OLD THREAD: 2012 Beach and Yacht FAQ, Part 2- May, June and July DON'T POST HERE!

[Nancyg56]

DD and I were discussing the fireworks pics on your TR and now have more questions Are those pics taken from a standard view room??????? We both agreed we are not going to care which view we have but cannot help adding more and more lovely things to look forward to on this trip!

We have traveled several times as a family and feel Blessed that our adult children like to vacation with us. My DGD and my DH (her "Pa") are best friends and DH has made it his mission to ensure that she gets her Disney fix as often as she likes. Thankfully, we seemed to create a Disney Monster with my DSIL on our first trip 8 years ago Anyway, there is no way DGD could enjoy SAB as much unless she had her Pa there, he is way more fun than the rest of us!

 

[theduck619]

For all of you veterans of YC and BC I have a question about club level. We will be staying at BC next year (Oct. 2013) and it will be our 20th anniversary. We want to do somethng special and club level looks ineteresting. I have read the FAQ, but the article link on whether it is worth it or not does not work.

Besides the food and drink offerings, what other benefits do you really use? There will be for of us (Me, DW and 8 year old twin DD's).

The second question is there a prticular section you would recommend staying in at BC? View, etc.?

Thanks,

David

 

[rusty4]

You moved on me again! Trying to catch up.

 

[HockeyMomR]

Just doing a quick check in!!! Loving our vacation so far.

Teena: I CAN'T believe we missed you yesterday!!! we spent the day at MK, and planned on returning mid day for a swim........................then the sky opened up. We took "shelter" on the Monorail and decided to "resort Hop" until it stopped. Well after it lasted for quite some time we decided to have our dinner at Kona (which was great by the way) and then hit MK after that.

Overall even with the ugly day Sunday, and the rain on Monday we are having a blast.

Now, off to grab a quick coffee and snack then heading to DHS.

Hope you continue to enjoy your vacation!!!

 

[i_heart_the_mouse]

I loved your TR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now feeling better about the view. My DD will probably try to get GV but no worries if we cannot. We are resort folks and plan on enjoying the amenities for the first few days of our visit. We have never been to WDW during a big Holiday since my own kids were very young and always try to go during low attendance. No worries if everyone is in the parks, we will be parked at the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am an early riser. When we stayed CL at AKL the lounge was open early for coffee. How early can I get coffee at BC? Also, the CM's let me take a glass of wine back to the room so i could enjoy the balcony while my family was getting ready for dinner. Can I do this here as well? We don't really care about the food offerings, we may nibble a bit but will probably not need to rely on appetizers before dinner. IIRC, my family liked meeting back at the lounge for a cocktail and small sweet after dinner and returning from the parks.

So far the IPO has been crazy wonderful! Our 180- day window was the day after I booked so making sure we had dinner ADR's for that Thanksgiving Day and the weekend was made so much easier with their assistance. It is going to be a looooooooong 6 months!

I'm an early riser, too!

I'll have someone else answer your question about when coffee is available, though. After my last stay at the BC, the Concierge Lounges went to 24 hours for drinks (coffee and soda), but the lounge maybe closed right before they are setting up for each of the food service periods. So it could be closed right before the 7 am breakfast opening.

What have others experienced recently?

Yes, you can absolutely take a glass of wine, or can of soda or plate of food for nibbling or some dessert back to your room and your balcony to enjoy.

When we stayed in Sep 2011 the lounge was open almost 24 hours. It was closed for about 30 minutes before the breakfast and appetizer offerings for set up. However, they did have a carafe of coffee out by the CM desks in the morning during the time that you could not get into the lounge.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Another great thread Dee!!

Team DARK SIDE!!!

7 days from now we will be landing at MCO!!

 

[cmcadoo66]

I called this morning for my "requested but not guaranteed" full balcony. I think I have decided to check in in person even though you are able to request full balcony on the online check in. I know they say checking in in person doesn't increase your chances for a little extra Pixie Dust but........since I have never gotten any with online check-in I'm going to try it another way. And any time spent at WDW is full of magic so it is going to be a fantastic trip no matter what happens at check-in.

