Looking for Caribbean Beach resort tips? Are you considering staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort and wondering what it might be like?
With three stays under our belts over the years, we have written this comprehensive Caribbean Beach resort review and tips to help you make your decision.
Caribbean Beach resort address is 1114 Cayman WayLake Buena Vista, Florida. The resort is made up of five different villages. Aruba, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad and Barbados.
One of the popular Disney moderate resorts located in the Epcot area, it has great appeal for families wanting a themed Disney resort. It also provides great value and amenities at the same time.
During 2017, Caribbean Beach resort underwent a huge refurbishment. This saw the relocation of the check in area to the new Centertown building.
During the refurbishment, the resort was split to accommodate the new Disney’s Riviera resort. It also became one of the Disney resorts with a skyliner station.
If you’re a first time visitor to Caribbean Beach Resort, you may be overwhelmed at the size of the resort. I know we were before we first stayed! Please don’t let the size put you off staying here, as it’s not too big to walk around.
Take a look at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort map below to get a feel of how the resort is laid out. There are lots of pathways that you’ll discover in your first couple of day which will cut down your walking time.
Dining At Caribbean Beach Resort
There are a few different options for dining at Caribbean Beach Resort.
Sebastian’s Bistro
The new table service restaurant at Caribbean Beach resort is Sebastian’s Bistro. It opened in 2018 after the resort’s refurbishment. Located along the old Old Port Royale promenade, you can enjoy water front views from the restaurant.
The menu theming at Sebastian’s Bistro is Island dining. You can expect menu choices to include oven-roasted Citrus Chicken, Slow-cooked Mojo Pork with Mango Sambal, Grilled Flank Steak* with Mojito Relish served with Cilantro Rice and Beans, Vegetable Curry, and Grilled Broccolini.
Sebastian’s is open for dinner service only, with meals being served family style to your table.
Centertown Market
If you’re looking for quick service choices at Caribbean Beach resort, then there are a few to choose from. Centertown Market is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner choices.
For breakfast you can enjoy the Island Bounty Platter, which includes a small Mickey-shaped Waffle served with scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon and sausage.
Lunch options include the Barbecue pulled pork sandwich. Made with barbecued pork topped with creamy coleslaw and mango ketchup. Served on a Kaiser roll served with a choice of side.
The dinner menu is very similar to the lunch options, but perhaps you may enjoy the Fish tacos. Including three fish tacos topped with pickled vegetable slaw, Cilantro lime Crema, Cotija cheese, and a side of Pico de Gallo with a Lime. Served with choice of side.
Centertown Market Grab and Go
Sometimes you just want something quick and easy to grab before going to the parks. Perhaps a nice pastry to eat whilst waiting for the bus or skyliner. The Grab and Go is open for breakfast making it the perfect pit stop on your morning journey.
Banana Cabana Pool Bar
The pool bar at Caribbean Beach resort can be found next to the main Fuentes del Morro Pool.
There are some great island themed non alcoholic drinks to try including the Tropical Paradise. A mix of a refreshing pineapple, lime, coconut and cinnamon dusted with Nutmeg.
The cocktail menu is vast if you’re looking for that holiday tipple as well. The Caribbean Mai Tai sounds lovey. Made with plantation original dark rum, Bacardi, Bols orange Curaçao, Orgeat (Almond) and lime juice.
Frozen cocktails, beers, lagers, wine and soft drinks are also available at Banana Cabana. Light snacks are also available in the Lounge area at Banana Cabana.
Menu items include Jerk chicken wings, loaded fries, burgers and grilled shrimp. Perfect if you want a snack by the pool.
Spyglass Grill
You can visit Spyglass Grill for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food on the menu is American with a Caribbean twist. Why not try some Caribbean tacos with your choice of mojo pork or black beans.
Spyglass Grill can be found in the Trinidad section of Caribbean Beach Resort. Why not discover how to save time with mobile ordering at Disney World.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Facilities
The biggest question I have seen asked about Caribbean Beach resort is the size, and how long it takes to walk from your resort room to Centertown for a meal or to fill drinks.
