2010 Yacht and Beach Club FAQ, Part II---Inactive Thread--- Please do not post here!

[TeenaS]

YC and BC both seem to be completely booked for our visit.

Luckily we did book our room long ago, but were hoping to upgrade to a waterview, but there are not any available. I was just wondering if it is just crazy at BC when the resort is booked out?

I am a little worried that it will be so busy that we will never get a spot by the pool and it will be crazy busy.

We are going first two weeks of October and am thinking of moving to BWI for part of the trip (maybe a week at BC and a week at BWI) as BWI seems to have lots of rooms and the pool may not be as busy (my DS is really excited about the pool, but does like the look of both pools).

How is the BC when all of the rooms are booked out?

Now that NO ONE gets in without a key, the pool is less crowded than this time last year .. this time last month even.

Starting August 1st, absolutely nobody 3 years of age and over can get in SAB without a key. Does not matter if a family of five enters the pool and Mom, Dad and 2 kids have a key. That third child will be turned away. There are absolutely NO exceptions. They are really enforcing!!!

Our guests are delighted since it is making chairs available and there are less people at the pool. Of course there are a few guests that want to bring their friends who are staying at another resort in with them ... they aren't very happy but overall this is very well received.

Please keep in mind that our recreation managers are going through alot of "heat" from people trying to break the rules. So, if you see them around the pool, please take time to thank them for enforcing the rules so strictly and tell them you appreciate it. Thanks!!!!

 

[TeenaS]

I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread who gave me very good and solid advice and let you all know that I was fully prepared to take it. I really was. I got up bright and early this morning to check out the new discounts ... And discovered that no monorail resorts were available at all for our travel dates in December for the room-only discount. But guess what was? Yacht Club! And for $1,200 less (for the same package) that we were currently paying at Polynesian with free dining.

So, though I gather Yacht is the less preferable for board members (Beach club availability was short one day we needed), I switched. (For us, $1,200 is a lot of money.) I'm gonna' keep checking for monorail resort discounts BUT for now we're officially booked at Yacht Club (club level).

So, a couple questions ...

How long DOES it take to get to Magic Kingdom by bus? We might go ahead and get a rental car anyway, just because we have Hertz points so it will cost us >$100 for the week. Is driving better/faster than taking a bus to the parks? What about going to other resorts for meals?

Can you walk to Hollywood Studios? Or is it better to take the boat?

From what I've read here it seems like Beach Club was just renovated. Is that accurate, and does it also apply to Yacht Club (fingers crossed)?

How long DOES it take to get to Magic Kingdom by bus? Once you get on the bus, about 12-16 minutes. We might go ahead and get a rental car anyway, just because we have Hertz points so it will cost us >$100 for the week. Is driving better/faster than taking a bus to the parks? Absolutely not for Magic Kingdom. You'd have to drive to the TTC, park there, wait for the tram to take you to the monorail station, wait for the monorail and then get on the monorail to get to MK. Same thing in reverse. When I am going to MK, I park at the BC and take the bus. A car would be better to Animal Kingdom but that's it as far as I'm concerned. You walk to Epcot (4 minutes) and take the boat to the Studios. What about going to other resorts for meals? Definitely a car is better no matter which resort you are staying in!

Can you walk to Hollywood Studios? Yep but it's over a mile. Or is it better to take the boat? IMO, boat but I'm old and I figure I'll walk enough once I get into the park.

From what I've read here it seems like Beach Club was just renovated. Is that accurate, and does it also apply to Yacht Club (fingers crossed)? Both were just recently renovated.

 

[TeenaS]

Uh oh - anyone know the phone number of the Lost and Found at BC. I have to recheck everything I unpacked but I think I left some of the kids clothes either in the room or at the laundry. Teena - (or anyone else who knows) do you know who I call?

Thanks it's always something!

Also I forgot to add - we debated back and forth ddp no ddp. We always had the dining plan but now that the two dd's are "Disney adults" we decided to go with the TIW. DH kept all the receipts and just went through them - and ta da - staying 16 nights we saved over $1500 using TIW!

Just call the main number and ask to speak with a housekeeping manager at the Beach Club.

 

[TeenaS]

TIW is wonderful! We used it in March and July, and we'll use it again next February, too! We also have two pre-teen "Disney adults"(in addition to our pre-schooler) and it's a great deal for us.

Robyn, what are your February dates? Also, we did not stay CL last time, but the concierge desk at BC (Sara) was amazing and found my son's missing sorcerer's hat. I e-mailed guest communications about how wonderful she was - if there is a way to find your things, I bet they will!

TyRy - I wish I could help more, but I don't have much experience with specific requests. We asked for "full balcony, please" on our July reservation and upcoming February reservation, but I'm not sure about anything else. I bet someone here has a good suggestion!

