2012/2013 Beach and Yacht FAQ- Closing Soon- New Thread Started- Don't Post Here

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by 1coolnini

Not having a car is a very scary thing to a Californian....but we are going to give it a try. The fact that we can walk to two of the parks was a big factor in deciding to stay at BC.

I understand! I get a little panicked every day at work because I can't have my car here. It's like giving up a little freedom...but at WDW it doesn't feel that way. In fact, it almost seems MORE liberating to NOT have a car! While the distances between parks is greater, it really isn't that hard to go from one to another.

If you want to go between MK and Epcot - take the monorail! Being in an Epcot resort, this works especially well if you go to Epcot from your resort in the morning, then take the monorail to MK for the afternoon.

If you want to go to Epcot or DHS - from your resort (or from either park for that matter) it's a walk or boat ride away!

Really the only park that the ONLY option is the bus is AK. And then there's DTD.

As for how the My Disney Experience thing works....ummm...yeah...can't help you there! LOL I'm still trying to figure it out myself! I think it's still very new and maybe still has some bugs to work out. And I think it will be better as we get closer to our trip (August). Or at least I hope it will.

[Karebear]

Originally Posted by 1coolnini

Thank you so much for all the great information. It has been so helpful in planning our first trip to WDW. I have made reservations for a vacation to WDW 2 or 3 previous times, but we have always had to cancel for one reason or another. 2 weeks ago I decided to take advantage of the spring sale. We have booked a 8 night stay at BC CL 5/17-5/25. I am so excited. I have booked the standard dining plan but after reading the recent discussion I am planning on canceling. It will just be my DH and myself, we are not big dessert eaters, so I just don't think we will get our money's worth from a dining plan.

We are young active grandparents that live in Southern California. My very first REAL paying job was at Disneyland. I have been an AP holder at Dland since my adult children were young one's! WDW has been on my "bucket list" for years and it looks like 2013 is going to be the year that I finally can cross it off my list.

I would love to hear from others who have been to Disneyland what are "must do's" @WDW. We will not have a car.....we are leaving the driving to Mickey.

Jan

Hi Jan

We live in N. CA and we have been to Disneyland as well as Disneyworld. I would say that Epcot and Animal Kingdom are the most "different" from Disneyland and where you might want to focus some of your time. You will have a wonderful time. I can't explain it, but when I am at Disneyworld, I feel that people are there to experience a vacation which includes dining, shows, rides, and shopping and walking around. When I am Disneyland, it feels more ride focused. Anyway, that is just my feeling. Have a great trip!

[1coolnini]

Originally Posted by hiwaygal

If you want to go to Epcot or DHS - from your resort (or from either park for that matter) it's a walk or boat ride away!

Really the only park that the ONLY option is the bus is AK. And then there's DTD.

I love the idea that we can walk to Epcot and DHS. I think DHS has some of the same rides as DL and I have read that the food is marginal, so we may not spend a lot of time at DHS. I know that we will need to take the bus to AK. How close is the Animal Kingdom Lodge to the Animal Kingdom. We have reservations at Boma. How easy is it to get there from AK?

I think we will skip DTD. I have read multiple horror stories about the transportation to DTD. With only 7 full days I think we will concentrate on the parks and the resort. We'll do DTD another time.

Jan

[Dis703]

I've seen some pics of the deluxe CL rooms at BC but can't seem to find info about how much bigger they are than standard rooms. I noticed the deluxe CL rooms at BW actually have an additional queen sofa and can hold more people, but BC is still only 5. Just wondering if the size difference will make it worthwhile.

Also, since there are only something like 7 deluxe rooms, do these book fast or are they not that popular? I can't be certain we'll be able to do CL at all until much closer to our trip but if we do upgrade for our last few nights I'm thinking of trying for deluxe. Just wondering if I'm dreaming to think there might still be one available upon arrival or within a week or two before. If it matters we'll be there the third week of May.

TIA!

