[ranedrops]

Hi Guys. We just made our ressies to stay at the CBR for the first time this August. I understand this is a huge resort.
Any input would be appreciated - what building to request, how is the busing, etc, etc.

[Goofy3230]

I haven't stayed there in a while (7 yrs), but we really liked it. The rooms are bigger than other moderates, the pools are nice. We didn't use Disney transportation, so I can't help you with that. We considered that for this trip, but since DH got a big bonus, we're staying at the Poly. Overall, it's very nice!

[momofaprincess]

We stayed in Jamaica 45 last year and LOVED the location! We were just over the bridge from Old Port Royale (Food Court and Main Pool area). And had a great view of both the pool and the river/pond....There was a beach right there with hammocks to relax in and a playground for the kids to play on. The bus stop for Jamaica was the first stop for most of the routes, so you get your pick of seats for the rest of the ride around the resort.

CBR is a HUGE resort, but it's beautiful!

[bethishooked]

Georgeous resort, and even though it's huge, it's laid out that you are never with crowds. At least that's how it was when we were there. There are hammocks on the beach that you can use to watch the sunset, for some down time. The buses ran on time, but have to warn you it takes a while to get out of the resort. I believe there are 6 or 7 bus stops. So if you are at the first one, you have to sit through the remaining 5 or 6 other stops, which takes time. Keep that in mind if you have ADRs you need to get to.

[tinkerbelle24]

I havent stayed there in like 6 years or something but I did really like the resort. Sorry cant comment on the room location but have fun!

[Val32]

Originally Posted by ranedrops

Hi Guys. We just made our ressies to stay at the CBR for the first time this August. I understand this is a huge resort.
Any input would be appreciated - what building to request, how is the busing, etc, etc.

I stayed here for my first trip to WDW back in 2004, lol.
I originally had the Preferred booked then when I rebooked, I got just a std room and I was kicking myself because I did not understand just how BIG that resort is!!!!! So that would be my suggestion to you. Book the preferred room location and you will get a room closer to the pool and food court Old Port Royale. I really enjoyed staying there but did not manage my time efficiently and did not get to "use" the resort that much!
Iam very sorry we did not get a chance to go in the pool there, I loved the theming of it as did my DD.
We ate at the food court a few times, it was ok and DD got her hair wrapped there too, that is something I will never do again because she lost hair taking the wrap out. I was being so careful and it took over an hour only in the end to lose some of her hair anyways. BUT if you are going to do it for one of your kids, take a piece closest to the bottom of the head in the back. Because if they lose hair (most likely) you won't notice the bald spot if it's in the back!
That has nothing to do with the resort, I know, but just thought I add that in there.
I really liked the location of the resort and all, I definately would go back 1 day but stay in the Preferred room location!

[PhilliesFan]

Stayed there years ago and like everyone said the resort is massive. The rooms were nice, as was the pools, the lake, and the food court, and the grounds are beautiful. My only complaint was the bus serice. At least back then it was too crowded, but hopefully Disney has improved it.

[keljen]

Great resort we love it. We stayed in Jamaica and Aruba. We had beach front in Aruba and looked accross to the food court. The resort is large and expect to walk unless your near Port Royale

[tonyksl]

The grounds are beautiful and the rooms are a good size. My only thing I don't like about moderates and values in general is that they use twin beds instead of queen size beds. A Disney moderate resort is a 3-4 star resort anywhere else.

[storzo]

I've stayed at CBR twice and going for a third in August.

1. You don't need to book preferred to avoid a walk. Jamaica 45 and Aruba 51 are close, even go up a building number or two and you'll be okay. Note that Jamaica is the non-smoking building.

2. The bus service is pretty good. I have no complaints. Jamaica does seem to be the first stop on most routes, however the only time I had a problem getting a seat is at night after park closing and if you want to sit wait for the next bus. It's not that long. Another thing...about the bus stops, look for the closest stop to your room; it might not be the one assigned to your "island/village".

3. There is an internal bus that just drives around the resort itself so you really don't have to walk anywhere if you don't want to.

4. The beds may not be queen size, but they are definately NOT twin size. I belive it is called full and they're plenty big enough for me and my husband and even a child who has passed out between us.

5. The theme pool is great and the kids like to play on the slide or under the waterfall, but I found it gets crowded during/after mid-morning/lunch. Try to hit the main pool early and use the quiet pools for later in the day.

6. The hammocks on the beach are great and there is usually a playground within sight. You can see the EPCOT fireworks from the beaches.

7. I found the food court good with many different choices. Whether I wanted something light (soup/salad) or heavy (double bacon cheeseburger) or homey (pot roast), they had it. Also, Shutters the table service restaurant is a nice alternative.

As you can see I love the place!

