Back from Thanksgiving at Yacht Club!

[Grumpy37]

We are back from the Thanksgiving trip to WDW. Stayed at the Yacht Club for the first time. We were disappointed at first not to get the AP rate for Beach Club, but we liked the theming of the Yacht Club better, and the boat launch to Epcot is closer. Water or Pool View room with a late (5:30 pm) check in meant 3052, which overlooks the quiet pool, but it was livable. It was a long way from basically everything except the quiet pool, DS5 asked if we could change rooms! (We didn't!)

Cold the first couple of nights, paddling around the sandbottomed (heated!) pool w/ DS5 was OK but getting out was chilly!!! More like back home than I would've hoped! Things got warmer as time went on. Regardless of the weather, SAB is the coolest pool in all of WDW besides maybe Blizzard Beach.

It was wonderful being that close to Epcot which was the main point of this trip, we only spent one day at MK (that night was MVMCP, I bumped into Samanta Brown at the Crystal Palace: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=475627 ).

The night of the Christmas Party I followed some people into the Haunted Mansion store looking for a shirt for my DS5 that was out of stock on Main Street. The odd thing was, there was no CM to take our money. A kid went out to find the CM, another CM came in and threw us all out and said the store shouldn't have been open in the first place. (Excuse me? This is the week after the Eddie Murphy movie hit theatres, are you kidding?) Finally some managers showed up with security (we stuck around because we wanted to buy the shirt!) but they locked the place down and started an inventory. I'm not used to seeing suit-and-tie types inside MK, but thats what was in the store. We never did get the shirts, if someone knows how to find the kid sizes with the three HM hitchhikers I'd appreciate a PM!...

Anyway, the next day DS5 and I went to the Poly (just the guys) for a character breakfast at 'Ohahas which is our favorite. Instantly we remembered why we love the Poly. We were happy at the Yacht club right up to that point, then we missed the Poly from then on.

One other note. MK was least crowded the afternoon before they closed early for MVMCP. So if you have UPH or APs, that seems to be the day to go.

And we STILL haven't managed to get to the minigolf!

Ask questions, I'll try to remember stuff if I can!

 

[Lexxiefern]

Glad you had a good time! My DH really wants to try out the Yacht Club. Sorry you didn't get your shirts

Oh thanks for the tip about MK before the party. We will be there next week - will try your advice!

 

[mjl]

Hey glad to hear you had a good time.

We will be splitting our stay between Poly and YC in January and have a few questions for you.

1) Its hard to believe that YC charges water view rates for a view of the quiet pool (which is on the side of the resort if I remember correctly?). Was the view bad or just not as good as a lake view? What did you actually see when you sat on your balcony?

2) SAB is heated no? Is the water warm or just kind of "outside temp". Wondering if we could use SAB in January on a 60-70 degree day

3) Any tips on getting that elusive "Lake view" at YC? Just checkin before others?

4) Are the rooms at the YC nice? How would you compare them to the Poly rooms?

Thanks !!!

 

[disney4us2002]

Grumpy37, please tell me about the 'Ohana char bkft. All I find about 'Ohana is the dinner and hula contest, etc. I have three boys, we're staying at the Poly, and it seems the char bkft there is possibly boy-oriented as there are no princesses or even girl characters. Is that accurate? We liked Chef Mickey's but have done it twice already so looking for a new char meal.

To order Disney World merchandise, you can call 407-363-6200. They can find anything sold in the stores in the parks and most of the items sold in DD. I have had great success with them.

 

[patsal]

I'm not Grumpy37, but I can tell you a bit about the breakfast. It is served family style so it is very nice--sit and be waited upon! The cahracters that were there when we went were: Goofy, Chip, Dale, and Mickey. They have a parade and give the kids moraccas (sp?) to shake while they parade around the room with the characters. All the children who participate are rewarded with a gummy worm or two. The character interaction was great and the view from the windows overlooking the MK are wonderful! Much more a boy place than the Castle.

 

[YCFAN]

The views at YC are standard, garden, water and lagoon. The only way to get Crescent Lake guaranteed is with a lagoon view. Glad you enjoyed your trip. I've been to Poly and YC and while Poly is wonderful (I've never been to a hotel at Disney that wasn't) we prefer YC. That's why Disney makes so many different themed hotels....but honestly, I've enjoyed every stay at Disney all for different reasons.

 

[mjl]

If im not mistaken, Water/Lagoon view does NOT guarantee you a crescent lake view. Unless somethign has changed, the water/lagoon view may actually have you staring at the Quiet pool from your balcony on the left side of the resort (Facing the Dolphin). I hope Im wrong, but all of the info I have gathered this seems to be the case.

Anyone confirm or deny this?

 

[YCFAN]

You may be correct...but I've only stayed concierge at YC and if you pay for concierge - lagoon view, you get Crescent Lake. I was concerned about this when I booked the room and was told lagoon view meant just that and we certainly weren't disappointed. Wonder what other's experiences have been?

 

[walt's assistant]

Just back from the YC too. Excellent concierge experience here with a 3rd floor water view room.

Dining as follows:
DINNER: Cape May, Boma, Hollywood and Vine, Chef Mickey's, San Angel Inn, Ohana, and the California Grill.

LUNCH: Flametree BBQ, Pizza Planet, Columbia Harbour House, La Cantina de San Angel, Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, and Yakitori House.

We also did the Princess Storybook breakfast at Restaurant Akershus and took the Breathless for a ride to ctatch a unique view of Illuminations...what an experience!

Ditto Grumpy37 on the chilly weather... kept us out of the pool completely.


WA

 

[pooh6890]

I thought the concierge rooms were exclusively on the 5th floor?

 

[siouxi31]

MJL,
Regarding your question about obtaining a lake view, I have some comment. I just returned from 1 week at BC (11/29 through 12/6). We originally booked a standard room however, during check-in (around 1130AM), we asked how much more the rate would be for water view. The CM quoted us somewhere around $27/night (I can't recall exactly what the cost was). When we decided to pay the charge, she showed us on a map that we would be booked in a room overlooking the volleyball court. If you're familiar with this resort you'll know that this portion of the resort is set back more from the lake. We were actually more interested in something that was not a quiet pool view and was also closer to EPCOT since we spend most of our time there. She told us that she could get us 2 queens (not full balcony) on the 3rd floor all the way at the end of the resort (closest to EPCOT). We agreed that was the spot that we wanted to stay in and she booked the room...then she informed us that the upgrade was complimentary. We had a great lake view! From all of this, I suppose my suggestion is to ask for lake view and check in early. What a great time we had!

 

[walt's assistant]

Originally posted by pooh6890
I thought the concierge rooms were exclusively on the 5th floor?

We upgraded our room accomodations...that's why we were on 3.



WA

 

[wdwnutze]

Grumpy37- We just came back a few days ago and we stayed at the BWV. We visited the Polynesian and had the same feeling you did. We really missed the Polynesian! It was nice to stay somewhere different but the Polynesian is still our favorite.

 

[CPM]

I bought the kid's hitchhiker shirts at the Character Shop at the outlet mall in November for $6.99. You can call there, they will let you know if they still have them. Try the one at Sawgrass also.