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

[Sunshine11]

Thanks. Hmm, by that room layout map, I don't think I have the right room numbers. Ugh. Back to the drawing board.

 

[dreamseeker9]

Here is an old floor layout for YC. The room designations might not be accurate anymore. But you can see from the layout that the rooms over the entrance are close to the elevators.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110709023301/http://www.disneyzone.net/ResortMaps/ycthirdfloormap.jpg

That 3rd floor room layout is interesting. I thought all rooms at YC have full balconies, but that room layout points out 2 rooms with no balconies and 1 with a standing balcony. So I guess I should still request a full balcony on my reservation?

 

[mousegear]

We checked-in on Wednesday late afternoon at BC. We did online registration and had no wait and assigned to 4569. CM at the check-in said that both my request were met which were high-floors and full-sized balcony. Our room is around the corner from the long hall way but it's very quiet and almost never hear any foot traffic. We are overlooking the wooded area and on our left is BCV. Our room has daybed.

On Wednesday night after eating at Via Napoli, we rode Test Track with FF+ and watched Illuminations. It was EMH night at Epcot and was packed. We were tired from traveling so we came back to our room for early night.

We also spend our Thursday morning in Epcot and it was very manageable. We did everything except Test Track. It was down all morning while we were there. We received email saying that we could choose any ride in Epcot for replacement for our TT FF+ but we rode everything without it. It was getting really hot so we spent our afternoon at SAB. The slide is so much fun. DS said that he rode it at least 15 times. BC/YC set up halloween trick-or-treat trail along SAB for kids and Minnie and Goofy showed up in their halloween costumes with Photopass person. DS and DNeice enjoyed getting candies. They also joined marshmallow toasting. We had 8pm ADR at Narcoosee's and had a wonderful meal their and watched Hallows Wishes while eating our desserts.

Today (Friday), we had 8am ADR at Crystal Palace which DNeice loved. We walked on almost every ride with less than 10 minute wait. We did everything we wanted to and more including meeting the princesses in their new home. The wait was only 10 minutes and they were wonderful with kids including my grumpy DS who is too cool for princesses.
We again spent our afternoon at SAB and taking naps in our room. Today was just so hot (reaching 89F). We had FF+ booked for Toy Story Mania, RnR and Fantasmic at night and we did all of those and put kids to bed early. Right now, I am sitting in our balcony watching Illumination fireworks and drinking my Angry Bird apple cider beer. :good vibes Life is wonderful at this moment!

 

[RainbowWit]

16 days until our trip! I am starting to figure out what to pack for my 5 month old- soooo excited and nervous about the flight and traveling with him. But super excited about the YC!

After you decide how many baby wipes to bring....add another package!! Believe me! You will go through these yourselves...

My DD is a teenager and we still pack wipes!!

There are some great packing lists out there!!

 

[nannette]

Glad you are having fun. The Mongolia beef bun I china is excellent and my DH is Ravi g about the pork belly in brazil. I love the pork slider in Hawaii and the shrimp taco in Mexico!

Yes the beef bun was yummy! As for the pork belly... I can't get past the belly part so no go for me! I wasn't really a fan of the Hawaii slider, but the Fla slider was yum... I went for the beef taco in Mexico! Try the Kimchi Hot Dog that was really good as was the Lobster Roll at the Hops and Barley stand! Also tasty was the Presecco and the Chocolate Cannoli in Italy! Tomorrow I will finish my eat/drink around the world. I have the Parisian Breakfast at 9am I heard it was amazing.. I will report back tomorrow night!

Long day today for sure! I had the Dolphin Experience this morning and it was everything I had hoped it would be! I LOVED it! Then it was time to eat and drink some more! I left Epcot at like 3 came back to the hotel and headed right out to MNSSHP... just got in from that. I for one can't wait for tomorrow when we will get an extra hour of sleep!!

Ok off to lala land!

