Linda Mac's Orlando Adventures

The Orlando weather was so picture perfect last weekend that I decided to visit the Caribbean Beach Resort to look for new updates (and get some exercise too). It is one of the prettiest resorts at Walt Disney World. But, as anyone who has stayed there will tell you, it is a large and spread out property.

So, with camera in hand, I set out to walk the entire property beginning at Old Port Royale. Unlike other Disney resorts where the check-in and luggage services are housed in the same building as the shops and restaurants, Caribbean Beach has them in two separate locations. Old Port Royale houses the gift shop, lobby concierge, counter service and full service dining. The Customs House is where you check-in, have lobby concierge, and luggage service.

My December blog has some photos of the renovations.

The last time I visited the resort in mid January, a new boardwalk had been completed and the rehab of the Old Port Royale feature pool had just started.

The new boardwalk begins near the Banana Cabana pool bar and winds around the pool area toward Trinidad North. Caribbean Beach is made up of several "villages", each named for a place in the Caribbean.

You can also access the bridge to Caribbean Cay (originally called Parrot Cay), a lush, tropical island which leads you to the Villages of Jamaica and Aruba as well as the promenade around the Barefoot Bay.

When the resort first opened, Caribbean Cay was bird sanctuary. Now, besides being the most direct route from Jamaica and Aruba to Old Port Royale, it's mainly used for recreational events like outdoor movie nights. It is also a great place to have an afternoon picnic or just relax in a hammock. I figured this was a good spot to start my resort trek.

Here are a few photos of Caribbean Cay.

It's time to leave Caribbean Cay and start my walk around the Barefoot Bay Promenade.

I headed into Jamaica to check on the temporary slide that was suppose to be at the village's leisure pool. Some folks still refer to these pools as quiet pools but they actually now called "leisure pools" by Disney.

Jamaica's slide still has not been installed. Currently, the only village pool that has a slide is Barbados. The first photo shows Building 45 in Jamaica and then a shot of Caribbean Cay from Jamaica's beach.

Next up, I'l make a brief stop for photos at Barbados and then on to the Old Port Royale Pool construction and the new boardwalk.

California here I come!

What do California and the pool at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort have in common? Absolutely nothing. But I wanted to share a little info about my upcoming adventure. Think of the old expression about two birds and a stone. What a terrible expression when you think about it...

In any case, I will be heading to Disneyland in a few hours so I am currently running around like a crazy person taking care of last-minute details. My adventure will last about one week and I'm hoping to do some blogging from Anaheim. You can at least expect some photo galleries. After a few days of exploring the Disney parks and the surrounding area, I will be meeting Deb Wills and some of the Panama Canal cruisers when they arrive in California on Sunday. Laura Gilbreath, AllEars.Net Team Member and Disneyland expert will be joining us on Monday. A big THANK YOU to Laura for all the invaluable advice she has provided me for my trip planning. I am so excited about this adventure that I can hardly concentrate on anything else. This will be my first visit to Disneyland and Southern California since I was a teenager -- many moons ago!

OK, back to Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Posting these photos of the Old Port Royale Pool construction has been on my to-do list, so here's another task that I can cross off. I have made several trips to the resort in the past few months so I could share some photos of the new pool as the work progresses.

Artist's Rendering of the Old Port Royale Feature Pool set to open in the fall of 2008.

December 2007 - The original Pool

January 2008 - Demolition Begins

February 2008 - Preparing the Area

February 2008 - Preparing the Area

May 2008 - The new structures start taking shape

May 2008

May 2008

May 2008

A new boardwalk was installed prior to the original Old Port Royale Pool closing in January 2008. The boardwalk stretches from the patio area behind the Banana Cabana Pool Bar to Trinidad North.

The Caribbean Beach Resort's marina has been left intact.

On another note, I have been hearing rumors that the hotel rooms are scheduled to be remodeled/updated in the next few months. The rehab will be done building by building so I am not expecting the resort to fully close when the work finally starts.

The construction of the main pool at Caribbean Beach is progressing nicely.

Here's a photo taken today:

I have been making weekly trips to the Caribbean Beach Resort to check on the progress of the new pool. Finally, there is water in the spas, pirate ship children's play area and the main pool. I hear that Disney is going to try and open the pool to guests on Labor Day Weekend, if all goes well with the testing. Of course, Tropical Storm Fay may have thrown them a curve ball when it comes to that schedule. Knowing Disney as I do, probably not.
For previous blogs on the 9 month pool project:

August Blog

December 2007 to May 2008 Blog

Next time I take photos here they should have people in them.

I have been keeping tabs on the "soft" opening of the new/remodeled pool at the Caribbean Beach Resort.The pool's soft opening was supposed to take place on Labor Day Weekend. But do to Tropical Storm Fay, the opening was pushed back to the weekend of September 5th. That was last I had heard before heading out on Deb and Steve Cruise on the Disney Magic last week. Upon arriving home last Saturday, I went to check on the pool only to find it still closed. Sources told me they were waiting on the final permits from the state inspectors. Well, I am happy to report that the pool opened yesterday, Wednesday, September 10th.

I stopped by the resort last night to check on the status of the pool. I must confess these photos are not the best for several reasons. First, it was raining and second I was using my iPhone while trying to hold on to my umbrella in the wind and rain. I ended up soaked but it was for a good cause.

We have received so many emails from our readers who will be traveling to the Caribbean Beach Resort this month that I thought you would forgive the dark photos. By the way, 15 minutes after arriving at the resort, the pool was closed due to severe weather conditions. I was stuck under the Banana Cabana while I waited for the storm to pass. There were worst places I could have been. LOL

Since the Caribbean Beach Resort is my "adopted" resort for AllEars.Net, I will be working on updating the information page when I can get some pictures on a sunny day.

These are photos of the newly remodeled women's room at the pool. For obvious reasons, I don't have any photos of the men's room. There is also a family bathroom.