BC/YC Questions

[DisDad4Life]

I'm sure these have been addressed in previous threads, but I'm too lazy to do a lot of searching and I'm hoping to get some good insight from experienced BC/YC vacationers.

We've stayed numerous times at AKL but am really interested in trying the BC or YC for the conveniences of Epcot, HS and the Boardwalk. It would be for a potential trip in August and is an "adults only" trip.

So, my questions:

1) How is the bus service to MK, AK and DTD? With all the resorts around the Boardwalk area I'm a bit leery about the number of stops and availability on the bus. Should I be? At AKL the buses only shared between Kidani and Jambo and we never had an issue getting a seat or standing if needed.

2) Without a quick service/food court area, are there easily accessible mug refill stations (I assume you can buy the mugs at BC/YC)? We definitely get our moneys worth out of the mugs at the other resorts.

3) And finally, if anyone has stayed at BC/YC and AKL (and I know you're out there), what are your overall thoughts about staying at one of these Boardwalk resorts vs. AKL (which in my opinion is a fantastic vacation destination in itself!)? Very interested to hear your points of view!

Thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

love the BC - it does have quick service - marketplace. loved it.
think that not only at the marketplace but at pool Hurricane Hanna for your refillable mug

bc use to share with all 5 resorts - but now MOSTLY it only shares with YC - so that problem does not exist

yes stayed at both - AKL/V is definitely on its own scale - there is nothing like it short of Africa itself. So it is hard to compare. that say - AKL/V is not close to any parks.

bc is walking distance to Epcot - like 5 minutes - some rooms at AKL are so far from the bus stop that it takes longer than that to get to the bus stop.

now bc is further from Studios - but you can walk it or take the boat (the boat from Epcot or YC marina are both about the same distance from bc) that say would probably go with YC going to studios - less stops.

not nightlife - AKL is a fun place to stay.

but BC/YC you have a much greater choice - you can stay at your own resort or go out along the BW area.

for those EMH for epcot or studios - would definitely stay at bc

 

[Wood Nymph]

1. The bus only shares between the YC and BC. It can be crowded first thing in the morning and when the parks close. But otherwise it is fine. Very rarely will the bus stop at another resort.

2. There are refill stations at the BC Marketplace, Hurricane Hannah's and YC Ale & Compass. You can get counter service at Marketplace and Hurricane Hannah's

3. Haven't stayed at AKL but for me an Epcot resort is all about location while a well themed resort like AKL or WL is all about the resort itself.

 

[mickeynut1]

I'm sure these have been addressed in previous threads, but I'm too lazy to do a lot of searching and I'm hoping to get some good insight from experienced BC/YC vacationers.

We've stayed numerous times at AKL but am really interested in trying the BC or YC for the conveniences of Epcot, HS and the Boardwalk. It would be for a potential trip in August and is an "adults only" trip.

So, my questions:

1) How is the bus service to MK, AK and DTD? With all the resorts around the Boardwalk area I'm a bit leery about the number of stops and availability on the bus. Should I be? At AKL the buses only shared between Kidani and Jambo and we never had an issue getting a seat or standing if needed.

2) Without a quick service/food court area, are there easily accessible mug refill stations (I assume you can buy the mugs at BC/YC)? We definitely get our moneys worth out of the mugs at the other resorts.

3) And finally, if anyone has stayed at BC/YC and AKL (and I know you're out there), what are your overall thoughts about staying at one of these Boardwalk resorts vs. AKL (which in my opinion is a fantastic vacation destination in itself!)? Very interested to hear your points of view!

Thanks!

1. The buses, IMO, are hit or miss at the Epcot resorts as some people report the buses sharing only between the BC & YC, while others report them being shared among all 5 resorts (BC/YC/BWI/Swan/Dolphin). During our BC stay, the buses shared among all 5 resorts, with them being full/standing room only every time they reached the BC. We found the bus service at AKL to be much better than at the BC.

