Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[pas130]

So I just reviewed my email confirmation, I'm in a GV CL room for December Even better! I see some rooms opened up at YC for the end of July....hmmmmm a YC/BWI split maybe

 

[Ninja Mom]

Good morning fellow YC/BC lovers - I have a question. This will be the first time DH is traveling with a c-pap machine, which requires distilled water. Anyone know if the Marketplace sells it? I'd rather not have to lug water in my suitcase, and he won't need enough to justify a delivery to the resort.

I have heard that many resort shops have distilled water behind the counter or back in the stock room. You just have to ASK for it. They don't keep it out because people might mistake it for drinking water. That being said I would contact Guest Services wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com prior to my trip and ask them to confirm this.

I hope that helps!

(Not a C-pap but close enough...)

~NM

 

[Katesdad]

Looks like it's a Safari problem, sorry I should have checked that first. I just tried in Firefox and they are all fine. Stupid Safari!

Oh Cortona, where are you? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[natebenma]

Oh Cortona, where are you? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Ouch!!! That hurts!!!

Cortana!!! Exploring the Wilderness Lodge

 

[LMO429]

Hi! We just finalized our trip and will be staying at Disney's Beach Club Oct 1st - October 8th.

I have stayed at the beach club many times but this is my first time with an infant. He will be 1 year old when we go in fact we will be celebrating his actual 1st birthday while we are there (Oct 5th)

I had two quick questions. Would you suggest I book a room with a King Bed and have a crib brought in for extra space. It is only myself, husband and baby

also there are a couple of instances where we would need to take cabs to dinners etc. Can the taxi concierge arrange taxis for us with a car seat for the baby??

we are trying to decide if we should rent a car and bring our own car seat or if the hotel can arrange cabs with car seats the handful of times we will need it????

thank you for your help

and any other beach club trips for traveling with the baby would be a big help feel like such a rookie planning this trip so many extra things to consider

 

[natebenma]

Hi, All! Spent the weekend scouring this thread!

I was (well, still am) booked at the All Star Sports for August 16 - 25 (HA room) for me and DD, but found a magical deal for the Beach Club Standard View for the same time, so booked it! I know, night and day difference! DD loves the look of the pool (she's never stayed there before) and the nicer overall feel of the resort. I love the look of the rooms now (it's been 20 years since I've stayed here, and the last time it wasn't nice at all really). We both love the whole Epcot resorts area too!

It is $900 more for our 9 nights, so I'm still thinking if free dining comes out, we MAY drop the BC and stay at the All Star Sports (but we already have AP's so we'd have to buy tickets and save them for next year), but I honestly don't know if that will happen! The only plan we'd use is the QSDP anyway, but I wouldn't ever buy it - it's still too much food!

So for now, I'm pretty sold on the BC!

Yeah, I'm indecisive too!

I do think she deserves this - much nicer vacation! She's worked so hard this school year, and last year was so hard on her physically.

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list we keep on Page 1.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[MickeyEars72]

Just returned from an 8 night stay at the Beach Club Resort from April 1-9. We had a fantastic time. Thought some of you may be interested in our experience and hopefully I can answer a few questions along the way. I'll try to be brief with my comments (and will most likely fail)

Pros:
Online check in. I got a text as soon as my plane landed that told us our room was ready and we could go straight to our room. I didn't have to stop at the front desk at all. In fact, I never saw the front desk for the the length of our stay. I used Touring Plans to request a room and we got the room we requested. Had a standard view room, but we could see the SAB pool and had a great view of the Hollywood Studios fireworks at night.

Room itself. We had 2 queens and a fold down couch. It worked out great for the 4 of us since my kids definitely did not want to share a bed. The room was beautiful and spacious. Full balcony with 2 chairs and decent view. Refrigerator was nice to have.

SAB. The pool, lazy river, slide, etc. were all fantastic. Kids (13 and 11) loved it and so did mom and dad. Best pool area in Disney!

Location, location, location. 5 minute walk to Epcot was awesome, especially since there are so many great restaurants and we ate 4 of our 8 dinners in Epcot (Teppan Edo, Coral Reef, Tutto Italia, Rose and Crown). 20 minute walk to Hollywood Studios. Anytime you don't have to rely on transportation is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. See below.

