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

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

In early October 2018, Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort (mostly) emerged from an almost 18 month long construction project that has greatly improved the layout and usability of the resort, and added new and easier-to-access amenities.

Since then, the new Disney Skyliner gondola system has opened, adding fun transportation options to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and in December 2019 the new next door Riviera Resort will add more easy to access dining options.

The entrance to Caribbean Beach is now off Victory Way…

…near Jamaica.

Note that this is also where the hub of the Disney Skyliner is located, with line to Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Pop Century/Art of Animation.  A second Skyliner station, between Aruba and Disney’s Riviera Resort, is on the Epcot line.

Anyway, if you are driving, turn right the entry, then left at the next intersection, and look for Old Port Royale on your left. The old stand-alone check in location, the Custom House, is no longer in use–simplifying things considerably.

Returning visitors might be confused by a  bit of village renaming–the old Trinidad South is now plain Trinidad, and the old Trinidad North is now Barbados.

Old Port Royale now has a port cochere.

Also in this area is bell services…

…and. for your departure, airline check in.

Not all carriers are served here, but if you are using one of them, and on your last day heading to the parks and then to the airport, it can be handy to first check in for your flight and drop your bags here.  Note that this is a tip-based service. (Note also that the Magical Express is a totally different operation.)

Inside you’ll find this bright hallway…

…with on the left a poster highlighting a couple of activities at Caribbean Beach.

On the right you’ll find the gift shop…

…and the grab and go shop and food court. I’ll get to the gift shop in a minute, and the grab and go shop,  food court, and all other dining at Caribbean Beach are covered in detail here.

Further down on the left you’ll find the check-in area. You may be served from the line itself…

…or at a series of desks.

You’ll also find a table with powerpoints…

…and beyond it a kids’ waiting area.

Multiple other seating options are in the lobby area.

Back towards  the port cochere on the other side you’ll find the gift shop.

You’ll find here gifts, clothes, souvenirs, snacks, drinks and sundries.

Just outside is the pool. The main Caribbean Beach pool is covered here, and the minor pools in Caribbean Beach’s villages are covered here.

Outside by the lighthouse you’ll find a pool table and a foosball table.

Back towards the pool, on the way to the bridge between Old Port Royal and Jamaica and Aruba, is a seating area from which you can see some of Epcot’s fireworks show. Not a substitute for seeing these in the park, it’s still a fun option to have.

On the bridge you’ll find Caribbean Cay…

…with a lot of nice private seating areas on one side and several play areas on the other.

You’ll find on the other side a sand play area…

…a playground…

…and an astroturf lawn…

…which gains games in the evenings…

…just before the evening movie is is shown here.

All Disney transport to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom is via buses.  Folks going to Epcot or DIsney’s Hollywood Studios can take a bus or the new Skyliner.

Each village has its own bus stop, and there’s another at Old Port Royale.

Once you are settled, check the map.  At Aruba and Martinique a different bus stop than “yours” may be closer to your accommodations building–for some Aruba buildings, the Jamaica stop is closer, and for some Martinique buildings, the Old Port Royale stop is closer.

The Skyliner goes to Epcot and the Studios from the hub at the bottom left of the map, closest to Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados.  Another stop, on the Epcot line, is accessible at the top of the map.  See this for more on the new Disney Skyliner gondola system.

DINING 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 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!!

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE POWERPLANT AND THE AIR TERMINAL AT DISNEY SPRINGS

By Jim Korkis

The newest restaurants at Disney Springs tie in to the area’s overall storyline of a restored Florida waterfront town. The Edison was once the power plant for the town. Its design is meant to evoke the steam powered age of innovation.

The restaurant is promoted as a “lavish industrial Gothic-style destination for fine food, handcrafted cocktails and exciting nightlife.” The impressive, detailed decor includes actual antique pieces and a large industrial-style mechanical clock at the main entrance.

Different dining areas have their own themes including: The Boiler Bar, The Ember Parlor, Telegraph Lounge, The Patent Office, The Tesla Lounge, The Radio Room, Waterfront Patio, and The Lab. Antique boilers are a focal point for guests who enter The Edison from the Enzo’s Hideaway tunnels and any guests that make their way downstairs.

