Category — d. Where to Stay at Walt Disney World

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, see this.)

After a lengthy refurb, permanent dining options reopened at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in early October 2018. In total, dining at Caribbean Beach is now second best the best among the moderates, after Coronado Springs, and will get even better with the December opening of the next-door Riviera Resort.

Dining at Caribbean Beach now includes snacks and such at a grab and go in Centertown, quick-service dining at Centertown and the Spyglass Grill in Trinidad, and table service in Old Port Royale at the re-imagined bar Cabana Banana and at next door Sebastian’s. More table and quick service options are in the Riviera.

Taking the Caribbean Beach offerings in reverse order…

SEBASTIAN’S BISTRO AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

The waterside table service venue Sebastian’s Bistro is open for dinner. The menu is here, and you can also see the dinner menu above (lunch here is no longer an option).

Sebastian’s Bistro is a small, informal place…

…with dining in two rooms.

The food has a Latin/Caribbean flair to it, and my server warned me that since it was all made in house to order, it might come out slower than at other Disney World table service restaurants

The service, by the way, was delightful at both my meals here. At my first I started with a crab cake. My parents lived between Baltimore and Annapolis for more than 30 years, so I am qualified to judge a crab cake, and this was as good as any I have ever had. As a nice plus, the greens were in sufficient quantity, and dressed, to serve as a small salad.

My entree was the jerk chicken, an enormous serving even before you go to the beans and rice it was served on.  It was fine–I’d recommend it to anyone who likes barbecued chicken.

At my second meal, with Josh and Erin, the table got Jamaican meat pies and Caribbean pull-apart rolls as appetizers. The meat pies I was indifferent to, but the rolls with their sauces were terrific.

I got the Crab-cake topped burger, which is an indifferent combination–a burger, with a crab cake on the side, would be a better choice.

Josh got the Jerk chicken, and Erin the Grilled sustainable fish of the day–another huge portion.

There’s next to no theming–kids looking for Sebastian will need better eyes or better luck than I had.

But even so, overall, Sebastian’s is a great choice for folks staying at Caribbean Beach, and is closer to being destination dining than the table service offerings at any of the other moderates except those at Coronado Springs.

Here’s the review from our book, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020

BANANA CABANA AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

Banana Cabana, which does double duty as the general bar and poolside bar at Caribbean Beach, opened at the same time.

Much improved over its previous instantiation, it’s now a place where you can comfortably sit and toss back a drink or two…

…while also dining.

At least one evening, there was live entertainment on the walkway between Banana Cabana and the pool…

…and perhaps more broadly enjoyable, there’s also a refill station for refillable mugs on the same walkway.

While I did not try it, the geometry of Banana Cabana suggests that guests seated at the far end, away from the bar, likely will have distant views of the Epcot fireworks.

THE CENTERTOWN MARKET AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

The Centertown Market is the principal quick service venue at Caribbean Beach.

Unlike many other quick services at the moderates and values, with their multiple ordering stations…

…all ordering at Centertown Market is done from a single point.

With your meals ordered and paid for, you then pick a table and put this thingy on it.

Tables are both inside (and thus air-conditioned)…

…and outside.

Cast members will then bring you your food and drinks on one of these rolling carts.

If you get your food to go, you’ll go to a dedicated window for it once your thingy goes off–there’s also a dedicated window for mobile orders, which I highly recommend if you are walking from your village to the Market–order your food on your walk, pick it up when you arrive.

The new process cuts multiple steps out of the old process, especially for families that commonly went to several stations, one after another, before they ended up with all their food. But it does make the wait between order and delivery much more visible, so it may well feel long–especially to those without a stopwatch.  My waits for my three meals were six minutes or less each, but more complex orders, at busier times of the day, may see longer waits.

All told though, you will spend less time from entering the order line to getting your food than you would at almost any other value or moderate food court.

There’s also an extensive condiments set up…

…and a station for drinks. (There’s two more freestyle coke machines and some more coffee reservoirs out of view to the right.)

I tried two dinners:

…a bowl that I ordered with beef, rice and beans, and ranch sauce (5 minutes from completed order to delivery)…

…and then tacos…

…with fruit salad (6 minutes from completed order to delivery).

