Recently we got an amazing deal for November (Disney plus discount). We are in a preferred room at POR where we have stayed before and loved it. We have a 5th sleeper room and are very excited. CBR is $200 more total and I’m on the fence. We have never stayed there and hearts the sky liner is worth it. Also I have a feeling my boys would enjoy the pool at CBR better. How is the food at CBR? Is it worth to switch?
I've stayed at both and will try to be as subjective as possible, but the only benefit for us staying at CBR is the skyliner. If it's worth $200, no idea but, if you do plan to visit Epcot/DHS more than AK/MK, then yes, this could be a big perk and worth the extra cash. However, all else being equal, we prefer POR over CBR. POR, while not tiny, is much smaller than CBR and easier to get around. We also prefer the theming at POR over CBR. We really don't love how big the resort is and didn't love the sheer number of bus stops, 8 in total at CBR, so that was a big negative for us. Should the skyliner go down for any reason, the bus service to Ep/DHS resumes and depending on timing, can be slow to get going. November is usually not as rainy as summer months so you should be ok. We don't mind disney buses but riding around that resort for 5 days got old pretty fast. We were in the Jamaica section which is great since you're the first bus stop and not too far from the bridge to the lobby area and skyliner.
The food at CBR isn't bad. The food court is pretty standard fare and the lobby is very nice. We've not dined at Sebastian's or Spyglass at CBR. The pool is nice and there are also other satellite quiet pools around the resort.
$200 is not necessarily a lot of money in terms of lodging at WDW, but it all adds up and unless I was going to be at DHS/Epcot more than the other parks, I'd probably sit tight in the preferred POR 5th sleeper room and maybe take that $200 and do uber or minnie van to the parks if you choose or save it. I know that disney is doing some room refreshes at CBR which they desperately need. No idea which sections have gotten the refresh yet, but if you do go CBR, I'd check that out before you request a section. I'd avoid the 5th sleeper Little Mermaid rooms and stick with the regular 5th sleeper rooms at CBR. The LM rooms are really far from the lobby and pool. We were in Jamaica bldg #45 and felt like it was maybe 5 min to the skyliner, 5 min to the lobby/pool so not a bad location. We had a 5th sleeper. It was about 10 min walk to Riviera which is nice for additional dining options or you could hop on the skyliner and ride over. If you really want to try it out, go for it, but just know, the resort is LARGE.
