CABANA BAY BEACH RESORT Thread..........

[plumsiren]

Beachside and Bayside do not have the “family” suites, however there are 2 bedroom suites.

That request would be great to ask for if you prefer being closer.

Wonderful to hear, thank you!

 

[Saltywardog]

I second this! There were pulls all over the bedspread and the actual sheets were so thin I could see through to the mattress label. There were also spotty black mold patches on the cieling so it'd be nice to clean that up too. The bottom of the hallway walls were banged up by the luggage carts and there was the occassional empty candy wrapper and salt packet on those hallway floors too. There was also something going on with the carpet that made us itchy. My mom thinks a carpet flea could have bitten her. She needed Benadryl so maybe we were in a pet friendly room and they didn't tell us. I enjoyed the view on the 6th floor but I really don't think I could stay there again.

to many of these issues, so glad i switched to sapphire falls a few weeks out. Amazing resort and staff

 

[lisam70]

Just spent 5 nights in an exterior entry suite and other than burned out light bulb had no issues. They now check in with you thru text messages and if you need something they bring it right away. We arrived Saturday afternoon and the line to check in was long and moved very slow even the mobile check in line so we headed out for early dinner and city walk then came back around 8 or so to no line at all.

 

[plumsiren]

I'm sure this question has been A&A but since I don't have the patience to read 54 pages...BFF is getting a Seasonal AP to score AP room rates. Can those passes be picked up at CB so we can check in with them? We will be arriving late and not doing the parks on arrival night. Thanks!

 

[wdwrule]

I'm sure this question has been A&A but since I don't have the patience to read 54 pages...BFF is getting a Seasonal AP to score AP room rates. Can those passes be picked up at CB so we can check in with them? We will be arriving late and not doing the parks on arrival night. Thanks!

Yes if the pass is already paid in full. Each hotel has a park ticket/pass desk but their hours seem limited in the evening. I believe they open each morning around 7am. You just need to show your pass before you check out to get the AP rate discount. So when you arrive late at night… if the ticket desk is closed, just check-in and then next morning visit ticket desk in lobby to pick up pass. Then sometime during your trip show your pass to the checkin desk so they can apply the discount. Sometimes they ask to see it, sometimes they don’t at all. I always show them mine just in case either way.

 

[lisam70]

I'm sure this question has been A&A but since I don't have the patience to read 54 pages...BFF is getting a Seasonal AP to score AP room rates. Can those passes be picked up at CB so we can check in with them? We will be arriving late and not doing the parks on arrival night. Thanks!

I think the ticket desk closes around 6pm. I did the upgrade there as well was very quick.

 

[plumsiren]

So with the announcement about Mardi Gras today, we might be moving our stay to avoid the crowds (our first park day would be opening day, ugh). Anyone going to be there the last week of January?

 

[heidijanesmith]

We just got back from our 1st CB stay 9/22-9/27 and wanted to share my experience.

1-Check in. When I booked the package, I asked to be in the outdoor hallway family suite. I was told by the TM that the pool would be open during our stay. When we walked into the Lobby the Pool by the outside family suites was closed! The pool is only open during the weekends. We spend a lot of time at the pool, so this was not ideal for us. I asked to switch our room to an inside corridor room and they did have one for a $25.00 per day upcharge. I asked for TM to waive the upcharge fee as we were told misinformation about the pool. The TM said no and then left to ask a manager. TM came back and said no they would no waive the fee as the pool hours are posted on the website. I did not want to start our vaca arguing, so we just paid it.

2- We found our room and it was a great location to the other pool. We were quite a walk to the lobby and buses, but really not that bad.

3-Quality of room furnishing were a little old and run down. The chairs, couch, beds, doors and fridge door all had some damage. The slider did not stop any noise from reaching the other room. DH was watching football and I had something else on in the bedroom and it was hard to have two TV's at the same time. All in all, the extra space was nice.

