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[outahere]

We've stayed in Sugar Loaf three times I think and had one short stay in YC club. Overall, I like Sugar Loaf better. The lounge is bigger and the food offerings more expansive. Instead of just snacks during the day, there are mid day offerings and then tea around 2pm. The scones are just wonderful. If you've ever had tea at the GF, the same ones are served in the lounge. Also like that champagne is served from 5-7pm or was last we were there.

Most of the CMs at both resorts were great. At each, we encountered one who was incompetent and snobby at the same time. Interestingly, I discovered in the course of dealing with those two that they were not regulars. All other CMs were helpful.

Can't go wrong with either, I think.

Thanks...... we've also run into one CM at the YC CL that wasn't up to the standards of the others. Unfortunately, that person is a regular and we've encountered them each stay. On the up side though, one of our favorite YC CL CM's transferred to the GF last summer. If that's true, he has always been very friendly and helpful and it would be great to see him again.

DW will love going to tea. She says she's taking a break from the parks every afternoon, just to go back to the GF for tea.

 

[em36]

We've stayed CL at the YC three times and really enjoyed it. However, DW has always wanted to stay at GF so we're going to try GF Sugarloaf on our next trip (YC is my favorite resort).

No matter what, we WILL be going back to the YC in the future.

I would love to hear any comments comparing YC CL vs GF CL, so we have an idea of what to expect. It will be me, DW and DS18. Anyone?

Thanks.

I have stayed cl at the YC once and RPC at the GF once. Ha, that's a lot of initials. Anyway, I found the food to be a little better at the GF because there were a few more options at breakfast and there was also afternoon tea with scones and a few other items.

I found the CM's at the YC to be much friendlier although the ones at the GF were fine. I preferred the YC overall, but would absolutely take a GF trip again. They are both wonderful! Have fun!

 

[cocoabean1]

Thanks...... we've also run into one CM at the YC CL that wasn't up to the standards of the others. Unfortunately, that person is a regular and we've encountered them each stay. On the up side though, one of our favorite YC CL CM's transferred to the GF last summer. If that's true, he has always been very friendly and helpful and it would be great to see him again.

DW will love going to tea. She says she's taking a break from the parks every afternoon, just to go back to the GF for tea.

Where do they have the afternoon tea at the GF? Is there a menu with desserts and tea?

 

[BCV23]

Where do they have the afternoon tea at the GF? Is there a menu with desserts and tea?

Gardenview Lounge on the main floor of the GF offers tea every day. Here's the menu:
http://allears.net/menu/menu_gft.htm

Both club levels offer the same delicious scones in the afternoon along with clotted cream and some other goodies. So good. Hope that helps.

 

[cocoabean1]

Gardenview Lounge on the main floor of the GF offers tea every day. Here's the menu:
http://allears.net/menu/menu_gft.htm

Both club levels offer the same delicious scones in the afternoon along with clotted cream and some other goodies. So good. Hope that helps.

We stay CL at YC, so it might be better going back to the YC for tea and scones when we visit Epcot or Hollywood Studios. We usually have breakfast and a snack at the end of the day at the CL. It looks like we might have to go back in the afternoon too.

 

[BCV23]

We stay CL at YC, so it might be better going back to the YC for tea and scones when we visit Epcot or Hollywood Studios. We usually have breakfast and a snack at the end of the day at the CL. It looks like we might have to go back in the afternoon too.

I meant both club levels at the GF serve scones...Royal Palm Club (main building) and Sugar Loaf (outer building). No scones in the lounge at YC when we stayed. Sorry for the confusion and especially sorry to disappoint you!

 

[MickeyT]

It's Monday! Welcome Home People.......

 

[natebenma]

Thanks for starting our week off right!

Does that ticker say 4 weeks??????

 

[cocoabean1]

It's Monday! Welcome Home People.......

There's one thing missing- ME!!!!!

 

[Steph H]

We've stayed CL at the YC three times and really enjoyed it. However, DW has always wanted to stay at GF so we're going to try GF Sugarloaf on our next trip (YC is my favorite resort).