I hate wishing summer away before it has even started but I simply can't wait for our August trip!!

 

[Vaninou]

Hello,

We just came back from our 2 weeks at BCV and it was great!!!
We had a 2 Bedroom Villa (123) and location was just perfect because we didn't had to walk to much with our DS (11 month tomorrow!!!)

We had 3 breakfasts at Cape May and DS had a lot of fun. It was his first visit. I think he felt in love with Minnie

We did the Fantasmic Package (Melrose Mama) and my Bday Dinner at Garden Grove (with Pluto and Goofy)

Had just a WONDERFUL time there.

SMB is just AWSOME!

We will definitely go back there (I hope really soon)

It's hard to be back at work, but coming back on this thread keeps the magical

 

[Feckless]

Just doing a quick check in!!! Loving our vacation so far.

Teena: I CAN'T believe we missed you yesterday!!! we spent the day at MK, and planned on returning mid day for a swim........................then the sky opened up. We took "shelter" on the Monorail and decided to "resort Hop" until it stopped. Well after it lasted for quite some time we decided to have our dinner at Kona (which was great by the way) and then hit MK after that.

Overall even with the ugly day Sunday, and the rain on Monday we are having a blast.

Now, off to grab a quick coffee and snack then heading to DHS.

Glad you aren't letting the weather get you down! Enjoy DHS!! Thanks for checking in...

For all of you veterans of YC and BC I have a question about club level. We will be staying at BC next year (Oct. 2013) and it will be our 20th anniversary. We want to do somethng special and club level looks ineteresting. I have read the FAQ, but the article link on whether it is worth it or not does not work.

Besides the food and drink offerings, what other benefits do you really use? There will be for of us (Me, DW and 8 year old twin DD's).

The second question is there a prticular section you would recommend staying in at BC? View, etc.?

Thanks,

David

We loved having the extra space! That was one of the big advantages for us. We also used the CL staff to help us change ADRs and on one instance to pick up a package.

I posted another update to my trip report! This one was a more difficult day for me, but short and easy to write...

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Fellow cupcake lovers, The Disney Food Blog has a cupcake crawl posted!!

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/...sney-food-blog-2012-cupcake-crawl/#more-57297

Honestly, I don't know that I could do all 7 cupcakes without passing out from a sugar induced coma, but perhaps some of you with bigger traveling groups can tackle it!!

theduck619- the toughest part about a CL stay is attempting NOT to stay CL on all future stays... For my family, its worth it. We are just passing the character breakfast phase, so a quick continental breakfast in the lounge is great for us, because we are sit down lunch people. Also, because of said sit down lunch, we tend to eat dinner later, so the evening appetizers work out great for us to have a small snack and a glass of wine before heading out for the night. Also, it is nice to have a couple of beers in the room fridge to grab as we are getting ready for the pool (although no glass bottles allowed at the pool- transfer to a cup first) or maybe at night after returning from the parks. Then of course, there is my Swedish Fish addicted son who LOVES to grab a cupful on our way to the pool... Then there is the fabulous staff, that help you while on vacation, as well as those who help out with ADR's prior to arriving.

HTH!

 

[mmmears]

theduck619- the toughest part about a CL stay is attempting NOT to stay CL on all future stays... For my family, its worth it. We are just passing the character breakfast phase, so a quick continental breakfast in the lounge is great for us, because we are sit down lunch people. Also, because of said sit down lunch, we tend to eat dinner later, so the evening appetizers work out great for us to have a small snack and a glass of wine before heading out for the night. Also, it is nice to have a couple of beers in the room fridge to grab as we are getting ready for the pool (although no glass bottles allowed at the pool- transfer to a cup first) or maybe at night after returning from the parks. Then of course, there is my Swedish Fish addicted son who LOVES to grab a cupful on our way to the pool... Then there is the fabulous staff, that help you while on vacation, as well as those who help out with ADR's prior to arriving.

