Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[jerseygal]

SO, just to be clear through October 7th, there will be no bus stop at YC OR BC, but instead will relocated temporarily to BCV? TIA!

 

[natebenma]

Here is the info from Orlando Theme Park News regarding the Temporary Bus Stop Relocation:

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2016/09/temporary-bus-stop-relocation-at-yacht.html

Starting from September 11, 2016 Guests planning to take Disney transportation from Disney's Yacht & Beach Club will be directed to Disney's Beach Club Villas parking lot, as the existing bus stops will be closed for refurbishment. Guests who may need assistance getting to the parking lot will be serviced by a courtesy shuttle in the morning and evening. The relocation is scheduled to end by Friday, October 7. Guests that have questions should contact the front desk.


Please read the quote below:

YACHT CLUB BUS STOP IS NOT CHANGED!!!
This morning, I sent an e-mail to the Yacht Club about my concerns of sharing a bus stop and having issues with overcrowded buses causing delays to the parks.
I just received this e-mail from Yacht Club Concierge.
"The Yacht Club bus stop will remain in the same area that it has also
been. We are not combining bus stops, any communication you may have
heard about combined bus stops is incorrect"
So, now all of our worries can be cast aside.
Yippee!

 

[tsme]

Well the whole relocating the bus stops kind of stinks. I'm not aware of how far away the new area is, but it must be far if they're offering a shuttle service.
We are arriving today. I'm excited, but so tired. Some wrong number loon has been calling my cell using a no caller id since 4am. Told him, wrong number, but he's still calling. Sorry for mini rant. It's so annoying.

 

[shoreward]

It looks like the walk over from the YC to the newest temporary pick up location is a bit of a trek.

Why is the courtesy shuttle only offered in the morning and evening? Though the number of guests using the buses in the afternoon may be smaller, the distance and inconvenience are no less.

 

[natebenma]

Well the whole relocating the bus stops kind of stinks. I'm not aware of how far away the new area is, but it must be far if they're offering a shuttle service.
We are arriving today. I'm excited, but so tired. Some wrong number loon has been calling my cell using a no caller id since 4am. Told him, wrong number, but he's still calling. Sorry for mini rant. It's so annoying.

That sucks!

It looks like the walk over from the YC to the newest temporary pick up location is a bit of a trek.

Why is the courtesy shuttle only offered in the morning and evening? Though the number of guests using the buses in the afternoon may be smaller, the distance and inconvenience are no less.

I agree- this is a terribly inconvenient development.

As far as shuttle service goes, it really should be offered all day during the full hours the buses are in service. Perhaps it will be a regular schedule in the morning/evening and more of an on-demand service during the afternoon hours.

For guests who are there this weekend, I would suggest checking with the front desk or seeing what in-room information is provided. Please let us know!

 

[natebenma]

With the renovations at Beach Club and Beach Club Villas now complete, I am going to clean up the first post on Page 1. My next two posts will be the historical renovation news for these two resorts so I can link it back for anyone who wants the info.

 

[natebenma]

Beach Club Resort Renovations
Club Lounge: August 2014- October 2014
Rooms: October 2014-August 2015

Timeline of BC renovation Oct 2014-August 2015

Early August 2014: Work on club level lounge commenced. BC Presidential Suite temporarily used for lounge offerings

September 30, 2014: Newly refurbished and expanded BC Club Level lounge opens

October 12, 2014: 5th Floor/Club Level closed to guests for renovation. Temporary lounge set up in one of the Suites for Deluxe, 1BR and 2 BR Suite guests.

early December: BC club level rooms available for guest occupancy.

Work on 4th Floor- ??? until early March

Work on 3rd Floor- March until late May

Work on 2nd Floor

Work on 1st Floor

Work Completed: late August 2015


Detailed Pictures of Renovated Beach Club Rooms

The Beach Club level floor (5th floor) reopened to guest the first week in December! Very detailed pictures may be found starting on Page 129 (page 97? page 105 after the DIS was updated) of this thread or by clicking on the links below (thanks, thisismyusername, vettegirl, HockeyMomR and shoreward)

thisismyusername:
5th floor, New Hallway Decor
Refurbished Room
Curtains and Décor Closeups


HockeyMomR:
Renovated Room

shoreward:
Room 4545 Post 1
Room 4545 Post 2

vettegirl:
More Room and Lounge Photos


The guests we have heard from so far have been impressed with the sophisticated look of the new rooms and the attentive service from CL CMs.

 

[natebenma]

Beach Club Villas Renovation
January 2016 to September 2016

Per DVC Member Website, Sept 2016:

Late-Summer 2016 Resort Refurbishment Update

A certain beach-themed resort refurbishment project is wrapping up as others are just getting under way. No fewer than eight Disney Vacation Club properties are being refreshed throughout 2016.

