2013 Beach and Yacht FAQ, Fun & Friends: Don't Post Here- New Thread Started

[natebenma]

So I have questions about all of the new-fangled technology at the resorts and parks. I haven't been following along with the million-and-one threads on the theme park boards, so I'm not entirely sure what has been activated and what is still in the future.

Thought I would ask my friends here for the info

Door locks- at the Yacht & Beach Club the doors are RFID enabled, right? You just wave your card and it will unlock?

Park and Restaurant purchases- I believe we can charge purchases back to our room/credit card, but we need a code. I told my husband this and he asked what happens in restaurants. Do you give the waiter/waitress your code? Do you write it on the "charge slip?" Do they now have those electronic pad tablet thingies that they bring to the table to present the bill?
I have no idea!!!

What line do we use to enter the parks? Are there some regular turnstiles and some that are electronically enabled?

Guess I am not quite as ready for my trip as I thought!

 

[natebenma]

The tuna is on the bar menu at Hurricane Hannah's . It is not available at the food ordering side only at the bar. There are nice chairs and a counter to sit and eat there now

I hope they have ordered lots of tuna! I think you may have sold a few to future guests. See if you can get a commission!

 

[TeenaS]

Hey you guys! Reading all the live reports are making me so excited for our trip! A week from now we should be landing and heading towards the DME!

I have a question that I'm sure y'all can answer better than anyone

After we check in, I'll need to pick up my pre-ordered annual pass, our photo pass + card, and buy the TIW card. Can I do all 3 of those at the International Gateway or do I have to go to the front of the park? I know we've picked up the photo pass at the front of Epcot before, but was hoping to get it all done at one place.

Thank you!

You can get everything at the International Gateway Entrance.

 

[Rafikifan]

When you check in and they give you your card they ask you to create a pin number and you enter it into a keypad twice. When you go to your room you just wave or touch the card to the Mickey shape on the door. When you make park store purchases you swipe the card like you do at your local grocer. I always paid cash or used my debit card for dining so not sure about that. If your park tickets are on the card you use the new turnstiles. There are still some "old" type. We had purchased tickets from an outside source so the first day at the parks we went to guest servives and they changed it to a plastic card with RFID so we could use the new turntiles. You still leave your finger print but just wave the card instead of inserting it and waiting for it to spit it back out. Hope this helps a little bit.

So I have questions about all of the new-fangled technology at the resorts and parks. I haven't been following along with the million-and-one threads on the theme park boards, so I'm not entirely sure what has been activated and what is still in the future.

Thought I would ask my friends here for the info

Door locks- at the Yacht & Beach Club the doors are RFID enabled, right? You just wave your card and it will unlock?

Park and Restaurant purchases- I believe we can charge purchases back to our room/credit card, but we need a code. I told my husband this and he asked what happens in restaurants. Do you give the waiter/waitress your code? Do you write it on the "charge slip?" Do they now have those electronic pad tablet thingies that they bring to the table to present the bill?
I have no idea!!!

What line do we use to enter the parks? Are there some regular turnstiles and some that are electronically enabled?

Guess I am not quite as ready for my trip as I thought!

 

[em36]

So I have questions about all of the new-fangled technology at the resorts and parks. I haven't been following along with the million-and-one threads on the theme park boards, so I'm not entirely sure what has been activated and what is still in the future.

Thought I would ask my friends here for the info

Door locks- at the Yacht & Beach Club the doors are RFID enabled, right? You just wave your card and it will unlock?

Park and Restaurant purchases- I believe we can charge purchases back to our room/credit card, but we need a code. I told my husband this and he asked what happens in restaurants. Do you give the waiter/waitress your code? Do you write it on the "charge slip?" Do they now have those electronic pad tablet thingies that they bring to the table to present the bill?
I have no idea!!!

What line do we use to enter the parks? Are there some regular turnstiles and some that are electronically enabled?

Guess I am not quite as ready for my trip as I thought!

I think I can help. My trip to YC was in June so my info is about one month old.

Door locks and elevators to cl floors use RFID.

You type in a code when dining at a QS establishment, but not for TS.

