2013 Beach and Yacht Club FAQ: Don't Post Here! New Thread Now Open

[letthewookiewin]

We have a GV at the BC booked for 9/9 -14/13. This will be our first stay at the BC and we are so excited!! I was tossing around several resorts, but the BC stuck as soon as the DSs saw pictures of SAB. They fell totally in love with it. The DH wants something close to the end of the BC where Martha's Vineyard is, and I want a full balcony. Do y'all think it's possible to get both with a GV room?

 

[Mouskemom]

Thanks for the quick reply. I would love to be added to the Be Our Guest list, but we're still not sure where we'll be staying. Maybe you guys can help. We'll be traveling down May 11-18 and are booked at the BC in a garden view room. We've recently had to revise our budget and are now considering POR for a savings of $1000 (or $800 if we book a preferred location).

We've been to the BC before and just love it, but we've never been to POR. There are 5 of us and we've always stayed deluxe. Has anyone stayed at both? What were your thoughts?

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[JJ&JSMOM]

Let me know if you would like to be added to the Be Our Guest list on Page 1. When is your trip?

Yes, you are a guest of the resort until midnight. You just won't have a room. You are welcome to use SAB, just show your room key which should have the date you are checking out. There are lockers and showers in the health club you can use to change. Bell services will hold your stuff until you are ready to take it.

Enjoy!

Thank you for the information. Sure you can add us to the Be Our Guest list - we'll be there 5/11/13-5/19/13. This will be our first stay at the BC and we are very excited. Can't wait.

Thanks again. I appreciate the help.
Joanne

 

[MickeyT]

2 - Is there a resort specific site for the Beach Club? Kind of like portorleans.org for the Port Orleans resort.

I've always thought that there should be one and I know just the folks to populate it!

 

[AliceIn]

We'll be one of those families sitting all over the airplane next month. I kept putting off buying the tickets until our tax refund came in and by then the price had went up a few bucks, but many seats had sold. I could have booked a later flight, but I want to be in Orlando at 11am and not 3pm. So my 11 year old is sitting a couple rows in front of my husband and I (who I had to put in an exit row because no one under 18) and my 6 year old will be right across the aisle and my 7 year old will be right behind her. Oh well, we'll be close to each other and on our way! I haven't exactly told my husband this yet, though....

One trick you can try is to look about 72 hours before the flight and see if you can change seats. They release the first class seats to the high level elites at that time, so spots tend to open up. You might be able to get one or two together. Good luck! I've had us split up before and we had to stay on the plane until everybody else got off to gather all of our carry on. Not a major catastrophe, but not our favorite. I'm sure you'll be fine as it sounds as thought you are all relatively close. We were about as far away from each other as it could get, and we all ended up in middle seats.

 

[mommakacie]

Thanks for the quick reply. I would love to be added to the Be Our Guest list, but we're still not sure where we'll be staying. Maybe you guys can help. We'll be traveling down May 11-18 and are booked at the BC in a garden view room. We've recently had to revise our budget and are now considering POR for a savings of $1000 (or $800 if we book a preferred location).

We've been to the BC before and just love it, but we've never been to POR. There are 5 of us and we've always stayed deluxe. Has anyone stayed at both? What were your thoughts?

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We are staying at BC next month and have never stayed there before, but we have stayed at POR before. I probably should have saved the money and stayed there this time, but BC has been my dream. If you do stay at POR, I say go for the preferred room. That's one of things my kids still talk about - the forever walk from the main building to the room. We used the alternate bus stops most of the times, but the refillable mugs were a waste of money on that trip because we didn't want to walk that far to refill them. Also, if you're going to have a stroller, request a first floor room. The rooms that are for 5 are in the bayou and they don't have elevators. We were always dragging our stroller up to the second floor.

