Caribbean Beach is a Dump!

[Aurora0427]

If they did nto know, that is one thing. I remember when Disney kept the information about construction at the Poly very quiet, and I thought that was terrible. Folks need to be informed if they are not getting the experience that is advertised. I do think Disney has tried to correct the lack of information this time, albeit late again, so if people are accepting the discounted rate they need to accept the reduced amenities.

my post was more in regards to angi's comments about it being different at Disney in regards to expectations about food availability.

I don't do resorts under construction. Period. But I can still empathize with people who showed up and didn't know- or didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was. But yeah, if you're getting a super discounted rate plus a gift card...... well make the best of it!

 

[SimonSez]

We wouldn't be happy at CBR, construction or not, but the inconveniences would definitely bother us. I would choose to skip it and not be tempted by the discounts or gift cards. That is my family's opinion.

On our last trip, we had originally planned to stay at Poly. However, after doing extensive research, it wasn't looking like we were going to be happy due to construction. Having to use a waterpark for swimming instead of my own resort's pool was going to be a real pain in the a$$. So we stayed at Contemporary, which I obsessed over due to a lot of complaints about lack of theming. We ended up LOVING Contemporary and figured out that there actually is theming...Tomorrowland. We visited Poly during our last trip to eat at 'Ohana and shop at Boutiki. We passed by it on a boat. After seeing our beloved Poly not looking like we were used to and all of the disruption due to construction, we knew we had made the right decision. Do unexpected things, completely out of our control, occur to disrupt vacation? Always. However, I spend way too much money on a Disney vacation to go in knowing ahead of time that I will be inconvenienced.

On our next trip, we our Poly-bound, sans construction. Hopefully the monorail will cooperate...at least some of the time.

We love the Poly also and haven't been back since 2012, before the cabanas. Would like to return but...costs too much $$$$$ right now and they have darn near priced us out of the Poly market We've pretty much have replaced Poly with BW as our new go to resort, but we are doing CBR this year for the pirate room We got a pretty good rate on the room and the GCs will cover most eating expenses. We won't be down there for another three weeks yet so can't comment on the construction...but have a feeling it won't bother us too much. I think road construction is a bigger pain in the rear lol. Again, we shall see...

 

[allsaintsatx]

Solution is easy, don't stay there

Forget Caribbean Beach, can we just make this a motto for life? "If you don't like (insert major life altering problem here), don't do it"

Don't like a resort? Don't stay there.
Don't like an attraction? Don't go on it.
Disney is ruining every childhood memory you have by getting rid of GMR? Go to Universal.

This world would be a better (and less annoying) place if people just 'didn't do it'. But then again, the DIS boards might cease to exist, so...

 

[terri33inne]

We wouldn't be happy at CBR, construction or not, but the inconveniences would definitely bother us. I would choose to skip it and not be tempted by the discounts or gift cards. That is my family's opinion.

On our last trip, we had originally planned to stay at Poly. However, after doing extensive research, it wasn't looking like we were going to be happy due to construction. Having to use a waterpark for swimming instead of my own resort's pool was going to be a real pain in the a$$. So we stayed at Contemporary, which I obsessed over due to a lot of complaints about lack of theming. We ended up LOVING Contemporary and figured out that there actually is theming...Tomorrowland. We visited Poly during our last trip to eat at 'Ohana and shop at Boutiki. We passed by it on a boat. After seeing our beloved Poly not looking like we were used to and all of the disruption due to construction, we knew we had made the right decision. Do unexpected things, completely out of our control, occur to disrupt vacation? Always. However, I spend way too much money on a Disney vacation to go in knowing ahead of time that I will be inconvenienced.

On our next trip, we our Poly-bound, sans construction. Hopefully the monorail will cooperate...at least some of the time.

If the pool/s had been closed I would not have stayed there... that would have been a no brainer for me.

 

[La2kw]

And I'm amazed that anyone could ever pay what Disney charges for the shoe boxes that fill in as hotel rooms at the All Star resorts. I joke that the rooms are so small I had to go outside to change my mind. And the walls so thin you can hear your neighbor thinking. Don't get me started on full beds or the linens in them. But folks like them for some reason. I sure don't get it. To each their own though

Point is, there are people who find value in all the different Disney resorts and if you don't find it in a given resort it doesn't make it a bad resort for everyone just a bad resort for you. Solution is easy, don't stay there

LOL, calm down there buckeroo. I'm not a fan of the AllStars either (though I have stayed there many times). I prefer staying at my home in OKW. My point was that even the All Star resorts are in better shape right now than CBR. You can get a cocktail indoors and have a meal in a food court as opposed to paying for a full priced drink from a trailer and paying for a full priced meal from a food truck and eating in a tent. I don't think the small discount on the rooms they are offering are enough considering the majority of resort services are being offered out of a trailer or a tent. Disney could easily give larger discounts on those rooms and still make a profit. They don't because the majority of people booking the resort probably have no idea what is going on there.

