Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[OnceUponATime15]

@natebenma

Dee, my heart is with you & your boys as you move through this unfathomable time. Your message today speaks to your strength, draw on that strength and hold your sons close as you remember and celebrate all the best of times your family shared… those memories are like a blanket for your souls providing comfort.

 

[Best Aunt]

... I am taking Linda on a trip to WDW in August....

We will be having dinner with Teena, the former long-time Beach Club lobby greeter and a CM friend Lauren for dinner one night. Teena also lost her husband suddenly in 2015, while my group of DIS friends were on a trip visiting her.

I am so glad that you will get to see Teena! When I heard the news, I thought that she might be a source of comfort to you, since she had gone through something similar.

 

[Dave006]

I am just starting to swim towards the surface following the absolutely tragic loss of my husband Mark 2 weeks ago. We had been together as best friends for 40 years

Dee,

My families thoughts and prayers are with you and the boys as you deal with this new reality following the loss of Mark. Thank you for sharing your pain just like you have shared all your fun memories and adventures from WDW with your DIS family.

We will be here to support you as you move toward a new phase in life and your plans for a WDW trip sounds like a great way to just take a pause for a beat.

It is also wonderful that your friend LInda will be by your side as your first visit to WDW in your new future and a chance to meet Teena now that she is back in Florida.

Life is just so fragile and everyone should consider living a little more each and every day with your loved ones.

Dave

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Dee - so nice to see a post from you. I've been thinking a lot about you and your sons. I think a trip to Disney is a great idea. There will be difficult moments but also so many happy memories around every corner - I hope they bring you comfort.

-----

Back from four nights at the Yacht Club. Work continues on the exterior - they're currently on the section directly behind the lobby facing the dock and lighthouse. Can still enter/exit that way but have scaffolding up and sides are fenced off.

Saw a fair bit of trash in the hallways each morning on our way out (all in bags or trash cans not strewn about) but all was taken care of by the time we returned for our typical early afternoon break. We declined housekeeping for this stay so can't speak to that.

All cast members were fantastic, as always. Happened to overhear a family being jerks and arguing with the manager at the front desk about wearing masks on transportation. They did not seem to grasp the concept that it's a federal mandate on transportation (side note - I was surprised masks aren't required on the friendship boats ... I guess b/c it's not fully enclosed?). Not sure how they arrived at Disney without encountering that rule and if they drove themselves, not sure why they couldn't drive to a park. I felt really badly for the cast members on the receiving end of their rant.

I didn't purchase a mug but the area with the soda machine was open at Hurricane Hanna's as of Monday.

 

[disny_luvr]

Dee - so nice to see a post from you. I've been thinking a lot about you and your sons. I think a trip to Disney is a great idea. There will be difficult moments but also so many happy memories around every corner - I hope they bring you comfort.

-----

Back from four nights at the Yacht Club. Work continues on the exterior - they're currently on the section directly behind the lobby facing the dock and lighthouse. Can still enter/exit that way but have scaffolding up and sides are fenced off.

Saw a fair bit of trash in the hallways each morning on our way out (all in bags or trash cans not strewn about) but all was taken care of by the time we returned for our typical early afternoon break. We declined housekeeping for this stay so can't speak to that.

All cast members were fantastic, as always. Happened to overhear a family being jerks and arguing with the manager at the front desk about wearing masks on transportation. They did not seem to grasp the concept that it's a federal mandate on transportation (side note - I was surprised masks aren't required on the friendship boats ... I guess b/c it's not fully enclosed?). Not sure how they arrived at Disney without encountering that rule and if they drove themselves, not sure why they couldn't drive to a park. I felt really badly for the cast members on the receiving end of their rant.

I didn't purchase a mug but the area with the soda machine was open at Hurricane Hanna's as of Monday.

This is the best news (part in bolded)!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Dee - I think that trip will be just the thing you need.
Please say hello to Teena for me and know that I am thinking of both of you.

Maybe one day we will be able to do another Dis Meet!

 

[Sunshine11]

Hello, Dear Friends
(and new members to this thread who I have not had a chance to officially, and to whom I apologize for the upcoming, gut-wrenching post),

I am just starting to swim towards the surface following the absolutely tragic loss of my husband Mark 2 weeks ago. We had been together as best friends for 40 years starting when we were high school sweethearts, and our 35th anniversary just passed. He was truly an extraordinary man. That certainly comes from a place of bias, but has been backed up by the incredible tributes from friends and especially a number of colleagues who have honestly shared that my husband was THE greatest influence on their careers, he taught them more than any other manager/programmer (about coding and life) and literally changed one intern's life.

Mark had just retired 3 months ago, and as a result of his hard work for so many years, and our excellent planning, we had the ability to do practically anything we wanted, to go to all the places we had never been and maybe go back to a few others that we loved.

