Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort: The Best On Property - Michaela Mertz
With 32 hotels and resorts on Walt Disney World property, choosing the best one for you and your family can be really intimidating. There are different themes, locations, and price points. All hotels offer the same basic necessities: free on-property transportation, on-site dining, pools, and other recreational activities. However, no two Disney resorts are created equally.
Disney breaks their resorts into three different categories: value, moderate, and deluxe. These categories mainly speak to the varying price points, but locations and amenities also determine the value.
Value resorts, such as All Star Movies, are affordable, but far from the most popular parks. Deluxe resorts are the most expensive and typically come with fine dining options and easier access to the parks. For example, The Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian resorts are all conveniently located outside of Magic Kingdom and are connected by monorail (which will only take guests to Magic Kingdom and Epcot).
Like Goldilocks, we want to find the resort that’s just right. Moderate resorts, such as Art of Animation or Pop Century, offer amazing theming, unique access to the parks, and are a great balance between what value and deluxe resorts have to offer.
Caribbean Beach Resort, one of Disney’s moderate resorts, is the place to be. This resort transports guests to the heart of the Caribbean without ever needing a passport. Guest rooms are organized into three different areas: Barbados, Jamaica, and Aruba. Each island has a pool and quiet beaches. The main pool is themed after Disney’s Pirate of the Caribbean, as are some of the rooms. Overall, this hotel is tranquil, quiet, and not overly crowded.
Pictured: View of the Jamaica portion of the resort (left) and one of the six resort beaches (right)
When guests arrive at Caribbean Beach Resort, they enter Old Port Royal. This hub is airy, bright, and welcoming. Here, guests have easy access to dining options, concierge, and pin trading. If you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or any notable milestone, be sure to pick up a celebration button from the front desk.
Conveniently located between Epcot and Hollywood Studios, guests staying at Caribbean Beach Resort can take Disney’s newest means of transportation to either park. The Disney Skyliner is a gondola system that connects multiple Disney resorts with the parks. This means of transportation is free and much faster than taking a bus!
Pictured: Riding the Skyliner over Caribbean Beach Resort
What really makes Caribbean Beach Resort a winner is the food! Like most Disney resort hotels, there is a mix of quick-service and table-service dining options. The Banana Cabana offers pool-side beverages for all ages, the Centertown Market has quick and affordable breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, and Sebatian’s Bistro is home to family-style Caribbean cuisine.
Typically, family-style meals on Disney property cost an arm and a leg. Surprisingly, this is not so for Sebatian’s Bistro. For $39 per adult and $21 per child, guests can enjoy four different entrée options, coupled with rice, beans, and vegetables. The best part is the food just keeps coming! Some of the more costly dining options on Disney property are considered overrated, but Sebatian’s Bistro is not only affordable but delicious!
Pictured: Taste of the Caribbean Entrée of oven-roasted chicken, slow-cooked Mojo pork, chili-rubbed beef, and baked fish (left) and house-made coconut-pineapple bread pudding (right)
The cast members here are extremely courteous and very knowledgeable of the various food items. Depending on the time of day, you may even get a show with your dinner. From Sebatian’s Bistro, guests have a perfect view of Epcot, making the evening fireworks show visible from their dinner table.
Many guests don’t consider their choice in a hotel important, as it is just a place to sleep at night. When it comes to Disney vacations, that idea couldn’t be further from the truth. Disney is all about thematic immersion, and the hotel you choose will add to the magic of Disney. Even after a long day at the parks, you may find yourself walking around the hotel singing “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys, playing ping pong in the dark, taking photos from the balcony with a disposable camera, or laying in a hammock on the beach listening to the distant jingle of the Skyliner. Those little moments are what make staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort so worth it.