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by 1coolnini

I love the idea that we can walk to Epcot and DHS. I think DHS has some of the same rides as DL and I have read that the food is marginal, so we may not spend a lot of time at DHS. I know that we will need to take the bus to AK. How close is the Animal Kingdom Lodge to the Animal Kingdom. We have reservations at Boma. How easy is it to get there from AK?

I think we will skip DTD. I have read multiple horror stories about the transportation to DTD. With only 7 full days I think we will concentrate on the parks and the resort. We'll do DTD another time.

Jan

The Lodge is really close. I can't remember if we walked there from the park or not, but I'm pretty sure we did via a walking path. We did AK last time and had dinner reservations for BOMA, it wasn't a problem at all.

DHS is probably our least favorite park. I think we miss the point or something! We'll spend some time there, but we'll spend most of our time at MK and Epcot and the resort.

[Missyrose]

Originally Posted by hiwaygal

The Lodge is really close. I can't remember if we walked there from the park or not, but I'm pretty sure we did via a walking path. We did AK last time and had dinner reservations for BOMA, it wasn't a problem at all.

There's no walkway from AKL to AK. You either have to drive or take the bus.

[1coolnini]

Originally Posted by Karebear

Hi Jan

We live in N. CA and we have been to Disneyland as well as Disneyworld. I would say that Epcot and Animal Kingdom are the most "different" from Disneyland and where you might want to focus some of your time. You will have a wonderful time. I can't explain it, but when I am at Disneyworld, I feel that people are there to experience a vacation which includes dining, shows, rides, and shopping and walking around. When I am Disneyland, it feels more ride focused. Anyway, that is just my feeling. Have a great trip!

Thank you Karebear. Since we are at BC I think we will spend more time at Epcot, like you suggest. I am also looking forward to Animal Kingdom. We will just need to learn how to navigate the transportation. I am so looking forward to spending a relaxing vacation. No matter how many times we visit Disneyland and California Adventure my DH is "ride focused", as you say. We spend our time going from ride to ride. I sometimes find myself praying it will be busy so we can't get on any rides and we can spend our time just eating and people watching (my favorite activities!)

Jan

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Missyrose

There's no walkway from AKL to AK. You either have to drive or take the bus.

LOL! See it was so short, I thought it was part of the walk!

[Ninja Mom]

Originally Posted by Missyrose

There's no walkway from AKL to AK. You either have to drive or take the bus.

I always think that the reason there is no walkway at AK is because you would get eaten by one of the animals. Even though all the animals are staying at Club Level some of them always appreciate a nice snack outside the parks...

~NM

[Wood Nymph]

Originally Posted by 1coolnini

As for the dining experience at WDW, I am really looking forward to that!! I have made dining reservations and cancelled and remade reservations so many times that I am sure the WDW computer system has me flagged in the system!! The frustrating part is that all of my reservations are showing up on My Disney Experience".....even the cancelled ones. Any ideas on how to fix that?

Jan

We just returned from our trip and we had one of our cancelled reservations show up on My Disney Experience. I just ignored it. We never received a reminder for that reservation, like we did for the other ones, and I was never charged the $10 for not showing up. But you could try calling them and see if they can fix that for you.

The funny thing was when we went to the restaurants to check in, three of the 6 reservations ended up under my daughter's name instead of mine. I had booked all of them. But it worked out fine.

I was able to use the app to cancel a dining reservation while we were waiting in line for Test Track. My DH said that he really didn't want to go to that restaurant that night. So I hit the cancel button and it was canceled - very cool. It was a lot better than trying to call central reservations.

I liked using the My Disney Experience to check on wait times. And the park hours changed in response to the unexpected crowds. They had added another MSEP and extended hours on Sat at MK. So it was nice to have the app for that. It also told us when a ride was down.

[DancinDaisyDuck]

So frustrated. I am trying to get a room only price for B/Y C for marathon weekend 2014 (Jan 9 to 12) and NO resorts are showing any availability. That just can't be right. I know 2014 packages aren't released yet, but rooms can be booked well over a year in advance, right? I really detest this new system.

