Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[busymommy2pink]

Thanks to an eagle-eyed friend... here is the May activities schedule early!






New this month:

Seaside Sundays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm:

Join us on the Big Beach for games, music and arts & crafts and seaside fun!

I don't see any indication of a charge for this.

If anyone does this and has pictures to share for the thread, that would be great!

Also, if anyone does the Make Your Own Ice Cream activity at the pool, I'd love to see/hear about this. There is a fee for this.

Thank you for posting!!! We arrive in a week! EEK!

 

[busymommy2pink]

Is there any update on the $5 per package? Is it being enforced? Just wondering what I should prepare myself for. As a Canadian, I've order many things I can't get here, just want to prepare my budget lol. Even with the $5 per package fee, it's all cheaper than here, so not disputing it, just wondering! haha

 

[petrola]

Has anyone been to YC lately and have an update on the fittings and fairings rehab? The post on page one says the whole store is closing in April and grand opening in May. Has the whole store closed yet? Just curious if they are still on track. We go the beginning of June.

I was wondering the same thing. I had originally read it was end of May - however when I called and spoke with a CM he indicated they have changed the reopening of Fittings and Fairings to mid/end of July. Same with room refurbishments. Originally the date was supposed to be June 23rd, but now he said it has been moved to September along with the reopening of Captain's Grille. Wish I knew for sure!

 

[Pinkgirl]

So, it's official. We are staying at OKW Disney have only given a limited number of bookings for Yacht and Beach with free dining to the UK market. I think there will be very few Brits at the hotels next July and August.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Are

So, it's official. We are staying at OKW Disney have only given a limited number of bookings for Yacht and Beach with free dining to the UK market. I think there will be very few Brits at the hotels next July and August.

That's too bad that they didn't include BC or YC for your dates.
Are you getting a villa or a studio at OKW?

 

[chrismorin84]

Staying at Yacht Club now, in a newly updated 4th floor room. Rooms nice. Construction noise is TERRIBLE. When asked when they stop was rudly told at dusk. Also got back to the room today to a note stating resort wide power outage will happen Friday morning between 2am and 4am. Because of dry conditions no more campfires at night. (Understand that). Wish i was aware how loud it was going to be before i booked a $10k Honeymoon here.

 

[chrismorin84]

I was wondering the same thing. I had originally read it was end of May - however when I called and spoke with a CM he indicated they have changed the reopening of Fittings and Fairings to mid/end of July. Same with room refurbishments. Originally the date was supposed to be June 23rd, but now he said it has been moved to September along with the reopening of Captain's Grille. Wish I knew for sure!

They moved temporarily to the lobby. And what i could tell they are still working on the old spot.

 

[mtemm]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that! Hope it's isn't so loud for your whole trip. Any chance they could love you to a different resort?

And now you have me re-thinking our July trip.

 

[shoreward]

Staying at Yacht Club now, in a newly updated 4th floor room. Rooms nice. Construction noise is TERRIBLE. When asked when they stop was rudly told at dusk. Also got back to the room today to a note stating resort wide power outage will happen Friday morning between 2am and 4am. Because of dry conditions no more campfires at night. (Understand that). Wish i was aware how loud it was going to be before i booked a $10k Honeymoon here.

So sorry that you have been experiencing disturbing construction noise at the YC. The notice that was sent to guests who would be staying at the YC during the construction clearly stated that noisy construction would take place between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM. Sunset in Orlando is currently at 7:59 PM.

Dee has posted a copy of the notice that was sent to guests, concerning the construction. Here is the letter:

January 2017

Dear Xxxxx Family,

We are delighted you have chosen to stay with us at Disney's Yacht Club Resort!

In an effort to continually enhance the Guest experience here at the Walt Disney World® Resort, we often refresh our offerings and atmosphere. In preparation of your upcoming stay, we wanted to make you aware of a Resort refurbishment that will be taking place during your visit. While we are working our magic, it is possible you will experience construction noise and encounter some alternative paths of travel throughout the Resort. However, to minimize any possible disruptions to your stay, work with the most potential for noise will be limited to the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm.

We anticipate that all of our unique Resort amenities, including our shopping, dining and recreation experiences, will remain open during your stay. While you may experience our 'work in progress,' please know that we are working hard to ensure that your stay is both comfortable and enjoyable.