All were fine–fast, fresh, hot (except the fruit), and tasty. The rice and beans base for the bowl needs more beans. I would also have appreciated more sauce options for the bowls–on offer is Chimichurri, Garlic Ranch, Chipotle, and Cilantro-Lime Tofu Crema– but other than those points this is an adequate offering, better than most.

Bowls are also on offer at breakfast, and I was tempted to have one, as I am so three-years-ago-trendy, but instead had the Centertown Market equivalent of the “Breakfast Platter” (those with frequent stays at the moderates and values will know exactly what I mean)…

…the “American Breakfast.” Three minutes from completed order to delivery. This was nice–fresher and hotter than what you’d get at many other Disney food courts (the scrambled eggs, for example, were properly silky, rather than dry), and with particularly fine bread.

It’s missing the waffle you’ll find at the buffet-style stations that serve Breakfast platters, but those in the know avoid waffles from a buffet-style service anyway–you want one made in front of your eyes.

You can find the full Centertown Market menu here.

THE SPYGLASS GRILL AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

The Spyglass Grill is the other quick-service option at Caribbean Beach.

It opened in Trinidad in March 2018, and I have a full review here.

It offers an interesting and well-received, though limited, menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It does not have a lot of capacity, and is a bit of a hike from areas outside of Trinidad.

But it’s a handy option for those staying in the otherwise distant-from-food Pirate Rooms in Trinidad.

THE CENTERTOWN MARKET GRAB AND GO VENUE AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

The grab and go offering at Caribbean Beach opened with the other new dining venues. The menu for Centertown Grab and Go is here,

Here you can get the kind of refrigerated and shelf stable items that other food courts offer on shelves and cold cases in the back.

Some more of what’s on offer here.

THE MAIN FUENTES DEL MORRO POOL AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

This review continues here.

PAGES IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort: Overview and Summary
• Theming, accommodations and villages at Caribbean Beach
• Photo tour of a four person queen bed room at Caribbean Beach
• Photo tour of a five person queen and murphy bed room at Caribbean Beach
• Photo tour of a four person full bed Pirate room at Caribbean Beach
• Amenities at Caribbean Beach
• Dining at Caribbean Beach
• The main pool at Caribbean Beach

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of the Hilton Buena Vista Palace, see this.

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE HILTON BUENA VISTA PALACE

The Hilton Buena Vista Palace in the Disney Springs Resort Area has both valet and self-parking.

If you are driving and self-parking, you may park in the port cochere until you have completed check-in.

There’s one large, obvious, ugly, and painfully distant self-parking area–on the left as you enter the property. A much better choice, once you have checked in and gotten your room key card, which also serves as your parking pass, is on the right when you drive in, but of course on the left as you drive away from the port cochere.

See the annotated image, where the better parking area is marked with red fill in the lower center.

This better parking area is also right next to the bus stop. Details on transportation to the theme parks from the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels are here.

Also right in this area is the walkway to Disney Springs. Basically you go out to the road, turn left, and walk to the overpass. The furthest tower rooms are about a half mile walk to the nearest part of Disney Springs. Closer Island rooms are a quarter mile away.

The basics of the Hilton Buena Vista Palace’s services are around the lobby that you’ll find on the floor that comes off the port cochere. Check in is way at the back–by the windows.

You’ll find the bell stand on one side…

…and concierge services on the other. Around the corner from the concierge desk is the rental car desk.

There’s some seating on the way back to the check in area.

The check in area itself.

Also in the main lobby is this bar, Sunnies.

The lobby bar at night.

The lobby bar closed unreasonably early a couple of nights I was there–but there’s a second bar, Blue, more of a sports bar, down the hall and down some steps.

It has about a tenth–maybe a twentieth–the romance of the lobby bar.

There’s another bar at the pool.  I cover the pool at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace in detail here.

All other amenities (unless I am forgetting something) are either on, or accessed from, the Palace’s lowest level.  This is also the path from tower rooms to the pools, the bus stop, and the pathway to Disney Springs, so you’ll be down here a lot.

On the way to the bus stop you’ll find this gym.

Just outside is this outdoor lounging area, sometime used for events but otherwise more popular than you might think, given the Florida weather.

Back inside you’ll find a large gift shop…

…separated from an even larger grab and go and snack shop by this seating area, which could use some redecorating.

The grab and go shop keeps extended hours–it was open 24 hours one of my stays, and until 2a on another.

