2011/2012 Beach & Yacht FAQ, Part IV- DO NOT POST- see new 2012 thread

[natebenma]

Hi I was wondering if you could make a quick clarification for me. I've seen a lot of requests for full balconies. I wasn't clear if this was for the BC or YC. I was under the impression that all of the rooms at the YC had a full balcony. Please help! Thanks

You are correct.

All of the rooms at YC have full balconies, so you don't need to request one when you are staying there.

About 50% of the rooms at BC have full balconies and 50% have the standing, 1 person balconies.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I think you guys will LOVE CL!! The lounge is so nice, and the CL CMs have always bent over backwards to help us with whatever we needed. I haven't done CL at BC, just at the Poly and WL, but I'm excited to try it out on our upcoming trip. I'm sure the BC staff is stellar, as well!!

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed CL! I rarely hear anything bad about it... other than that it costs more so I'm sure it will be great!

Hi Amy! Dee is the official keeper of the info, but I think all the BC GV CL rooms have full balconies.

P.S. - I'm noticing that families of 5 can no longer books BC GV CL - just standard or deluxe. I think that's a great improvement in the reservations system, given the configuration in most BC GV CL rooms. (And I guess I'll just have to book deluxe if we stay CL at BC again!)

Thanks for the info! That would be great if that's true. I guess CL is the way to go then. I tried to call this morning to make the upgrade but the system was down!

Dee - Can you confirm that all of the BC GV CL rooms have full balconies? Is there anything else you can tell me about these rooms as far as location & view goes?

Sorry if I'm asking for info that's already been posted... there is so much info here to go through!

Thank you!!

 

[msdroz]

Thanks NateBenma! )

 

[natebenma]

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed CL! I rarely hear anything bad about it... other than that it costs more so I'm sure it will be great!



Thanks for the info! That would be great if that's true. I guess CL is the way to go then. I tried to call this morning to make the upgrade but the system was down!

Dee - Can you confirm that all of the BC GV CL rooms have full balconies? Is there anything else you can tell me about these rooms as far as location & view goes?

Sorry if I'm asking for info that's already been posted... there is so much info here to go through!

Thank you!!

That's what my notes say. All BC CL GV rooms have full balconies. Now I pieced that together with info others have posted so I don't personally know this to be true (but I'm pretty sure it is). Like pixarmom says, I believe very few, if any, of these rooms have daybeds which is why they can't be booked for families with more than 4 people.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly where they are located or what the views are like.

 

[DisMomAmy]

That's what my notes say. All BC CL GV rooms have full balconies. Now I pieced that together with info others have posted so I don't personally know this to be true (but I'm pretty sure it is). Like pixarmom says, I believe very few, if any, of these rooms have daybeds which is why they can't be booked for families with more than 4 people.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly where they are located or what the views are like.

Thanks Dee! We're a family of four who want a balcony so this should work out well for us.

 

[natebenma]

Dee and Robyn, I just delivered your messages regarding the secret entrance. He was very excited to hear from both of you! He said "I can find it and I can take a picture! Can you tell them that?" He also asked, "Did I get any messages from Sue?" Sue, any more tips?

 

[pixarmom]

Sorry if I'm asking for info that's already been posted... there is so much info here to go through!

Thank you!!

No apologies necessary! We love talking about BC/YC!

 

[333disneymom]

Early morning hours at HS in the morning and then a real early morning Sunday with the marathon. (DW and I are doing the inarguaral relay. Only 13.1 miles each). Well off to bed and up early AM. Will try to do a better report tomorrow!

Hope the race goes well tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the day I can call DVC and try to change my resort from AKV to BCV for August....not to wish the weekend away, but can I call already!!!! The suspense is killing me!!!

Good luck! I hope you get BCV. I can totally relate to the waiting. I tried for just two days in May and couldn't get it, so now I am on a waitlist. Hopefully, August at BCV works out for you.

 

[natebenma]

Mike (MickeyT) has taken time out from his carb loading and chasing his sisters all around the World long enough to email me pictures of the activities schedule for January:

Thanks, MickeyT!

Pool activities

I have posted these to the front page.

Thanks, Mike!

 

[pixarmom]

Just stopping by with two quick things:

1) Good luck to all the runners this weekend - Mike, Amanda and anyone else!

2) My parents are visiting us after their WDW trip with my brother, SIL and niece, and I now have a caramel pecan bar from Karamell Kuche right here in my kitchen! Yay, Mom! Unfortunately, Mom was not able to transport a grey goose slushie.

