Why Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Is a Must-Visit [Review]

On a whim, my family of 5 stayed a night at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in mid-September 2025, and I’m so glad we did.

With beachside tropical vibes, unbeatable Skyliner access, solid quick-service dining, and a delightful feature pool close to everything, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort offered a sweet spot between affordability and amenities.

Here’s what we enjoyed about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and what you should know if you’re considering a stay at this Moderate Disney World resort.

1. It Offers Exceptional Value as a Moderate Resort

We paid $288.56 for our 1-night stay in a standard-view fifth-sleeper room. I used my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which earned 2x miles for 576 miles for this purchase. I’ll use miles earned from my welcome bonus offer to cover the charges when my bill comes due.

I booked the resort just a day before checking in, and availability was scarce. There were no Value resorts available, but Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort was still reasonably priced.

Hot Tip:

Read our guide to Disney World resort categories to learn about the differences and what you can expect from Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa resorts.

From our single night at this resort, we got free water park admission on our check-in day, early entry to the theme parks, free parking, and excellent resort amenities with a comfortable, lightly themed room.

On our check-in day, we visited Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park. We would have paid $364 for admission to the water park (more than we paid for the room), but it was free on our check-in day.

On our check-out day, we put packing on hold for a short while and visited EPCOT to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. This ride usually has wait times exceeding an hour, but we were on by 8:45 a.m., just 15 minutes into EPCOT’s early entry time.

Hot Tip:

Adding a single night at a Disney World resort to off-property stays is one of my favorite ways to get resort benefits and add Disney magic at a reasonable cost. We spend most of our nights at more affordable lodging, then add a night at a Disney resort for the on-property amenities, including free water park admission on our check-in day and early entry to the theme parks on both days.

2. You Get Beach Vacation Vibes

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is filled with palm trees, brightly colored buildings, and lush tropical landscaping. All the building sections are named after Caribbean destinations such as Jamaica and Aruba.

There are also plenty of waterfront views and white sand beaches with loungers, though you can’t go in the water.

Numerous spaces looked inviting to relax and stay a while, with chairs and hammocks placed for peaceful waterfront views.

The beach vibes are great, and expect to see a lot of it. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is a sprawling property, and you may have to do a lot of walking depending on the building you’re in. We were in Building 45 in the Jamaica section, and I’d happily stay there again. It was conveniently placed between the Skyliner station and the Old Port Royale amenities area.

Hot Tip:

The walkways are full of small lizards (anoles). You might be able to convince young kids they’re tiny versions of the iguanas found on the real Caribbean islands.

3. There’s Fantastic Skyliner Access

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is one of Disney’s Skyliner resorts and arguably has the best placement of any resort with Skyliner access.

The resort has the Skyliner hub station on its property, where guests from Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and Disney’s Pop Century Resort get off to transfer to Disney’s Hollywood Studios or EPCOT and where you transfer between the parks.

When you start at the Skyliner hub from Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, you don’t have to get off to transfer and wait in line again. You can just get on the right Skyliner line to your destination.

It’s a direct ride to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Get on the EPCOT Skyliner and you’ll briefly stop at Disney’s Riviera Resort (with no transfer) to pick up more passengers before heading to EPCOT’s International Gateway.

The Skyliner hub at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort features a Joffrey’s coffee stand, which has a Skyliner-exclusive frozen toffee flight cappuccino drink.

4. Some Rooms Sleep 5

With 3 kids and 2 adults, our family doesn’t fit in standard 4-person rooms. But Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has family rooms with 2 queens and a kid-size, fold-down bed.

The kids fold-down bed is part of the dresser and TV unit, operating as seating by day and a small bed by night. The bed was made up with sheets when we arrived, and we added a pillow and blanket from a package we found in the closet.

My kids had a rock, paper, scissors tournament to determine who got the special bed.

5. Quick-Service Meals Are Solid

The food is part of why we booked Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Earlier in our visit, our friends mentioned “all-you-can-eat jerk chicken” at Sebastian’s Bistro, and my husband immediately put the resort on his to-visit list.

We hit the quick-service Centertown Market restaurant in the main building of Old Port Royale. I was happily surprised to find a varied selection of fresh food that we were actually excited to eat — far from the usual burger, fries, and chicken tenders, though those were available, too.

The real Disney magic was that all 5 of us were happy with our meals, which included fresh vegetables, fruit, lean protein, and fiber. Standouts were the pulled pork nachos loaded with beans and avocado; a kids meal of fish tacos that was fresh, flavorful, and came with an orange and a fountain drink; and a jerk chicken bowl with beans, rice, and marinated vegetables.

Depending on what you get, Centertown Market costs 1 quick-service credit or 1 snack credit on Disney dining plans.

Hot Tip:

Centertown Market is just steps away from the Fuentes del Morro feature pool. The morning we checked out, I placed a mobile order, which we easily picked up for a poolside breakfast, including Mickey waffles and avocado toast.

6. Activities Include a Feature Pool and Marina

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has a feature pool, Fuentes del Morro, in the Old Port Royale area. It has a beach-style entry, waterslides, and old fort theming with cannons. We all struggled to pull ourselves away from the pool that morning, even though we were on a time crunch to get on the road to our destination for the night.

The resort also has 5 leisure pools among the guest room buildings. Our pool in the Jamaica section had a beachfront view.

There’s a marina in Old Port Royale where you can pick up a catch-and-release fishing excursion.

I also found an activity booklet for exploring the nature of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Riviera Resort.

Additional entertainment amenities at the resort include:

• 8 p.m. movies under the stars every day but Saturday, including “Lilo & Stitch,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Little Mermaid”
• Pool deck activities with cast members, such as art and trivia
• Nightly beach campfires from 6 to 7 p.m.
• Island parties at 7:30 p.m. every day but Saturday, when there’s a Caribbean glow festival
• Sand court volleyball
• Jogging trail

Final Thoughts

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort was an afterthought for me — a reasonably-priced place to stay for a night when we weren’t ready to leave the parks. But after just 1 night, I think I’ve found my new favorite place to stay at Disney World.

I enjoyed how easy it was to access the parks on the Skyliner, and the resort’s main dining and shopping were conveniently near the feature pool. This is a great resort for a family of 5 or anyone who wants to enjoy good dining, park access, and a fun feature pool without paying Deluxe resort prices.