2. Mugs can be refilled at the Marketplace (the CS at the BC), which is located in the back of the BC gift shop. I think you can also refill them at Hurricane Hannas by the pool, but hopefully someone else will be able to verify that or correct me if I'm wrong.

3. We like trying different resorts and we enjoyed our stay at the BC, but AKL is my favorite of the two. The BC is a nice resort and you can't beat being within walking distance to 2 parks, but we find the CS options to be too limited (which is a deal breaker for us) and we also weren't wow'd by SAB. SAB is nice and I'm glad we tried it, but I prefer the AKL pool to SAB.

 

[maryandtyson]

Hello!
Our three favorite resorts are AKL, WL and BC.

You can refill your mug at the Marketplace at BC. It's the shop and QS. Not as good as The Mara, but then nothing is as good as The Mara. you can also refill atHurricane Haana's pool bar, Ale & Compass at YC and Beaches and Cream ice cream (takeaway window, CM will refill it for you).

Location and room size/comfort are what you get at Beach. We stay there during Food & Wine. The convenience can't be beat!!

The bus service is fine, you only share with YC. It's fine. Never had any problem at all with MK or AK. DTD is always bad now on the DTD end, not the resort end.

We love BC!! Especially, the pool and the location. I hope you love it too!

 

[DisDad4Life]

Thanks everyone for your replies! We've made 13 trips (I think) to WDW and 9 of those have been at AKL, so obviously it's hard to pull us away from there! But we love the world showcase (remember...adults only) and I think I'd like to try something new. The way I see it we can return "home" to AKL at a later date (I hope!).

 

[maryandtyson]

Just wanted to add that you are steps away from all the QS in EPCOT. We also pick up breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery, about a 10 minute walk.

 

[Mom2m&k]

We are DVC owners at AKV and have stayed there 3 times and we LOVE it. This last time we stayed at the YC and we really missed AKV. Aside from the theming just not being our thing the buses were not great. At one point people had been waiting for a MK bus for over an hour! It was nice to walk to World Showcase but in order to get there quickly you needed to walk. I didn't find the boats to be quick in the least but it was nice to be able to use different transportation. We did enjoy our stay at YC but we will be overjoyed to go back to AKV!

 

[DisDad4Life]

We are DVC owners at AKV and have stayed there 3 times and we LOVE it. This last time we stayed at the YC and we really missed AKV. Aside from the theming just not being our thing the buses were not great. At one point people had been waiting for a MK bus for over an hour! It was nice to walk to World Showcase but in order to get there quickly you needed to walk. I didn't find the boats to be quick in the least but it was nice to be able to use different transportation. We did enjoy our stay at YC but we will be overjoyed to go back to AKV!

I hear ya! Love AKL! But this time we might be a party of 5, so that pretty much eliminates AKL this time around and gives me an excuse to try one of the Epcot resorts.

 

[Sue M]

We have stayed at all 3. BC, YC & AKL. We love AKL, but you can't beat the location of YC/BC being able to walk to Epcot, and walk or boat to DHS.

Plus all the dining options of 2 parks and 5 resorts including Swan/Dolphin.

There's nothing like being able to watch Illuminations in Epcot and just walk back to your room while all the others are making the mass exit to the busses & monorail. We also like to watch from the bridge between BC & BWI.

We found bus service good to MK & AK. BC & YC share. The only bus all Epcot resorts share is the DTD bus.

Filling mugs was not a problem. We used either Marketplace or Hurricane Hanna. From YC it's maybe a 5 min walk over to Marketplace mostly thru inside corridor with a little jaunt outside by B&C then back inside. All under cover.

I have a slight pref for YC because all rooms have full balconies. And it's first bus pick up. I go with my adult daughter and YC is a bit quieter.

 

[daisyduck123]

We LOVE BCV....it's our favorite resort. We have done a AKV/BCV split several times....you get the BEST OF BOTH worlds. For some reason though, these past two summers, we opted for just 10 straight days at BCV. I do miss that split stay though!

