Beach Club Magic!

[Eeyore1954]

Just returned from a vacation to the Beach Club and it was the most magical vacation to WDW ever!

The Christmas decorations were up all over the resort -- we arrived on 11/10 (Sunday) and were amazed at how beautiful everything was.

The magic started when Michelle checked us in and advised us we were on the 5th floor (concierge). We did not book or request this, so we were surprised at this. We still don't know why it happened. But we didn't complain!

Cape May Buffet breakfast was a good as ever. It was great to have all sorts of fresh fruit to balance out the Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

Our Mousekeeper, Carmen, was undoubtedly the most magical CM we encountered at BC. Every day she worked, she left us a towel animal surprise in our room.

Monday -- small duck on the vanity
Tuesday -- BIG lobster on the table
Wednesday -- Thanksgiving Turkey on the nightstand
Thursday -- Carmen was off -- no surprise
Friday -- BIG Mickey Logo on the vanity
Saturday -- Rabbit with flowers on the vanity; big dolphin on the table

The concierge staff were wonderful and very friendly (well, except for Josh who always seemed somewhat sullen or depressed all the time). Special thanks to Tamica and Kimberly for extra effort to help us!

Our room: 5702 -- overlooking the "moat" -- with a nice view of the Geosphere at Epcot.

Stormalong Bay -- wonderful! Didn't want to leave -- could have stayed there the entire trip and been happy.

Beaches and Cream -- great fun for a snack or light lunch or dinner. The servers had us laughing almost constantly. It always seemed busy, but the servers were efficient.

The rockers -- a high point of our stay. We went down to watch a sunrise or sunset several times or just relax after a long day at the park. In the AM is it quiet and peaceful -- a nice way to start out the day. In the evening, it was relaxing -- especially if you needed time to digest a late-night sundae from B&C.

Rennovations? Didn't see them started yet, but some areas of Stormalong were walled off. Did not hear any noise from this if it was going on.

Any questions, please ask!

 

[pnelson]

Do you know what the hours for Storm Along Bay are? I've heard they close early? Also, we will be staying at the Villas-Are they far from everything?

 

[Terry S]

Steve... Thanks for posting the great report. BC is our favorite resort, that is why we are now owners at the BCV.

When you refer to the "rockers" Are you talking about the bench type swings on the beach? If so, I completely agree with you. This is one of my favorite spots. We love to be there at sunrise, sunset and also in the evening you can watch the high fantasmic fireworks behind the boardwalk, a beautiful site. I only wish there was a few more. There are 3 frames on the beach, but only 2 actually have a bench.

 

[heffie]

Just back from Beach Club myself. I was there a week before you. One day no Christmas decorations, and the next day viola! Also in concerige level- very spoiled now! To be honest, I was a little dissapointed with Storm Along. It was great, but hyped up so much that I expected a little more. Great place to stay, great location, would highly recommend it!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by pnelson
Do you know what the hours for Storm Along Bay are? I've heard they close early? Also, we will be staying at the Villas-Are they far from everything?

Hi! The official (posted) hours are 10 AM until 8 PM. So I guess 8 PM qualifies as early. Now as for it being officially closed -- well, the slide is, but we saw people swimming as late as 10 PM one night.

You will need to show a resort ID card to get it and they do strap a band on your arm for ID purposes. They've limited access to Stormalong to YC/BC and BCV only. We walked to the entry that's almost between BC & YC to go in. There may be another entry, but we didn't use it. You have to get the band to rent floats or go down the slide.

We visited the Villas on our first day -- just wandering around to get a feel for where everything is. They seemed close to everything to me -- I would say it was just a couple of city blocks (Chicago-style blocks) to walk to almost anything.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by Terry S
Steve... Thanks for posting the great report. BC is our favorite resort, that is why we are now owners at the BCV.

When you refer to the "rockers" Are you talking about the bench type swings on the beach? If so, I completely agree with you. This is one of my favorite spots. We love to be there at sunrise, sunset and also in the evening you can watch the high fantasmic fireworks behind the boardwalk, a beautiful site. I only wish there was a few more. There are 3 frames on the beach, but only 2 actually have a bench.

Hi, Terry! The "rockers" we used most were right outside the BC lobby. We sat there several mornings to watch the wildlife -- rabbits, squirrels, and birds. We did snag one of the swings on the beach one evening and watched Illuminations fireworks -- all I can say was WOW! Either one is great, because I just love to sit and relax after "parking" it all day -- gives the poor, sore footsies a much-needed break!

 

[SandraC]

Hi all! My family has been debating on when to go, where to stay etc.,. etc.,. After several chats with my family, we seem to keep talking about how much we love Epcot. It never really occured to me to stay at BC until recently. So now I would love to hear allllllll about it! What is the closest building to Epcot? How far is the walk? Can you walk to MGM? We walked about the area in April, but I did not think we would every stay there, so I did not pay attention to everything. Can you see and hear Illuminations? THANKS! S

 

[Terry S]

SandraC... The walk to Epcot is literally 5 minutes. You arrive in Epcot by the International Gateway which is located right between the UK and France. By the closest building, I am not sure what you mean. Beach Club is the closest of the Epcot resorts to Epcot and there really is only one Building at Beach Club.

The walk to MGM is a bit longer, it takes about 15 - 20 minutes or you can hop on a boat, which is also about 15 - 20 minutes.

You can see and hear the high fireworks from the beach at Beach Club and also from the bridge that connects the Beach Club to the Boardwalk. There area also a few rooms where you can see the Fireworks from.

As I stated earlier, I just love this resort. The themeing here is just the best, love the bright colors and being on the beach is great (even though you can't swim there). I love to just sit on the beach and look accross at the lights on the boardwalk.

