2013/2014 Beach and Yacht FAQ, Fun & Friends ~ Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec & Jan ~

[A&MsMommy]

Awesome, thank you!! We can't wait!!!

Yes that happened July and August. Have fun!

~N

 

[Deb123]

I just returned late last night from my first Beach Club stay. It was wonderful. We booked Standard view and had an amazing view from our room 4577 of a courtyard and the Atlantic Dance Hall as well as the Dolphin hotel. We had 5 in the room. 4 adults and a 17 year old and the room was great. The only issue was the refrigerator. It froze everything solid. The adjustment knobs must be on the back of the fridge. I did ask for maintenance to look at it. The front desk did give us a room credit for the food that was ruined. Very nice of them to do.

The beds were super comfy and the daybed was also very comfortable.

I hope to be able to stay here again. We took advantage of the travel agent group booking and got a nice rate. Hopefully trip # 18 to Disney we can return to the Beach Club. Trip #17 It will be a new hotel also. I will be chaperoning a high school group and we are at Pop Century. Just 3 more resorts and I will have stayed at them all.

So glad you had a great trip! We are trying to stay at all the resorts this yr as well. Venturing out of our comfort zone and have a trip booked at Carribean Beach in Dec and Saratoga Springs in Jan. Our fav has always been BC, but they are not available on both trips for our dates. Hoping for the best, though! After those stays, we will only have Ft. Wilderness Cabins, Bay Lake, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian. We are more Epcot people-that's why we LOVE the BC!

 

[YCFAN]

Adding more information....we booked a Water View, club level room. We would prefer to be away from the elevators, but a quick walk to Epcot would be nice. Near the club would be nice also I guess. We definitley need a Q/Q room because we are a family of 4. Are there different balconies on the 5th floor? How about a "better" water view request? Thanks for your suggestions! mmkenn

The club lounge is near the elevator so a request to not be near the elevator but near the lounge really couldn't happen. I will say though that I've never had an issue with hearing the elevator in a water view room even if it was near the lounge.

 

[dreamseeker9]

I'm wondering what the seasoned BC/YC posters consider the pros and cons of each resort for adults with no children? I'm trying to decide between the 2 for next October. I'll likely have 4 adults in my room (myself included).

BC's bright colors appeal to me, but the YC looks very dark. Also, it seems like the YC is further away from all parks but DHS, is that correct? We will likely be walking to EPCOT for the F&WF.

However, I've read that the YC is better suited for adults - why is that? I do like that every room at the YC has a balcony, unlike BC where only some rooms have a balcony with 2 chairs.

The prices are the same for both resorts (as of right now, anyway).

Thanks for any advice!

 

[YCFAN]

I'm wondering what the seasoned BC/YC posters consider the pros and cons of each resort for adults with no children? I'm trying to decide between the 2 for next October. I'll likely have 4 adults in my room (myself included). BC's bright colors appeal to me, but the YC looks very dark. Also, it seems like the YC is further away from all parks but DHS, is that correct? We will likely be walking to EPCOT for the F&WF. However, I've read that the YC is better suited for adults - why is that? I do like that every room at the YC has a balcony, unlike BC where only some rooms have a balcony with 2 chairs. The prices are the same for both resorts (as of right now, anyway). Thanks for any advice!

The lobby is only darker at YC due to the hardwoods and lower ceiling. The rooms themselves are actually lighter. White duvets and white beds with ship wheels in the headboards. The headboards at BC are dark wood.

Full balconies is foremost. I like the water views better. Crew's Cup Lounge is better in my opinion. Closer to marina. First stop for bus, loading and unloading.
Lobby is quieter due to Cape May buffet traffic. I love both but prefer YC. If you are a big food court/counter service person though, the Marketplace at BC may be suited better for you. It just depends on what you are looking for. The walk to Epcot is only a couple minutes more if that.

 

[Miked0292]

Adding more information....we booked a Water View, club level room. We would prefer to be away from the elevators, but a quick walk to Epcot would be nice. Near the club would be nice also I guess. We definitley need a Q/Q room because we are a family of 4.

