What about the CBR???????Help?

[disneyseniors]

This is my first post to DIS boards. My husband and I are avid Disney fans. We are both seniors and have been to WDW at least 8 times, alone and with the family. We always stay at POR, and love that resort! However, in order to get the fdp this November, we have to stay atCBR, which we have never been to before. So, as the planner of all things Disney, I checked out online reviews of CBR, and some of them were not encouraging at all! The biggest complaint is the size of the resort. There were other issues that I don't pay attention to, cause I think "It's Disney, folks, be happy" It's not the Taj Mahal!!! There are many people who won't ever have the chance to visit WDW, so I'm pretty much happy when I get there and love all of it!!! Sorry to get on my band wagon, but when I get to wDW I smile all the time. There are still wonderful things we haven't seen or done, even after 8 times at WDW! Well, I need your help if you have stayed at CBR, please. Some guidance, inside tips on how to navigate such a huge place, the food court, etc???? anything will be appreciated. We have stayed at CSR and did not like it as it was too large and was mainly a convention resort, so am afraid this one will be like that???? Huge thanks

 

[dansdad]

You have made a great choice in CBR! We were huge POR/POFQ fans until our first stay at CBR and now we can't go back. I am so glad we didn't listen to the bad reviews we read before our first CBR stay 5 years ago. Please come check out the CBR FAQ thread, our little home away from home. CBR is our favorite moderate by far!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3285736

 

[pigletto]

We are POR folks too if staying moderate. We chose CBR for free dining and I couldn't be more excited. Definitely do check out the dedicated CBR thread. I feel the same way as you, it's Disney, the resort looks beautiful and I am excited to try something new!

 

[maxiesmom]

If you can, book a preferred room. That will put you closer to the food court and gift shop. Otherwise, you can have a bit of a walk. However they do have a shuttle that just loops around the resort, so if you don't feel like walking, head to your bus stop and wait for the shuttle.

 

[AThrillingChase]

If you can, book a preferred room. That will put you closer to the food court and gift shop. Otherwise, you can have a bit of a walk. However they do have a shuttle that just loops around the resort, so if you don't feel like walking, head to your bus stop and wait for the shuttle.

This. However, the resort is about the same size as both POR and CSR. Since you do like POR it sounds like you have had close rooms, so preferred would be a good choice. I will say that the path along the water with beach areas makes it feel shorter at CBR too. And bonus, they are currently renovating the rooms to appear more islandy (some even say poly like).

 

[DJFan88]

In my opinion, the sizing of the resort is not a big deal, especially since you are used to POR. It's the same kind of thing.

Put in room requests for buildings that are closer, but not too close that everyone is putting in those room requests and then you have no chance of getting them, like the popular 2 across the bridge at Jamaica and Aruba.

We've stayed at the farthest Aruba building and also in Barbados at a farther building. I believe the Preferred are in Martinique. There are some rooms in Jamaica that could be pretty far out there.
But then again, this is all relative to some of the farther rooms at POR.

Or, you could just request not to be in the very farthest section (I think it's maybe South Trinidad?). But those may be mostly Pirate rooms anyhow.


Or, maybe just make a general request of "closer to food court" and then on check in if it looks like they really stuck you out there, ask if there's anything closer.

It's a beautiful resort, but I'm on the other side of things. We've been here twice, but now having found POR, we love it there!
But, it's nice to try new places, right?

 

[mwebb10]

We stayed at CBR last summer and was placed in the farthest building from Old Port Royale (food court & main pool area) in the Martinique section of the resort. Our walk to OPR or the feature pool took less than 5 minutes (that was with a 3yr old and a 7 yr old). The cool part was just how beautiful the grounds were... beaches were pristine... quiet pools were virtually void of other people... and how clean & well-themed everything was. I thought we were either very lucky all week or transportation was excellent there (longest wait was less than 10 minutes all week). OPR food court had good variety and tasty food (but, we didn't try the TS restaurant "Shutters" due to time constraints).

In short, CBR is a very nice resort and you will most likely enjoy it as much as other folks and my family did.

