2011 Yacht & Beach Club FAQ, Part II

[natebenma]

My family and I are going to the YC this Aug. I have heard lots of good things but was hoping to get any insight from those on here who may have stayed there before (1st time for us). We have a 4 yr old daughter who is sooo looking forward to going.

She has been before but we stayed offsite. Will being onsight be significantly different? Last time I stayed onsight was back in the late 90's and I stayed at the allstars.

Any insight or tips would be appreciated,

Thanks

Onsite stays rock!!!

My favorite thing is using the extra magic hour in the morning- You would not believe how much you can do in the first couple of hours when the parks are cool and relatively uncrowded! Others vouch for the extra late night hours, but we are early risers, so that doesn't work as well for us

A very close second advantage to staying on site is the ease of transportation. We hate to drive on vacation, so using the bus/boat transportation, and WALKING to EPCOT are huge perks for us.

Oh, and shipping any merchandise you purchase in the parks back to your resort!

The Dining Plan! You can only book that with an on-site stay.

 

[natebenma]

I have good news and bad news The good news is, I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE RN program at my school!! Bad news is, I have to re-plan whole vacation I totally did not expect to be accepted, they had 700 applications for 41 spots So now we will have to go at the end of July. Is it horribly crowded at the end of July, early August? I HAVE to go to Disneyworld this year!

Congratulations!!! What a great accomplishment! Let us know when you have replanned your trip, and we will change your dates around. Sounds like you totally deserve a vacation treat.

 

[natebenma]

I think I have the Guest Lists and Noodle Lists on page 1 updated. If you have a chance, take a peek to make sure your info is correct, and if not, let me know if I need to make a change.

Enjoy your weekend!

 

[natebenma]

I just received my Mousesavers Newsletter. Disney has announced that theme park ticket prices will be going up TOMORROW Sunday June 12.

Not looking for a debate on this here- this is not the right forum- but I wanted to let you all know in case you have plans to purchase tickets very soon. You may want to do that today!

Please note that tickets become effective (that is, the expiration period does not start) until you first use the ticket. I'm not sure if I am explaining that clearly, but you can buy tickets now that you will use on a future trip.

 

[jerseygal]

Anyone know how much a 1 Day Base Ticket without park hopper will increase?

How about 1 Day Base Ticket with Water Park Fun and More Options will increase?

Thanks Much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP ON TICKET INCREASES!

 

[RachaelRol]

Hi all,

Just wanted to say I love this thread! I am more of a lurker an really tried to read all 130+ pages but was defeated. The humor, friendships, care and sharing of info makes this the best of all of the threads I lurk/stalk.

Very excited for our YC stay, still trying to get a garden view room in club level, but nothing is available. Oh well, we'll enjoy our parking lot view!

Rachael

 

[dgbg100106]

Double Digits, Double Digits.....

I will dance with you.

 

[Christine9125]

7 weeks and we will be on Magical Express on our way to the BC and the kids will know the first part of their surprise.

 

[coastermom]

I have good news and bad news The good news is, I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE RN program at my school!! Bad news is, I have to re-plan whole vacation I totally did not expect to be accepted, they had 700 applications for 41 spots So now we will have to go at the end of July. Is it horribly crowded at the end of July, early August? I HAVE to go to Disneyworld this year!

We go almost every year last week in July / first week in Aug ...
It is crowded but if you know what you must ride and must see get the fast passes for those rides first .. we always get to the parks early !! I have never had a time that I have not done all that we wanted to do in any parks . I have to say the lines for some rides seem crazy at an hour or more but this is normal for some other amusement parks we have been to so it is not really all that bad. My biggest advice is USE THE FAST PASS system as much as you can !

Congrats and enjoy the trip !!

 

[sjs314]

Anyone know how much a 1 Day Base Ticket without park hopper will increase?

How about 1 Day Base Ticket with Water Park Fun and More Options will increase?

Thanks Much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP ON TICKET INCREASES!

Click this link, midway down the page is posted a chart showing the price increases effective 6/12


http://www.easywdw.com/

 

[bookgirl]

Anyone know how much a 1 Day Base Ticket without park hopper will increase?

How about 1 Day Base Ticket with Water Park Fun and More Options will increase?

Thanks Much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP ON TICKET INCREASES!

I was on the other threads and someone listed a price list. It looks like one day tickets go up about $3. And park hoppers are now $55 (I think they were $50 last time I looked)

I didn't compare the WP and M option but I'm thinking I saw the $55 on that as well but I don't know if that's just one day or the whole trip or how that is done.

 

[Snappy in OK]

We will be at BCV 10/20 - 10/29!! I am so excited! DH is not there yet - but that is just him. DD & DS still do not know we are going back to WDW yet, but we are thinking about telling them in early October. They will be so excited - they keep asking if we can go back, and I just say "maybe one of these days...". Mean mommy!!

I have been trying to read through all of the posts on this wonderful thread!! Thank you to everyone for keeping up with all of the great information! It is very much appreciated.

I was looking for some information on the first few pages and just saw the new "noodle" family. I think we would be great hosts - at least for the first few days of our vacation. I saw that someone else will be checking in a few days after us, but we can have fun with the noodle family when we first get there!!

I am looking forward to checking out the BC/BCV in October! It will be our first visit there!!

 

[jakeybake]

I usually buy my refill mug at BC Marketplace, but I purchased a refill mug from the walk-up lane and Beaches and Cream once, and I've had it refilled in the walk-up lane.

I've never attempted to substitute my refill mug for a drink order at a resort TS restaurant. But after purchasing a beverage (like soda or coffee) at a resort TS, our server has occasionally seen my mug and offered to refill it for the road. One CM who offered to refill it told me that they aren't supposed to refill the mugs at TS locations, but since I purchased coffee and could easily dump the remainder in my mug, she thought it just made sense to pour it directly into my mug. That's from other resort TS, so I'm not sure of the policy at Beaches and Cream in the TS area, especially because it's sort of a TS/CS hybrid.

I had a great server, Bruce, at the Cape May who everytime we were done with breakfast and ready to leave he would give us whatever we were drinking in "To Go" cups. Not take what was left at the table, actually go out back and fill up "To Go" cups for us. He was easily the best server we have ever had at any WDW restaurant. Just a great, friendly guy.

Also, the woman who followed the characters around from table to table was awesome as well. I think her name was Roz (insert Monsters Inc joke here!). On one of my solo work trips I asked if she could take a couple of pics of me with the characters on my phone so I could text them back home to my kids. She joked and said, "Come on, I know these are for you not your kids!". I laughed and she was nice enough to take one with each character, and even took multiple shots if they turned out kind of crappy.

Well fast forward to a year later and I am back at the Cape May with my entire family for breakfast. All of a sudden I hear behind me, "Well how about that, you were telling the truth about your kids!!". I turn around and it was her (I swear her name was Roz?) and she gives me a big hug and introduces herself to my family. Two seconds later who comes over the table to say hello? Bruce the wonderful server I had!

Just goes to show that for all the stories we here about poor experiences that there are still amazing cast members out there. The Beach Club is extremely luck to have three of them in Teena, Bruce and Roz (I swear that was her name...?). Hopefully Bruce and Roz are still there! We all know that thankfully Teena still is!

J

 

[pixarmom]

Thank you for answering the question about the refill mugs at B&C!

I have not used refill mugs at the Beach Club, so I don't have the info to clarify my FAQ post. Would you all help me fill in the gaps if you know if all the following locations are purchase points and which ones are all self-serve?

Beach Club Marketplace- Definitely Point of Purchase and Self-Serve

Beaches & Cream- Point of Purchase, walk up lane. Is this lane shared with the ice cream takeout, or can you immediately fill your mugs? Self-serve or assisted?

Hurricane Hanna's- ???

Ale & Compass (YC)- ???

Thanks!

I was paying more attention to this over Memorial Day weekend, and here's what I can confirm:

Beach Club Marketplace- Definitely Point of Purchase and Self-Serve YES! Just wanted to add that I asked a CM at the Marketplace for a complete list of the locations within YC/BC that sell the mugs. He told me only the Marketplace, and I didn't think that was correct. I scouted out the other two points of purchase, below.

Beaches & Cream- Point of Purchase, walk up lane. Is this lane shared with the ice cream takeout, or can you immediately fill your mugs? Self-serve or assisted? Yes, the same lane as the ice-cream take-out and they refill the mugs at the counter. As a result, this is not the best refill station in the evening when the lines are long!

Hurricane Hanna's- ??? They have mugs for purchase there and the refill station is self-serve. It was open as late as 10pm over Memorial Day weekend, but I'm not sure if that's typical. Here's a photo of the self-serve station at Hurricane Hanna's:

Ale & Compass (YC)- ??? Not sure. I didn't see refill mugs there, but I stopped by to check out the breakfast so I don't know if they put them out later in the day, or I could have just missed them. I didn't see a self-serve refill station there.

 

[bookgirl]

We will be at BCV 10/20 - 10/29!! I am so excited! DH is not there yet - but that is just him. DD & DS still do not know we are going back to WDW yet, but we are thinking about telling them in early October. They will be so excited - they keep asking if we can go back, and I just say "maybe one of these days...". Mean mommy!!

I have been trying to read through all of the posts on this wonderful thread!! Thank you to everyone for keeping up with all of the great information! It is very much appreciated.

I was looking for some information on the first few pages and just saw the new "noodle" family. I think we would be great hosts - at least for the first few days of our vacation. I saw that someone else will be checking in a few days after us, but we can have fun with the noodle family when we first get there!!

I am looking forward to checking out the BC/BCV in October! It will be our first visit there!!

Hi Snappy,

I'm a Okie as well. Only we'll be there in September. Good to see some more Sooners (or Pokes) on the board.

 

[busymommy2pink]

Lurker coming out of lurkdom! We are doing a split stay at Poly(2nights/3 days) and BC (7nights/8days) in May 2012 and we are SO excited!!!! During the stay, our anniversary and one of our DD's birthdays happen. It's our first family vacation and we are so excited!!! Love this thread and all the great planning tip and information and just how close everyone seems

 

[natebenma]

Click this link, midway down the page is posted a chart showing the price increases effective 6/12


http://www.easywdw.com/

Thank you so much for this link!!! Very helpful!

We won't decide until we are in Orlando in mid-July if we are going to go to MK for one night. Since we don't know yet, I will just bite the bullet for 1 day passes when we get there. But just in case, I have been using this as an excuse to charge up my Disney Visa like crazy!

I was on the other threads and someone listed a price list. It looks like one day tickets go up about $3. And park hoppers are now $55 (I think they were $50 last time I looked)

I didn't compare the WP and M option but I'm thinking I saw the $55 on that as well but I don't know if that's just one day or the whole trip or how that is done.

I think that the $55 for the WPF&M gives you the same number of entries as the length of your ticket. If you have a 3 day ticket, it is for 3 days. If you have a 5 day ticket, you get a total of 5 entries to a Water Park, Quest, or the other stuff.


The fine print and exceptions
But it would expire at the same time your ticket does, so if you have a 7 day ticket, you would get 7 entries to a water park, but if you only used 5, once your regular ticket expired the extra two entries would no longer be valid. If you had a 7 day ticket with NO EXPIRE added, and WPF&M added, then even after your 7 theme park entries had expired, you would still have water park entries for future trips.

This is my understanding of how that works, but please consult Cheshire Figment's ticket sticky for detailed, accurate information!

 

[always]

Thank you for answering the question about the refill mugs at B&C!


Beaches & Cream- Point of Purchase, walk up lane. Is this lane shared with the ice cream takeout, or can you immediately fill your mugs? Self-serve or assisted?

Thanks!

B&C is not self serve. When we ate there last July people in the walk up lane showed their mug and were given a refill in a cup. My sister and i were sitting at the counter and we asked why this was done and she said it was for health code reasons. We also saw another server fill up a shaker with ice and pop and then pour it into someone's mug.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Does anyone happen to know what the hours for Hurricane Hanna's have been during the months of August & September? The menu on WDWINFO says it's open from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, however on here I read for Memorial Day weekend it was open until 10:00 PM. So are their hours seasonal or are only open later during the various holidays?

 

[DrMomof3]

I had a great server, Bruce, at the Cape May who everytime we were done with breakfast and ready to leave he would give us whatever we were drinking in "To Go" cups. Not take what was left at the table, actually go out back and fill up "To Go" cups for us. He was easily the best server we have ever had at any WDW restaurant. Just a great, friendly guy.

Also, the woman who followed the characters around from table to table was awesome as well. I think her name was Roz (insert Monsters Inc joke here!). On one of my solo work trips I asked if she could take a couple of pics of me with the characters on my phone so I could text them back home to my kids. She joked and said, "Come on, I know these are for you not your kids!". I laughed and she was nice enough to take one with each character, and even took multiple shots if they turned out kind of crappy.

Well fast forward to a year later and I am back at the Cape May with my entire family for breakfast. All of a sudden I hear behind me, "Well how about that, you were telling the truth about your kids!!". I turn around and it was her (I swear her name was Roz?) and she gives me a big hug and introduces herself to my family. Two seconds later who comes over the table to say hello? Bruce the wonderful server I had!

Just goes to show that for all the stories we here about poor experiences that there are still amazing cast members out there. The Beach Club is extremely luck to have three of them in Teena, Bruce and Roz (I swear that was her name...?). Hopefully Bruce and Roz are still there! We all know that thankfully Teena still is!

J

Great story!
We had a similar experience at Beaches & Cream last year. My DH and I were staying at YC for a work conference. It was also my DH's birthday weekend. As we arrive via DME, we were greeted by a CM who had a birthday button for my DH and our room keys. He escorted us to our room. We then went to B&C for a late lunch. We sat at the counter and were served by a wonderful CM named Maria. She did a whole birthday thing for my DH, including Disco Lights and a balloon (which we dragged all over MK that day!).
A few months later we were staying at BCV with our 3 children and having another lunch at B&C. Again Maria was our server. She was shocked to see us with 3 children because she assumed we were newlyweds on our previous visit! She really went above and beyond to make our visit memorable!

Amanda