Am I the only one disppointed in Yacht Club?

[HollyM]

Just returned from 13 nights at WDW - 9 at Wilderness Lodge and 4 at the Yacht Club. Wilderness Lodge was wonderful, but I am very disappointed in our Yacht Club stay. The room was very spacious and nice, but service was not what I expected.
1) The bus service to Magic Kingdom serviced 5 resorts - Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk. Granted these resorts are in close proximity to each other, but the volume of guests made this quite an uncomfortable ordeal. We were crammed into buses more compactly than I ever experienced - even at the All Stars!!
2) There simply aren't adequate eatery options available at the resort - especially for dinner. We were rained in a couple of evenings and didn't want to venture out to our pre-arranged reservations at Epcot. The Yacht Club only has one restaurant availbe for dinner - Yachtsman steakhouse - it was full and not accepting any walkins. Beaches and cream at Beach Club was taking walkins for 90 minutes later. Cape May at Beach Club was also full and not taking walkins. Our only option was room service. The fact the the Yacht Club has another restaurant, the Galley, which is closed for dinner made this situation even more frustrating.
3) Maid service was ho-hum. Nothing major, but for a luxury resort, I would not expect to find crumbs left on an unvacuumed floor along with dirty towels dropped on the floor of our room.

Is this typical of this resort, or are things going downhill???

 

[ducklite]

I was disappointed in my stay there as well, but for different reasons.

I'd stayed at the BW and BC many tiems as a DVC owner, so I was aware fo the bus situation and restaurant situation. But there just seemed to be a general disinterest in the CM's at the YC when we stayed there last summer.

The room was lovely, view and location fine. But many of the CM's just seemed...well...tired. They weren't rude, but didn't seem to want to put forth any more effort than they had to...it was kind of like shopping at your local grocery, the checker says hi, rings you up, and says thank you, but there just didn't seem to be any heart in it. I don't know how else to explain it.

It's a beautiful resort in a primo location, and it wasn't a bad stay, but it lacked a lot of the magic that we'd found in stays at other WDW resorts.

Anne

 

[randyl]

Wow - having stayed there twice in the past year, I have to say the Yacht Club is my favorite. I didn't notice anything wrong with the housekeeping service but maybe things changed. I liked the convenience of being able to walk to Epcot or MGM. As fars as dinner choices and restaurants, I agree that there is only one sitdown nice restaurant and the Yacht Club Galley should open for dinner, but, I always considered the entire hotel area surrounding this lake to have superior choices for dinner. A short walk to the Boardwalk would get you Flying Fish, Spoodles, or ESPN Sports Club and a shorter walk to the Dolphin or Swan would also get you a wide variety of restaurants.

 

[Eeyore1954]

My DW and I say the YC feels "stuffy" for a Disney resort. We also noted it seemed geared toward convention/business types. Like Anne, we sensed the CMs were just too tired to be magical or even friendly. On the other hand, we loved the BC and feel it is the total opposite of YC. They way I put it to some friends was: the YC reminded me of Thurston Howell III and his wife, Lovey. The BC reminded me of Gilligan and the Skipper.

 

[gary403]

Totally agree with randyl. My DW and I have stayed there probably a half a dozen times and by far the YC is our favorite resort!!!

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by HollyM
We were rained in a couple of evenings and didn't want to venture out to our pre-arranged reservations at Epcot.

One of the major advantages of the EPCOT resort area IS the proximity of the WS restuarants. I suspect you're not the only one who changed plans due to the rain.

 

[10drum]

Ducklike,

I don't think tired is the word to discribe the cast at the yc, I would say it is more professional or bussiness like, they aren't as bubbly as you'd find at other wdw resorts. When we stayed there they were all very helpful but just weren't as cheerful.

We liked the bc better, but the bus service does serve too many "deluxe" resorts. A deluxe rate should allow for a better bus service.

We love sab. Epcot and mgm are our favorite parks.

 

[ducklite]

10drum--While I agree that they are more reserved, to me they also seem just a little "tired". Maybe that's not the right word, but I can't think of a better one.

Anne

 

[helenm29]

I am getting a tiny but worried about staying at the yacht Club! though it's true that I've heard good and bad. We are staying at YC Concierge water view in December and paying a good chunk for it. I hope that we get what we expect! I love the proximity to the boardwalk and Epcott. any former Concierge people?