No matter what, we WILL be going back to the YC in the future.

I would love to hear any comments comparing YC CL vs GF CL, so we have an idea of what to expect. It will be me, DW and DS18. Anyone?

Thanks.

We stayed at Sugar Loaf 7 years ago, so I'm not sure what might have changed since then. We stayed at YC CL last week (we're back home now...wah ).

My own personal opinion is that I liked YC better. I didn't dislike SL by any stretch, but it just seemed more comfy and friendly at YC club level than at Sugar Loaf. Maybe because at SL, you're in a separate building and therefore it kind of felt like I was part of the "outcasts." And yet, when asked, my husband said that being separate from the main building was what he liked most about SL!

I don't think I ever had a chance to enjoy the tea and scones at SL, but that may just be my memory failing me. (Seven years is a long time!) I think I would have enjoyed that this time, but I didn't miss it. What I LOVED about YC was the proximity to TWO resorts. It was SO great to be steps from Epcot and then a few more "steps" from Hollywood Studios. I loved our lagoon view upgrade as well--the Boardwalk is beautiful to see!

I am back to reality now, but as soon as I can, I'll post my pictures of the YC CL offerings. The mornings were pretty much the same every day with a few changes, and the afternoon offerings were always the same (chips and cookies), but the evenings were more varied. We only had the chance to do desserts a couple of nights, but I did take pictures.

We had such a great time--DS#1 said on our way out the door, "Mom, when we come back to Disney, can we stay at the Yacht Club again?" Ha, get 'em hooked early, I say!

Happy Monday, all!

 

[outahere]

We stayed at Sugar Loaf 7 years ago, so I'm not sure what might have changed since then. We stayed at YC CL last week (we're back home now...wah ).

My own personal opinion is that I liked YC better. I didn't dislike SL by any stretch, but it just seemed more comfy and friendly at YC club level than at Sugar Loaf. Maybe because at SL, you're in a separate building and therefore it kind of felt like I was part of the "outcasts." And yet, when asked, my husband said that being separate from the main building was what he liked most about SL!

I don't think I ever had a chance to enjoy the tea and scones at SL, but that may just be my memory failing me. (Seven years is a long time!) I think I would have enjoyed that this time, but I didn't miss it. What I LOVED about YC was the proximity to TWO resorts. It was SO great to be steps from Epcot and then a few more "steps" from Hollywood Studios. I loved our lagoon view upgrade as well--the Boardwalk is beautiful to see!

I am back to reality now, but as soon as I can, I'll post my pictures of the YC CL offerings. The mornings were pretty much the same every day with a few changes, and the afternoon offerings were always the same (chips and cookies), but the evenings were more varied. We only had the chance to do desserts a couple of nights, but I did take pictures.

We had such a great time--DS#1 said on our way out the door, "Mom, when we come back to Disney, can we stay at the Yacht Club again?" Ha, get 'em hooked early, I say!

Happy Monday, all!

Thanks Steph H.

I too like being close to two parks, but I have to agree with DW that GF has more restaurants. Captain's Grill is ok, but they never seem to change the menu, except for a couple of seasonal dishes. HH does make a good burger, but I don't really want to live on burgers for a week. I thought Cape May was good, but DW wasn't all that impressed. We've never tried Yachtsman, so that is definitely on my to-do list for a future stay.

We do like SAB, but DS will be almost 19 on our next trip, so that is no longer a huge draw for us. About the only time we go to the pool these days is in the evening, just to unwind.

We have absolutely nothing against the YC, but staying at GF will be a new experience. We've stayed CL at the Poly, so being in a separate building won't be anything new.

It sure sounds like you have your DS "trained" already!