If you need assistance with your reservation, please contact your original booking agent as listed on your confirmation letter.

If you booked your stay through Walt Disney World Resort or have general questions, please call 407-939-1880 between the hours of 7:00am-11:00pm (ET).

If you booked your stay through Disney Vacation Club®, please contact Disney Vacation ClubMember Services at 800-800-9800 or 407-566-3800 between the hours of 9:00am-7:30pm (ET) Monday through Friday or 9:00am-5:30pm (ET) Saturday and Sunday.

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

Cosmo Kapoor
General Manager of Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Disney wants happy guests. If it were me, I would go down to the Front Desk, ASAP - don't call on your phone. You can show them the letter and politely express your concerns and dissatisfaction. I was told by a CM at the YC's Front Desk, that they would either move a guest to another room, if the construction were an intolerable condition, or they would move the guest to another resort. If you are not satisfied with their response, ask for a supervisor.

I hope that this gets resolved to your satisfaction and that the rest of your honeymoon is magical.

BTW, I am guessing that the construction is running behind schedule and that the contractors need to meet a tight schedule, or they could be under penalty.

 

[petrola]

Staying at Yacht Club now, in a newly updated 4th floor room. Rooms nice. Construction noise is TERRIBLE. When asked when they stop was rudly told at dusk. Also got back to the room today to a note stating resort wide power outage will happen Friday morning between 2am and 4am. Because of dry conditions no more campfires at night. (Understand that). Wish i was aware how loud it was going to be before i booked a $10k Honeymoon here.

I am so sorry to hear that - and on your honeymoon no less! I completely agree with Shoreward, please go down to the front desk and speak to someone in person. this is your honeymoon - you only get one of these - so they need to make sure it is resolved to your satisfaction... good luck and congratulations!

 

[Best Aunt]

Is there any update on the $5 per package? Is it being enforced? Just wondering what I should prepare myself for. As a Canadian, I've order many things I can't get here, just want to prepare my budget lol. Even with the $5 per package fee, it's all cheaper than here, so not disputing it, just wondering! haha

I believe it depends on how the package will be shipped. Packages shipped via UPS and FedEx have gone to the Yacht & Beach Club Convention Center for years, and the outside company which runs the business office there charges a fee based on the weight of the package. It can be more than $5. I believe the $5 fee is for packages shipped to the front desk, which would mean shipped via US Postal Services.

 

[WDWOswald]

So we are midway through our stay at the beach club in a room that overlooks the quiet pool and toward the lighthouse. I wanted to give some impressions from a first timers point of view. We have previously stayed at the boardwalk, grand Floridian, wilderness lodge, animal kingdom lodge, Polynesian villas, and all star movies. I've got to say, it's hard to rate the beach club. Our room is nicely appointed, but on the small side. It has no couch or pull out bed. We do have a full balcony. Service has been stellar and our room has been promptly cleaned daily. Furniture is already showing some wear. The distance from the main elevator to our room is hilariously long and maze like. You can barely open the balcony door without hitting the bed- in fact you do. Most Hampton Inns have rooms that are larger and just as well appointed without the Disney touches. The lobby, while charming, isn't exactly "impressive". Of course I love the architecture and color scheme of the resort and it exudes the magical feeling of staying at a Disney deluxe resort. The pool is of course fantastic, but I find the layout to be cumbersome and confusing. Our 3 year old loved the sandy kiddie pool area though. It's also quite a distance from the room and requires a lot of walking through the lobby and upscale common areas in your swimming attire. The layout is rather opaque, it just plain difficult to get a handle on how to get where you want to go and I've visited the resort several times previous to staying here. Beaches and Cream was wonderful as always and our server interacted beautifully with our 3 year old son. Cape May Cafe had slow service, we waited almost 100 minutes to see all three characters- and that was an eternity with an anxious toddler. The food was good, but not great. I found myself enjoying it because I was on vacation in Disney world, but if service had been that slow and the ambiance so pedestrian elsewhere I would have not enjoyed it as much. Overall I would rate the boardwalk as a better overall resort experience- it just has more charm, better rooms, and I sort of prefer the pool there for its simplicity and great pool slide bar. Also this resort is always at capacity and it feels every bit of it- crowded, and very worn in spots. The solarium is my favorite location here, it's always empty and feels serene. I have no regrets about staying at the beach club but the polynesian and the Grand Floridian really do justify their slightly higher prices. Bus service here was about a half hour wait for a bus to the MK and a 25 minute wait for a bus on the way back. Quick service offerings from the gift shop location are fine but very underwhelming, I don't understand why yacht/beach quick service is so lame in comparison to even the value resorts. I don't know how to describe it but the beach club feels less magical and "special" than other Disney resorts we have stayed at. The location and the Epcot resort area in general elevate it highly but as for the rooms, layout, and food offerings it doesn't justify the asking price. Not a great choice for families of toddlers or people looking for top notch rooms. Value for the money is stretched to the breaking point here and I'm staying half price as a travel agent.