Completed

• Disney's Beach Club Villas - all rooms are scheduled to have completed renovations at this time. Updates include new decor, twin sleeper in Deluxe Studio rooms, larger TVs and updated bathrooms.

Per DVC Member Website, Aug 2016:





New Bedding Configuration, from Disney Files Magazine

The first wave of accommodations underwent refurbishment in January, receiving refreshed decor and fabrics, updated bathrooms, larger televisions, a second queen bed in the second bedroom of two-bedroom villas (replacing that bedroom's sleeper sofa, based upon Member feedback) and more. The addition of a new fifth sleeper in Deluxe Studios also is part of this project, slated to continue through the summer.

Update from DVC News, May 2016

As of early June, it looked like the second wing of renovations were nearing completion. Rooms are posted with punch-list notes of remaining items to be done.

As of May 8, work on the 5th floor of the second wing has been completed: Rooms 555 to 577, 578. The walls on other floors are blocked off at this time.

I believe that one complete wing, from the 5th floor down to the 1st has been finished. Rooms X39 and X40 to X51 and X52.
The next wing undergoing refurbishment will be X55 to X77 and X78. (March 29, 2016)

February 28, 2016- rooms in one wing on 5th floor of the villas open to guests.

February 10- Some Rooms on 5th floor and 4th floor have been blocked off for renovation. Click here for info From DVC news website

Room renovations started January 2016.

Pictures:

BCV renovated studio villa Room 343, multi-post, includes Murphy Bed
BCV renovated studio villa Room 566, May 2016
BCV renovated 1 Bedroom villa, September 2016
BCV renovated 1 Bedroom villa, April 2016

Here is a sneak peek of photos taken of newly renovated, but unoccupied rooms.
Renovated BCV Rooms: 539, 540, 547 Late February 2016

*****************************************************************

Posted January 28, 2016: First reports of BCV refurb being started! From DVCnews.com
(I always prefer getting first-hand reports, so if anyone who is staying at the resort now, or soon could let me know what they are seeing I would appreciate it)

According to a Disney Vacation Club spokesperson, refurbishment work at Disney's Beach Club Villas is now under way. The project began late last week--the week of January 17, 2016.

While it will take time to update all 208 villas at the Beach Club, renovated units will be returned to service in the coming weeks as they are completed.

The entire resort-wide project is expected to last through late-summer 2016. (For the benefit of members already holding reservations for this year, the last day of summer is September 21, 2016.)

Most aspects of the villas are expected to be updated including floor and wall coverings, select furniture, fixtures and linens. Villa bathrooms will also be renovated with new soaker tubs, showers and tile.

Concept of BCV renovation:




Posted December 18, 2015

Notifications have started to go out to guests who have BCV stays booked in 2016 (April, May, June and July guests have reported receiving letters so far)

From the 2015 Disney Vacation Club Condominium Association Meeting:

Disney's Beach Club Villas - project was delayed from 2015 to allow designers additional time for planning. Renovations to bathroom were not originally planned, but have since been added to this project. Bathroom renovation will include new tile work, showers and a soaker tub. Scheduled to begin in January 2016.

New room designs will reflect lighter, brighter color palette’s as requested by members, along with other design changes intended to bring rooms in-line with changing industry trends and member expectations.

Other in-room changes members should expect to see during refurbishments include the addition of more power outlets and USB charging ports, lighting enhancements designed to make rooms brighter, lighted makeup mirrors, larger televisions--ranging from 55" in Deluxe Studio villas up to 65" models in larger rooms--and larger in-room safes designed to accommodate average size laptop computers. Sleeping accommodations for a 5th guest will also be added when feasible.


Posted August 2015:

BCV Refurb news (sort of)....just found this online:

"According to a Disney Vacation Club spokesperson, the extensive refurbishment of Disney's Beach Club Villas will not begin until some time in early 2016.

At the Condominium Association Meeting in December 2014 executives shared plans for the Beach Club renovations. The "hard goods" refurbishment was to commence in March 2015 and last approximately 3 months as all guest rooms are outfitted with new furniture, flooring, appliances, linens and more. Plans also call for the addition of a twin-size sleeper in all Deluxe Studio villas, raising maximum occupancy of those rooms to 5 guests.

The Spring 2015 issue of DisneyFiles Magazine listed a timeline of late-March to late-June for renovations to all 208 villas.

No explanation was given for the delay with the Disney representative stating only that project planning is ongoing."

Note: There are unconfirmed rumors that BCV is being delayed so that Villas @ Wilderness Lodge can be worked on first.