To say that my sons Nate and Ben and I are devastated is an understatement. This is not okay, not by any stretch of the imagination. But they will be okay. I will be okay. We are all going to keep busy, because that is how we get through this. That is what Mark wants- not for us to crawl into a ball under the bed covers. I have a HUGE amount of support from my friends and community and that helps a lot.

I want to thank all of you who have posted messages or reached out to me. Thank you to @luvpoohandcompany for keeping you informed.

I'll be back trying to run the show soon. Not exactly sure when, but I won't be able to catch up on past posts so the Be Our Guest list will have some empty space for awhile. When I am ready, I'll ask for you to repost the dates of any future trips. I'll update Page 1 with current news and changes.

Speaking of trips. To bring this slightly on topic.

In a horrifically unbelievably case of coincidence, my best friend Linda lost her husband John, also 56, suddenly two weeks before Mark passed. I had been supporting her through the loss and now we are supporting each other. John and Linda, Mark and I all love Disney. Linda and I were roommates on our sons' 8th grade class trip in 2015. John was Puumba to my Timon when we performed Hakuna Matata in front of 600 middle school students (and stunned Linda with the surprise).

I am taking Linda on a trip to WDW in August. She is a school secretary so this is good timing for her. My boys will both be gone from home so it will be good for me to be away. We are going to laugh and cry and drink. Not necessarily in that order. We are not sure that this is a good idea or not, but we are going to do it. Mark and John would both support this trip 100%.

We will be having dinner with Teena, the former long-time Beach Club lobby greeter and a CM friend Lauren for dinner one night. Teena also lost her husband suddenly in 2015, while my group of DIS friends were on a trip visiting her.

Linda and I will have 2 nights at Caribbean Beach and one night at the Poly, where we will watch the fireworks from the beach.

Thanks, again, for all of the love, prayer and positive energy you have been sending to my friends and family.

As a famous Mouse once said "See You Real Soon!"

Dee (natebenma)



PS- if you want to send me an email, you can write to beachclubdee at yahoo. I forgot that I had that way to communicate with any of you who want to.

Dee - sending prayers and love! You are a true inspiration here. Take care of you and your family and know how many people here support you.

 

[rmoxgt]

FYI for anyone thinking about booking a cabana at Stormalong.

i had to call twice to book my cabana (#3) this morning, waiting on hold for about an hour both times. the first cast member only found one reservation open at cabana #1 during my september stay. not my ideal spot, directly in front of the sandy kiddie pool, but i was intent on taking what i can get. but something didn't feel right to me about the call. the cast member didn't seem experienced, even though the call went pretty smoothly. something just didn't feel right.

i called again immediately and waited on hold for another hour, hoping to speak to someone else. well, i'm glad i did, because the second cast member magically found cabana #3 was open TWO DAYS during my stay. i was able to switch out my reservation without a hitch.

i don't know what happened the first time, as i highly doubt two cabana reservations opened up within an hour of my first call, but be aware.

 

[Ninja Mom]

I enjoyed looking at everyones trip reports so I thought I would give mine. We stayed at Beach Club July 14-21 and at Hard Rock Universal July 21-24. We have now been to Disneyworld 4 of the last 7 years (2015,2018,2019,2021) but this was our first time to stay at Beach Club. The main reason we stayed here was for the walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

July 14 - Arrive at Beach Club at around 3:30. Room wasn't ready so we checked out the resort and headed to Epcot around 4:15. Walked on to Imagination, Soarin (said it was a 30 minute wait) and the Land, ate some food at Sunshine seasons, then walked onto Nemo and then Spaceship Earth. We then waited about an hour for Test Track then headed to our room around 8:00 (Room was actually ready at 5:00). Room was nice and seemed clean, but we had dirty towels hanging in our bathroom we didn't notice (Hanging on the back of the door) until we were all unpacked and settled so we just called and told the front desk we were leaving the towels outside the room but we didn't ask to change rooms.

July 15 - Arrived at bus stop at 7:20 for Magic Kingdom. There were about 15 people already there waiting for the bus. Bus arrived at around 7:45 and made it to Magic Kingdom around 8:05. We seemed like one of the last buses there, so we decided to go to Peter Pan first instead of 7DMT. Park opened right at 9:00. Only ride that went down while we were in line this morning was Pirates. We had lunch at Tonys then stayed until about 2:30 then headed back to Room. We just swam at Stormalong Bay for the evening and the kids (Boys 8 and 5) really enjoyed the beach.

