Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[SaintsManiac]

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.

This makes me nervous. I don't want to regret booking BC.

 

[wilkeliza]

This makes me nervous. I don't want to regret booking BC.

I don't want to negate the PP experience but I wouldn't be nervous. Our room was spacious with out the fold down bed/couch. Perhaps the full balcony ones are smaller but that wouldn't really make much sense. I wouldn't focus on the negative reviews because it is very easy to scare yourself away from a wonderful resort.

 

[sjs314]

We have a change for the Be Our Guest List, we will now be staying at the Yacht Club and our dates are now November 14-17
TIA

 

[SaintsManiac]

I don't want to negate the PP experience but I wouldn't be nervous. Our room was spacious with out the fold down bed/couch. Perhaps the full balcony ones are smaller but that wouldn't really make much sense. I wouldn't focus on the negative reviews because it is very easy to scare yourself away from a wonderful resort.

Thanks for the reply. I have changed the hotels too many times for this trip! We haven't stayed deluxe since CR in 2009 for our honeymoon. I've never been to BC at all, but this thread has been so helpful! I should take my own advice since I tell people not to judge a restaurant until they eat there themselves

 

[LoopyDoopy]

Small request for anyone at BC/YC: Can someone get a copy of the latest dry cleaning / laundry prices? The one posted is from 2012.

 

[shoreward]

Small request for anyone at BC/YC: Can someone get a copy of the latest dry cleaning / laundry prices? The one posted is from 2012.

I found this, which was posted fairly recently:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/valet-laundry-service-at-resorts.3565831/#post-56865477

 

[tarak]

Thanks for the reply. I have changed the hotels too many times for this trip! We haven't stayed deluxe since CR in 2009 for our honeymoon. I've never been to BC at all, but this thread has been so helpful! I should take my own advice since I tell people not to judge a restaurant until they eat there themselves

We've stayed at the Poly, WL, POR, AKL, and BC/YC. Beach Club is probably my favorite. Part of it is the pool. I admit the first time I was at SAB, I was overwhelmed and thought there was no way I'd be able to keep track of my kids. Granted, it was less stressful with the older ones, because they are very good swimmers and I don't feel the need to have them in my sight all the time. I loved it with my youngest, too (she was three last time we stayed there), although I didn't enjoy as much of the pool as I would have if she'd been older. It was less intimidating as the trip went on and now it seems completely manageable.

Character breakfasts have been such a mixed bag for us. Either great or meh. I think we'll skip them completely this next trip.

I had to post this because it completely cracked me up. I was shopping at Wegman's with my two oldest kids and while perusing the beer selection, Thing No. 1 yelled, "mom - they have POG beer!" It's from the Kona Brewing Company and it indeed an IPA flavored with passionfruit, orange, and guava juice. It will either be amazing or a horror show.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

We've stayed at the Poly, WL, POR, AKL, and BC/YC. Beach Club is probably my favorite. Part of it is the pool. I admit the first time I was at SAB, I was overwhelmed and thought there was no way I'd be able to keep track of my kids. Granted, it was less stressful with the older ones, because they are very good swimmers and I don't feel the need to have them in my sight all the time. I loved it with my youngest, too (she was three last time we stayed there), although I didn't enjoy as much of the pool as I would have if she'd been older. It was less intimidating as the trip went on and now it seems completely manageable.

Character breakfasts have been such a mixed bag for us. Either great or meh. I think we'll skip them completely this next trip.

I had to post this because it completely cracked me up. I was shopping at Wegman's with my two oldest kids and while perusing the beer selection, Thing No. 1 yelled, "mom - they have POG beer!" It's from the Kona Brewing Company and it indeed an IPA flavored with passionfruit, orange, and guava juice. It will either be amazing or a horror show.

I'd love to hear the verdict on the beer - sounds interesting!

 

[tarak]

I have one chilling, so I'll update when I give it a try. We also bought what we needed to make regular old POG juice. Pretty sure I have rum somewhere if I feel the need to enhance it.

 

[natebenma]

Small request for anyone at BC/YC: Can someone get a copy of the latest dry cleaning / laundry prices? The one posted is from 2012.

Thank you for the question and pointing out that the info in the laundry post was obsolete.

I found this, which was posted fairly recently:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/valet-laundry-service-at-resorts.3565831/#post-56865477

Thanks so much for finding and posting this. I have replaced the price list that was on Page 1 with a link to this post.

 

[natebenma]

I had to post this because it completely cracked me up. I was shopping at Wegman's with my two oldest kids and while perusing the beer selection, Thing No. 1 yelled, "mom - they have POG beer!" It's from the Kona Brewing Company and it indeed an IPA flavored with passionfruit, orange, and guava juice. It will either be amazing or a horror show.

OMG! POG beer! I can't wait to hear how it is. I love grapefruit beer and this sounds even better.

 

[Best Aunt]

Ok. Now I checked my tracking and a few were shipped UPS, so I'm guessing to the convention centre. The FAQ on the first page says the handling fee includes storage for 3 days. They've been there about a week will they still be there?! We've literally had zero issues at any other resorts, so I shipped to BC thinking The same would be true. Ugh I'm stressing.

I never heard about a three day rule. I wouldn't worry about it. But, print out the tracking thing that shows delivery (from UPS or FedEx website). If your packages are sitting there for awhile, other packages might be on top of or in front of them. I have had employees (not necessarily at YC/BC) tell me that my package wasn't there. I stuck to my guns and made them keep looking until they found it.

