Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

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Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort was the first on-site hotel I stayed at on Disney property. That was in September, 2002.

I've found there are certain 'perks' you get staying on site, and that doesn't mean just Disney, but Universal, most of the National and State Parks, even a business convention or conference. The biggest perk is, you're already there. It changed the way I visit Walt Disney World, and now I'd have a hard time visiting the World without staying on-site.

(There is a discussion of resort types (and amenities to each) on the general Walt Disney World Resorts page. There is also a discussion on lodging which leads to room types on my Walt Disney World Overview page.)

My stay at Caribbean Beach Resort (here on known as CBR) was a strange one. I was only going to be at Disneyworld for four days, before moving on to Universal, and eventually New Orleans. Through a tropical storm. But that's another story.

CBR was going to be shut down for rehab the day after I left. For a couple of months. Everything in Center Towne (where the food court, arcade and shops are) was fully operational, but it was never crowded. The shops were conspicuously short on CBR stuff. By the end of my stay, the resort was almost empty, and walking to your room at night was sort of...spooky. Like Disney was going out of business or sumthin'.

Map of Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Click on the map for a larger view. (1500 x 1150px, 287KB.) Map ©Disney

It was an experience checking in at a Disney Resort the first time, having to go through gate houses, and finding registration, but once you do one, all the others are pretty much the same. I even have my picture ID ready before I hit the gate these days... :-) My usual routine is to check in, go find the room, move in, and then explore the resort. But that's not how any of the pictures are presented, the images are grouped by location.

The theme here is the white sand beaches of the Caribbean. I paid an extra few dollars for a lake view, and I got one. It was also the furthest room from the parking lot. Important lesson learned here, which applies to all moderates. You don't have a balcony, so your Lake View is via a public corridor. If you drive in, eschew the view, pay less, and you don't have to carry your luggage as far.

You should also know that the buses follow the outside of the resort, so there's also a chance a Lake View will also be further from the bus stops. Regardless, this is Disney, and you're going to walk. Get used to it!

This was actually a defining trip for me. Not only did this trip mark the first time I stayed at a Disney Resort and the first time I stayed onsite at Universal, but this is the trip I retired my Nikon F3 for a Canon G2. A milestone which completely changed my approach to photography.

Here's some trivia. The white sand on the beaches here was dug out of Bay Lake, the lake connected to the Seven Seas Lagoon. When Disney started construction of Magic Kingdom, they drained Bay Lake, and under all the vegetative muck was this pristine white sand.

Talking about muck, this resort is built mostly on landfill. Not garbage or trash, but the "muck" that was removed from under World Showcase Lagoon in Epcot.

Registration / Centertown

Parrot Cay

Resort Exteriors

In conclusion, it's been over a decade since I've stayed at this resort, and it's on my short list of places to stay again, if only to update the pictures on this page.

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