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!
We love CBR and want to book a long stay here in 2023. The main thing holding me back is the condition of the rooms. Our last stay in the rooms was February 2018 and the rooms were great (although we have visited the resort in 2019 and 2021 for dining ) The thought of the rooms being the exact same as our 2018 trip makes me want to book Pop Century because those rooms are fresh. Five years later, just seems too long for the exact same carpet, bedding, fixtures, etc.
Any thoughts on if/when this might happen?
Also – can you describe where exactly the ice/coke rooms are in relation to the guest rooms? I regularly look at the touring plans room finder and I *think* they are on the hallways that look like angled corners. For our stay, we used the freestyle machines and it was kind of a ‘off the wall’ hallway. For some reason it’s driving me crazy that I can’t place these rooms on the floor plan
Thanks Tom! Always love your words and photos!!
We stayed at CBR in June and loved it! It was not our first choice, we wanted to stay at Port Orleans Riverside or Coronado Springs (where we were last time) but they weren’t open. It was a blessing in disguise because CBR is now our favorite. We were in Building 46 in Jamaica. So close to the bus stop and skyliner, less than a 5 minute walk and directly across from the bridge to everything else. Our room was very nice, with no problems that others have mentioned. I thought it was comparable to our room at CS. We liked the food court better at CRB than CS. For the convenience of the skyliner and better food, I will definitely stay there again!
“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.”
Terrifying words, Tom, because those Freestyle machines all over the CBR are one of the unsung perks of the CBR. Hopefully, that’s something that will change in the next few weeks.
Yeah! I picked up one of those coffee mugs you have pictured during our last trip. I really like it too!
Thanks Tom, for this report – we are planning a stay at CBR in August. If we try to rope drop MK or AK, would you recommend just using Lyft/Uber? I checked the MDE app twice around 7am this week and both posted times ~70 minutes using the buses! If anyone has experience with this, would greatly appreciate your insight!
I like turtles too!! Can’t wait!!
Completely agree with Scott about notifications about the Skyliner! We’re staying at Pop…walk to the Skyliner with sunny skies but dark clouds in the distance and it’s closed. Then have to walk back to the buses to grab one to HS/Epcot. So much wasted time. This is my biggest complaint because I love the Skyliner and stay at Pop specifically because of it. Of course this really has only been an issue this trip because it’s rainy season. Had better luck other times of the year.
We were at CBR June 12-19 in building 45. Due to POFQ still being closed this is where we decided to stay. Luckily we were able to get first floor, wish this resort had elevators for the second floor. We had no WiFi the entire week and called to complain 3 times which did no good. We had a cockroach crawling on the ceiling halfway through the week, they came to spray the following day. Our son and his family were in an adjoining room and the toilet in their room backed up 3 times. I thought the pool and dining areas were crowded. When the Skyliner was down due to rain it took a long time for buses to pick us up from the park. Would not stay at CBR again.
“I like turtles.”
We stayed at CBR for 7 nights in building 51 during the 2nd week of June. First time there after stays at ASMu, Pop, PORS, Poly, Boardwalk, Wilderness and Dolphin, so plenty of places to compare it to. Maybe it was just being so happy to be back at WDW, but we enjoyed alot about CBR. Good main pool, nice lobby, beautiful grounds and enjoyed Banana Cabana. Building 51 was the perfect location in such a large resort. Room was a little tired but no big deal. Easy walk to lobby, Riviera station and CBR Skyliner Station. Cons: 1) Busses. Too many times waiting 30-45 minutes for busses at the resort and at the parks. Used Riviera busses to get back from parks nearly every time.
2) Unreliability of Skyliner –when it’s working it’s fantastic. Any nearby storms and it’s down for the count and then it’s busses (See 1 above) More frustrating –with all the push notifications MDE sends out, how about one that informs you when Skyliner is down and, more importantly, when it comes back UP! Standing for an eternity waiting for a bus at HS and see the gondolas start to move again. Leave the bus line hoping to get on the Skyliner only to be told it’s still closed, back to the end of a bus line only to find out a few minutes later it IS now working. If you’re going to charge a premium for CBR because of the Skyliner (paid around $300 per night) it either needs to be more reliable or at least there should be better communication via the app with guests at Skyliner resorts about it’s status.
Lauren – depends on where you are staying. Pre-covid – we stayed in CBR and our room was in Aruba which is closest to Riviera. It was closer to walk to Riviera, actually the Skyline entrance is at Riviera was way closer than the CBR entrance which was at other end of resort.
@Melissa Malone
Wow, really? Did you know, some of us are Disney fans, but can’t afford to stay at Poly or GF. Thanks for making us feel bad about it though.