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

[MickeyT]

Just heard back from our TA - it's official!

Dee - you can add CL next to my name on the Be Our Guest List!

All checked in!!! This time tomorrow we will be halfway to MCO

. That is all.

 

[Ninja Mom]

I hope you will post a pic when you finish!

I also would love to see what kind of pirate document the two of you (Captain) Cook up!

But doesn't that defeat the purpose? If the resort is full (enough), they aren't going to offer a discount... I always thought that the resort needs to have a certain amount of availability in order for them to offer discounted rooms. If everyone were to book with the intent of adding a discount later, then the resort fills up and there isn't a need to discount the rooms.

They still may offer the discount. Remember the object of these discount enticements is to get the resort as full as possible. The resort more than likely may still have rooms open, but only for shorter stays like 1 or 2 days. Staying at a resort for 1 or 2 days may not fit someone's idea of a great plan but with the proper financial enticement it may be the tipping point that convinces people to book and fill up these shorter stay rooms.

We will be staying at the BC for the 1st time this summer. We usually go to a park, come back, go swimming, get ready for dinner, etc... Is the pool just crazy busy in the afternoon? Is there any chance of getting a chair? I don't mind walking around and looking for a chair but was worried that it might be to busy and crowded. Any tips?

Ah yes.... the summer season will soon be upon us. This is the time of year where we see a lot of questions from the summer trip planners about what will the pool situation be. Well Auntie Ninja is here to tell you how it's been in the past. Put your jammies on an pull up a chair while I go make us the Sunkin Treasures. It's history lesson time!

Here is what will happen. It happens at just about every Disney resort pool in the summer so Storm Along Bay is not the only pool where this occurs.

1) The resorts will be very busy and it will be hot out.

2) People will think it's a good idea to go down to the pool when it first opens in the early morning to "save" chairs by putting resort towels on them. (it's not!)

3) The staff at the pool, in the past, has gone around from time to time to remove orphan towels from the chairs, thus freeing them up.
They however cannot be counted on to do this to the point where it solves the problem. It's just not practical from a logistics standpoint to get it perfectly right.

4) The chair savers will be mad that the chair they were saving since 8 am is now occupied by someone who is actually using it in the afternoon when they come back to FINALLY use the pool. The person sitting in the chair will have no idea why the chair saver is snorting around the pool in (un) righteous indignation.

So there you have it. A picture of what happens at MOST Disney Resort pools during the busy summer months. This is not just at Storm Along Bay....

Also keep in mind that the Pool is so large that it will in all likelihood never seem crowded so that is almost never a problem.

OK, so what do we do to live with this situation? Well when you come to the pool in the afternoon, if you see a sea of empty chairs with towels on them here's what I would do.

I'd keep my peepers open and see if I could find an empty chair. If I don't see any then I would pick a chair that looks unattended and observe it for awhile. Making sure that the only thing on the chair is hotel property as opposed to personal property I would take the chair and.... here's the key.... MOVE it to a different location. That's right... I just advocated relocating an UNATTENDED chair to a different pool location. This way if the chair hog came back hours later and you were still sitting in the chair, well, you wouldn't be sitting where Piggy remembered hogging the chair hours ago before they left for the parks.... right??

This is an excellent time to remind people NEVER to leave valuables unattended at the pool. If you must take your phone or other devices to the pool there are lockers over at the raft rental desk in the center of the pool complex. You can find this area directly across from where the Volleyball rope is located. Keep in mind these outdoor lockers are in POOR condition and many of them are stuck and non functional. An insider's tip is to use the lockers located inside the fitness center for storing valuables while at the pool. This area is a short walk outside of the pool near the Beaches and Cream area.


So there you have the end of the story. It's a wonder Ninja Mom is not in jail but she is hiding in plain sight on a pool chair at Storm Along Bay so the 'Coppers' will never catch up with her.

~NM

 

[pixarmom]

We're back from our non-Disney road trip to Florida and still catching up! Thanks to Dee for the "cliff notes" version of what I missed while I was away!

The moment I received the mousemisers e-mail about the summer discounts, I did a little cheer for Robyn, Dee and all the summer BC/YC fans! My husband asked what I was so happy about and I told him discounts for Dee, CL for Robyn and savings for many friends on the thread! Yay!!! I'd just love for DL to cut us a little break on our August GCH rates, but I fear that's not as likely as a good BC discount!

A little OT, but it's about the beach! We really enjoyed Vero. I love the beach generally, and definitely prefer the West coast and the Pacific, but I think Vero is now my favorite beach in Florida. But we love to boogie board, so waves are a big plus for us (even though they are tiny compared to the west coast - some waves are better than none!) So for those who are looking for a few waves, Vero is a bit of a drive, but great for some post-Disney beach time!

A few non-Disney Vero Beach photos to share:

 

[pixarmom]

Also keep in mind that the Pool is so large that it will in all likelihood never seem crowded so that is almost never a problem.

