Opinions on the Beach Club?

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I'll try this one more time! For those of you who have stayed at the Beach Club, could you please share your favorite things about this resort? How is the bus service? What is the best part about staying here? I'll be staying here for the first time, and this will be my first EPCOT Resort. Thanks!

 

[dgroet]

If you can wait 2 weeeks I'll let you know. We are staying there next Thurs-Sat. Then off to the Wonder.

 

[dreamflight99]

We have stayed there twice, and we have always LOVED it! It sits so close to our #1 fav. park...EPCOT! We love the layout, rooms, concierge, service, beaches & Cream/Hurricane Hanna's Grill, lobby & POOL...gift shop too! There is nothing negative/unpleasant I can recall. We Still LOVE it. We also love the Yacht club (smallest resort on Dis.Property @ 604 rooms...beach club is "second" smallest). Yacht club ranks in the top 5 resorts in the nation (three years ago it was ranked #1). Both are FAB Cali, and you'll have a GRAND time experiencing the EPCOT area through the Beach Club! Enjoy!

 

[HookdonWDW]

My favorite things about BC are:

• SAB
• B & C
• Close to Epcot
• Close to MGM
• Breakfasts at Cape May
• Theming of the Resort and the Rooms
• Close enough to BW for the nightlife, but far enough away for tranquility
• Boat Rentals
• Art and the rest of the wonderful staff
• Sandcastle Club for the kids

 

[Daisymeo]

The best thing about the BC is Stormalong Bay. It is the most fantastic pool I've ever been in. It was hard to get out of it as I just wanted to stay in it and relax. It wasn't crowded at all like I thought it might be. The other great thing about the BC was its location. I loved being at this resort in the evenings. It was so nice to take an evening stroll on the Boardwalk or just stroll into Epcot with only a short walk which took a couple of minutes. We loved to just stroll the World Showcase in the evenings and see the entertainment and also saw Illuminations every night. It was so different to be so close to one of the parks as we have only stayed at the Poly before. The boat rides to MGM were really great too, much better than taking the bus from the Poly. Really neat to see Fantasmic and just get on a bus and go back to BC. I am so glad we split our stay and stayed part of our trip at an MK resort and part at an Epcot resort. It really gives you a different view of WDW. The rooms at the BC were okay and showed a little wear and tear and were not as big as the Poly but they were okay. I was surprised there was only one shop there and it is pretty inconvenient not to have a Captain Cooks or Mara type of food place but I guess you are within a 5 minute walk of so many other places to eat that makes up for it. I know you like the GF so I think YC might be more to your liking because it is just more elegant while the BC seems more family oriented. If you have any more questions, ask away.

 

[disneyholic family]

oh oh....
you probably don't want to hear anything bad...
but here goes anyway...
we've stayed at the BC and YC numerous times...
we prefer the YC to the BC....mainly a decor thing as they are basicallly identical...(that is, we prefer the decor of the YC to the BC)...so i suggest that one thing you do is take a walk through the building over to the YC side to see the change in decor for future reference...

they share stormalong bay which is the nicest thing about the BC/YC..

another thing to note....not all BC rooms have full balconies....if a balcony is important to you , you might want to mention this on your reservation (although i don't think that they guaranteee....just mark it down)....by the way, all YC rooms do have a balcony...the other problem with the BC right now is that it's scheduled for a much needed renovation (i think it's beginning in october)...

ok..
so the best thing is stormalong ay (especially the current pool)

we also enjoy the character breakfast at the cape may cafe...a very nice selection of food......

we enjoy walking around the lake (we tend to go towards the swan/dolphin and continue all the way around)...when we go to epcot we always walk (going down right by the water, not up)...- walking to epcot is faster than taking the boat...
but to MGM you have to take the boat...it's a plesant ride...

i have to go now...more later...

 

[disneyholic family]

ok....
i'm back....
so as we were all saying....the best thing about the BC (and YC) is stormalong bay (in fact, that's the onlly reason we stay there for a few days every year.....just so we can use the pool.....we stay every weekend - while we keep our rooms somewhere else at the same time....call us nuts but that's how we do it....this year we spent the first weekend on the wonder, the second weekend at the BC concierge, the thrid weekend at the YC concierge)...

so...SAB....floats are available for rental.....makes it even more fun...
there is a big pool that the slide goes into.....but then behind it is a kind of lazy river sort of pool.....not really a river....just a donut shaped pool with a nice current to the water to carry you around....that's the pool we usually stay in for a few hours every saturday we're there...
we always go swimming in the morning when we stay at the BC/YC because once that lightening starts to hit you never know when they'll let you back in the pool...

some of the highlights of our friday night /saturday at BC/YC.....
friday night walking around the boardwalk and enjoying the street performers...
saturday morning character breakfast at the cape may cafe (one of the best buffet breakfasts in WDW in my opinion)....
3 hours by the pool (or until the storms hit if they're early)...
up to shower and change and then walk into EPCOT.....
by this time it's too late to get a fastpass for test track so we don't bother.....we do a bit of strolling along world showcase and nibble as we walk....
then over to future world which is pretty empty by this point....and on to all our favorite attractions there (visiting the AP lounge to pick up tickets for shockwave and to rest our weary legs for a moment)....
then off to shockwave and back to the hotel....
i never stay for illuminations as i can't stand the positioning necessary for a good view.....

as you can see, we view our stay at the BC/YC as a major rest and relaxation stay....no rushing to the park....just an easy lazy kind of day...

there's a good juggler on the boardwalk (Randy i think's his name)......he used to do the preshow at hunchback (now only Matt does that preshow)....Randy's also quite good and always very funny...

if you like to buy food for your room (like cereal, bread, PB&J, entenmenns, etc) you can buy these things at a store on the boardwalk....part of the store is disney clothing the other part food (including junk food)

 

[ducklite]

Hey Cali-

You'll love it

I have a lot of favorite things about this resort.

1. Walking distance to Epcot and MGM...no more fighting to get back to your resort at closing time.

2. The room decor is my favorite of all WDW resorts. Make sure you request a full balcony.

3. Stormalong Bay. 'Nuff said.

4. The lobby is my second favorite. (BW is my favorite)

5. walking distance to some great restaurants, not even counting the ones in Epcot.

6. Excellent guest service.

Have a great time!

Anne

 

[SamanthaL]

My favorite resort as well as my DH(it is important to understand that DH and I usually agree to disagree on stuff like this so having the same opinion is a miracle!)
We love everything about it. We have always had a water view room with full balcony even though we never ask and only pay for standard. Just request full balcony.
Try sitting on the beach swings one night while the fireworks go off in the distance. You can't see much but we felt like we were the only people on earth. It is so romantic.

 

[Lewisc]

I agree with all the above posts in addition:
1) Bus service--about the same as other resorts. If you're coming from another resort take the bus to MGM then take boat or walk.
2) Gallery (YC) great place for breakfast (if you don't want characters).
3) Monorail--It's a long walk through EPCOT. Unless you're doing something in EPCOT think twice about taking monorail to EPCOT if you're just going back to your hotel.
4) BEST FEATURE LOCATION--Spend the morning in the studios, walk back to resort for pool and lunch. Then walk over to EPCOT for dinner and Illuminations.