Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs

[DISfirstTimer]

I need help choosing between CBR and CSR. I'm getting ready to book our resort four our first Disney vacation. We plan to stay 5 nights Jan 29th-Feb 3rd. Do both have Queen beds? Which has better pool? Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I need help choosing between CBR and CSR. I'm getting ready to book our resort four our first Disney vacation. We plan to stay 5 nights Jan 29th-Feb 3rd. Do both have Queen beds? Which has better pool? Any thoughts appreciated.

Can you tell us who is going with you? Any children? What age? You'll get different info based on the info you give us.

 

[goofyintoronto]

With children...i'd pick CBR. The pool is so fun. Adults only, i'd go with CSR. They have the best bus service here.
And yes both places have queen beds. Only exception is CBR pirate rooms. Those have double beds. I'd stay away from those if I were you.

 

[Nancyg56]

How are you with construction? Both of these resorts are undergoing changes, and I wonder how you will feel about any potential disruption. I am not sure what the stages of either resort will be in at the time you visit, but IMO, it is a consideration.

 

[Olaf63]

CSR!

 

[maxiesmom]

CSR, and to me it isn't even a close competition. Better bus service, better food, a nice pool with a good sized slide, a fitness center, and the ability to fill your mugs by the main pool if your room is near it.

 

[goofyintoronto]

CSR, and to me it isn't even a close competition. Better bus service, better food, a nice pool with a good sized slide, a fitness center, and the ability to fill your mugs by the main pool if your room is near it.

I actually agree with you....there are more perks at CSR.

 

[DISfirstTimer]

Can you tell us who is going with you? Any children? What age? You'll get different info based on the info you give us.

It will be DH, DS 6, and DD 4. I was going to do POP but I can't expect my 6 ft 5 DH to sleep in a full size bed that long. Plus I think we'd be happier in a moderate.

How are you with construction? Both of these resorts are undergoing changes, and I wonder how you will feel about any potential disruption. I am not sure what the stages of either resort will be in at the time you visit, but IMO, it is a consideration.

I don't think we'd be put out too badly by construction as long as it didn't interfere with the pool. We will likely eat most our meal outside of the resort. We will also have a car so I'm not sure if we'll drive to the parks or use the buses.

 

[Nancyg56]

It will be DH, DS 6, and DD 4. I was going to do POP but I can't expect my 6 ft 5 DH to sleep in a full size bed that long. Plus I think we'd be happier in a moderate.



I don't think we'd be put out too badly by construction as long as it didn't interfere with the pool. We will likely eat most our meal outside of the resort. We will also have a car so I'm not sure if we'll drive to the parks or use the buses.

I do not think the construction at CBR includes the pool, but just check on the CBR thread to be sure. If the pools are your consideration, and you will not need the restaurants, etc, I would probably choose CBR. That pool with kids is pretty darn awesome.

The pool at CSR is really nice as well, and I liek this resort. I would choose it if the children were older.

 

[tndisney5]

Can not say about CSR, but IMO CBR has one of the best pools! My kids 7-10 love it! We have stayed deluxe and I would still pick this pool over AKL, etc.

 

[maxiesmom]

If the pool is important, if you pick CBR please do your family a favor and spend the extra money on a preferred room. CBR is one of the few resorts where I think a preferred room is necessary for easy access to the themed pool. My one stay at CBR I didn't book preferred, and deeply regretted it.

 

[sbrost13]

I haven't stayed at Caribbean in a LONG time, but we just stayed at Coronado Springs July 12-19. I absolutely LOVED CSR!! It's spoiled us against doing value resorts. My kids 12 & 9 loved the pool and the jaguar slide. We took a break every day but one and spent a lot of time at the pool. The construction wasn't an issue for us, we stayed in Ranchos in a renovated room and they're awesome! It was the best bus service We've had in our last 4 trips! Not sure if you're going to depend on the Disney buses, but I think Caribbean has more bus stops than 4, which is what CSR has. As for food, the sleeper hit meal of our trip was Maya Grill, the table service restaurant. The pool quick service had some really good food too.

