaborate feature pools: the Fuentes del Morro Pool. Themed after a colonial Spanish fortress, the pool area offers 2 waterslides, man-of-war cannons, a shipwreck play area, complete with mini slides, a crow’s nest, and a “barrel of laughs” that dispenses a drenching downpour.
This pool area is so popular that occasionally, usually during busy times, guests are required to present proof of stay at the hotel and wear a wristband to access it.
Fireworks!
To end on a positive note, there are some areas at the Caribbean Beach Resort that provide stunning nighttime views of the higher-in-the-sky portions of EPCOT’s nightly fireworks display.
If you’re considering a stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort, you absolutely need to consider each of these issues before booking. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Disney World’s hotels.
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Have you ever stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort? How was your stay? Let us know in the comments below.
I’ve stayed the Caribbean resort many times and have found it just great and peaceful too.
I idea that there’s no elevators is just ridiculous it’s just a few stairs , elevators are really not needed.
We LOVED CBR and always stayed in the Aruba building. It was our “home” resort for many years. As time went on we tried Club Level at several of the Deluxe resorts. Except for the service they provided (hence the “Deluxe”) we liked CBR just as much as The Contemporary and actually better than Beach Club. Polynesian has stolen our hearts though. I should have known as CBR is nicknamed “Poly Light”. CBR is a solid resort with great amenities and the POOL is AWESOME for kids of every age!
We stayed at this resort several years ago, and it was the dirtiest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in: Cobwebs hanging from the light fixture that looked like they belonged on the haunted house ride, garbage left under the bed, and all around just dingy feeling. The grounds were nice and I don’t recall any issues getting to transportation (although I believe I reserved a room keeping that in mind), my kids loved the pool, and it was easy to get a cheap meal from the restaurant by ordering pizza, but based on the condition of the room, I will never stay at that resort again.