Ultimate Guide to Caribbean Beach Resort
Caribbean Beach is the Walt Disney World Moderate Resort at which we’ve stayed more than any other hotel in the tier. In this ultimate guide, we’ll share photos, offer tips, info, and everything you need to know about the accommodations, dining, and more before booking your WDW vacation.
We first fell in love with Caribbean Beach several years ago, and since then it has jockeyed with Port Orleans for the title of our favorite Moderate Resort at Walt Disney World. We love the lush, tropical grounds and laid back vibe, which are a nice contrast to the frenetic nature of the theme parks. Coming back to Caribbean Beach each night is a good way to decompress, and makes a trip to Walt Disney World feel a bit like a relaxed island retreat.
With that said, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is not for everyone. It’s one of the largest resorts at Walt Disney World, meaning you might be in for a bit of a walk to the main lobby. It also has multiple bus stops, which is true of all Moderates except Port Orleans French Quarter. Nevertheless, we love Caribbean Beach, and consider it the “Poor Man’s Polynesian.”
A couple of things to note up front if you’re planning a trip now and are reading older reviews of Caribbean Beach Resort. Many of these might be unfavorable when it comes to transportation. To be sure, Caribbean Beach has an internal bus loop, and it can be an annoyance. However, it has improved in the last year-plus, and has fewer stops thanks to the resort decreasing in size.
Second, the Disney Skyliner gondolas have now debuted. There are two stations located at or near Caribbean Beach, and will offer transportation to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This alone is a game-changer for Caribbean Beach. We cover initial impressions in our Skyliner Gondola Review: Walt Disney World’s Most Magical Flight on Earth article.
Finally, there’s the adjacent Disney’s Riviera Resort–the ‘sister’ property to Caribbean Beach in the Barefoot Bay Resort Area. This is a Disney Vacation Club property that’s positioned in a luxury class, and it’s an easy walk from Caribbean Beach. Those planning a trip to Caribbean Beach will absolutely want to stroll over to Disney’s Riviera Resort during their stay.
Whether it be for the Character Breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace (Walt Disney World’s hottest character meal) or the lounges or simply the luxurious grounds, it’ll be worth your time to see. We are actually big fans of the dinner menu at Primo Piatto, the counter service restaurant at Disney’s Riviera Resort.
For now, here’s a rundown of our best posts about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. In addition to handy links to the resources themselves, we’ll also provide a summary and a few quick tips & takeaways for those who don’t want to read each full post…
Hotel Info & Rooms
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review – This fully-updated review features the hotel rooms at Caribbean Beach, along with thoughts about the resort’s pools, amenities, transportation, and more. This is the best starting point for reading about Caribbean Beach Resort, and lays out all the basics.
Best Rooms & Locations at Caribbean Beach Resort – Now that the Skyliner is open, several readers have asked us about the best locations and buildings at Caribbean Beach Resort, the only Walt Disney World hotel with two gondola stations and non-stop access to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. This covers the best options for proximity to the Skyliner, pools, and dining at Caribbean Beach, and makes specific building recommendations, none of which are preferred rooms that cost extra!
Photos & Thoughts: Re-Imagined Caribbean Beach Resort – If you’ve previously stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort, but it’s been a few years, you’ll want to start with this. A lot has changed, from the demolition of Customs House and several hotel buildings to the expansion of the lobby area and new waterfront dining. This covers all of the changes, and discusses the good and bad of the ‘new look’ Caribbean Beach Resort.
Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort Review – When they originally debuted, we panned the Pirate Rooms. Sure, the decor is cool, but there are a lot of downsides. They’re more expensive, far from everything, and the beds aren’t great. There have been some improvements since, and proximity to Spyglass Grill and the Skyliner station further elevate this room category.
Polynesian v. Caribbean Beach Resort – It may seem crazy to compare Caribbean Beach to a hotel that is triple the nightly cost, but we alternate between calling Caribbean Beach the “Poly Lite” and “Poor Man’s Polynesian,” so we think it’s apt. Obviously and unsurprisingly, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort wins this face-off, but it’s a lot closer than you might expect. (And of course, there’s the whole “significantly lower prices” thing in Caribbean Beach’s favor.)