 

[La2kw]

If you book on line you can't miss the memo that the resort is going thru major construction. And Disney is not charging it's usual rate for CBR.

I think sometimes people just like to be mad at Disney. If you don't want to be at a resort during construction, don't book it. Some people don't find it that upsetting and are ok with paying a reduced price.

As I mentioned earlier, the discount is not that much, and I would be willing to bet the majority of folks who book it aren't aware of the extent of the construction. But once they do check in, they are being served drinks out of a trailer like at your local county fair and they should not be charged as much as someone having drinks at an indoor bar. Oh, and food should never be served out of a food truck or in a tent when you are paying almost $200 bucks a night for a glorified motel room.

I'm not sure who is mad at Disney, but I know Disney can do better than this. It's really pathetic.

 

[AngiTN]

As I mentioned earlier, the discount is not that much, and I would be willing to bet the majority of folks who book it aren't aware of the extent of the construction. But once they do check in, they are being served drinks out of a trailer like at your local county fair and they should not be charged as much as someone having drinks at an indoor bar. Oh, and food should never be served out of a food truck or in a tent when you are paying almost $200 bucks a night for a glorified motel room.

I'm not sure who is mad at Disney, but I know Disney can do better than this. It's really pathetic.

Believe it or not, we pay more for drinks at our local fair/music festival (in food trucks) than we do at the drink truck (or anywhere else) at Disney. Disney is a bargain compared to what we pay.

I'm not sure how what a drink is served in should change the price.

Just read through this thread, plenty are mad. Plenty are understanding too because we've been there and realized it was just fine.

 

[Nancyg56]

As I mentioned earlier, the discount is not that much, and I would be willing to bet the majority of folks who book it aren't aware of the extent of the construction. But once they do check in, they are being served drinks out of a trailer like at your local county fair and they should not be charged as much as someone having drinks at an indoor bar. Oh, and food should never be served out of a food truck or in a tent when you are paying almost $200 bucks a night for a glorified motel room.

I'm not sure who is mad at Disney, but I know Disney can do better than this. It's really pathetic.

Disney cannot win. Had they closed this resort, and then CSR, during construction there would have been a lot of complaints. While I would not stay at any resort under construction, others feel much differently. People have a choice: Book the resort and accept the discount or do not, and stay elsewhere. It is impossible to know what is important to any other family, so what seems to be a pathetic decision to allow a resort to remain open to one family is a great idea to another.

It is my understanding the email went out to guests so that they were not blindsided. Anyone who had booked prior to the announcement regarding construction were compensated.Others booked deliberately to access discounts. Now it is common knowledge. If I checked in and found that I was just not able to cope, I would ask to be moved and I would expect to pay the difference in cost.

 

[RangerPooh]

It is my understanding the email went out to guests so that they were not blindsided. Anyone who had booked prior to the announcement regarding construction were compensated.Others booked deliberately to access discounts. Now it is common knowledge. If I checked in and found that I was just not able to cope, I would ask to be moved and I would expect to pay the difference in cost.

Yes, emails were sent out to guests with reservations in early March, mine was dated March 7th (I believe) informing us of the construction work and gift card offer. I have sent hat some who booked through TA did not receive the notification. I don't know if it's a matter that their TA failed to forward the communication or if they legitimately did not receive it. Agreed that at this point it is common knowledge. It's posted on their website as well as various fansites across the internet.

 

[Nancyg56]

Yes, emails were sent out to guests with reservations in early March, mine was dated March 7th (I believe) informing us of the construction work and gift card offer. I have sent hat some who booked through TA did not receive the notification. I don't know if it's a matter that their TA failed to forward the communication or if they legitimately did not receive it. Agreed that at this point it is common knowledge. It's posted on their website as well as various fansites across the internet.

The TA owns the reservation, so while I have no personal knowledge of how these things work, I would bet that the TA did not inform the guests. If this was the case the TA and I would be having a chat.

 

[cmadara]

The first time we went to Disney with our DD we originally booked CBR (Nov 2002). I got a call from Disney the summer before telling me that they were sorry but CBR was being completely closed for a major overhaul. We were offered an upgrade of $100 total (5 nights) to stay at the Poly! We were offered others as well but I heard Poly and said "SOLD". I have no idea how long the renovations took but to redo the entire resort I'm sure took quite awhile. I'm guessing attendance has grown since then so probably there is no way this could happen.