Are there different balconies on the 5th floor? How about a "better" water view request?

Thanks for your suggestions!

mmkenn

To start with your first question , if you are going to be there when possibly busy i would request to be a little futher away from club, because if it is busy and you do no want an wake up call from the people walking past your room at 7-8am every day, i would be asked to be put by the pool view, wish can put upi a hallway length away from then club, we always seem to stick to the standard view wish personally I like, because if you are in the room at the right time, you can see the MK fireworks, we have seen this happen the few times we were in the room at that time, plus then you can get an amazing view on the Spaceship Earth.

 

[scottmel]

I'm wondering what the seasoned BC/YC posters consider the pros and cons of each resort for adults with no children? I'm trying to decide between the 2 for next October. I'll likely have 4 adults in my room (myself included).

BC's bright colors appeal to me, but the YC looks very dark. Also, it seems like the YC is further away from all parks but DHS, is that correct? We will likely be walking to EPCOT for the F&WF.

However, I've read that the YC is better suited for adults - why is that? I do like that every room at the YC has a balcony, unlike BC where only some rooms have a balcony with 2 chairs.

The prices are the same for both resorts (as of right now, anyway).

Thanks for any advice!

Have stayed at both. We prefer YC. If balcony is at all important to you, why risk it? STay YC. Same resort really....I like décor of YC better. Those that say BC is closer....we are talking STEPS....nothing I would personally make a choice based on....Can't go wrong either

 

[Nicnic]

Hi from the beach Club.
Sorry it's been days since I last posted who we had arrived, we've been hitting the parks hard!

So here is an update on our last few days:

Thursday was our first full day and we started off with breakfast at 8am at Cape May. we arrived a bit early as we had been up since 5:30!! but got straight in.
DD2 did not like the characters at all, she screamed and hid under the table!
Breakfast was lovely and filling. We headed out for Epcot and had FP+ for Soarin. I rode with DD10 first then DH went with her. By 9:30am all the FP's were gone and the stand by was 70min!!!
Next we did living land then picked up our PP+ card.
Then TT, FP's were gone again by 10:30 and wait was 40mins, again DD10 and me then DH. It was our first time on the new TT and I thought it was just ok.
I had the character spot booked next but as DD2 was not into the characters I decided against it.
We just headed round the world after that and back to the hotel for a swim, but it was coooold.
We had dinner reservations at PH tonight. The bus getting there was about 15mins full bus and had to stand but coming back was 40!!!
Off to bed by 9:30 DD2 had fell asleep at DTD and stayed asleep all the way home, luckily the bus was empty and we had a seat.

Friday was DHS, we got there just after 8 and by the time we got to TTM the FP time was late evening and wait was 45mins. We had FP+ for after breakfast so we just headed to muppets then round to H&V, a bit early but got straight in.
Breakfast was ok, DD2 was excited to see OsO but when he came to our table she was under it!!
After breakfast we waited for our FP for playhouse disney, glad we had this as the show we were in had to close the line off as it was full in seconds.
Ariel show was an hour wait so we left that for another day. RnRC was 30-40 mins throughout the day so again we left that. We had FP+ for ToT but this seemed to be a long line, a lot quicker than the 60min wait tho.
We've noticed that the crowds this year are busier than last time we were here, the wait times some people are doing is crazy.
We did our FP+ for TsM then star tours a couple of times.
It was warmer today so we headed back to the pool. DD10 is loving the pool activities.
We ate at HH for a quick burger then into Epcot and went on Nemo, crush then I went back to the room with a sleeping DD2 whilst DH and other DD watched the movie on the beach, Hocus Pocus.
Forgot to say we can see the fireworks from our room!
Bed again by 9:30!

Will post the other days soon, getting ready now to have dinner at 'Ohana. We picked our car up today from the Dolphin, very easy and Valet even put the car seat in for us.

Does anyone know how long the car ride should be to the Poly as sat nab says 40mins!?

Thanks for following.

Any questions I will try my best to answer.

