2014/2015 Beach and Yacht Club FAQ, Friends & Fun, Sept 2014-Mayl 2015

[xjay]

Just finished talking to the CL CMs about our upcoming resort stay. Parents are at YC CL while I'm at BC CL. My parents don't speak or understand English and they are letting me go with them to check in and show them around the lounge. They have been so accommodating so far, it's making me really excited to stay there for the first time! Just 29 days left!

 

[TeenaS]

Teena - we're hoping to get a reservation at the BoatHouse - and maybe let the kids do the amphicar tour!
Menu looks really good. I think we will give up California Grill if we can get Boathouse. We've done CG several times and this looks really nice.

Also - I booked the Frozen Premium package for Kaylie and I. She's the only "Frozen" girl I have! I know you did it last year with your girls - any tips?

It was super but it's a whole day event ... Lily got really tired.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Yes, but have you checked the parking lot to see if there is a Lincoln idling out there? Don't lose hope yet...

Well now!!! I think you may be on to something!!
Usually the only people I see in Lincolns in the parking lot are the ones rocking the plaid pants, fedora hats, orthopedic shoes and walkers. Obviously I have fallen for the disguise. The next time I am at Plop Century I shall hide near a handicapped parking spot and repeat "All Right, All Right, All Riiiight.... " until I get an answer.

~NM

 

[Wood Nymph]

BC room refurbishment update:

As I mentioned earlier, we are just a few doors down from the work area. When we returned to our room around 1:45 pm the temporary door was open and there were construction workers stacking lumber and doing other work down that hallway. These are the rooms that overlook the volleyball court near the small elevator by room 3575. My husband thinks that the noise we can hear is a small pneumatic chisel, the kind you would use to take tile off the wall. The noise is loud enough that I think it would be heard in the rooms above and below the work area, as well as down the hall. It is now 4:09pm and the noise stopped at 3:59pm. From the location of both the completed rooms and the rooms that have plastic over the windows, it looks like the work is moving down the hall toward the lobby.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Mini trip update while my husband has some work to do

We walked over to DHS this morning, one of my husbands favorite things to do. We got into the second animation class and drew Stitch. It was rather embarrassing for the animator when no one knew any of the answers to the trivia questions about the movie Lilo and Stitch. I guess that we weren't the only ones who have never seen that movie. . Then I almost beat DH at TSMM before we headed off the Art of Animation resort.

AoA is really close to DHS. If you ever want to explore that resort, starting from DHS is a good way to do it. We walked in the door of the store and the colorful displays wowed us from the start. We had fun chatting with some CMs. I told them it was our first time touring a value resort and one of them gave us 1st visit buttons and a little mini tour of Animation Hall. The building was very impressive. The grounds were beautiful, the giant icons very well done, and the Nemo pool looked like the best place to swim. This is a nicely built resort. We were impressed.

Then we crossed the bridge to Pop Century. It was pretty much what I expected it to be except with more vegetation. We ended up eating lunch in the food court and used our Tables in Wonderland card. Lunch for two of us cost less than breakfast for one of us at the Captain's Grill this morning.

We took the bus back to DHS and walked to the Boardwalk, stopping at the Boardwalk Bakery for some carrot cake for DH and fruit tart for me. Both were delicious. Then we went swimming at the quiet pool. It is very close to our room, convenient, not crowded, and we really like to swim there.

 

[xjay]

I don't know if CL guests are receiving letters or not now.

We're staying CL and just received our letter today lol

 

[WiscMomof2]

Hi all - We recently booked a long weekend at the BC in November. It's our first trip to Disney without the kids and will be there celebrating our 20 year wedding anniversary and my birthday. We're splurging on CL and the pictures I've seen of the refurbed rooms and new lounge look great! I'm enjoying reading this thread to get caught up on all the BC has to offer. It's been quite awhile since we've stayed in the Epcot resort area and we're so looking forward to being there for the final few days of F&W!

 

[JanetMom]

My Trip Reports tend to be very long (as Janetmom pointed out, I had a 33 chapter report for my 2 day Beach Club solo trip). My reports can be found in my signature. My favorite trip report that I wrote is my "145 Middle Schoolers- Wicked Awesome or Epic Fail!" The format for that one is as I described and you seriously can not make up the drama I encountered on that one! "What happens at the Beach Club" is another good one since it features my stay at the beautiful Beach Club and has lots of guest stars that you will recognize from this thread.

