Just back from 6 nights at Beach Club - any questions?

[hcarr]

This board was SO helpful to me in making our trip a great one - so I'm open for questions. We loved the Beach Club and would probably stay there again. We checked out the Polynesian, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Lodge (had dinner at Jiko) and Grand Floridian and while all nice - for our family (dd almost 5, dh, and myself) I think the Beach Club suits us the best. We loved the Boardwalk area and Stormalong Bay especially. Had a sundae at Beaches and Cream and got to see a Kitchen Sink ordered.

A couple of observations...

1. Everyone at Disney is soooooo nice. It makes the vacation really great. All we had to do was drive up to the surly man at the National car drop off to recognize "oops we're not a disney anymore".

2. Disney is very clean - I remarked to my husband that every public restroom I went to had seat covers and they were always full. I'd say about 35% of the places around us do and at least half the time they are empty. I was impressed! Guess as a mom to a young daughter I'm tired of putting paper on the seat for her - LOL! And you don't see them hovering to keep it clean either.

3. Everything takes longer than you'd think - the crowds were light to medium I'd say but rides still take a while so you don't get as much accomplished as you'd think. For instance, our last day the wait for the Haunted Mansion was only 5 min so I said to DH I'm going to ride this really quick - but it still took 20+ minutes.

4. We had a water view and I requested non-smoking, 2 queens and a full balcony with lake view and got all my requests! But didn't have the time I thought to enjoy the balcony.

5. I saw a few posts before I left about Stormalong Bay and crowds, chairs, etc. and my observation is this: It is intimidating the first day. The first day we were walking around trying to figure out what was where and how to get there but all the rest of the days were fantastic! Dd LOVED the little slide and Dh and I loved the big one - and I'm not a slide fan. So, my advice would be to give it more than 1 day - it's big!

6. The only complaint I can think of is that we requested turn down service and the last 2 nights did not get it - I didn't call though after the 1st time - hardly a big deal...I couldn't eat any more chocolate mints anyway!

7. There was lots of character interaction - way more than I expected! Dd thought it was great!

All in all, an exhausting but excellent trip!

 

[magicmouse2]

Were there any renovations going on during your stay ?
Or are they finished now.
What were the rooms like ?

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Welcome home! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Would you mind letting me know what your room number was? Had it been renovated? And, did you take any pictures of it? Thanks!

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi..

How were the buses to DAK & MK? I hear they make multiple stops.

Welcome home, glad you had a nice trip

>>^..^<<

 

[hcarr]

There was still a little renovating begin done and the quiet pool was closed. The room we had was #2611. I thought it was great - close to the lobby but not so close you could hear anything - about 7 doors down I think. The view was over the courtyard and then the lake - but it was still very nice and you could see the Boardwalk well - esp when it was lit up at night. It had two queens and a day bed, a good sized TV, double sink vanity with separate shower/toilet area. THere was also a desk and large closet. Not tons of drawer space - enough for the 3 of us but might be cramped with 4 or 5 people. We rented a frig which actually held more than I thought it would.

We took the bus once to the MK. It picks up at BC and goes directly to MK - they only run every 20 m in or so, so if you just miss it you are waiting and it will take 35 min or so to get there. On the way back it stops first at Swan, Dolphin, Boardwalk? and Yacht Club. I think that's right - needless to say the ride home was longer - but we had a hysterical bus driver so she made the trip quicker. We also drove to the MK twice which takes about 25-30 minutes. We drove to AK which was very quick - about 10-15 minutes including tram to gate.

 

[Disney Panda]

We were there 5/8-5/12 in room 4575. I wish I was there right now instead of at work. The Beach Club is great.

 

[sparp5]

Hi,

We will be staying at the Beach Club in October and I'd love to know what you thought about the general feel of the resort. Was it relaxing or was their alot of noise and children all about. Did you enjoy the cafe and beaches and cream? Will we be able to get near the pool area and is it open late into the evening. Sorry for all the questions. I'm trying something new this year and were staying at the beach instead of the poly and I have a little anxk over changing because we know and love the POLY and I've read so many mixed reviews about the Beach Club. Thank you

 

[hcarr]

sparp5 -
We loved the Beach Club atmosphere! It is light and airy and relaxed but not noisy. There are plenty of children but just as many adults and people without children, in my opinion. Have you seen the Travel Channel show on the Beach Club? I thought it represented the resort very well. We did the character breakfast at the Cafe which is an excellent buffet. And although there were plenty of children there, there were just as many groups of adults only. It's a lowkey character breakfast in my opinion - Goofy, Chip and Dale all come by your table and Minnie is out front for pictures. We had ice cream one evening at Beaches and Cream and it was great. DH was in the take out line but I asked how long the wait was to sit inside and it was pretty short so we did - and I was glad b/c you get the real atmosphere of the place. It is very small though - there is a counter and then probably only 10 tables or so. The pool is great and huge. We did not have any of the problems with finding chairs, etc. that I had read about beforehand. In fact, we made a mental note each time we saw a CM pick up the towels and straighten the chairs. I personally thought it was nice and relaxing and since there are so many parts to it - there were plenty of times when we were the only ones or one of a handful of people in each section. We'd be in the lazy river area with maybe 3 or 4 others total at times. We did, however, mostly go to the pool around 3 or so and stay until 6pm. We never went at night but I believe it was open until 11pm. Its a beautiful area at night with the lights from the Boardwalk. It is a very short walk to Epcot and the Boardwalk - much shorter than I expected. I think you'll really enjoy it - hope you do!

 

[sparp5]

hcarr

Thanks so much for the info. I did see the special on the beach club in fact that one of the reason I choose it. I really think we are going to enjoy staying there. Perhaps we may even have a new favorite resort. I can just see my DS now trying to eat the kitchen sink.