I did not read through the entire thread, but I can kind of understand how the poster felt. We build up our trips in our minds so much that sometimes the littlest thing or big things, could send us into a downward spiral.
Several years ago we went on the Disney Magic. Booked a 3 day cruise- had never cruised and wanted to try it out. I was on this forum constantly planning and dreaming for this trip. Well, we got on the ship, a tropical storm was far enough away, but close enough that the winds were too strong and we couldn't dock at Castaway Cay. We were terribly disappointed to say it mildly. We had stopped at the Bahamas first and decided not to book an excursion thinking we would do all of those things at Castaway. I knew about the storm, had been watching it, but to my untrained eye, it was a long distance away. When we were told we couldn't dock, a lot of people were very upset including us. They added a few activities- an extra movie, bingo games (pay) and a napkin folding seminar. We circled in the ocean the entire day. To make matters worse, the pool area was a mess- empty glasses, trash, food etc all over the place. I came back from my vacation and posted on these boards about my disappointment and you can't believe the responses I got. I was called entitled, a spoiled brat, etc. No where did I say the weather was Disney's fault or that they should have "risked hundreds of lives to just lay on a beach". I merely stated that on other cruise lines, at least at that time, passengers were compensated for not making ports of call- credit on room account, free drinks something. Disney did none of that. Disney is known for it's customer service. I would be shocked as well to see food being served out of a food truck and having to eat it in a tent.
The point I am making is that people will save potentially for sometimes years to go to Disney, build expectations up in their minds and then are disappointed for one reason or another. What doesn't seem like a big deal to some can be very upsetting for others. Of course this is a Disney lovers board and comments such as the poster's could upset a lot of people. I will say, after that incident, it took my several years to come back to this forum. But I am so glad I did as I have learned so much from all of you!

 

[Nancyg56]

The first time we went to Disney with our DD we originally booked CBR (Nov 2002). I got a call from Disney the summer before telling me that they were sorry but CBR was being completely closed for a major overhaul. We were offered an upgrade of $100 total (5 nights) to stay at the Poly! We were offered others as well but I heard Poly and said "SOLD". I have no idea how long the renovations took but to redo the entire resort I'm sure took quite awhile. I'm guessing attendance has grown since then so probably there is no way this could happen.

I did not read through the entire thread, but I can kind of understand how the poster felt. We build up our trips in our minds so much that sometimes the littlest thing or big things, could send us into a downward spiral.
Several years ago we went on the Disney Magic. Booked a 3 day cruise- had never cruised and wanted to try it out. I was on this forum constantly planning and dreaming for this trip. Well, we got on the ship, a tropical storm was far enough away, but close enough that the winds were too strong and we couldn't dock at Castaway Cay. We were terribly disappointed to say it mildly. We had stopped at the Bahamas first and decided not to book an excursion thinking we would do all of those things at Castaway. I knew about the storm, had been watching it, but to my untrained eye, it was a long distance away. When we were told we couldn't dock, a lot of people were very upset including us. They added a few activities- an extra movie, bingo games (pay) and a napkin folding seminar. We circled in the ocean the entire day. To make matters worse, the pool area was a mess- empty glasses, trash, food etc all over the place. I came back from my vacation and posted on these boards about my disappointment and you can't believe the responses I got. I was called entitled, a spoiled brat, etc. No where did I say the weather was Disney's fault or that they should have "risked hundreds of lives to just lay on a beach". I merely stated that on other cruise lines, at least at that time, passengers were compensated for not making ports of call- credit on room account, free drinks something. Disney did none of that. Disney is known for it's customer service. I would be shocked as well to see food being served out of a food truck and having to eat it in a tent.
The point I am making is that people will save potentially for sometimes years to go to Disney, build expectations up in their minds and then are disappointed for one reason or another. What doesn't seem like a big deal to some can be very upsetting for others. Of course this is a Disney lovers board and comments such as the poster's could upset a lot of people. I will say, after that incident, it took my several years to come back to this forum. But I am so glad I did as I have learned so much from all of you!

I'm conflicted here. I have never been on a cruise but I know that in the event of a storm ports are either changed if possible, canceled if not. I would appreciate if Disney offered compensation when nature got in the way, but I'm not sure why they, or any other business needs to. Do we then expect compensation if our vacation at wdw gets rained out? Shows get canceled? I don't know. I think the we as consumers have decided that Disney standards must meet some benchmark that changes with each of us in terms of whatever level we have built up within ourselves.

I am not a Disney apologist. I was appalled when Disney tried to snooker guests into paying full price while the Poly was under construction, and less shocked when cbr was going under and guests were not given warning or discount.

But I do feel fair is fair. We cannot accept discounts that are meant to compensate and then complain. We cannot agree to terms if a trip and then feel let down if Disney met those terms, offered a little more, but not what we wanted.

Do we offer to pay more when our expectations are exceeded or do we pass it off as pixie dust?

So I get it. It's Disney and they exceed industry standards in so many areas, and when they don't it is disappointing. I'm just not sure that if we have created a standard within our own minds Disney needs to account to that standard.

