Caribbean Beach Resort Review

Our Stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

We decided to stay at Caribbean Beach Resort for this trip with my parents for their first time to Walt Disney World. This was Nick & I's first time staying at a moderate level resort as we usually tend to stay in Pop Century. We really loved the overall vibes and the check-in process was a breeze!

If you uber to this resort (which is what we did), you'll get dropped off at the resort's main hub which is called the Old Port Royale. Old Port Royale is where you'll find the main check-in desk area, gift shop, quick-service dining, and a grab and go service area. The hub had plenty of spaces to relax with comfortable couches and Caribbean island vibes.

Pro Tip: If you check in with a cast member at the hub, you can request specific areas if there are any available if you did not booked a preferred room. For example, I asked to be put in the Aruba area since I knew that section of the resort was going to be closer to the Riviera resort & Riviera Skyliner station. Luckily, they had room in this area and we were very close to many of the main amenities. The worst that cast members can say is "sorry, we don't have any rooms available in that section" or "we can't make that special request happen" - but that's ok!

There are preferred areas you can pay a little up charge on when you first make your booking with Disney – and that will guarantee you an area closer to all the resort's amenities. But there are some areas "close" to the preferred areas that I believe are just as good. So you'll see on the map Caribbean has a lot of different areas and while some are better than others location wise, there's not a bad place to stay. Normally Nick and I don't care too much, but with it being my parents' first time I didn't want them to have to walk super far after a long park day. Also a note – there are NO elevators at Caribbean. You can always request to be put in a ground level room too if you want.

Entrance of Old Port Royale

Old Port Royale Lobby Area

The room we stayed in was very nice, open, and definitely had a fun "Caribbean" vibe which speaks to the name of the resort. For four adults, it worked really well and had plenty of storage and closet spaces. It also had hooks where we could hang purses, hats, etc. The nice surprise about this resort was that in the bathroom, it had a double sink vanity which worked great for 4 adults in the room. The bathroom had a big sliding door that separated the room from the bathroom area and the toilet/shower had a separate door separating that area as well. This was great for getting ready in the morning because someone could be getting ready at the vanity while someone else was showering.

I didn't even realize this secret gem, but Caribbean Beach Resort has free style machines within the buildings for your resort mug– so you don't have to walk all the way over to Old Port Royale. This was super convenient if we wanted to grab soda on the way to pool or even when we went resort hopping.

Fun fact: Your resort mug will work at all Disney property resorts at the free style machines. So it's great if you decide to go visit some other resorts on property on your resort day!

Old Port Royale Lobby - Check In

Quick Dining Area/Grab and Go

Caribbean Beach Resort does have a main pool that is really neat and has water slides that are actually really fun to go down. There's also a small hot tub that is hidden towards the back, but sadly it was down for maintenance while we were there. The resort also has smaller pools throughout the resort that tend to be quieter – like ours in Aruba was not far at all from our room. Additionally, there are beach chairs/hammocks along the beach areas for you to explore and relax in.

We explored the resort once we dropped of our luggage and organized our stuff - Caribbean Beach Resort is massive and it has multiple walking paths that take your through all the different areas. There are also multiple pools, beach areas, and fun areas to check out! We came across an area where they did movies under the stars which looked really fun. They also have spots you can watch the sunrise/sunset in little cabanas along the path in the middle of the resort. By the lighthouse, you can rent boats or they have fun yard games that you can play!

That evening, we went to Banana Cabana which is right next to Sebastian's Bistro which is the onsite resort restaurant. Sebastian's Bistro you need reservations for, but Banana Cabana you do not. My suggestion is to get there early as it can fill up fast during peak times. It's a really nice atmosphere where they have fun drinks and the food is always very tasty. They serve a variety of Caribbean style food and also have your burgers/bar food. If you can check this place out during your stay, I'd recommend coming here. We also were able to catch EPCOT fireworks from Banana Cabana viewing - it was a very cool experience! Being able to do this with my parents for their very first time at Disney was definitely a core memory for me.

Overall, Caribbean Beach Resort is a great place to stay and there aren't any "bad" areas, it just really depends how much walking you want to do.

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Tik Tok - Video of Room Walkthrough

Tik Tok - Video of Tips & Tricks for Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort