One of the hottest topics around Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is the addition of the Pirate Rooms. These newly renovated rooms decorated to please any Captain Hook, Sparrow, or Smee wannabes have caused a lot of flurry, but also a lot of strife as guests-to-be consider whether or not they should book a pirate-themed room, or stick with the standard Finding Nemo-themed rooms.

We hope to shed a little light with our Pirate Room Pros and Cons List:

Pro: The pirate rooms are newly renovated. Everyone knows that the best rooms in any hotel are the ones most recently re-done, and these are most certainly the newest!

Con/Pro: The pirate rooms are pirate-themed. I know, seems like a dumb thing to mention, but, frankly, some folks may not be thrilled about the idea of spending their tropical Caribbean vacation in a room with dark wood, “wood”-carpeted floors, and a Jolly Roger smiling back at them from the bathroom! That said, for some, the pirate themeing is a dream come true and a childhood fantasy made reality!

Pro: The pirate rooms are a unique vacation experience. Disney World is known for providing a magical, immersive experience, and if you’re looking for 24-hour immersion in the Disney Magic, the new pirate rooms are one of the best places in Disney World to make that happen! Your next best bet is probably the Cinderella Castle Suite, and if you find an in there, please share your secret

Con/Pro: The pirate rooms are a trek from Old Port Royale. Located in the Trinidad South section of CBR, the pirate rooms are about a 5-10 minute walk from the central dining and theme pool area of the resort. If this is a con for you, it’s probably the biggest con for you about the pirate rooms. However, some folks really enjoy the distance from the activity and find being far from the hustle and bustle to be very relaxing.

Con: The pirate rooms cost more. Pirate rooms cost about $25 more per night than the regular standard rooms on property, so over the course of a week’s vacation that can really add up. Of course, you might not be able to put a price tag on how much your little pirate or princess loves staying there!

As you can see, there are definitely a wealth of pros and cons to staying in Caribbean Beach Resort’s pirate rooms! Ultimately, I’ve heard great reviews about the rooms; but some folks decide that the extra cost and distance just isn’t for them.

Have you stayed in a Pirate-themed room at CBR? What did you think? Would you recommend them to others? Let us know in the comments section below, or join the conversation over on our facebook and twitter pages!

This post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival, which features dozens of great Disney-related articles from new and established bloggers.

While there are lots of great activities at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, three of my favorites are incredibly unique and distinctly “Caribbean!”

1. Send a Coconut Back Home

You might think I’m crazy, but you really can mail a coconut postcard back home to your loved ones. And this isn’t just a postcard made out of coconut fibers — it’s a real, honest-to-goodness coconut!

These are usually available right outside the Calypso Trading Post and Straw Market, but if you don’t see them, be sure to ask a Cast Member where the coconuts are! They’ll cost about $20 to purchase and send to a United States destination.

2. Stay in a Pirate-Themed Room

The brand new Pirate rooms in Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort offer an incredibly unique way to indulge the little (or big!) pirate in your family!

While just as comfortable as the other rooms at the resort, the pirate rooms offer special touches like pirate ship beds, a pirate flag curtain between the room and the bathroom area, and pirate ship lanterns!

These rooms are only located in the resort’s Trinidad South area, so they’ll book up quickly!

3. Explore Caribbean Cay

This one-of-a-kind island in the middle of Barefoot Bay is an oasis from the hustle and bustle of the Disney theme parks.

Quiet, serene, and offering several spots for picnicing, swings for relaxing, and pathways for playing, Caribbean Cay is a great location for the harried family to grab some rest and relaxation…without waiting in any lines!

The best part is, you’re only a hop, skip, and jump away from Old Port Royale, where you can grab food, take a dip in the pool, or fuel up on a mai tai!

When choosing a resort, many of us are concerned about how far it will be to each of the Disney theme parks. No one wants to spend their entire vacation riding buses. For those who are planning to stay at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, they will be happy to know that the location is right in the thick of it.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is located on Buena Vista Drive, just a few streets down from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the other Epcot Resorts. This makes access to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios particularly quick. According to Google Maps, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a 2 mile drive and Epcot is a 4 miles away.