July 16 - Arrived at bus stop at 6:25 for Animal Kingdom. Bus arrived at 6:40 and we were the only family on the bus. It was nice passing the entrance to the park and seeing the cars not allowed to park yet. We started the walk from the bridge toward FOP right at 7:30 and we were off before 8:00. We stayed until around 1:30 and headed back to rest at the hotel. We left the hotel at 4:30 and rode the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. We rode TSM (30 min wait), ate at Woodys then rode MMRR (45 Min) and Millennium Falcon (45 Min). We rode the boat back to Beach Club.

July 17 - Didn't get a boarding pass for Rise at 7:00. Started walking toward Hollywood Studios at 7:20 and made it around 7:45. Gates opened at 8:00 and we were near the front of the line for Toy Story Land and were allowed to start walking towards Toy Story Land at 8:30. Rode Slinky Dog around 7:40 then walked on to Aliens and TSMM then the lines started to get backed up. We walked around Star Wars Land and had lunch at Sci Fi at 11:30. We were about to get a boarding pass at 1:00 for Rise with a return time about an hour away. We got stuck on Rise and they had to turn on the lights and walk us off the ride. We were planning on going to Magic Kingdom that night but we got a fastpass for Rise so we had to come back that evening. We tried to ask Guest Services if we could get the fastpass for a different day so we didn't have to come back, but they said it had to be the same day. The cast member was great though and gave us fastpasses for Slinky Dog and Millennium Falcon to make up for it. We went back to Beach Club, rested, ate dinner at the Boardwalk and made it back to Hollywood Studios at 6:30. We rode all three rides then came back and watched the Epcot Fireworks from Beach Club.

July 18 - Slept in until 8:00. Walked to Epcot at 10:00 and were held up inside Epcot until maybe 10:30 or 10:45. We then walked on to Frozen then stayed at Epcot until around 2:30 (We aren't really Epcot fans). We rested then had Beaches and Cream at 5:00. It was great as usual then took the bus to Magic Kingdom at 6:15. Bus showed up right as we were walking up so that was great. Evening Magic Kingdom was way better than morning Magic Kingdom. We got off 7DMT around 10:10 then walked to the bus. The longest line was for Beach Club/Yacht Club, but the busses arrived one after the other.

July 19 - Didn't get a boarding pass again for Rise at 7:00. We left at 7:20 again but this time Slinky dog didn't open until 9:00. This really kept us from riding too many things before lunch at Primetime Cafe at 11:30. We left after lunch and I got a boarding pass for Rise at 1:00 again while walking back. We rested (Rise was down for quite a while it looked like). We drove to Hollywood Studios around 4:30 to just ride Rise and it took about 40 minutes to ride. We then left for Magic Kingdom and stayed until 10:00. It was crazy waiting for the monorail for our car, but we made it back to the hotel around 11:00.

July 20 - Didn't get a boarding pass again for Rise at 7:00. After the first morning at Magic Kingdom, we decided we didn't want to go back in the morning so we switched to Hollywood Studios for the 20th. We didn't leave until about 7:40 because my youngest wanted to ride TOT and oldest went to Millennium Falcon. We were still one of the first on TOT and it opened at 8:30. Unfortunately, Millennium Falcon didn't open until a little after 9:00. My youngest and I rode TSMM and Aliens and met my wife and oldest just as we were getting off of Aliens. We walked back to Beach Club at 11:00 and at lunch at Boardwalk Pizza. Got a boarding pass at 1:00 for Rise but the kids were sleeping when the boarding group was called (around 2:30). We just swam and packed the evening.

July 21. Drove to Animal Kingdom. Arrived at 7:15 and Na'vi opened around 7:50. We didn't try to ride FOP but we got to ride everything else and the boys both finished their Wilderness Explorers books and received all their badges. We left around 2:30 for Universal.

I will end this as that was the end of our Disney Part. This was longer than I planned, but hopefully someone finds the information useful. It really helped us reading up before our trip.

A few things I will add:

• Hotel Internet and data plan were SLOW at Beach Club. I turned off WIFI for Rise the first 2 times at 7:00 and used WIFI the 3rd time. Didn't have any luck any time. At the 1:00 boarding group, I was able to get early returns times (66, 72 and 80). Everyone was on even ground at this point when it came to internet speed and I think this really helped.
• We are Disney people, but for the first time we enjoyed our time at Universal quite a bit more. There seemed to be more people working at Universal, The Express Passes, Not having to rely on any transportation, they also upgraded our room at Hard Rock and it was ready when we arrived. Universal seemed more ready for the higher capacities with the parades, character meet and greets and shows(we enjoyed the Bourne Stunt show).
• Walking to Hollywood Studios was the best. We beat all other transportation and it really helped there.
• Cast Members were hit and miss for the first time I can remember. I have OCD so this bothered me more than it probably should have. Most people would have probably blown it off.
• If this would have been our first time to Disney, we probably wouldn't come back. The lines that seemed never ending (Although they did move fast) and there was so much that wasn't open entertainment wise. We knew that going into our trip, but it really stood out once we got there. If we wouldn't have had a good plan (arriving early, taking a break in the afternoon) we probably would have been miserable in some of the lines. We were big utilizers of Fastpass+ system in the past and never waited more than about 20 - 30 minutes for anything. The waiting and lack of Disney shows and characters made it feel like Six Flags at times.
• I will bold this one. Use touring plans for your wait times. They were very accurate and much more so than the ones Disney posted.
• At the end of the day, it wasn't as good as past trips but it was still Disney. And after 2020 (And who knows what other COVID things lie in the future), it was all in all a great trip. I am glad though we ended at Universal though instead of starting there.