P.S. Although we usually eat breakfast in our room, we got a 7:30am ADR at Cape May for the last day of our trip in February. (I haven't been to a TS Disney breakfast for almost 20 years!) I assured our oldest son that we could eat quickly and dash to DHS for a 9am rope drop! He's not a breakfast fan, and does not like to miss park time, but was interested in the possibility of "made-to-order" omelettes - allears says they have those, but some reviews say they don't. Does anyone know?

Last time I was there ... no made to order omelettes.

 

[TeenaS]

I just upgraded from a water view to garden view CL at YC. At the worst, what will I see from the balcony?. I could not turn the upgrade down, the rate I was given today was close to ridiculous so I "had" to change room views and take it.

I'm not sure when you are going to be there.

If it is on or after January 1, 2011 and you booked a garden view CL at YC, you will have a nice view!! If it is before January 1, 2011 and you booked a garden view CL at YC, it could be a nice view but it could also be a roof or parking lot.

 

[TeenaS]

Michelle,

It looks like we'll be at the beach club at the same time. I personally would never ask for an upgrade and I think most upgrades happen out of necessity (no more standard rooms left so you are upgraded to WV or CL). I have been trying to change my reservation to CL for weeks now with no success. I plan to ask when I arrive if I can pay to upgrade my reservation to CL. I really don't expect to be able to since it looks like the BC is totally sold out during our week. I would also need two adjoining rooms so I know that decreases my chances of getting CL as well. Good luck with the rest of your planning and I'll see you at SAB

Jill

This is absolutely correct. I'm going to be perfectly honest here and I hope not to offend anybody but in my experience if someone comes to the desk (and I started at front desk) and asks for an upgrade without saying they wanted to pay for it, in other words, just saying "is an upgrade available" or "is a complimentary upgrade available", even if one was available, I would immediately pretend to look at the computer, press some keys, and then say "sorry no". What Jill said above is correct, most upgrades happen out of necessity. However, some happen because of pixie dust but one sure way in my opinion to not get pixie dust is to ask for it. As Jill said, if you want an upgrade and say "I would like to pay to upgrade to CL, if there is anything available?", then for sure we will try our darnest to get you up there and give you the price difference, then it is up to you to decide whether or not you want to upgrade.

 

[counselormom]

Okay, Beach Club experts I need your expertise. I just changed my reservation to BC Dec 3-11 to take advantage of the 40%. Now I have
to rethink some of my ADR's. This is my family's first Disney trip and I really
want to "WOW"them on the first night. We arrive at 5:30 and I have an ADR
for O'Hana's at 8:30. Can't decide if we are going to want to arrive at the
resort and then have to leave to go to Poly. I have a feeling we are going to
want to stay and explore the resort, but I sure hate to give up that hard
to come by ADR. Any ideas on where eat our first night?? EPCOT? Boardwalk? Help me impress them.

 

[liltoot]

Thanks everyone for the info on TIW. That's the first time I ever heard of it. This thread is great.

 

[KRCMOM]

This is absolutely correct. I'm going to be perfectly honest here and I hope not to offend anybody but in my experience if someone comes to the desk (and I started at front desk) and asks for an upgrade without saying they wanted to pay for it, in other words, just saying "is an upgrade available" or "is a complimentary upgrade available", even if one was available, I would immediately pretend to look at the computer, press some keys, and then say "sorry no". What Jill said above is correct, most upgrades happen out of necessity. However, some happen because of pixie dust but one sure way in my opinion to not get pixie dust is to ask for it. As Jill said, if you want an upgrade and say "I would like to pay to upgrade to CL, if there is anything available?", then for sure we will try our darnest to get you up there and give you the price difference, then it is up to you to decide whether or not you want to upgrade.

Absolutely no offense taken, Teena, and thank you for the info. I know I would never have the guts to actually "ask" for a free upgrade - I would not be comfortable. And if I were a CM, I probably wouldn't give it to me! I just read so much about it, I thought I would ask. Hope I did not offend anyone!

 

[pixarmom]

Our dates are 2/15 to 2/22. My girls are baton twirlers and are competing in Twirlmania over at the EPSN Wide World of Sports. I haven't even made our room reservation yet because my in-laws are coming with us and I have to see if any of the specials would help them. We have APs so are hoping for a nice AP discount for our room. I think we're going to stay at YC on this trip. My in-laws prefer YC over BC (the horror!) and since they only come every fews years I think I can deal with YC over BC for one week!

