Have you ever stayed at a resort and thought, man, I wish I knew that before we got here, or next time we visit here, we are definitely doing that. Those little tips and tricks help make your vacation magical, and today I have 5 Pro Tips for your next stay at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Let's jump in.
5 Pro Tips for Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
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MOBILE ORDER
Mobile order is popular all over the parks, but did you know that you can also mobile order at your resort? If you plan to eat at Centertown Market, you will definitely want to take advantage of mobile orders. Just pull up the My Disney Experience App, press order food, and scroll down to Caribbean Beach Resort and Centertown Market. Here you can pick your arrival window, see the menu, customize your items, then order your food. This saved us so much time in the morning heading to the parks. While walking to Old Port Royale, we would hit the "I'm here" button, and our food was ready shortly after we walked up. This is a great way to go if you are trying to maximize your time and don't want to sit around waiting for food.
EARLY BREAKFAST FOR EARLY ENTRY
Staying at the Skyliner Hub gives you excellent access to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot theme parks. But keep in mind that the Skyliner only opens one hour before the park opens, and lines for the Skyliner start before this. So if you want to be one of the first people in the park when it opens, it will be pretty hard to do...unless you try our tip.
The key is to get to the Boardwalk area as soon as possible. Go ahead and make a breakfast dining reservation for one of the restaurants in this area. These include Ale & Compass, Cape May Cafe, and Trattoria al Forno. Show your dining reservation on your Disney experience app to the cast member at the Skyliner station. They will let you go ahead and board the Skyliner early to get to your reservation. Make sure your breakfast is early enough to complete your meal before the park opens. And then it's just a short walk to that gate. For us, we made a breakfast reservation at 7:30 AM, finished eating by 8:30, and then walked over to Epcot, where they just happened to be letting people in the park early, so we were able to hit up a couple of rides before the park even opened. Now it isn't guaranteed (so be prepared with a backup plan), but it is definitely something to try if you want to ride some popular rides in one of these parks.
FIND THE BEST BUS STATION
If you watched our Caribbean Beach Best and Worst video, you know bus transportation at this resort can be tricky. The buses follow an internal loop, and if your village happens to be last, you may be waiting a long time to get on a bus. When we stayed, the busses were traveling in this order: Martinique, Old Port Royal, Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, and then Aruba. I would be sure to check in the My Disney Experience app when you are there just to ensure this doesn't change. To maximize your time, consider boarding the bus in whichever village you can get to that has the earliest pickup - especially if you have reservations. We timed grabbing our mobile orders at Centertown market with enough time to quickly eat, then get on the bus at Old Port Royale, which was pick up number two. And every time we did this, the bus was nearly full by the time it got to our original village, so it was definitely something to try if you had somewhere to be!
RESORT FREE ACTIVITIES
Caribbean Beach is a beautiful resort with many fun things to do around the property. When we say "have a resort day," you aren't going to be stuck sitting in your hotel room. There are lots of free activities around the resort that you can take advantage of. Beautiful walking trails, white sand beaches with volleyball and hammocks for relaxing, ping pong tables, and amazing pools. And in the center of the lake is Caribbean Cay Island. Tucked away on this island is an excellent playground for the kids, which Mason had so much fun on. After being stuck in a stroller for a while, it's a great place to get those wiggles out. Most days, you will have a free movie under the stars along with other activities that are either free or require a small art supplies fee. And be sure to check Old Port Royal for Cast Member-led activities during your stay.
PACK LIGHT FOR THE POOL
We love the pools at Disney's Caribbean Beach and highly recommend that everyone has at least one pool day when planning their Disney vacation. Packing everything for the pool can seem like a lot, but did you know Disney offers complimentary pool towels? One less thing you must remember to pack. Grab your fresh towels from the towel dispenser, and when you are finished, drop them off at the towel return. Super easy! You will find these towels at the main pool and at each individual village leisure pool. You will find lots of conflicting info about the village pools online. When we stayed in the Trinidad village, there were towels and a towel returned at the village pool. But if you get there and that isn't the case, just grab some towels from your room. Give a quick call to the front desk, and they will be happy to replace those room towels for you. No problem.
If you really want to pack light, visit Calypso Trading Post inside Old Port Royal. Here, you can find sunscreen, pool toys, goggles, beach bags, and so much more.
BONUS
And one more quick tip...Be sure to check out Banana Cabana's pool bar. We love this pool bar, which is steps away from the Fuente del Morro pool. Yummy pool snacks and delicious frozen drinks make it a must on your pool day.
That wraps up our tips for Caribbean Beach. Remember that different times of year and situations can affect the outcome of these tips. They have worked for us, but we always suggest having a backup plan. If you are planning a trip to Caribbean Beach and want to learn more about the resort, be sure to check out our resort overview video and our best and worst right here! For those of you heading to Walt Disney World soon, we hope you have a magical resort stay.
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