Beaches and Cream. We had the chocolate lovers kitchen sink. YUM! The 4 of us finished the entire thing. Amazing. Probably didn't need to eat the rest of the week but, of course, we did!

Sunken Treasure. I had to have one of these after reading all about them on this board. It was good. I'm more of a beer guy, but I enjoyed it. I can see why it is so popular.

Cons:
There were those who complained of a fishy smell in the lobby. I didn't really notice it there, but it was pervasive in the halls around our room. We were in room 3707 which is 2 floors above the Cape May Cafe. Definitely smelled like seafood. It didn't bother me much, but I wanted to confirm that the smell is present.

Disney transportation from the Beach Club. I'm a "get there before the parks open" kind of guy and on both of the days we went to the Magic Kingdom we had a difficult time getting on a bus. One of the days, we had breakfast reservations at 8:10 at Be Our Guest (park opened at 9) and had to wait for more than a half hour at the bus stop. I called the night before and was told that there was a "breakfast bus" that runs early. Not true. We were at the bus stop around 7:00 and the bus didn't come until 7:35. It was a regular Magic Kingdom bus that starts running 90 minutes before the park opens. We pretty much had to sprint through the park to make it to Be Our Guest by 8:15. The other day we went to MK, the buses were filling up at the Yacht Club and not stopping at the Beach Club. There was a cast member at the Beach Club bus stop ordering more buses, but it took more than an half hour to get a bus to the beach club. As any Disney veteran knows, those extra minutes in the morning can make a big difference on how easy it is to get into the park. There were a lot of frustrated people waiting for the bus. It may be worth walking to the Yacht Club bus stop early in the morning for Magic Kingdom buses if you want to make sure to get there ahead of the pack.

We used Uber to get to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. I highly recommend that. It was $6 and well worth it. We took the buses back from those parks since we were not in a rush. Uber rocks! I would definitely use Uber to go to Disney Springs or Wide World of Sports, too.


General Beach Club Comments:
The Beach Club is fantastic. We have stayed at the Polynesian and Animal Kingdom Lodge in the past and both were also excellent. The proximity to Epcot and the great dining options there was, in my opinion, the thing that set the Beach Club apart from those resorts. The pool was also the best we have seen.

The Beach Club Marketplace had plenty of options for making eating breakfast in the room easy. Having a fridge in the room was great to keep milk for breakfast and fruit fresh.

We watched a movie on the beach one night (Alice in Wonderland). It was a nice option to have, but we only stayed for about 30 minutes.

The beach area is very nice if you just want to relax on the beach and there were plenty of chairs. We probably could have done more of that.

General Disney Comments:
Fast Pass + was, in general, worked well for us. The fast pass kiosks were a pain, though. So many people had ZERO idea how they worked and the lines for the kiosk were painful. Disney fixed the app so you don't have to use the kiosks anymore. That's a great thing. We had a fast pass for Splash Mountain at 10:30 AM and the family in front of us scanned their bands and they wouldn't work. The guy said "your fast passes are for 9:55 PM, not AM. Ouch! I felt bad for that family and was surprised the guy didn't just let them go ahead.

The service everywhere was great. I didn't come across any surly cast members and didn't notice any negative changes since our last visit 6 years ago.

The Be Our Guest breakfast is awesome if you can get reservations before 8:15. We ate our breakfast and then were able to line up for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and got to ride it before the rest of the park rushed in. That alone was a huge perk and the breakfast itself was excellent.

We got to watch the very first show of the new Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios. It was kind of neat to see. The Star Wars fireworks were awesome. Better than Illuminations if you ask me.

I have tons of other general comments about our experience and Disney World in general. I did a TON of research before our trip and I think it paid off. Thanks to all of you on this board for helping me out in our journey.

 

[Kona65]

First time at the Yacht Club. We know to ask for a King Size Bed, but should be ask for a certain location. Any and all advise is welcomed.

Also, the more I read on this site the more confused I get. Is the Yacht Club under renovation, finished with renovations, or just getting started?

 

[natebenma]

First time at the Yacht Club. We know to ask for a King Size Bed, but should be ask for a certain location. Any and all advise is welcomed.

Also, the more I read on this site the more confused I get. Is the Yacht Club under renovation, finished with renovations, or just getting started?