Missyrose has some great trip reports (and her husband Franklin's photos are out of this world good). Teekathepony's reports also have some great photos. Disneykid4life(Rob) has a lot of humor in his reports and a true appreciation and love for Disney. I also have a trip section in Post 16 of this thread which are trip reports with a Beach Club/Yacht Club/BCV setting:

What Happens at the Beach Club, Aug 2014 by natebenma
Dining with DISers, An August 2014 BC report by Janetmom (in process)
Hijinks & Shenanigans (but not much Mayhem), Hard Rock and Beach Club, July 2013 by natebenma
Beach Club posts start on page 19
Happily Ever After Begins Here by missyrose, pictures by pixeldust, Oct 2012 BCV
A May 2012 Beach Club Trip of a Lifetime by Feckless
March Break 2012 at the Yacht Club by JanetMom



Does that help to get you started or do you have some other specific questions?

Just be careful- reading and writing trip reports can be addictive! I have made some very dear friends over the years just by "meeting" them and their families through sharing our trips and a mutual love of Disney.

:

But Dee's very long trip reports are the best!

Thanks for pointing out the my Dining with DISers TR is "in process". Now I feel pressure to pick that thing back up again. Hmmm, maybe soon.

And yes, getting to know people through trip reports is awesome!

 

[maryandtyson]

Can someone please report about the weather there the past few days? Headed there soon and the forecast looks like rain everyday- but its said that for almost a week already! Thank you

Driving home now. Rained two evenings out of 5. Didn't really impact our plans. Lots of sun and great temps! My advice: don't check the weather. It just stresses you out!

 

[maryandtyson]

WoodNymph....you should definitely check out Port Orleans Riverside one night and see the YeeHaw Bob show in the River Roost. I think he still performs Weds-Sun. We loved that resort...it's very nice and relaxing.

Yeeha Bob is definitely worth the trip to POR! We had lunch at AoA when it first opened. Food was good but I was not a fan of the overall feel of the place. Have fun exploring!!

 

[JanetMom]

Mini trip update while my husband has some work to do

We walked over to DHS this morning, one of my husbands favorite things to do. We got into the second animation class and drew Stitch. It was rather embarrassing for the animator when no one knew any of the answers to the trivia questions about the movie Lilo and Stitch. I guess that we weren't the only ones who have never seen that movie. . Then I almost beat DH at TSMM before we headed off the Art of Animation resort.

AoA is really close to DHS. If you ever want to explore that resort, starting from DHS is a good way to do it. We walked in the door of the store and the colorful displays wowed us from the start. We had fun chatting with some CMs. I told them it was our first time touring a value resort and one of them gave us 1st visit buttons and a little mini tour of Animation Hall. The building was very impressive. The grounds were beautiful, the giant icons very well done, and the Nemo pool looked like the best place to swim. This is a nicely built resort. We were impressed.

Then we crossed the bridge to Pop Century. It was pretty much what I expected it to be except with more vegetation. We ended up eating lunch in the food court and used our Tables in Wonderland card. Lunch for two of us cost less than breakfast for one of us at the Captain's Grill this morning.

We took the bus back to DHS and walked to the Boardwalk, stopping at the Boardwalk Bakery for some carrot cake for DH and fruit tart for me. Both were delicious. Then we went swimming at the quiet pool. It is very close to our room, convenient, not crowded, and we really like to swim there.

Great update - sounds like you had a perfect day!

 

[Ninja Mom]

My advice: don't check the weather. It just stresses you out!

Truer words have never been spoken!

SNIPSIES! We crossed the bridge to Pop Century. It was pretty much what I expected it to be except with more vegetation.

You didn't happen to see my "other" husband hiding out in a Lincoln in the Parking lot did you? (insert hopeful look!) If you see him tell him I'm on the way to Plop Century in about the middle of May. My husband thinks I'm going to see Flower and Garden and Star Wars but I only have eyes for Matthew.


~NM

 

[DrGirly]

Ask Orbitz to add the following room request to your reservation: "Mobility issues- close to elevator, please"

Dee has some good advice. You can call Orbitz, with your confirmation number handy, and tell them you would like to add a few room requests to your reservation. They will ask to place you on hold, while they contact the resort. I usually ask for up to three special requests. The hold is normally about 3-5 minutes, and when the agent comes back on line, I am told that the requests have been placed, but they are subject to availability.

I don't believe that meeting requests for an Orbitz booking vs. a Disney booking is any different.

I hope you have a great trip with your mom!

I hope I did these quotes correctly, thank you both for the advice about the room requests, and the warm welcome and good wishes! I'm going to try to contact Orbitz right now using what you both said, and we will see what happens in May!

 

[DrGirly]

Just an update on the room requests. I did the Orbitz online chat, gave them my requests, and was told that they contacted the "front desk" at the resort (highly, highly, highly unlikely, given the WDW call center!) and that they said that I could not put in my room requests until 7 days prior to checking in. Does this sound about right, or should I try again? Something tells me that I should be able to put in these requests in around now (a month out), but I would be fine waiting until the week before if that is the protocol.

 

[ichabody]

With orbitz don't you get a confirmation number that you can give to the WDW reservation folks and make your room requests that way? If so I would contact Disney directly a week or so before arrival and get the requests in. I think that's what Dee does...and whatever she says (and ninjamom) is pretty much the gospel truth.

