We were checked into Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort for just over 24 hours and admittedly did not spend a significant amount of time at the property. It was our third hotel this trip based on availability. To be completely fair I would need to spend more time there to get a better feel of the resort, but I’m not rushing for another stay there just yet.
I did mention before when we moved from Grand Floridian to Port Orleans Riverside that it never a good idea to “downgrade” in resort categories. I fully stand by that. It was a big change. We definitely were spoiled by the size of the Yacht & Beach Club property and its rooms, even if I felt the Beach Club Villas studio was a bit small. We definitely lost a lot more space and the property became dramatically larger.
I knew all of this going in. Since Caribbean Beach was what was available and reasonably priced I did opt for the pirate themed room and I kept it a secret from everyone until the door opened.
I cried because he was so excited by it! It was a total mom win moment!
The pirate rooms were tucked way in the back of the resort. It was so quiet which was very nice. We took a few minutes to check out the view from our “water view room.” It was so pretty and calming. It would have been great to have a patio with chairs to just chill out there. However, the kids had no problem lounging in the grass.
They didn’t sit still for very long there. They were running and playing tag and then wandered off just enough they could see one of the beaches and very excitedly urged me to come over. The beach was empty when we arrived and had hammocks and chaise lounges waiting for us. The kids played around while I called Grumpy to come from the room and join us.
The beach was nice but still a bit breezy for me. We all headed back to the room and turned on the TV for the first time in over a week. I’m pretty certain Grumpy actually drifted off to sleep. I tried but Diva is quite the figdeter and could not stay still. Peanut was watching some science show and kept reporting what was going on like I wasn’t in the room.
The pirate-themed rooms are the only ones at Caribbean Beach Resort with a full-sized bed. I read somewhere once that it was because the rooms were already themed and they couldn’t upgrade the beds. Each bed is crafted into a pirate ship.
The room really was very cool! Taking pictures because of the size was a bit of a challenge, but the video of Peanut’s surprise shows quite a bit of detail including the pirate curtain that separates the dressing area of the bathroom from the rest of the room. The bathroom also continued with the theme on the shower curtain. And I was very much missing the individual H2O products that we had all week long.
The morning of our check out day I wanted to see if we could get a late check out so we could get a little bit of park time and still come back to the room for a bit before check out. The kids and I took a walk around the property to observe it. Slinky Dog went with us too.
The pirate rooms are located at the VERY back end of the resort. The walk wasn’t as long as I thought it would be– about 15 minutes while taking some pictures and at the kids’ pace. I love the quiet beaches though I imagine some of them probably get a little busy at time. From the one in the picture below we could see the construction for the new Riviera Resort!
I love walking through any of the resorts early in the morning. It’s so peaceful. The sun and the palm trees just add to the ambiance.
I immediately loved the main building, Old Port Royale. I hadn’t seen it before the recent refurbishment so I can’t compare. It was bright and gave an airy feel of the open air hotel lobbies we’ve visited in the Caribbean and Mexico.
The kids took a seat and watched cartoons while I spoke a Cast Member that was able to grant the late check out request.
We were going to walk back to the room but the internal bus shuttle was at the bus stop outside Old Port Royale. Diva was already tired of walking and begged for the bus. We jumped on the empty bus. The kid each picked a seat at the back. Before we pulled away Diva came and took my phone so she could make a video of Slinky Dog to send back home. The video is the last thing we have of him. We exited the bus at the Trinidad stop and just a minute into walking back to the room we realized Slinky Dog wasn’t with us. Diva and Peanut both didn’t know if he was on the bus or dropped so we walked back through the buildings with no luck.
Within minutes we called the front desk to report that the toy was on the bus. They took our information down. There was nothing else to do except finishing packing up and call for luggage pick up so we could drop our bags at airline check-in. Very shortly we had a private van take us back to Old Port Royale to drop off bags that were heading to the airport.
Due to time constraints and concerns that the bus would make multiple stops before heading to the parks we called for a Lyft ride to Magic Kingdom and also when we returned to the resort. The great thing about using Lyft was being dropped off right outside our building.
The air had been cool at Magic Kingdom all morning and I was still wearing my sweatshirt when we returned to the room. The kids wanted to swim instead of stay in the room. We wouldn’t have enough time to return before we needed to be out. They put their swimwear on and I made sure a change of clothes was easily accessible in our carry-on bags. Grumpy and I weren’t heading into the water. We took everything and headed to the pool.
It’s always great to have zero entry. It’s good for the kids, for wading, or for just sitting in the shallow water. The whole area pictured below didn’t get any deeper than 4ft 2in from what I could tell. I walked back and forth in the zero entry area, sat along the ledge with some other people until the lifeguard said it wasn’t permitted, and followed Peanut to the smaller slide. He almost attempted the bigger one but came back. Diva wanted to do it but since the water was deeper by the slide and I wasn’t in it I wouldn’t let her.
I never took the time to see if there was more area for swimming that had deeper water for adults or actual swimming, but I feel like there has to be something else since it’s the main pool.
There was a kid’s play area built like a pirate ship. It allowed kids up to 48in to play. We let both of the kids run in a for just a few minutes before it was time to change clothes and get ready to head home.
Despite was seemed like a chilly day the sun felt the warmest out of most of the days of our trip. The kids were sad to leave the pool. I was sad to leave Disney altogether.
We waited out the last of our time before the Magical Express bus arrival in the lobby. Grumpy checked one more time with the front desk to see if Slinky Dog had been returned yet with another “no” and this time a card to report him to Disney’s Lost & Found department. Diva wanted to peak in the gift shop. She found lots of pirate themed merchandise. She really wanted to come home with this Captain Jack Sparrow hat but I finally convinced her to put it away.
Then our ride arrived. Grumpy had one request– he need his picture with his “FastPass to the airport.” He had waited all week to wear the shirt I made him after a joke he made during our 2017 trip.
A very sweet Cast Member laughed about the shirt and had the entire family join for one last Disney vacation picture before we made our way to the airport.
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nikki's mickey trips 
You really made the most of your time at the resort. So sad Slinky Dog didn’t show back up.
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I know. She was very sad and asked a lot if Lost & Found ever called. Three tickets later (Resort, and two Universal L&F) still nothing. Thank goodness for Shop Park’s Concierge.
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