Disney’s Magic Kingdom is also about 4 miles away and Animal Kingdom is the furthest away at 5.0 miles. Thus Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the shortest trip and Animal Kingdom is the longest. However realistically the distance to the parks makes limited difference in how long it will take to get to each of the parks.

The real deciding factor in how long it will take to get to a given theme park is how long you have to wait for a bus and how many stops it has to make before it gets on the road. As you can see from our FAQ one bus will pick up all Caribbean Beach guests and drop them off. So how long it will take you to get there will depend heavily on whether you are at the first or last bus stop.

Additionally another key will be how often the buses come. Generally buses run every 20 minutes at the most and often come more frequently. In general it makes sense to budget at least 45 minutes for getting to the parks at a minimum and more during peak times like park opening or if you have a member of your party who is a bit slower getting around.

This blog post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! Check out more fantastic Disney websites and articles over at the Carnival.

One of the most beautiful parts of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is its centerpiece: Barefoot Bay, a huge, 45-acre lake exclusive to the resort and its guests.

But in addition to being a stunning set piece for the resort, it also offers the opportunity for several different activities for guests. Head over to Barefoot Bay Boat Yard and Bike Works for a bit of sailing or some bike riding around the lake; sign up for a Bass Fishing trip in the early morning or afternoon; or send your little pirates out on a treasure-hunting Pirate Cruise!

Another fun part of Barefoot Bay is the tropical island situated right in the middle! Caribbean Cay is a lush oasis full of tropical plants, relaxing swings, and picnic tables perfect for a sunset meal with your family. Luckily, there’s no need to take a boat to this island! There are bridges on both sides of Caribbean Cay, one leading to the island from Old Port Royale and one leading to the island from the Jamaica area of the resort!

There is one thing to remember about Barefoot Bay, however: the lake is not safe for swimming. Due to several factors, including deaths as a result of Naegleria Infection, Disney has closed its beaches to swimming. So, while playing in the sand on the beaches at the Caribbean Beach Resort is allowed, swimming in Barefoot Bay is a no-no.

What are your favorite things to do on and around Barefoot Bay?

Welcome to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Fan Site! For this blog post, we’d like to cover a few of our favorite tips and tricks from our stays at CBR:

Choose Your Room Requests Wisely
While we think every room at Caribbean Beach Resort is great, there will always be attributes of some that will work better for you. For example, Trinidad South is quiet and secluded, but it’s a hike to get to the theme pool; and Martinique is in the middle of the action, but the added noise and foot traffic might not be to your liking.

Other concerns are whether or not you’d like to be able to see parts of Illuminations from your village and the location of bus stops and quiet pools in each village. Check out our ideas about the best rooms in the resort here on our Caribbean Beach Resort Rooms page, and be sure to visit our FAQ page for more general information.

Understand the Bus System
Caribbean Beach Resort offers transportation to all of the Disney theme parks, but your spot in the pick-up order can impact whether or not you get a seat if the resort is busy! A good rule of thumb is to remember that the “first stop” can be either Martinique OR Jamaica, depending on the bus. Usually, Barbados is the last drop off and Martinique is the first pick up, but the Jamaica-to-Trinidad loop is also in play once in a while. Call the resort ((407) 934-3400) and ask exactly what section you should request based on what the bus routes will be at the time you’re visiting.

Build in a “Resort Day”
We think Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has a lot to offer its guests! And when the hectic surroundings of the theme parks are getting stressful, it’s always nice to have a “resort day” planned where all you have to do is relax!

Great activities to schedule on this day are visits to the main theme pool, a trip to Shutters or the Market Street Food Court, a few loads of laundry by the quiet pool, a picnic on Caribbean Cay, a pirate cruise for the kids, or even some fishing!

What are some of your favorite CBR tips?

This post is part of a Disney Blog Carnival over at DisMarks.com! If you like reading Disney blogs and articles — head over to the carnival to take a look at some other great posts!