Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[Elandon]

THANK YOU!!!

I have added the schedule to Post 4- Resort Activities.

How much do these usually change from month to month?

 

[dansdad]

How much do these usually change from month to month?

Check out post #4 of this thread for the current and past Activities Calendars for comparison.

 

[natebenma]

How much do these usually change from month to month?

Check out post #4 of this thread for the current and past Activities Calendars for comparison.

Thanks! Beat me to it!

Movies shown change every month. The times of the campfire and movie can change, but I suspect they will stay the same through this summer.

We post the activities schedule here as soon as we get them.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Unfortunately I work in this neighbourhood, there are quite a few folks who seem to spend weeks in their pjs Such a shame they have no self respect left. Given how many dodgy characters are around they need to think about personal safety.
There's no way I would walk around like that unless my home caught fire in the middle of the night.

Funny thing was we didn't realize that the customers were used to shopping and in pjs until my husband asked a store manager what the charity fundraiser was in aid of??So many were in nightwear it was crazy!

 

[tarak]

Funny thing was we didn't realize that the customers were used to shopping and in pjs until my husband asked a store manager what the charity fundraiser was in aid of??So many were in nightwear it was crazy!

LOL. My fifth grader would wear pajama pants everywhere if I let her. She has an art class on Saturdays and I told her to change out of her PJs and get something to eat so we could leave. She came down in a pair of pink and purple polkadotted PJ pants. Which she insisted were leggings. Even if they were, the forecast was 90 with thunderstorms. I told her she needed to try again. She was so mad at me.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

LOL. My fifth grader would wear pajama pants everywhere if I let her. She has an art class on Saturdays and I told her to change out of her PJs and get something to eat so we could leave. She came down in a pair of pink and purple polkadotted PJ pants. Which she insisted were leggings. Even if they were, the forecast was 90 with thunderstorms. I told her she needed to try again. She was so mad at me.

My youngest lives for "lazy Sundays" when he lounges about in his pjs eating homemade pancakes which he now insists is "traditional Sunday brunch" lol. To be fair he does make the batter and a week or so ago cooked them himself with me watching for the 1st time. He's 9

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Just got our resort survey but havent opened the e mail yet. Does Disney ever really read these things and act upon them? Of course you know our stay was less than stellar and I would comment to them that I really didnt feel like it was a good value and I dont think I would recommend it to anyone, especially people my dh work with,until it is rehabbed.

Of course my pet peeve is having Captain Creepy go, lol!

Oh and I missed the alarm clock too. It was a pain to have to keep grabbing my phone in the dark to see what time it was.

 

[kungaloosh22]

If anyone has ever wanted to capture that soothing music that plays on the speakers at the quiet pool and on BC grounds, I "shazam'd" it which turned up a song by Bill Mize (not all of the songs are by BM).
Then I went to Pandora (free app) and created a new station called "Bill Mize" and it is exactly like the music at the Beach Club!

Thank you! This is great music to calm work stress.

 

[Scott MC]

I believe @Scott MC saw him in Room 3085.

So either there are more of him or he moves from room to room.

Isn't that a comforting thought?

Wonder if they will try to sell the pictures when (if) they get rid of them during the renovation. Or maybe hang him in the Haunted Mansion...

*Shudder*
It actually had more to do with, "How much is this hotel charging and that's the only artwork they could come up with?"

 

[Ninja Mom]

A compare and contrast of VGF, Poly Villas and SSR.

Dee thought some observations/comparisons of these resorts might be useful in this thread even though we did not stay at BCV this trip. For background, we are 12 year DVC members and have stayed 30ish times at BCV. We have also stayed at GF, ASM, Dixie Landings (remember when), WL, BWV, Poly, BLT, AKV at JH so we do get around although BCV is our preferred home most of the time.

Hubby and I planned a last minute trip (about 6-7 weeks out) for some time in April after spring break. We could be flexible with dates but wanted to stay 5-6 days and only in a studio. We were able to book all nights at SSR but couldn't find anything else in a three week window we were looking at and decided even though our first stay there wasn't a great experience we thought we would give it a try again. In the mean time we would continue to look for availability.

After many iterations, our stay became a 6 night triple split stay with two nights each at SSR, VGF and Poly in that order. When I saw the two night availability at VGF, we allowed it to drive the rest of the timing. We had been wanting to try the villas. We were driving and had a cooler so moving from room to room was easier.