One trick you can try is to look about 72 hours before the flight and see if you can change seats. They release the first class seats to the high level elites at that time, so spots tend to open up. You might be able to get one or two together. Good luck! I've had us split up before and we had to stay on the plane until everybody else got off to gather all of our carry on. Not a major catastrophe, but not our favorite. I'm sure you'll be fine as it sounds as thought you are all relatively close. We were about as far away from each other as it could get, and we all ended up in middle seats.

Thank you for the tip!! I will keep an eye on that and see if we can move around. I just assumed when I picked the seats, those would be our seats, but I'll keep my eyes open!!

 

[mommakacie]

One trick you can try is to look about 72 hours before the flight and see if you can change seats. They release the first class seats to the high level elites at that time, so spots tend to open up. You might be able to get one or two together. Good luck! I've had us split up before and we had to stay on the plane until everybody else got off to gather all of our carry on. Not a major catastrophe, but not our favorite. I'm sure you'll be fine as it sounds as thought you are all relatively close. We were about as far away from each other as it could get, and we all ended up in middle seats.

I'm glad I booked when I did. I just checked the flight and all the economy seats are sold, but all of the first class are available. I'm glad we're on that flight, though. I'll keep checking back, though!!

 

[njprincess601]

I just did my 60 day check in today for the Yacht Club... Should I be concerned that I never got a confirmation email?

 

[Sue M]

We have a GV at the BC booked for 9/9 -14/13. This will be our first stay at the BC and we are so excited!! I was tossing around several resorts, but the BC stuck as soon as the DSs saw pictures of SAB. They fell totally in love with it. The DH wants something close to the end of the BC where Martha's Vineyard is, and I want a full balcony. Do y'all think it's possible to get both with a GV room?

Congrats Wookie on booking your BC stay! I would list my pref in order of importance.
We had a GV room and my most important thing was the balcony, so that was my only request. We got a great room close to the elevators by Marketplace. Great location.

 

[Sue M]

Thanks for the quick reply. I would love to be added to the Be Our Guest list, but we're still not sure where we'll be staying. Maybe you guys can help. We'll be traveling down May 11-18 and are booked at the BC in a garden view room. We've recently had to revise our budget and are now considering POR for a savings of $1000 (or $800 if we book a preferred location).

We've been to the BC before and just love it, but we've never been to POR. There are 5 of us and we've always stayed deluxe. Has anyone stayed at both? What were your thoughts?

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We've stayed at POR 3 times, in the mansions, and love it. However there are either only 2 or 3 of us in those rooms. Honestly, I don't think I'd enjoy staying 5 in a room there. I know people do it, but I'd be too squished. I could do it for a short weekend trip, and that's it.
If you can do it, stick with BC. Or maybe 2 rooms at a value resort.

 

[Sue M]

I just did my 60 day check in today for the Yacht Club... Should I be concerned that I never got a confirmation email?

Could you tell us what your options were for requests with the 60 day check in?

I've done the regular on line check in, and never got a confirmation e mail. I don't know if anyone else has?

 

[letthewookiewin]

Congrats Wookie on booking your BC stay! I would list my pref in order of importance.
We had a GV room and my most important thing was the balcony, so that was my only request. We got a great room close to the elevators by Marketplace. Great location.

Thank you. The main problem is the location is my DH's main priority and a dull balcony is mine. I guess, I'll put my DH's first since he agreed to go back, even after saying this past June that we wouldn't go back for at least 10 years.

Would I have a better chance of getting both request if I check in at 60 days or wait until we arrive?

 

[natebenma]

Thank you. The main problem is the location is my DH's main priority and a dull balcony is mine. I guess, I'll put my DH's first since he agreed to go back, even after saying this past June that we wouldn't go back for at least 10 years.

Would I have a better chance of getting both request if I check in at 60 days or wait until we arrive?

Love your screen name by the way!

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






I'm honestly not sure if you have a better chance of getting your requests by checking in early or not, but I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong), that rooms are "assigned" a few days to a week before you arrive. I don't think the assigners can totally block your room until it is closer to your stay.

Our traditional advice here has been to wait until you arrive to check in so you can discuss the location of your room and whether it has a full balcony, and politely ask if something else is available if your requests haven't been met

But...