 

[WDWOswald]

I have not seen them, but I have read several threads on the DIS that stated that really, the only good views were from right in DHS itself. They say the show is now more of a projection show with a few fireworks, that the previous fabulous fireworks show. That is why I didn't mention seeing them from near the BCV

There were plenty of fireworks to enjoy!

 

[renes]

Just got back from a one night stay at YC. We came to see wishes for one last time and also F&G. We were booked in a standard view room, didn't get a text or email so around 1:00 we headed to the front desk to ask about our room. We were told our room wasn't ready yet but the CM said she could find us a room that was ready. We were giving a room on the 4th floor, returned, and with a water view, over SAB. We have stayed at YC quite a few times and our thoughts. The location was awesome, except if it was June-August and the hotel was full, the noise from the pool would have been very loud. The construction below us continued past 6:30, we returned back to our room around 4:00 to take a nap so we could go to MK EMH until midnight, yes we need naps. The noise was so loud we finally left our room around 6:30. The noise started up again around 8:00 am. The new rooms are nice, like the floor and love the bathroom. There is a lot of drawer space and the closet is more efficient use of the space. If we were staying longer we would have mentioned the noise but since it was just one night and were upgraded we decided not to say anything. We love the YC and will be back when construction is done.

 

[petrola]

So, it's official. We are staying at OKW Disney have only given a limited number of bookings for Yacht and Beach with free dining to the UK market. I think there will be very few Brits at the hotels next July and August.

My family really enjoyed OKW when we stayed there. It is a great retreat from the busy days at the parks - so nice and peaceful! My DH really liked taking the boat to downtown Disney for dinners as well.

 

[petrola]

Hi Dee! I'm starting to think I may actually belong on the room switchers thread after this past week! We have changed our reservation from Yacht Club to GF to Beach Club CL- June 22-27. So we are back in the Epcot area - which my DH is happy about since that means we can walk to Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar for dinner one night - sans kids! I really wanted to try the Yacht Club this trip - but with all the construction going on and my DS needing his afternoon naps, I just don't want to have to worry about it. Beach Club here we come!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

You can barely open the balcony door without hitting the bed- in fact you do.

Thank you for posting your very detailed review. I think your observations are right on. The BC is less magical than a resort like the Wilderness Lodge and less stunning than the Grand Floridian. We find the location to be the biggest draw of the BC, rather than the resort itself. But I do hope that the BC rates higher for you than a value resort, except of course, for the food court. No deluxe resort has a better quick service than the moderate and value resorts.

But, your small room isn't that common, as far as I know. There are garden view rooms with a daybed that are fairly large. The BC has many different sized rooms, and it seems as if you got one of the smallest ones.

 

[mousefan73]

The above posts concern me.. We have only stayed in a garden room and we had the day bed and desk beside the "balcony" door.
There was plenty of space.. Are there rooms that tiny as described above? That would make it smaller than a moderate as there has always been ample space on either side of the queen beds?? I thought all rooms had day beds and a desk area-? The description above makes it sound like you walk in and hit beds right aways.

 

[Tuptup]

We're here!! We're home!! and we got upgraded for the first time ever!! Booked a studio at BCV and got upgraded to a one bedroom overlooking the pool/canal. We couldn't be happier. They must've known were thinking about not renewing our annual passes!

 

[dnw25]

We are at the YC there May 9-16th. Wasn't giving the construction a second thought until your review...4th I've read discussing HORRIBLE noise. You were on the 4th floor so was the construction below you on 3 or near you on 4?

Thanks