X

 

[bas71873]

Laundry. I know it's $2.00/load but do the machines take "money" or am I going to have to get some special coin or card? I feel like I've recently read that somewhere but I could be wrong. I searched and could not find the answer....

 

[HBGdancermom]

SNOW?!?!? Only kind of snow I want to see anytime soon is what might fly at the Osborne Lights on November 8th!

Two. More. Sleeps.

Have a great trip!!!!

Ok, I am going to ask everyone for some positive thoughts and prayers for my daughter, Suzy today. She is having a biopsy this morning, has battled breast cancer for the past 3 years, and we need a good outcome on the lump they found last week. She is finally able to join us on our family trip in a few weeks and we want her with us!!! She is living in Alaska, but moving to Tn in just 2 weeks. Please say a small prayer for her. Thank you everyone!!!

Will do!

Two more days!!!

I can't wait 'till Wednesdays before our 11 day blast! I still need to pack our suitcases but since I have today and tomorrow off, I have plenty of time.

YEAH!!! Tomorrow!!!

Just finished packing!

We fly out bright and early at 8am tomorrow for our first stay at BC and our first MNSSHP!!

SO EXCITED!!!!!

Woohoo!!!! Have a great trip!

I just returned late last night from my first Beach Club stay. It was wonderful. We booked Standard view and had an amazing view from our room 4577 of a courtyard and the Atlantic Dance Hall as well as the Dolphin hotel. We had 5 in the room. 4 adults and a 17 year old and the room was great. The only issue was the refrigerator. It froze everything solid. The adjustment knobs must be on the back of the fridge. I did ask for maintenance to look at it. The front desk did give us a room credit for the food that was ruined. Very nice of them to do.

The beds were super comfy and the daybed was also very comfortable.

I hope to be able to stay here again. We took advantage of the travel agent group booking and got a nice rate. Hopefully trip # 18 to Disney we can return to the Beach Club. Trip #17 It will be a new hotel also. I will be chaperoning a high school group and we are at Pop Century. Just 3 more resorts and I will have stayed at them all.

So glad you had a great trip! Those were the most comfy beds ever! After we left on Friday we had to head to Charlotte NC for my sons LAX tournament and stay in a Marriott full size bed. Not the same....

We've had a great 1st day here at BC. We arrived from ASMU around 10:30, had no wait for check in. We were informed that all of our requests were granted & they would page us when ready. So we walked over to Epcot around 11a! I bought my TIW card at guest relations with no wait!

We had F&W for lunch- Canada-Cheedar soup & mushroom filet & apple ice wine. The wine was awesome, but came in the smallest glass I have ever seen! Honestly smaller than shot glass, I wasn't expecting something large, but saw several people with flutes that were larger than our mini shot glasses. DH had from Greece the chicken gyro(he said in was great) & we split the fried cheese with pistachio nuts & honey. I really liked this. Then we had a orange dole whip, one plain & mine with alcohol. I did not like the taste of the alcohol- too strong.

We had some time to kill before our fass pass + started so we rode Spaceship Earth & headed to fast pass + for Test track, we loved walking up! We got a text at 1:40 while on test tack room was ready We shopped around mousegear until fast pass + at character spot, then rode Nemo which was walk on, then rode the Land ride & then last fast pass + for Soarin. These magic bands have been awesome!

We walked back to the best room at 430p. We booked a garden view, we overlook the courtyard by the volleyball court facing swan/dolphin/YC. So we have an awesome view of lagoon. We're on 4th floor with full balcony. We requested king bed & we got it, our room also has a wet bar with sink which I didn't know existed. We have a day bed & 2 smaller closets, no tall dresser. Our vanity with double sink is in the bathroom. The room seems bigger than our king at YC last year.

We had dinner at Yachtman Steakhouse. We had the white wine flight, the shrimp (well DH did, lol), I had the filet & DH ny strip. The accidentally brought wrong steak for DH & then we waited 20 min for the correct one & they took it off of our bill! Our waiter put my steak order in 2x & not DHs. Plus we had TIW! Great deal! The waiter also brought us the mini sampler with 5-6 bite size things to try for our Anniversay. We had a great meal.