~N

 

[Sue M]

Have a few questions about these balcony rooms. Sue M - I think you may have mentioned you stayed in one of these rooms. So, we (extended family) love, love, love YC and chose it every late August through a special with our TA but are only offered standard view. We noticed these oversized shared balconies while waiting for a bus in front of the YC one morning and I wanted to know if anyone had info on them. They seem larger and perfect if you are traveling in a group as they are shared balconies. I believe from what I've found they would be rooms 3076, 3078, 3080 & 3082???? My questions are, has anyone stayed in them? Is the view totally the parking area or at least tree tops as I believe this is the third floor - though this is not terribly important to us? Do these rooms have 2 Queens and a daybed in each? What would be our chances of actually acquiring all four (?) of these rooms for a week's vacation? We enjoy playing cards together and having a shared balcony for that and happy hours together would be fun. Thanks in advance. Ya'll are really wonderful to follow and this thread is my guilty pleasure though I am more of a lurker than a poster!

How far from the elevator are these rooms? My mom has mobility issues and we usually try to request "closer to elevator" for her. Thanks again.

Our room was 4176. Looking out of our room we were on the end looking out closest to bus stop. If that makes sense. Looking straight ahead was trees. I sent Dee some pics of our room and balcony. If she sees this maybe she can post the pics. I'm one of those photo posting challenged people
Our room had 2 queens, no day bed. Very close to elevator to lobby.
I think you could put a room request for rooms off the shared balcony above Portico. It would be ideal for your family.

 

[VbChristy]

After you decide how many baby wipes to bring....add another package!! Believe me! You will go through these yourselves... My DD is a teenager and we still pack wipes!! There are some great packing lists out there!!

Thanks!

 

[natebenma]

Our room was 4176. Looking out of our room we were on the end looking out closest to bus stop. If that makes sense. Looking straight ahead was trees. I sent Dee some pics of our room and balcony. If she sees this maybe she can post the pics. I'm one of those photo posting challenged people
Our room had 2 queens, no day bed. Very close to elevator to lobby.
I think you could put a room request for rooms off the shared balcony above Portico. It would be ideal for your family.

Here are pictures of the Extra Large balcony and Room 4176.

Sue- do you remember the room number(s) of the others that shared this balcony with you?

Could you see the MK fireworks from this balcony?

 

[natebenma]

I have lots of pages to catch up on, but I have been working more than usual in the past few weeks and some things in "Real-Life-Land" have been keeping me busy.

So if I have not welcomed you to the thread yet or added you to the Be Our Guest list, I'll try to get to that by tomorrow.

I also hope to get the November movie and activities list either today or tomorrow, so I will post that when I receive it.

Have a great day everybody!

Dee

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Teena -welcome back!

I can't believe how grown up Lily looks.

I'm sure the time will fly by with your visit from your PA friends and that fabulous Hawaiian vacation!

 

[JanetMom]

Yes the beef bun was yummy! As for the pork belly... I can't get past the belly part so no go for me! I wasn't really a fan of the Hawaii slider, but the Fla slider was yum... I went for the beef taco in Mexico! Try the Kimchi Hot Dog that was really good as was the Lobster Roll at the Hops and Barley stand! Also tasty was the Presecco and the Chocolate Cannoli in Italy! Tomorrow I will finish my eat/drink around the world. I have the Parisian Breakfast at 9am I heard it was amazing.. I will report back tomorrow night!

Long day today for sure! I had the Dolphin Experience this morning and it was everything I had hoped it would be! I LOVED it! Then it was time to eat and drink some more! I left Epcot at like 3 came back to the hotel and headed right out to MNSSHP... just got in from that. I for one can't wait for tomorrow when we will get an extra hour of sleep!!

Ok off to lala land!

~N

Sounds like you are having an amazing trip! Thanks for letting us follow along.

