2014/2015 Beach and Yacht Club FAQ, Friends & Fun, Sept 2014-Mayl 2015

[disneymagicgirl]

Leaving in two days and have repacked 3 times already. Weather for the weekend looks like highs barely at 70 and lows in the 50s. I guess the Xmas party will feel a lot like the season. I'll still take it since it's a high of 50s here in the midwest. Glad the pools are heated!!!

I haven't seen many comments about this so excuse me if it's been discussed, but is it worth it to get the kitchen sink at B&C or go for the No Way Jose? we will have 5 adults and 1 child (4) with us.

The no way Jose is deeeeeelicious!

 

[mommyrosa2]

I just want to warn you...50's in the park feels colder for some reason.

People from up north laugh at me, but i told a Buffalo NY bride this and she laughed at me till she got here and couldn't believe how cold 40 was here.

Just a PSA

I definitely agree here.

Last couple of times we went in early November, evening temps were supposedly in the 50's so we packed light sweatshirts as that's still pretty mild back home in MA. Well, needless to say I remember that we were FREEZING and ended up having to buy heavier ones in the parks.

 

[lizhall]

I read this info on a Disney facebook page today, posted by a TA:
"Some more refurb news ... They've put dates on the Stormalong Bay refurb we heard rumors about. The Stormalong Bay waterslide and the waterway from the slide to the first bridge will be closed 1/2-2/5. Then the lazy river and bridges three and four will be closed 2/2-3/3. "
We will be there Jan 30-Feb 8th, so as long as the weather is warm enough on a few days my kids can enjoy both parts of the pool, just not all at the same time, lol. Those who have been there through a pool refurb-please tell me it's not too bad having some parts closed??

 

[JnKinVA]

I read this info on a Disney facebook page today, posted by a TA: "Some more refurb news ... They've put dates on the Stormalong Bay refurb we heard rumors about. The Stormalong Bay waterslide and the waterway from the slide to the first bridge will be closed 1/2-2/5. Then the lazy river and bridges three and four will be closed 2/2-3/3. " We will be there Jan 30-Feb 8th, so as long as the weather is warm enough on a few days my kids can enjoy both parts of the pool, just not all at the same time, lol. Those who have been there through a pool refurb-please tell me it's not too bad having some parts closed??

Well that's just great. This was one of the reasons why we had booked BCV from 01/12-01/16. I doubt we would stay at BCV in the near future so I don't know when we would be able to experience the slide again.

 

[hill6]

I just want to warn you...50's in the park feels colder for some reason.

People from up north laugh at me, but i told a Buffalo NY bride this and she laughed at me till she got here and couldn't believe how cold 40 was here.

Just a PSA

Florida cold definitely feels much colder. I seen the temps for next week and pulled out heavy sweatshirts.

 

[natebenma]

I read this info on a Disney facebook page today, posted by a TA:
"Some more refurb news ... They've put dates on the Stormalong Bay refurb we heard rumors about. The Stormalong Bay waterslide and the waterway from the slide to the first bridge will be closed 1/2-2/5. Then the lazy river and bridges three and four will be closed 2/2-3/3. "
We will be there Jan 30-Feb 8th, so as long as the weather is warm enough on a few days my kids can enjoy both parts of the pool, just not all at the same time, lol. Those who have been there through a pool refurb-please tell me it's not too bad having some parts closed??

Thanks for posting this- it sounds like the normal winter SAB refurb that happens most years during the winter months. Part of the pool complex (usually 1/3) will be closed for normal maintenance while the rest remains open.

Usually, when the SAB slide is closed, guests are granted access to the slide at the Luna Pool at the Boardwalk resort, and transportation there via golf cart if desired.

In the past, guests have received letters if they are staying during a planned closure, so please let us know if you get any information directly from someone at the resort.

Thank you!

I haven't been there during a winter refurb so I can't comment directly on the impact.

 

[smellyia]

Just popping in to see what's new at YC/BC. We just booked a split stay with GF for YC club level 1/30-2/3. We've stayed at BC 3 times but never Yacht and are very happy to have the club amenities. We got a standard view room. The AP discount was fantastic for Jan.

Are club level rooms on same floor as lounge and separate from regular resort rooms?

Are standard club level rooms bad views - like garbage cans or parking lots?