I totally agree -- the worst thing about staying CL for us is that now when we don't we really do miss it. And the best is the quick and easy breakfast that allows us to make rope drop each morning.

 

[Nancyg56]

I called this morning for my "requested but not guaranteed" full balcony. I think I have decided to check in in person even though you are able to request full balcony on the online check in. I know they say checking in in person doesn't increase your chances for a little extra Pixie Dust but........since I have never gotten any with online check-in I'm going to try it another way. And any time spent at WDW is full of magic so it is going to be a fantastic trip no matter what happens at check-in.

I hate wishing summer away before it has even started but I simply can't wait for our August trip!!

I am wishing 6 months away so I totally get it!

I called and requested the full balcony as well but DD and I opted to check in in person as well just to give us the opportunity to ask again if we need to. WE will be fine without it but really would like one.

theduck619- the toughest part about a CL stay is attempting NOT to stay CL on all future stays... For my family, its worth it. We are just passing the character breakfast phase, so a quick continental breakfast in the lounge is great for us, because we are sit down lunch people. Also, because of said sit down lunch, we tend to eat dinner later, so the evening appetizers work out great for us to have a small snack and a glass of wine before heading out for the night. Also, it is nice to have a couple of beers in the room fridge to grab as we are getting ready for the pool (although no glass bottles allowed at the pool- transfer to a cup first) or maybe at night after returning from the parks. Then of course, there is my Swedish Fish addicted son who LOVES to grab a cupful on our way to the pool... Then there is the fabulous staff, that help you while on vacation, as well as those who help out with ADR's prior to arriving.

HTH!

We stayed CL on our first trip back to Disney is way too many years. It was AKL and awesome! This is the first trip since that we decided we really wanted the extra level of service and the perks that come with CL. I think that this is so nice when you want to enjoy the resort and the amenities there as much as you want the parks. I have to tell you that if we got not one more little perk the IPO staff has already been well worth the additional money and we are not there yet!

 

[theduck619]

Glad you aren't letting the weather get you down! Enjoy DHS!! Thanks for checking in...



We loved having the extra space! That was one of the big advantages for us. We also used the CL staff to help us change ADRs and on one instance to pick up a package.

I posted another update to my trip report! This one was a more difficult day for me, but short and easy to write...

So the rooms are larger than a standard?

Fellow cupcake lovers, The Disney Food Blog has a cupcake crawl posted!!

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/...sney-food-blog-2012-cupcake-crawl/#more-57297

Honestly, I don't know that I could do all 7 cupcakes without passing out from a sugar induced coma, but perhaps some of you with bigger traveling groups can tackle it!!

theduck619- the toughest part about a CL stay is attempting NOT to stay CL on all future stays... For my family, its worth it. We are just passing the character breakfast phase, so a quick continental breakfast in the lounge is great for us, because we are sit down lunch people. Also, because of said sit down lunch, we tend to eat dinner later, so the evening appetizers work out great for us to have a small snack and a glass of wine before heading out for the night. Also, it is nice to have a couple of beers in the room fridge to grab as we are getting ready for the pool (although no glass bottles allowed at the pool- transfer to a cup first) or maybe at night after returning from the parks. Then of course, there is my Swedish Fish addicted son who LOVES to grab a cupful on our way to the pool... Then there is the fabulous staff, that help you while on vacation, as well as those who help out with ADR's prior to arriving.

HTH!

I fear that we will never set foot in a standard room again if we take this plunge However, we will only celebrate our 20th once and I want it to be special for my DW. I also want my DD's to see how a wife should be treated

I am wishing 6 months away so I totally get it!

I called and requested the full balcony as well but DD and I opted to check in in person as well just to give us the opportunity to ask again if we need to. WE will be fine without it but really would like one.





We stayed CL on our first trip back to Disney is way too many years. It was AKL and awesome! This is the first trip since that we decided we really wanted the extra level of service and the perks that come with CL. I think that this is so nice when you want to enjoy the resort and the amenities there as much as you want the parks. I have to tell you that if we got not one more little perk the IPO staff has already been well worth the additional money and we are not there yet!