 

[Gaurhoth]

Wife and I will be at Beach Club Sept 15-21. We stayed last year in June and loved being next door to Epcot. This year it's just us, leaving the kids ... so we can have our first real honeymoon in 12 years of marriage.

 

[WDW4us2006]

Heading to WDW on Friday for five days, but sadly not staying at BC this trip - that will have to wait until our big family trip in August. I'll be staying at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time with my daughter, and we will be celebrating BOTH of our college graduations next month! Anyway, I plan to hang around the BC/BW area a few days since I just can't stay away, so let me know if anyone needs any pictures, info, or questions answered - I will do my best to find out what you need and report back!

 

[WDWOswald]

I don't want to negate the PP experience but I wouldn't be nervous. Our room was spacious with out the fold down bed/couch. Perhaps the full balcony ones are smaller but that wouldn't really make much sense. I wouldn't focus on the negative reviews because it is very easy to scare yourself away from a wonderful resort.

You'll have a wonderful time. I'm sure our room size is an anomaly. There's a lot to love about the resort and the location is stunningly beautiful and convienient. I would rather have stayed at beach club than any other deluxe save for boardwalk, poly, or GF. I continue to have sticker shock at the room rates though!

 

[MickeyT]

You'll have a wonderful time. I'm sure our room size is an anomaly. There's a lot to love about the resort and the location is stunningly beautiful and convienient. I would rather have stayed at beach club than any other deluxe save for boardwalk, poly, or GF. I continue to have sticker shock at the room rates though!

Loved your honest, candid opinion Oswald. You being a "room veteran" helps.

That's the wonderful thing about WDW. So many selections that there are positives and negatives surrounding each resort. I treated my wife to a suprise stay at GF and of course we got an end room near the convention center. All night long the service carts would come past outside our room.......Thump. Thump. Thump. And then the delivery trucks backing up to the service entrance. Beep. Beep. Beep. Room was just ok.

The kicker, and it is a design flaw as far I'm conerned, is the different configurations of the rooms and balconies at the BC.

That being said to all that have doubts or fears of booking the BC. The first time my wife walked into the BC she said "This is IT". "This is Home". Love Poly (stayed there last trip). Love WL. Love AKL. I love OKW. But when got ready to buy DVC the wife would hear of nothing but BCV's. Been owners and lovers of all thing BC since.

(And do agree they could do better with a CS meal than one end of the gift shop.)

 

[DuffyBelle]

I've just been watching the video on the 1st page of the new YC rooms and I noticed the floor is wooden, does this make the room more noisy,can you hear next door more? Thank you x

 

[dansdad]

I've just been watching the video on the 1st page of the new YC rooms and I noticed the floor is wooden,

I believe it's vinyl.

does this make the room more noisy,can you hear next door more? Thank you x

No and no.

 

[natebenma]

page 570-571

Hey Dee! Happy to say I'm excited to be heading back to the Beach Club in October (12th to the 20th) for more F&W fun!! Can't wait to be next door to Epcot!

Kerry

back!!!

I'll add you to the list!

Hello Dee! I am happy to say that I am coming back to Beach Club!!! I have two upcoming stays planned, June 21-28, 2017 and April 12-20, 2018 (following this stay will be our first Disney Cruise on the Dream). I have finally caught up on my BC reading and am so excited to be back on this board! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to providing all of us with information and tips and tricks!!

back! and back!

I'll add you trips to the list.

May I book a massage at ShipShape if I am not a guest at either resort? It's my dream to stay here, just not in the budget. I would like to see parts again (spent an interesting afternoon in the lobby after an Asthma attack at Epcot when I was 9. Staff were wonderful). Hoping to take a day off from parks and get a massage while the kids are at the Sandcastle Club. Wanted to make sure it was do-able.

to the thread!

Absolutely!

Enjoy your trip and the treatment.

We have a change for the Be Our Guest List, we will now be staying at the Yacht Club and our dates are now November 14-17
TIA

Got it!

I will make the adjustment to the list.

Wife and I will be at Beach Club Sept 15-21. We stayed last year in June and loved being next door to Epcot. This year it's just us, leaving the kids ... so we can have our first real honeymoon in 12 years of marriage.

back!

I'll add you to the Be Our Guest list.

Heading to WDW on Friday for five days, but sadly not staying at BC this trip - that will have to wait until our big family trip in August. I'll be staying at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time with my daughter, and we will be celebrating BOTH of our college graduations next month! Anyway, I plan to hang around the BC/BW area a few days since I just can't stay away, so let me know if anyone needs any pictures, info, or questions answered - I will do my best to find out what you need and report back!

Have a fantastic celebration trip! Congrats on your graduations.

We always appreciate an update on what's going on in the Yacht Club lobby- Fittings & Fairings, Ale & Compass, Captain's Grille...

I've just been watching the video on the 1st page of the new YC rooms and I noticed the floor is wooden, does this make the room more noisy,can you hear next door more? Thank you x

to the thread and posting on the DIS!

Do you have an upcoming trip booked or are you in the planning stages?

 

[Tinks]

Anyone know why there were so many police in the BC lobby on Saturday morning? (April 29th) We left that morning and saw at least 4 police and 3 cars outside. I've been looking online but can't see any info. Maybe it was nothing, but it was strange!!

We stayed one night on club level for a girls' trip. Everything was wonderful! The lobby did seem full of people both Friday and Saturday. I've never seen it so crowded!