The first post on Page 1 of this thread has the current info on renovations at the resort. I keep this updated so that readers don't need to search through the thread for info.

YC lounge has been renovated.

Work on the rooms has not started and we have not been given a date when it will begin.

This is what is currently in the refurbishment post on Page 1

Yacht Club- Work on the Regatta Club, the YC Club Level lounge, started on October 11, 2015 and finished in mid December. Lounge opened on Dec 13.

No official start date has been announced for the start of work on the Yacht Club rooms.

Unofficial information seems to point to the renovations of the rooms at the YC starting in August 2016, or later. A friend of one of the resort construction workers said they believe the work will not start until August. A guest in March asked a resort CM about whether renovations would be happening during their trip in late August and the CM said there would not be any work happening at that time. And no guests with upcoming stays at the YC have reported receiving letters about work at the resort during their stays. Nothing official from the resort, however.

According to Yacht Club Cast Members who were asked in late January about the YC room refurbishment, there has been no start date announced for the work to begin.

 

[garada3]

Cons:
There were those who complained of a fishy smell in the lobby. I didn't really notice it there, but it was pervasive in the halls around our room. We were in room 3707 which is 2 floors above the Cape May Cafe. Definitely smelled like seafood. It didn't bother me much, but I wanted to confirm that the smell is present.

So I guess my room request will be " king bed without the fishy smell please"

We are also staying standard view and thought your room location sounded great until I got to that last piece of info.

Thank you so much for the detailed review. Lots of great info to incorporate into plans while I wait for December!

 

[MickeyEars72]

I should add that the room itself did NOT smell like seafood. It was just the halls and definitely around the Cape May Cafe.

 

[TeacherDL]

I have updated the Be Our Guest list.

Please take a moment to look it over to make sure I have your information listed correctly.

Post 15: Be Our Guest List

We will be staying BC October 2-5 and then moving to a one bedroom villa the 5th through the 8th. I just thought I'd add a few details to my information on the list.

 

[ckmommy]

Just returned from an 8 night stay at the Beach Club Resort from April 1-9. We had a fantastic time. Thought some of you may be interested in our experience and hopefully I can answer a few questions along the way. I'll try to be brief with my comments (and will most likely fail)

Pros:
Online check in. I got a text as soon as my plane landed that told us our room was ready and we could go straight to our room. I didn't have to stop at the front desk at all. In fact, I never saw the front desk for the the length of our stay. I used Touring Plans to request a room and we got the room we requested. Had a standard view room, but we could see the SAB pool and had a great view of the Hollywood Studios fireworks at night.

Room itself. We had 2 queens and a fold down couch. It worked out great for the 4 of us since my kids definitely did not want to share a bed. The room was beautiful and spacious. Full balcony with 2 chairs and decent view. Refrigerator was nice to have.

SAB. The pool, lazy river, slide, etc. were all fantastic. Kids (13 and 11) loved it and so did mom and dad. Best pool area in Disney!

Location, location, location. 5 minute walk to Epcot was awesome, especially since there are so many great restaurants and we ate 4 of our 8 dinners in Epcot (Teppan Edo, Coral Reef, Tutto Italia, Rose and Crown). 20 minute walk to Hollywood Studios. Anytime you don't have to rely on transportation is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. See below.

Beaches and Cream. We had the chocolate lovers kitchen sink. YUM! The 4 of us finished the entire thing. Amazing. Probably didn't need to eat the rest of the week but, of course, we did!

Sunken Treasure. I had to have one of these after reading all about them on this board. It was good. I'm more of a beer guy, but I enjoyed it. I can see why it is so popular.

Cons:
There were those who complained of a fishy smell in the lobby. I didn't really notice it there, but it was pervasive in the halls around our room. We were in room 3707 which is 2 floors above the Cape May Cafe. Definitely smelled like seafood. It didn't bother me much, but I wanted to confirm that the smell is present.

