Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (The Ultimate Resource Guide)

Are you considering a stay at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort for your Walt Disney World vacation? While Caribbean Beach is a stunningly gorgeous resort, you’ll want to be aware of a few things before your stay.

For starters, the resort is massive, and depending on your room location, you might have more than you bargained for when it comes to walking. However, there are a few ways to get around this issue. But you might never learn those options if you’re unfamiliar with the resort.

With those thoughts in mind, we created this resource guide for Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. It is meant to be a bookcase that shelves our articles related to the resort. Below, we’ll go over the critical, need-to-know details of Caribbean Beach. Then, we link to our most valuable content that provides an in-depth discussion, photos, and videos if you want to focus on a specific aspect of the resort.

You will likely find the most value in the latest detailed account of our stay at Disney’s Caribbean Beach. It provides insight, images, and our personal experience staying at the resort. We try to stay at each of the resorts at Walt Disney World at least once every two years to keep our coverage as updated as possible. It is also important to clarify that we pay out-of-pocket for all our stays. All the information we provide is at our expense and from our experience.

The Basics of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Here are a few basic things you’ll want to know about the resort:

• Check-In (3:00 p.m.)
• Check-Out (11:00 a.m.)
• Self-Parking (Complimentary)
• Free Wi-Fi Internet
• Address: 1114 Cayman Way, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

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An Overview of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is a moderate resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The resort consists of villages spread out around Barefoot Bay, a large lake that centers the property. An island, Caribbean Cay, sits in the center of the lake, providing an excellent area for adults to relax and children to explore. Additionally, a bridge sits across the lake, making it convenient for guests to get around the resort instead of circling the parameter.

Caribbean Beach has over 2100 rooms and sits on over 200 acres. Additionally, the resort is home to Disney’s Skyliner Station, which transfers guests to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and surrounding resorts.

Each village of Disney’s Caribbean Beach is named after an island in the Caribbean. Those villages are Trinidad, Barbados, Martinique, Aruba, and Jamaica. The resort’s central hub, Old Port Royale, is home to the main lobby, dining, recreation, and feature pool area.

Early on, it is essential to note that each village comprises two-story buildings with exterior room access. These buildings do not have elevators. So those with accessibility needs will need to reserve an accessible room or request a room on the first floor. The stairs to the second-floor rooms have about six steps per landing, with two landings on the way up.

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Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Guest Benefits

Guests of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort can participate in Disney’s early theme park entry, a perk extended to all Walt Disney World Resort guests.

Early Theme Park Entry: This perk allows resort guests to enter any Walt Disney World theme park 30 minutes before officially opening to the general public. This early entry provides several advantages:

1. Lower Crowds: Being among the first to enter the park allows you to experience popular attractions with shorter wait times. This will help you to check off must-see rides and experiences ahead of the crowd.
2. Photography Opportunities: If you love capturing the magic of Disney, the early hours provide a fantastic opportunity for photos in front of iconic landmarks with fewer people in the background.
3. Cooler Temperatures: Morning hours are often cooler, making outdoor activities more comfortable. But if you visit during cooler weather, don’t forget a jacket!

Accommodations at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Disney’s Caribbean Beach has the following room types.

Standard View

• Location: Views of the Resort Hotel, Courtyard or Woodlands
• Bedding: Two Queen Beds
• Capacity: Sleeps up to Four Adults

Water or Pool View

• Location: Views of the Lake or Pool
• Bedding: Two Queen Beds
• Capacity: Sleeps up to Four Adults

King Bed

• Location: Views of the Lake, Pool, Resort Hotel, Courtyard or Woodlands
• Bedding: One King Bed
• Capacity: Sleeps up to Two Adults

Standard View with 5th Sleeper *

• Location: Views of the Resort Hotel, Courtyard or Woodlands
• Bedding: One Queen Bed, One Queen Pull Down, One Child-Size Pull Down, or Two Queen Beds and One Child-Size Pull Down
• Capacity: Sleeps up to Four Adults and One Child

*This room type also comes with a water view upgrade.

Preferred Room

• Location: Close proximity to Fuentes del Morro Pool, Old Port Royale, and Centertown Market.
• Bedding: Two Queen Beds and One Child-Size Pull-Down Bed or Two Queen Beds
• Capacity: This room type sleeps up to four adults.

We reserved a standard view room with a fifth sleeper on our last stay. This room type is available in each section of the resort. However, we ended up in the Trinidad section with Little Mermaid-inspired rooms. These rooms were formerly pirate rooms and are specific to this resort village. So, only the rooms in the Trinidad section of the resort will look like the ones shown in the photos and video below.

We have a separate article with photos of The Little Mermaid Rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. That post details the steps we took to secure the unique rooms in this resort area. It also shares tips for taking advantage of the nearby Spyglass Grill since Trinidad sits somewhat apart from the rest of the resort.

You can scroll through these photos to preview this room type.

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Additionally, here’s a video tour of the room.

Is the Preferred Room Category worth it at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort?