~NM

Just wanted to add to this! We've stayed at BC in summer, fall, winter and spring. We've also stayed in many other Disney resorts (see below.) In all of these seasons and compared to all the other resort pools we've enjoyed, I have never felt SAB was too crowded (except maybe when 2/3 of the pool was closed during spring break last year, but that's a big exception.) I've always been able to find a chair. Maybe not five chairs in a row in the exact spot we'd like, but we can always find a chair for our home base. My other favorite resorts are Poly and BWI, and we'll continue to stay at both, but those pools always feel more crowded than SAB.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Pixarmom: You beach photos are absolutely breathtaking. Ahhhh.....

Ninjamom: Love all the advice about the pool chair!! LOL!! We noticed the towels 'holding' the chairs at the Polynesian too. Annoying!!

41 more days for us!! So excited!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Pixarmom - Welcome Home!!!

Your pictures are gorgeous. We always do our "beach vacation" at Hilton Head. Your pictures are seriously making me consider Vero Beach!

Just booked CL today!

 

[Nicnic]

Halloween?


Hi, we will be staying over Halloween and will not be attending MNSSHP this time.

What does the Y&BC do, if anything, on the 31st? I am due to make ADRs soon and wondering where to make them for. In the past I have heard DTD offer some trick or treating but we were thinking of just staying at the hotel that night and doing Cape May.

What about Epcot?

Thanks.

 

[LeahA]

Ninja Mom-LOL! I guess it doesn't matter where you are in the summer! Pool etiquette good or bad is the same! Thanks for the info!

 

[medicgirl177]

All checked in!!! This time tomorrow we will be halfway to MCO

Yay!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I'd keep my peepers open and see if I could find an empty chair. If I don't see any then I would pick a chair that looks unattended and observe it for awhile. Making sure that the only thing on the chair is hotel property as opposed to personal property I would take the chair and.... here's the key.... MOVE it to a different location. That's right... I just advocated relocating an UNATTENDED chair to a different pool location. This way if the chair hog came back hours later and you were still sitting in the chair, well, you wouldn't be sitting where Piggy remembered hogging the chair hours ago before they left for the parks.... right??

~NM

I never thought that people might put a towel on a chair and walk out of the pool area - for hours. That is really inconsiderate. I will never again feel guilty if I take an unattended chair that only has a towel on it.

Last time DH and I went over to the quiet pool because there weren't any good chairs at SAB that didn't have towels on them. I love the idea of moving the chair.

 

[YCFAN]

Just heard back from our TA - it's official!

Dee - you can add CL next to my name on the Be Our Guest List!

I knew you'd find a way!!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Really hoping our July trip will be a stay at the Beach Club. I'm impatiently waiting to see what the AP rates will be.

There only appears to be about a $50 to $60 difference to book a GV over a SV with the summer discount that's available right now. Should I book the GV? Are these rooms in a better location than the SV? I'm guessing most of the SV rooms are at the back of the building overlooking the parking lot. I guess I'm more interested in location than the view. Would like something close to the pool or the walkway to Epcot, but don't want to splurge for the water view.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[LeahA]

Another question for all you Beach Club Veterans! We booked a standard view room at the Beach Club, I see the map on one first page, where would these room types be? Would I just assume they are on the back overlooking the parking lot? I'm sorry, I know nothing about this area, we stayed at AKV 3 of our last 4 trips!

 

[TeenaS]

Another question for all you Beach Club Veterans! We booked a standard view room at the Beach Club, I see the map on one first page, where would these room types be? Would I just assume they are on the back overlooking the parking lot? I'm sorry, I know nothing about this area, we stayed at AKV 3 of our last 4 trips!

Lots of the standard view rooms overlook a roof and are on the third and fourth floor. More of the views are roof views than parking lot views.

 

[dreamcruiser]

Thanks for adding us to the Be Our Guest list, Dee!

We are getting excited for our first visit to the YC!
Just a one-nighter until we move to the GF, but we are hoping to get a good feel for the resort in that short time...

 

[1971DBday]

Nice job by you and your DD!

Thanks...I need to practice so I can send teasers while I'm there!!! I'm an early riser.

 

[1971DBday]

AWESOME painting!!! Thanks for sharing.

And kudos to you for figuring out how to post it from your phone! Looking forward to some live reporting.

Thanks x 2! It's been a rough year for her so this was a big lifter of the spirits!

 

[1971DBday]

Wow!!! That is a beautiful painting! I hope she's considering RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) for college!

Okay...a little Midwest here so I've never heard of it. She is going to a state final for architecture design since she took 1st place in that too (no offense gentlemen but she beat all of the boys)....

However I will add this one to the list to review but we also have the Art Institute in Chicago ( not to far).

 

[1971DBday]

this is beautiful!!! She is very talented.

Thanks!

By the way here is the Mickey one she made for me for Mothers Day!

 

[1971DBday]

What beautiful work!

I'm sorry I don't know how to respond to multiple posts on my phone, so thank you!