Disney transportation from the Beach Club. I'm a "get there before the parks open" kind of guy and on both of the days we went to the Magic Kingdom we had a difficult time getting on a bus. One of the days, we had breakfast reservations at 8:10 at Be Our Guest (park opened at 9) and had to wait for more than a half hour at the bus stop. I called the night before and was told that there was a "breakfast bus" that runs early. Not true. We were at the bus stop around 7:00 and the bus didn't come until 7:35. It was a regular Magic Kingdom bus that starts running 90 minutes before the park opens. We pretty much had to sprint through the park to make it to Be Our Guest by 8:15. The other day we went to MK, the buses were filling up at the Yacht Club and not stopping at the Beach Club. There was a cast member at the Beach Club bus stop ordering more buses, but it took more than an half hour to get a bus to the beach club. As any Disney veteran knows, those extra minutes in the morning can make a big difference on how easy it is to get into the park. There were a lot of frustrated people waiting for the bus. It may be worth walking to the Yacht Club bus stop early in the morning for Magic Kingdom buses if you want to make sure to get there ahead of the pack.

We used Uber to get to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. I highly recommend that. It was $6 and well worth it. We took the buses back from those parks since we were not in a rush. Uber rocks! I would definitely use Uber to go to Disney Springs or Wide World of Sports, too.


General Beach Club Comments:
The Beach Club is fantastic. We have stayed at the Polynesian and Animal Kingdom Lodge in the past and both were also excellent. The proximity to Epcot and the great dining options there was, in my opinion, the thing that set the Beach Club apart from those resorts. The pool was also the best we have seen.

The Beach Club Marketplace had plenty of options for making eating breakfast in the room easy. Having a fridge in the room was great to keep milk for breakfast and fruit fresh.

We watched a movie on the beach one night (Alice in Wonderland). It was a nice option to have, but we only stayed for about 30 minutes.

The beach area is very nice if you just want to relax on the beach and there were plenty of chairs. We probably could have done more of that.

General Disney Comments:
Fast Pass + was, in general, worked well for us. The fast pass kiosks were a pain, though. So many people had ZERO idea how they worked and the lines for the kiosk were painful. Disney fixed the app so you don't have to use the kiosks anymore. That's a great thing. We had a fast pass for Splash Mountain at 10:30 AM and the family in front of us scanned their bands and they wouldn't work. The guy said "your fast passes are for 9:55 PM, not AM. Ouch! I felt bad for that family and was surprised the guy didn't just let them go ahead.

The service everywhere was great. I didn't come across any surly cast members and didn't notice any negative changes since our last visit 6 years ago.

The Be Our Guest breakfast is awesome if you can get reservations before 8:15. We ate our breakfast and then were able to line up for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and got to ride it before the rest of the park rushed in. That alone was a huge perk and the breakfast itself was excellent.

We got to watch the very first show of the new Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios. It was kind of neat to see. The Star Wars fireworks were awesome. Better than Illuminations if you ask me.

I have tons of other general comments about our experience and Disney World in general. I did a TON of research before our trip and I think it paid off. Thanks to all of you on this board for helping me out in our journey.

What is the chocolate lovers kitchen sink. We have reservations for this restaurant and want to try the Kitchen sink, but all the flavors and topping together do not sound so good. If we could get an all chocolate one, well, that might work.

Second--how far is the YC bus stop from the BC bus stop. we are staying at the BCV, but I think we may hike to the YC to ride the bus in the mornings!

 

[eloiseweenie]

Hi! We just finalized our trip and will be staying at Disney's Beach Club Oct 1st - October 8th.

I have stayed at the beach club many times but this is my first time with an infant. He will be 1 year old when we go in fact we will be celebrating his actual 1st birthday while we are there (Oct 5th)

I had two quick questions. Would you suggest I book a room with a King Bed and have a crib brought in for extra space. It is only myself, husband and baby

also there are a couple of instances where we would need to take cabs to dinners etc. Can the taxi concierge arrange taxis for us with a car seat for the baby??

we are trying to decide if we should rent a car and bring our own car seat or if the hotel can arrange cabs with car seats the handful of times we will need it????

thank you for your help

and any other beach club trips for traveling with the baby would be a big help feel like such a rookie planning this trip so many extra things to consider

Can't answer your questions because I haven't stayed at Disney World before, but just wanted to share that I'll be at the BC Oct 3-7, celebrating my daughter's birthday. Her birthday is the 5th too, and she'll be 5!