 

[PamNC]

We usually stay at YC or BC, but this year we tried WL to be different. We were very disappointed with WL. Never been disappointed with YC or BC. We found the WL cast members to be very "lacking" - from check-in to check-out. Mousekeeping was great though. I thought there were more dining options at YC. You've got the entire boardwalk area and world showcase at your fingertips. We thought that the rooms at WL were small and dark. We thought the boat transporation to MK was horrific! We waited and waited once while the boat was docked at the Contemporary and the CM was talking and talking to another CM. I guess on a "break."

In fact, we were so disappointed that we've vowed never to stay anywhere else but YC or BC.

We love the Epcot resort area - so much to do and so convenient to MGM and Epcot. And, stormalongbay is a big draw for us too.

PamNC

 

[tar heel]

The yc is by far our #1 resort. We've stayed at yc three times and had great staff and housekeeping experiences all three times. I do think the food situation is a problem -- there is no where to get something quick -- and I would never buy another refillable mugs b/c they don't work well there.

We tried to save $ and gain space this year and didn't stay at the yc -- we missed it terribly.

 

[helenk]

My daughter and I stayed in the YC the end of November 2001 and we found the staff there to be wonderful. I know it was just after the September horrors, so attendance was way down, but everyone there was so friendly. One of the restaurants was closed completely, but I do not remember which one. But is was nice to take the boat over to the boardwalk, even in the rain.
My only complaint about the YC is the transportation, I really wish they would do something different with the bus system.

 

[princess angel]

the YC resort is my favorite, I cant see how anyone can say that about the dining options... the WL has 2 restaurants (one of which is only open for dinner) , if you want a variety, you have to get on a bus or ferry....
the YC is within walking distance to over 30 restaurants! betweeen the Y&B club there are 3 restaurants plus Beaches n' cream, then the BW, Swan/Dolphin restaurants, and all of WS....
the dining options are one of the best reasons to saty at an Epcot resort!

one of the other reasons we love the YC is because of the wonderful cm's there! I have stayed at 5 different WDW resorts adn have never been so spoiled as at the YC. they are the best cm's I have ever encountered!

housekeeping has always been top notch all 5 times I stayed there.

of course difference of opinion is what makes the world go round!!! imagine if we all had teh same favorite resort!! that would make for very difficult availability!!!!

Laura

 

[thessaly]

To be fair, I think the OP meant the dining choices at YC itself (where they were trapped due to rain) were limited...

 

[princess angel]

yes, i got that, but had the OP been at WL in the rain, the situation would not have been any better.

supose to each is own, again that is what makes it ll work!

 

[helenm29]

Hey Laura, Thanks for the great info. The last time we were at wdw we stayed at Dixie Landings (which is now port orleans riverside) which was a little too rustic for us. We decided we would look over the Boardwalk area and went through the Yach Club...from what we could see it seemed really nice. I am looking forward to our stay very much...too bad you all will be there a week before us! thanks again.

 

[10drum]

Helenm29,

We stayed at the concierge water view in Aug 2001 and everyone was great, the room was great the location was great the pool can't be beat, and for being stuck at the resort because of rain, get a poncho and go. It rained everyday we were there and we loved it.

We liked the location so much we went to the bc the next year, and would 've gone back to the yc/bc this year but couldn't get a good rate during Easter week (dd's band trip).

We stayed at csr this year and liked it alot and if I can't get a good rate when we go next July we'll go back to csr, otherwise we'll be at the bc/yc.

DON'T WORRY IT'LL BE GREAT, it always is no matter where you are in wdw.

 

[randyl]

I agree with tarheel....the YC and BC do not have a "cafeteria" type place to run and and get a quick coffee and bagel in the morning, or a quick breakfast sandwich, etc., like Gasparilla at GF or Roaring Forks at WL.....that is one thing they are definitely lacking.

 

[tnkrbell]

I would agree! The only neg I could think of the Yacht or Beach would be there is no "food court" I wish when they built the DVC they put one in but they did not.

 

[Mouseteacher]

I just returned from a stay at the Swan. Our busses did not stop at the Yacht or Beach Club during our entire stay. It only stopped at the Dolphin and the Boardwalk. Do you suppose they change the transportation route by adding in the Y/B Club when they feel the crowds are low?