While we were there, people with KTTW were directed to electronic entries and people without KTTW were directed to another area. I never used the other entry, so I am assuming it was a turn style. Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

 

[natebenma]

When you check in and they give you your card they ask you to create a pin number and you enter it into a keypad twice. When you go to your room you just wave or touch the card to the Mickey shape on the door. When you make park store purchases you swipe the card like you do at your local grocer. I always paid cash or used my debit card for dining so not sure about that. If your park tickets are on the card you use the new turnstiles. There are still some "old" type. We had purchased tickets from an outside source so the first day at the parks we went to guest servives and they changed it to a plastic card with RFID so we could use the new turntiles. You still leave your finger print but just wave the card instead of inserting it and waiting for it to spit it back out. Hope this helps a little bit.

I think I can help. My trip to YC was in June so my info is about one month old.

Door locks and elevators to cl floors use RFID.

You type in a code when dining at a QS establishment, but not for TS.

While we were there, people with KTTW were directed to electronic entries and people without KTTW were directed to another area. I never used the other entry, so I am assuming it was a turn style. Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

Thank you both! That helps a lot!

 

[natebenma]

Sorry- missed these earlier. I haven't officially "swept" the last few pages yet.

Yahoo! Thanks for all you do Dee! We usually fly Southwest also. Are you flying out of Bostonia or Manch-Vegas? We usually do Manch, as ScottMc is a nervous flyer and JNPants doesn't want to deal with it. We find Manch to be much, much quieter, security is faster...etc.

I was going to ask the same thing. We used to fly out of Logan, but since we are pretty much the same distance from either Logan or Manchester, we prefer to fly out of Manchester. Quieter, faster, and less traffic and hassle.

As of yesterday, our countdown is in the single digits! Woohoo! I started getting my act together yesterday: making my lists of must-pack items, buying odds and ends like umpty-leven bottles of sunscreen, and dragging out our luggage and carry-ons. I'll be spending most of today scaling Mount Saint Laundry. Hmm....I think I need another iced coffee!

We are flying out of Manchester- it is actually closer to us and like you both said, it is much less of a hassle than Logan.

The only problem is that we do most of our flying out of Boston, so we forget that we are flying from NH. Last time we used this airport, my husband and I were trying to find our flight back and we stared at the board for at least a minute when Ben piped up "You know we're flying to Manchester, not Boston, right?"

Do either of you know what is open for food in the terminal in the early morning hours- we fly out at 7 am. Will I be able to get my last Dunkin's coffee before heading to Florida?

 

[WDWgirl413]

When you check in and they give you your card they ask you to create a pin number and you enter it into a keypad twice. When you go to your room you just wave or touch the card to the Mickey shape on the door. When you make park store purchases you swipe the card like you do at your local grocer. I always paid cash or used my debit card for dining so not sure about that. If your park tickets are on the card you use the new turnstiles. There are still some "old" type. We had purchased tickets from an outside source so the first day at the parks we went to guest servives and they changed it to a plastic card with RFID so we could use the new turntiles. You still leave your finger print but just wave the card instead of inserting it and waiting for it to spit it back out. Hope this helps a little bit.

Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly because I think I'm in the same boat. We have BC CL room ONLY for 14 nights. We purchased park tickets from AAA- 8 day park hopper w/ water park & more that expires 14 days from first use. Out first time using the park tickets would be our third day in- spending our arrival day & first full day at SAB. I can combine our BC room cards to include our park tickets? I saw something on My Disney Experience to add park tickets but haven't looked into details yet. Can wait to find out.
Another question maybe for Teena- when the renovations to CL are under way, what happens then? Is CL relocated?
Thank you all in advance!!

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[Karebear]

Our view today

I once again beat DH this morning at TSM . This time I beat him by 11,000 points so he can't even claim he was close we shared a cinnamon roll from Staring Rolls and it was wonderful. There was a bit if An argument with some line cutters prior to opening of SAB and some guy went off. He then preceded to set up camp for his family by asking 10 chairs and a table for his family of 4. Someone said something to him and he said he needed sun chairs, shade chairs and a table for lunch. Wonder why people can't find chairs. Lol

My husband and I just returned from a short Vegas trip. There were signs all over the pool saying that staff would remove towels from chairs that had been unoccupied for an hour or more---I told dh that they should implement this at SAB

 

[Scott MC]

Do either of you know what is open for food in the terminal in the early morning hours- we fly out at 7 am. Will I be able to get my last Dunkin's coffee before heading to Florida?