 

[DisneyLover0610]

We've been home for a week. I had to use that time to go through Disney Detox! We typically go through a Disney depression when we get home, however, not so bad this time. On the very first night in disney, DH was talking about "next year"
We stayed BC CL, room 5726 - probably the furthest room from the lobby! Things like that always happen to us, so we'd be disappointed with anything else. I did request a full balcony, which we didn't get. Our room was really large - corner room with 2 Juliette balconies and a king bed. I have no preference on views, but after this trip DH asked if I could book another view next time. As for CL, we only took advantage of bottled water, beer and the cookies! Mostly because of our timing with the parks and scheduled dinners. Our last night there we were at the lounge just as apps came out, but let me tell you, you can hear and feel the people coming as those doors open!! You would think those guests hadn't eaten all day! We couldn't get close enough to even see the offerings, so we just left. But being able to go to the parks each time with a bottle of water was nice. Same with returning and being able to ask for a beer. DH kept remarking on how great the "free water and beer" was. Clearly he isn't involved in booking our trips!
One small Magic Band problem while trying to get into EPCOT the first time, but it resolved on the spot within seconds with our room key. Crowds seemed more intense than past years at the same time (Oct 18-25), and F&W was packed fri and sat. Gone are the days of walking straight up to any booth with no line on most days! Weather was HOT! but cooled down slightly throughout our stay. We did the regular DDP, and didn't even use all of our counter services (we snacked a lot at F&W), but I was able to trade them in for snacks at the BC Marketplace. I originally booked the DxDDP, but canceled that a few days beforehand. We traveled with 8 other family members, so there was no way we'd eat all of that food. In past years we booked dinners that took 2 credits each night, which is great when it's just the two of us. Next trip I might try no dining and just put the money onto giftcards. Speaking of giftcards, the new MagicBand/card swipe pads are awful with taking giftcards. They just don't swipe well, but it seems like everyone is aware and they are "working" on it. One last small complaint - Photopass really isn't what it used to be. I've read a lot of similar thoughts and have to agree. I can remember one year (2008), a photographer followed us ALL over World Showcase, taking hundreds of pictures. Now, most barely crack a smile (felt this at many parks), and they are really hard to find. We came home with 48 pictures, on a Photopass+.
Overall we had a great tip as usual! Oh, one last thing! If you ever have an opportunity to go on the Wild Africa Trek, do it! So much fun, and great way to see Animal Kingdom in a whole new light! It was long (3hours), but if you like animals, you'll love this!
Ok, one more last thing!! . I just looked into booking for next year (bounce back didn't run into October '14), and everything seems to have availability at BC, CL. If I book now could they cancel what I've booked based on remodel? Would they move me to another view/floor/resort? Just curious! Thanks!!

 

[Angeejoe]

I am having a good time! My trip of things never done continues tomorrow with the Dolphin Experience!

Angeejoe The safari is amazing... was a little different then the last time I took it, but still really good! N

I'm jealous! So cool you got to do the safari & the dolphins. I'm glad you had a great time!

I've been known to throw the empty tubes out of the pool.

I pushed quite a few on the lip of the pool, but they need to remove them. I tried to talk to a lifeguard about it yesterday, she told me the tubes have always been free & in the pool, I explained this was not true. Life guard didn't really seem to care & nor want to talk, lol!

Does the BOG fast pass show up on MDE? I have one but can't see it. Maybe once we get there?

No it doesn't show on MDE, just on the BOG lunch fast pass page. It's just on Monday we could see our time, our meal, etc on BOG website. When I looked wed am before we went, it was completely gone. I couldnt see the reservation at all, but it was there when we arrived.

Now that I am thinking about it, I didn't see many PP photographers at AK when we were there???

It's so weird, before you had to fight them off, now, you can't find them! Did you get a lot of PP pics on your trip?

We checked-in on Wednesday late afternoon at BC. We did online registration and had no wait and assigned to 4569. CM at the check-in said that both my request were met which were high-floors and full-sized balcony. Our room is around the corner from the long hall way but it's very quiet and almost never hear any foot traffic. We are overlooking the wooded area and on our left is BCV. Our room has daybed.

