2011 Yacht & Beach Club FAQ, Part II

[cindydare]

Can I tell you how excited I am that Fantasmic will be going on everyday of our trip!!!! I was trying to figure out how we could go and see it on the one day it was showing during our entire stay(well the one day we were entering parks!)...

Checking out my ticker, cause I'm so excited...

Thanks for the mapmyrun.com cause I just started wakling my normal route and always wondered how long it was...Last night I had to cut it short cause my stomache started to bother me...since I am still healing...I just hope I will be good by September. I'm up to about 2 miles a day but hurting by the end of it.

Update...I start my therapy at the end of the week...I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer and I really need a Disney Vacation at the YC with CL!!!! The Mastectomy with TRAM Flap procedure went great and looks very good...I'm very pleased, look like a new women I even cut off about 12 inches and sent it to Locks of Love...it will help make some kid with cancer very happy since it is extremely curly hair!!!

Thanks for the tip about turn down service...We don't have to request it right? They just automatically come in and do it?...I know you can request it when you are just staying as a non-CL guest. 83 more days...I just need to find a cute dark swimsuit to cover my scars so they don't get burned...

I was also so excited to see Fantasmic showing every night! There were only 2 shows during our September trip last year, and neither of the days worked out for us to be able to see it. Of course, the fact that we were all basically knocked out by 8:30 pm due to exaustion, had nothing to do with it.

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling great and healing well. Sending lots of happy thoughts your way for a continued speedy recovery!

Cindy

 

[jerseygal]

Jasmintiger...So wonderful that your mother had such a wonderful trip!
Sounds like your whole family had a blast!

Were you affected in any way by construction? Don't you just LOVE LOVE STORMALONG BAY???

Thanks Teena as always!!!!!!!!!

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

We just returned from our first stay at the Beach Club. It was a most memorable experience. We were there from 6/18 - 6/24/2011. Our crew consisted of me, DH, DD13, DD18 and my mom. Everything was perfect from start to finish. We arrived on Saturday at about 11:15 a.m. We were greeted downstairs by a wonderful CM who wisked us up th the 5th floor. To our surprise our room was ready. We were in room 5636. It was a perfect room, right down the end of the short hallway from the lounge. It was the last room on the hall so we only had neighbors on one side. The view was beautiful. It was a garden view. We were on one of the inner courtyards. We could see the volleyball courts and to the right we could see the lake and the Boardwalk. I was surprised our first night that we had an excellent view of the fireworks. The staff on the 5th floor was absolutely amazing. They were so friendly and helpful and always had a smile. I never found the lounge too crowded. There was always plenty of food. They did a good job of keeping it restocked. Anything that wasn't out there all you had to do was ask. They were very accomodating. One morning my husband was talking with several of the CM's. They were joking and talking and he said he wished they had grits in the morning instead of oatmeal. Well lo and behold they brought him a bowl of the most wonderful grits. And not just the one day but every day we were there. They would laugh when they saw him and say I am going to get your grits your highness. We were even surprised in our room one evening with chocolate covered strawberries.

I was nervous about having 3 adults and two teenagers in the room but we were fine. The room was very spacious. The day bed was nice for extra seating. We never felt we were on top of each other. We had a full size balcony which was a nice extension of the room. Our room was very clean when we arrived and it stayed that way the entire time. Mousekeeping did a great job everyday. When we arrived the CM who checked us in asked us what time we would like our room cleaned each day. I think we had 3 choices, 9-12, 12-2, 2-4. I thought that was neat. We picked the early cleaning and our room was done every day when we came back for our break. Our first day I noticed our refrigerator wasn't getting cold. They came up and fixed it right away.

I was also nervous about staying at the Beach Club. We had stayed at the YC before and loved it. Right up until the time we left I tried to switch to the YC. I am so glad I was not able to. I love, love love the BC. We are now BC converts. Oh and thanks everyone for the heads up about the side entance for 1501. We used it all the time.

The pool was great, never over crowded at all. No matter what time of day we went down we were always able to find chairs and even chairs in the shade. I miss my lazy river. I left our noodles at the desk and asked them to please pass them on to some nice family that could use them.

We had the funniest neighbor to our right. She seemed to be an older lady and she would sit on her balcony and just sing and sing and sing. I never recognized any of the songs but she just sat there and sang most of the time. It was very endearing. My girls got an eyeful one morning as they were sitting on the balcony and a man walked in front of his open window naked.

