For this Disney vacation, we decided to have a split stay. We booked all our reservations through a travel agent, The Vacationeer. We had started contacting agents around 9-10 months before our planned vacation. We officially booked and made hotel reservations 8 months prior. Here’s a little background on the Caribbean Beach Resort:

• Moderate hotel
• EPCOT resort area
• 5 “villages”: Barbados, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad and Aruba
• leisure pool in each village
• Fuentes del Morro Pool: Main pool and splash pad at Old Port Royale (closed from Jan 2024 – Mar 2024 for refurbishments)
• Playground on Caribbean Cay Island
• Nearby transportation for Disney properties: bus and Skyliner

Why did we decide on a split stay? While our first choice of stay was Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, let’s be honest now, it was just out of our budget to stay there for the whole duration. At the same time, the split stay allows us to explore another hotel and make it seem like we’re having two mini vacations. Our plan while staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort was to do theme park days for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. This would eliminate the added expense of transportation, since the Skyliner was nearby.

We stayed 3 nights at the Caribbean Beach Resort. As mentioned before, this is a moderate hotel. We booked the standard room and had asked our travel agent to request a 1st floor room and close to the Skyliner. While doing our research, we noticed that there are NO ELEVATORS to get to the second floor, so keep that in mind while looking for hotels. Our boys are (at the time of writing) 3.5 and 8 years old. The thought of getting the stroller up and down the 2 flights of stairs is one thing, but trying to get our luggage up and down, was not what we wanted during our vacation. With our little ones in mind, being close to the Skyliner would ensure their little feet aren’t already tired from just getting to transportation.

We did mobile check in, which bypasses the need to go to the front desk, and you can head to your room (if ready). To our luck, the requests were made and we had a room in Martinique, which is closer to the Riviera Skyliner. There are about 12 different buildings in Martinique alone, so depending on which building you’re staying, the walk to the Riviera Skyliner is about 5-8 minutes. The walk to the Caribbean Skyliner is on the opposite end of the resort from Martinique., which is about a 12-15 minute walk. Old Port Royale was our halfway marker for the entire resort. If you happen to stay in the Martinique village, Old Port Royale was about a 3-5 minute walk.

We booked a standard room, which … was pretty standard. (There is a section of the Caribbean Beach Resort that recently got a make over from the Pirates room to Little mermaid.) Upon walking into the room, the space was decent but you can definitely tell that the room was on the dated side. We had two queen beds with a fifth sleeper. This worked well for our family of four. There was also a fifth sleeper in our room which we did not utilize, but was a good option to have. When the fifth sleeper is not in use and closed, it remains as a bench area.

The vanity is separated from the sleeping area by two sliding barn doors. The toilet and shower area is then separated from the vanity through another door way. The vanity area has a double sink and has plenty of walking space. The toilet/shower area is questionable. Depending on your built, you may find some challenges with space. As far as drawer space/storing luggage and stroller, it wasn’t as issue for us. On the same side of the 5th sleeper/bench, to the left are two drawers, as well as more drawer space under the fifth sleeper itself. To the right of the 5th sleeper is the bar area and underneath is the hidden refrigerator.

Overall, our stay was pretty good. The most important tip i would give while planning a Disney trip (or any trip for that fact), have a plan. You don’t need to follow the plan strictly but if you plan out a “must” vs “if time allows”, the vacation will go smoothly.

Pros:
– close to the skyliner
– moderate pricing
– nearby bus stops for internal use
– one table service restaurant, two quick service
– Friendly and helpful cast members.

Cons:
– no elevators
– some outlets did not work/very loose