 

[MOM POPPINS]

We just booked our stay for May 2015! We haven't been since Magic bands have taken over, will they just scan these now at the pool, instead of handing out bands to wear?

 

[susall]

oh, great! the pool will be closed! I booked the hotel because of this pool. can you get a refund or change resort?

 

[natebenma]

oh, great! the pool will be closed! I booked the hotel because of this pool. can you get a refund or change resort?

I haven't seen the official announcement of what parts of Stormalong Bay will be closed and when- normal maintenance takes place during the winter months to keep the pool operational and safe. Since SAB is made up of various sections, typically what is done is that 1/3 of the pool is closed for refurbishment while the other 2/3 remain open and usable.

Disney is usually pretty good about letting you change resorts, or to get refunds if you are within a certain timeframe from your trip. If you booked a package with dining and tickets, the change period is 45 days or more from your trip. It is much less, a few days, if you have a room only reservation.

Did you book directly with Disney or with a travel agent? However you planned your trip, you should call to discuss your options.

 

[mommyrosa2]

We just booked our stay for May 2015! We haven't been since Magic bands have taken over, will they just scan these now at the pool, instead of handing out bands to wear?

They will scan your bands at the pool but do still have the color bands as well for those folks who plan to go in and out of SAB and not want to keep rescanning their band for re-entry.

 

[Katesdad]

oh, great! the pool will be closed! I booked the hotel because of this pool. can you get a refund or change resort?

Please look at the map on page one of this thread. You will see how big this resort pool area is. When you read about what will be closed and when you can determine if that really is going to diminish your total resort experience. The pool isn't closing like Disney did at Poly or WL. Only a piece at a time. Also remember that the other benefits you get with the BC/YC stay remain such as the proximity to Epcot and HS. And if the slide is really important, and it is closed, I'm sure they will accomodate you with a trip accross the lake so you can shoot out the mouth of that clown. The folks at the BC/YC really do want to make sure your stay is memorable and you get what you came for.

 

[TeenaS]

Here's my one and only post on the pool rehab and my PERSONAL FEELINGS on the subject ... again ... this is only MY personal opinion ... everybody has different feelings on the subject!!!

In the past, the pool maintenance is done in the winter months almost every year. It has to be done obviously ... just like Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach ... it's 3 acres ... it takes more than a day to do yearly routine pool maintenance. Naturally they do it when the weather is normally so cold that most people do not want to use the pool. In the past, they also have done it in three sections so all the time, at least two-thirds of SAB was open ... not that there is a lot of people in the pool when normal temps are in the 50's and 60's. When the slide portion of SAB is down, they have always taken people that want to slide on a pool slide over to the Boardwalk. They had a continuous cart driving people to and from during normal pool hours ... again ... with the weather normally not "pool" weather, the carts were normally empty.

All three other regular pools (BC, BCV and YC) were always open during the SAB maintenance in the past years as far as I can remember.

In the past, we all found that if you booked through a travel agent or through Orbitz or some way other than directly thru Disney, you will probably not receive the standard letter that is sent to all reservations that are booked for the period during SAB rehab. Those letters go to the travel agent or Orbitz or whoever booked the reservation ... whether or not they (travel agent, etc.) forward it to you is out of Disney's control. If you booked thru Disney, you should receive a letter saying a portion of SAB will be under rehab while you are there ... at least that is what we all on this thread have found out happened in the past.

In my personal opinion, if the pool rehab will ruin your stay, I personally would change my reservation to another resort. And I personally would definitely do that during the months of April thru October. However, any time I go to WDW in the winter months, I don't even take a bathing suit. But that's just me. But you spend lots of money on your vacation so if you are going in the winter months and swimming in a big pool with a great slide is a huge factor in your vacation, then you should move to one of the other Disney resorts that would suit your needs more. If you think you will just be using the pool for 30 minutes or so every day (mainly because of the weather), then I personally would not change resorts. There are other pools there and only one-third of SAB will be down during your stay so you can definitely use a pool at Y&B.

 

[susall]

We booked directly with Disney UK but were not informed.
When you book Disneyland Paris they give you the dates when the pool will be closed - before you book!
I understand that the pool needs maintainance. However Disney should inform me, best before I make a reservation

 

[WDW4us2006]

A couple of years ago we were at the BC during pool maintenance. I want to say it was in the spring (because the resort was busy and everyone was swimming) and it was down because of a pump repair or something? Anyway, there was one section that was under construction, and it did not interfere with our time there at all. The pool area is huge, and I remember thinking the only inconvenience was that one of the bridges was closed so it was a longer walk to the bar! In my personal opinion, for the amount of time people would normally spend in the pool in January, it certainly would not be worth switching resorts to me.