Thank you for the feedback!!

 

[mmmears]

So the rooms are larger than a standard?

I fear that we will never set foot in a standard room again if we take this plunge However, we will only celebrate our 20th once and I want it to be special for my DW. I also want my DD's to see how a wife should be treated

No -- the rooms are standard sized rooms, unless you book a Deluxe CL room, which costs more and unfortunately won't be on the same floor as the lounge.

I think it's lovely that you want to give your DW a special treat -- staying CL really makes that easier. Plus they are very helpful in the trip planning process.

 

[theduck619]

No -- the rooms are standard sized rooms, unless you book a Deluxe CL room, which costs more and unfortunately won't be on the same floor as the lounge.

I think it's lovely that you want to give your DW a special treat -- staying CL really makes that easier. Plus they are very helpful in the trip planning process.

Thank you

 

[JanetMom]

DD and I were discussing the fireworks pics on your TR and now have more questions Are those pics taken from a standard view room??????? We both agreed we are not going to care which view we have but cannot help adding more and more lovely things to look forward to on this trip!

All the room view pics from my TR were from our YC CL Standard View room - including the pictures of the Wishes Fireworks which were taken without any zoom on the camera.

For all of you veterans of YC and BC I have a question about club level. We will be staying at BC next year (Oct. 2013) and it will be our 20th anniversary. We want to do somethng special and club level looks ineteresting. I have read the FAQ, but the article link on whether it is worth it or not does not work.

Besides the food and drink offerings, what other benefits do you really use? There will be for of us (Me, DW and 8 year old twin DD's).

Aside from the food, the other benefits were to have the IPO make our dining reservations prior to the trip and to have the CL staff adjust our reservations during the trip. It was nice not to have to sit on hold if we changed our reservations.

I like that when you get your purchases sent back to the hotel, CL staff will put them in the room so you don't have to pick them up from the gift store.

We didn't use the CL for much else, but I've heard that Dee likes to get them to sharpen pencils for her.

Fellow cupcake lovers, The Disney Food Blog has a cupcake crawl posted!!

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/...sney-food-blog-2012-cupcake-crawl/#more-57297

Honestly, I don't know that I could do all 7 cupcakes without passing out from a sugar induced coma, but perhaps some of you with bigger traveling groups can tackle it!!

Mmmm, cupcakes!

 

[Nancyg56]

For all of you veterans of YC and BC I have a question about club level. We will be staying at BC next year (Oct. 2013) and it will be our 20th anniversary. We want to do somethng special and club level looks ineteresting. I have read the FAQ, but the article link on whether it is worth it or not does not work.

Besides the food and drink offerings, what other benefits do you really use? There will be for of us (Me, DW and 8 year old twin DD's).

I missed this earlier. I have never stayed at the BC so I cannot speak to the resort itself but I can discuss the benefits to CL and how my family determines if we want that level.

On our first trip back we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and decided to book CL. My DGD was only 4 and my DH had not taken a vacation for 11 years. At that time booking ADR's was 90 days out and it was next to impossible to get Castle Dining along with a few other popular TS restaurants. The IPO booked everything for us, made changes as we needed them. Before we had even gotten on the plane we had decided the additional money was money well spent.

We also needed to make sure that we had a plan in place in the event DGD was overwhelmed by the parks or the characters. DH had friends who were still mad that their little ones wanted nothing but the pools. WE wanted a place to escape if that happened.

WE found that the club lounge was a nice meeting place before we left in the morning, later on in the day before we left for dinner and again at the end of the night.

We are planning to spend a lot more time at the resort this trip. It should be pretty crowded in the parks during the first part of our trip so we decided that CL would give us a little extra spot to relax. Once again the IPO has been worth the money without even having stepped a foot into the resort. All our ADR's are made at the times we requested. Our window was Saturday and we have already made a few changes. The IPO looks for your openings and checks every morning for what you request. They already have my wish list for the Candlelight Processional and will try as soon as the inventory is released. No fighting for a place in line. I have done that and it is not fun.