Yes, but Dunkin and Starbucks are the only open places so they get overwhelmed easily.

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[wlake]

When you check in and they give you your card they ask you to create a pin number and you enter it into a keypad twice. When you go to your room you just wave or touch the card to the Mickey shape on the door. When you make park store purchases you swipe the card like you do at your local grocer. I always paid cash or used my debit card for dining so not sure about that. If your park tickets are on the card you use the new turnstiles. There are still some "old" type. We had purchased tickets from an outside source so the first day at the parks we went to guest servives and they changed it to a plastic card with RFID so we could use the new turntiles. You still leave your finger print but just wave the card instead of inserting it and waiting for it to spit it back out. Hope this helps a little bit.

Thank you! I didn't know most of that! Are the fast pass machines still the same or are those RFID enabled now too?

Also, related to fast passes -- is it two or three hours before you can get another one? I've forgotten. Thanks!

 

[wlake]

Please take a moment to look over the Be Our Guest list to see if your information is listed correctly. If we just know the month you are going, you will be at the top of that month's list with no specific dates, but feel free to post if you want me to update the exact days of your trip.

Post 15: Be Our Guest list

We are about 20 pages from needing a new thread, so I will definitely be starting one sometime this week.

If anyone has any comments about how to make the first couple of pages more "user-friendly" please let me know by posting here or sending an email to beachclubdee at yahoo dot com.

Not that it matters to anyone but me, but I think I will strip off the links to photos, videos and trip reports into a separate post, on Page 2.

And, by the way, one week from right now, I will be boarding a Southwest flight to Orlando.

Hello! Two things -- one board related, one not!

It would be great to have a post about how to watch fireworks from BC/YC. I've read a couple of posts about it but didn't take notes. Lots of rereading to go back and do now....

Also, you have a 7 AMish flight from NH -- assuming it's a direct flight, about when do you get to BC/YC? We have a 6:40 AM (it seemed like a good idea at the time!) direct flight out of Providence, so I'm guessing its about the same amount of flight time. I booked a 1:05 ADR at MK and now I'm a bit nervous! Thanks so much!

 

[ldnoggle]

You can get everything at the International Gateway Entrance.

Thanks Teena!

 

[hill6]

The tuna is on the bar menu at Hurricane Hannah's . It is not available at the food ordering side only at the bar. There are nice chairs and a counter to sit and eat there now

Thank you Couchy. I wish BC was in the budget for this trip but we were only able to book when we got enough points to pay for 3 of our flight segments and only having to pay for one out of pocket. We booked on the last day they had the room offer that ended mid June.

 

[Syndrome]

Another question maybe for Teena- when the renovations to CL are under way, what happens then? Is CL relocated?
Thank you all in advance!!

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Wait........what ? I didnt hear anything about the CL lounge getting refurbed at BC. When is this going to take place ?
We will be at BC in a few weeks, staying in a deluxe CL room , and I am hoping that the CL will not be under construction ????
Does anyone have any details on this ?

Thanks !
Syndrome

 

[natebenma]

Hello! Two things -- one board related, one not!

It would be great to have a post about how to watch fireworks from BC/YC. I've read a couple of posts about it but didn't take notes. Lots of rereading to go back and do now....

Also, you have a 7 AMish flight from NH -- assuming it's a direct flight, about when do you get to BC/YC? We have a 6:40 AM (it seemed like a good idea at the time!) direct flight out of Providence, so I'm guessing its about the same amount of flight time. I booked a 1:05 ADR at MK and now I'm a bit nervous! Thanks so much!

1) I have this info in Post #14 (Other Useful Info)

Can you see any of the Illuminations fireworks from places around the resort?

There are a few places where you can view some of the high fireworks from EPCOT's Illuminations show. Many people recommend watching the fireworks from the bridge between the Beach Club and the Boardwalk resort areas. You can also see some of the high fireworks from the Beach Club beach or from the Stormalong Bay pool.

