Which Section of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is Right for You?
Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort sprawls over 200 acres and contains more than 1,500 guest rooms, situated in 24 buildings. These are additionally segmented into five areas named for Caribbean islands: Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Aruba. This resort is HUGE – even the central lake occupies about 45 acres.
Outwardly, there may appear to be little to distinguish among the regions of the resort, with their common architectural style and room decor. But there are some appreciable differences that impact the quality of your stay, depending on your location and your needs. We’ll take a close look at the pros and cons of each section to help you decide which one is the best for you.
Each area has its own bus stop. The bus route runs clockwise, starting at Old Port Royale and ending at Martinique before heading out to the theme parks and other guest areas. Additional areas of importance include the Old Port Royale guest amenity area, the Caribbean Cay playground and relaxation area, and two nearby Skyliner stations: Caribbean Beach and Riviera. The Caribbean Beach station is the hub, and you can go directly to either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios from there. If you board at the Riviera station you can get directly to Epcot, but you’ll need to transfer at the hub (usually this is pretty rapid) to get to Hollywood Studios.
Before we get going, a wee bit of history may help you orient yourself. When Caribbean Beach Resort opened in 1988, there were additional regions and guest room buildings. Some sections were razed to make way for the new Riviera Resort, a Disney Vacation Club tower that opened in late 2019. Riviera is a separate resort, with its own pricing and check-in area separate from Caribbean Beach, but its proximity to the Aruba and Martinique sections of Caribbean Beach Resort may be a factor in your Caribbean Beach selection process. For more about what’s available at the Riviera and to decide how much easy access might matter to you, see Disney World Resort Rundown: Disney’s Riviera Resort. Note that guests at Caribbean Beach are not able to use the feature pool at the Riviera, although many of the other amenities are available.
Also during the Riviera construction process, the names of Caribbean Beach sections were modified, with the Barbados name replacing some of the Trinidad section. If you visited Caribbean Beach prior to 2019, be aware that the area you stayed in might have a different name now.
Here’s what you need to know about the different sections of Caribbean Beach Resort. In some cases the room type that you choose might take certain areas off the table; for instance, there are no rooms with King beds in Trinidad. If a particular room type is important to you, you can filter on room type in our room finder tool to find the sections that contain those rooms before perusing the specifics of each section below. Click on photos to enlarge.
Old Port Royale Area
There are no guest rooms at the Old Port Royale, but having a handle on what’s there may impact whether you think it’s important to have easy access to this area. Old Port Royal includes the check-in desk, the main feature pool, Sebastian’s Bistro (a table service restaurant), the Centertown Market Quick Service, the Banana Cabana bar, and the marina. Each section has its own quiet pool, but the feature pool here is themed as a Spanish fort and includes a waterslide.
Caribbean Cay Area
Caribbean Cay is an island in the center of the lake, and again there are no guest rooms. There are quiet nooks for relaxation as well as a playground, but many guests will simply pass through on the bridge from the Aruba/Jamaica side of the resort to Old Port Royale.
Martinique Section
PROS
- Easy walk to the Riviera resort. This gives access to more food options including the Riviera bar, quick service restaurant, and Topolino’s Terrace.
- Easy walk to Old Port Royale amenities including the feature pool, restaurants, bar, and guest services like check-in and bell services.
- When the bus picks you up (to go to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom) you’ll be on your way immediately.
CONS
- Not particularly close to either Skyliner station.
- Buses may be full when they arrive at your stop.
- You’ll be dropped off last when arriving back from the parks by bus.
Barbados Section
PROS
- Some buildings are not close to either Skyliner station.
- Easy walk to Old Port Royale amenities including the feature pool, restaurants, bar, and guest services like check-in and bell services.
- Buses to the theme parks will likely have seating available due to early loop pick-up.
CONS
- Some buildings are distant from the restaurants at Riviera resort.
- Distant from the Riviera Skyliner station.
- You’ll have to cycle through many bus pick-ups before heading out to the parks.
Trinidad Section
PROS
- Quiet and secluded.
- Spyglass quick service restaurant is available and rarely crowded.
- Some buildings are an easy walk to the Caribbean Beach Skyliner station.
- Some buildings are an easy walk to the Joffrey’s coffee stand.
CONS
- Distant from Old Port Royale restaurants and amenities.
- Distant from Riviera restaurants.
- Distant from Riviera Skyliner station.
Jamaica Section
PROS
- Close to the Caribbean Beach Skyliner station.
- Some areas are close to the Joffrey’s coffee stand.
- Some buildings have easy access to the Old Port Royale amenities area via the bridge across the lake.
