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

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You won't get lost. Trust that from one of the most directionally challenged individuals around. Nice views, too, as you walk.

How old are the kids?

We have done the walk twice, boys were 11/8 and 12/9. The first year was after Fantasmic- we walked at a brisk pace because the kids were racing the boat- and we just barely beat the boat back to the resort. The second time we did it was after a long day- AK, BB, Kona, HS, and then we walked back to the resort, again at a brisk clip- another race- and again barely beat the boat, which stops at the S/D first.

It is probably a 25 or so minute walk if you walking at a leisurely pace.

I don't know how crowded the boats are after F!, but I suspect you might not get onto the first one at the dock.


Thanks! The kids are 7 (twins) and are at the stage where they either run everywhere or can't.....walk.....another.....minute......:sad2:

We've never made it to Fantasmic before (or Illuminations!). I know we'll definitely see Illuminations this trip (unless I just cursed myself to a week of torrential rain each night).
 
Great pictures Amanda!

Okay - question for you experts out there. We're planning a DHS Fantasmic (I won't call it Fantasmic! because the ! in the middle of a sentence just confuses me) day and I'm wondering how crowded the boats back to BC/YC usually get after the show. Is it miserable? We're going in mid-May. Is it better to plan to walk back to the resort? I'm a little worried that the kids won't be up for the walk - or that we'll get lost!

Thanks!

This made me laugh because I get it. I might type "F!" but I won't put the exclamation point if I'm writing out the word.

You won't get lost. Trust that from one of the most directionally challenged individuals around. Nice views, too, as you walk.

How old are the kids?

We have done the walk twice, boys were 11/8 and 12/9. The first year was after Fantasmic- we walked at a brisk pace because the kids were racing the boat- and we just barely beat the boat back to the resort. The second time we did it was after a long day- AK, BB, Kona, HS, and then we walked back to the resort, again at a brisk clip- another race- and again barely beat the boat, which stops at the S/D first.

It is probably a 25 or so minute walk if you walking at a leisurely pace.

I don't know how crowded the boats are after F!, but I suspect you might not get onto the first one at the dock.

We raced the boat back to the Dolphin last year. If my 4 year old hadn't been in a stroller, we wouldn't have made it. LOL

Back to the question . . . we were in the reserved seating (Fantasmic dinner package) on the right-hand side of the amphitheater last year, so we got out probably quicker than a lot of people. Btw, this was mid-June, so more crowded than mid-May when you're going. When we got there, we probably would've made it on the 2nd or 3rd boat, but they must have been having mechanical difficulties or something because the first boat took forever to come -- after waiting 20+ minutes, we got out of line and decided to walk back (of course, a boat passes us shortly into the walk, hence, the reason we were determined to beat it back -- not that we would've made it on that boat anyway). Sooooooo, long story short, you might be waiting for quite in a while in the boat line if you didn't get there quickly after Fantasmic (and/or if the boats aren't running like they should be). When we going to the Dolphin, it took us about 15 minutes to get back (and that was walking pretty fast most of the time) -- and the BC is another 5 minutes away, so if you took your time, it will probably take you about 30 minutes. I'd say plan to take the boat and play it by ear when you see the line.
 
I know you can sign up for a photopass session at BC but I don't know how much it costs. When we were there in August, 2010 we were lucky enough to have an impromptu photopass session. The photographer just put the photos on our photopass card and it didn't cost any more than just ordering the CD. They were some of my favorite pictures ever!

ry%3D400

(Zachary and I were walking slowly and hadn't caught up yet!)

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Sadly I wasn't in any of the pictures but I used the middle one with the 3 kids for our holiday card that year.

Amanda

We just did a photo session at the Beach Club in November. The cost is currently $150 for 20 minutes. We got lucky & booked when it was still $99. There is a one hour session that I believe is $350 but you can go just about anywhere for that. I've seen nice pictures in Epcot. It's not through photopass any longer, it's through Disney Fine Art Photography but you meet the photographer & pick up your CD at the photopass desk.

We had a great session & were very happy with our pictures.
 
I know you can sign up for a photopass session at BC but I don't know how much it costs. When we were there in August, 2010 we were lucky enough to have an impromptu photopass session. The photographer just put the photos on our photopass card and it didn't cost any more than just ordering the CD. They were some of my favorite pictures ever!

ry%3D400

(Zachary and I were walking slowly and hadn't caught up yet!)

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Sadly I wasn't in any of the pictures but I used the middle one with the 3 kids for our holiday card that year.

Amanda

Great photos!

~Nannette
 


Amanda: as everyone else said, great photos. What a gorgeous family!!
 