Hey, this is my 200th post (yeah, yeah....rookie...I know) so I'll announce that we are exactly 50 days from being official chair piggie police.

 

[xjay]

Just an update on the room requests. I did the Orbitz online chat, gave them my requests, and was told that they contacted the "front desk" at the resort (highly, highly, highly unlikely, given the WDW call center!) and that they said that I could not put in my room requests until 7 days prior to checking in. Does this sound about right, or should I try again? Something tells me that I should be able to put in these requests in around now (a month out), but I would be fine waiting until the week before if that is the protocol.

With orbitz don't you get a confirmation number that you can give to the WDW reservation folks and make your room requests that way? If so I would contact Disney directly a week or so before arrival and get the requests in. I think that's what Dee does...and whatever she says (and ninjamom) is pretty much the gospel truth.

You do get a confirmation number from Orbitz that you can use to link your reservation onto MDE and you can make your requests using online check in if the options you want are available. But if you have a specific request that's not on online check in or you decide to not do online check in, you would have to call Orbitz for your room requests. Even if you call Disney directly, they will tell you that they cannot access your reservation since it's booked through a third party and Orbitz "owns" your reservation until you check in. But you should be able to call orbitz any time to add room requests to your reservation. I booked a night at AKL and POR through Orbitz before and had no problems calling the day after I booked to add room requests. I suggest you call Orbitz directly instead of going through the online chat

 

[shoreward]

Just an update on the room requests. I did the Orbitz online chat, gave them my requests, and was told that they contacted the "front desk" at the resort (highly, highly, highly unlikely, given the WDW call center!) and that they said that I could not put in my room requests until 7 days prior to checking in. Does this sound about right, or should I try again? Something tells me that I should be able to put in these requests in around now (a month out), but I would be fine waiting until the week before if that is the protocol.

The seven day maximum advance notice for room requests is the standard; I always call Orbitz 5-7 days before check-in date...sorry that I forgot to note that, originally.

Orbitz usually either says that they contacted the resort or the front desk - that's just what I believe they are told to say. Don't worry, though, the requests do go to the proper place.

As far as contacting WDW Travel directly, they can see your record in their system, but, I have been told that it is "read, only," if not made directly through them. Your requests must be placed through your travel agent, if that's how the booking was made (in this case, Orbitz).

The requests really do get added to your reservation this way. I have done this many times. It's just a matter of getting the routine down. Once you do it this way, it will be easy for all of your future trips.

 

[Katesdad]

Mini trip update while my husband has some work to do .....snip....

Sorry to hear your husband has to work while visiting the Mouse (been there, done that, can't say I enjoyed it) but I have to tell you that I really appreciate your taking the time to allow me to take a vacation vicariously through your postings. Thank you for doing this. I hope to be able to read more if you get the time. I have never been over to the AofA resort yet. I wonder if they decorate for Christmas? May have to check it out this December.

Katesdad

 

[DrGirly]

The seven day maximum advance notice for room requests is the standard; I always call Orbitz 5-7 days before check-in date...sorry that I forgot to note that, originally.

Orbitz usually either says that they contacted the resort or the front desk - that's just what I believe they are told to say. Don't worry, though, the requests do go to the proper place.

As far as contacting WDW Travel directly, they can see your record in their system, but, I have been told that it is "read, only," if not made directly through them. Your requests must be placed through your travel agent, if that's how the booking was made (in this case, Orbitz).

The requests really do get added to your reservation this way. I have done this many times. It's just a matter of getting the routine down. Once you do it this way, it will be easy for all of your future trips.

Thank you all for the clarification, and I definitely will call Orbitz when it's a week out (rather than do the online chat) to have them add the requests in. For the record, before I tried to do the requests through Orbitz, I did call WDW Travel to try my luck on adding the requests through them directly, but they did give me the "it's a third party reservation, the agency has to do it" spiel.

Anyway, my 10th post (yay, super rookie achievement!) and 28 days to go until I'm back in the lazy river at SAB. I better go get a good pair of sunglasses, what I learned from last year is that my regular "fashion" sunglasses didn't hold up as adequate sun protection for a full day going around and around in those tubes. And if in the next month or so anyone sees a 30-something and her mother flailing about trying to get into or out of one of those fabulous double-tubes, it's probably my mom and I!

 

[natebenma]

Anyway, my 10th post (yay, super rookie achievement!) and 28 days to go until I'm back in the lazy river at SAB. I better go get a good pair of sunglasses, what I learned from last year is that my regular "fashion" sunglasses didn't hold up as adequate sun protection for a full day going around and around in those tubes. And if in the next month or so anyone sees a 30-something and her mother flailing about trying to get into or out of one of those fabulous double-tubes, it's probably my mom and I!

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