Adjacent to The Edison, The Patina Restaurant Group operates three new restaurant venues. The group already runs Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs, Via Napoli and Tutto Italia at Epcot, as well as six restaurants at Disneyland. Patina will also manage the new space-themed restaurant to be built in Future World East at Epcot.

The other three restaurants exist in what was once supposedly Disney Springs’ Air Terminal. The story goes that the Italian immigrant couple Maria and Enzo ran a bakery in the airport lobby, but travelers diminished over the years because of larger airports with greater amenities and other forms of transportation increasing in use, so the location closed.

In addition to the bakery, they tried to sustain themselves by opening a small pizza by-the-slice restaurant (Pizza Ponte, whose logo references the nearby bridge).

The success of this venue allowed Maria and Enzo to fulfill their ultimate dream to restore and transform the long-forgotten terminal to its former glory, giving it new life as a grand restaurant showcasing the flavors of Southern Italy. They named the restaurant Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante.

Surrounding the main dining room, an impressive period-style mural depicts the destinations once served by seaplanes that departed the terminal as well as a period-style metal globe chandelier. Some of those destinations include New York, Daytona Beach, New Orleans and Cuba. It has an Art Deco structure reminiscent of those of the early 1930s and features fifty foot tall ceilings and expansive views of Lake Buena Vista.

The restaurant interiors showcase artifacts that reference air travel of the early 20th century, with maps and historic flight paths. Signage in the main dining room recalls its prior use as the departure lounge for the terminal. Diners may also be selected for seating in the smaller “First Class Lounge,” or request it when they make a reservation. The host and hostess staff dress like old-style flight attendants, and even the table settings match the 1930s era.

As the story of the complex continues, after the couple purchased the terminal, Enzo accidentally discovered a former “bootlegger’s hideout” in the tunnels beneath the terminal that connected it to the power plant next door. Now called Enzo’s Hideaway, the former speakeasy has a wall of graffiti that tells the tales of its storied past.

Enzo’s Hideaway speakeasy was inspired by Roman aperitivo bars as well as Florida’s history of rum running, and was supposedly a social center for Disney Springs during the dry years of Prohibition. The Hideaway attaches to The Edison next door through a secret passageway. Actually, some of the tunnels in real life previously included backstage Pleasure Island cast member areas and green rooms for performers.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! And you can find reviews of these–and all other–Disney World table service dining venues in the book I co-author with Josh of easyWDW.com, The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit.

And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Secret Stories of Mickey Mouse, and his Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 24 TO DECEMBER 2, 2018

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

For more on November at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/24-12/2/18

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 9a-11p 11/24, 9a-6p 11/25, 9a-10p 11/26, 9a-6p 11/27, 9a-10p 11/28, 9a-6p 11/29 and 11/30, 9a-11p 12/1, and 9a-6p 12/2

Epcot will be open from 9a-9.30p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open from 9a-9p 11/24, and 9a-8p 11/25 through 12/2

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open from 8a-9p 11/24, and 9a-8p 11/25 through 12/2

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/24-12/2/18

Saturday 11/24 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 11/25  Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

Monday 11/26  Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Tuesday 11/27 Morning: none Evening: Epcot

Wednesday 11/28 Morning:  none Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 11/29 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 11/30 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 12/1 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none

Sunday 12/2 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/24-12/2/18

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/24-12/2/18

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom:  10p 11/24; 9p 11/26, 11/28, and 12/1

IllumiNations at Epcot: 9.30p every night

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9p 11/24; 8p 11/25 through 12/2

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: not scheduled

Jingle Bell Jingle BAM at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.30p 11/24; 8.30p 11/25 through 12/2

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 6.30, 8 and 9.15p 11/24; 6.15 and 7.30p 11/25 through 12/2

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/24-12/2/18

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

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WHAT IS MAY LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

Earlier May is a great time to visit Walt Disney World, with low crowds, moderate prices, and good weather.

The weather typically gets hotter and more humid over the month, and the end of the month sees high crowds and high prices from Memorial Day weekend on.

[Read more →]

For 2018, most of last year’s holiday additions to Disney’s Hollywood Studios are back, the holiday projections at Tower of Terror have been tightened and plussed, and the new-in-June-2018 Toy Story Land makes a strong Christmas statement (although the minor additions to it for the holidays do not).