From an overall standpoint, we decided that a split stay with at least three nights in each property is much better than two nights. Going forward, there would need to be a compelling reason to do less, especially to move twice. We have done a three/two before where we could only grab two nights at our preferred resort but I would think twice before we did it again.

The only room that was ready before 4 was our SSR room, which was on our arrival day and it was the only one where anticipated Checkin was 4 or later. We did online check in with SSR since we knew we would be arriving late. We got an email (not a text, even though I had requested a text) at around 1:30 saying our room was ready. We had asked for top floor either overlooking Disney Springs or close to a pool. Our room was on the second floor overlooking the bus stop on the busy back street of the resort as far away from any resort pool as was possible. Because DMIL was with us for the first night only and it was already late and we had made a last minute dinner reservation, and we were only there two nights, we decided to stay where we were. Our magic bands worked for our room without having to go to the front desk so that was a bonus. We did need to stop in to pick up the magic band for my DMIL later that evening after dinner as she was added too late to the reservation to customize her band. It wasn't there as a result of a DVC cast member error when adding her to our reservation but after a few minutes we were able to get that resolved. In the meantime we were talking to one of the managers and she asked us how we were enjoying our stay. When we mentioned our disappoinment over our room assignment and told her our original requests she expressed surprise and said for sure they could have been accommodated. She checked and offered to move us but by that time it was 10pm and we were only there another night so we didn't bother. Clearly the room assigner completely ignored our requests which were noted on our reservation as per the confirmation we received from DVC. Unfortunate and frustrating.

SSR is a very large resort. The good-For those with a car, parking is very close and was extremely convenient for each building, which was great with our triple stay. In addition, it was easy to travel within the resort with your car. It was relatively quiet and peaceful. It was great to be able to walk to Disney Springs (and the walk was very pleasant). There is also boat service from a different part of the resort which we did not use. The room seemed fairly well designed and the room seemed to be in good shape. For the bad-The food options directly on property were pretty limited and a hike from where we were at the tip of the Paddock. I will say the pool areas did not seem large enough for the resort. The weather was beautiful when we were there and not overly hot but chairs were not overwhelmingly available 3pmish at the Paddock Pool. The bartender at the pool bar there wasn't particularly friendly either. I eventually walked over to the Feature pool at the Springs and the bartender at the pool there was much more friendly. Another unpleasant surprise was to find that we had to make the pullout couch bed when we opened it up at 11pm. Never stayed at a DVC property where the pullout couch wasn't made. Service overall definitely seemed a tad lower than other DVC properties. One final note, the hallways to the rooms are covered but open and concrete, not carpet. Made me feel more like I was staying in a motel, which I don't like. Our overall take-I wouldn't want to stay there without a car and I would choose most DVC properties over SSR.

As early as possible, we headed for our Checkin at VGF. Can I just say the resort is beautiful? We had stayed at the Sugarloaf building club level here years ago and had wanted to see what the Villas would be like. The villas building is gorgeous with a beautiful lobby. You are directed to individual desks in the lobby of the villas building where you are seated while they check you in, which was very nice. Everyone seemed gracious and friendly. They had a pod coffee pot in the lobby as well. We checked in around 9 but our room wasn't available. We decided to walk the resort a little, and head over to the Magic Kingdom. The villas were very close to the beach pool and the parking, while not as convenient as SSR, was not as far as other resorts, particularly if you got lucky.

We did have one unusual incident. As we were walking through the grounds towards Narcoosees, we observed a little boy of about 4 or 5 with what we assumed was his father. This is a wide open grassy area in from to the courtyard pool. The little boy dropped his pants and urinated in the courtyard, with the encouragement of his father who was standing right with him. Needless to say we were a little taken aback as was the other couple walking nearby as well. A cast member was observing the whole incident and it was only once both of us said something to her that she walked over to talk to the father. We were a little surprised.

While at the Grand Floridian we only traveled to MK. The transportation options were great to MK. We particularly like the little boats. The captains were friendly and pleasant. Being right on the lake was such a different experience from the concrete pavements of the theme parks and the crowded buses and monorails although the monorails are better than the buses. I feel like it transported us elsewhere just a little. Definitely considering hopping over to rent watercraft from there or the Poly to head out on the lake on our own. Haven't done that in a while. But I digress.