 

[disneyseniors]

A huge thanks to all who took the time to write about their experiences at CBR! I'm not so apprehensive now after reading your remarks. I will try to get close to the OPR if I can. We do have mobility issues, but can walk, but it really gets difficult when you are hurting and wore out. BUT, forget that!, I still will go to WDW til I can't walk anymore It sounds like CBR is really nice and I shouldn't listen to those negative reports so much. I will write and let you all know how we fared in November at CBR before Thanksgiving! Again, thanks for your remarks and help

 

[disneyseniors]

You have made a great choice in CBR! We were huge POR/POFQ fans until our first stay at CBR and now we can't go back. I am so glad we didn't listen to the bad reviews we read before our first CBR stay 5 years ago. Please come check out the CBR FAQ thread, our little home away from home. CBR is our favorite moderate by far!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3285736

Thanks Dansdad, for that helpful review. I feel much better now hearing from a devoted POR fan. Can't wait for November now! Huge thanks!

 

[mickeystoontown]

disneyseniors, I have lots of pictures of the resort and some tips in my current trip report. If you'd like to look around, simply click on the link below. I'd like to add that my mother has traveled with us to Disney and we stayed at the CBR. At the time of the trips, she was 76, 77 and 79. Even though she has arthritis in her feet, she was able to walk around the resort easily from our non-preferred rooms in Jamaica and Martinique.

 

[mblondie0509]

Hey mickeystoontown...I wanted to see what you have added to your trip report and followed the link in your signature. FYI...It only takes us to the first post and cannot see the whole thread. I have it saved and can get it the other way but I wanted to let you know!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hey mickeystoontown...I wanted to see what you have added to your trip report and followed the link in your signature. FYI...It only takes us to the first post and cannot see the whole thread. I have it saved and can get it the other way but I wanted to let you know!

Hum? Wonder what's up with that? Let me see if I can fix it. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[tiggerjenn]

Does anyone know if they've upgraded the Pirate beds to queen sized yet?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Does anyone know if they've upgraded the Pirate beds to queen sized yet?

When the permits for the refurb were filed, the village of Trinidad South was not included. So, we're pretty sure that they aren't changing out to queen beds.

 

[tiggerjenn]

When the permits for the refurb were filed, the village of Trinidad South was not included. So, we're pretty sure that they aren't changing out to queen beds.

Darn!

 

[Lauren0505]

I would highly recommend booking preferred and requesting 25 or 26. Even by Disney standards CBR is a big resort. We stayed in Aruba because we wanted a refurb'd room but found the walk to the main building longer than we expected. Granted it was also 10 degrees hotter than we expected too. We have stayed at SSR and POR and found those resorts to be much more manageable.
The rooms and landscaping were very nice.
Happy planning. No matter what you pick, you are at Disney and it will be great!

 

[JayRee]

Thank you everyone for your posts. Last fall me and hubby went back to Disney after 20+ years. We stayed at POFQ and had a fabulous time. We were totally exhausted but exhilarated by the end of each day. Of course we didn't get to do or see everything we wanted, but that's to be expected. Anyway, I am starting to plan another visit in the Fall of 2016 and thinking about staying at CBR for a change. I have seen pictures of people on sunfish and paddleboats. Do they rent these at the resort and where can I find the pricing?

 

[ksromack]

We, too, have stayed at POR and loved it.....but we're excited to try out CBR. I think it looks lovely and cannot wait for Sept 29th! Our last trip (almost 3 years ago to WDW but 2 years ago to DL) we walked so much I had tons of blisters....this is when I learned all about moleskin. I also had to buy a pair of the MM crocs as they were the only shoe I could wear given all the moleskin, lol! Darn, I had to buy MM crocs

 

[ricosuave]

We're leaving on Mon and will be staying at CBR for the first time. We've stayed at POR and didn't care for it. Seems like everyone LOVES POR, but I didn't like the theming and we were in the farthest bldg from the lobby. I love the island theming for CBR and that the rooms were just refurbished. I did get a preferred room after a lot of research. I'll let you know how it goes!