In April, Chris and I headed back to EPCOT for the Flower and Garden Festival. We decided that for this trip, we wanted to stay at a resort property on the Disney Skyliner route. Having previously stayed at Disney’s Coronado Springs, we were eager to see how the similarly priced Caribbean Beach Resort matched up. Keep reading to hear more about our stay!
Fast Facts about Disney’s Caribbean Beach
- Price Range: Moderate
- Parking Fee: $20 per day
- Transportation: Disney Skyliner, Airport Shuttle, Free Park Shuttle
- Laundry available
The Caribbean Beach Resort Aesthetic
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort does a great job of capturing the tropical aesthetics of the Caribbean Islands with lots of vivid colors and lush greenery. The resort is comprised of six different building “villages.” The buildings are all two stories with exterior hallways. Each village has its own pool and basic amenities like laundry and parking. One of my favorite parts of our stay where the little lakefront beaches with hammocks and seating that are spread across the property. The property hub, Old Port Royale, has a colonial Caribbean feel with turquoise, yellows, and sandy neutrals.
It’s worth mentioning that the Caribbean Beach Resort is massive. If you are hoping for your room to be close to the Disney Skyliner, the pool, or any other part of the resort, I’d be sure to speak with a representative. Otherwise, you might find that your room is too far to even walk to these amenities.
Bright and colorful, our home for the weekend was in the Jamaica “village.” Our first impression was that it was obvious that this is one of Disney’s older resorts. However, like everything Disney does, the property was clean and well maintained. Renovations had obviously occurred at some point. Our trip took place while COVID-19 safety precautions were still in place and we checked in using our Disney app. Our magic bands served as our room keys and allowed for a quick and seamless check-in.
The Rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach
The rooms at the Caribbean Beach Resort are motel-style with exterior room access. While the rooms are on the smaller side, our party of two was perfectly content in our king room. I may have felt differently if we had additional guests or kids staying with us.
Obviously older, but clean, the rooms have continued the island theme with sandy neutrals and deep wood accents.
The bathroom is divided into two parts. The vanity with double sinks is behind a sliding track door that allows for additional privacy from the rest of the room. The clothing rack and safe are located on one end of the vanity. On the opposite side, a door serves as the partition to the toilet and shower. Like the room, the toilet/shower room is on the smaller side, but it was clean and had no issues.
Other Amenities at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Although we were unable to utilize all of the Caribbean Beach Resort amenities due to COVID-19 precautions, we did take the time to walk around and explore the lay of the land. We passed through Caribbean Cay playgrounds on our way to the hub at Caribbean Beach. The Fuentes del Morro feature pool had plenty of action regardless of the cool temperatures. The adjacent Banana Cabana bar was full of visitors. The menu offered regular bar offerings as well as plenty of tropical signature drinks.
The resort gift shop, Calypso Trading Post, had a surprising amount of Disney merchandise, as well as vacation essentials should you forget something. They also had a great selection of Mickey and Minnie ears. They did not, however, carry Dramamine! Disney, if you’re reading this, the people need Dramamine!
The Disney Skyliner
Our primary reason for staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort (aside from the price level) was the Disney Skyliner. We wanted fast access to EPCOT for this short stay without having to worry about driving and parking.
We took a quick roundtrip ride to Hollywood Studios the night that we arrived just to sightsee. Keep in mind, our room was much closer to the Disney Riviera Resort, so we boarded at this Skyliner station. However, Caribbean Beach has its own station that is also the main Skyliner hub and transfer location if you are route hopping. The ride took almost exactly eight minutes, including the transfer at the Caribbean Beach station.
The next morning, we boarded for our journey to EPCOT, which took eleven minutes from start to finish. It was a pleasant ride and the time allowed us to plan what we wanted to do for the day. I really enjoyed the views of EPCOT as we approached the park. The park drop-off is incredibly convenient and is located next to the France pavilion. We had barely any wait time once we arrived at the park. It will be hard to go back to driving after the convenience of the Disney Skyliner!
Our trip took place in early April and the temperatures bordered on cool in the mornings and evenings. I would be curious to know if the Skyliner heats up (literally) during the hot Florida summers.
Final Thoughts
For our short two-night stay, the Caribbean Beach Resort was a great option. The Skyliner allowed us to maximize our park time and bypass a lot of the traffic at the front of the parks. This moderate option has plenty of activities to keep your family busy. What’s your favorite Disney resort? Tell me in the comments below!
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