Caribbean Beach v. Coronado Springs Resort – Although they are both Moderates, we think Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs have far less in common with one another. Thematically, they’re worlds apart. However, if the island life isn’t for you, Coronado Springs might offer something more suited to your tastes.
Restaurants & Dining
Sebastian’s Bistro Review – The new table service restaurant located along the waterfront in Centertown has an exceptionally strong and inventive menu. It’s also seldom busy, which is another strength. The downsides are the bland interior design and theme, which seems like a squandered use of the Little Mermaid.
Centertown Market Review – This counter service restaurant is Caribbean Beach’s lobby food court, and it received a massive overhaul as part of the resort’s aforementioned reimagining. We really like Centertown Market, but it’s been met with a mixed reaction by most Walt Disney World guests. If you want a diverse selection of plant-based or healthy foods, it’s a good pick. If you’re on vacation and want to eat as such (delicious, unhealthy foods!), it may not be the best choice.
Spyglass Grill Review – The quiet pool counter service restaurant tucked away over by the Pirate Rooms, this is a hidden gem in every sense of the word. The menus are great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and there’s truly something for everyone. It can get busy first thing in the morning due to guests from nearby rooms and the restaurant’s limited capacity, but once the morning rush is over, it’s a quiet spot with a waterfront view.
Banana Cabana Review – One of Walt Disney World’s most underrated bars, Banana Cabana is great for its mellow ‘island time’ ambiance, and a solid menu that includes a couple of popular appetizers and desserts from the Sebastian’s Bistro menu.
Skyliner Sip & Snack Stroll – Finally, a “just for fun” one that you could do on your non-parks day. Really, this doesn’t require staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, but that certainly makes things easier. With this itinerary, you dine and wine (although you’re probably going to be drinking fruity tropical drinks) your way around the Skyliner at Walt Disney World. It’s a lot of fun, and a way to explore and eat at other resorts!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort? What’s your favorite room type here? What about dining? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom my grandson’s high school band will be performing in mid March. I am 74 on a limited budget and a slow walker. What hotel would you recommend I believe on property would be best because we will not have a car. Thank you for your time and recommendations
We stayed at this resort for our first Disney trip every back in November of 2019. It was such a great experience to begin with, we liked the sprawled out layout that gave us a chance to explore a bit and it was nice being so close to the Skyliner! The food was really mainstream, especially after a week of it and what bothered me the most about this resort was that halfway through the week some of personal belongings started to disappear after we had even selected no room service. My son lost one of his stuffed animals from home and 2 of our souvenirs that we purchased through the parks went missing from our room as well when someone came in to clean it. When we reported the items as missing the front desk pretty much just said the cleaning facility is far away and there’s no way to find your items, even though my son was heartbroken. I put a missing report in through the Disney website which they close after default of a month or 2. It was really disappointing to get this kind of service your first time at Disney world. I dont think we will go back to this resort because of the experience.
I’m staying at CBR for the first time next month! I usually stay at POP (which I love) and am a huge fan of the Skyliner. I’ve heard a lot of unfavorable things about the bus loop at CBR (especially compared to the compactness of POP that I’m used to). Does it make sense to take the Skyliner to HS or Epcot and hop on a bus there to MK or AK rather than wait for the bus at CBR? To complicate it further, I don’t have season passes or park hoppers, so I’m not even sure how/if you can easily get to the front of Epcot to pick up a bus or monorail after riding the Skyliner there.
We are just returning from a stay at CBR and loved it. We’ve done previous stays at Pop Century and Animal Kingdom. We’ve had a blast at every resort we’ve stayed at, they’ve just been different. CBR is the first resort we booked again for a return. I’m of the opinion it’s more important to evaluate the strengths of each individual resort against your personal preferences vs. trying to find the “perfect” resort…they all have pros and cons. We have zero mobility concerns, and loved the grounds at CBR. We had a blast walking the resort pre-dawn with coffee, and loved the skyliner. For our family it hit the mark of affordability vs. amenities and convenience. Catching some of EPCOT forever from Banana Cabana while the kids were racked out after a full day at Hollywood Studios? That made the resort for us.