 

[natebenma]

Just stopping by with two quick things:

1) Good luck to all the runners this weekend - Mike, Amanda and anyone else!

2) My parents are visiting us after their WDW trip with my brother, SIL and niece, and I now have a caramel pecan bar from Karamell Kuche right here in my kitchen! Yay, Mom! Unfortunately, Mom was not able to transport a grey goose slushie.

Darn those TSA liquid restrictions!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Hello,

My family and are contemplating staying at the BC for the first time! Normally we stay at either the GF or the Poly but Epcot is a huge draw for us so we figured why not try the BC.

I have two quick questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me. First, are there many gluten free options at the BC Marketplace and Cape May Buffet?

Second, is the pool area difficult for keeping track of your kids? Mine are 8, 10 and 12.

Thanks so much!

 

[natebenma]

Hello,

My family and are contemplating staying at the BC for the first time! Normally we stay at either the GF or the Poly but Epcot is a huge draw for us so we figured why not try the BC.

I have two quick questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me. First, are there many gluten free options at the BC Marketplace and Cape May Buffet?

Second, is the pool area difficult for keeping track of your kids? Mine are 8, 10 and 12.

Thanks so much!

Here is a link to a thread of photos taken by Pixarmom in February 2011 and May 2011 showing many of the items available at the Marketplace. Hopefully you can glance through and form an opinion about the gluten-free offerings. There are some gluten free items specifically highlighted on one of the later pages of the thread (From August 2011)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=41330436#post41330436

This is a menu listing from the Cape May:

Cape May Cafe New England Clam Bake Dinner: Unlike the usual buffet set-up, this restaurant features a central island where the selections are displayed. There are large steam trays that are continuously filled with snow crab legs, clams and mussels. These popular items are always available hot and freshly prepared.

Other offerings on the buffet:
Carved Roasted Pork Loin in addition to the carved Top Beef Sirloin / Citrus Couscous Salad / Chicken Arugula Pasta Salad / Tomato Cucumber Mozzarella Salad / Quinoa Shrimp Salad with Hearts of Palm / Green Mussels with Spicy Seaweed Salad / Sautéed Beef Tips with a Gourmet Brandy Cream Sauce / Tortellini with Lobster Sauce / Seafood Pot Pie / Hand-Battered Fried Tilapia or Cod (Sundays and Fridays) / Fried Calamari (Tuesdays and Thursdays) / Fried Shrimp (Mondays Wednesdays and Saturdays) and Kids Fish Nuggets.



I can't really answer the question about how hard it is to keep track of the kids- we have two boys so we can pretty much play man-on-man defense and we also stick with them in the water.

A lot will depend on what your kids are like. Will you be with them in the water? Will they stick together? Are the kids strong swimmers or not?

The pool area is quite large (3 acres or so) but has distinct, separate sections. The water depth varies and the lazy river portion is over an adults head. If you are seated on loungers you will lose sight of them as they go around the lazy river or cross over to use the slide. But there are areas of pool where you would be able to watch them swim, or use the whirlpool.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Here is a link to a thread of photos taken by Pixarmom in February 2011 and May 2011 showing many of the items available at the Marketplace. Hopefully you can glance through and form an opinion about the gluten-free offerings. There are some gluten free items specifically highlighted on one of the later pages of the thread (From August 2011)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=41330436#post41330436

Thank you! I scrolled through and saw that the Marketplace has some GF offerings like Divvies and French Meadow brownies.

This is a menu listing from the Cape May:

Cape May Cafe New England Clam Bake Dinner: Unlike the usual buffet set-up, this restaurant features a central island where the selections are displayed. There are large steam trays that are continuously filled with snow crab legs, clams and mussels. These popular items are always available hot and freshly prepared.

Other offerings on the buffet:
Carved Roasted Pork Loin in addition to the carved Top Beef Sirloin / Citrus Couscous Salad / Chicken Arugula Pasta Salad / Tomato Cucumber Mozzarella Salad / Quinoa Shrimp Salad with Hearts of Palm / Green Mussels with Spicy Seaweed Salad / Sautéed Beef Tips with a Gourmet Brandy Cream Sauce / Tortellini with Lobster Sauce / Seafood Pot Pie / Hand-Battered Fried Tilapia or Cod (Sundays and Fridays) / Fried Calamari (Tuesdays and Thursdays) / Fried Shrimp (Mondays Wednesdays and Saturdays) and Kids Fish Nuggets.