[TaraRae82]

This and the Wilderness Lodge are by far my faves! I'm still deciding where we'll stay this fall. My best suggestion is to request a room in Jamaica. It's still private but still a short walk to Old Port Royale. Trinidad South (I think) is WAY out there. It's the furthest walk. Take advantage of the private pools at each "island". The main pool is usually CRAZY! At night, it's nice to sit at the bar at Old Port Royale, have a drink and feed the ducks on the "shore". It's very relaxing with the island music in the background. The restaurant at Old Port Royale is less than impressive so don't waste your time and money there. The food court is great though. It's pretty standard.

[ranedrops]

Thanks for all the input. I was getting quite nervous reading some bad reviews on other boards but I feel much better now. We are used to the FQ where it is much smaller but want to try something different this year - Coronado is booked for our travel dates so we opted for CBR.
Does CBR have any live entertainment at night? FQ has a gentleman who plays jazz at the Scat Cat CLub so I was hoping they would have something related to the Carribean entertainment wise.

[TaraRae82]

Oh, and, the beds are full size, not twin. Plenty large for 2 adults. You can request one king bed room as well if you are going w/o kids. ENJOY!!!

[TaraRae82]

I'm not sure about evening entertainment as I've not spent many evenings there. We're usually at the parks. I don't recall seeing any entertainment on the nights I've been at OPR though.

[Dopey1]

My husband and I did a split stay between WL and CBR last August and I have to say CBR became our favorite resort on this last trip! I liked the themeing of WL Lobby and the boat access to MK and Contemporary. However, the themeing of CBR, price, location, options at Food Court, unique offerings of the shop, landscaping, bright cheery colors won our hearts hands down!

You'll first go to the Custom House to check-in which was very quick and the CM's were absolutely wonderful. They even looked up and printed off information of the different plants at the resort for me and had the information delivered to our room.

Our room was located in Aruba 51 which is a smoking optional building. 3 minute walk to bus stop, our vehicle, quiet pool and laundry facilities. I started counting from inside of our room, over the bridge and island to Old Port Royale. It took exactly 8 minutes from inside our room to bridge and island to Old Port Royale. Over the bridge and island took 100 steps with left foot and 100 steps with right foot with a few of those steps dancing twirls. LOL Someone asked if I would please count it out for them so they would have an idea.

When I first booked this resort I was highly concerned with the negative reviews I read on this resort, how spread out everything is and the amount of walking. My husband is 30% disabled after his tour in Iraq and has problems with his leg and a lot of walking. The walking from our room to Old Port Royale didn't bother him one bit!!! We loved the layout of this resort!! Since it's spread out you don't feel like you're being run over by a crowd of people as we did at POFQ and WL.

I absolutely loved the bright colors of the different buildings, the lush landscaping, island, hammocks, caribbean music, being able to view the higher up fireworks of Illuminations and seeing the top of Spaceship Earth from this resort.

CBR has the largest rooms compared to other moderate resorts and because of the rooms being so dark at WL our room actually felt bigger at CBR. The rooms had just been refurbished and the new mattresses were very comfy. Mousekeeping did a wonderful job the whole time we were there. Room spotless and animal towels galore. We had an animal towel waiting for us when we checked in. We used this to put our daily tips in for Mousekeeping. I don't know if this is the reason why we got so many animal towels during our stay or not, but we got at least one each day of our stay.

The food court was wonderful with a great selection of different foods to choose from. CBR had much better selections than Roaring Forks at WL. The shopping area is divided in two...Calypso Trading Post and Calypso Straw Market. Calypso Straw Market is set up as you first walk in to Old Port Royale where they have island themed selections...bathing suits, shorts, flip flops, Caribbean Beach Resort outfits, coconuts, pirate themed stuff, etc.... Calypso Trading Post offers the typical Disney souvenirs...toys, jewelry, shirts, sweatshirts, postcards, pictures, strollers, quick mart foods, drinks, medicines, razors, etc..... Very large selection of different things that I went crazy in. hehe

The main pool seems a bit on the small size considering the size of this resort. However, my husband and I had a great time here and really enjoyed the themeing. Felt like I was in Pirates of the Caribbean. The main pool was very quiet in the mornings and once the slide area closed off for the night. The poolside bar was great with very yummy drinks. There was a ping pong table set up beside of the poolside bar. We never had a problem finding a seat by the pool. There's also a hair wrapping station and tattoo station in this area as well.

You can rent different watercraft and bikes at Barefoot Bay Boat Yard/Bike Works. The path around the whole resort is great for joggers and bikers.

Each village has it's own quiet pool which my husband and I had all to ourselves each time we visited. Each village has it's own bus stop as well. CBR has an internal bus that goes around to each village and Old Port Royale. CBR does not share buses with other resorts and goes straight to each park. We saw many buses coming and going. Never a long wait.

You could pay for preferred room location which would be Martinique 25, 26 or Trinidad North 31. If you don't want to pay for preferred room then I would highly suggest Jamaica 45, 46, 44 or Aruba 51, 52. Jamaica 45 literally sits at the foot of the bridge and island to Old Port Royale and would be the most ideal location.

I hope this information was helpful! Have a wonderful, magical, pixie dust filled vacation!!