On Wednesday night after eating at Via Napoli, we rode Test Track with FF+ and watched Illuminations. It was EMH night at Epcot and was packed. We were tired from traveling so we came back to our room for early night.

We also spend our Thursday morning in Epcot and it was very manageable. We did everything except Test Track. It was down all morning while we were there. We received email saying that we could choose any ride in Epcot for replacement for our TT FF+ but we rode everything without it. It was getting really hot so we spent our afternoon at SAB. The slide is so much fun. DS said that he rode it at least 15 times. BC/YC set up halloween trick-or-treat trail along SAB for kids and Minnie and Goofy showed up in their halloween costumes with Photopass person. DS and DNeice enjoyed getting candies. They also joined marshmallow toasting. We had 8pm ADR at Narcoosee's and had a wonderful meal their and watched Hallows Wishes while eating our desserts.

Today (Friday), we had 8am ADR at Crystal Palace which DNeice loved. We walked on almost every ride with less than 10 minute wait. We did everything we wanted to and more including meeting the princesses in their new home. The wait was only 10 minutes and they were wonderful with kids including my grumpy DS who is too cool for princesses.
We again spent our afternoon at SAB and taking naps in our room. Today was just so hot (reaching 89F). We had FF+ booked for Toy Story Mania, RnR and Fantasmic at night and we did all of those and put kids to bed early. Right now, I am sitting in our balcony watching Illumination fireworks and drinking my Angry Bird apple cider beer. :good vibes Life is wonderful at this moment!

You're right by us! We're looking over the volley ball court & overlook YC/Dolphin. We're right near the back elevator!!

We've been home for a week. I had to use that time to go through Disney Detox! We typically go through a Disney depression when we get home, however, not so bad this time. On the very first night in disney, DH was talking about "next year"
We stayed BC CL, room 5726 - probably the furthest room from the lobby! Things like that always happen to us, so we'd be disappointed with anything else. I did request a full balcony, which we didn't get. Our room was really large - corner room with 2 Juliette balconies and a king bed. I have no preference on views, but after this trip DH asked if I could book another view next time. As for CL, we only took advantage of bottled water, beer and the cookies! Mostly because of our timing with the parks and scheduled dinners. Our last night there we were at the lounge just as apps came out, but let me tell you, you can hear and feel the people coming as those doors open!! You would think those guests hadn't eaten all day! We couldn't get close enough to even see the offerings, so we just left. But being able to go to the parks each time with a bottle of water was nice. Same with returning and being able to ask for a beer. DH kept remarking on how great the "free water and beer" was. Clearly he isn't involved in booking our trips!
One small Magic Band problem while trying to get into EPCOT the first time, but it resolved on the spot within seconds with our room key. Crowds seemed more intense than past years at the same time (Oct 18-25), and F&W was packed fri and sat. Gone are the days of walking straight up to any booth with no line on most days! Weather was HOT! but cooled down slightly throughout our stay. We did the regular DDP, and didn't even use all of our counter services (we snacked a lot at F&W), but I was able to trade them in for snacks at the BC Marketplace. I originally booked the DxDDP, but canceled that a few days beforehand. We traveled with 8 other family members, so there was no way we'd eat all of that food. In past years we booked dinners that took 2 credits each night, which is great when it's just the two of us. Next trip I might try no dining and just put the money onto giftcards. Speaking of giftcards, the new MagicBand/card swipe pads are awful with taking giftcards. They just don't swipe well, but it seems like everyone is aware and they are "working" on it. One last small complaint - Photopass really isn't what it used to be. I've read a lot of similar thoughts and have to agree. I can remember one year (2008), a photographer followed us ALL over World Showcase, taking hundreds of pictures. Now, most barely crack a smile (felt this at many parks), and they are really hard to find. We came home with 48 pictures, on a Photopass+.
Overall we had a great tip as usual! Oh, one last thing! If you ever have an opportunity to go on the Wild Africa Trek, do it! So much fun, and great way to see Animal Kingdom in a whole new light! It was long (3hours), but if you like animals, you'll love this!
Ok, one more last thing!! . I just looked into booking for next year (bounce back didn't run into October '14), and everything seems to have availability at BC, CL. If I book now could they cancel what I've booked based on remodel? Would they move me to another view/floor/resort? Just curious! Thanks!!