There are several good places to eat. Cape May Cafe has a great character breakfast buffet and a really good dinner buffet. If you want a sit down breakfast without characters there is also Yacht Club Galley. Beaches and Creme is great for a quick lunch and has great ice cream.

You will love you stay at the BC. Any more questions, ask away.

 

[Eeyore1954]

SandraC: I am now hooked on the BC! Both my DW and I loved the casual feel of the resort as well as the beach theme. To your questions:

The entire resort is somewhat connected. Here's a link to the resort map on this site: http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/yachtbeach.jpg

The BC is the lighter brown area. All the buildings are connected by hallways. The entire resort is right next to Epcot. The main elevators deliver you to the lobby; from there it's about a 5 minute walk to the International Gateway at Epcot (maybe less if you walk fast). My DW and I walk a little slower, so at our casual pace it was about 5 - 7 mins. each time.

Walking to MGM -- we didn't do that (too lazy?). We walked to the marina and took the boat. It stops at Swan/Dolphin then goes to MGM. Figure about a 15 - 20 min. ride (20 mins. being max if it's crowded). Going back the route is MGM - Swan/Dolphin/YC & BC/Boardwalk/Epcot. From MGM to Epcot, our captain said was about 40 mins.

You can drive to MGM in less than 5 mins. from BC. Just exit, turn left, go to the stop light; cross the highway and you're headed into MGM main parking.

Can you hear Illuminations? Partly. You can hear the fireworks boom, but not the music -- well, we couldn't hear the music in our room, even on the balcony. One night I was really pooped and fell asleep before 9 PM. The fireworks never woke me up!

If you sit on the beach, you can see some of the fireworks and hear the music a little.

Hope this helps!

 

[Terry S]

Eeyore1954... Acutally... there is a path way along the water where you can walk to MGM It is the same path that the boats take. You don't have to cross any roads. From the back of the Beach Club, you just walk past the Swan and Dolphin and behind the Boarwalk and you will see the path with the signs. The walkway or the boats are a great option if you don't have a car.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Thanks, Terri. I edited my last post to just say we were too lazy. I remember that pathway now -- I saw someone (who was much healthier than I!) jogging along it while we rode in the A/C'ed boat! Hmmm, maybe if I were jogging or walking it -- nah!!

I forgot one nice benefit of our stay -- package delivery to the resort. If you are staying on concierge, they will deliver packages to your room. At least they did that at WL and BC. Otherwise, packages are delivered to the resort's gift shop and you pick them up there.

 

[pnelson]

Wow! I guess I didn't realized Storm Along Bay stayed open. I heard it shut down at dark time. How far a walk is to the Boardwalk in the morning?

 

[twinmomto3boys]

Hi thanks for posting on the BC! We are staying there in 3 weeks.

Could you please tell me what the lifeguard situation is at Stormalong? Is there one at the top of the slide? Do you have to go down the slide one at a time? How tall do you have to be to go down the big slide? My kids are curious about the slide specifically and we cannot find many pictures of it.

Thanks a lot and I'm glad to hear you had a great trip!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by pnelson
Wow! I guess I didn't realized Storm Along Bay stayed open. I heard it shut down at dark time. How far a walk is to the Boardwalk in the morning?

Let me clarify ... I don't think Stormalong was officially open after 8 PM. I just saw a number of people in the pool -- in mostly the dark -- around 10 PM one evening. After 8 PM the lifeguards leave, the slide is shut down and I saw some closed gates. However, it's easy enough to climb over the very low fence and go for a swim in the dark.

My DW and I took the lazy man's route and went by boat. I really don't know how long a walk it would be, but it looks like it would be great exercise!

 

[Terry S]

Its a 10 minute walk at most. My 6 yr old son and I decided to walk once well my 5 yr old daughter and husband decided to wait for a boat (there was not a boat in site). We were over there having fun waving to my daughter and husband, while they were still waiting for the boat.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by twinmomto3boys
Hi thanks for posting on the BC! We are staying there in 3 weeks.

Could you please tell me what the lifeguard situation is at Stormalong? Is there one at the top of the slide? Do you have to go down the slide one at a time? How tall do you have to be to go down the big slide? My kids are curious about the slide specifically and we cannot find many pictures of it.

Thanks a lot and I'm glad to hear you had a great trip!

OK ... from memory and keep in mind I wasn't really counting -- I believe most of the time I saw about 3 different lifeguards stationed around the pool. Keep in mind that SB covers a huge area -- I often saw a couple of lifeguards walking around. I didn't ask, but I got the feeling that they had an "area" or section of SB to patrol/watch.

There is a person (lifeguard?) at the top of the ship's slide. They allow 1 person to slide at a time. I tried it once -- and for me (coward that I am) once was sufficient for this lifetime, thank you very much! It was the longest slide of my life. I guess I am too old for this stuff.

As far as how tall you have to be -- I don't know. I didn't see anything posted about it and I saw children tall and short going down. If your children can swim, they should be able to go down the slide.

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
The BC is the lighter brown area.
Hope this helps!

Has the color of the BC been changed with the renovations? The BC was light blue in Aug and the YC was a gray clapboard. Has the color changed?

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by Tiffany
Has the color of the BC been changed with the renovations? The BC was light blue in Aug and the YC was a gray clapboard. Has the color changed?

Sorry! I was referring to the colors that appear on the DisBoards map of the YC/BC area. On that map, the YC is sort of a darker brown color and the BC is a lighter brown color.

The actual building colors have not changed. My apologies for any confusion

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Sorry! I was referring to the colors that appear on the DisBoards map of the YC/BC area. On that map, the YC is sort of a darker brown color and the BC is a lighter brown color.

The actual building colors have not changed. My apologies for any confusion

Thanks for the clarification Eeyore 1954.

 

[twinmomto3boys]

Thank you Eeyore! sounds great.