I would definitely do some research on where the construction will be at for Caribbean. There will not be any amenities under construction at Coronado Springs, it's just room renovations and the tower construction.

 

[goofyintoronto]

It will be DH, DS 6, and DD 4. I was going to do POP but I can't expect my 6 ft 5 DH to sleep in a full size bed that long. Plus I think we'd be happier in a moderate.

For kids 4 & 6, they'd probably like the pool at CBR more. Its a lot of fun. Plus the rooms are newly refurbed, which is nice...so yes they have queen beds.

As mentioned before though, the bus service at CSR is the best...and the QS at the pool is a huge perk. But CBR is gorgeous and the kids would have so much fun at the pool. I should mention that its the only resort with a zero entry pool.

BTW I just came across this thread, thought it might help you:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/positive-caribbean-beach-post.3620074/

 

[heidijanesmith]

I really enjoyed CSR, much more than I thought I would. I was worried that it was too sterile and too big. I was wrong, it was lovely and really not that big. A beautiful theme and gorgeous at night.

CSR has an amazing pool, great theme and lots of fun for people of all ages.

The bus service is really good, I think it's the best service of any of the properties we have stayed at.

I stayed at Castas, building 4. The bus stop was right outside our building. A short walk to the lobby and the main pool. There is a lovely quiet pool there as well.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I stayed at CSR July 2-6 in the Ranchos section, renovated room.
The construction was barely noticed.
The main pool was extremely crowded during our stay, but the quiet pool, which was a hop, skip and a jump from our room was lovely. Unfortunately, there is no food or drinks at the quiet pools, which made for quite a walk to get some.
The rooms are beautiful and a lot of thought went into their renovations.
The buses to the parks were great, coming back, looooong waits.
The grounds are nice, despite the construction.
We were not happy with any of the food options at the resort.
Concierge was top notch!!!!

 

[Colleen27]

CSR is my favorite of the moderate resorts but with young kids I'd go with CBR instead. The pool at CSR is nice, on the larger side for moderate pools, with one of the longest, fastest pool slides of any of the resorts and a fabulous hot tub. But unless your kids are exceptionally brave and good swimmers, a lot of that is probably wasted on them. CBR, on the other hand, has a zero-entry pool, water cannons on the fort, and a pirate-themed splash pad/water play area. It isn't just for little kids - the pool and slide are plenty big enough for older kids to love - but it has more to offer younger ones than CSR's feature pool.

I would, however, steer clear of the pirate rooms - Disney played that card perfectly, getting people to pay a premium price for the least-desirable location in the resort! - and seriously consider booking preferred to guarantee being close to the pool. The size of CBR is the main complaint we had about it, but we were foolish enough to book the then-new pirate rooms and got one of the most distant rooms in the furthest building from the resort's amenities. And that did put something of a damper on enjoying the resort amenities.

 

[AntJulie]

For a first Disney vacation CSR would be my choice. CBR is in the middle of construction. No restaurants at this point. Would not be a very good first impression of a Disney vacation. The only thing nice is the pool. The bus service wasn't great either even without construction going on. CSR is a beautiful resort with a great pool. Many restaurants to choose from. The bus service was very good. Rooms have been newly refurbished. They also have construction going on but it has not impacted guests negatively like CBR.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Isn't the pool closed at CBR as well as the restaurants and shop????

 

[Colleen27]

Isn't the pool closed at CBR as well as the restaurants and shop????

No. The main building is closed for renovations and one section of the resort has been torn down to make way for a rumored moderate DVC project, but the pool is not affected by the construction.

 

[Grumpy_Dad]

I stayed at CSR on late May and was surprised how much I liked it. I was there on business so didn't actually use the pool, but a colleague of mine and I ate lunch at the poolbar one day and we thought the pool area was really nice. We had never stayed there on a family trip, but I would after seeing the resort in person.