4- Transportation was excellent. We never waited more than a minute for a bus, most of the time there were 1 or more buses waiting to pick people up. If there was ever a line, then a TM would call another bus and it was there in minutes. We normally stay at the HRH, so I was nervous about the buses, but they were fantastic!

I did a survey after my stay and received a very nice message from the assistant manager at CB and he apologized for the misinformation about the pool hours and refunded me the upgrade charge. I was very happy with that.

HRH is still my fav, but if there are no discounts for HRH, I would stay at CB again.

 

[jeni1072]

Does anyone know if the Hearing Accessible or ADA rooms are in specific areas, or just scattered here and there?

 

[schumigirl]

We just got back from our 1st CB stay 9/22-9/27 and wanted to share my experience.

1-Check in. When I booked the package, I asked to be in the outdoor hallway family suite. I was told by the TM that the pool would be open during our stay. When we walked into the Lobby the Pool by the outside family suites was closed! The pool is only open during the weekends. We spend a lot of time at the pool, so this was not ideal for us. I asked to switch our room to an inside corridor room and they did have one for a $25.00 per day upcharge. I asked for TM to waive the upcharge fee as we were told misinformation about the pool. The TM said no and then left to ask a manager. TM came back and said no they would no waive the fee as the pool hours are posted on the website. I did not want to start our vaca arguing, so we just paid it.

2- We found our room and it was a great location to the other pool. We were quite a walk to the lobby and buses, but really not that bad.

3-Quality of room furnishing were a little old and run down. The chairs, couch, beds, doors and fridge door all had some damage. The slider did not stop any noise from reaching the other room. DH was watching football and I had something else on in the bedroom and it was hard to have two TV's at the same time. All in all, the extra space was nice.

4- Transportation was excellent. We never waited more than a minute for a bus, most of the time there were 1 or more buses waiting to pick people up. If there was ever a line, then a TM would call another bus and it was there in minutes. We normally stay at the HRH, so I was nervous about the buses, but they were fantastic!

I did a survey after my stay and received a very nice message from the assistant manager at CB and he apologized for the misinformation about the pool hours and refunded me the upgrade charge. I was very happy with that.

HRH is still my fav, but if there are no discounts for HRH, I would stay at CB again.

Glad you had such a lovely trip despite the few glitches at the hotel.

And happy they refunded you the upgrade, that is good to hear. And yes, everyone seems to praise the bus service for punctuality.

 

[StarCruzer]

Booked our first ever stay at Cabana Bay for December (pool view). I've tried to read up as much as I can ahead of time, but I figured I'd ask a few questions to the experts here

What are things you wish you knew about the hotel the first time you visited?

Also, if you bring your own float/tube for the lazy river, can you still have a TM inflate it? (I read they can inflate tubes you buy from the resort).
edit: based on responses, looks like someone mentioned in late July there's a hose you can use to inflate your own tubes/floaties)

Which building/section do you feel is most convenient and why?

Obviously any answers are appreciated, but no pressure! I'm still sifting through posts on this board to see if I can find some answers myself.

 

[nouvellefleur]

Which building/section do you feel is most convenient and why?

If you're getting a family suite, I really liked the exterior entry suites. Castaway is probably objectively the best location of those buildings, but we were in Thunderbird and it was right next to the garden path to the parks, and about a 5 minute stroll to the Bayliner Diner and the buses, about a 7 minute stroll to the lazy river pool. Compared to the interior hallway rooms, I thought the soundproofing was better in the exterior entry suites.

For a standard room, probably the Americana building is the most convenient.

I'm going in November with my sister and we're going to try one of the Volcano view standard rooms - I'm excited, but the hike back and forth will probably be pretty long!

 

[StarCruzer]

For a standard room, probably the Americana building is the most convenient.

We have a poolside standard. I have back problems and will be bringing a cane with me, so I may call and try to request a room as close to the lobby as possible, unless the walk is shorter than it looks!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

unless the walk is shorter than it looks!