If the resort is pretty full (which seems to be the case frequently) or

If lots of people have done advanced check-in (which I also think is happening more frequently)

Not to mention some of the advantages of checking in early that may be coming down the road.

Maybe it is a good idea to check in early.

I have been trying to figure out whether the advisory to wait should be changed or if it is still a decent recommendation.

I am a conflicted soul!!!


Did that help???

 

[dansdad]

Thank you. The main problem is the location is my DH's main priority and a dull balcony is mine. I guess, I'll put my DH's first since he agreed to go back, even after saying this past June that we wouldn't go back for at least 10 years.

Would I have a better chance of getting both request if I check in at 60 days or wait until we arrive?

As long as your requests are phoned in and added to your reservation, doing online check-in has zero affect on whether you get your requests met.

I really wish they would change the name of the "Online Check-In" to something that better describes what it is you're actually doing. Such as "Online Pre-registration". That really is what you're doing. You are confirming your information, providing a credit card for room charging priveledges, and giving them a rough estimate of when you will arrive so they can have your paperwork ready for you.

The room assigner will get your reservation about 4-5 days prior to your arrival. They will look at any requests you have made, either via "Online Pre-registration" or via phone, and assign you a room.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Could you tell us what your options were for requests with the 60 day check in?

I've done the regular on line check in, and never got a confirmation e mail. I don't know if anyone else has?

When I did on line check in for YC about a month ago, I actually didn't have any options. I thought it was because maybe I'm staying CL, so that really narrows down where we will be, but my BFF who is going too (staying GV) did not have any options either.

There is no confirmation email either. I just printed off the screen that says on line check in complete. HTH!

 

[Ziggy]

Is there more than one bank of elevators in the BC, I saw some by the quiet pool end but I'm sure I also saw some in the main lobby, perhaps I'm mistaken?

 

[Mouskemom]

Thanks for the info On POR SueM. The more I look at pictures the more I'm convinced that it may be worth a little extra sacrifice to make the beach club work. Btw- last time we stayed at BC we had a room on the fit floor in the volleyball courtyard. It was just a few steps from the marketplace and we loved it! Were you along that same little hallway, but higher up? How's the view up there? I'm thinking of requesting that same location for May.

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[bigAWL]

2 - Is there a resort specific site for the Beach Club? Kind of like portorleans.org for the Port Orleans resort.

The closest thing I've found is this one that only includes BCV (although that's not the only purpose of the site). And there's not much there other than floor plans, room plans, and a few room view photos.

http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-bcv/

 

[infopurposesonly]

I totally agree. I did NOT enjoy buying airfare this year. Almost opted for the Auto Train but can't add the time to our trip this year. My account at work is almost quadrupling in size and our team is going from 3 nurses to 8 nurses

But, while in WDW I will NOT be thinking about WORK!

I'm stuck taking the auto train again. DH enjoys it. He never asks for anything and just goes along with my vacation plans, so this is where I compromise. It's not as clean as it used to be, and the food quality has gone down, but we do save money over flying.

 

[Angeejoe]

Pool is nothing compared to SAB, but my kids still enjoy it. It was a little too cold for me this trip, though!

We have always thought the boat to MK was wonderful, and it usually goes direct to MK and back (there is a big boat and small boat that run simultaneously, so it is never usually more than 10 minutes before a boat arrives). Four some reason, there were times that WL and Ft. wilderness were sharing a big boat to MK. It was kind of a mess when that happened. At one point, the boat was returning from MK, with the first stop at WL. The boat was full and Nobody got off, as they were all going to ft. Wilderness, so none of the people at WL could get on that boat to go to MK. We ended up ditching the boat at that point and heading over to the bus. Anyway, in all of my stays there, this has never happened, so hopefully, it wont be a common issue.

Thanks JulieT3!!! I love how well boats run at BC/YC, so it made me curious about WL. Are you going to post a trip report? I'd love to read it if you do!