Help...GF has been voted out!

[jjohnson]

Everyone but me wants to switch from GF to YC. I know the kids will love the pool. Will I miss the monorail? BC is out because DH doesn't want to chance having small balcony. I don't know enough about YC other than I might get a lousy view. What other pluses are there to staying at YC besides the pool?
We plan on spending about 1/2 the week at MK & Epcot. I have a DS11, DD9 & DS8. Thanks

 

[CarolA]

I think the YC is MUCH better then the GF. The ease of getting to Epcot, the great pool. Great area with lots of resturant options. The monorail is way oversold IMHO.

 

[NMW]

I'd take the YC over the GF too. Reasons: 5 min walk into Epcot, walk to Boardwalk, SAB is a pretty cool pool, quick boat ride into MGM (or walk), Lots and lots of great restaurants to choose from. You have Yachtsman Steakhouse, Cape May Cafe, Beaches and Cream, Flying Fish, Spoodles, Yacht club galley, ESPN, and more. Plus you can walk into Epcot through the international gateway and eat at any of those restaurants. Also, it's a very pretty resort. If you pay for water view, just request lake view. There are tons of them. Sitting on your balcony and seeing the Boardwalk all lit up at night is really cool.

 

[marcij]

A few important questions when making your decision: Do your kids take naps? What time of the year are you visiting? Have you considered splitting your stay between resorts?

We LOVE the GF. They have two different pools -- one regular and one with a slide and waterfalls. This is the first time we have decided to split our stay. We are splitting because the monorail is important to us, but I know the kids will love the AKL, too. I have DH, DS 9 and DS 6. We love the convenience of hopping the monorail to the MK or Epcot. This is especially important during the hot month's of the summer, when we will be there. My kids get up so early in the morning, that DS6 still takes an afternoon nap. Even if he has outgrown them by then, we will want to go back to the room to swim and get out of the sun. It is such a luxury to hop on and be "home" in 10 minutes or so. We find that we get more value out of our passes because it is so easy to go back and forth.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[AndyMcV]

Hi jjohnson

We've stayed at the CR and then the Swan (right near the YC/BC) and we now LOVE the area. The closeness to MGM and Epcot and you'll love the Boardwalk right across the water/lake from the YC.

Have a great trip.
A.

 

[minniesota]

I agree with marcij. We always split our stay between the GF and YC/BC so you enjoy the best of both worlds. (But save GF for last!) We just plan our Epcot and MGM days while we're in that area and save MK and AK for our GF stay. My kids enjoyed SAB but after 3 or 4 days, it was old hat. For some reason they love the quiet pool at GF. If you or your family doesn't want to do a split stay, the YC is a lovely resort. If you have a standard room, request a gazebo view. We've had that view twice and it's beautiful - we could even see Illuminations from our balcony. Good luck!

 

[jjohnson]

A few important questions when making your decision: Do your kids take naps? What time of the year are you visiting? Have you considered splitting your stay between resorts?

We LOVE the GF. They have two different pools -- one regular and one with a slide and waterfalls. This is the first time we have decided to split our stay. We are splitting because the monorail is important to us, but I know the kids will love the AKL, too. I have DH, DS 9 and DS 6. We love the convenience of hopping the monorail to the MK or Epcot. This is especially important during the hot month's of the summer, when we will be there. My kids get up so early in the morning, that DS6 still takes an afternoon nap. Even if he has outgrown them by then, we will want to go back to the room to swim and get out of the sun. It is such a luxury to hop on and be "home" in 10 minutes or so. We find that we get more value out of our passes because it is so easy to go back and forth.

Good luck with your decision!

No more naps but we'll be taking a break in the afternoon or going to the water parks. We're going 8/13-8/20 so its going to be hot, hot hot!

We talked about split stay but decided not to.

DH wants to be close to Boardwalk & DTD too.

Are there any negatives to staying at YC besides not being on the monorail?
I did a search but there isn't that much discussion about this resort.

 

[minniesota]

Hi again jjohnson,

YC is really a great resort - I like it better that BC and BWI. The only complaints I can think of include thinner walls than the GF (we made the mistake once of staying GF first and then moving to YC and the noise from hallways and other rooms was quite noticeable); and the bus transportation to MK. I don't know how things are recently but there have been times when the busses were packed and seemed to take forever (sharing with BC, BCV, BWI, BWV, S and D). I'm probably very spoiled by the monorail and boat launch to the GF! By the way, are you planning to do concierge at YC? I see you had plans to stay Sugar Loaf.

 

[susy]

We stayed at the BC last year. We always take breaks....we loved this location!!!! At night we usually like to do Epcot anyway, so it worked perfectly! If you don't want to go to a park, there's always the Boardwalk at night...we had such a blast here...hoping we'll like the Poly as much...do not miss the cape may breakfast (we did this on our "pool day")... I agree with your DH...if we return we would stay at the YC...just seemed a lot "nicer".

 

[jjohnson]

Hi again jjohnson,

YC is really a great resort - I like it better that BC and BWI. The only complaints I can think of include thinner walls than the GF (we made the mistake once of staying GF first and then moving to YC and the noise from hallways and other rooms was quite noticeable); and the bus transportation to MK. I don't know how things are recently but there have been times when the busses were packed and seemed to take forever (sharing with BC, BCV, BWI, BWV, S and D). I'm probably very spoiled by the monorail and boat launch to the GF! By the way, are you planning to do concierge at YC? I see you had plans to stay Sugar Loaf.

Yes were still booked at Sugarloaf as of now (I haven't switched yet )
but now were 99% sure were doing the dining plan & I can make all of my own arrangements.

I'm going to call & switch. I don't think we'll be at MK as much as Epcot & MGM. We were just in DL last September & the kids are getting older.



Maybe they'll be sold out & we'll HAVE to stay at GF

 

[TammiMcMan]

Well you know I'm a diehard GF fan, but we gave the YC a try this past December. It was different. The first thing I noticed is that it felt more like a hotel and that it was a very busy area. At the GF, I always feel like I'm at a quiet, secluded resort. I did miss that a little bit, as well as seeing the castle. I have to admit though, I did enjoy being within a 4 minute walk to Epcot and a 10 minute boat ride to MGM. I will also admit that I thought the bus transporation from the YC to the MK was much better than the transportation from the GF to Epcot or MGM. Plus there are lots of food choices in the area and it was just lively and fun, especially the Boardwalk at night.

I wouldn't worry too much about your room. Just request something lake side, full balcony. If you don't like what they've assigned you, go back down to the check-in desk and see what else is available. If you've stayed at GF concierge before, the YC version just does not stack up IMO. The pre-planning staff is excellent, but other than that, not much to write home about.

The only drawback and I'm probably in the minority, but the SAB pool makes me nervous. I have an 8 year old and I found it hard to keep track of her. There were so many bridges or walkways that I had to cross to go around the pool and watch her. The entrance to the big slide is sort of across the street. The kids do have to go outside the SAB fencing and cross the public pathway in order to get back to the stairs. I kept my sneakers on the entire time and walked her back and forth or kept to the edge of the pool so I could see her all the time.

I know you said you didn't want to split your stay, but I'm with the others who suggested it. That will give you the best of both worlds and you can plan your park strategy accordingly.

Tammi

 

[jjohnson]

Hi Tammi!

I thought of you today when I was trying to decide what to do. I said to myself "I wonder what Tammi thinks...she stayed at both". Thank you for responding & the advice. I still haven't switched. My DH said to wait until he gets home from work so we can talk about it more. I'm leaning toward YC. If my family's happy, I'll be happy too.

Joyce