Caribbean Beach Resort Report: Summer 2021
We’re back with another walk around Caribbean Beach to check on the latest changes. In this Walt Disney World resort report, we’ll take a look at the guest buildings, Skyliner, dining locations, new merchandise, and more.
After doing monthly Caribbean Beach Resort updates for over two years plus fairly regular stays during that same time, this is our first report on the Moderate Resort in nearly a year. We’re still at the hotel pretty regularly, in large part due to the Skyliner, but there hasn’t been a ton to cover at CBR.
That’s probably for the best, as it was a veritable construction zone for a while there, with two Skyliner stations plus Riviera Resort being built, plus the reimagining of Centertown. That’s now all been finished for about 18 months. Anyway, for a primer on Caribbean Beach, including a look inside the refurbished guest rooms, read our comprehensive Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review.
This Walt Disney World hotel update is not even remotely comprehensive, and is just a look around the grounds of Caribbean Beach Resort to see how things are going. It’s basically a brief check-in with a bunch of random and mostly unimportant tidbits. Hey, any excuse we can find to do a post on one of our favorite hotels at Walt Disney World.
Honestly, I was hoping to do a summer stay report from Caribbean Beach, but that was a no-go. As discussed recently in What’s Up with Sold Out Hotels at Walt Disney World?, availability is limited and discounts are scant. I love Caribbean Beach, but I don’t love it enough to pay over $275 per night to stay here (or “upgrade” to a Pirate Room).
Anyway, let’s take a look around the resort…
Entering Caribbean Beach Resort, there’s a sign reflecting the recent policy change making masks optional for fully-vaccinated guests. Physical distancing has likewise been dropped, as has active enforcement of those rules.
I don’t recall seeing any other signs for the duration of our time at Caribbean Beach, aside from on tables at Sebastian’s Bistro. Most guests, as well as Cast Members working outdoors were not masked.
Speaking of both Sebastian’s Bistro and physical distancing, many of you have mentioned not being able to score Advance Dining Reservations here.
It’s worth mentioning that the table service restaurant is currently operating at less than half-capacity–in the photo above, you can see three tables that are “temporarily unavailable.” As best I can tell, this is due to staffing and not health safety policies. I’d expect to see these tables to return to service and more ADRs released in the coming weeks and months.
If you missed it, you should really check out our review of the new family-style dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro.
Part of me wants to cancel our ‘Ohana ADR and eat here two more times instead. It’d be about the same price and probably better meals. You’re “lucky” that I’m so committed to “research” (and that Sarah really wants to do ‘Ohana for some reason). 😉
Wandering around Caribbean Beach Resort before dinner, we noticed a few minor beautification projects underway.
These basically amounted to repainting building facades and planting new flowers. Hardly stop the presses material, and nothing that will impact any trips. At least, not any more than mowing lawn or pruning plants.
I received a heads up from a reader (I’d stop short of calling it a “rumor”) a month or so ago that Walt Disney World was once again working on changes to the dreaded Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort. They were upgraded in the last few years to something marginally better, but they’re still pretty bad.
In any case, I couldn’t find any signs of visible work–nothing in any of the buildings, nor any staging in the parking lot. It’s still possible that Disney has installed a test room (or several), as that’s usually the first step in a room overhaul. Here’s hoping that’s happening.
Like dozens of other dining locations around Walt Disney World, Spyglass Grill remains closed.
We’ve been singing the praises of Spyglass Grill since it opened, I really hope it’s not gone forever. It seemed to be reasonably busy for breakfast and dinner pre-closure, but it’s probably viewed as one of the least “essential” restaurants by Walt Disney World.
On the plus side, the self-service refillable mug station at Spyglass Grill has reopened, and is available daily from 7 am until 11 pm.
Like raccoons, soda burglars are nocturnal, so this is closed from 11:01 pm until 6:59 am. It helps keep crime down.
In Walt Disney World’s seemingly never-ending quest for internally-inconsistent rules, the Coke Freestyle machines in the vending areas of numerous buildings are still temporarily unavailable for your safety.
Add this to fitting rooms, one-way traffic in some shops, select playgrounds, and plenty of other things that don’t instantly come to mind that remain perplexingly modified.
To me, this exemplifies the bureaucratic bloat at Walt Disney World. This stuff changed literally overnight at Disneyland. All of it. Meanwhile, the gradual process began earlier in Florida and is still underway.
I understand that Walt Disney World is a larger and more complex operation, but come on. It also employs proportionately more people. If there’s not a manager at Caribbean Beach empowered with the authority to turn on a soda machine, that’s an organizational failure. Sure, it’s a little thing, but it also would save dozens of guests significant time every single day.
Large sand turtles have appeared on the beach. I’m not sure whether they’re a recent addition or I’ve seen them before but forgot they exist. It’s been a long year.
Unlike the Coke Freestyle machines, I don’t have any strong opinions about these. I like turtles.
No lines at either of the Skyliner stations when we arrived, which is not really indicative of anything since that’s always the case in mid-afternoon.
Judging by recent reader comments, in particular on our Walt Disney World Summer 2021 Transportation Report, lines aren’t nearly as bad since the one party per gondola policy was dropped.
If you’re visiting Walt Disney World in the next couple of months, the bigger issue is going to be near-daily downtime. As has been the case with some of Disney’s outdoor attractions and resort pools for decades, there’s a storm radius for the Skyliner. If a lightning strike occurs within that, the gondolas cycle until they’re empty, dumping guests from the lines and not reloading until there have been X minutes since the last strike.
There have been a lot of storms in the last week-plus, resulting in frequent and sometimes prolonged Skyliner closures. This particular afternoon/evening, the gondolas were down for pretty much the duration of our meal at Sebastian’s Bistro.
Disney has sophisticated weather tracking technology that’s used to determine when to initiate this process. You probably do too in your pocket, so you might want to “deploy” that before taking the Skyliner somewhere that might get you stranded. We’re pretty staunch Skyliner advocates, but we’ve gotta admit that dealing with the ‘backup buses’ when the Skyliner is out of commission can be a colossal headache.
It’s truly mind-boggling that Disney hasn’t improved that procedure since the Skyliner launched. Every time the Skyline goes down due to weather, which happens almost every day this time of year, it’s chaotic to the point that you might believe it’s the first time there has ever been weather-related downtime.
The pools were likewise closed due to the same storm.
Prior to this, Fuentes del Morro Pool was “comfortably crowded.” Which is to say, it was fairly full–to the point I would’ve been uncomfortable taking photos of the pool area, but not to the point that guests would’ve been turned away due to it being at capacity. I’d say roughly two-thirds of the chairs were occupied, which is about consistent with a normal summer day. With physical distancing dropped, it seems the virtual queues for pools that were common earlier this spring are now (hopefully) a thing of the past.
In addition to shirts that have been around for at least a year, there are a couple of relatively new pieces of merchandise at Caribbean Beach Resort.
First, this coffee mug. Absolutely love the design.
Second, this Tervis tumbler.
Another great, original design–kudos where kudos are due. For years, Walt Disney World had almost no resort-specific merchandise. Then, around 5-7 years ago, they rolled out some products, but with a largely formulaic style that swapped out one resort logo for another. Currently, there are a variety of unique products, right down to items for specific bars (Banana Cabana!) and more. Now, if only resort-specific refillable mugs would make a reprise!
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
Have you stayed at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in the last couple of months? What was your experience like at the hotel? Have any anecdotes of your own to share with regard to the pools, transportation, or anything else? Excited to visit or stay at CBR? Are you likewise perplexed by Coke Freestyle machines and other random things remaining temporarily unavailable? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!
Nice update, except for we strongly disagree on CBR and O’hana’s
Ohana’s is one of Disney’s top restaurants and you seem to throw degrading remarks to it each and every time you write the name and Caribbean Beach is nothing more than a Disney-fied Motel 6
Come on
When my family flies down for a week long Disney vacation, we’re not scimping on resort rooms
Give us the Poly or Grand Floridian
That way, we’re closer to the best restaurant Disney has!!!!