Thanks for taking the time to post all of your wonderful information. I had been reading how much more accurate Touring plans line wait times were so I went ahead and pulled the plug on a subscription. Now that we are in the wild west of no fast passes (perhaps to be paid fast pass soon??) accurate line information is your best friend on the ground at the parks.

~Ninja Mom

 

[wdhinn89]

Does anyone know what room types DO NOT have a balcony at the Yacht Club? I want to avoid those rooms. Do all rooms have fridges? We need to store insulin. Also, is there any problem having Garden Grocer delivering groceries to the resort and do they store and refrigerate the items at the luggage check? Thank you for your replies, we usually stay at the Contemporary but would like to give the Yacht Club a try.

 

[CalSea12]

This is our first time staying at Beach Club and we are very excited!

How soon in advanced can a cabana be booked?

 

[RoseRed0711]

This is our first time staying at Beach Club and we are very excited!

How soon in advanced can a cabana be booked?

60 days. I actually called at 62 and they booked it. May have been the pity for my 90 minute wait on hold, lol!

 

[CalSea12]

60 days. I actually called at 62 and they booked it. May have been the pity for my 90 minute wait on hold, lol!

Do you happen to know if they are doing the 1/2 day rental? I cannot see us out there all day at the pool. We would want some park time and will hve ADRs as well.

 

[RoseRed0711]

Do you happen to know if they are doing the 1/2 day rental? I cannot see us out there all day at the pool. We would want some park time and will hve ADRs as well.

They are only doing full days for when I called. I would have preferred a half day too! I’ll be there on Labor Day. Figured that would be a great Non-park day.

 

[ninafeliz]

Does anyone know what room types DO NOT have a balcony at the Yacht Club? I want to avoid those rooms. Do all rooms have fridges? We need to store insulin. Also, is there any problem having Garden Grocer delivering groceries to the resort and do they store and refrigerate the items at the luggage check? Thank you for your replies, we usually stay at the Contemporary but would like to give the Yacht Club a try.

There are only a few of those rooms, honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about getting one of them, it’s very unlikely. I guess you could
add a request for balcony, but if you have any other requests I would put them instead of “wasting” your request on a balcony, As for what room type, I’m not sure. I think one might be a CL room that is a good water view but no balcony, I remember seeing it mentioned on the CL thread.

Yes, all rooms have fridges. I don’t know if they are true fridges though, or those coolers that don’t get very cold. if you need to keep the medicine at a particular temp you might want to check on that with the resort.

They have always held our Amazon prime now cold orders for us until we pick them up at all resorts. however, they just changed the rules on transferring perishable items between resorts so I hope they don’t change storing grocery deliveries as well.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Does anyone know what room types DO NOT have a balcony at the Yacht Club? I want to avoid those rooms.

There are only a few rooms without a balcony and I know that a couple of them are club level and water view.

 

[NelsonWaters]

How soon does the line to get into Epcot, from the entrance next to Beach Club, start to get busy? Would arriving 30 minutes before park open be good enough?

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

How soon does the line to get into Epcot, from the entrance next to Beach Club, start to get busy? Would arriving 30 minutes before park open be good enough?

The last time I used the IG entrance was pre-pandemic. So FWIW, I got there 45 minutes before park opening and I was first in line. By 30 minutes before opening, I would estimate there were fifty to sixty people behind me.

 

[yaya74]

How soon does the line to get into Epcot, from the entrance next to Beach Club, start to get busy? Would arriving 30 minutes before park open be good enough?

When I was there in early July, I arrived at IG at 10:30am when Epcot was scheduled to open at 11am. The gate was already open and no line at IG. There were already people in the World ShowCase area. Posted Wait time for Frozen was 15 minutes. By the time I arrived at Frozen, it was 25 minutes.

 

[HumblePie]

Getting ready for our first DVC stay at the Beach Club Villas! Question about coffee - what kind of coffee maker is in a Studio, and is coffee provided or should we bring our own? Thanks!