The bartenders at the Beach Bar were Amazing, particularly Peter. I sat at the Beach Bar with a breeze blowing off the water. We ordered crab cakes (good, but I'm picky, we're from Maryland) and chicken Caesar salad (excellent). We watched the Masters golf tournament final round and didn't move for hours. We paced ourselves and never once were we rushed. We found all the bartenders/servers were good-it was little things. At the pool the next day we wanted a Caesar salad and wanted it as soon as we replenished some cocktails from our room. Our server Dustin said he would put the order in in 20 mins and waited til we were back at our chairs then brought the salad immediately. Like I said, the little things.

Our biggest disappointment was with our initial room. We had a standard view and had requested a high floor overlooking the Main hotel. When we checked in, I specifically asked if we were assigned a handicapped room. We really didn't want that to be our first/perhaps only, given availability, experience at the VGF. Our cast member told us no. She wouldn't elaborate on the view any further but said yes, we had a high floor. We waited all day for our text to come saying our room was ready and at 4:30 hubby walked over without ever having received a text. Lo and behold, our room had "just" become available and it was a handicapped room on the 3rd floor. A different cast member worked with hubby and reworked some room assignments and we were eventually, at 5:30, able to move into our room directly one floor above the one we had originally been assigned, with a beautiful view of the fountain and the main hotel. We also had a nice view of the fireworks. Our room number was 1411.

Our room was lovely. The two shower bath was very functional. We loved the walk in shower, which was paired with the vanity. I believe a pocket door separated this part from a separate shower tub combo and the toilet. Our one comment was we would have liked more storage space in the room. It was pretty limited. We also liked the sea marine and sea salt h2o bath products better than the h2o scents at the other DVC properties. I have been using the sea salt shower gel at home for several years now. I wish they would use it at all the DVC properties. There was a tv in the mirror but we couldn't seem to get it to work. Sure that was just us but it would have been nice to have some instructions. It wasn't that big of a deal. If we had been there longer we would have made more of an effort.

Other than the Beach bar, we ate at the Grand Floridian Cafe which is table service. Family members met us and we had a Gluten free dairy free diet member of our party and they handled it beautifully. I recommend the burger with lobster on it. We have had it before and it is consistently absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection. Better than the burger at Crew'so Cup. We also grabbed quick service at the quick service location. We were a little disappointed with the options. We had seen a menu on a different website and none of the items we were looking for were there. The service was efficient and matter of fact there. They also had a wonderful area to grill, beside the spa, near the Villas building with big beautiful gas grills. We didn't use them but a huge upgrade to the metal open charcoal grills at the BCV, which we have used before.

The laundry room was on the 4th floor just a couple doors down from our room and we did take advantage of it since it was so convenient. Exactly what I expected and perfectly fine.

Overall take of VGF, although we missed being able to walk into Epcot, the property itself was gorgeous. Everything appeared immaculate. The room was lovely. Wish all properties would do the walk-in showers. I never use a tub in a hotel so I could completely do without it. Understand why it won't happen at BCV due to space issues and the fact that a tub is necessary for the kiddos, but boy I wish they could. Hard to give up SAB but my ideal vacation I think would be a GF/BCV split. We would certainly take any opportunity to View attachment 172322 stay here given that they don't come along often.

We reluctantly checked out of VGF and checked into Poly. We had a lake view booked. This was our third stay at the Poly since the opening of the villas. Our only request was 3rd floor. At the Poly villas, only the Moorea building of the three DVC buildings has lake view rooms. Directly in front of this building are the bungalows, which detract from your view of the lake so the higher your room, the better. Once again we never received a text and at 5:00 we go to check on our room and the front desk tells us it "just" became available. This was clearly not true as when we walked into our room, the temperature, although set at 68 was 77 degrees since it had been that long since someone had been in our room to activate the motion detectors for the air conditioning. This was truly annoying especially since the motion sensors turned the air off every time we left the room, which we were doing since we were unloading the car and then going to dinner since it was late when we finally got our room. At 10 pm, our room was still only 74 degrees. Also, the room was second floor, room 2016 so my only request was not met. Parking was moderately close, not as good as SSR but better than others. The Morrea building is the furthest of the DVC buildings from the parking lot but it is the only DVC building with a laundry room.

