We spend six nights at CBR at the end of May (one of those weeks where it was 100 degrees!
I learned a lot from these pages so thought I'd pay it forward!
For reference, two years ago we stayed at POP, and last year we stayed at All Star Music (we went when skyliner was being refurbed).
I love all things tropical / tiki / beach themed, and the skyliner is great, so thought it would be great to try this resort!
General overview: HUGE. Unless you have three rest / resort days, don't think you are going all over this place. But, each area has it's own perk. So just decide what matters most to you and your family. Rooms were definitely noticeable bigger than Value. New flooring which was great. The rest of the room, IMO, was nothing special. Bathroom is dismal, I'm sorry. In the 2020's, having a shower curtain feels like the stone age to me, especially at a hotel. They are sticky and gross. Double sink was great though and liked the separate area you could close up doors.
There were two of us (me and teen son) and later my husband joined, so 3 max in the room for us . We did a standard room, double queen. We did not do the 5th sleeper. I booked using one of the great room only deals that I think was released around January. Online check in I marked first floor and near skyliner. Later via chat I asked for Jamaica 45 or 46. When we arrived, we were placed in Jamaica 41. At first I was a bit disappointed since I knew it would be a hike to main lobby. So, we actually never went there. If we were closer, would we have gone a few times? sure. But we ended up not needing to.
Our tiny fridge didn't seem very cold when we arrived. I put drinks in and the next day they were nice and nearly icy cold. So, no cooler issues for us.
Almost all outlets worked just fine for us. One seemed loose but there were many others to pick from. I did bring a little cube that you could plug in to an outlet and then power 4 USBs and that was nice.
I could see the main CBR skyliner hub from our hotel door. It was so convenient for our two Epcot and one HS days. That was important to me, and so I am happy with that location.
We got one refillable mug and used it enough to get our moneys' worth but not much more. Our building didn't have the refill station so we had to walk to building 43. Again, if we had one in our building I probably would have used it more. We did use it every single day to start our day by filling our stainless bottles with fresh ice water, so that was great.
We used the smaller Jamaica pool every day and it was great for us. There was always enough space to be separated from others playing and my son and I had space to toss a ball back and forth without crowding others. There was shade under table umbrellas. We could see glimpses of the Ecpot fireworks from that pool, although I know you could get a great view from across the water near the main lobby.
One day we hopped on the skyliner to Riviera and ate at Bar Riva. That was excellent!
On our check in day, our room was not ready at our early arrival. We ate a very good meal at Centertown and then left our bags with bell services to head to Disney Springs. That food court works different than Value, where you take a tray, get all your food like a cafeteria, and check out with all your stuff. Here, you order in one line, then get a buzzer. When your food is ready you get up and get it from the window. I think that worked fine, and maybe it made the food court seem a bit nicer and updated. Lots of seating inside but not a ton; we saw people looking for seats and it sure wasn't sprawling like a Value food court. When we returned later that evening, our small order of groceries had been delivered. Bell services drove us, our luggage and our groceries right to our room. It was wonderful. If your room is far and you are toting stuff, just ask for help.
We used a couple Lyfts and there is indeed a pick up right in Jamaica, and you can select buildings 41-43 so it was literally right in front of our room. Score!
Just a couple minute walk across the parking lot to the bus station.
We had pretty good luck with busses, for what they are. They seemed to arrive quickly at the resort, regardless of the time of day we were waiting. Getting a bus back to the resort was usually alright, waiting quite a bit at Disney Springs once. It seemed we had our own bus (or maybe shared with Aruba) on the way out. On the way back, however, we were 2nd to last stop and that was kind of a drag at the end of a day. But we survived.
The last day, we had a later flight. Decided to store luggage with bell services, lay at the pool, try to shower at the pool, and change for the airport. That worked alright. The main pool looked fun for younger kids but was a lot busier. Tons of seating all around. We got food from Banana Cabana and the food court and ate near the pool. The shower in the ladies room was tiny and you had to set your change of clothes actually outside of the shower, then reach out for them, which was awkward. But I made it work.
Overall impression: I really liked CBR and I would stay there again. It was beautiful theming, kept up nicely. Yes, it is big. If you want the convenience of ALL the amenities you will not get that here. But if you have one or two things that are important to you, you can get an ideal location for those things... but that location won't be ideal for something else. The skyliner is great if you plan to get to those resorts, or the boardwalk type area. The skyliner line after Epcot fireworks is long. Maybe 30 minutes? Longer? Be prepared or work around that. To be fair, the day we left MK, the line for the monorail was, gosh, I'm not sure, but looked like 84 hours long. Seriously. It was backed up almost to the walkway underneath the train station in MK. So, I would have been disappointed to pay 5x the cost for the "ease" of access to MK and then face a line like that.
I may try some other resorts in the future. I like Disney Springs and maybe one day I'll stay somewhere that has the boats. Might try the Swan one trip also. But in general this was a very good resort! Do not seek the "perfect" resort. Each has plusses and minuses. Just decide what is most important for you and your family!
The food court starts serving it around 6-6:30.