[TeenaS]

Originally Posted by DancinDaisyDuck

So frustrated. I am trying to get a room only price for B/Y C for marathon weekend 2014 (Jan 9 to 12) and NO resorts are showing any availability. That just can't be right. I know 2014 packages aren't released yet, but rooms can be booked well over a year in advance, right? I really detest this new system.

Call! I hate booking on line with that thing!!!!

[1coolnini]

Originally Posted by Wood Nymph

We just returned from our trip and we had one of our cancelled reservations show up on My Disney Experience. I just ignored it. We never received a reminder for that reservation, like we did for the other ones, and I was never charged the $10 for not showing up. But you could try calling them and see if they can fix that for you.

The funny thing was when we went to the restaurants to check in, three of the 6 reservations ended up under my daughter's name instead of mine. I had booked all of them. But it worked out fine.

I was able to use the app to cancel a dining reservation while we were waiting in line for Test Track. My DH said that he really didn't want to go to that restaurant that night. So I hit the cancel button and it was canceled - very cool. It was a lot better than trying to call central reservations.

I liked using the My Disney Experience to check on wait times. And the park hours changed in response to the unexpected crowds. They had added another MSEP and extended hours on Sat at MK. So it was nice to have the app for that. It also told us when a ride was down.

Thanks so much for the information. Since I have changed my park plans several times My Disney Experience will show 2 reservations at the same time for restaurants at different parks!I think I will just print out a list of my cancellation numbers and bring it with me, in case there is a problem.

I did not realize that you get a reminder for your dining reservations. Do they send you an email or do they call you? For some reason when I make my online dining reservations my home phone number always shows up as the contact number....obviously I won't be home! I have manually changed the number to my cell.Hopefully that will work. For some reason I thought dining had to be cancelled 24 hours in advance...am I wrong? That would be so cool if I could cancel it several hours before if I wasn't in the mood for a huge meal that evening.

[DannysMom]

Originally Posted by 1coolnini

. For some reason I thought dining had to be cancelled 24 hours in advance...am I wrong? That would be so cool if I could cancel it several hours before if I wasn't in the mood for a huge meal that evening.

Only the reservations that have a credit card hold, generally signature restaurants and character meals, require you to cancel in advance with no penalty. I have re-planned dining at "regular" restaurants on the fly at WDW, mainly because I have little kids. If hanging at the pool is making everyone happy & it is obvious that we won't be making an in park dining reservation for dinner, we cancel that afternoon.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos or autocorrects!

[CT Disney]

Originally Posted by natebenma

I was just recently informed by some posters to this thread that room 5163, YC CL GV does NOT have a full balcony. That is the only one I know about.

Almost all of the other rooms at YC, CL and not, have full balconies.

If any of you know of other rooms at YC that do not, please let me know.




Most, but not all, BC CL WV rooms have full balconies. Just a few do not, however I think it is is a good idea to add this request to your reservation.

Originally Posted by YCFAN

Dee: in regards to room 5163 at the YC, I believe the category for that room is YC CL LV not GV. It is two doors down from the Presidential suite on the front of the building. It has no balcony at all due to the way the building is made. I think it is the only one on CL without a balcony.

Originally Posted by YCFAN

I was just looking at my pictures and the windows for room 5163 are on the side of the building. I was told that was a LV but now I am questioning that too and maybe it is a GV. Teena: do you know? Can you clarify? Thanks!

I am bumping this question in the hopes that someone has an answer and I can stop having heart palpitations. We are booked YC GV CL in April and I was really, really, really counting on a full balcony. I just love them!! I was all set with my "gazebo view please" request and now I'm wondering if I need to change it to read "full balcony please". I know there are only 5 YC GV CL rooms so I'm in a panic that we're going to end up in the no balcony room.

On a side note, boy this thread moves fast!! I haven't been on since before the blizzard and it took me forever to catch up. We live in central CT and we were one of those towns in the 30+ inches range. On Saturday morning this is what greeted me on our back deck :



Between clearing the driveway, the deck and, yes, the roof...we've been exhausted! But, the kids finally returned to school today and things are getting back to normal! Disney can't come soon enough.