It offers, besides hot snacks, all kinds of cold items and shelf-stable snacks and drinks.

More shots of the grab and go area.

The featured dining venue at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace is Letterpress.

It has character meals on Sunday mornings…

…and has, God bless it, book theming.

I think, though, that I am the only person to have actually read books in the restaurant.

The dinner menu.

The lunch and breakfast menu–Letterpress, by the way, serves breakfast all day, a practice I commend.

I had a nice salad…

…and fine steak for dinner…

…and the “Breakfast Standard” another day for lunch.

I’ve eaten in the past 6 months in all the Disney Springs hotels except for the Doubletree (I had Disney dining reservations my entire stay there), and Letterpress at the Palace is the best of the bunch. Menus are here.

That said, dinner in Disney Springs is still your best bet.

Overall, including its pools, the Hilton Buena Vista Palace in the Disney Springs Resort Area has as strong a set of amenities as you’ll find among the Disney Springs Resort Area options. Both its pools and its table service dining are the best among these resorts, and the only thing obviously missing is outdoor sports courts for tennis or basketball, for which the Wyndham has the best offering.

THE POOL COMPLEX AT THE HILTON BUENA VISTA PALACE

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HILTON BUENA VISTA PALACE

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a standard tower room 
• Photo tour of an Island room 
• Dining and amenities
• The pools 

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of the Wyndham/Wyndham Garden, see this.

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area except for their rooms are essentially the same resort, and share all the same amenities.

The name distinction comes from the two different room types you will find here, in the tower versus the wing buildings.  For simplicity, I will refer to both in the rest of this post as the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista.

The Wyndham Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area has both valet and self-parking.

If you are driving but self-parking, you may park in the port cochere until you have completed check-in, but if it is too crowded you’ll be given the code for the self parking and park there during check in.

This same front of the hotel area has the bus stop.

Details on transportation to the theme parks from the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels are here.

Most of the Wyndham’s amenities are on the floor that comes off the port cochere, around the main lobby.

Back at the left is the check in area.

To its left are guest services and a rental car desk…

…and beyond it, in an area most guests except those staying in the east Garden wing won’t see, is a kids waiting area and a library.

Back in the lobby proper, there are many groups of comfortable chairs. I noted several guests napping in them, but am too kind to post those photos here.

Beyond this area is a Disney gift shop.

Inside the gift shop.

Diagonally across from this gift shop, near the entrance, is this much larger coffee shop and grab and go spot.

It includes a seating area, and offers various warm, shelf stable, and…

…cold drinks and snacks.

On the opposite side of the lobby space is this bar, which also serves food from the menu of the upstairs Lakeview restaurant. There’s another large bar and grill at the pool. I cover the pool at the Wyndham in detail in this post.

Upstairs is the Lakeview restaurant…

…which also serves character meals at a buffet breakfast Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Other days of the week see a breakfast with both buffet and a la carte options.

I dined on Lakeview food, but in the bar.

My wedge salad was fine…

…and my steak disappointing.

Links to menus for the Lakeview restaurant are here.

Downstairs at the lowest level you’ll find this gym…

…and outside flanking the pool you’ll find on one side these tennis courts…

…and these sports courts on the other side.

Overall, including the pools, the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista  in the Disney Springs Resort Area has a strong set of amenities.  Table service dining is undistinguished except by convenience–but there’s a ton of great options in nearby Disney Springs.

The Wyndham positions itself as the closest of these hotels to Disney Springs.  That may be true mathematically, but practically speaking, the Palace, Hilton, and Wyndham are all in easy walking distance. Disney Springs is also served by buses beginning in the late afternoon.

THE POOL COMPLEX AT THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE WYNDHAM LAKE BUENA VISTA

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a standard tower room 
• Photo tour of a Garden room
• Dining and amenities
• The pool

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

(For the first page of this review of the Holiday Inn Orlando, see this.)

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

The Holiday Inn Orlando in the Disney Springs Resort Area has both valet and self-parking.

If you are driving, you will park in the port cochere until you have completed check-in.

Also in this area at the front of the resort is the bus stop.

Details on transportation to the theme parks from the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels are here.

The lobby is just inside–with guest services on the left, and a small seating area on the right.

Around the corner is a couple of desks for airline check in and such, and next to it is a Hertz counter.

Nearby you’ll find a Disney gift shop.

More from the gift shop.

