Cabana Bay vs. Sapphire Fall - Sept 7-11th Trip

[Long Beach Mike]

I just returned last week from a wonderful 7 night trip, family of myself, DW, and DDs ages 11 & 12, staying at PBH. We just activated out APs on this trip, and will take advantage of them again 12/26/18-1/2/18, having already booked at HRH.

Our family would love to make another quick trip to US in between, and looking at the school calendar, we can go 9/7-9/11. This would need to be much less expensive then the other 2 trips, so we are considering CB or SF, both have AP rates in the $150/night range.

A few questions:

1) How bad will crowds be during our visit, given it will be our first time without EPs?

2) We went to VB and saw that CB is right adjacent to it. Sorry if its a dumb question, but how long does it take to walk to VB from CB?

3) Is VB walkable from SF, and if so about how long would it take?

4) Looking at hotel photos and from my visit, it appears CB has 2 sections, a low rise building complex that says "Starlight" on it, and a very modern blue glass tower that is right next to Volcano Bay. Am I correct that is both these sections are part of CB. There are courtyard and tower room categories, I'm assuming these are the 2 sections I've seen online.

If so, which have you preferred (what are the pros and cons of each)?

5) At CB, there are courtyard and tower family suites? How big are they?

6) Comparing CB and SF, which food options do you prefer? Looking over the options at both resorts, I feel that the options at CB appear more abundant, and with the food court may help keep this be a "budget trip".

I'm very torn. CB seems like a great option because of how close I believe it is to walking into VB, the option of a more spacious family suite, more diverse reasonably priced food options, and the lazy river pool. On the other hand, SF offers boat service to the parks, which I know is much more pleasant and convenient than buses.

As with opinions on the deluxe resorts I know everyone has their own favorite, but any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated! Also, if I've missed hitting on any differences between the resorts, of course feel free to chime in

 

[macraven]

I have visited both those hotels but have never stayed there so I’m not much help

I do know it is a very short walk from Cbay to Volcano bay and this hotel has their own entrance

From what I have read in trip reports, the walk could be 5 minutes

So that is a plus for you if staying at Cbay if you do Volcano bay

You know you can hotel hop for the pools
Just as convenient to stay at Cbay if the lazy river is a priority on your stay

Stalls has boat service and I read some that stay at Cbay walk over and use it

Busses run frequently at Cbay so you can get to the parks reasonable quick

I would chose a hotel based on the eateries they have and room size

I am not wowed over with the offerings at Sfalls yet
Cbay had decent choices and food was tasty for me

Book at one hotel for a few days and switch to the other hotel
Try them both so you will know which one to return to in the future
Even if you do just a one night stay, you will know which hotel is the keeper for you

 

[emmabelle]

I stayed at CB last May in a suite in the courtyard section, this February at SF, pool view room

Cabana Bay -

-I liked the courtyard section, but then I don't really care if the hallways are inside or outside. If that's something that phases you then choose the Tower suites. There was just two of us, so the rooms seemed big to us, I liked the split bath too.
-I liked that there was two pools and not just one like SF has.
-To me the food court is a big perk, a lot of variety, wasn't that crowded and we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner there on different days.
-Having to walk to Citywalk or take a bus, eh. There's a bridge crossing over the road to get from CB to SF and this bridge is much closer to the courtyard suites end. We have snuck across the road from CB to SF on the ground level, but they don't want you doing that.


Sapphire Falls -

-We had a pool view room and we were lucky because our room was right near the elevator to get down to the pool.
- A thing I really didn't like at SF was the sliding barn door for the bathroom, it was near impossible to have it close enough so your traveling partners couldn't see in.
-The lines at the New Dutch Trading Co were always long for breakfast. We actually walked over to CB to get breakfast and Starbucks our last morning from SF.
I wasn't a fan of the lunch options at the DTC either, but the lines were pretty short at lunch. We never ate at the fancier restaurants in SF.
-Having a boat to get to Citywalk and the parks was a big perk for SF

 

[hhoope01]

1) For crowds, you might want to check Undercovertourist's crowd calendar: https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/December-2018/ I would guess the time between Christmas and New Years is one of (if not) the most crowded times of the year. So crowds will most likely be a big factor.

2) CBBR is a big resort. So how long it takes to walk to VB depends on where your room is. But if you have a VB view room, you can walk to VB literally in a couple of minutes. You are right there.

3) While SF isn't very far from CBBR, the park entrance from CBBR is for those staying at CBBR not SF. So not sure you can really walk it. But there will be a shuttle bus that will take and pick you up.

4) You are correct. CBBR is a big resort with a few different areas and two nice pool areas.

5) The family suites are fairly roomy. Do an online search for "Cabana Bay Resort family suites pictures". You should be able to get some nice views of the rooms.

6) For general eating (day in and out), I like the options and Food Court at CBBR more than any of the other on-site hotels. Note that doesn't mean I don't like or won't eat a meal at one of the other hotels, but for variety, pricing and speed of service, that food court is great.