What was shocking to us was the lack of cleanliness in the hallways. Apparently the hallways are not vacuumed every day. We saw the same dried up piece of lime in the hallway on our floor for the two nights we were there as well as other trash. It was a little disheartening. Not sure if it is just a lack of attention to details at the property or lack of staffing, but I don't recall seeing the same level of dirtiness ever at BCV. We certainly didn't see it at the Grand Floridian. We could have reported it and perhaps it would have been cleaned up but wanted to see if it would be cleaned up without any interference on our part. After all, we did see laundry baskets each day with linens so housekeeping staff was on the floor. We were disappointed. And I am not the only one who has noticed. I have seen many posts since we came home noting the same.

The new East pool is very nice. The pool area has a bar/grill and it is centrally located. We did not order from there but we talked to people who said it was pretty good. I believe they even had a sushi option. There are shaded areas like cabanas on a first come first served basis and I must say folks were rather piggy with them. At one point we just saw a bunch of towels and a stroller in the entire area, and no one showed up for an hour. The areas have wonderful cushy chairs and sofas with a nice large cocktail table in the middle. I do feel as if the pool areas aren't large enough for the resort as a whole. There is so much of each pool that is zero entry that there isn't so much full depth water area. This will seriously be an issue on an extremely hot day. As it was, the pools looked like there was very little room to move around with so many people in the water and the resorts were not at peak when we were there. The infinity hot tub over looking the water at the main pool is nice when not overcrowded.

The villa rooms are large although storage once again is an issue. Even the kitchen storage was minimal. We ended up using the top of the unit holding the Murphy bed for our snacks. I really don't like all that clutter. One of the under the bed drawers is useless because it can't open all the way because of the nightstand. These studios have a split bathroom with a wonderful rainfall shower and vanity in one room and a toilet and vanity and tub/shower combo in the other. However there was lots of wasted space in the tub/shower combo room. I wish it could have been redesigned to provide more storage.

We tried a few of the quick service options. Tonga toast was not as good as it used to be. It was very dry and mostly bread. We got a side of bacon which I asked for crisp and it came back soggy. I think it was only three strips. Not worth the price. We did enjoy the fish tacos at Captain Cooks, given that they were quick service. Not the best, but certainly not the worst. Dole whips are always a hit! Love the pineapple vanilla swirl. We didn't try Trader Sams this visit but were there on a previous trip and felt the drinks were very overpriced and mostly ice. The atmosphere was fun, however. Every time someone ordered a specialty drink the room would react. The lights might dim, a wall painting might light up, etc. It was entertaining.

Overall thoughts on the Poly Villas-a better choice than SSR, but I would definitely choose VGF and BCV first. I do believe the Poly is still a good option of you have little ones but as an adult, it wouldn't be my first choice.

Overall comments about the changes in the villas. I terribly miss the ceiling fans. They have been eliminated from new construction and are being pulled out during refurbs. As someone who sleeps in a cold room at home, this is extremely upsetting given the motion controlled air conditioning. I have been routinely waking up several times a night on our recent visits sweating and have to walk around the room to activate the air conditioning. I also miss the alarm clock. I don't use my phone to check the time in the middle of the night and don't use my phone as an alarm. Another thing that is apparently being eliminated from the villas is the dvd players. On our January trip to the villas we counted on having one and had a movie morning planned when there was a forecast for torrential flooding rain. When we requested one we were told that they only gave this to VIPs but they would make an exception in our case. Not sure if they have been removed from the BCV on renovations or not. So now there are three things we need to bring with us that we didn't need to bring a year ago. A small portable fan for my nightstand, an alarm clock and a did player. Soon we will need to rent a u-haul.

So I know this was a very long post and not sure if it will be useful to anyone but there it is.

Thank you so much for taking the time to fill us in. You may think that it was long but we feel it was filled with delicious details and thoughts that are extremely helpful.

When last I stayed at the Poly DVC units, compliments of our friend Nannette, I too got to engage in "Trash watch" and see how long it would take before housekeeping would clean up some trash in the hallway. During the time that I was there (a few days) it was never picked up so I just went over and picked it up myself and dragged it off to a trash can in the Laundry room.

I suppose like any place else in the world some days you get the bear and other days the bear gets you, which is to say that some folks do a good job and others are allowed not to care about doing their jobs correctly.

IMHO it's sort of sad to see Disney very visibly shift it's priorities away from doing a good job to trying to collect the most amount of money while actively trying to provide the minimum effort. We don't see this everywhere (yet) but it is definitely popping up in more and more aspects of a Disney Vacation.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

~NM

 

[Best Aunt]

So we have noticed that our recent DVC rooms have not had DVD players in them. Can anyone currently at BCV tell me whether they still have a DVD player in their room? Want to know if we should bring one. We really like it to wi d down in the evening.