 

[Spoisal]

A couple of years ago we were at the BC during pool maintenance. I want to say it was in the spring (because the resort was busy and everyone was swimming) and it was down because of a pump repair or something? Anyway, there was one section that was under construction, and it did not interfere with our time there at all. The pool area is huge, and I remember thinking the only inconvenience was that one of the bridges was closed so it was a longer walk to the bar! In my personal opinion, for the amount of time people would normally spend in the pool in January, it certainly would not be worth switching resorts to me.

I agree completely! We were there while the pool slide was closed in Feb of 2011 and it didn't bother us at all - in fact, we forgot all about it while we were there. We ended up spending more time at the quiet pool anyway - the main pool is a little too nuts with people & activity for our speed...

 

[Wood Nymph]

I read this info on a Disney facebook page today, posted by a TA:
"Some more refurb news ... They've put dates on the Stormalong Bay refurb we heard rumors about. The Stormalong Bay waterslide and the waterway from the slide to the first bridge will be closed 1/2-2/5. Then the lazy river and bridges three and four will be closed 2/2-3/3. "
We will be there Jan 30-Feb 8th, so as long as the weather is warm enough on a few days my kids can enjoy both parts of the pool, just not all at the same time, lol. Those who have been there through a pool refurb-please tell me it's not too bad having some parts closed??

We have stayed at the BC or BCV during a time when parts of SAB were closed and for the most part, it was fine. We were there in January and the weather was usually a little too cold for us to go swimming, anyway. This happened on at least two of our January vacations.

We were just at the Wilderness lodge last month during their pool closure and had a great vacation. We swam in the quiet pool and weren't at all bothered that the main pool was closed. Everything we loved about that resort was still there, just as it would be if we were at the BC/YC during a SAB pool refurb.

January is not a good month for swimming, anyway. We've been to WDW many times in January, we like the low cost and smaller crowds, and we often get weather that is too cold for swimming.

 

[Hopefully]

Teena,

Sorry, totally off topic question...... (I was hoping to catch you on this thread.)

I thought I had read awhile ago where you mentioned going to Vero Beach. We have a trip coming up to the Disney Vero Beach Resort. Can you recommend casual seafood restaurants and anything to do in the area?

Good Day Lucas,
We are currently here at Vero Beach for our 4th trip. We did 5 days BCV for F & W followed by 6 days to relax at Vero
I agree with Teena, the Ocean Grill is a very nice restaurant for dinner. The Crab au Gratin is out of the world. It is a bit "upscale" for the beach vacation but very nice.
We find Disney's Vero Beach Resort to be closer to Sebastin than Vero itself. We have found several "casual" restaurants that we like in the Sebastin area.
We usually eat at Captain Hiram's = some criticize that it is a tourist trap and it may be, but we find the food to be good and reasonably priced. We also like Squid Lips, right on the dock on the Indian River as well as Mulligan's which is adjacent to Squid Lips.
Enjoy Vero, it is a very nice resort

 

[MickeyT]

We booked directly with Disney UK but were not informed.
When you book Disneyland Paris they give you the dates when the pool will be closed - before you book!
I understand that the pool needs maintainance. However Disney should inform me, best before I make a reservation

Agreed susall. Disney should have let you know.

We here feel your pain as we all have had curve balls thrown (a US baseball reference ) at our vacations. But as the comments here have tried to reassure you this is one you can overcome. We have no control over Disney's release of information and again, agree it can be somewhat lacking at times!

Our family has stayed at BCV's for marathon weekend in January for the last 6 or 7 years. Some years the only thing in the pool is ducks. Some years it is very nice but still very few people in the pool. February for Princess weekend will be similar. Our ability to walk to EPCOT and enjoy the BC atmosphere far outweigh and 'curveball'.

Now whether you and yours want to change resorts, only you can answer....

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Do you know if they are adding more sand?

Last weekend, I noticed a lot of bare spots that weren't there in July. Around the hot tub side there were large spots missing sand and I figured they needed to reshuffle some around