Now I remember that you mentioned this earlier - our dates are February 7-13, so we will leave right before you arrive again! We are also anxiously awaiting news of an AP rate. We called a little while ago and booked (rack rate then) and then called again today to apply the general public discount (40%) But read somewhere on the boards that AP rates may be released soon. So I'll just keep calling and getting better rates! (And at YC, at least you know you'll get that full balcony!)

 

[hill6]

Okay, Beach Club experts I need your expertise. I just changed my reservation to BC Dec 3-11 to take advantage of the 40%. Now I have
to rethink some of my ADR's. This is my family's first Disney trip and I really
want to "WOW"them on the first night. We arrive at 5:30 and I have an ADR
for O'Hana's at 8:30. Can't decide if we are going to want to arrive at the
resort and then have to leave to go to Poly. I have a feeling we are going to
want to stay and explore the resort, but I sure hate to give up that hard
to come by ADR. Any ideas on where eat our first night?? EPCOT? Boardwalk? Help me impress them.

What about Teppan Edo at the Japan pavillion or the Captain's Grill at the YC (if you don't want to go to a park the first night). Do that and then go play mini golf.


I just changed more than half my reservations tonight and I am still not happy. Need to discuss with DD who won't even be with us but I know she can come up with a happy plan. I went from being unhappy with 5 reservations to having 3 now and that is because they are alot alike in two days. (Yak & Yeti, Teppan Edo and Nine Dragons). I think Yak and Yeti will go away. Not sure about the other two what other one will go away.

 

[coopersmom]

How long DOES it take to get to Magic Kingdom by bus? Once you get on the bus, about 12-16 minutes. We might go ahead and get a rental car anyway, just because we have Hertz points so it will cost us >$100 for the week. Is driving better/faster than taking a bus to the parks? Absolutely not for Magic Kingdom. You'd have to drive to the TTC, park there, wait for the tram to take you to the monorail station, wait for the monorail and then get on the monorail to get to MK. Same thing in reverse. When I am going to MK, I park at the BC and take the bus. A car would be better to Animal Kingdom but that's it as far as I'm concerned. You walk to Epcot (4 minutes) and take the boat to the Studios. What about going to other resorts for meals? Definitely a car is better no matter which resort you are staying in!

Can you walk to Hollywood Studios? Yep but it's over a mile. Or is it better to take the boat? IMO, boat but I'm old and I figure I'll walk enough once I get into the park.

From what I've read here it seems like Beach Club was just renovated. Is that accurate, and does it also apply to Yacht Club (fingers crossed)? Both were just recently renovated.

Thank you, thank you Teena! You really are special to spend so much of your personal time helping people and answering questions here. Definitely Disney magic! I really am trying to take your advice (which, after reading this thread and seeing what you do, I totally trust) and if the numbers ($$$) work out, I might move, but right now it sounds pretty good to b Beach and Yacht Club bound, even in December. Thanks again! (Hope you'll be around in December, no matter where I stay, for a personal thank you.)

 

[pixarmom]

Okay, Beach Club experts I need your expertise. I just changed my reservation to BC Dec 3-11 to take advantage of the 40%. Now I have
to rethink some of my ADR's. This is my family's first Disney trip and I really
want to "WOW"them on the first night. We arrive at 5:30 and I have an ADR
for O'Hana's at 8:30. Can't decide if we are going to want to arrive at the
resort and then have to leave to go to Poly. I have a feeling we are going to
want to stay and explore the resort, but I sure hate to give up that hard
to come by ADR. Any ideas on where eat our first night?? EPCOT? Boardwalk? Help me impress them.

One of the things we love about BC is the proximity to EPCOT and all the great dining options! We really love Garden Grill and our boys love to meet Mickey, Pluto and Chip/Dale the first night (not just our pre-schooler - our pre-teens still love it, too!) Garden Grill is our arrival night tradition - and then we walk around World Showcase (ride Mexico, Norway, etc.) and head back to BC to rest up for the next morning. We like to start our second day at MK fresh in the morning at rope drop! Garden Grill is inside the Land and, therefore, does not have a view of the parks, but is very close and might be a good option to consider.

Good luck with your decision - have a great time!!

 

[pixarmom]

Last time I was there ... no made to order omelettes.

Thanks, Teena!

 

[TeenaS]

Okay, Beach Club experts I need your expertise. I just changed my reservation to BC Dec 3-11 to take advantage of the 40%. Now I have
to rethink some of my ADR's. This is my family's first Disney trip and I really
want to "WOW"them on the first night. We arrive at 5:30 and I have an ADR
for O'Hana's at 8:30. Can't decide if we are going to want to arrive at the
resort and then have to leave to go to Poly. I have a feeling we are going to
want to stay and explore the resort, but I sure hate to give up that hard
to come by ADR. Any ideas on where eat our first night?? EPCOT? Boardwalk? Help me impress them.