We raced the boat back to the Dolphin last year. If my 4 year old hadn't been in a stroller, we wouldn't have made it. LOL

Here's the part of my 2009/2010 TR where I write about racing the boat back- Have you all noticed that I am making everyone read my TR in little bits and pieces? :rolleyes1

From "Hey Tara, I'm Headed to my 4th Park of the Day!"


I apologize to the folks from the BC forum who have already heard this story before but it is one of my favorite memories from that trip. Just imagine for a few minutes that I am your dear old Uncle Bob (everyone has an Uncle Bob) telling a treasured family story for the 100th time.

As we left Fantasmic! at 9:30, we were debating whether to walk back to BC or take the boat. We decided to walk. Of course, we watched the progress of the boat the whole time. We walked at a regular pace and kept up with the boat for several minutes. Then it got ahead of us. But wait, the boat stops at the SWAN/Dolphin to let passengers off. We get ahead of it. Then it caught up to us again. We were approaching the Yacht Club when the boat docked and started letting off people. It was going to be close, so my 11 year old son raced ahead so he could enter the Beach Club before a couple of girls in their 20's who had come from the boat. As he entered the doors, he turned around to do a playful "in your face dance". And he tripped on the rug! The girls smiled and our family cracked up!



P7140397.jpg



Here are a couple of pictures (taken the following year) when we walked from HS to BC:

IMG_1918.jpg



IMG_1919.jpg
 


Hi, does anyone know what time the boats start running to DHS in the morning? We stayed at the BC last year and always walked to DHS, but this year we're going with my parents so we may need to use the boat instead.

I normally like to get to DHS by 8:30 to get a few rides on TSM, is this possible if using the boat?
 
Great pictures Amanda!

Okay - question for you experts out there. We're planning a DHS Fantasmic (I won't call it Fantasmic! because the ! in the middle of a sentence just confuses me) day and I'm wondering how crowded the boats back to BC/YC usually get after the show. Is it miserable? We're going in mid-May. Is it better to plan to walk back to the resort? I'm a little worried that the kids won't be up for the walk - or that we'll get lost!

Thanks!

While we haven't stayed at BC (YET...42 days & counting!) I've stayed many times at Swan/Dolphin. After F! the line for the boat generally is very long. We just head out of DHS, if the line looks long (you can see the boat dock right after exiting DHS, on the left down towards the water), we just keep walking towards the resorts. Sometimes we're just so tired & don't care how long the wait is, and get in line. But you'll be able to judge how long the boat line is once you exit.

Another tip is to exit F! & stay straight - IF they have both exits open. Sometimes I've been there & everyone has to exit back into the park near the B&B theater, other times there are 2 options, the other exit dumps you out near the DHS entrance. That way you're ahead of half of the crowd!

Funny store Dee!
 
LOVE the pictures, Amanda! It is so hard to get my DD to pose for a picture I`m debating getting the Photopass CD, but then I see something like that and totally re-think! :)

Thanks also to the F! exit question - we will be there in early May and I was wondering the same thing. DD will walk until her legs fall off but DS (especially if it is hot - we are SO not used to extreme heat!) can get brutal about walking, especially at the end of a long day.

And before MM gets on about my hairy Canadian legs that have a second function as Ugg-like leg warmers, it really doesnt get that cold here either. :lmao:
 
Hi, does anyone know what time the boats start running to DHS in the morning? We stayed at the BC last year and always walked to DHS, but this year we're going with my parents so we may need to use the boat instead.

I normally like to get to DHS by 8:30 to get a few rides on TSM, is this possible if using the boat?

I haven't seen definitively what time the boats start. Or the buses either. I never see consistent info about the "character breakfast buses"

But I do know that when we have been going to EMH at HS, there have been boats at 7:30. Maybe earlier, but I have definitely seen them at that time.

Are they later on a regular opening day? I don't know. But I bet you will have no problem getting to HS by 8:30. I would suggest being out there no later than 8 am, though.
 
Thanks! The kids are 7 (twins) and are at the stage where they either run everywhere or can't.....walk.....another.....minute......:sad2:

We've never made it to Fantasmic before (or Illuminations!). I know we'll definitely see Illuminations this trip (unless I just cursed myself to a week of torrential rain each night).

We walked from Epcot to HS in about 30 minutes with a 6-year-old. We also walked back from HS to BCV. We only had to stop once to rest. No complaints at all from the 6-year-old. We all agreed that we would rather be walking than just standing that whole time.
 