BCV Renovation News:

Breaking (non)News: This notice was received by a DVC member on July 15, 2015



We have been told that when the Beach Club renovation is about 75% complete, work will start on the Beach Club Villas.

According to a post on the DVC subforum, the work on the Beach Club Villas is scheduled to begin in March 2015 and be completed in December 2015. I have not seen or heard any else, but appreciate it when readers bring info like this to my attention (thanks, Mewissy!) In mid-March, guests with stays in late July, October and mid-November reported receiving letters about upcoming refurbishment work at BCV during their stays. Note: Renovations did not begin as scheduled.

June 2015- some refurbishment of BCV lobby taking place- sanding and restaining of floor design. A guest has posted pictures from a couple of mock-up rooms (see below)

As of late May, there have been no reports that renovations at BCV have started.
As of mid-April 2015, renovations at BCV have not started.
As of late March, renovations at BCV have not started.


There is some discussion about the upcoming BCV rehab in the DVC forum. This thread has a rendering of the new BCV décor, along with additional discussion.

BCV Refurb Renderings Discussion Thread

BCV mock-up renovation room nearing completion

 

[shoreward]

I agree- this is a terribly inconvenient development.

As far as shuttle service goes, it really should be offered all day during the full hours the buses are in service. Perhaps it will be a regular schedule in the morning/evening and more of an on-demand service during the afternoon hours.

For guests who are there this weekend, I would suggest checking with the front desk or seeing what in-room information is provided. Please let us know!

I just checked Disney's site, and there is no notification of temporary relocation of bus stop, when searching for resort dates, over the upcoming weeks...no disclosure at all. Just like notification of resort construction, there should be a warning about change in transportation, which might affect a guest's booking decisions.

 

[natebenma]

I just checked Disney's site, and there is no notification of temporary relocation of bus stop, when searching for resort dates, over the upcoming weeks...no disclosure at all. Just like notification of resort construction, there should be a warning about change in transportation, which might affect a guest's booking decisions.

I totally agree. Probably even more important would be to alert guests who have reservations during this time period to let them know in advance about the relocation of the bus stops in order to give them a chance to evaluate if they want to make a change in their reservation. This is a very disruptive change.

 

[DisneyFanJenn]

I totally agree. Probably even more important would be to alert guests who have reservations during this time period to let them know in advance about the relocation of the bus stops in order to give them a chance to evaluate if they want to make a change in their reservation. This is a very disruptive change.

Agreed. We check in in 8 days and this is going to impact our plans quite a bit.

 

[focusondisney]

On the plane now. We're at GF for 3 nights then check in to YC Tuesday. Will be interested to see what the situation is with the bus stop. They just had the YC bus stop closed a few weeks ago & relocated to the convention center. If I recall, it was just reopened a week or so ago. Reports were that the BC was supposed to be closed at the same time, but seems it wasn't. Seems strange they would re close YC & relocate it to BC villas. Not only is that very far away, they amount of guests who will be waiting there will be crazy! I'm wondering if it s just the BC stop that is being relocated.

Truthfully, if YC stop is closed, we'll probably catch the bus at Dolphin. Closer & will probably be less crowded.

 

[MarkE83]

Can't believe we've been home a week already! Laundry is all done, sleep pattern back to normal... Post holiday blues are definitely in full force!

Anyway- I thought I'd let you know about our room, which was great in some ways, and awful in others.

This is room 4240 in the Yacht Club.

We booked a standard view room using a magical deal. We were staying for 10 nights. We'd used touring plans, our agent and online check in to ask for the same thing: king bed, a room on the boardwalk facing side if possible.

When we checked in, they acknowledged it was our honeymoon, and gave us two "happily ever after" badges, which we proceeded to wear almost every day.

The room itself- a great room, lots of space. There's a closet on the right just as you walk through the door, which was big enough to hold lots of clothes and one of the suitcases- it could have likely held both, but we left one on the floor in the basin area, as that was also quite a large open space.

The TV came out of the wall on a mounted arm, and could be turned to face the bed.

There was a fridge large enough for several bottles (milk, root beer, champagne courtesy of some very good Disney friends, some rum... Some more rum...). There were 4 drawers for clothes and several open spaces for clothes, books etc.

The bed!! Amazing. So comfy and so big!! We might have to invest in one after we move house...

That's the good stuff. Now the bad stuff...

The balcony was a standard size, with a view of the roof below. I've attached a picture. I would guess that this is one of the worst standard views available.

Location: this is the furthest possible room from the lobby. In walked around our floor a bit, in an effort to locate alternative stairwells and lifts, and this is the furthest corner in terms of steps from the elevators. The wife reminded me of this every time we walked home of an evening!!