Thank you again. I should have specified that I was looking more at breakfast rather than dinner. My daughter has a severe shellfish allergy that would make me very nervous at the dinner buffet.

I can't really answer the question about how hard it is to keep track of the kids- we have two boys so we can pretty much play man-on-man defense and we also stick with them in the water.

A lot will depend on what your kids are like. Will you be with them in the water? Will they stick together? Are the kids strong swimmers or not?

The pool area is quite large (3 acres or so) but has distinct, separate sections. The water depth varies and the lazy river portion is over an adults head. If you are seated on loungers you will lose sight of them as they go around the lazy river or cross over to use the slide. But there are areas of pool where you would be able to watch them swim, or use the whirlpool.

My girls are strong swimmers but very active...as in they disperse quickly! But it's good to know that there are separate sections. The pool area looks incredible and they love to swim so I know we'd spend a lot of time there.

Another quick question if you don't mind. Is the parking area close to the entrance of the BC? A pet peeve of mine with the Grand Floridian was that the stupid parking lot is quite far from the main entrance. Not that I'm lazy or anything, but we plan to do more of our own driving this trip and possibly head over to the WWoHP!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We've driven a few times and the parking lot is not far. It's right near the bus stop. Not nearly as far as the parking lot at the GF.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

We've driven a few times and the parking lot is not far. It's right near the bus stop. Not nearly as far as the parking lot at the GF.

Oh good! Thank you. The GF parking lot was ridiculous...you had to cross over the valet lot and walk all the way across the street to get to the regular one.

 

[Laffites Landing]

Tell him that there is a "secret entrance" at YC just like BC. There is a side door at the area by the wedding gazebo. We loved that area so we didn't have to traipse through the lobby in our bathing suits!

We stayed YC CL one time and loved it. We also really liked the YC waterview rooms. We were on the first floor and had a great patio view of Crescent Lake, the marina and the boat dock.

this is very intriguing DisneyMom. Shouldn't this information also be added to the front page just like the information on the secret door in the Beach Club? Just wondering. Any pictures?

Edit: I see that many people, including the keeper of the board has already requested this information. Inquiring minds.....

 

[Feckless]

BAD mommy over here - my kids are strong swimmers and my DD is taller than most adults already, and I have no intention of monitoring them in the pool all the time! I'm sure this post will be quoted in other posts to show what a neglectful parent I am. LOL. I'm also probably letting them wander around the resort and go to the arcade alone. I'm a free range type! They stick together and look out for each other. As long as they know where I am and I have a general idea where they are, it's all good.

 

[Marlton Mom]

I wanted to comment on the lifeguards at the Storm Along Bay pool at the Beach Club and Yacht Club.

As a former lifeguard myself, I've had excellent training and one of the things that I'm always on the lookout for when at a pool, is how the lifeguards are doing their job. I've always been impressed with the lifeguards at Disney's hotels but I thought the lifeguards at Storm Along Bay were really on top of things and they didn't let up for a minute. These guys and gals were really watching the water and the people in it.

One time when 2 ducks jumped in the pool the life guard immediately noticed and started monitoring the situation to see if the ducks pooped in the pool while she and another staffer convinced them to get out of the water. Another time a suspicious object floated by and they promptly fished it out and determined that it was a pair of brown sunglasses. They were prepared to close down the pool and start a shock process to clean the water if it were the other 'brown' item that can sometimes be found in pools. All this is important for health and safety reasons. I also overhead them talking about rescue training sessions that various staffers were due to attend so I know that they keep current with drills.

Storm Along Bay is configured so that you would have to get out of the water in one section and cross over a cement pathway to get to another section of the pool. If you look at the labeled, overhead map view of Storm Along Bay on page one of this thread you can see that it is 3 separate sections. Rest assured that no matter what section of Storm Along Bay you may let your children swim in it is under the watchful protection of well trained and Attentive lifeguards.

~Marlton Mom

 

[Laffites Landing]

Just found out that Test Track is going to be closed this summer. I consider this truly bad news though it appears they are refurbing the ride to make it better in the future. Epcot doesn't have that many thrill rides and my family isn't that interested in Soarin', losing Test Track is a big blow to staying in an Epcot resort. We'll probably end up spending more time at HS when we go. Ah well.... can't have everything!