Here it is folks, my long overdue YC mini-TR and an announcement!
DP and I took his nephew (9yo) to WDW in April for his first trip. We stayed with him at POR in a RGR for 6 nights...and truly...we loved it. The rooms were beautiful without being tacky, we were in Oak Manor, a brief 3 min. walk from the main building and we had a lovely view of the river. It's truly a beautiful resort, and though I prefer a deluxe, if moderate was the only option, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at POR again. I do have pics from this leg of the trip, but I figure it'd be
here.
After DP's nephew left, we were blessed with 3 extra nights and thanks to a nifty AP discount, we decided to spend them at the YC! We'd never stayed there before, and DP in particular had wanted to try it out. We booked a GV room and were excited to move there. I got in line for check-in around 10:30 A.M. and was pulled out of the line by a nice young lady with an iPad who attempted to check me in. She verified my info and asked if I had any room requests. I told her that I was hoping for a gazebo-view room and perhaps if there was one with a sideways view of the lagoon, that'd be outstanding. She brought me to the desk and said "This is Mr. ________ and we're going to try to upgrade him to a lagoon-view room." What?
I mean....Ok....if that's what y'all want to do. So, after a few minutes I was sent up to a room from which I could hear music blaring before I even got to it. The door was propped open, and there was a woman on a ladder removing the AC vents, and a man painting the bathroom.
I verified the room number, and knowing that this room was clearly down for repair, went back to the check-in desk. The manager was very kind, very apologetic, and said if I was willing to wait until 3, would put me in another LV room with an even better view. No problem! We never got the magic text, but we never do....in the 3-4 years we've given our number to get the text...we've never gotten it. Oh well. I can't blame YC for that, when it hasn't worked at AKL, BLT, and BWI.
Anyway, we went on to enjoy our day, and when we got back to YC, they gave us our room number and up we went. The room was lovely, and looked mostly like I expected it to.
If i'm being honest, the room was in a bit of a state of disrepair, in that 2 out of the four lamps over the bed were out, and the closet doors were completely off their runners. We alerted the front desk to these issues, and the lights were promptly replaced, but the closet door was never fixed...
Nevertheless,
The view was worth waiting for!
To the left..
Straight ahead...
And slightly to the right....
I loved that view. Due to the lack of foliage there, I might say that if you're really into a lagoon view....YC might be the place to book rather than BC, but that's just my opinion.
There was one thing wrong with the room though...in fact...it was the one thing that bothered me about YC in general.....please send small children out of the room for this next picture. Take a deep breath. Ready? Here we go....
This guy.
No really! I'd seen pics of YC rooms before and there was this lovely artwork with lovely turn-of-the-century people frolicking on a lovely idealized 19th century YC beach....it was just lovely. And we get this guy.
I swear he was watching us sleep. I nicknamed him Salty. Dee? Does YC need a mascot? You may have found your guy. "Arrr Mateys! Stay ye here on the dark side!"
It was a weird photo in this weird white frame, and I dunno....for me...it made the room look old...which brings me to my final assessment. I liked the YC. I really did. I liked the BC MUCH better, and I also like BWI MUCH better. The staff was fine, the lobby was beautiful, and I liked the quiet. The rooms and hallways just seemed old for me, but I admit I was comparing it to BC and BWI the whole time. The one thing where YC won big time for us, was the Ale and Compass Lounge. Admittedly, DP and I like our evening cocktails, and we really loved relaxing and unwinding in A & C each night. No matter where we stay on the Epcot resort loop, we'll do our drinking at YC. I would most definately stay at YC again, but would pick BC and BWI first. I want to commend the greeter in the YC lobby. After seeing the first room at YC that was down for repair, I started to panic and really....really wanted to move to BC, and I think the greeter (darn me for not remembering his name) sensed that and approached me. I explained the situation, and he did a fantastic job of giving me many convincing reasons to give YC a chance, but made it clear that it was all about me, and if I really was unhappy, he'd do everything in his power to get me to BC. That's what I call Disney hospitality....and speaking of Disney hospitality (and general fabulocity), of course we stopped by to see Teena.
So there's my brief YC review.....I didn't mention SAB much, but it was fab as usual...and we had a nice dinner at CG. It was fine...but I think it's a better breakfast location. I prefer CCL for dinner.
Anyway...are y'all still awake? Still with me? Announcement time!
I'll make it simple...
WE'RE COMING TO WDW IN DECEMBER!
I've always wanted to, and the opportunity has presented itself, so DP, our dear friend Mary and I will be there from Dec 4-8! We're over the moon.
Now here's the bad news....don't hate me........we're not staying at BC/YC.
*ducking to avoid sharp objects and splashes of Sunken Treasures*
We're staying at BWI (one of our 2 favorites, the other being BC), for 2 simple reasons. First, they have standard views available, and since it's a quick trip, view doesn't matter much, and BC/YC only have lagoon views left....for this trip...too pricey. The other reason, is I don't think I could bear having SAB right there and possibly not be able to enjoy it. Never fear though, we're already planning and saving for a nice long BC stay in August 2014...Dee, can you add us to the list for "Sometime in late August?"
We'll defiantly stop in to BC to see Teena and to see BC/YC decorations, and of course, if y'all will have me, I'll still post here regularly even when not staying at BC/YC, I feel like this thread is my home here on the boards, and one of the best places for trip planning.
That's all for now....happy vacation planning!
what a wonderful view! DD & I are looking forward to our August stay! We loved BC, and can't wait to stay at YC. I am going check out A& C!