Studios or larger units? I can't remember if it makes a difference, but it might.

 

[Ichiban]

I had a reservation for afternoon tea in the Solarium on my arrival date in August, but I received an email saying it was being cancelled the weekend I booked. It would have been nice to try, but I guess it frees up more time to spend at SAB that day instead.

Can't wait to make FP reservations in a couple of weeks!

 

[EasternShoreGal]

Studios or larger units? I can't remember if it makes a difference, but it might.

Studios. The BCV studios always had a DVD player in the past

 

[tarak]

If anyone has ever wanted to capture that soothing music that plays on the speakers at the quiet pool and on BC grounds, I "shazam'd" it which turned up a song by Bill Mize (not all of the songs are by BM).
Then I went to Pandora (free app) and created a new station called "Bill Mize" and it is exactly like the music at the Beach Club!

Thank you! I added it to my phone today and listened to it on the way to my son's baseball game. He fell asleep, for what it's worth in terms of being relaxing.

My youngest lives for "lazy Sundays" when he lounges about in his pjs eating homemade pancakes which he now insists is "traditional Sunday brunch" lol. To be fair he does make the batter and a week or so ago cooked them himself with me watching for the 1st time. He's 9

He cooks and is earning his keep. Mine just sleeps in and lounges. She will do things about the house if I ask, at least. And she has started to bathe regularly.

 

[JanetMom]

My youngest lives for "lazy Sundays" when he lounges about in his pjs eating homemade pancakes which he now insists is "traditional Sunday brunch" lol. To be fair he does make the batter and a week or so ago cooked them himself with me watching for the 1st time. He's 9

Isn't it great to have your son cook a meal for you! I love it when my son prepares a meal.

 

[AndersonJNJ]

If anyone has ever wanted to capture that soothing music that plays on the speakers at the quiet pool and on BC grounds, I "shazam'd" it which turned up a song by Bill Mize (not all of the songs are by BM).
Then I went to Pandora (free app) and created a new station called "Bill Mize" and it is exactly like the music at the Beach Club!

Very cool! Thank you for sharing

 

[act1980]

I've heard there are bench swings on the beach of this resort, does anyone know how many there are? Also, how much is it to use the laundry facilities?

Thanks!

 

[dansdad]

I've heard there are bench swings on the beach of this resort, does anyone know how many there are?

I don't know how many there are.

Also, how much is it to use the laundry facilities?

From post #5 of this Thread.

Self-service laundry rooms are located near the BC quiet pool and in between BC rooms 1530 and 1532. There is a laundry room near the YC quiet pool and another small laundry room may be found on the first floor of the YC, near the side exit (wedding gazebo side). There are washers and dryers in the BCV 1 and 2 BR villas, and there is a laundry room available for DVC members in the building.

The machines are HE (High Efficiency) so if you have regular detergent you only use 1/4 of the amount needed for normal washers. Signs in the laundry room say 2 Tablespoons of detergent. Tide Pods work fine in these machines. Detergent may be purchased in the laundry room or in the BC Marketplace.Disney Resort Laundry View

This website http://www.laundryview.com/disneyworld will tell you how many washers and dryers are available so you don't have to make a trip down there unless there is availability. You may also monitor where in the cycle your laundry is through your phone by scanning the QR code from the machine with your phone. You can also set up to receive alerts by text to notify you when the wash is done.

The washers and dryers and detergent dispensers use credit or debit cards for payment. Coins/Cash are no longer accepted methods of payment.

$3.00 per wash load and $3.00 per load for the dryer.

 

[iLOVEartLARK]

So we have noticed that our recent DVC rooms have not had DVD players in them. Can anyone currently at BCV tell me whether they still have a DVD player in their room? Want to know if we should bring one. We really like it to wi d down in the evening.

No DVD players, but I'm sure if you ask they will bring one to you. Interestingly, the newly renovated rooms had no clocks in them, but I called the front desk and they brought one of the old white ones up.

 

[iLOVEartLARK]

I've heard there are bench swings on the beach of this resort, does anyone know how many there are? Also, how much is it to use the laundry facilities?

Thanks!

I think there are two bench swings on the beach. Three at the most.