I think you should skip O'Hanas the first night. After traveling all day and wanting to get unpacked and settled into your new resort, I suggest staying around there. I would eat at Cape May personally. I love it!!

 

[chrismom3]

Okay, Beach Club experts I need your expertise. I just changed my reservation to BC Dec 3-11 to take advantage of the 40%. Now I have
to rethink some of my ADR's. This is my family's first Disney trip and I really
want to "WOW"them on the first night. We arrive at 5:30 and I have an ADR
for O'Hana's at 8:30. Can't decide if we are going to want to arrive at the
resort and then have to leave to go to Poly. I have a feeling we are going to
want to stay and explore the resort, but I sure hate to give up that hard
to come by ADR. Any ideas on where eat our first night?? EPCOT? Boardwalk? Help me impress them.

We usually spend our first night close to the resort. If you want to do the same, I would maybe get dinner at Epcot and stay for Illuminations and then leisurely walk back to your hotel taking in all the sights! I still would try to reschedule Ohana. We hadn't been there for a few years (mostly because our last visit there wasn't very good). However, we tried it again 2 weeks ago and we absolutely LOVED it. We loved it so much that we tried to get an ADR for the following night and all they had was a 9:30. We arrived a little bit earlier (around 8:45) and asked for a table with a view of the castle. We had a beautiful view of the castle and at 10:00 they dimmed the lights, piped in the music and watched the best fireworks I've seen in a long time (you can appreciate the fireworks much more at the Poly or Ohana than at the MK). Whichever way you choose, I think watching either Illuminations or Wishes (or whichever one they're doing when you go) would be a definite "wow" factor.

 

[LovintheLodge]

I think you should skip O'Hanas the first night. After traveling all day and wanting to get unpacked and settled into your new resort, I suggest staying around there. I would eat at Cape May personally. I love it!!

I totally agree with Teena! My family did this the first day of our BC vacation. We had a very early flight and arrived at BC between 9:30 and 10 am. We spent most of the day around the resort settling in and enjoying SAB, had a 5:05 dinner reservation at Cape May, then later walked to Epcot for Illuminations. It was a great first day. We loved our meal at Cape May.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

we are going in Nov...booked a Standard room (got a great pin)..should I try to change to the water view? I am kinda confused about the classification changes....what if they are switched around before we go and I don't really know what I need to ahead of time? Just curious if i should leave it alone, or call tomorrow and see what would be available. I am thinking that week is gonna be slow (before Thanksgiving week starts), so it may be pretty full, but surely not sold out...I hope!!! I wasn't even aware of any changes till a few posts back...so can someone clarify for me? Thanks so much!! I am not sure why this is not making sense to me....

 

[TeenaS]

we are going in Nov...booked a Standard room (got a great pin)..should I try to change to the water view? I am kinda confused about the classification changes....what if they are switched around before we go and I don't really know what I need to ahead of time? Just curious if i should leave it alone, or call tomorrow and see what would be available. I am thinking that week is gonna be slow (before Thanksgiving week starts), so it may be pretty full, but surely not sold out...I hope!!! I wasn't even aware of any changes till a few posts back...so can someone clarify for me? Thanks so much!! I am not sure why this is not making sense to me....

You don't need to worry about reclassifications of room categories. It doesn't happen until 1/1/11.

If you are booked for a room in November 2010 and you booked a standard room, your view will either be a courtyard, woods, garden, roof or parking lot. You have about a 50/50 chance of getting an okay view versus a yucky view. If the view is important to you (it's not to me since I am only in the room to shower, sleep, change clothes and I close the drapes for that), you may want to consider upgrading your reservation to a waterview. Then you are guaranteed a decent view of water (pool or lake). My advice is to really think about when you will be in the room and whether you will really enjoy a nice view. Is it worth the price difference? In my case I'd rather use that money to eat at Yachtsman or have a massage. For others, they love staring out at the view in the mornings or nights and having a nice drink or something. Everybody is different.

 

[andrea2289]

My hubby and I will be at BC the week before Thanksgiving and I upgraded to a water view room today using the 40% code. I was looking at this chart

http://www.disneyzone.net/ResortMaps/bcfourthfloor.jpg

At the bottom left it says "All rooms in the front of the water view wings have full balconies" but if you read all the little notes, it doesn’t appear this way. Can anyone clear this up?

We go every year and every year we ask for a good view and never get it LOL - This year I'd like to go with a list of a few rooms I can specifically ask for. We love to sit and have coffee on the balcony in the morning and would like to have a nice view...preferably on the 4th or 5th floor. Any specific room suggestions would be greatly appreciated