I'm disappointed with the photo pass availability thus far, not too many photographers. I'm interested to see what the pics look like & how many we actually will have. I wish they had them at the resorts & at least signature dining!


PS- rainy day today

 

[Pinkgirl]

Too cool not to share portcanaveralwebcam. The Fantasy setting sail

 

[skater]

Yes the beef bun was yummy! As for the pork belly... I can't get past the belly part so no go for me! I wasn't really a fan of the Hawaii slider, but the Fla slider was yum... I went for the beef taco in Mexico! Try the Kimchi Hot Dog that was really good as was the Lobster Roll at the Hops and Barley stand! Also tasty was the Presecco and the Chocolate Cannoli in Italy! Tomorrow I will finish my eat/drink around the world. I have the Parisian Breakfast at 9am I heard it was amazing.. I will report back tomorrow night!

Long day today for sure! I had the Dolphin Experience this morning and it was everything I had hoped it would be! I LOVED it! Then it was time to eat and drink some more! I left Epcot at like 3 came back to the hotel and headed right out to MNSSHP... just got in from that. I for one can't wait for tomorrow when we will get an extra hour of sleep!!

Ok off to lala land!

~N

The kimchi dog was a surprise hit for me, and one of my favorite foods of the whole festival .

 

[Nicnic]

Back again with an update.

Friday 1 nov.

So yesterday we had breakfast at CM.
We drove to the CR, got checked I straight away, pictures taken and seated. DH did try and give the PP guy our PP+ card when the picture was taken bu he said to show it to the person who comes round with the package. So I did this and she went on and on how it was not on my receipt I got when I checked in, she continued to show me a receipt with the PP+ marked and ours without! this is even after I told her we tried to give the card over when the picture was taken! I clearly had the card and she eventually went and sorted it out and gave us the package! The last 2 breakfast we did, we got the package no problem. It felt like I wasn't supposed to have it!
Anyway, breakfast was good, pictures taken with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, goofy and Pluto.

We headed off to the premium outlets on Idrive. Got there about 11 and it was busy. It was also a super hot day, the hottest so far. Glad we weren't at the parks today. It was cooler going in and out the stores.
So the girls got the most today, we got nothing. Saw a few things but will go back later. They got some shoes from Clark's, now the pricing on things gets me here! I had 2pairs of shoes for $55 already marked down, when I get to the till it's like $27!!! What? For 2 pairs of shoes, DD2's are in Clark's back home for £32!!
Then we hit Tommy and DD10 got a new school coat and hat, she said it was weird trying on all this warm gear when it was so hot out. I tried a few coats on too and was getting a bit flustered!
They also got UGG's too, I didn't!!
DD had seen a coat in RL the other day at the one in LBV but they didn't have it here, he was panicking so we decided to stop off there on the way back plus DD10 had seen a back pack in RL that was $55 on Wednesday and was now on sale for $27. So we did a quick detour there on the way home and everyone was happy. Erm, not me I didn't get anything, I did see a nice watch on Wednesday and the guy said the offer ended on Thursday but DD didn't belie him, we'll it did as it wasn't on offer today! But I found a more expensive one! Lol.
We came back to the hotel and had a quick change before heading off to Epcot to have dinner at coral reef. We got a great seat by the tank and had steak, it was nice but could have had more to it, just a small spoon of mash and 2 asparagus.
We did Nemo and the kids ran round Bruce's play area for a bit then did TT, headed back to the hotel with a few drinks and watched illuminations again on the balcony, gotta love the BC for this!