Around the corner is this gym.

Just beyond the lobby you’ll find this bar, which also serves lunch and dinner, and is right next to the pool.

In addition to the indoor seating, the bar has pool-side seats. (I cover the pool at the Holiday Inn Orlando in detail here.)

At the corner of the bar you’ll find this mini-shop with drinks and snacks, supplementing the Disney gift shop.

Back inside, most rooms at the Holiday Inn Orlando are in a tower with an atrium. The elevator bank is in the back corner of this area, and you walk around the dining room to get to it.

The dining room is open for breakfast and dinner. Dinner traffic is pretty light, so I actually ate in the bar.

The menu–I had the burger, and it was fine.

Breakfast is an at-first-glance expensive buffet….

…but kids 11 and under eat free. Note the asterisk–parents need to be eating too, and paying full price.  All the details to the asterisk–which strike me as reasonable– are here.

I’ve also seen a lot of deals for the Holiday inn Orlando fly by that offer free breakfast for everyone.

The breakfast itself is fine but undistinguished. There’s fresh Mickey waffles and an omelet station…

…fresh fruit…

…eggs, potatoes, and, not shown, french toast and pancakes…

…breakfast meats, and the usual cereals, pastries, and such.

The Holiday Inn Orlando in the Disney Springs Resort Area has all the basic amenities you’d expect from a hotel its size.  Dining is undistinguished except by convenience–but there’s a ton of great options in nearby Disney Springs, whose nearest part is about a third of a mile away, and which is served by buses beginning in the late afternoon.

THE POOL AT THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

• Summary and overview
• Photo tour of a standard tower room
• Photo tour of a pool view room
• Dining and amenities 
• The pool 

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of the B Resort & Spa, see this.

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE B RESORT & SPA

The B Resort & Spa in the Disney Springs Resort Area has both valet and self-parking.

If you are driving, you will park in the port cochere until you have completed check-in.

Also in this area at the front of the resort are some lovely flowers…

…and the bus stop. (Details on transportation to the theme parks from the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels are here.) Note the whimsical seating.

There’s more of that outside–and even more inside.

Inside you will find the interesting and in many ways lovely lobby.  Dead ahead, backed by an image of fireworks, is the check-in desk.

To its side is the concierge service.

There are some particularly interesting seating areas near the lobby.

The lobby lighting is also often worth a second look.

Beyond the front desk area is this small business center.

Near the business center are the principal elevators for the tower (Lanai rooms are served by a different elevator).

There’s another tower elevator, with glass walls, at the very front of the building, with music that I’m quite sure someone will not find annoying, but in recompense some lovely views.

The upper floor elevator lobbies continue with the interesting furnishings…

…and add a carpet full of hidden mickeys.

Back downstairs, to the left of the lobby you will find a Disney gift shop.

The gift shops in the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels all give the appearance of being stocked, run, and staffed by Disney cast members…

…even to having rather familiar bags.

Beyond the gift shop, towards the B Resort’s Lanai building, is a second shop. The Pickup, with more food and drink options…

…including some hot food.

More from inside The Pickup:

The Pickup also has an exterior service window convenient to the B Resort’s pool.

Also outside by the pool is the spa and gym.  (I cover the pool at the B Resort & Spa in detail here.)

At the other end of the first floor is the B Resort & Spa’s full-service restaurant, the American Kitchen Bar & Grill.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I hear that the Kitchen launched with intentions of becoming destination dining, but with the massive improvements in dining at nearby Disney Springs over the past few years, that’s not on.

The bar.

The dining room.

The dinner menu.

I’ve eaten here a couple of times during my stays at the B Resort & Spa–an interestingly plated steak…

…chicken and waffles…

…a large salad.

I have to like any restaurant that serves its iced tea in a jar, and the American Kitchen is certainly convenient–and a step above what you’ll find at the other smaller Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, like the Doubletree, Holiday Inn, and Best Western. But folks, for dinner, if convenience is not an issue, Disney Springs is the way to go. The nearest part of Disney Springs is a half mile walk away, and the furthest a little more than a mile, but buses run there beginning in the late afternoon.

Menus and more on the American Kitchen are here.

There’s some real charm and grace to the B Resort & Spa’s lobby, especially its decorations and furnishing, and the hotel has all the basic amenities that most would want.