Buses at BCV are not much of a problem. There were a few times last July when it seemed that it took a LONG time for MK buses to arrive, and the day we went to TL that bus took a while to arrive. Those were the only times transportation was an issue.

 

[heidijanesmith]

I'm sure these have been addressed in previous threads, but I'm too lazy to do a lot of searching and I'm hoping to get some good insight from experienced BC/YC vacationers.

We've stayed numerous times at AKL but am really interested in trying the BC or YC for the conveniences of Epcot, HS and the Boardwalk. It would be for a potential trip in August and is an "adults only" trip.

So, my questions:

1) How is the bus service to MK, AK and DTD? With all the resorts around the Boardwalk area I'm a bit leery about the number of stops and availability on the bus. Should I be? At AKL the buses only shared between Kidani and Jambo and we never had an issue getting a seat or standing if needed. We have stayed at YC x2 and found the buses to be ok to poor. We take a taxi to the waterparks and DTD. It seems like we waited quite a while for buses to show and then we went to multiple EPCOT resorts before heading to our destination. We like AKL bus service much, much better. Walking to EPCOT and DS was fantastic! We spend a lot of time at EPCOT and DS, so the bus issue was not a deal breaker for us.

2) Without a quick service/food court area, are there easily accessible mug refill stations (I assume you can buy the mugs at BC/YC)? We definitely get our moneys worth out of the mugs at the other resorts. We found refilling our mugs at Hurricane Hannah's to be easy. Our rooms at YC have been quite a hike to the lobby and pool area, but the views were amazing!

3) And finally, if anyone has stayed at BC/YC and AKL (and I know you're out there), what are your overall thoughts about staying at one of these Boardwalk resorts vs. AKL (which in my opinion is a fantastic vacation destination in itself!)? Very interested to hear your points of view! We love staying at the EPCOT resorts and are really excited to try BWI this time. AKL is a great resort and we loved it for our 1st stay at WDW. DH likes activity and the ability to walk to connecting resorts or taking the monorail to other resorts.

Thanks!

See above for some answers

We chose the YC as a full patio or balcony is must for us. I don't think you can wrong with any of the EPCOT resorts. There are pro's and con's to any resort area.

 

[Best Aunt]

I have stayed at AKL Jambo House, and all of the Epcot area resorts.

In terms of what you can see out the window as you walk down the hall -- you can't beat AKL.

But in terms of relaxing, I like to sit by the beach at Beach Club. I find it very calming. I didn't find anyplace at AKL which made me feel that way. We sat in the rocking chairs off the back of Jambo House, but I just didn't find it as relaxing.

Also, when you stay at one of the Epcot area resorts, you can start the day at any park, go back to your room to rest or swim, and then walk over to Epcot or the BoardWalk in the late afternoon or evening. At AKL, once we got back to the hotel in the afternoon, I didn't have the energy to get back on a bus, so we ended up staying in for the evening every night.

 

[DJFan88]

I'd go with the BC, as it is Much easier to get to the marketplace to refill than YC, which is the easiest place to refill. Hurricane Hannah's is fine but I find the bee's like to swarm around the soda machine during the day. And Ale and Compass was fine for coffee in the morning, but the time is limited and sometimes you need help for stuff there.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I'd go with the BC, as it is Much easier to get to the marketplace to refill than YC, which is the easiest place to refill. Hurricane Hannah's is fine but I find the bee's like to swarm around the soda machine during the day. And Ale and Compass was fine for coffee in the morning, but the time is limited and sometimes you need help for stuff there.

I agree. We've stayed at both the BC and YC and found the BC much more convenient. We also like the decor and atmosphere there more. We never had problems with the buses, but felt that less people got on at the YC.