From bridge between Beach Club and Boardwalk (photo by pixarmom), from the beach (photo by creativeamanda) and from Stormalong Bay (picture by natebenma):

************************************************

Couchy watched fireworks from Hollywood Studios from the beach by looking towards the Boardwalk, but that was on the 4th of July, so I think that was a special display. I don't think you can normally see the Fantasmic fireworks from the BC/YC.

Or am I wrong?

Another recent poster saw a special fireworks display from their room- but this was part of a special party that was on the beach.


2) Our flight leaves Manchester at 7 am and is scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 10:05. We actually won't be heading directly to the Beach Club. We have a little detour to the Dark Side first. We arrive at the BC a few days later (Tuesday)

Probably a 3 hour flight for you, too. Say you land at 10 am at the latest.

Are you using ME? I would give it an hour and a half to arrive at the resort. Could be less, but I think that is a good estimate. Fairly conservatively, your arrival will be around 11:30. Say half an hour to checkin, hopefully get into your room if it is ready or if not, store your stuff with Bell Services. It's noon. Get on a bus- you should be able to make your ADR, but you won't have a whole lot of time to spare.

With a car- the trip to the resort will be quicker (probably under an hour). I still recommend you take a bus to MK because with a car you will have to park at the TTC and either take the monorail or ferry to the park. The bus will let you off at the main gate.

Is this an ADR with credit card penalty? You may want to bump the reservation back to 1:30 if you can.

 

[natebenma]

Wait........what ? I didnt hear anything about the CL lounge getting refurbed at BC. When is this going to take place ?
We will be at BC in a few weeks, staying in a deluxe CL room , and I am hoping that the CL will not be under construction ????
Does anyone have any details on this ?

Thanks !
Syndrome

Not imminent. You are safe. For now.

ETA: back! I don't think you have posted here lately.

 

[Scott MC]

Hello! Two things -- one board related, one not!

It would be great to have a post about how to watch fireworks from BC/YC. I've read a couple of posts about it but didn't take notes. Lots of rereading to go back and do now....

Also, you have a 7 AMish flight from NH -- assuming it's a direct flight, about when do you get to BC/YC? We have a 6:40 AM (it seemed like a good idea at the time!) direct flight out of Providence, so I'm guessing its about the same amount of flight time. I booked a 1:05 ADR at MK and now I'm a bit nervous! Thanks so much!

1. I'd think the best place to watch fireworks at BC/YC would be on the beach. You also get a good view from the BoardWalk itself. Keep in mind you'll only see the higher fireworks and you won't hear the music.

2. From Providence, I'd expect a 2 3/4 hour flight putting you at MCO at about 9:30. Plan on getting to BC about 90 min later, so 11:00 AM. That gives you 2 hours to check-in and get to MK. You should be fine. You could do online check-in to expedite the process! Good luck!

Wait........what ? I didnt hear anything about the CL lounge getting refurbed at BC. When is this going to take place ?
We will be at BC in a few weeks, staying in a deluxe CL room , and I am hoping that the CL will not be under construction ????
Does anyone have any details on this ?

Thanks !
Syndrome

I don't think this is scheduled until next year. And even so, I'm sure CL wouldn't be a disaster zone or anything. I'm sure BC will keep everything classy!
Anyone have an official timeline on this?

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[natebenma]

1. I'd think the best place to watch fireworks at BC/YC would be on the beach. You also get a good view from the BoardWalk itself. Keep in mind you'll only see the higher fireworks and you won't hear the music.

2. From Providence, I'd expect a 2 3/4 hour flight putting you at MCO at about 9:30. Plan on getting to BC about 90 min later, so 11:00 AM. That gives you 2 hours to check-in and get to MK. You should be fine. You could do online check-in to expedite the process! Good luck!



I don't think this is scheduled until next year. And even so, I'm sure CL wouldn't be a disaster zone or anything. I'm sure BC will keep everything classy!
Anyone have an official timeline on this?

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You found wlake an extra hour!!!

I haven't heard any dates on the BC or CL refurb yet.

 

[WDWgirl413]

The BC was renovated five years ago. Therefore, the new renovation will start in the Fall of this year. The YC was done right after the BC so the rooms at the YC are about 9-12 months "newer".

Found it...in the fall this year.

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