If you and your family are planning to spend time at the resort, if you want to be able to enjoy a little private "hideaway", if you need some help making special ADR's you may find the cost justified.

Either way, you are going to have a wonderful Anniversary trip with your family!

 

[i_heart_the_mouse]

For all of you veterans of YC and BC I have a question about club level. We will be staying at BC next year (Oct. 2013) and it will be our 20th anniversary. We want to do somethng special and club level looks ineteresting. I have read the FAQ, but the article link on whether it is worth it or not does not work.

Besides the food and drink offerings, what other benefits do you really use? There will be for of us (Me, DW and 8 year old twin DD's).

The second question is there a prticular section you would recommend staying in at BC? View, etc.?

Thanks,

David

For us, the biggest perk of staying CL is in the intangibles. A few examples; getting our MNSSHP tickets changed to a different date when my mom got sick on our scheduled day, getting a pump so we could fill up a flat stroller tire, letting us borrow a small screwdriver to take the battery cover off of a stroller fan to change the batteries. The list goes on, but I don't want to ramble.

Also, the ease of popping into the lounge for a quick breakfast on the way out and snacks on the way back without lines or pulling out the wallet is priceless.

I look at CL as paying for convenience and an extra level of comfort!

 

[WsPrincess]

theduck619- the toughest part about a CL stay is attempting NOT to stay CL on all future stays... For my family, its worth it. We are just passing the character breakfast phase, so a quick continental breakfast in the lounge is great for us, because we are sit down lunch people. Also, because of said sit down lunch, we tend to eat dinner later, so the evening appetizers work out great for us to have a small snack and a glass of wine before heading out for the night. Also, it is nice to have a couple of beers in the room fridge to grab as we are getting ready for the pool (although no glass bottles allowed at the pool- transfer to a cup first) or maybe at night after returning from the parks. Then of course, there is my Swedish Fish addicted son who LOVES to grab a cupful on our way to the pool... Then there is the fabulous staff, that help you while on vacation, as well as those who help out with ADR's prior to arriving.

HTH!

Not booking CL again is a HUGE problem for us (and getting worse the closer we get). We did CL at CR last summer and fell in love. This trip the cost to do CL there again was way more than I could justify so we are in a Garden Wing room at CR before moving to CL at BC for the 2nd half of the trip. I am already stressing that we are going to regret not going CL at CR but at least I have my BC stay to keep me looking forward to things.

For us, the biggest perk of staying CL is in the intangibles. A few examples; getting our MNSSHP tickets changed to a different date when my mom got sick on our scheduled day, getting a pump so we could fill up a flat stroller tire, letting us borrow a small screwdriver to take the battery cover off of a stroller fan to change the batteries. The list goes on, but I don't want to ramble.

Also, the ease of popping into the lounge for a quick breakfast on the way out and snacks on the way back without lines or pulling out the wallet is priceless.

I look at CL as paying for convenience and an extra level of comfort!

For us it was also the small things. It was the CM who made sure DS and DD had chocolate milk whenever we needed it. Or the CM who packed up the kids favorite snacks for the plane ride after watching what they liked while we were there. Or the balloons sent to say goodbye to the kids from Mickey. It just made it even more magical from start to finish.

 

[mmmears]

Not booking CL again is a HUGE problem for us (and getting worse the closer we get). We did CL at CR last summer and fell in love. This trip the cost to do CL there again was way more than I could justify so we are in a Garden Wing room at CR before moving to CL at BC for the 2nd half of the trip. I am already stressing that we are going to regret not going CL at CR but at least I have my BC stay to keep me looking forward to things.

At least you are ending in CL -- so you'll get a little spoiled at the end of your trip. We always try to move up during our split-stays (although it's not always possible). Sounds like a nice split -- I love MK/EP splits since it means you almost never need to use the buses.