Regardless of where you are based, there are lots of paths that create short cuts to bus stops, the skyliner station and Centertown.
If it’s your first time visiting, the resort layout can be overwhelming, however after a couple of days it all becomes familiar.
We first stayed in Martinique, which is a three minute leisurely stroll to the food court. When completing the online check in prior to arrival, we were able to request two preferred villages to stay in. Trinidad and Martinique are the two closest villages to Centretown.
For our second stay at Caribbean Beach Resort when we visited again in 2016, I requested Martinique again as I was so impressed with it before. We were allocated Jamaica, and whilst my heart sank initially, I actually ended the holiday not being able to choose between the two.
This Disney World trip took place in April, which was a lovely month to visit.
Jamaica is on the other side of the resort, however there is a bridge connecting to Centertown and we only had a couple of minutes walk to get our meals and visit the pool. We also had the benefit of walking past the playground which was lovely to stop off in.
The views across the lake are stunning from Jamaica as well.
Our third stay was in 2017 staying during the construction of the Riviera Resort. We found it easier as a family to enjoy snacks for breakfast from the island markets and eat the remainder of our meals in other resorts or at the parks.
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Caribbean Beach Resort Pools
Each village at Caribbean Beach resort has it’s own pool. We often found we were the only swimmers or at most they may have been half a dozen of us. In the pool area there are changing facilities which is great for using the pool on leaving day after you’ve checked out from the room.
There is also a launderette and plenty of life vests if you need them. The smaller pools don’t have lifeguards, just the main Fuentes del Morro Pool which is located next to Centretown. This pool also has a smaller toddler pirate ship splash area.
The main pool area is always a lot busier and whilst there was a lot of activity going on, sun-beds were in short supply due to the amount of people and there wasn’t a lot of room to swim. We definitely preferred the smaller village pools.
Activities At Caribbean Beach Resort
As well as the packed timetable of pool side games and activities, there’s plenty more things to do at Caribbean Beach resort.
When the sun goes down, you’ll find movies under the stars happening on the grass area near the playground. This is located towards the bridge between Centertown and Jamaica.
The timetable was set per month, and we noticed that depending on which film was playing determined how busy the seating area got.
Before the movie, as long as the weather is fine, you will discover the great campfire area on the Martinique village beach. You can toast marshmallows with the cast members in a fun evening activity.
Caribbean Beach Resort Rooms
There are 2109 rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort. The rooms span across the five different villages in double storey buildings.
There aren’t any lifts at the resort, so it’s advisable to request a ground floor room if you need it.
Each standard room has two queen sized beds, a flat screen TV, tea/coffee maker, double vanity sink area, toilet, bath and shower.
There is plenty of storage that also houses a luggage area, ironing board, iron and hanging space.
Caribbean Beach Resort pirate rooms are also available in the Trinidad village area. The rooms have two double beds rather than queen beds, and are pirate themed.
The best rooms at Caribbean Beach resort if you want to stay near Old Port Royale are in the Barbados and Martinique sections.
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Caribbean Beach Resort Transport Options
The busses worked on a twenty minute system. The aim was you should see a bus going to the park or hotel you wanted to get to within twenty minutes. I only saw this system fail once in the two weeks we stayed at Disney.
We were very lucky with the queues and always got on the first bus that arrived despite the queues. The busses can get crowded when full with seats filled and standing spots taken.
There were plenty of grab rails to hang on to, and it was easy to keep everyone together without swaying around too much when it was needed.
With the refurbishment and expansion of the Riviera Resort next door, there is now a Skyliner station at Caribbean Beach Resort as well. It’s a different way of travelling to Hollywood Studios or Epcot if you fancy a change from the busses.
There is a bus stop at each village at the resort, and we often found that despite their being two entrances to the resort, Martinique was usually the first or second stop when arriving back at the resort from the parks. This was welcome at the end of a long day.
Martinique is also the bus stop before Centretown which is where everyone seems to wait for the bus. We found it so much easier to guarantee a seat on a near empty bus at the Martinique stop.