We stayed at CBBR for the first time this past February and while I haven't stayed at SF, we did walk through it to see the sites and eat dinner there one evening. For us, I can't see why I would want to pay more for SF over CBBR. We always want to stay on-site and for now, the decision is either EPs (RPR,HRH or PBR) or CBBR if the cost of EPs is too high. CBBR has the location/entrance to VB, the multiple nice pools, the bowling alley, the food court, etc. Really the only thing SF has over CBBR is the water taxi and while that is nice, it just isn't worth paying $40+/night just for that.

 

[Long Beach Mike]

Thank you all for you input, any other replies with personal experiences would definitely be appreciated.

FYI, the trip I am choosing between CB and SF is 9/7-9/11, my Christmas-New Years trip we will be staying at HRH.

I am leaning toward booking a Tower Family Suite at CB. All the positives (a few minute walk to Volano Bay, diverse budget food options, lazy river, bowling alley) seem to outweigh the benefit of the water taxi of SF.

A couple more question on room location for CB:

If I'm staying in the Tower Family Suite, how far a walk will it be to get to the bus station?

How long a walk to the food Court?

How long a walk to the lazy river pool?

Thanks again for everyone's input!

 

[TommyJK]

Thank you all for you input, any other replies with personal experiences would definitely be appreciated.

FYI, the trip I am choosing between CB and SF is 9/7-9/11, my Christmas-New Years trip we will be staying at HRH.

I am leaning toward booking a Tower Family Suite at CB. All the positives (a few minute walk to Volano Bay, diverse budget food options, lazy river, bowling alley) seem to outweigh the benefit of the water taxi of SF.

A couple more question on room location for CB:

If I'm staying in the Tower Family Suite, how far a walk will it be to get to the bus station?

How long a walk to the food Court?

How long a walk to the lazy river pool?

Thanks again for everyone's input!

It depends on where you are within the Tower. They are pretty long so you could get a room closer on the right hand side of the Towers building which would put you much closer to the food court and bus pickup location, or you could be closer to the left hand side which is much closer to Volcano Bay (or somewhere in the middle....). In terms of the closeness to the Lazy river it doesn't matter to much where in the Tower you are because there are elevators at every "bend" in the building that will plop you out right next to that whole pool section.

One thing I would request is to be put in the Americana Tower Building as opposed to the Continental Tower Building as it is closer to the Bus drop.

Have a look at this resort map to have a look at the layout.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/16/37/3e16378665261273e7bd8732ce439fb0.jpg

 

[Long Beach Mike]

Hi Tommy, thanks so much for the info!

I'm thinking what would work best for my family would be to request a room in the middle of the Americana Tower, so we will have relative proximity to both Volcano Bay and the Bus.

 

[macraven]

I’m going to see if we can get those maps and info in the Cbay sticky

I’m sure it will help many

 

[macraven]

Map now added to the Cbay sticky

 

[EveDallas]

I would definitely choose CB over SF. Cabana Bay is so fun - the decor, the pools, bowling, the whole vibe of the hotel is fun! We visited SF last trip - it looks like any other hotel.

 

[schumigirl]

I would definitely choose CB over SF. Cabana Bay is so fun - the decor, the pools, bowling, the whole vibe of the hotel is fun! We visited SF last trip - it looks like any other hotel.

Lol.......now you and I normally agree on many things........but not this time......

I love Sapphire Falls and the feel of the whole place.....and we hate Cabana Bay.......yep, can’t abide it.......it just feels so cheap......to us........we were shown the rooms and the suites and I almost felt trapped, couldn’t wait to leave..............

But, of course many love it........but leaves us cold.

But what do I know.......As always each to their own........

Although funny story.......someone who has always said they hated RP and thought it was bla.......just mentioned they’re now staying there for their whole trip.........after ripping it to shreds for ages.........gotta love em!!!

Nice to see you post, haven’t seen you for a while........

 

[EveDallas]

Lol.......now you and I normally agree on many things........but not this time......

I love Sapphire Falls and the feel of the whole place.....and we hate Cabana Bay.......yep, can’t abide it.......it just feels so cheap......to us........we were shown the rooms and the suites and I almost felt trapped, couldn’t wait to leave..............

But, of course many love it........but leaves us cold.

But what do I know.......As always each to their own........

Although funny story.......someone who has always said they hated RP and thought it was bla.......just mentioned they’re now staying there for their whole trip.........after ripping it to shreds for ages.........gotta love em!!!

Nice to see you post, haven’t seen you for a while........

LOL! Yes, to each their own. I really do love it there and if they offered EP, I wouldn't stay anywhere else. EP has truly spoiled me One week from today we'll be checking into RPR - can't wait!

 

[schumigirl]

LOL! Yes, to each their own. I really do love it there and if they offered EP, I wouldn't stay anywhere else. EP has truly spoiled me One week from today we'll be checking into RPR - can't wait!

Oh fabulous!!!

Can’t believe how quick your trip has come around...........yes EP spoils us......

Hope you have a wonderful trip........

 

[EveDallas]