So what we now have in this park is

• General holiday decorations
• Holiday projections on the Hollywood Tower Hotel (site of the Tower of Terror)
• A Christmas Tree and substantial decorations in the Echo Lake area.
• Toy Story Land, augmented by some minor plussing
• The Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! show

The total effect is to make Disney’s Hollywood Studios the most “Christmassy” of the parks other than Magic Kingdom, and if you subtract the extra charge items of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, the Studios is actually the most rewarding park to fans of Christmas.

GENERAL HOLIDAY DECORATIONS IN THE PARK

You’ll find holiday decorations throughout Disney’s Hollywood Studios, including just outside the park, where bows decorate the Fantasia brooms…

…and along Hollywood Boulevard

HOLIDAY PROJECTIONS ON THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER HOTEL

The Hollywood Tower Hotel, best known until most of the year for screaming elevator riders, last year had four sets of holiday projections added to its facade.

This year the projections return, add lasers, and see the interval between projections shortened. The tightened pacing makes the sequence of four now work better as a show, rather than as background entertainment. And the lasers add visual appeal, kinetics, and panache.

While there is not much to the projections, when combined with other holiday decorations on Sunset Boulevard, they really amp up the holiday feel of this section of the park.

The entire effort is called Sunset Seasons Greetings, and highlights…

…Frozen…

…Mickey’s Christmas Carol…

…the Muppets…

…and Toy Story.

There’s not much to these–nothing like the action and subtlety of Tree of Life Awakenings at the Animal Kingdom, for example–but together with the other holiday decorations on Sunset Boulevard (and snow!), the overall impact is to turn this into a much more festive area of the park.

My co-author Josh has even more–and much better!–images on his site easyWDW.com here.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND DECORATIONS IN THE ECHO LAKE AREA

Hollywood Boulevard has always been delightfully decorated, but now so is the Echo Lake area.

The most notable addition is the Christmas Tree, which used to be outside the park…

…but Gertie now has a bit of holiday decor as well–snow and a Santa hat.

A closer view of the tree…

…and the tree after dark.

Echo Lake after dark.

On the Gertie side of Echo Lake you’ll find these decorations…

…and further counter-clockwise around Echo Lake, near Hollywood and Vine, these.

The same later in the evening.

Until now, Echo Lake has been a bit of a pass-through-without noticing area for me, kinda like (but not so dull as) Commissary Lane.  Gertie has historical importance, and the lake itself is cute and some find it to part of an enormous hidden Mickey.  But really, yawn.

The holiday decorations add a focal point and a coherent atmosphere that’s been missing here until now. You will still largely pass by the lake on your way to something else, but now it’s a delightful walk.

TOY STORY LAND AND ITS HOLIDAY ADDITIONS

The new this summer Toy Story Land (details here) has had a few minor Christmas additions.  While there’s not too much to the new stuff, the key point about Toy Story Land is that it is always entirely Christmas themed–and especially after dark.

After all, the main lighting concept of Toy Story Land is Christmas tree lights, and the land itself is filled with toys. What more could you do to suffuse the area with Christmas?

The answer is not much, which is exactly what Disney did.

You’ll find Woody with a holiday scarf…

…Buzz Lightyear with a Santa hat…

…antlers on Rex above Slinky Dog Dash…

…some Christmas ornaments near Alien Swirling Saucers…

…and a Christmas cookie outside the Andy’s Lunch Box.

There’s a few more items but in general as noted it’s not much. That said, Toy Story Land with its Christmas lights and toys is already very Christmassy, especially at night.

JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BAM!

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM debuted at the Studios in 2016. Largely a projection show on the Grauman’s Chinese Theater facade, it’s not a tour de force, but is fun and clever.  It’s framed around the crew from Prep & Landing, but adds a million Disney animations and require no real knowledge of the framing show.

I cover Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! in detail here, and my co-author Josh covers the somewhat disappointing dessert party associated with it on easyWDW.com here.

The Echo Lake and Sunset Boulevard decorations profoundly strengthen how well Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrate the holidays, and Toy Story Land is always fun–especially after dark.  Don’t miss them!

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