It isn't.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Booked our first ever stay at Cabana Bay for December (pool view). I've tried to read up as much as I can ahead of time, but I figured I'd ask a few questions to the experts here

What are things you wish you knew about the hotel the first time you visited?

Also, if you bring your own float/tube for the lazy river, can you still have a TM inflate it? (I read they can inflate tubes you buy from the resort).
edit: based on responses, looks like someone mentioned in late July there's a hose you can use to inflate your own tubes/floaties)

Which building/section do you feel is most convenient and why?

Obviously any answers are appreciated, but no pressure! I'm still sifting through posts on this board to see if I can find some answers myself.

Since we just got back from our 1st stay there, I can help a little bit.
1-If you want to purchase or bring your own floaty thingy, there is a self service air hose to fill them up. We saw quite a few kids with tubes.
2- Our connecting outdoor Family suite room had no sound proofing at all in the Kitchen area. I could hear every word they said and listen to their TV. In the bedroom area it was much better, sound wise
3-Be prepared for the furnishings to need an update, ie chairs and our fridge.
4- Buses were easy and simple. If you have ever been to WDW, it's much, much better. The bus picks up CB 1st and then went to Adventura and then on our way to the parking garage. If we had a line at CB, poof here another bus would come. I never had to wait for a bus, most of the time they were there waiting for passengers.
5-We walked a lot at the resort. Walked to the pool, to the lobby to the bus area. We stayed at 4th floor Continental in one of the round window rooms. The only thing that was easy to get to was the pool and we spent a lot of time there, so that was great.
6- The Cabana Court yard pool is only open at certain times depending on when you go. We went 9/22-9/27 and originally booked an inside Family Suite in the Castaway building. We walked in and saw the pool closed. It is only open on Sat and Sun. We changed our room as the pool is a big deal for us.
7-If we stayed again, I think I would ask for the same area.

 

[CJK]

Is the lazy river open 7 days a week?

 

[StarCruzer]

The Cabana Court yard pool is only open at certain times depending on when you go. We went 9/22-9/27 and originally booked an inside Family Suite in the Castaway building. We walked in and saw the pool closed. It is only open on Sat and Sun. We changed our room as the pool is a big deal for us.
If we stayed again, I think I would ask for the same area.

Thanks!! A ton of great (and recent) info.

It sounds like they were able to accommodate a room swap. We're hoping to possibly use the lazy river, but really more hoping to be close to the lobby. Not sure how much swapping they'll be able to finagle on a Saturday night for us!

 

[heidijanesmith]

Yes, it was open 7days a week. We had a lot of fun there!

 

[kbelle8995]

Since we just got back from our 1st stay there, I can help a little bit.
1-If you want to purchase or bring your own floaty thingy, there is a self service air hose to fill them up. We saw quite a few kids with tubes.
2- Our connecting outdoor Family suite room had no sound proofing at all in the Kitchen area. I could hear every word they said and listen to their TV. In the bedroom area it was much better, sound wise
3-Be prepared for the furnishings to need an update, ie chairs and our fridge.
4- Buses were easy and simple. If you have ever been to WDW, it's much, much better. The bus picks up CB 1st and then went to Adventura and then on our way to the parking garage. If we had a line at CB, poof here another bus would come. I never had to wait for a bus, most of the time they were there waiting for passengers.
5-We walked a lot at the resort. Walked to the pool, to the lobby to the bus area. We stayed at 4th floor Continental in one of the round window rooms. The only thing that was easy to get to was the pool and we spent a lot of time there, so that was great.
6- The Cabana Court yard pool is only open at certain times depending on when you go. We went 9/22-9/27 and originally booked an inside Family Suite in the Castaway building. We walked in and saw the pool closed. It is only open on Sat and Sun. We changed our room as the pool is a big deal for us.
7-If we stayed again, I think I would ask for the same area.

Where is the self service air hose

Hate to hear that they are still closing the other pool.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Where is the self service air hose

Hate to hear that they are still closing the other pool.

The self serve air hose was on the side of the Tube Shack Building at the rear of the pool. Not too far from the restrooms.