Reviewing The Newly Reimagined “Under The Sea” Rooms at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort!
By Rachel Ruppert
Earlier this year, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World finished reimagining what used to be the Pirate themed rooms to a brand new “Under The Sea” them, inspired by The Little Mermaid. You can only find these rooms in the Trinidad village, which is made up of 6 separate buildings.
On my recent visit to Walt Disney World, I got to enjoy my stay in these newly renovated rooms! I wanted to share details about the new changes and my experience, in case you are considering staying at Caribbean Beach on your next vacation!
The new rooms feature brand new art and decor with a tropical pastel color palette. The retheming definitely refreshed the rooms and they now have a brighter, airy, and spacious feel using a lot of light blues, greens, white, and sandy tones. The theme is cute, yet subtle and understated. Everything compliments the rest of Caribbean Beach Resort really well!
These rooms are a very different style than the Little Mermaid Standard Rooms over at Disney’s Art of Animation where the theming is a lot more over the top, colored with darker nautical tones, and showcases main characters like Ariel in the decor. You’ll notice Caribbean Beach’s approach to the theme is toned down with subtle nods to the 1989 classic Disney film.
You won’t actually find Ariel in any of the artwork, but you’ll see some vibrant decals and wall art throughout the room of the animated tropical fish and other sea creatures from the movie.
A common complaint about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is how spread out the resort is. It has a large footprint on the map of Disney property which makes it not as walkable as some of the other resorts. However we didn’t find it to be all that inconvenient to be in the Trinidad section.
Last time we stayed here, we were in the Preferred Room section (Martinique) located right next to Old Port Royale which is the main building that has the lobby, the store, and Center Town Market - the main quick service dining court. The Fuentes del Morro Pool and Sebastian's Bistro, Caribbean Beach’s only table service restaurant, are also right there.
While Trinidad is set back aways from Old Port Royale, it is located close to the Skyliner hub, right across the Sea Breeze bridge which is a major benefit! It's a short walk, depending on what building you’re in, we were lucky enough to be in building 35 which is one of the closest and our walk was about 3 or 4 minutes.
This station provides quick and easy access to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and Disney’s Pop Century Resort. At this Skyliner station, you’ll also find a Joffrey's Coffee & Tea kiosk to get your morning caffeine fix before you head out to the parks!
The Trinidad section has a sizable parking lot if you will have a car during your trip. There’s also a designated bus stop, sandy beach area, laundry facility, a small pool, a beverage station for refillable resort mugs, and it also has its own quick service dining option - Spyglass Grill.
Spyglass Grill offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner and has similar menu items to the Center Town Market in Old Port Royale. So between all these added amenities, we really didn’t miss being in the Preferred section of the resort as much as we thought we would!
When you walk into the main space of the room, you’ll find a queen size bed, a small white coffee table, and a seafoam green sofa next to it that can be converted into a pull-down queen size bed. These rooms can accommodate a 5th guest as well, since there is a pull-down bed located on the wall opposite the sofa.
This is the same sleeper bed that you’ll find in other newly refurbished Disney resorts. Disney states this 5th sleeper bed is an ideal size for a child (generally recommended for those under age 10), which makes this room type especially great for families!
In the corner by the TV you have your coffee/tea station, ice bucket, and beverage cooler. There’s plenty of storage in the bureau under the TV, plus three drawers underneath the 5th sleeper, and the lifted beds allow space for storing luggage.
The coffee table in the room has interior storage as well if you lift the top up.
The bathroom is separated from the rest of the room with a sliding barn door. It has a double vanity with a large mirror, two sinks, a wall mounted makeup mirror, an under-the-sink drawer, a Mickey step stool, and a closet.
The closet door is made of what looks like a tropical rattan material and inside there are hangers and an iron with ironing board.
Then another sliding barn door to the side that leads to your standard shower/tub combo and toilet area, with a photo on the wall of Flounder and Sebastian!
All of the new room features such as the added storage, 5th sleeper bed, plenty of outlets/USBs, reading lights on the head boards, additional seating - really makes all the difference for the resort guest experience!
Overall, I loved this reimagining! The new decor is very pretty and livened up the rooms to a nice fresh, luxe feel at a Disney Moderate resort. The main downside is that it is a trek to the main resort pool which is much more family-oriented than the smaller, quieter pool in Trinidad, but the proximity to the Skyliner adds an amazing perk to this location!
If you have a major Ariel fan in your family, you might prefer the more obvious movie theming over at Disney’s Art of Animation resort. Although it is worth noting the Art of Animation rooms can only accommodate 4 guests, and the Caribbean Beach rooms can sleep a family of 5.
Also, as of right now, you are not able to actually book a guaranteed Under The Sea room the same way you can at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. Instead, it is on a request only basis for Caribbean Beach. Once your room is booked, you can call Disney to place a request for an Under The Sea themed room in the Trinidad section, or have your travel advisor request it for you!
Rachel has had a passion for travel for as long as she can remember! She grew up visiting Walt Disney World every year and fell in love with international travel on her first trip to Europe at age sixteen. This love led her to pursue a degree in tourism and hospitality; studying abroad in Italy; participating in the Disney College Program and working at Walt Disney World as a Cast Member where she met her now husband! She and her husband love to travel and are always looking forward to their next adventure!
If you want to work with Rachel to plan your next great adventure to a Disney Park, a European city, on a cruise or beyond you can fill out a quote form here!