I'm sure we could have complained, maybe moved a little closer and given up the king bed- but as we had booked a very good deal, and didn't plan on being back and forth to the room all day, we decided the space of the room was worth sticking with.

Will we return? Definitely!! Wife loved being so close to Epcot and Boardwalk, there are so many choices of places to eat and drink. But next time we'll definitely either go for a higher room category, or ask to stay closer to the elevators and not worry about a king bed.

 

[Sunshine11]

I book ADRs tomorrow for our first stay at Beach club....any must do's for restaurants other then cape may and beaches n cream??

We love the convenient to Beach Club restaurants in Epcot. Check out reviews and menus for Rose and Crown Pub and Via Napoli, both walkable from BC and a nice way to wind down the day. We like Shula's (Dolphin) better than LeCellier or Yachtsman Steakhouse (YC) but they are all good. Still trying to get to Flying Fish (Boardwalk), which is another convenient restaurant. Enjoy.

 

[Sunshine11]

Try Il Mulino at The Swan. If you like Italian, the food and service were phenomenal. Best Italian restaurant on property in my opinion.

Yes!

 

[loves to dive]

On the plane now. We're at GF for 3 nights then check in to YC Tuesday. Will be interested to see what the situation is with the bus stop. They just had the YC bus stop closed a few weeks ago & relocated to the convention center. If I recall, it was just reopened a week or so ago. Reports were that the BC was supposed to be closed at the same time, but seems it wasn't. Seems strange they would re close YC & relocate it to BC villas. Not only is that very far away, they amount of guests who will be waiting there will be crazy! I'm wondering if it s just the BC stop that is being relocated.

Truthfully, if YC stop is closed, we'll probably catch the bus at Dolphin. Closer & will probably be less crowded.

I may be one of the few people that this probably won't bother, thank you split stay. I'm arrive Mon. the 12th for two night at CSR and plan on doing AK and the bulk of MK those two days. AK the afternoon evening of the 12th and MK the morning mid afternoon the 13th and maybe hop back over to AK that night since it's a party night at MK and it closes at 7. Then I move over to YC on the 14 through 18. I'm doing F&W every day and will fill in with HS and might hop over to MK to watch the FWs one night. I can ride the monorail over to MK and don't mind the walk from BC to YC if I ride the bus back, it's no longer than the walk from Epcot to YC. I'll walk or boat to HS and, of course, walk to Epcot.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We booked a standard view room using a magical deal. We were staying for 10 nights. We'd used touring plans, our agent and online check in to ask for the same thing: king bed, a room on the boardwalk facing side if possible.

The room itself looks lovely. We had a corner room with a king bed at the BC and we really liked all the light we got from the two sets of windows. For a standard view room booked with the magical deal, it is actually a pretty nice room. But I get what you mean about having a long walk to the room. The rooms that are above the main building don't have convenient exit stairs to the ground floor. Only the outer wings have those. So there isn't any good shortcut to those rooms.

We booked a standard view magical deal for our upcoming trip and all these recent stories make me a little nervous. I know that I can only expect to get exactly what I booked, a view of the rooftops. This is our first time booking a standard view room in ages. We usually book garden view. So we'll see what happens.

 

[MarkE83]

The room itself looks lovely.


We booked a standard view magical deal for our upcoming trip and all these recent stories make me a little nervous. I know that I can only expect to get exactly what I booked, a view of the rooftops. This is our first time booking a standard view room in ages. We usually book garden view. So we'll see what happens.

The room was lovely, only the location let it down- we weren't overly bothered about the view as we were usually out quite late, and didn't spend much time "relaxing" of an evening- we were never back in the hotel room before 9pm.

I wouldn't worry too much- overall, our stay was VERY VERY good. We toured the three monorail resorts whilst there too and agreed that when we do return, it'll be to the YC.

All of the people we dealt with, from the guy who checked us in (I want to say his name was Pete, really pleasant and friendly chap, we spoke to him a couple of days later and he remembered everything about us) to the lifeguards we passed when walking around were top notch. It'll be a few years due to other plans and priorities, but we will be back.

 

[Hi Pluto]

Staying at BCV and having dinner at Yachtsman. After dinner, we will be catching a bus. Am I to assume that the YC bus stop will be closer than BC? Coming out of Yachtsman, do we walk to the right? TIA!

We would often hop off at the YC bus stop coming back from the parks because we didn't mind the walk from there to BC, and we were always itching to get off he bus!

And yes, just walk through the YC lobby and you'll see it to the left with a relatively short walk. That is to say: if it's not closed while you're there.

~Cari~

 

[vettegirl]

With this whole bus situation I wonder if we should rent a car??