CONS
- Distant from the Riviera Resort restaurants.
- Most areas are distant from the Riviera Skyliner station.
- Some areas are distant from the Old Port Royale amenities area.
- Some guests may be uncomfortable with the Skyliner overhead.
Aruba Section
PROS
- Close to the Riviera Skyliner station
- Some areas close to the Riviera Resort. This gives access to more food options including the Riviera bar, quick service restaurant, and Topolino’s Terrace.
- Some buildings have easy access to the Old Port Royale amenities area via the bridge across the lake.
CONS
- Some areas are distant from the Caribbean Beach Skyliner station.
- Some guests may be uncomfortable with the Skyliner overhead.
- Some buildings are distant from Old Port Royale access.
Requesting the Section You’d Like to Stay In
Once you’ve decided which section of Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort is right for your family, there are two more steps you can take: choose a specific building and make a room request. Within each area, there are rooms with lake or pool views, which can impact the room’s price. Other variables include rooms with king-size beds or rooms with a pull-down child-size bed, allowing a 5th sleeper in the room. Specific buildings close to Old Port Royale may be subject to “preferred” pricing.
If you have a preference, take a look at our room finder tool, which shows the view and detailed information about every room at Walt Disney World. Once you’ve decided where you want to be, use our room request tool to let Disney know where you want to be.
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Hello,
I LOVE the room finder view feature. I have been spending too many hours on it. I still cant figure out how the vibe is going to be with the new skyliners overhead if I want to be in Aruba. I thought it would be a better choice since you have optional riveria dining but so not sure about skyliner over head, esp if we use the quiet pool. Can anyone tell me how the vibe is? Is it the same at Jamica (in regards to the skyliners messing up the chill vibe)? We will mostly going to the main pool so thought aruba or jamica best since we have a water view room but not preferred.
Hi Tamra,
I suppose the answer is that “chill vibe” is in the eye of the beholder. Our team has spent a lot of time walking around Caribbean Beach and one of our parks reporters stayed in a room directly under the Skyliner path specifically to monitor noise issues. None of us have had any issue with Skyliner-related noise. The reporter could not hear the Skyliner at all from inside her room. As far as visuals go, I personally LOVE looking at the Skyliner. I’ve had WDW rooms with Skyliner views and have spent hours chilling out watching the gondolas drift by. But if you want to be immersed in a beachy feeling, that may not be your ideal. For me, the only issue with the Aruba section is that the Skyliner goes over the Aruba pool (you can see this in the top left Aruba photo). It’s high enough up that riders can’t really see who you are (and not they’d necessarily be looking at you anyway), but when I’m at the Aruba pool I do find it ever so slightly unnerving that maybe I’m being watched. Your mileage may vary.
Considering staying in one of the new little mermaid rooms, but don’t know where they are located in this resort?
We are hoping they are near a skyliner.
PJ – The Pirate themed rooms in the Trinidad South section (see map in the post) are now themed as “Under the Sea” with some Little Mermaid elements. This is the most remote section of the resort, though it is very quiet. If you’re looking for full-on Little Mermaid theming, the Art of Animation resort has a Little Mermaid section and has Skyliner access.
We’re going on an adults only trip staying at CBR. It’s out first time staying there. What section should we request if we want to be near Centertown Market, Banana Cabana and the main lobby? Thanks in advance!
If you want to be near Centertown Market etc, you’ll want to be in Martinique or Barbados, specifically Martinique buildings 25 or 26 and Barbados building 31.
Have a great trip!
We’ve stayed in Caribbean Beach several times, usually in Jamaica, adjacent to the path going to Caribbean Cay and Old Port Royale. We generally had a corner room on the first floor (my wife had mobility issues). This was before the Riviera but since the Riviera has no appeal for me, I would still consider this an ideal location. (Also where my then 15-month-old granddaughter figured out how to walk up and down steps by holding on to the railings.)
More recently we stayed in Trinidad, in a Pirate room. It was OK, near the quiet pool, Spyglass Grill, just steps from the bus stop and not too far from the Skyliner. But it was quite a hike to Old Port Royale.
I was happy to see this article about the various sections of CBR with a plug for the Touring Plans room finder tool and the room request tool (included in paid subscriptions.)
I thought this meant that the room finder tool was finally updated to remove the pirate rooms and update the Trinidad section to include the standard 5th sleeper and water view 5th sleeper. Nope–the room finder tool is still outdated.
Hi RMB, thanks for the comment and your support. I know it can be frustrating when the room finder is out of date. We do try to keep it as current as possible, but we often are only able to get new information we can be confident about when a project is 100% completed.