 

[sndral]

Well, I'm back from 9 nights @ YC - my second time there. I started w/ 3 nights @ the GF, my first 'split' stay, and my first stay @ GF, then moved to the YC, where my son joined me.
Room was way out - practically @ the Swolphin, on the map provided it was located in the corner that has been cut off to make the map fit on the half paper they give you @ check in.
Positives - first floor, right by an exit door w/ a nice view of the pond and trees - kept looking for an alligator, as I'd heard they were in every body of water in Florida, never saw one, just ducks and one day a crane.
Negatives - it was a long walk to the lobby and a really long walk to fill the refillable mugs we had as part of our deluxe dinning plan, thus we didn't use them much. The shower temp was initially lukewarm @ best. The plumber came (after 3 calls and 1 visit to the front desk) and the max temp he could get was 101 F. He cleaned something and got it up to 107 F. He said the max temp they set it at is 110 F due to safety concerns w/ children. I don't recall this being an issue last year when we were closer to the lobby and it certainly was not an issue @ my GF stay, I suspect because the room is so far from the main facilities the hot water takes awhile to get to the room and cools from the 110 F in transit. I noticed the plumber let the water run a long time before he checked the temp., so thereafter I did the same before I hopped in, waste of water, but a coolish shower wasn't working on my tired muscles. They offered to move us, but the room offered was over SAB w/ a lot of roof in the view so we declined. When I checked in the white duvet cover on one of the beds had some blood stains on it - I called housekeeping and they replaced it right away. The last night I noticed the sliding glass door was unlocked, as I checked each time I left and returned to the room, I found this troubling, but nothing of value was in the room, and nothing was missing, I just found it to be odd. The safe was very small (son's normal size tablet did not fit, nor would my camera fit in, only my Ipad mini fit in it) and used a key to secure it, the GF safe was bigger (fit my Nikon w/ lens on + Ipad mini easily) and was keyless, much better set up.
The weather was great, 70s for all 10 YC days (and my solo 3 GF days,) only rain was as we left MK after midnight on Sat. night, our last night.
Buses were better than many years, w/ only the DTD trip home after Fulton's dinner being bad - I timed it, it was a 50 minute wait at the DTD stop for the YC/BC/Swolphin bus to show up - didn't time the ride, so don't know total transit time. Epcot monorail was not working one night, and they had buses running from the TTC instead.
Parks - they shut down/roped off test track/Ellen/mission space area of Epcot @ 3pm for a 'press event,' which was inconvenient for us as it happened to be the evening we planned to do that area of Epcot and when we decided to head over to MK early, we discovered the monorail problem. Was surprised to see a few BTGs and saw a lot more clumps of pop warner cheerleaders in the parks than we have in past years. Both the BTGs & the cheer/football kids were well behaved - just normal excited/giggly teens.
We do the deluxe dinning as a ts lunch and a 2 ts dinner, so we see a lot of restaurants in our stays. I was amazed at how much less the wait time after check in was vs. previous years. Not sure what WDW did, but it was much improved from previous years. Only Cape May and Mama Melrose were like the old days of check in and wait far too long. It was my first Cape May dinner, as I liked the food, I'll give them another shot, Mama Melrose is out of the rotation for awhile.
We had decided before going to give WDW a pass next December, opting for some other destination, but we'll be back in 2014, which gives me lots of time to plan.

 

[natebenma]

Guess who had a GIANT sundae at Beaches & Cream?

It was Flat Ben!

No Way, Jose!


photo courtesy of jenseib

.

 

[pixarmom]

Guess who had a GIANT sundae at Beaches & Cream?

It was Flat Ben!

Yay Ben! Please let him know that we just added a Captain's Grille late breakfast ADR to the last morning of our January trip, so while it's not B&C, he can look forward to that!

By the way, any recent reviews of breakfast at Captain's Grille? It's been a long time since I've been there. In more recent years, I've booked this ADR a zillion times and cancelled it a zillion times. This time, we're guessing ME is picking us up at BWI at 11:45am and there isn't enough time for lunch at B&C. I will do ANYTHING to avoid the food court at the Orlando airport. So we'll have a 7am breakfast in the BWI club lounge, go to DHS for one more ToT ride and then have a 10:30am "brunch" at Captain's Grille. I'd kind of prefer Cape May, because there are some "lunch-type" foods on the buffet - like that amazing salad. But by the end of the trip, my husband will definitely be done with characters, so Captain's it is!