Thanks also to the F! exit question - we will be there in early May and I was wondering the same thing. DD will walk until her legs fall off but DS (especially if it is hot - we are SO not used to extreme heat!) can get brutal about walking, especially at the end of a long day.

And before MM gets on about my hairy Canadian legs that have a second function as Ugg-like leg warmers, it really doesnt get that cold here either. :lmao:

I don't know why more people don't hijack one of those Surrey carts and pedal their way down to DHS. If you think about it, all you'd need would be a Surrey cart parking lot, which knowing Disney, would be located at Downtown Disney, which is no where near DHS.

Of course Feckless and I would have to braid our leg hair so it doesn't get caught in the chain of the Surrey cart, but if we did that then we could get extensions and beads and feathers and really go all out. I think the sight of Feckless and I, peddling a Surrey cart with the wind blowing our leg hair would be enough for the folks at Disney to think that this would be a really great idea!

We had the experience of watching a Fantasmic (!) show that was cancelled right in the middle due to lightning. They made everybody get up off of those electricity conducting aluminum benches and evacuate the park. I'm guessing the fact that we had to leave the park and go on our merry way decreased our chances of getting hit by lightning :rolleyes:

There is nothing like everybody leaving a park all at one time. I avoid this scenario at all costs, but in this case it was inevitable. We made our way to the boat and and we could see there was a good sized line already waiting, out the back of the covered assembly area. Even with that long line we were on the 3rd boat and back to the hotel in what I thought was a reasonable amount of time. The moral of this story is that it can look worse than it really is, but Disney hauls 'boat' and gets you back to the resort at closing time. BTW We experienced this during our June trip so that will give you an idea of the time frame.

Like they say, your mileage may vary, but after worrying about this problem before my trip, I learned that it wasn't as much of a concern as I had imagined, and the boats were a heck of a lot better than say the buses at closing at the Magic Kingdom.

~Marlton Mom
 
How long does it take to walk to both DHS and Epcot? If I want to get ahead of the Soarin and Toy story crowds what time would I have to start out at?
Thanks to all who respond!!!!:thumbsup2
 
I haven't seen definitively what time the boats start. Or the buses either. I never see consistent info about the "character breakfast buses"

But I do know that when we have been going to EMH at HS, there have been boats at 7:30. Maybe earlier, but I have definitely seen them at that time.

Are they later on a regular opening day? I don't know. But I bet you will have no problem getting to HS by 8:30. I would suggest being out there no later than 8 am, though.

Thanks very much Dee.
 
Just booked our next BC vacation today... 8/17-8/24 Super excited can't wait! First time in August any suggestions?
 
Hi, does anyone know what time the boats start running to DHS in the morning? We stayed at the BC last year and always walked to DHS, but this year we're going with my parents so we may need to use the boat instead.

I normally like to get to DHS by 8:30 to get a few rides on TSM, is this possible if using the boat?

How long does it take to walk to both DHS and Epcot? If I want to get ahead of the Soarin and Toy story crowds what time would I have to start out at?
Thanks to all who respond!!!!:thumbsup2

I haven't stayed at BC, but from S/D it's 15-20 min. to Epcot, 25 to DHS. I'd imagine from BC it's much quicker to Epcot and a little farther to DHS.

I don't know what the official boat start time is, but I know those Friendship Boat horns woke me a few times when staying at S/D before I was even awake! I'd love to be hearing one of those horns right about now...:love:
 
Hi - We will be doing a split stay at Poly/Beach Club next January. What is a good room to request at Beach Club. We have stayed Poly so know what to request but have no idea if some of the Concierge Lagoon rooms are better then others? I did read that the Concierge rooms do have full balconies am I correct? If not that is what we will request. Any help would be appreciated. We are a family of four with two kids 10 and 14. Also, how is the Cape May Cafe for the Clam Bake? THanks.
 
Hello all!! We're staying somewhere at WDW in mid-October for our honeymoon:love:, just still figuring out our options. We are currently booked for POR, but I just received a pin by email last week for 30% off during our planned week and that's a game changer:goodvibes. Now DF and I are trying to decide between YC and BWI. We like the idea of being so close to things and think both hotels look nice, but BWI obviously has the boardwalk literally below it which would be cool and YC has the better pool. Having trouble deciding. Would pick the YC probably for sure if they would guarantee a good lake view (I know it includes pools too), but it seems like I've read some disappointment with that on here- people paying for the upgrade but not getting a great view.

And, it's making me question a little that no one on here really talks about the YC and how great it is!!! It's all BC- where's the YC love;)?? I've only stayed at the WL in the past so info would be helpful:thumbsup2. TIA!

Pam
 
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