We were at DHS Friday and took the Skyliner over to CBR just before the giant rain. Made it on the walkup line for Sebastian’s and had a fantastic meal. But the Skyliner was still not moving, so we attempted to use the bus. The monitors at the main bus stop still said to use the skyliner, but clearly it was not running. A big red charter bus pulled up with a one day Disney permit, and apparently was the DHS bus for the day. The driver mentioned they are in desperate need of bus drivers, and this was the current backup plan. So don’t be too surprised if you find a charter bus, especially on the routes that only need them in bad weather.
We got back from a week at CBR a few days ago. Tom’s one-day impression of the resort was spot-on given our week-long experience. The main pool was “comfortably full” each evening but with no waits. The Skyliner was a huge headache given that it stormed each of the 4 days we wanted to use it. I didn’t expect the lack of information around each weather-related closure. For instance, the app’s section for buses to Epcot and DHS said “Skyliner available” when it was closed and never showed times for any buses to those parks. We managed to get to Epcot on the Skyliner (15 minute wait at 10:15 prior to 11:00 park opening- not bad), but at the end of the night were surprised when it was closed for weather as we had no storms at Epcot or visible lightning. We had to take a boat to Boardwalk then a bus that went to all 4 Skyiner resorts. All told, that took us 70 minutes to get back to the hotel instead of ~10 on the Skyliner. My biggest complaint was the lack of information on Skyliner’s operations. It would be great to have info on whether it is running and, if not, when they predicted it would restart in the app.
We absolutely loved CBR! Just stayed there June 20th-24th in a pirate room! Our 8 year old loved it and it was close to the smaller pool and bus stop. Loved the grounds and the Skyliner was like a 5 minute wait. We also used the main pool and it wasn’t crowded at all! Friendly staff and good food even without Spyglass. The only issue we had was Centertown went down one day and we couldn’t get breakfast! But we were heading to MK and ate there instead. 🙂
I stayed at CBR 2 weeks ago, in a pirate room with my mom and my 7-year-old. The spyglass soda station was closed, the pool was unbelievably crowded/loud/vulgar/didn’t feel family-friendly, and there was peeling paint, chipped walls, etc. I was shocked. (Also, people smoking everywhere, it felt like. I don’t mind or judge, but I don’t want it in my face, and it’s not common at the other resorts?? maybe others have more obvious designated locations for smoking?)
We had reservations for Beaches and Cream because, skyliner. But every day we were there, it was down most of the afternoon/early evening. So we had to take two buses to get to Beach Club instead. Took the official “90 minutes” where the skyliner would have been 20. AND… that was not something we could plan for.
Lobby and lobby amenities, restrooms, etc were clean, bright and welcoming. Which was good since we ended up waiting there every afternoon when the pool was cleared for lightning happening within the 6-mile radius. Room was cute, good size for two adults and a child, but quite shabby. Baseboard falling off, furniture chipped. A standout to us was the roasted chicken and vegetables at Centertown Market – it sounds awfully similar to the chicken they’re now serving at Sebastian’s.
This was a one-and-done for my family. We’ll be back at Coronado, with clean, well-lit, new rooms, multiple and dispersed dining options, and a pool big enough to accommodate guests. We stay in the Cabanas, 2 minutes from the Dig Site Pool and pool bar, 5 minutes one way from Three Bridges, 5 minutes another way to lounges in the Tower, and 8 minutes a third way to the rest of the dining.
I’m pretty sure this is the one thing you are wrong about, Tom – Coronado trumps Caribbean by miles, (at least during thunderstorm season when the skyliner is not so much of an asset.)
We love CBR! Just got home from a trip. Unfortunately on day 2 we woke up to a hole in the ceiling. We ended up having to pack up and got moved to Boardwalk. Boardwalk wasn’t bad. But we prefer CBR any day, especially for the kids to roam and get their drink refills.
My guess is the island freestyle machines at each of the different building is a staffing issue. Not enough people to keep up with maintenance and refills. I don’t know, but there has never been any consistency with how WDW has handled COVID. I’ve been going to WDW since last August and it’s been entertaining to see how changes to rides and dining have evolved each visit.
We stayed at CBR once and that was one time too many. Huge disney fan but couldn’t turn a blind eye to how poorly our week’s stay went. Multitude of issues, most due to poor management. I really wanted to love this resort too.
