Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[AngiTN]

This might be a really dumb question. I also recognize that it does not directly pertain to YC/BC, but everyone here is always in the know, so I wanted to go ahead and ask...

I went in to MDE to try and check the credit card on file for our magic band charges (this weekend is our last chance to customize our bands). It says to see front desk at resort. Last year I don't recall this being necessary (we never even went to the front desk so I know we didn't have to do that before we were able to charge to our magic bands). Is there a way to circumvent this? We are staying CL at the YC this time, so wasn't sure if maybe since we can't really avoid check-in w/ CL per se, perhaps that is why it is directing me to the front desk to set up my charge account? Would love to have this already taken care of and in order--one less thing to have to try and remember! Anybody have any recent experience with this?

No idea. Mine does not say that. We have a CL stay at BC next week.

 

[gwynne]

This might be a really dumb question. I also recognize that it does not directly pertain to YC/BC, but everyone here is always in the know, so I wanted to go ahead and ask...

I went in to MDE to try and check the credit card on file for our magic band charges (this weekend is our last chance to customize our bands). It says to see front desk at resort. Last year I don't recall this being necessary (we never even went to the front desk so I know we didn't have to do that before we were able to charge to our magic bands). Is there a way to circumvent this? We are staying CL at the YC this time, so wasn't sure if maybe since we can't really avoid check-in w/ CL per se, perhaps that is why it is directing me to the front desk to set up my charge account? Would love to have this already taken care of and in order--one less thing to have to try and remember! Anybody have any recent experience with this?

You can always call and ask ahead of time and ask if there is a card attached to your account for charging.
After you arrive, the CL CM's can "see" if you have a card attached to your account. I probably wouldn't bother with the front desk. I'd direct any questions to the CL CM's.

 

[katyj26]

We checked out of Yacht Club (Club Level Water View) yesterday and I wanted to give a little review and trip report about our experience.

To preface, let me say that we did not have an easy trip from Michigan to Florida. We flew Southwest and had a connection in St. Louis. Unfortunately at that connection another flight was diverted due to mechanical failure and that flight took our aircraft. This meant that we were delayed until a new aircraft could get to St. Louis. After a layover that was supposed to be ~ 2 hours turned into an over 5 hour layover, we were very ready to get to Disney. We missed all of our fast-passes that were scheduled for the day.

DME was quick and easy as usual getting us to Yacht Club after a couple of stops. We were taken right up to the Club Level floor to be checked in. We did receive our room number via text when we landed in Orlando. The check-in process was easy also and he checked to make sure all of our many magic-bands were still working. We let the concierge know about missing our fast-passes but he did not offer anything to help us out.

Next, we headed to our room. Upon arrival to our room the door did not open. No green light and not even a red light. So I trudged back down the long hallway (we requested to be close to the lounge because one member of our party uses a scooter, but our requested was not met) to the lounge area. A cast member accompanied me back to our room and got no light with her tools either so we determined that the battery must be dead. So she had to go back to the lounge and get a master key. After 10-15 minutes of waiting outside with our bags she finally came back to let us in. We enjoyed the view for a bit and settled in. Mom and I headed out to EPCOT for the evening since they had EMH while our eldest member rested and waited for engineering to fix the door battery.

Fast forward a few days and we were sick of the repetitive food choices in the lounge. They normally only changed one thing on the buffet everyday. Other than that one rotating option everything else was the same and not very good if you ask us.

It is clear that the rooms in Yacht Club are in need of the refurbishment that they have been scheduled for for awhile. While we were there, the closet door came off of its track and had to be fixed. Also, our refrigerator had no temperature dial and one day we came back to find our pop had frozen and exploded all over inside so we had to get a new fridge. By the time we left, the room was pretty much up to code because everything went wrong while we were there.

One day my mom and our eldest were resting in the room when all of the sudden the door opened and a bell-man with a couple were coming into our room. He was going to put them in an occupied room! And he did not knock at all. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN! WHAT IF WE WEREN'T THERE?!

We brought all of our concerns to the staffs attention and the Club Level cast members did not seem to care or offer any apologies or magic for our troubles. We will not be staying at Yacht Club again after our experience this trip. Too many things were not up to snuff and did not get resolved to our liking and the cast members did not seem to care. We will be completing the Disney Survey when it comes and will make our complaints known there too. Boardwalk is the place we will go if we stay Club Level again because the cast members are wonderful and we have always had great experiences there. No more Yacht Club for this bunch.

 

[erinkristen04]

No idea. Mine does not say that. We have a CL stay at BC next week.

You can always call and ask ahead of time and ask if there is a card attached to your account for charging.
After you arrive, the CL CM's can "see" if you have a card attached to your account. I probably wouldn't bother with the front desk. I'd direct any questions to the CL CM's.

Lol I feel ridiculous, yall. I realized I hadn't completed online check-in. Once I did that (and it gave me the opportunity to input the card that'll be on file) the issue was resolved. Thanks for responding and helping me narrow down the cause of my problem... Back to counting down the days until we arrive!

 

[gwynne]

oopsy, double post.

 

[gwynne]

We checked out of Yacht Club (Club Level Water View) yesterday and I wanted to give a little review and trip report about our experience.

To preface, let me say that we did not have an easy trip from Michigan to Florida. We flew Southwest and had a connection in St. Louis. Unfortunately at that connection another flight was diverted due to mechanical failure and that flight took our aircraft. This meant that we were delayed until a new aircraft could get to St. Louis. After a layover that was supposed to be ~ 2 hours turned into an over 5 hour layover, we were very ready to get to Disney. We missed all of our fast-passes that were scheduled for the day.

DME was quick and easy as usual getting us to Yacht Club after a couple of stops. We were taken right up to the Club Level floor to be checked in. We did receive our room number via text when we landed in Orlando. The check-in process was easy also and he checked to make sure all of our many magic-bands were still working. We let the concierge know about missing our fast-passes but he did not offer anything to help us out.

Next, we headed to our room. Upon arrival to our room the door did not open. No green light and not even a red light. So I trudged back down the long hallway (we requested to be close to the lounge because one member of our party uses a scooter, but our requested was not met) to the lounge area. A cast member accompanied me back to our room and got no light with her tools either so we determined that the battery must be dead. So she had to go back to the lounge and get a master key. After 10-15 minutes of waiting outside with our bags she finally came back to let us in. We enjoyed the view for a bit and settled in. Mom and I headed out to EPCOT for the evening since they had EMH while our eldest member rested and waited for engineering to fix the door battery.

Fast forward a few days and we were sick of the repetitive food choices in the lounge. They normally only changed one thing on the buffet everyday. Other than that one rotating option everything else was the same and not very good if you ask us.

It is clear that the rooms in Yacht Club are in need of the refurbishment that they have been scheduled for for awhile. While we were there, the closet door came off of its track and had to be fixed. Also, our refrigerator had no temperature dial and one day we came back to find our pop had frozen and exploded all over inside so we had to get a new fridge. By the time we left, the room was pretty much up to code because everything went wrong while we were there.

One day my mom and our eldest were resting in the room when all of the sudden the door opened and a bell-man with a couple were coming into our room. He was going to put them in an occupied room! And he did not knock at all. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN! WHAT IF WE WEREN'T THERE?!

We brought all of our concerns to the staffs attention and the Club Level cast members did not seem to care or offer any apologies or magic for our troubles. We will not be staying at Yacht Club again after our experience this trip. Too many things were not up to snuff and did not get resolved to our liking and the cast members did not seem to care. We will be completing the Disney Survey when it comes and will make our complaints known there too. Boardwalk is the place we will go if we stay Club Level again because the cast members are wonderful and we have always had great experiences there. No more Yacht Club for this bunch.

I'm sorry you had to deal with all that. I appreciate you taking the time to post, and I hope when you get the survey you mention these things.

 

[scottygirl]

If you haven't paid off your room balance before check in then your credit card will be charged before you check in. I've had my credit card charged when I was still at the airport.

 

[scottygirl]

For the entire stay or just one night? What if you want to use a different form of payment?

 

[dansdad]

For the entire stay or just one night? What if you want to use a different form of payment?

If you have a room only, the balance of your stay is due prior to check in. So if you only paid the 1 night deposit when you booked, then the rest of your nights will be charged to the CC on file most likely before you arrive. If you want to pay the balance via another method, you have to call before your arrival and pay the balance.

 

[maryandtyson]

We've been back here in North Carolina for a few days now, so I decided it was time to post a mini-review of our Beach Club stay. Our arrival day got off to a rocky start. Some bad news at home and a lost iPhone made getting into celebration mode challenging. It's hard to have a bad time at Disney or the Beach Club, so we rallied and ended up having a great trip. I got to hug Teena twice! CM outside welcomed us and walked us inside. We got Happy Anniversary buttons and a map of the resort. Magic Bands worked great. Bell Services delivered our bags within 20 minutes.

Our room was #1532, located next to the laundry room, close to the secret entrance and quiet pool. Of those, the only thing we used was the secret entrance. It was a very quiet location, which we liked. I did not like being on the first floor, as I said in a previous post. The room had 2 Queen beds plus a pull out/daybed. While I missed some of the storage space of the old setup, we enjoyed the almost silent a/c and refrigerator. The rooms are elegant and comfortable. I was glad I brought a hanging sweater shelf for the closet plus some bins to put in the little cabinet areas of the TV stand/dresser. They helped a lot in keeping my crew organized!

For some reason, we had a lot of trouble getting our toilet paper restocked. Housekeeping did a great job cleaning and left plenty of toiletries, but never any toilet paper. Two days I stole some off the carts as they were cleaning other rooms. Finally, we called Housekeeping and, 5 hours later (we were at the parks), went to the Front Desk. We got 3 rolls after about 20 minutes. That was really the only glitch we encountered.

This was our third stay at the Beach Club and I think we like it more each time. You just cannot beat the location. It's better than a Magic Kingdom area, in my opinion. I love how the resorts are all connected by the walkways and lake. Walking to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios is just incredibly convenient. We spent a few hours at the Boardwalk and saw the magicians. It was a lot of fun. Walking home after Illuminations is just the best!! StormAlong Bay was beautiful, as always. My children loved it and they went all over the pool area together.

Food & Wine was very very crowded, especially on the weekend. We arrived on a Saturday and had initially planned to eat at the booths that night. I am so glad that I thought better of that plan and made a reservation for Akershus instead!! The crowds were unbelievable!! Cast members were still talking about it days later. "Were you here on Saturday?" they'd ask.

MNSSHP was fun, but very crowded. It was raining as the party started and I don't think they got the non-ticket holders out of the park. We enjoyed it, but it was disappointing to wait in long lines for rides on a party night. Never mind characters or trick or treat trails.

Two things that I'd love to see at Beach and Yacht: a better lounge and Quick Service. Martha's Vineyard now has nightly "entertainment" in the form of one guy on a guitar playing oldies. He's fine, I guess, but its really loud and he's not exactly Yee Ha Bob. We enjoy sending our kids to the room and unwinding with a martini and quiet conversation. YC has the Ale and Compass which is tiny and the Crews Cup, which was okay. I really favor Territory Lounge at Wilderness and Victoria Falls at Animal Kingdom Lodge. One night, we tried Hurricane Hanna's. Word of warning: do not order a martini at Hurricane Hanna's! Stick the the frou frou menu or get a beer!!

For Quick Service, Marketplace is just very limited. Not bad, just no variety. We went to Boardwalk Bakery one morning and Les Halles another day. We also had two ADRs for character breakfasts.

Overall, we love Beach Club and count it as our favorite resort. Not sure when we will make it back there. My eldest will start high school next school year and her school schedule will be different from her sister's for two years. We will only have the month of July, Christmas week or Spring Break to travel. Might be a Christmas 2016 trip on the horizon for us!!

Our next visit will be at The Contemporary in January. Got a good rate and going with family. I will, of course, continue to keep in touch with the crew on this awesome thread! Thank you to Dee and everyone else who keeps up with answering questions and keeping it up to date!

Mary

 

[helenb]

What dates did you use to get quotes? I did get a quote for 6 nights June 15-21 but mine seemed higher Poly was $2112.00 and BC was $1803.00 both standard view, without any tickets. I did have her add for over the weekend. I wonder if the rates are higher on the weekend. I know with the labor day deal the price didn't change on weekends.

We will be there from June 20-25 (so Monday through Friday nights - no weekend). It did not include tickets. This was a 'magical deal' from the 'magical Disney vacation' people who have been mentioned before in this thread. In fact, I found them because of this thread (did a Google search) and I am very grateful to everyone who mentioned them!

 

[helenb]

Ok thanks did they have any moderates available?

Not sure. I only asked about BC/YC and the Poly.

 

[Traceylee]

Yes touring plans sends the fax. I had reservations with a TA also and it worked fine for me.
I cant remember now but did touring plans ask for your reservation number? I think that is all you have to do and click send. I have heard they do room assignments 5 days before your arrival so I hope your fax was not to late. Do you arrive this Friday or next Friday?

I arrive Friday, Dec. 11. Guess I should have clarified that!! Thanks for the info.

 

[suse66]

Hello my YC/BC friends!

We just booked 7 nights at Yacht Club under the revisit the magic deal for March Break (March 12-19). We are SO excited! Can't wait to be sipping a Sunken Treasure poolside at Stormalong Bay!!!

 

[goodeats]

I'm 10 days out - eeeek!

How does on-line check in work? A while ago I did some sort of on-line check in where I said I wanted a large balcony on an upper floor. Will they just text me a room number and when we arrive our magic band opens our room?!

Also, what is the coffee situation at the Marketplace? The menu lists latte or cappucino - is it a real espresso machine? Is it Joffrey's or Nescafe for brewed? Or I can make it in my room I guess. Is it a pod coffee maker or a real one. Can I bring my own ground beans?

 

[maryj11]

I arrive Friday, Dec. 11. Guess I should have clarified that!! Thanks for the info.

In that case touring plans will hold your fax until closer to your arrival. They will send a message letting you know when it has been sent.

 

[maryj11]

Not sure. I only asked about BC/YC and the Poly.

I did find out they have POR, POFQ, and CSR. Also All Star Music.

 

[maryj11]

We will be there from June 20-25 (so Monday through Friday nights - no weekend). It did not include tickets. This was a 'magical deal' from the 'magical Disney vacation' people who have been mentioned before in this thread. In fact, I found them because of this thread (did a Google search) and I am very grateful to everyone who mentioned them!

Oh yeah dummy me you have 5 nights and I got a quote for 6 nights. No wonder mine is higher .

 

[Wood Nymph]

Two things that I'd love to see at Beach and Yacht: a better lounge and Quick Service.

Thanks for posting your trip report. I think most of us will agree with you about the lounge and quick service.

I really favor Territory Lounge at Wilderness

Territory Lounge is our favorite lounge. And the Crews Cup is our favorite place to grab something to eat.

How does on-line check in work? A while ago I did some sort of on-line check in where I said I wanted a large balcony on an upper floor. Will they just text me a room number and when we arrive our magic band opens our room?!

Doing online check in doesn't guarantee that you will be given a direct to room option. If you do qualify then you will receive an email about a week ahead of time, informing you that you may receive the direct to room text. If you don't get an email regarding the direct to room text message, then you would check in at the registration desk. When you arrive at the resort you should be greeted by a CM with an iPad who can help you with check in.

Also, what is the coffee situation at the Marketplace? The menu lists latte or cappucino - is it a real espresso machine? Is it Joffrey's or Nescafe for brewed? Or I can make it in my room I guess. Is it a pod coffee maker or a real one. Can I bring my own ground beans?

The Marketplace serves brewed Joffrey;s coffee. I don't know if they have latte's or cappuccino.

You won't be able to use your own ground coffee in the single serve Cuisinart coffee maker in the room. The coffee maker uses pods that look like flat, round tea bags.

 

[natebenma]

page 279-281

We are checking in to the YC on Sunday. We have a garden view room. What is a good location to request? How long are the hallways? Also, is there a lot of wear and tear showing at the YC?

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list we keep on Page 1. I hope you have a fantastic trip.

I haven't stayed in any YC rooms, so I have to rely on reports we get from recent guests. The impression I get are that most rooms are fine, some rooms need a lot more TLC than others. My experience with the Beach Club pre-renovations is that the public spaces (hallways) were in worse condition than the actual rooms- I saw faded carpeting and some tears in the shared hallway furniture.

I believe some people have suggested a gazebo view. Requests are a personal thing- what is important to you? View (gazebo view, please). Location- near elevators/lobby/pool (close to lobby, please). Upper floor? First Floor? Daybed?

About room requests for DVC villas: it depends on how you booked.

If you are a member who is using your own points to pay for your stay: you would call Member Services to make a room request.

If you are using someone else's points to pay for your stay: that member would have to call member services to make a room request. This would apply if you are renting points. It also would apply, for example, if I let a friend use my points for free - I, as the member who owns the points being used for the trip, would have to call member services to make the room request.

If you make your reservation directly through Disney, either online or by calling the same phone number you would call to make a reservation for a regular Disney hotel room, then you would call the Disney reservation number to make a room request. This would be a cash resie; DVC points would not be involved even though you will be staying in a DVC villa.

I am referring to a request made in advance, not a request made as part of the online check in process.

and thanks!

:

So it turns out we couldn't wait till November 2016, so we've moved from AKL to BC for 3rd to 11th May 2016. Ever so excited!

I'll get that trip on the list.

Good Morning - We have a standard view booked at the Yacht Club for April. We tried for a Garden view but nothing was available. How terrible are the STandard views? Is there anything i should request? This is our first time staying here and are very excited!

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list that we keep on Page 1.

As dansdad suggests, check out the view thread for some samples of standard views t

We checked out of Yacht Club (Club Level Water View) yesterday and I wanted to give a little review and trip report about our experience.

*snip*

Thanks so much for sharing your review. I am sorry to hear about the issues you had. It seems like a lot went wrong and I am really disappointed to hear that you got an unsatisfactory response from the CMs you encountered. Please do share your thoughts with Disney/resort management via the survey and/or email.

May I add your report to the review section on Page 1?

We've been back here in North Carolina for a few days now, so I decided it was time to post a mini-review of our Beach Club stay.

*snip*

Thanks for letting us know about your experiences. So the iPhone never reappeared

Your comment made me think of the recent Miami/Jets football game in the UK. One of the teams packed their own TP for the trip!

May I add your review to Page 1?

:

Hello my YC/BC friends!

We just booked 7 nights at Yacht Club under the revisit the magic deal for March Break (March 12-19). We are SO excited! Can't wait to be sipping a Sunken Treasure poolside at Stormalong Bay!!!

back!

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list.