P.S. MickeyT, thanks so much for the happy photos! We're really looking forward to that report. I'll share with our middle son who will be receiving "Run Disney in Training" apparel for Christmas! (Shhh!) Just two years until he is eligible for the half!

 

[pixarmom]

P.S. Speaking of Flat Ben, he's already enjoyed swims in both SAB and the CR pool. (And I do mean that he has actually been immersed in the water and gone down the slides several times.) Next up: the Volcano pool at the Poly. But the Luna Park pool at BWI will be closed during his stay. Hmmm . . . does Flat Ben have anything to do with this pool closure???

 

[natebenma]

Yay Ben! Please let him know that we just added a Captain's Grille late breakfast ADR to the last morning of our January trip, so while it's not B&C, he can look forward to that!

By the way, any recent reviews of breakfast at Captain's Grille? It's been a long time since I've been there. In more recent years, I've booked this ADR a zillion times and cancelled it a zillion times. This time, we're guessing ME is picking us up at BWI at 11:45am and there isn't enough time for lunch at B&C. I will do ANYTHING to avoid the food court at the Orlando airport. So we'll have a 7am breakfast in the BWI club lounge, go to DHS for one more ToT ride and then have a 10:30am "brunch" at Captain's Grille. I'd kind of prefer Cape May, because there are some "lunch-type" foods on the buffet - like that amazing salad. But by the end of the trip, my husband will definitely be done with characters, so Captain's it is!

P.S. MickeyT, thanks so much for the happy photos! We're really looking forward to that report. I'll share with our middle son who will be receiving "Run Disney in Training" apparel for Christmas! (Shhh!) Just two years until he is eligible for the half!

I haven't been to Captain's Grille for breakfast, but here are a couple of links I have to pictures/reviews. The one from emmysmommy is pretty recent:

Captain's Grille Breakfast Buffet, Review by emmysmommy

Here is a link to a few pictures from the daily breakfast buffet provided by TaraPA: Breakfast Buffet pictures

And one more, but I don't have this one linked to the Dining Section on Page 1 because I haven't asked Dawn's permission yet:

Captain's Grille, dawnbu40


If Flat Ben does make it to the restaurant, see if you can get his picture with the pictures of the moving sailboat.


.

 

[natebenma]

P.S. Speaking of Flat Ben, he's already enjoyed swims in both SAB and the CR pool. (And I do mean that he has actually been immersed in the water and gone down the slides several times.) Next up: the Volcano pool at the Poly. But the Luna Park pool at BWI will be closed during his stay. Hmmm . . . does Flat Ben have anything to do with this pool closure???

I don't believe Flat Ben had anything to do with Luna Park pool closing, but then again, he went missing recently in the vicinity of the EPCOT resorts... so...

I think FB has also spent some time in the AKL pool, with jenseib.

Love the exposure to the different pools!

 

[Me!Thatswho]

It's Monday! Welcome Home People.......

Thanks for the smile!

 

[JanetMom]

Guess who had a GIANT sundae at Beaches & Cream?

It was Flat Ben!

No Way, Jose!


photo courtesy of jenseib

.

Mmmmmmmmmm!

 

[Missyrose]

Yay Ben! Please let him know that we just added a Captain's Grille late breakfast ADR to the last morning of our January trip, so while it's not B&C, he can look forward to that!

By the way, any recent reviews of breakfast at Captain's Grille? It's been a long time since I've been there.

We ate breakfast at Captain's Grille in October and had a really yummy breakfast. I had the buffet (they let you order an omelette as part of the buffet, so I had a ham and cheese omelette). Franklin had the lobster omelette, which he RAVED about.

The buffet food was all fresh and hot. Lots of choices, though I don't remember there being anything remarkable to choose from, just your typical Disney breakfast buffet fare. Here are some food porn photos from that morning:

For the record, Franklin helped me with some of those waffles and sausage links.

Hope this helps!