Just returned Yacht Club Concierge

[cjsmith]

In April we split our stay between the GF and the YC - concierge level for both. (First time at GF - have stayed YC several times) I was AMAZED at the differences in the offerings between the two! The Grand Floridian was soooo much better! Even the quality of the bagels was better. Too bad we went there first and then "downgraded" to the Yacht Club. We have agreed to stay away from there for a while as our last few visits have been disappointing. I know it doesn't matter to many, but the view from our room is important to me. I am tired of looking over the rooftops of the convention center..

Jill

Jill, that's so interesting to hear. While we've stayed at the other deluxe resorts inlcuding the Grand Floridian, the Yacht Club is mainly where we spend all our vacation time with Disney and the only concierge floor that we've ever stayed on. It's amazing to hear that the other resorts offer so much more, including welcome back gifts at some.
The concierge offerings have never been all that wonderful at the YC but this time it was downright pitiful. I can honestly say that it was not worth the extra $150 a night. I don't use them to book my dining reservations since my trips are usually more last minute so I book them on my own, it's just easier. I use to love the ease of being able to run down and grab a coffee or water if I needed bit I honestly say that it's no longer worth it. $900 for 2 nights stay in June with the annual passholders discount just seems incredibly high for a room that needs to be freshened up and a bagel in the am.

Don't get me wrong, we had a great time. But after spending so much time at Disney over the years, we have noticed a change in how things work and how things are kept. The air conditioning temperatures seemed to have been raised by a few degrees, the bathrooms are not kept as clean, and the employees seem to be worked a bit harder and not as "happy". The free food & dining plans seem to have limited the offerings on the menus a bit which is not a bonus for us Florida residents who want room only and have resident annual passes and I can say that service is strained in the restaurants as well.

We've decided that after so many, many nights spent here at Disney it's time to take a break. We had taken a few months break just to take a breath and even though we'll be in the Orlando area often as our daughter goes to UCF, it's time to try other places. There was a day when we judged other hotels we stayed at throughout the world by the standards of Disney but have find that we no longer do that. For the first time in 14 years we're not going to renew our AP's and those it's a sad day I realize that one of these days we'll be back, just my husband and I and start looking at it with a whole new perspective!

 

[Kimberle]

We've decided that after so many, many nights spent here at Disney it's time to take a break. We had taken a few months break just to take a breath and even though we'll be in the Orlando area often as our daughter goes to UCF, it's time to try other places. There was a day when we judged other hotels we stayed at throughout the world by the standards of Disney but have find that we no longer do that. For the first time in 14 years we're not going to renew our AP's and those it's a sad day I realize that one of these days we'll be back, just my husband and I and start looking at it with a whole new perspective!

I hope you will write WDW and tell them. If we all, very politely, "tell" Disney, maybe they will improve service.....

 

[dclfun]

I know this doesn't have anything to do with YC but it does pertain to concierge level service and amenities. When AKL first opened, their concierge floor was nothing short of amazing. I recall one evening a chef from Jiko came up with a portable grilling station and prepared an african dish for us all to sample while talking about what he was doing. At Christmas they hung stockings on the doors and had a cookie decorating station throughout our stay and small gifts for children. Once my teen daughter was there to celebrate a birthday and we recieved a tray with a personalized cake, plates, cups, etc. and she got one of the large carved wooden giraffe statues in a woven hemp bag. We got our bottles of water in woven hemp bags at the end of our stay ( which are now given in paper bags). There were so many delicious things to sample that without any intent to make a meal out of it, if we tried one of each thing or even shared samples we were stuffed. I can't imagine that people would return to the resort just to go to the lounge to make a meal from the concierge offerings vs. people like us who happened to be there and just took samples but then got too full to dine. I'd never take time from touring to go back for that reason but it was nice while we WERE there. I thought they wanted us to enjoy and try the samples and never felt guilty for consuming too much because we weren't piling our plates with the intent to "get our money's worth". I guess we were spoiled during those visits and had planned on booking concierge with our DVC points now that that level is offered. I sure hope we're not disappointed. I'm sorry the OP had such an experience after so many years of enjoying the resorts- it's just so sad. ---Kathy

 

[Minnie824]

I just wanted to point out, as I was reading some of the posts here, it reminded me of another incident....we stayed at the BC concierge...the reservation was messed up, then they couldnt print our room key/tickets to go to the parks to wait. We walked to the boardwalk to get lunch. They were supposed to call in 15 min. An hour later, no call, we went back, and I still had to wait. She was the most unfriendly concierge person, and so unhelpful. The service was terrible for anywhere, especially concierge. And their food offerings were the same as Yacht Club...even my DDs got sick of pudding.

 

[mirlow]

Thank you for your report. I just booked the YC concierge a couple of days ago. I wasn't really excited about it, and now it sounds like I should think of something else. Maybe I'll just stick with the Polynesian our whole stay. Although I'm not really excited about that either. If I didn't think the convenience of the lounge wasn't great then I would reconsider. We are going during hurricane season and we were there during Charley. I was thankful that we had the lounge at the AKL to hang out when we were stuck at the resort.

While I know the food isn't everything, it is nice knowing that while you are paying money to stay at that level that it's not an afterthought. It's the little things that make a difference and that is why I pay extra.

If only my kids enjoyed the GF as much as I do!

 

[mirlow]

Will say that the Yacht & Beach Clubs are now doing things for the kids throughout the day including a movie on the beach at night which looked like a lot of fun. Scavenger hunts, bingo, etc all sounded like fun.

I wonder if the other deluxe resorts are going to start doing this? I know they have had some games at the pool, is this different?

Did your family participate in any of the activities?

 

[Alicnwondrln]

good ? we are staying at the GF club level in July they werent doing anything last Nov when we were there.

 

[OregonDucks]

We are staying YC waterview begining of Aug. Where did you find out about the beach movie, bingo, etc? Was the information in you check-in packet?

Thanks for the info