Comparing the bus stop at Jamaica to Martinique was also very interesting as through 2016 we also found that Jamaica was near the first drop off points on return to the park depending on which entrance the bus came in via.
Currently the Caribbean Beach resort bus route is currently going Martinique, Centretown, Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica and then Aruba.
During busy times Jamaica and Aruba had a separate bus which was needed as very often the busses were full at peak times by the time we had passed Triniadad.
Caribbean Beach Resort Transport Times To Disney Parks
- Caribbean Beach Resort to Magic Kingdom takes approximately 15 minutes by bus.
- The bus journey from Caribbean Beach Resort to Hollywood Studios takes approximately 12 minutes by bus, or 6 minutes on the Skyliner.
- Caribbean Beach Resort to Epcot takes approximately 12 minutes by bus, or 15 minutes to Epcot’s International Gateway. (Epcot is the closest park to Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort.
- The bus journey from Caribbean Beach Resort to Animal Kingdom takes approximately 20 minutes.
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Overall
Overall we have been really happy with our multiple stays at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Our room was basic but clean and was cleaned every day by the maid service. It’s customary to leave a tip for staff when they provide a service for you.
We left the maid a dollar per person per day and tipped the bus boys a dollar per bag they carried. Everyone got slightly more on our last day.
Disney Caribbean Beach Resort Frequently Asked Questions
- Is there WIFI at Caribbean Beach resort?
- There is FREE wifi which has always been very stable for us
- How many pools are there at Caribbean Beach resort?
- There are six pools, one in each village and the main pool next to Centertown
- Are the pools heated at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort?
- The pools are heated, the main Caribbean Beach resort pool, Fuentes del Morro is heated to 82 degrees all year
- Which village is closest to Centretown?
- Martinique and Barbados are closest to Centretown
- Does Caribbean Beach resort have elevators?
- There are no elevators at the resort and all the buildings are two stories high.
- What is the bus stop order at Caribbean Beach resort?
- The bus route starts at Martinique, Old Port Royale, Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica then Aruba. An additional bus is often used for Jamaica and Aruba during peak times.
- How long does it take to get from Caribbean Beach Resort to Magic Kingdom?
- Magic Kingdom is approximately a 15 minute bus journey from Caribbean Beach resort, however you should allow at least 60 minutes for travel time using Disney bus transport.
- Can you see the fireworks from Caribbean Beach Resort?
- In the past we have been lucky enough to see the Epcot and also Hollywood Studios fireworks from the Centertown area at Caribbean Beach resort.
- What is Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort’s address for Esta?
- 1114 Cayman Way, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830, United States
- What are the preferred rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort?
- Preferred rooms are those located the closest to Old Port Royale. These are buildings 24, 25 and 26 in Martinique, and 31, 32 and 33 in Barbados area.
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Check out our Walt Disney World resource page for plenty more tips and tricks
Where you stayed looks really lovely, it all looks so clean and some helpful tips, it’s amazing how busy it gets isn’t it.
It was immaculate in cleanliness and everyone was so friendly
Hello. When leaving Magic Kingdom, for example, how far out was the queue for the CBR busses? For example, the bus for the Pop id the very last one out and quite a walk for my older mother.
The bus stop when we went was number 26 which was near the end of the row, but I couldn’t be sure this would stay the same permanently hence not including it in my post.
Travel and enjoy your vacations because you deserve it.
I am so looking forward to the movies under the stars, it looks fab x
There was something magical about sitting outside in the dark in shorts and t-shirt watching Frozen on a big screen with a glass of wine.
Thank you for your positive article. We are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort Oct 1, 2017. I too was worried about the comments on distance and construction. Your positive attitude restored my excitement for staying there. Thank you , thank you, thank you!
I hope you have a lovely time 🙂
My family will be staying in the Caribbean Resort in June 2019. I’m about to do my online check-in and this information was very helpful. Thank you!
Thank for letting me know, glad the post has helped. Enjoy your trip. We’ve just come back from a trip last week.
Is there a hottub?
yes there is one next to the main pool