Outside of the poor experience, the rooms at this resort are very run down and IMO they are worse off than the other mods given they’ve all had recent refurbs and CBR room are just stale. Think the last refurb was about 4 years ago.
And yes, the backup bus situation is a disaster to put it mildly. I have stayed at all the mods outside of Ft Wilderness and it’s at the bottom of my mod list and even is beat out by Pop. The lobby refurb is the only redeeming quality to CBR. They really did a nice job with that and it does look much better than in prior years.
Disney is great place i have worked near and in the industry over 20 years love it!
We stayed at CBR for one night in February, we decided to arrive a day early for our trip. The “dreaded” pirate room was the only thing available and we gave it a try. We actually liked it a lot, it was very similar to room at Port Orleans – French Quarter. CBR is a very nice resort and using Skyliner avoided any bus issues.
@DisneyMom, we stayed at building 56. It was right behind a bus stop & close to the Riviera, where we caught that Skyliner. Little walk for food, however.
I’m really hoping Spyglass will reopen. It’s in our top 5 counter service restaurants. We’ve had lots of great meals there!
@ DisneyMom We had 4501 in February. It was all those things you said you wanted and it was perfect!
This is our favorite resort. We stayed in building 41 on our trip before things closed down and it was great being so close to the Skyliner! It was a hike to everything else, though. This time we are requesting building 45, corner, first floor. Hoping we can narrow down a room number and just request that for our late winter trip. (We need a 5th sleeper room).
We were at CB June 16-22. They turned on 2 Coke Freestyle machines at the restaurant around the 18th or 19th, but not the ones within the resort. I’m sure it’s a money-saving tactic, but considering the dining plan isn’t available, among other changes, that would have an added perk. We had a great time, but looking forward to more of the pre-Covid Disney.
Regarding using the skyliner early you will need to show your dining reservation and they will let you on. Only guest with dining reservations are allowed to use the skyliner before they open for park transit. Or at least that is what was in effect in May 2021.
Thank you for the information Tom. I am sorry that I wasn’t clear. I am looking for two rooms at CBR. My dad, myself and my daughter in one room and her other grandparents in another. It’s just that I can’t manage two rooms at the Poly. I guess I’m figuring that two rooms at CBR will cost about the same as one at the Poly. Thanks
Semi CBR related questions–We have a 8:30 breakfast at Topolinos next month. Is CBR skyliner going over to Riveria that early or will we have to get off at CBR and walk? if so, how far of a walk is that?
Thank you for your CBR updates, Tom! I am trying to arrange a trip to include my daughter’s other grandparents. I love the Poly, but can’t afford to pay for two rooms there. It seems from your posts, that you are a big fan of CBR. What would be the best room type/ building to request, considering that I will have my young daughter and three elderly people with me? Thank you for any suggestions you can offer.
You’ll want one of the 5th sleeper rooms. Just be warned that it’s going to be a bit tight with that many adults in the room. You honestly might be better off at the Poly if you’re only doing one room, as those are significantly larger.
As for location recommendations at CBR, see this: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/best-rooms-buildings-caribbean-beach-resort/
Those mugs do look great. Agree on the specific resort merchandise. Hopefully there will be some Boardwalk specific merch when we return – one of these days! (“Welcome Home”)
We requested (and got!) room 4501 as per your recommendations this past February. We are DVC members but because it was just me and my 13-year-old twins and there were great rates around, we decided to use the opportunity to stay here instead of at a DVC resort on points. We completely fell in love with CBR! Our room location was convenient to everything. We used the skyliner stations at both CBR and at Riviera, depending on our destination. After quickly learning that the bus stops could have long waits (very limited capacity on the buses was still in full effect), we sometimes used the buses at Riviera instead. Although we spent every day full-tilt in the parks, even experiencing our first-ever 4 parks in one day, we still found the time and energy for a gorgeous cool night stroll around the property. I hope to have another opportunity to stay here again soon!
That’s great to hear!
(As a reminder/heads up for everyone else, our CBR room recommendations are here: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/best-rooms-buildings-caribbean-beach-resort/)