Every CM we encountered in the resort and in the parks were super. Never encountered a rude guest. Saw a few melt downs with parents and kids but that is to be expected.

All in all this was a fantastic week. My mom had a blast which is the most important thing. This was her first vacation since my dad passed away. It was wonderful being with family.

Thank you for that upbeat trip report. It made my day! Can't wait for our trip in about a month....


To all of you facing health problems, please accept my best wishes an Pixie Dust!

 

[Jasminetigger]

Jasmintiger...So wonderful that your mother had such a wonderful trip!
Sounds like your whole family had a blast!

Were you affected in any way by construction? Don't you just LOVE LOVE STORMALONG BAY???

Thanks Teena as always!!!!!!!!!

Construction didn't really bother us at all. It was noticeable but not bothersome. The most noticeable was when they were working at the main entrance/exit that leads out to the back to go to the dock, Epcot, pool. Most days that entrance was blocked off and you had to use the doors around the corner past Cape May Cafe. I didn't really think it was an issue though. I thought the noise was kept at a minimum and it never really inconvenienced us. Heck we were having too much fun. And yes that pool is so awesome!

 

[creativeamanda]

As others have stated, we were not bothered by construction. Most of it wa@ over by the Epcot secret entrance, but we never heard noise. A couple of times we had to find an alternate route near the quiet pool, but it was never much of a problem. It was noyiceable, but not problematic for us.

 

[Kelly in NY]

oh man, just checked the disney website for the heck of it and there are no rooms available at all for our dates in two weeks. does that mean BC is sold out? I hope this isn't a sign that it is going to be super crowded...and it makes me a little nervous being that our flight doesn't land until 8pm and we are taking ME to the hotel. Can anyone reassure me that we will be ok??? LOL I can't wait to get there and the two weeks leading up to vacation are always so stressful to me!

 

[Marlton Mom]

As of Monday, outside rehab (siding) is still in progress at the Beach Club. The Villas was completed last year. When the BC is done, they move over to the YC. No idea when BC will be done. Actual work is done between 9 AM and 5 PM only. Marlton Mom and a few others were just there and can tell you how it affected their stay if that will ease your mind any.

And thanks ... I'm doing much better. Can't wait until I can get back in the sun -- beginning of August is the time they gave me to be able to "live normally again".

Awesome news about getting your life back on track Teena!

As far as construction is concerned the secret 1501 entrance was never blocked off from June 10th to the 20th. They were working at the next secret entrance down on that side which is where the secret small laundry room is located (1532). That exit was open as well but that's where the work was taking place on that end of the resort.

They had just moved to blocking off and redirecting traffic from the main lobby exit to Storm Along Bay.

To be truthful, the friendship boat docks are located on a straight shot from the Yacht Club lobby rear exit, so you are better off hoofing it through as much of the AC in the hotel as you can, if you are going to the boat dock.

You can only go so far indoors in the Beach Club until you must exit outside (In the rear, not the front) and cross over an outdoor porch, (past Beaches and Cream, the Spa and the gym and the arcade), to get back indoors to the Yacht Club. From what I can tell there was no direct indoor access between the two hotels!

There are a couple of pool access points in the rear of the BC and actually the one that they are making you use now because of construction is CLOSER than hoofing it out the back to the lake pathway and then back down the path on the other side of the bushes to the pool!

Did you follow that?

Perhaps we should ask Paul Noodle to explain?

On second thought maybe not.

So the bottom line is this.

The construction is causing certain areas to be blocked off, but once you figure out the overall layout of the hotel, you'll discover that the blocks are really 6 of one, half a dozen with the other as far as making you use a different access point...... Which is to say that the next access point is so close, that in the big scheme of things, it really doesn't matter, and in fact it may even lead you to a more convenient access point that you wouldn't have considered otherwise.

Stop worrying about construction y'all! You'll be to BusyHotTired to care!

~ Marlton Mom

 

[Marlton Mom]

oh man, just checked the disney website for the heck of it and there are no rooms available at all for our dates in two weeks. does that mean BC is sold out? I hope this isn't a sign that it is going to be super crowded...and it makes me a little nervous being that our flight doesn't land until 8pm and we are taking ME to the hotel. Can anyone reassure me that we will be ok??? LOL I can't wait to get there and the two weeks leading up to vacation are always so stressful to me!

You'll be fine! The hotel was booked up when we were there and it didn't feel like it at all, anywhere, like at the restaurants, pool, marketplace etc. Even with the boats we got on with out having a crowd to deal with at our dock.

~MM

 

[Kelly in NY]

thanks MM, in our situation with getting in late would you do online check in or not?? We have booked a SV room, and full balcony is our only request. I was just really hoping not to get one of those SV rooms that is right on the roof. parking lot, shingled roof ok, but something that resembles tar beach in NYC not so much, KWIM?? LOL But I guess its the chance we take booking SV AND arriving late. Hey what ever it is, we'll just have to make the best of it since we will be in disney AND at BC right??

 

[Feckless]

SO excited! DH less so when he saw the price. LOL

We are going May 1st to 11th, 2012. Trying to get DH's cousin and family to come along and overlap part of the stay, but even if they don't, it will ROCK.




Can you tell I'm excited???

Can someone tell me how to get a cool Beach Club or Disney ticker???

Thanks! Let the planning begin!

Melanie

 

[natebenma]

Can someone tell me how to get a cool Beach Club or Disney ticker???

Congrats on booking your trip!

There are a few different "ticker sites". What I do is find one that somebody has that I like, and I click on the actual ticker in the poster's signature. This should take you to the site where you can customize your own ticker.

HTH

 

[Marlton Mom]

thanks MM, in our situation with getting in late would you do online check in or not?? We have booked a SV room, and full balcony is our only request. I was just really hoping not to get one of those SV rooms that is right on the roof. parking lot, shingled roof ok, but something that resembles tar beach in NYC not so much, KWIM?? LOL But I guess its the chance we take booking SV AND arriving late. Hey what ever it is, we'll just have to make the best of it since we will be in disney AND at BC right??

Don't check in online. Wait until you get to the resort and grill the front desk person about where your room is and whether it has a balcony. If it doesn't then you can always ask them to try again to get it right.

I had a garden view (rm. 4532) which consisted of a massive tree top about 3 feet from the balcony. To say that we didn't need to shut the curtains was an understatement, and I kept looking for Tarzan or Jane to swing by in the trees.

I am jealous to hear that there was male nudity on parade in another area of the resort. I think the BC should consider adding that category to the room classifications, but only if the nudity involved was with a Matthew McConaughey impersonator.

~MM
PS. If it was a Matthew McConaughey impersonator I can imagine (most of) us all sitting on the balcony across from the room screaming "open the curtains, OPEN the Curtains!!!!"

 

[creativeamanda]

I am jealous to hear that there was male nudity on parade in another area of the resort. I think the BC should consider adding that category to the room classifications, but only if the nudity involved was with a Matthew McConaughey impersonator.

~MM
PS. If it was a Matthew McConaughey impersonator I can imagine (most of) us all sitting on the balcony across from the room screaming "open the curtains, OPEN the Curtains!!!!"

Oh, dear me. I knew I'd get a good chuckle from Marlton Mom today. . .

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We just returned from our first stay at the Beach Club. It was a most memorable experience. We were there from 6/18 - 6/24/2011. Our crew consisted of me, DH, DD13, DD18 and my mom. Everything was perfect from start to finish. We arrived on Saturday at about 11:15 a.m. We were greeted downstairs by a wonderful CM who wisked us up th the 5th floor. To our surprise our room was ready. We were in room 5636. It was a perfect room, right down the end of the short hallway from the lounge. It was the last room on the hall so we only had neighbors on one side. The view was beautiful. It was a garden view. We were on one of the inner courtyards. We could see the volleyball courts and to the right we could see the lake and the Boardwalk. I was surprised our first night that we had an excellent view of the fireworks. The staff on the 5th floor was absolutely amazing. They were so friendly and helpful and always had a smile. I never found the lounge too crowded. There was always plenty of food. They did a good job of keeping it restocked. Anything that wasn't out there all you had to do was ask. They were very accomodating. One morning my husband was talking with several of the CM's. They were joking and talking and he said he wished they had grits in the morning instead of oatmeal. Well lo and behold they brought him a bowl of the most wonderful grits. And not just the one day but every day we were there. They would laugh when they saw him and say I am going to get your grits your highness. We were even surprised in our room one evening with chocolate covered strawberries.

I was nervous about having 3 adults and two teenagers in the room but we were fine. The room was very spacious. The day bed was nice for extra seating. We never felt we were on top of each other. We had a full size balcony which was a nice extension of the room. Our room was very clean when we arrived and it stayed that way the entire time. Mousekeeping did a great job everyday. When we arrived the CM who checked us in asked us what time we would like our room cleaned each day. I think we had 3 choices, 9-12, 12-2, 2-4. I thought that was neat. We picked the early cleaning and our room was done every day when we came back for our break. Our first day I noticed our refrigerator wasn't getting cold. They came up and fixed it right away.

I was also nervous about staying at the Beach Club. We had stayed at the YC before and loved it. Right up until the time we left I tried to switch to the YC. I am so glad I was not able to. I love, love love the BC. We are now BC converts. Oh and thanks everyone for the heads up about the side entance for 1501. We used it all the time.

The pool was great, never over crowded at all. No matter what time of day we went down we were always able to find chairs and even chairs in the shade. I miss my lazy river. I left our noodles at the desk and asked them to please pass them on to some nice family that could use them.

We had the funniest neighbor to our right. She seemed to be an older lady and she would sit on her balcony and just sing and sing and sing. I never recognized any of the songs but she just sat there and sang most of the time. It was very endearing. My girls got an eyeful one morning as they were sitting on the balcony and a man walked in front of his open window naked.

Every CM we encountered in the resort and in the parks were super. Never encountered a rude guest. Saw a few melt downs with parents and kids but that is to be expected.

All in all this was a fantastic week. My mom had a blast which is the most important thing. This was her first vacation since my dad passed away. It was wonderful being with family.

Thanks for posting that great view and it's great you enjoyed it because at the end of August my family and I are having our first Club Level stay at the Beach Club, so it's nice reading a recent positive review about it.

 

[always]

I spent some time this evening working on our trip spreadsheet tonight and as of right now there are no evening EMH on July 30th. Does anyone know if the Beach Club quiet pool has a hot tub? I'd like to soak my feet when we get back and I doubt SAB will be open. I can see a hot tub for the Yacht Club quiet pool on the first page but I'm not sure if there is one just out of the frame at the BC.

Anyone know?

 

[creativeamanda]

I spent some time this evening working on our trip spreadsheet tonight and as of right now there are no evening EMH on July 30th. Does anyone know if the Beach Club quiet pool has a hot tub? I'd like to soak my feet when we get back and I doubt SAB will be open. I can see a hot tub for the Yacht Club quiet pool on the first page but I'm not sure if there is one just out of the frame at the BC.

Anyone know?

The BC quiet pool does have a hot tub.

My kids said it was wonderful on their tired feet.

 

[Wigit12]

Great advice!!! I have one question though and not sure if you will know the answer. This is our first stay in in a villa through DVC. I know they dont' clean everyday which is fine. I have a 1BR b/c I need the washer/dryer. My son is a bed wetter. I am taking a rubber protection shield to help keep the pull-out sofa bed dry. I was wondering when can I ask for extras sheets for that sofa b/c I know I will be washing sheets and I know I will need extra. Do I do this at check-in???I did on-line check in so I am not sure how to get more???
Thanks,
Tracy

Family had two kids having flu issues and housekeeping at no problem giving them an extra set of sheets "just-in-case".

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Jasminetigger - great to hear of your magical stay!

We had the same room (5636) in 2008!

 

[Jasminetigger]

Jasminetigger - great to hear of your magical stay!

We had the same room (5636) in 2008!

We loved the room. It was so beautiful sitting on the balcony. We saw lots of bunnies and birds in the courtyard below. There was several conventions while we were there and it was fun to watch their volleyball games. I want to personally thank you. You replied to many of my posts about being nervous about the Bach Club over the Yacht Club and also having 5 in a room. Well we absolutely loved loved the BC. My mom was just totally amazed at the wonderful service we received. And five in the room wasn't even an issue.

Hope you have a wonderful time on your upcoming trip!

 

[RachaelRol]

I'm sorry I keep whining about this, but I m getting increasingly "worried" about my standard view. I really don't want to look out at the rooftop from my room at night.

I know it is awful to worry about this, especially when there are real problems to worry about, espeically for those of you who are battling an illness or recently lost a loved one.

There is a club level- lagoon view at Beach Club available, but I had my heart set at staying on the YC side an I would have been ok with a garden view.

Are there only a handful of club level YC garden view or lagoon view rooms? I also want a full balcony which increases by hesitation of switching to BC side.

TIA for any advice.

PS: I am okay with a "Snap of it, you're going to Disney, staying at the Yacht Club and club level. Enjoy the parking lot."

Rachael