 

[mrs_incredible]

very informative and so helpful! =)

 

[Kelandsam]

Thank you for this!! I'm taking my DD for her 20th bday (and 13th) trip on thanksgiving. We've always stayed at FQ but she picked CB for something new. I booked before the refurbishment so I'm getting the 75 a night gift cards but was nervous. We just watched this together and the girl goes...it's like downtown Chicago, we're good lol. (We live in Michigan but stay in Chicago every other month for a weekend on Michigan Avenue to shop at Water Tower. There's always construction or city noise). Being fully informed makes it less stressful and I am able to go in with zero expectations and roll with what happens. Thank you again!!

 

[AngiTN]

very informative and so helpful! =)

They got a few things wrong though. One big one. Old Port Royal is not gone. It's closed yes but the building is not gone. Barbados is gone. Old Port Royal, the building, is remaining. The tent is not in the place where the building was. How do they not know that? These are TA. They should know what is gone and what is not gone.

I think they needed to do a bit more research to at least know the pool wasn't being worked on, or going to be worked in, since it was worked on recently. They are TA and should know this.

And I can't believe they say "put the gift card on your magic band". Surely they know you can't put anything on a magic band. Again, as TA they should know that you don't put things on a MB

Interesting thing we were at CBR for the 20th too. Thankfully, not in the same building they were in because our phone, Internet, TV worked. So whatever issue they had it was not widespread. We would have not been happy to have the Internet out. TV wouldn't matter, we rarely turn it on. Phone either.

 

[dansdad]

They got a few things wrong though. One big one. Old Port Royal is not gone. It's closed yes but the building is not gone. Barbados is gone. Old Port Royal, the building, is remaining. The tent is not in the place where the building was. How do they not know that? These are TA. They should know what is gone and what is not gone.

I think they needed to do a bit more research to at least know the pool wasn't being worked on, or going to be worked in, since it was worked on recently. They are TA and should know this.

And I can't believe they say "put the gift card on your magic band". Surely they know you can't put anything on a magic band. Again, as TA they should know that you don't put things on a MB

Interesting thing we were at CBR for the 20th too. Thankfully, not in the same building they were in because our phone, Internet, TV worked. So whatever issue they had it was not widespread. We would have not been happy to have the Internet out. TV wouldn't matter, we rarely turn it on. Phone either.

Wow.

 

[AngiTN]

Actually, as I thought on it, I realized how they don't know that OPR is still there, they'd never stayed there before. Had they stayed there before they'd probably have realized that OPR was still there and that Barbados was being taken down (as it was during their stay) As was the Pool Bar
It also explained why it took a bit to get their bearings when getting to the resort. It would take anyone a few minutes to get their bearings when going to a resort they'd never stayed in. I know they said they'd visited before but visiting and staying are different. You seem to get to know a place better when you stay there vs. just visiting. At least we do.

 

[DebbieB]

The first time we went to Disney with our DD we originally booked CBR (Nov 2002). I got a call from Disney the summer before telling me that they were sorry but CBR was being completely closed for a major overhaul. We were offered an upgrade of $100 total (5 nights) to stay at the Poly! We were offered others as well but I heard Poly and said "SOLD". I have no idea how long the renovations took but to redo the entire resort I'm sure took quite awhile. I'm guessing attendance has grown since then so probably there is no way this could happen.

I also got moved during that renovation. I had one night at CBR before we moved to our DVC reservation at Boardwalk Villas. We went a day early because of frequent flyer plane tickets. I moved to Boardwalk Inn, which made the move the next morning easier. The renovation that time was just the food court but I think because of the reduced travel demand after 9/11, they decided to just shut it all down. Port Orleans French Quarter was also shut down for a while.

 

[Nancyg56]

Actually, as I thought on it, I realized how they don't know that OPR is still there, they'd never stayed there before. Had they stayed there before they'd probably have realized that OPR was still there and that Barbados was being taken down (as it was during their stay) As was the Pool Bar
It also explained why it took a bit to get their bearings when getting to the resort. It would take anyone a few minutes to get their bearings when going to a resort they'd never stayed in. I know they said they'd visited before but visiting and staying are different. You seem to get to know a place better when you stay there vs. just visiting. At least we do.

I recognize that it takes time to get your bearings because I need time too. Each time I stay at any resort I have to realign myself. I do think that before a TA shares that kind of video the facts need to be checked because error undermine their credibility.

 

[AngiTN]

I recognize that it takes time to get your bearings because I need time too. Each time I stay at any resort I have to realign myself. I do think that before a TA shares that kind of video the facts need to be checked because error undermine their credibility.

Exactly. I appreciated many of the details they shared in the video and sharing their POV of staying there is helpful. But, if you are sharing your POV as tool to help others to determine if they should stay there at least get the facts correct.