2012/2013 Beach and Yacht FAQ- Closing Soon- New Thread Started- Don't Post Here

[Ninja Mom]

A question then??!! Do most people opt not to do the dining plan when staying club level?

As a dining plan veteran, (deluxe plan and 1 table service/1 counter service plan) I can say that it was cheaper for us to ditch the dining plan simply based on the fact that we were paying for food that we couldn't eat due to being so full all the time. This was not even staying at Club level yet. 2 table service meals are too much, especially when it's warm out and it takes up way too much time.

For our last trip I decided that we would do one table service a day, at lunch and then see about a counter service for dinner. For breakfast I was planning on running over to the bakery at the boardwalk and getting stuff there for breakfast or shopping at the Market.

We got bumped up to Club level so breakfast was taken care of, we had ADR for a table service lunch and then everybody would just pick at night between the CL appetizers the CL desserts and a counter service meal for dinner if some one was exceptionally hungry after that (rarely). There were also some snacks in the park at night (a bag of pretzel bread mysteriously liberated from the buffet in Germany comes to mind )

What worked for us was the great CL breakfast, the big table service lunch and then leaving it up to the individual as to what they wanted to eat after that.

We saved so much time and I saw a lot less wasted food. When we got home DH ran the numbers and calculated that the $$$ that we would have spent on snacks, Table/Counter service meals and beverages was more than we would have spent on Club Level for 5 people.

Another thing I liked was that the boys would wait to get back to club level to get their drinks and snacks (as opposed to spending $$ in the parks) because they couldn't wait to see what was being offered next they loved it so much.

So there ya have it.

~NM

 

[natebenma]

A question then??!! Do most people opt not to do the dining plan when staying club level?

Some do, some don't.

I would never do the Deluxe Dining Plan along with club level. Actually, I would never do the DxDP again, period. Been there. Done that. Have the Tshirt, but it no longer fits!

I love the combination of Club Level with the regular dining plan- breakfast is covered, an early counter service lunch in the parks or Hurricane Hanna's and then a sitdown dinner.

BUT, I am coming around to the idea that you don't need the dining plan with club level with creative ordering and food management. Portions at Disney are so large that even my family could get by with sharing an entree or dessert, or perhaps ordering an appetizer or salad as a meal.

 

[MickeyT]

And to add my $.02....Some folks like to have their meals prepaid. We just get a Disney gift card and put the amount that we would have spent on the dining plan on that. That way if we want dessert and an appetizer we get that. Sometimes an appetizer as a meal. My choice. Not Disney's.

Then if we have $$$$$ left at the end of the trip, souveniers! (Or Grey Goose Slushies!)

 

[deebeck]

Thanks all for the great suggestions. I may keep watching for our favorite restaurant ('Ohana) to open up. We will investigate the Boardwalk places.
Hope you all were able to recover from the storm. The pics are amazing... Can't believe you got that much snow.
stay safe.
di

 

[natebenma]

I need a drink!!!



More specifically, I need a picture of a drink, one of the specialty drinks, from the new Hurricane Hanna's menu to add to the front page. I have some beautiful pictures of the Sunken Treasure, so I am looking for something different.

It's a tough assignment, but I'm sure someone is willing to make the sacrifice in the name of research.

TIA!

 

[natebenma]

What are the hours (for food service) at Hurricane Hanna's? Are they mirroring the pool hours? Are there set hours? Just how late can I get lobster roll or burger? Just thinking about if I want to utilize HH for a QS meal when we are around the resort.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos or autocorrects!

I think someone replied to this (pixarmom? ALMinVA? someone else?), but I can't find that post at the moment.

According to this sign, there are set hours, however I wouldn't be surprised if those are merely "guidelines". If people experience hours that are different (expanded) from these, particularly in the summer, please report back.

Thanks!!!

.

 

[2mom]

Are the rooms with a daybed bigger at the yacht club?

 

[Debrn]

I think someone replied to this (pixarmom? ALMinVA? someone else?), but I can't find that post at the moment.

According to this sign, there are set hours, however I wouldn't be surprised if those are merely "guidelines". If people experience hours that are different (expanded) from these, particularly in the summer, please report back.

Thanks!!!

.

Love Dr. Loosen wish they had that CL

 

[natebenma]

Are the rooms with a daybed bigger at the yacht club?

Bigger than regular rooms? Or bigger than rooms at the Beach Club?

The only thing I know is that some of the rooms at both the YC and BC have different layouts and maybe slight size differences. Some rooms will fit a rollaway comfortably and others will not, either due to size or configuration.

 

[333disneymom]

And to add my $.02....Some folks like to have their meals prepaid. We just get a Disney gift card and put the amount that we would have spent on the dining plan on that. That way if we want dessert and an appetizer we get that. Sometimes an appetizer as a meal. My choice. Not Disney's.

Then if we have $$$$$ left at the end of the trip, souveniers! (Or Grey Goose Slushies!)

I might try this for our next trip. We do a handful of character meals though, and with little ones under 9, we might still benefit from the dining plan. Might try the gift card for our AKL stay and then do DDP for our BCV stay. Decisions, decisions.... I think either way though, I need to try the Grey Goose slushies

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

There are some good pictures of alcoholic drinks here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1183926

You may be able to find some pictures from the universal bar menu that are available at HH.

 

[natebenma]

There are some good pictures of alcoholic drinks here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1183926

You may be able to find some pictures from the universal bar menu that are available at HH.

Thanks so much for the link and the suggestion! I'll check out the pictures.

The only thing is that I like to have permission from the photographer before I add a picture to the front page. I believe that all of the photos I have posted are either mine, or have been generously provided by friends who have posted here.

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

Thanks so much for the link and the suggestion! I'll check out the pictures.

The only thing is that I like to have permission from the photographer before I add a picture to the front page. I believe that all of the photos I have posted are either mine, or have been generously provided by friends who have posted here.

Yep, I've done that as well and just sent a PM to the poster and 99% of the time they don't have a problem at all.

 

[natebenma]

Could you add us please? DH and I are staying YC Club Level 8/23 - 9/1.

And does anyone know if IPO/Club Level staff still email about 90 days in advance of your trip?

You bet!!!



Not sure if there is an exact set time for IPO to contact you, either 90 days out, or shortly after you have booked your trip.

Will you be asking them to help you with any reservations?

Even if the answer is no, it may be a good idea for you to send them an email.

Here is an email address you can use.

Yacht.Beach.Club.Itinerary.Planning@disneyworld.com;

Natebenma

Sorry to change BOG again but...

My BFF ( our girls are too) is staying at AKL 1st part of our trip she just booked last week, and offered me points, so since I've always wanted to try AK and this was an amazing deal we are doing a split
AKV studio savanna view' then heading to YC CL 3/1-3/5

Not a problem at all!!! Sounds like an offer you couldn't refuse.



How are you all feeling? School back in session yet? My boys returned today.

Well I caved to the peer pressure and changed our standard room to a club level room and dropped the dining plan. Really looking forward to not feeling forced to spend tons of time at sit down restaurants!! Only about 50 days.

Awesome!!! I'll make the adjustment to your listing

Is Hurricane Hannahs open yet? What about the health club. We were at the BC in October and they were closed. We are staying at the Yacht Club in May, and I am just wondering if construction is finished yet.

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest for May.

(jumping jacks for the health conscious)

Yes, health club and HH are both open.

Pixarmom posted HH photos.

I have a few photos, plus a link to more photos on Page 1, the Ameneties post.

.

 

[hiwaygal]

You bet!!!



Not sure if there is an exact set time for IPO to contact you, either 90 days out, or shortly after you have booked your trip.

Will you be asking them to help you with any reservations?

Even if the answer is no, it may be a good idea for you to send them an email.

Here is an email address you can use.

Yacht.Beach.Club.Itinerary.Planning@disneyworld.com;

Thanks!

Yes I will probably get them to do all our reservations, as soon as I figure out what/when I want them. We also want their assistance with renting a car on property to get us to Legoland. Thanks for the email addy too!


And to whoever wanted to try the Grey Goose slush, have you had the Grand Marnier one??? I'm soooooooo excited to get another one of those!

 

[magicalmoments4]

As a dining plan veteran, (deluxe plan and 1 table service/1 counter service plan) I can say that it was cheaper for us to ditch the dining plan simply based on the fact that we were paying for food that we couldn't eat due to being so full all the time. This was not even staying at Club level yet. 2 table service meals are too much, especially when it's warm out and it takes up way too much time.

For our last trip I decided that we would do one table service a day, at lunch and then see about a counter service for dinner. For breakfast I was planning on running over to the bakery at the boardwalk and getting stuff there for breakfast or shopping at the Market.

We got bumped up to Club level so breakfast was taken care of, we had ADR for a table service lunch and then everybody would just pick at night between the CL appetizers the CL desserts and a counter service meal for dinner if some one was exceptionally hungry after that (rarely). There were also some snacks in the park at night (a bag of pretzel bread mysteriously liberated from the buffet in Germany comes to mind )

What worked for us was the great CL breakfast, the big table service lunch and then leaving it up to the individual as to what they wanted to eat after that.

We saved so much time and I saw a lot less wasted food. When we got home DH ran the numbers and calculated that the $$$ that we would have spent on snacks, Table/Counter service meals and beverages was more than we would have spent on Club Level for 5 people.

Another thing I liked was that the boys would wait to get back to club level to get their drinks and snacks (as opposed to spending $$ in the parks) because they couldn't wait to see what was being offered next they loved it so much.

So there ya have it.

~NM

Some do, some don't.

I would never do the Deluxe Dining Plan along with club level. Actually, I would never do the DDP again, period. Been there. Done that. Have the Tshirt, but it no longer fits!

I love the combination of Club Level with the regular dining plan- breakfast is covered, an early counter service lunch in the parks or Hurricane Hanna's and then a sitdown dinner.

BUT, I am coming around to the idea that you don't need the dining plan with club level with creative ordering and food management. Portions at Disney are so large that even my family could get by with sharing an entree or dessert, or perhaps ordering an appetizer or salad as a meal.

And to add my $.02....Some folks like to have their meals prepaid. We just get a Disney gift card and put the amount that we would have spent on the dining plan on that. That way if we want dessert and an appetizer we get that. Sometimes an appetizer as a meal. My choice. Not Disney's.

Then if we have $$$$$ left at the end of the trip, souveniers! (Or Grey Goose Slushies!)

Thanks NinjaMom, natebenma and MickeyT for your $.02!!! That is exactly what I was looking for

Now, I will go back and work numbers w/o DDP and w/ DDP. I have reservations doing DDP because my DD (will be 8) is not a big eater, so a lot of times she will share with my DH (they are both vanilla kinds of people) and my DS and I are both chocolate!!

 

[mom_of_2]

And to add my $.02....Some folks like to have their meals prepaid. We just get a Disney gift card and put the amount that we would have spent on the dining plan on that. That way if we want dessert and an appetizer we get that. Sometimes an appetizer as a meal. My choice. Not Disney's.

Then if we have $$$$$ left at the end of the trip, souveniers! (Or Grey Goose Slushies!)

I keep hearing about these slushing and definitely want to try them...but where can you get them?

 

[Missyrose]

I keep hearing about these slushing and definitely want to try them...but where can you get them?

There's a stand across from Le Chefs de France in the World Showcase.

 

[DisneyLifeMel]

Quick Gift Card Tip: When buying lots of gift cards (for Disney or holidays) I like to get them from Kroger (a local supermarket) because when I get gift cards from them, I get double and sometimes triple rewards points for gas. Those points add up fast and come in very handy with a road trip to Disney in the works.

I know that my son's marching band uses gift card sales as a fundraiser, and Disney is usually on the list of cards offered. You can always check to see if local groups in your area offer this. Helps you ~ helps some one else. Yay!

 

[MickeyT]

There's a stand across from Le Chefs de France in the World Showcase.

And my wife actually loves the Gran Marnier Slushie. An orange concoction from the same stand. Way too close to the Beach Club!