THE POOL AT THE B RESORT & SPA

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE B RESORT & SPA

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a B Resort standard tower room 
• Photo tour of a B Resort Lanai pool-view room
• Dining and amenities at the B Resort & Spa
• The pool at the B Resort & Spa

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of the B Resort & Spa, see this.

PHOTO TOUR OF A LANAI BUILDING ROOM AT THE B RESORT & SPA

The B Resort & Spa in the Disney Springs Resort Area has several room types in two buildings–the main tower, and the Lanai building. Most rooms are in the main tower, and I have a photo tour of a B Resort tower room here.

The Lanai building at the B Resort & Spa is a two story wing that encircles the pool at the B Resort. Lanai rooms are available with a king bed, a king and a set of bunk beds, and two queens–as well as suites. There’s about 120 bays in the Lanai building, with fewer keys, as some of these rooms–especially poolside rooms–are multiple-bay suites.

More than half of the Lanai building rooms are separated from the parking lots of the B Resort just by the width of a narrow balcony and a sidewalk. While I don’t think first-timers should focus too much on views–they won’t be in their rooms enough–almost any view at the B Resort is better than these.

The rest of the rooms–about 50 bays, a few less keys–face the pool.  These are subject to pool noise, but do largely have better views, and the 20 or so on the first floor, which the B Resort markets as “Captivating Poolside Rooms,” have nice patios with pool entries. This photo tour is of a Captivating Poolside Room.

You will find an immediate difference from tower rooms as soon as you enter the space.

On one side you’ll find a closet, and a divided bath. Tower rooms have a wardrobe rather than a closet, and their baths are undivided.

Here’s one side of the closet.

Note the safe. My book is 6″ by 9″–so the safe is plenty big.

The far side of the closet.

The other side of this space has the sink…

…with these toiletries…

…and this flower, which I find charming. The sink itself has an annoying flat-bottomed shape–you’ll find similar sinks in Disney’s Contemporary Resort–which means that toothpaste tends to accumulate in it. I am not suggesting that you don’t brush your teeth–just that you’ll need to spend a little elbow grease persuading the toothpaste to go away.

Back in their own space you’ll find a tub-shower combo. Note the grab bar, which as far as I’m concerned should be in all tubs, not just those in accessible rooms. A nice touch.

Also in this space is the toilet.

Further in the room you’ll find two beds on one side.  The B Resort markets these as queens. My measurements–this is the third B Resort room I’ve stayed in and measured–mark the beds as a little smaller than that, but they are clearly larger than full beds.

The beds from the back of the room.

A closer view of one of these beds.

Between these beds is this bedside table, with a storage cubby below.  No drawer–there’s not a single drawer in this room, which I find curious.

The other side of the room has a couple of ottomans, more cubbies with a TV above, a desk and a mini-fridge.

The TV side from the back.

The moveable ottomans give your kids a place to sit beyond the beds and the desk chair.

The storage cubbies, with the TV above. The TV looks small in the image, but I got it as 47 inches, which is an adequate size these days. These cubbies, the one between the beds, and the closet, are the only storage spaces in this room. I suppose there is a market segment that is demanding that there be no drawers in their rooms–I just have yet to meet anyone in it.

The small desk has a glass top–not uncommon, but making optical mouses impossible to use.

Next to the desk is a cabinet with a Keurig coffee service above.

Inside the cabinet you’ll find this mini-fridge.

At the far end of the room you’ll find the door to the highlight of these spaces–the poolside patios.

Some views of my patio. Another is at the top of the page.  All patios have gates to the pool area.

These patios come in several sizes, and a couple have views of walls rather than the pool, but are mostly delightful.

Overall this is a spacious, and other than the absence of drawers, well-appointed room.  At around 355 square feet, the overall size is in the lower end of the Disney deluxe resort range. At around ~250 square feet, the size of the living area is comparable to or bigger than that in all Disney deluxe resorts except for the monorail resorts.

The amenities of this B Resort Lanai poolside room, with its divided bath, make it fine for families, although they will be challenged by the lack of storage (cubbies are not a great solution, and when used for storage add powerfully to visual clutter).

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE B RESORT & SPA

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE B RESORT & SPA

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a B Resort standard tower room 
• Photo tour of a B Resort Lanai pool-view room
• Dining and amenities at the B Resort & Spa
• The pool at the B Resort & Spa

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!