We went to the quiet pool hot tub, it was not warm at all, but the jets felt bad. We informed the staff filling towels & they put a call out for maitenence.

We also had a cute VM in room from Minnie & Mickey telling us happy anniversary & singing a song.

What an awesome 1st day! I'm so happy to be home & hope to run into some of you guys! Thanks for your help planning a great trip!!!

So glad you are having fun! Thanks for the live reports!

Thank you all for your support. Biopsy went ok, results should be in by Thursday when Suzy meets with her oncologist. Really praying for good news. She is hoping for no more chemo and radiation.

On the flip side, only 35 more days until our family trip!

Glad it went okay. Continued prayers coming your way!

 

[Scott MC]

Thanks to all for your help with my FP+! In reality, all it took was logging out of MDE, logging back in and getting exactly what I wanted. So now, Magic Bands customized, FP+ reservations made, now it's just time to go!

The lobby is only darker at YC due to the hardwoods and lower ceiling. The rooms themselves are actually lighter. White duvets and white beds with ship wheels in the headboards. The headboards at BC are dark wood.

Full balconies is foremost. I like the water views better. Crew's Cup Lounge is better in my opinion. Closer to marina. First stop for bus, loading and unloading.
Lobby is quieter due to Cape May buffet traffic. I love both but prefer YC. If you are a big food court/counter service person though, the Marketplace at BC may be suited better for you. It just depends on what you are looking for. The walk to Epcot is only a couple minutes more if that.

I agree with a lot of what you have to say. After our first (brief) stay at YC in April, I wasn't it's biggest fan, but after returning, contemplating and weighing my options, it really is a great resort for us. I find the lobby just as enchanting as at BC, but of course in a very different way. Obviously, being a teacher I love kids, and I know you're going to run into a bunch at WDW, but there really do seem to be less at YC. You can't beat having a cocktail at Ale and Compass lounge at night, staring at the dimly lit lobby, and listening to the relaxing soundtrack and winding down after a long day. Food wise, I prefer YC as I love CCL, and CG. I think SV and GV at YC/BC are interchangeable, but if I'm paying for a water view, I'd prefer YC, as I'm promised a full balcony, and there seems to be less vegetation to possibly get in the way. The rooms are lovely (assuming you don't get one with a picture of Salty the Sea Captain), but at the moment, they actually don't have duvets anymore, which I miss. They're doing the triple-sheeting thing which (in my opinion), looks sloppy, simpler and isn't as cozy, but so is BWI and I *think* BC as well. I like clean white, but I miss the white duvets.

For down time go with AKL. We always either start or finish our trip with a couple of days there. I MUST be in the Epcot area for the majority of the trip but also really enjoy the relaxing and different feel at AKL.

We're really in sync! We are currently planning a return trip to AKL on the front or the back of next summer's trip. We really enjoyed relaxing there in 2010 before our official vacation began.

 

[Deb123]

Laundry. I know it's $2.00/load but do the machines take "money" or am I going to have to get some special coin or card? I feel like I've recently read that somewhere but I could be wrong. I searched and could not find the answer....

Washed clothes at both BC and YC this month. Both resorts take money. When I stayed at POFQ this summer in June, their machines did not take money at all.

 

[bas71873]

Washed clothes at both BC and YC this month. Both resorts take money. When I stayed at POFQ this summer in June, their machines did not take money at all.

Thanks! I guess I'll bring a roll of quarters as usual

 

[mousegear]

So all our things are packed (hopefully nothing forgotten) and we are ready to leave. We are discussing our breakfast options since our flight is around noon tomorrow. Meanwhile DS 10 is working on his school assignments that he will miss ahead so he doesn't get overwhelmed when we come back.

I just wanted to thank everyone on this thread being so nice and informative. It helped tremendously with my uber-planning. I'll be sure to update once we check-in with our room and experience.

