Convince us to try Yacht or Beach Club!

[WoodysRoundup]

With three small children, we've always liked the convenience of the monorail. Pre-kids, we stayed at some mods and were not bothered by not being on the monorail. The only reason we've always done monorail resorts w/the kids is for convenience. We're looking to change things up a bit and possibly try Yacht or Beach Club. Stormalong Bay is a big draw for us. I'm curious though, we will miss seeing the castle across the lagoon and the ease of the monorail (With a 3 yr. old and slightly older sibs in tow)? What is the view across Crescent Lake? What are the rooms like? Is Stormalong Bay that great? Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated!

 

[daneenm]

We just returned (our children are 6 and 10) and we LOVED YC! I just made an update in this thread...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1544800

SAB has a great area for small children where the water is shallow and there is a sand bar for digging and building sand castles. Our experience with transportation was great. Can't answer whether you will miss the view of the castle...this was our first trip, so have never done that.

--Daneen

 

[fla4fun]

I usually alternate trips between an MK resort and an Epcot resort, and then focus on the parks nearby. If you are going to spend a lot of time in MK with kids of those ages, I would probably still stay in an MK resort. Of all the things people say about the Y&BC, buses to MK seem to be at the top of the complaint list.

However, as far as resorts go, they are great! The pool is very nice, especially for kids. If you like a balcony, you might want to go with YC, as some of the BC balconies are one person, standing room only, type balconies. You will have good boat transport to Epcot and the Studios, or you can walk if you want to. It's really nice to have all the dining and shopping choices available, since there are five resorts all within walking distance of each other. The Yacht Club Galley is a bit of a hidden gem - good basic food in a no-nonsense setting, and relatively easy to get an ADR for. If you get a water view room, you will be looking across toward the Boardwalk Resort, which is a very nice view, especially at night. You can see the higher fireworks from Illuminations from the bridge between the BC and BWI. I tend to book in this area during the winter, when it's cool enough to really get out and walk a lot.

 

[mericletwins]

We love the BC! We also have small kids and they love SAB so much that sometimes it is hard to get them to leave the pool to go to the parks. Transportations to the parks is great because you can walk into Epcot and take a nice boat ride to MGM. We didn't have any problem with the bus service to AK or MK. We figured if it was a problem we would walk through Epcot and hop the monorail. My kids love the monorail so it wouldn't have been a big deal. Also, we split our time pretty evenly between the parks, so I don't see being in a MK resort as being that convenient over an Epcot resort. We have the opposite dilema as you. We are going in January and we wanted to try the Poly, but no one in our group wants to give up the BC/YC, so we are doing a split stay. Six nights at the BC and 3 nights at the Poly.

 

[PrincessPaczki]

We loved the BC resort. It was nice to have such a beautiful and large pool at our resort, especially with 2 hyper boys! After swimming it is nice to go to Beaches and Cream for the kitchen sink! Yum! We loved the walk to Epcot and the quick boat ride to MGM. The stroll to Epcot is very relaxing and takes almost no time at all. At night you can walk along the boardwalk. Our favorite restaurant is the Yachtsman Streakhouse and it is right there at the resort.

 

[kapoof]

the short walk to epcot is a great reason alone to stay there.

 

[angelina]

We just got back from the BC, and we loved it. The Poly has always been my favorite resort, and there's nothing like it, IMHO--the theming is the best. But in all honesty, there were things about the BC that would make me choose it again over the Polynesian. SAB is an awsome pool, it is huge and there's something there for everyone. We loved watching the movie on the beach one night, and the campfire sing-along and marshamllow roast, too. The thing that surprised me the most was the convenience of everything--the pool, the lake, the Boardwalk, not to mention EPCOT and MGM. It's just not spread out at all. The hotel itself is more compact--all the rooms are in one building, not in separate buildings like the other resorts we've stayed at. it may be considered a large resort, but it just seems smaller and more cozy. We loved being able to walk into the lobby and go right up to our room.

However, my children are older now--15, 13, and 8. This was our first trip without a stroller and diaper bag, so that makes a lot of difference. If you're spending a lot of time at MK, the monorail would be convenient, but it wasn't a long walk to the bus stop or marina to hop a boat. When we stayed at the Poly, we had a great room that overlooked the marina and pool, but it was a bit of a walk to catch the monorail. At the BC, it was a short walk to the bus stop from the hotel lobby.

As for missing the view of the castle, I loved seeing the Boardwalk at night, and it's closer than the castle.


Either place will be wonderful.

 

[vicceja]

Hi

We've been to the world twice a year for the last 5 years and have stayed at the AKL, Poly and our latest trip 2 weeks ago we stayed at the BC. I was also a little worried about staying at the Beach Club because we so loved the Poly at our last stay. Let me tell you - my husband and kids (3 boys ages 11,9, & 6) loved it the minute we walked through the doors. Since we had an early arrival I was so nervous that our room would not be ready - not the case at all. We were sent to our room immediately. We literaly walked 2 minutes to Epcot and took a short trip to MGM. I worried about all the horrible stories I heard about the bus transportation to and from the other parks, but to my relief, the buses werent as bad as I thought. All-in-all, I think you will definitely love staying at the BC. Oh, and my boys never wanted to leave the Pool. The slide and all the fun activities they had for all of them was awesome. I am planning our next trip this winter and am definitely booking Beach Club again.

I think you will love it as much as we did.

Have a great trip!

Ely

 

[DisnyMik]

Well, our children are now 19, 16, and 9. Many years ago we had friends that were fortunate enough to stay @Y & BC. We arrived @ Disney the day before they were to leave but we were staying at another resort. Back then you were able to "pool hop" so we hopped on over to spend the day w/them @ Y& BC. It was awesome and the kids had a great time. I might add that was before DS #3 came along! After the birth of DS#3 (about 3 or 4 yrs.) we went to the Yacht Club and we all had a wonderful stay! Raoul (?) played with our little one in the sand and entertained him and he loved it! We had a balcony w/YC and could see the fireworks.

The kids still say to this day that is there favorite place to stay. We have not been able to afford it since then, but we definitely want to go back someday. We still check rates hoping to get in on a good deal.

If your kids like sand and water and slides they will love Stormalong Bay and so will you! We still go to Beaches and Cream for the Kitchen Sink! Hope you choose it and I know you will love it!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

We booked YC for many reasons that were posted here!!
While I love being in the MK area....wanted to try this area. The fact that there are SO many things close by....we will have a stroller and diaper bag If you go to tagrel.com...there is a wonderful slide show of SAB Perfect spots for little ones!!!
SO try YC/BC!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Livin'4Disney]

if you stay at the YC do you have access to the kids activities at the BC? (Movies, games, etc?) Also, how long of a walk is it to BC from YC?
Which is closer to Epcot or is that a mute point?

Just tagging on to this thread as we are trying to decide the same on where to stay in '08....

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Yes you can do whatever they do at the BC. The beach movies, etc. are for both resorts.
We just got back last night and we loved the YC. I think it is my new favorite. We ate at the Poly and it is nice to see again, but I don't need to stay there. I am hoping we can do YC for our trip next spring. Walking to Epcot is awesome, and although MK is my favorite park, our bus experiences were no problem.
Robin M.

 

[mericletwins]

if you stay at the YC do you have access to the kids activities at the BC? (Movies, games, etc?) Also, how long of a walk is it to BC from YC?
Which is closer to Epcot or is that a mute point?

Just tagging on to this thread as we are trying to decide the same on where to stay in '08....

The BC is closer to Epcot and the YC is closer to the boat dock for MGM.