 

[catho72]

We've stayed at AKL (both Kidani and Jambo) and BC. Our favorite resort hands down is BC. You are literally minutes away from World Showcase. BC has the BEST pool on WDW property. Did I mention you can have a Grey Goose Slushie in your hand ten minutes after leaving your room? We haven't encountered long waits for the buses to MK/AK/DTD. Getting home from DTD is a pain no matter which resort you stay at. BC is a very relaxing resort with a ton of restaurants within an easy walking distance. AKL is impressive...there's no denying that. BC has a much airier feel to it due to the lighter color scheme of the resort. Boardwalk is a short walk from BC and there are several adult nightlife options to choose from.

 

[Disney before Sally]

Perhaps the difference in opinion on the bus service has to do with time of day, time of year, and crowd levels?

 

[John93]

BC or YC all the way. AKL is great - but so far out of the way. There is so much to do and see in the EPCOT resort area at all times of the day. The pool is incredible, the views are great, and you can't beat being walking distance from TWO parks!

By the way - we always take a car down because we are from GA, but I have heard the bus service is pretty awful - luckily you only need to worry about it if going to MK.

 

[Babsy]

I'm sure these have been addressed in previous threads, but I'm too lazy to do a lot of searching and I'm hoping to get some good insight from experienced BC/YC vacationers.

We've stayed numerous times at AKL but am really interested in trying the BC or YC for the conveniences of Epcot, HS and the Boardwalk. It would be for a potential trip in August and is an "adults only" trip.

So, my questions:

1) How is the bus service to MK, AK and DTD? With all the resorts around the Boardwalk area I'm a bit leery about the number of stops and availability on the bus. Should I be? At AKL the buses only shared between Kidani and Jambo and we never had an issue getting a seat or standing if needed.

2) Without a quick service/food court area, are there easily accessible mug refill stations (I assume you can buy the mugs at BC/YC)? We definitely get our moneys worth out of the mugs at the other resorts.

3) And finally, if anyone has stayed at BC/YC and AKL (and I know you're out there), what are your overall thoughts about staying at one of these Boardwalk resorts vs. AKL (which in my opinion is a fantastic vacation destination in itself!)? Very interested to hear your points of view!

Thanks!

1) Buses are variable wherever you stay. I have had good and poor experiences at almost all the WDW resorts. Some trips everything seems to be fantastic with the transportation and some, it just isn't good. I have had waits for an MK bus at the YC that lasted over an hour! However, I have had similar waits at the AKL going to/from the MK. It is worthy of note that such long waits are extremely rare. Most common are waits of less than 20 minutes wherever you are headed.
I have had to stand on buses from most resorts (at busy times) as well. It is a function of public transportation, I think. Generally speaking, the transportation around WDW is very good. Some resorts have a trade off of extra stops in order to have short walks to a bus stop (not the case at either of the resorts you are considering). Personally, I like non bus transportation so I really enjoy staying at an Epcot or MK resort. The advantage of transportation for these resorts is for the theme parks that they are near. When going to more distant theme parks on buses, there is no discernible advantage over even a value resort. In fact it sometimes seems to me that the resorts that have only buses might even be better served by the buses. In reality, I do believe that this is a perception based on the contrast to the ease of transportation to the nearby theme park(s).

Choosing an Epcot area resort gives you a huge advantage in transportation when going to Epcot. It is nicer riding a boat or walking to DHS, but you can often get there just as quickly on a bus from AKL, IMO.

2) Already answered. Marketplace and Hurricane Hanna's.

3) Very different experiences. Apples and oranges. Both are good. How do you compare? Some people will like one and not the other. Most people will like both.

AKL: amazing theming, so exotic and different, good value, great pools, delicious food. and good bus transportation.

BC/YC: great hotels, fabulous location, walk or boat to 2 theme parks, Storm Along Bay pool, next door to the Board walk, larger rooms, recently refurbished, myriads of dining options.

Neither location is the best for getting to/from the MK. However, they are about equal, IMO. When buses are used, the bus usually goes to the YC/BC stops only, so that is about the same as AKL Jambo and kidani stops.

If you have already stayed at AKL, I would suggest trying the BC or YC.