 

[dreamseeker9]

The lobby is only darker at YC due to the hardwoods and lower ceiling. The rooms themselves are actually lighter. White duvets and white beds with ship wheels in the headboards. The headboards at BC are dark wood.

Full balconies is foremost. I like the water views better. Crew's Cup Lounge is better in my opinion. Closer to marina. First stop for bus, loading and unloading.
Lobby is quieter due to Cape May buffet traffic. I love both but prefer YC. If you are a big food court/counter service person though, the Marketplace at BC may be suited better for you. It just depends on what you are looking for. The walk to Epcot is only a couple minutes more if that.

Thanks, YCFAN. I like everything that you listed there for YC!

If balcony is at all important to you, why risk it? STay YC. Same resort really....I like décor of YC better. Those that say BC is closer....we are talking STEPS....nothing I would personally make a choice based on....Can't go wrong either

scottmel, thanks! I agree, why risk the balcony. And I'm fine with having to take a few extra steps. My concern was more distance to the other parks - the Unofficial Guide to WDW lists all parks 8-10 minutes further away from YC than BC if taking Disney transportation. I thought that was strange, but it must be because they factor in the buses picking up YC first, which is fine with me.

Obviously, being a teacher I love kids, and I know you're going to run into a bunch at WDW, but there really do seem to be less at YC. You can't beat having a cocktail at Ale and Compass lounge at night, staring at the dimly lit lobby, and listening to the relaxing soundtrack and winding down after a long day. Food wise, I prefer YC as I love CCL, and CG.

Scott MC, I like the way you think! YC sounds quieter, more relaxing, and more suited for adults. Your description of how to wind down after a long day sounds wonderful!

Thanks, everyone!

 

[natebenma]

Laundry. I know it's $2.00/load but do the machines take "money" or am I going to have to get some special coin or card? I feel like I've recently read that somewhere but I could be wrong. I searched and could not find the answer....

Thanks! I guess I'll bring a roll of quarters as usual

Yes, bring quarters. I think there's a change machine in the laundry rooms, but why take the chance? Could be broken or I could be imagining that.

So all our things are packed (hopefully nothing forgotten) and we are ready to leave. We are discussing our breakfast options since our flight is around noon tomorrow. Meanwhile DS 10 is working on his school assignments that he will miss ahead so he doesn't get overwhelmed when we come back.

I just wanted to thank everyone on this thread being so nice and informative. It helped tremendously with my uber-planning. I'll be sure to update once we check-in with our room and experience.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[goofy78]

Hi everyone! I don't post much but I am on the be our guest list. Leaving in 10 days! Just wanted to say thanks for all the wonderful information on the BC! I know we are going to love it!

 

[DisHmsklMom]

Hi Everyone,
For the first time I am planning to park my car and then use my feet or Disney transportation to get to the parks for my entire trip. My question is do I only have to pay for valet parking on the day I drop my car off, or will I be charged for each day my car sits there?
Thanks for all of your help.

 

[Miked0292]

Hi Everyone,
For the first time I am planning to park my car and then use my feet or Disney transportation to get to the parks for my entire trip. My question is do I only have to pay for valet parking on the day I drop my car off, or will I be charged for each day my car sits there?
Thanks for all of your help.

You do not have to, you can self park your car for free at the resort, my suggestion would to be have one person of your group run in and check in, get your rooms keys, other info and finally the parking pass, the parking pass is good for the length of your stay , but once you have all that good stuff have another member drive the car/van up to the front door unload , park the car/van, and your all set.

Or just pull up unload everything then park , check in get the info and then make a run back out to the car/van once you have the permit.

 

[Pinkgirl]

Has anyone seen the threads posted about Michelle Obama speaking at the YC on Nov. 14th? That will be interesting to see how they handle the security.

Romney (sp sorry I'm British ) was at GF last August and guests weren't allowed in their rooms near where he was. One of the DisBrides was hosting a Dessert Party at Epcot and was all beautiful with her hair and makeup done ready for a photoshoot and stuck in a vest top and crop jeans until a CM was allowed in the room to bring her dress over to Italy. I would guess security will be really tight for Michelle.