Today went to DHS and did RnRc, DD10 would not ride it for all the bribes we tried, just as well as I know her and she would have been terrified, just like the poor girl in front of me with her family, she just reached the height requirement but she was forced to go on despite saying she didn't.
When we came out it was pouring! We'll I've carried our pac a macs and umbrella for days in the back pack but not today! So we have to buy ponchos. We were soaked but made it to Ariel, the. TSM then playhouse disney, DD2 loves this.
After that we decided to head out to the mall at mellenia, west topped at DTD and got earl sandwiches first.
Spent a fortune in macys, saw a coat I liked but decided to try the outlet again.
Went back to the one inLBV to find they didn't have the long coat I wanted so I guess another trip to Idrive is needed, then we went to look at the watch I mentioned earlier and it wasn't on sale anymore. Will have a think about the other one and see what I decide.

Back at the BC and we tried for B&C but wait was 1hour so just grabbed sandwich and flat bread for the market place, they were really nice.

Tomorrow Is AK then anything we feel like.

X

 

[Nicnic]

The Boardwalk was hopping last night

It was really good, the kids had a fab time, did you dress up? Did you see Elvis? I wanted my picture taken with him as others were asking him but I chickened out lol

 

[Sue M]

Here are pictures of the Extra Large balcony and Room 4176.

Sue- do you remember the room number(s) of the others that shared this balcony with you?

Could you see the MK fireworks from this balcony?

Thanks Dee for posting my pics. No, sorry I don't know the room # of the other 3 rooms that shared the balcony for sure, but I think the numbers went up, so maybe 4178, 4180, 4182? We were at the very end of the balcony closest to bus stop. The other rooms sharing balcony would be to our right, looking out toward front of resort.

I heard from a CM that I might be able to see MK fireworks from balcony, but was never in the room at that time to find out.

 

[nannette]

Hello YC/BC fans! Today was another good day IF you don't count all the rain and chill in the air! My day started at 8:15 with a VERY empty walk to France from the front of the park... picture taking was amazing with no people in sight! The Parisian breakfast started at 9am. I was seated with 5 other solo traveling women we introduced ourselves got some very very yummy food and proceeded to chat the morning away! It was awesome, the food was awesome and the mimosa's were awesome! It was a very enjoyable meal for sure and I would recommend this to anyone who does F&W events!

After breakfast I headed over to DHS in the rain... I had on a very light weight tshirt and shorts with NO sweatshirt because I felt like my suitcase needed it to stay warm... I missed the boat so decided to walk over to the YC to catch it there and well it was full so I ended up waiting for the next boat coming from Epcot, by then it was pouring, windy and cold. I decided I would look to purchase a new hoody in DHS along with the other thousands of guests looking to do the same! I have a real problem with Disney apparel... It all says Walt Disney World, so I kept hearing my daughters voice telling me "Mom you are at Walt Disney World what do you think it's going to say"!! I feel like they should sell some items with Disney Characters that don't have Walt Disney World all over them!! So I didn't get a new sweatshirt I opted to freeze instead!! I spent the entire afternoon at DHS watching the shows I haven't seen before so I could keep with the "never don't before theme"! I stopped off at the Writers Stop for a carrot cake cookie which I am now enjoying as I type this post... YUM! Never had one before!! Osborn Lights are going up holiday merchandise is out, and it seems like Christmas is going to be in full swing anytime now! I left DHS around 5 headed back to the AKL had some wine in the lounge grabbed a sweatshirt and headed over to DTD for dinner at Bongo's (my favorite) since I gave Couchy my Cali Grill reservation (I hope you and DH enjoyed it!). Did the walk though to see what's changed in a month and well Starbucks is coming spring of 2014 to DTD (Westside where the big wetzels pretzels was).

And now I am back at the hotel thinking about tomorrow plan which includes Sweet Sunday's in Epcot at the festival center! I've done this before and am looking forward to experiencing it again! I'm very happy I get an extra hour in the morning!!

Ok I'll post again tomorrow my last full day... so sad, but I'll be back in 1 month!

Nighty nite!! Don't forget all fall back!!

~N

 

[Sue M]

Great update Nannette! I would have opted to get the hoodie though