Our first Photo Tour of Disney's Caribbean Resort was in 2016, but there have been so many changes over the last couple of years that a second look is a good idea. So what's new? There's a lot, and we'll try to focus on those changes as we walk through the Photo Tour this month.
The Skyliner
There's a new form of transportation available at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, and that's called the Skyliner. The Skyliner is an aerial gondola that runs to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It makes a stop at the new Riviera Resort and has connecting services to Disney's Pop Century Resort and Disney's Art of Animation.
When the Skyliner first opened, we took a ride from Epcot to Hollywood Studios with a stop at the Skyliner Station at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. We found the ride comfortable and very enjoyable. It affords a unique view of some of the Disney Skyline we hadn't seen before. Video by Donald Fink.
Our understanding is that bus service from Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios has started running every hour instead of the customary 20-minute interval found at most resort bus stops. This is because of the Skyliner service to these parks. It's like Disney hotels that have boat service to another attraction, like the Yacht and Beach Club to Hollywood Studios. So, if you're not fond of the Skyliner, your wait for a bus could be a bit longer than you expect.
The Grounds
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is situated around a water feature called Barefoot Bay. Each section—or Caribbean country—has a beachfront along this small lake, but the nature of being along a lakefront means that things tend to get spread around. In fact, one of the biggest complaints we see on social media about Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is that it's too big. It takes too long to walk from your room to the food court and lobby at Old Port Royale. Fortunately, there's a bridge in the middle of the hotel that connects old Port Royale from the countries on the opposite side of the lake. There's also an internal bus service that moves guests around the hotel grounds. It's really not hard to get around once you know the drill.
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort has several places where you can grab a meal. The most obvious is the main food court in Old Port Royale, called Centertown Market. You can get all three of your meals at Centertown Market and there's seating available inside or covered seating outside.
If you're in a hurry, there's Centertown Market Grab & Go, where you can get salads, sandwiches, and snacks already made and ready to enjoy. You can get bakery items too.
Dining is at Sebastian's Bistro, which is outside Old Port Royale in the building it shares with the Banana Cabana. Sebastian's is only open for dinner.
Sebastian's Bistro is the new dining restaurant at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. It is a new building since 2018, located outside Old Port Royale and next to the Fuentes del Morro Pool. Sebastian's replaced Shutters, which was located inside Old Port Royale.
Sebastian's is considered casual dining with island-inspired cuisine, like Jerk Chicken with Black Beans, Cilantro Rice, and Dark Rum Glaze. You can find their menu here.
There's a lot to like about Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. The times we've visited and even stayed at this hotel, we couldn't escape the feeling that there was a lot of emphasis placed on the party atmosphere of Caribbean life. The Fuentes del Morro Pool seemed to be the center of activity around the resort, promoting outside activities all day, every day. Chris Barry talks about his Top 5 Things about the Caribbean Beach Resort in this article, and one of his favorite features about this resort was the pool, and we agree.
Thank you so much for this report about the Caribbean Beach Resort!
We love that so many people talk bad about this place. The amount of trash talking about Caribbean Beach is enormous and we love that every time we have stayed there it has not seemed crowded and we always get some kind of deal for the time of year we go. So please people, keep up the bad mouthing and we will be taking the Skyliner right into the back door of Epcot. No more paying the big bucks to stay at the Beach or Yacht Club, we can pay a lot less and still stroll in the back door of Epcot. And very close to Hollywood Studios too.
But yea everybody, horrible place. Go stay someplace else.
Comments
Thank you so much for this report about the Caribbean Beach Resort!
We love that so many people talk bad about this place. The amount of trash talking about Caribbean Beach is enormous and we love that every time we have stayed there it has not seemed crowded and we always get some kind of deal for the time of year we go. So please people, keep up the bad mouthing and we will be taking the Skyliner right into the back door of Epcot. No more paying the big bucks to stay at the Beach or Yacht Club, we can pay a lot less and still stroll in the back door of Epcot. And very close to Hollywood Studios too.
But yea everybody, horrible place. Go stay someplace else.