This is a difficult question to answer, and it will depend on your preferences and priorities. Preferred rooms at Caribbean Beach are in Martinique (Buildings 24, 25, 26) and Barbados (Buildings 31, 32, 33). These rooms are within proximity of Old Port Royale, where you’ll find the following amenities:

• Fuentes del Morro Pool (Feature Pool)
• Centertown Market (Food Court)
• Calypso Trading Post (Gift Shop)
• Old Port Royale Lobby

If you plan to spend a good deal of time at Old Port Royale, then the preferred rooms will likely be worth the upgrade. Guests staying in Martinique have the advantage of being close to Disney’s Riviera Resort and are within a reasonable walking distance of the Skyliner station at the Riviera.

However, if you’re visiting Hollywood Studios, you’ll have to take the Skyliner from the Riviera and transfer to Hollywood Studios from Caribbean Beach. This will mean an extra line for the Skyliner at potentially busy times of the day. Martinique is the furthest village from the Skyliner station at Caribbean Beach.

Those staying in Barbados will have the advantage of being in a central location. You’ll still be close to Old Port Royale and have an average walk to the Caribbean Beach Skyliner. The main advantage of booking preferred will be for those who tend to spend a decent amount of time at the resort. It is nice to be close to dining, especially if you’ll have breakfast at the resort each morning or like to pick something up after a long day in the theme parks.

Regardless, Disney’s Caribbean Beach is significant in size. So, you will want to be prepared for a decent amount of walking or taking advantage of the resort’s internal shuttle. That statement is true whether you book a preferred category room or not.

Dining at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Here is a list of dining options with a brief overview:

• Centertown Market: The resort’s primary quick service restaurant or food court is at Old Port Royale. This location serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We think they have immensely improved their menu in recent years and have a separate review of Centertown Market that shares our experience.

• Centertown Market Grab and Go: Located inside the food court, this shop offers premade salads, sandwiches, an assortment of pastries, soft-serve ice cream, and more. This is an excellent location to pick up a snack or beverage. You can also purchase Rapid Fill mugs at this location.

• Sebastian’s Bistro: This table service restaurant offers a family-style meal that you can enjoy for one set price. Multiple offerings are brought to the table, including appetizers, a salad, entrees, and desserts. This restaurant requires advanced reservations.

• Banana Cabana: This location doubles as the resort’s lounge and poolside bar. It’s at Old Port Royale and sits across the walkway from the Fuentes del Morro Pool. You can expect unique cocktail offerings and a full-service menu with appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

• Spyglass Grill: This location is primarily a convenience offering for guests of the Trinidad resort area. The Spyglass Grill serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It has an area to refill Rapid Fill mugs and has an excellent selection of grab-and-go items. We have a separate Spyglass Grill Review if you want to learn more.

For a more in-depth exploration of each restaurant, you can refer to our Caribbean Beach Resort Restaurants Guide. Additionally, since Disney’s Riviera Resort is within walking distance of Caribbean Beach, you might like to refer to our Dining Guide for Disney’s Riviera Resort. We eat at this resort often and can recommend any of its restaurants.

Recreation at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Disney’s Caribbean Beach has tons of recreation options. Since we explore every inch of the resort during our stays, I often wonder if other guests are aware of how much there is to do at the resort.

For instance, the resort has six pools! Each village has its own quiet pool. Also, you’ll want to know that each quiet pool is identical and has a laundry room attached. We have a separate article that details specifics for the laundry facilities at Disney’s Caribbean Beach.

Those who enjoy pools will want to spend time at the resort’s feature pool, the Fuentes del Morro Pool. It ranks high on our list of best pools at Walt Disney World. The pool features multiple water slides and a separately fenced aquatic play area for smaller kids.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About the Pools at Disney’s Caribbean Beach

In addition to the pools, Caribbean Beach has multiple recreation offerings. For instance, Caribbean Cay, the island in the middle of Barefoot Bay, is home to playgrounds, private sitting spots, and an area where the resort’s nightly Movie Under the Stars is held.

The white sand beach between Old Port Royale and Martinique has birdhouses for Purple Martins, a volleyball net, and a fire pit where complimentary marshmallows are roasted each evening. The Lighthouse is also nearby, where you’ll find the marina and several fun games.

Transportation

If you learn your options for Disney’s Caribbean Beach before your vacation, you will be ahead of the game. Trust me. If you only have time to read one of our articles for the resort, read this one: Transportation Options at Disney’s Caribbean Beach. It’s packed with practiced advice and tips for getting to and from the resort.

In a nutshell, bus transportation is provided from Caribbean Beach to the following locations:

• Magic Kingdom
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Disney Springs
• Transfer Buses to Water Parks

Skyliner transportation is provided from Caribbean Beach to the following locations:

• Epcot
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

You can also access the Epcot Resorts Area by taking the Skyliner to Epcot’s International Gateway and then walking or boating to those Disney Resorts.

Related Reading for Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

For your convenience, here’s a list of all our articles related to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review
• Map of Disney’s Caribbean Beach
• The Little Mermaid Rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach
• Restaurants at Disney’s Caribbean Beach
• Centertown Market Review
• The Spyglass Grill Review
• The Pools at Disney’s Caribbean Beach
• Barefoot Bay at Disney World
• Calypso Trading Post (Caribbean Beach Gift Shop)
• Laundry at Caribbean Beach
• Caribbean Beach Transportation Guide
• Christmas at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Nearby Resorts

• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort

Other

• Disney Skyliner Resorts and Routes
• Best Pools at Disney World
• Best Jogging Trails at Disney World
• Best Disney Moderate Resorts

Browse the entire list of Walt Disney World Resorts.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort