2012 Beach and Yacht FAQ ~ March, April and May ~Do Not Post Here-Old Thread

[Mickey & Minnie Mom]

My family is arriving via car in early September (8-14) for our first trip to the BC. My questions is, is there a driveway/underpass near the entrace to do a bag drop and register? Or does one park in the parking area and walk with bags in hand to the lobby? Just don't won't to waste time nor energy once I get there before heading out to the pool with my girls. Any advice is appreciated.

Pull around the circle drive, under the cover and you will be able to unload your bags -- either bell services will help or you can do on your own if you prefer if you have more than one in your party to stay with bags while you go park. However, if you arrive early and your room is not ready, you may have to check bags with them anyway.

If bell services will be helping, the other member of your party could also go ahead and in get in line for check-in. You can call bell services then to have bags delivered to your room.

 

[natebenma]

Does someone have a picture of the front entrance, Port Chociere or whatever it is, they can post. Don't think I have one on Page 1.

Please forgive me if this has been asked/answered in an earlier post in this thread. I read the first fifty pages and didn't see it, so thought I would just sneak a post in here and ask.

My family is arriving via car in early September (8-14) for our first trip to the BC. My questions is, is there a driveway/underpass near the entrace to do a bag drop and register? Or does one park in the parking area and walk with bags in hand to the lobby? Just don't won't to waste time nor energy once I get there before heading out to the pool with my girls. Any advice is appreciated.

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list on Page 1.

Too funny! This question was asked and answered this morning, so if you had worked your way back, you might have found it.

Of course that was about 4 pages ago!

We are a pretty chatty and active group here!

Hi all!,

Hoping you great people can advise a newbie

We will be staying at the YC for our very first stay onsite in September. I'm really excited about it

We are booked in a garden view room ( Not CL) and will be driving. I'm also not planning to do online checkin, in case I want to request a room change.

I was just wondering what happens when you pull up to the entrance? I read somewhere that you have to stop at the entry gate?

We don't want to use valet parking, I'm assuming it will be OK to pull up at the door and unload bags, then DS and I can wait for DH to park the car? Is that right?

Also another quick question about rooms, I haven't done a request yet but I'm hoping to minimise our walk to the BC marketplace. Would our best choice be to request a room near the lobby?

TIA!

Andona

When you arrive, the person at the gate will verify you are a guest. You can drive up to the lobby doors and unload the car. You can wait (or even check in) while your husband parks the car. Not a problem. As far as room request, I would ask for something close to the lobby so as to minimize the walk. There are some rooms that can add an additional four to five minutes to the walk over to the Marketplace. If you get a gazebo view room on one side of the resort it can be a very quick walk to the lobby. A gazebo view room on the wrong side and you could be walking for a while. Don't do on-line check in so you can talk with someone when you check in and get moved closer to the lobby if needed. The door at the side near the boat dock (our secret entrance) would also be a way to reduce the walk over to the BC if you happen to be at that end of the resort. Don't forget this when you are looking at the room options when checking in.

 

[Feckless]

I love the wrenches! No worries. This is exactly why I like to talk it through on the Dis since I know I'll get different points-of-view and most likely get to look at it from a new angle.

When I worked out the ticket pricing, it was only $25 more to do 4 Days Parks + 1 Night of MNSSHP than to do 2 Days Parks + 2 Nights of MNSSHP. I was originally leaning toward the 4+1 but I couldn't imagine us getting to do all that we wanted in the MK on that first day since it "closes" at 7pm for the party -- which made me go back with the 2 Days + 2 Parties option. (We did the party last year and managed to get the then-4 year old to stay up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed until midnight. The nap earlier that day definitely included some sort of black magic.) If we did that this year, we'd do the first night as focusing on the rides and save the second party night for the Halloween stuff: parades, characters, etc.

Here's what our revised 4 Days Parks + 1 Party Itinerary looked like:

• Day 0: Earliest N/S flight from Chicago, Check-in at CR at Noon-ish. Head to MK, Lunch, Rides and Back to CR at 7PM.
• Day 1: Check into the lovely BC, Epcot, Swimming in the afternoon, Boardwalk in the P.M.
• Day 2: Walk to DHS, Lunch at 50's Prime Time. Boat back to BC / Boat to DHS / Starring Rolls and Fantasmic!, Walk back to BC.
• Day 3: Breakfast at Swalphin's Fresh Market; Swimming in A.M; Prerequisite nap, P.M. at MNSSHP
• Day 4: Walk to Epcot. Drink and eat plenty of bad things.
• Day 5: Swim, AKL - Lunch at Sanaa, Cry as we leave BC!

The first day is what had me worried most, which is why we're now leaning toward the 2 Days Parks + 2 Days. I'm worried that if we stuck with the itinerary above, barring any flight delays etc., we'd have roughly 6 hours minus time allotted for lunch. Although, if we did stick with the above 4+1 itinerary we could move Epcot which falls on Day 1 to Day 5 and it'd keep us in my husband's much required "Disney Feeling." Our return flight would be at 7:45pm. I just seem to love making things more confusing than necessary!

I'm still in the 4+1 camp. More Disney is better Disney! LOL I like the look of that Itinerary better.

 

[Feckless]

Posted Day 3 on Page 5 of my Trip Report!!! Lots of character pictures, none of me in a swimsuit. Win/win!!!

 

[sndral]

Could I be added to the guest list? Just called WDW and tidied up my room only bounceback that I booked on the day we left last December. It wasn't what I wanted when I booked it - as it was BC room only, but they turned it into a package adding deluxe dinning, kept my room discount, changed my dates and switched me from BC to YC - kool!

November 30 - Dec. 9, 2012, YC.

My son is worried that we won't get the totally awesome view we got last year and I'll be disappointed, but I reconnoitered all of YC last year and decided I'd be happy in any room that didn't look out on a parking lot - even way out by the quiet pool. It's that stroll into Epcot for the strawberry shortcake @ the land that has me hooked!

 

[Dadof3Darlings]

Thanks for the post Mickey & Minnie Mom!! Yes, please add me natebenma. My straight line thinking won't allow me to start at the end and work backward. Awesome thread!

 

[nannette]

Missoutandabout,

I'm still with the 2 nights MNSSHP... your dd is 5 nap time will be in order even ifs it out by the pool if the room isn't ready. As for the last day we always spend it at DTD, but AKL is our DVC home resort so I love that resort! Spending the last day there could be fun also having ate at Sanna I would recommend.

Again enjoy making the plans and remember whatever the plan is it will be fine after all you will be at Disney!!

~Nannette

 

[acpalmer]

The first day is what had me worried most, which is why we're now leaning toward the 2 Days Parks + 2 Days. I'm worried that if we stuck with the itinerary above, barring any flight delays etc., we'd have roughly 6 hours minus time allotted for lunch. Although, if we did stick with the above 4+1 itinerary we could move Epcot which falls on Day 1 to Day 5 and it'd keep us in my husband's much required "Disney Feeling." Our return flight would be at 7:45pm. I just seem to love making things more confusing than necessary!

I totally understand your concerns about the first day and I'm assuming your DD still naps well which is why you can plan that in. My children were completely done with naps at age 3 and definitely wanted no part of it at Disney, so the thought of a 5 year old napping is way out of my realm of experience!

However, the 2+2 itinerary is soooo much non-park time and I know that would be really hard for me and my family. What kind of cost are you looking at to do 2 parties and 3 park days so you can be in a park on that final day? There is so much time on that last day that I can't imagine not having some park time in there, regardless of which park you choose. I know the 3 park days wasn't in your original options, so I'm assuming it is way expensive, but it might be a good compromise if you can swing it.

 

[Missoutandabout]

...
I'm not helping, am I?

No. No you're not. I actually quite like your idea of AK on the last day. I'd scratch going to Epcot on our BC check-in day if we did that, do DTD that day and put AK in on our last day. Now I've gotta go off and think about that first day again...

Why oh why did my daughter suddenly pick this trip to say she wanted to ride It's a Small World, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and Space Ranger Spin?! This is the root cause of this whole planning debacle in the first place.

I really wish Southwest had an earlier flight out of Midway that first day. They seemed to have gotten rid of their 6:30am flight. With baggage fees and Disney, I'm not willing to fly on a "regular" airline.

I'm still in the 4+1 camp. More Disney is better Disney! LOL I like the look of that Itinerary better.

Too true. Now between you and Cinderumbrella, I'm waffling again.

Posted Day 3 on Page 5 of my Trip Report!!!

Oh, off to look now!

Missoutandabout,

I'm still with the 2 nights MNSSHP... your dd is 5 nap time will be in order even ifs it out by the pool if the room isn't ready. As for the last day we always spend it at DTD, but AKL is our DVC home resort so I love that resort! Spending the last day there could be fun also having ate at Sanna I would recommend.

Again enjoy making the plans and remember whatever the plan is it will be fine after all you will be at Disney!!

~Nannette

I'm still in the 2 + 2 camp with you but those other two are doing their best trying to lure me out.

 

[MickeyT]

Does someone have a picture of the front entrance, Port Chociere or whatever it is, they can post. Don't think I have one on Page 1.
!

Here ya go.
Night

Day

 

[outahere]

Ms. Mim Flynn
General Manager, Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort
1800 EPCOT Resort Boulevard
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830


Thanks for doing that- it really does have an impact!

I have to agree. After our stay at the YC last August I wrote to Ms. Flynn and expressed how happy we were with our stay and specifically wrote about three CMs (one is a Club Level CM) and what they did to make our trip more enjoyable. A few weeks later I received a very nice letter back from her thanking me for writing.

When we were there a few weeks ago, we stayed CL again and the CM I wrote about remembered us and thanked me several times for sending the letter.

Not sure if it is the same for WDW CMs, but I know for a fact that if Disney Cruise Line receives a glowing letter about a CM on one of the ships, that person is recognized at a department meeting and the letter goes into their personnel file.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

No. No you're not. I actually quite like your idea of AK on the last day. I'd scratch going to Epcot on our BC check-in day if we did that, do DTD that day and put AK in on our last day. Now I've gotta go off and think about that first day again...

Why oh why did my daughter suddenly pick this trip to say she wanted to ride It's a Small World, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and Space Ranger Spin?! This is the root cause of this whole planning debacle in the first place.



Too true. Now between you and Cinderumbrella, I'm waffling again.






I'm still in the 2 + 2 camp with you but those other two are doing their best trying to lure me out.

In the end, only you know what will work best for your family. Its easy to upgrade park tickets to add more days once you are there, but once you buy those MNSSHP, they are yours (no trades, no refunds).

Sorry about the early SW flights. For both my June and August trip, we are on the 6:15am (in fact, I had the 5:30 am booked for June until last week when they had that airfare sale and finally dropped the price to $75). My ILs are taking DS while my DH and I are in Maui in November, and they are planning to fly down on a Saturday just to get that early flight!

 

[Missoutandabout]

I totally understand your concerns about the first day and I'm assuming your DD still naps well which is why you can plan that in. My children were completely done with naps at age 3 and definitely wanted no part of it at Disney, so the thought of a 5 year old napping is way out of my realm of experience!

However, the 2+2 itinerary is soooo much non-park time and I know that would be really hard for me and my family. What kind of cost are you looking at to do 2 parties and 3 park days so you can be in a park on that final day? There is so much time on that last day that I can't imagine not having some park time in there, regardless of which park you choose. I know the 3 park days wasn't in your original options, so I'm assuming it is way expensive, but it might be a good compromise if you can swing it.

Oops. Replied before I saw your post. Oh YES regarding the nap. My kiddo hasn't napped since she was 2-ish so last year's pre-MNSSHP time was a strictly enforced "Nap or No Party" event.

We really, I mean REALLY love SAB. We happily spent lots of time there. Hence the plethora of downtime worked into that 2 + 2 itinerary. Also, walking back and forth to the Boardwalk, especially at night and for dinners. Despite all this craziness put into planning, we're really pretty laid back once we get there. Believe it or not.

The "sweet spot" for the tickets starts at 4 days, it seems. Those 3 Day tickets were actually working out to be more expensive than doing the 4 Days (via UCT). Wish it wasn't that way! 3 days of parks + the 2 parties would solved all of my planning insanity. Since I'm speaking of insanity, the perfectly ideal solution would be 4 Days Parks and 2 Days Party. If my husband ever read this, his eyes would assuredly roll right out of his head.

 

[kmermaid]

does anyone know what is the view catergory for the rooms that are along the back path at BC? I'm thinking they are garden view rather than standard view. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Cinderumbrella]

does anyone know what is the view catergory for the rooms that are along the back path at BC? I'm thinking they are garden view rather than standard view. Can anyone confirm?

I'm pretty sure those are GV.

 

[jcondrad]

does anyone know what is the view catergory for the rooms that are along the back path at BC? I'm thinking they are garden view rather than standard view. Can anyone confirm?

If you mean the ones along the back entrance, then yes Gv. We had a club level GV that was in the upper corner. When we looked down it was garden and the back entrance, but to the left was a nice view of the lake/boardwalk area.

 

[Missoutandabout]

...
Sorry about the early SW flights. ...

Maui in November sounds positively lovely.

I went back to look at the flights we caught last year and they were at 6:30am. *grumbles at Southwest* All this flight talk has got the hamster wheel turning again. I'm now looking at flying in late on the night before our CR 1-night stay and staying at All-Star Movies to be able to utilize ME. Then we could head over to CR via taxi first thing, drop off our bags and head off to MK well rested with no worries about flights getting delayed, etc. It'd then let us do the 4 Days + 1 Night of Party. My husband is going to keel over when he hears about this latest concoction...

 

[Grumpy Grandma]

Maui in November sounds positively lovely.

I went back to look at the flights we caught last year and they were at 6:30am. *grumbles at Southwest* All this flight talk has got the hamster wheel turning again. I'm now looking at flying in late on the night before our CR 1-night stay and staying at All-Star Movies to be able to utilize ME. Then we could head over to CR via taxi first thing, drop off our bags and head off to MK well rested with no worries about flights getting delayed, etc. It'd then let us do the 4 Days + 1 Night of Party. My husband is going to keel over when he hears about this latest concoction...

I think this is the best idea!!! But of course an extra night at WDW is always a good idea! Since I have to fly clear across the country lots of times I spend my first night at POP and then change resorts in the morning.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Maui in November sounds positively lovely.

I went back to look at the flights we caught last year and they were at 6:30am. *grumbles at Southwest* All this flight talk has got the hamster wheel turning again. I'm now looking at flying in late on the night before our CR 1-night stay and staying at All-Star Movies to be able to utilize ME. Then we could head over to CR via taxi first thing, drop off our bags and head off to MK well rested with no worries about flights getting delayed, etc. It'd then let us do the 4 Days + 1 Night of Party. My husband is going to keel over when he hears about this latest concoction...

But that would be 3 resorts in 3 days (But I am NOT a fan of split stays in general). We have flown in around 7pm, stayed at Pop and then taken a a taxi to our final resort the next AM.

 

[wishinon3stars]

I'm still in the 4+1 camp. More Disney is better Disney! LOL I like the look of that Itinerary better.

Me too, Me too! My vote is for the 4 + 1 trip!