Both times, I thought the front desk staff left a lot to be desired and if this was our only interaction here, we would never have returned. They were not knowledgeable, gave us consistently incorrect information regarding a variety of topics, and were rude when we argued about what room we had booked and couldn’t correct it because they were booked – which I sort of understand but it was their attitude that really bothered me. It was not good and it was not the greatest start to the vacation – which is never cheap.

One more issue we had last spring was that they were having landscaping work done and the walkways outside our building (where we parked) was covered in mud – for the entire week. So we either had to walk completely around in a different direction or get in our car (and the room) with mud covered shoes.

However…with that said, I like this resort. Especially if you get the preferred location room. The pool is great, the quick service food is actually not bad for a quick meal or snack and the buses were mostly OK (although often we stood). Timing to get out of the resort is an issue as someone pointed out but we learned to live with it.

Our room was clean and fairly comfortable – especially for the amount of time we’re actually in it and not asleep!

We’ll be back there next week – after I researched all of our options for spring break – we chose to stay with what we knew.

The Pros for me were: The food. My girlfriend and I only ate there a few times, but when we did, we were happy. They had a ton of options for breakfast and lunch and the prices were very reasonable. A couple times we just grabbed a bagel and jumped on the bus, that was enough to hold us over til lunch.

The bedrooms were good size. Obviously bigger than the All Stars, it was very comfortable for the two of us. If there were four of us it would start to get tight, but I don’t think uncomfortably so. I also like how all the buildings were painted a different pastel color. It made everything so bright and cheery.

The pool situation is great. Every building area has their own pool. I believe there are six areas, so six smaller pools. This was nice if you were a little far away from the main pool and didn’t want to walk. The main pool was well decorated in true Disney fashion. It also had two hot tubs in the area, which we used a couple times after long days in the park.

The Cons for me were: The buses. Plan on doing a lot of waiting. I am use to waiting for the buses, but this got out of hand. First of all this is the biggest resort, so even when the bus pulls it in, it takes around 20 min just to make all the stops in your resort, then the 20+ min drive to wherever you are going. Thats just too much time wasted. COmpared to the All-Stars where they pick you up in one spot and go. An example is we had tickets to La Nouba one night. We figured hour at the most, so we went to the bus at 6:30 pm for a 8pm show. Bus for Downtown Disney didn’t show up for 30 minutes, then it has to do the entire hotel. Then it made the 20 minute drive to Downtown DIsney. Next thing I know my girlfriend and I are in full sprint trying to make it to the show. Thats unacceptable.

The main building is really far away for half of the resort. If you were like me and stayed in Jamaica or the buildings next to it, you were doing some walking. If you wanted to go to the Pool or get some food, it was at least a 15 minute walk there and 15 minutes back. It wouldn’t be so bad, because you can just jump on a bus right there, but if you are like me and purchased a drink mug, you had to walk all the way back to your room to drop it off. This was a huge pain and another waste of time.

I wanted to like this resort, I really did. With all the bright colors and pirate ship motifs it looks amazing. But for practicality reasons, I can’t recommend it. The cons outweigh the pros for me. I’d give it a 70 out of 100.

This resort is perfect for people that are going down for 7 days, but only spending 2 or 3 at the parks. You have plenty of outside space to enjoy, you don’t mind waiting for buses. You can take your time walking around and eating at the resort. If you are like me and plan on spending 5 or 6 days at the parks, you can find a resort that will save you more time.

Great review! I haven’t stayed at the CBR since the new rooms were introduced, so I was anxious to hear about the details. Too bad about the pirate rooms.

I wanted to comment on your observations about the cast. When I was bartending at WDW, I picked up a few extra hours bartending for Shutters. I must say that the management I worked with in CBR’s food and beverage were the absolute nicest and most positive management team that I have ever encountered during my time as a WDW castmember. I am so happy to know that what I experienced reaches far beyond the f&b department to the whole resort staff. The magic is sill there; we just need to look a little harder to find it!