Hi, we are planning to visit WDW the 1st full week in March. What do you recommend staying at? We like the pop century, Which we stayed at in September,but would like to move up a bit. Please give us a choice with prices. Thanks. We like your blog.
I stayed at CBR in August and Pop in October of this year. I was surprised that I much preferred Pop! I felt the room rehab at Pop was much nicer although the rooms are a little smaller. CBR was so vast and our room so far from OPR that we rarely used amenities there. At Pop most buildings are reasonably close to Classic Hall and we were there every day. Bus service was much better at Pop. Both have Skyliner and rates are much cheaper at Pop.
Pricing always varies, especially with Disney discounts available at different times of the year, which you can find here – https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/.
But, as Tom said, this is the best Moderate resort, which is a step above Pop and AoA. Moderates start at $198/night, but like I said, lots of variables play into your final cost per night. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/#/moderate/ Check out the rates here and if your dates are flexible, see if there’s a better cost by choosing different check in dates.
For my first trip to Disney, we stayed in CBR for 3 nights last November and loved it. Our next trip will be a full week in May, but we’ll be staying at Pop. Not sure how I’ll like the layout as it’s more of a standard hotel style building, but should be fun for the kid. CBR was very nice and relaxing, didn’t hear much of kids running around like crazy, i’m guessing most moderates are like that though. Everyone gets their own door to the outside, which I liked, plus you can’t go wrong with the skyliner being easily accessible, especially considering how long it takes buses to get around the resort and get everyone picked up. I would like to try port orleans or coronado springs resorts at some point, but for the first moderate to stay in, CBR is pretty spectacular.
At any rate, seems like most resorts have something for everyone and are fun no matter what. Enjoy your stay!
I just did a CBR stay due to an incredible rate (as my first ever on-property WDW stay, if you exclude Swan, Dolphin and Wyndham!). The Skyliner was a wonderful amenity. But if you exclude that (which is somewhat arbitrary, I admit), I don’t think it has anywhere near the same level of detail as Port Orleans or Coronado – I think it’s the weakest of the resorts. I absolutely love walking or riding boats around Port Orleans, and I am a huge fan of both the lightning in Coronado and the Gran Destino tower. Caribbean Beach doesn’t seem to have much “x factor” in terms of theming. I also take issue with its layout; I love large resorts, but the single bridge limits the walking routes significantly. Old Port Royale also feels like one of the less well appointed main lobbies.
On a semi related note, I don’t think I’ll be doing another Disney on-property stay anytime soon – I absolutely love visiting the resorts (without them, I wouldn’t be going back to WDW), but I certainly didn’t think the rooms were comparable with reasonable “real world“ accommodations, unlike Disney’s international parks. Well, I might make an exception for a night at the Contemporary one day 🙂
We stayed at Caribbean Beach in October for the first time and absolutely loved it. We are new Riviera owners and super excited to be able to experience both resorts together. Also would you ever consider putting together a calendar? Your photography of Disney is the best I have ever seen, better than Disney! I would buy one for each member of my family. Thank you for all your articles, they always brighten my day.
it was at this resort a used condom was found on the bed
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/disney-world-cockroaches-condom-exposed-wiring
I wouldn’t hold too much weight on that news report. That family have been on TV before in the UK!
We love CB. We are booked to go back next Aug after visiting a over a year ago. We are excited to see the result of all the building work and to ride the Skyliner. We will definitely be having a stroll to Riviera whilst we are there.
Yep. Google “Walt Disney World gypsies scam” and read some of the results. I’m not saying these people are gypsies, but their story certainly fits the mold of that type of pattern of abuse.
Here was Walt Disney World’s statement: “This family has received compensation from us numerous times over the past five years, and they continue to return. Regarding their current visit, we believe the guest claims are exaggerated, and again took several steps to enhance their vacation.”
And I note in the Disney statement which Tom quotes that by acting this way these people keep getting “compensation . . . numerous times” and also benefited from “several steps to enhance their vacation.” It’s sad how often acting like a jerk pays off. I suspect it’s a case of managers giving them stuff to make them go away and inflict their behavior on someone else.
I think I’ve been reading your CBR content for a year now. We finally check in tomorrow, thanks for everything so far- can’t wait to evaluate your insight :-).