 

[MickeyEars72]

What is the chocolate lovers kitchen sink. We have reservations for this restaurant and want to try the Kitchen sink, but all the flavors and topping together do not sound so good. If we could get an all chocolate one, well, that might work.

Second--how far is the YC bus stop from the BC bus stop. we are staying at the BCV, but I think we may hike to the YC to ride the bus in the mornings!

Chocolate Lovers Kitchen Sink: 3 scoops chocolate ice cream, 3 scoops cookies and cream, 2 scoops vanilla, 4 brownies, 4 oreos, 2 milky ways, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, white and dark chocolate shavings, and a WHOLE CAN OF WHIP CREAM!!!!! It was amazing.

The walk to the YC bus stop from the BC would be about 5 minutes at most. I think it would be worth doing if you are intent on getting to the MK early.

 

[msdroz]

Online check in. I got a text as soon as my plane landed that told us our room was ready and we could go straight to our room. I didn't have to stop at the front desk at all. In fact, I never saw the front desk for the the length of our stay. I used Touring Plans to request a room and we got the room we requested. Had a standard view room, but we could see the SAB pool and had a great view of the Hollywood Studios fireworks at night.

We used Uber to get to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. I highly recommend that. It was $6 and well worth it. We took the buses back from those parks since we were not in a rush. Uber rocks! I would definitely use Uber to go to Disney Springs or Wide World of Sports, too.

Awesome detailed review, thanks! You reviewed your trip just like I leave reviews on tripadvisor, highlight the pros and cons

Two q's- I have seen the room views on Touring Plans... did you request their lengthy code for a room like they suggest? I wasn't sure if that would actually work! When you have online check in, is there an area to put this request?

Also, never thought to Uber it to the waterparks, I think we might have to do that. Did Uber pick you up in front of the resort? $6 is well worth it!

Thanks!!

 

[MickeyT]

page 454-455
Yeah, Lee Ann!!! Love it.

As we have discussed, the "This time next week game" is fun. Almost as much fun as being there.

Have a FANTASTIC trip!!! Which races are y'all* doing? (* phrase used as honorary family member)

Got thrown a curve ball. We were going to leave late tomorrow afternoon but grandson Pierce's baseball game was rained out today so we're not leaving until game is over tomorrow night. Senior year and you do what you gotta do.

Lee Ann is doing the 10k on Saturday and Sister Jan and I doing the Half on Sunday. 3am wake up's for races wouldn't bother the Dee as much as it does others .

Regardless, this time tomorrow night we'll be Disney bound!

 

[MickeyEars72]

I don't remember a lengthy code for requesting a room from Touring Plans, but I did that at least a month ago. We either got exactly the room we requested or one a few doors away. It worked for us. Others have said it makes no difference, but we were there during a very busy time and it worked.

Yes, Uber picked us up right at the front door of the resort. I requested the ride while standing in my room and the driver was there within 3 minutes both times. Actually, if I had to do it again, I would also Uber to the Contemporary Resort and walk to the MK instead of taking the bus to the MK. It would be much faster and more reliable than the Disney bus service. Certainly less stressful than waiting a half hour for a bus.

 

[happymommy]

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list we keep on Page 1.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks!

For now I'm planning on Beach Club. The frugal part of me is still wrapping her head around the extra cost, but honestly I have the money saved for this and life is short. I love the Epcot resorts area! Last two trips were at Pop and AKL Kidani - fun but we usually stay at an Epcot resort for the location.

 

[Lalabubbles]

I don't remember a lengthy code for requesting a room from Touring Plans, but I did that at least a month ago. We either got exactly the room we requested or one a few doors away. It worked for us. Others have said it makes no difference, but we were there during a very busy time and it worked.

Yes, Uber picked us up right at the front door of the resort. I requested the ride while standing in my room and the driver was there within 3 minutes both times. Actually, if I had to do it again, I would also Uber to the Contemporary Resort and walk to the MK instead of taking the bus to the MK. It would be much faster and more reliable than the Disney bus service. Certainly less stressful than waiting a half hour for a bus.

We used Uber multiple times while there in October & it was great!! We used it twice to go to MK in the mornings and it worked out perfect. Our cost was a little more but we had to use Uber XL because there were 6 of us, but it wasn't too much more than a regular car.