purpliequeen
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,568
Hello!
I returned Monday, June 18th from an amazing stay at Disney Vacation Club's Beach Club Villas. After perusing this board, I feel entitled to write a review.
We arrived on Monday, June 11th around 3pm. We were able to check-in immediately at the Beach Club's beautiful lobby and head to our room.
Our room was on the third floor. If you stuck your head out of the balcony to the far left you could see a bit of Epcot. Straight ahead we saw trees and a bit of the 5th floor of the Beach Club resort. It was an awesome room- extremely quiet. There was some wear and tear, but all in all we were extremely satisfied with the room condition. DVC honored all of our requests- 3rd to 5th floor room, dedicated two-bedroom, (2 queen beds in the extra bedroom), and a woods view. We heard Illuminations, but did not have a view of the high fireworks. The dryer was loud, but I don't think it was any different than any of the other dryers in the villas. We're just used to our quiet dryer at home.
The Beach Club Marketplace was great. The gelato is excellent
and changes daily. We were on the Disney dining Plan and were able to use our quick service meals here. We could get a breakfast item (ham and cheese egg or plain egg crossaint or yogurt parfait) with two drinks in the morning, which was awesome for check-out day, or a sandwich or salad with a drink and a cookie or rice krispie. The food was fresh- the yogurt parfaits, salads, and sandwiches were made to order. The desserts were very good. The marketplace sold a plethora of goods and we were satisfied with the aloe selection for sunburns 
. The cast members were also nice and helpful. We could also borrow DVDs for free, which is an extra perk for DVC members staying at DVC resorts.
Since we are DVC members, we had mousekeeping come on day four to exchange towels and empty the trash. Upon check-in we were greeted with a towel doll. Very cute!
My best friend (bff) celebrated her 18th bday on June 11th. We informed the receptionist upon check-in and she noted it down in our file and asked us who her favorite character was. My bff received a beautiful Disney card signed by Belle and the Beast with a photo of them in front of Cinderella's Castle. What a special touch.
After trekking to the parks every day (my bff and I made use of extra magic hours), we took an afternoon respite at the quiet pool for BCV guests. It is a spacious pool- usually not very crowded from 2-4:30pm every day. But the term "quiet pool" is such an oxymoron
. The pool served its purpose and we had fun. 
On Saturday we spent all day at Storm Along Bay (SAB) . The sandy bottom is unique, along with the lazy river. We rented tubes for the whole day ($10 each/day or $3/hour). Since we went right when the pool opened (10am), we were able to stake out a good spot. It got more difficult for people to find pool chairs as the day went on. The lifeguards did their job in watching out for the kids, playing pool games with them, and making sure people were aware of the deep end of the pool. Most of the pool was around 4' to 5', however a section of it is 8' or so (the lazy river part). My bff and I enjoyed playing in the pile of sand in the beach area (a shallow section- 2'). The sand is nice and we found that our legs were very soft after burying them (like after a salt scrub). Kids played with sand toys that they brought or purchased at the place where you could purchase sunscreen/tubes/other beachy items. We also ordered virgin strawberry daiquiris at Hurricane Hannah's on snack points. Yum! You can use quick service points here. Tip: If you want to rent a tube (you can also rent tubes for two people, we rented single tubes), get there early! There is only a certain number and they sold out quickly. The pool temperature was warm (I just got back from swimming at Wellington Beach in NH with a water temp of 68*F, so maybe I'm not a very accurate judge), but definitely refreshing.
The Beach Club location is fantastic- 5min to Epcot. The walk to Epcot's International Gateway is even faster from the Villas than the rest of the resort. We also walked to MGM Studios, which was a little over a mile. You can take the ferry to MGM and Epcot and the buses to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Downtown Disney. (More on transportation later.) We loved Disney's Boardwalk, there was so much going on at night. The walk around the lake is .8 of a mile and beautiful at night. But I must admit, IMHO, that I would rather appreciate the beauty of the boardwalk than stay in the Boardwalk. I am from rural NH, so I value the peace and quiet, especially at night.
On our first night we enjoyed the Beach/Yacht/and Villas stretch of beach by swinging on one of the bench swings. At 9pm every night (weather depending), the three resorts present a Disney movie for its guests. People can sit on one of the beach chairs in front of the huge screen on the beach. You are also encouraged to bring your own beach towel. We never did this, as we were either at fireworks or exhausted, but it looked fun. There are other children's activities, which are listed in the info presented upon check-in. The kids' Sandcastle Club is located right next door to the Beach Club Marketplace.
Staying in the Villas was a teeny bit of a walk, but we were closer to Epcot and the bus stop, along with the marketplace and sandcastle club than a lot of the rooms in the regular part of the resort. The Yacht Club and Beach Club are connected, so we were able to walk to SAB in air-conditioning the whole way (our farthest walk to somewhere in the resort).
The bus transportation kind of sucked. The buses were usually crowded because they accomodated around five resorts. We never waited long for a bus, but we always had to endure a long crowded trip, as they typically merge Boardwalk Inn, the Villas at the Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and Beach Club Villas on one bus. Yuck!
Although we got to our locations in a fair amount of time, IMHO, I wish to point out that AKL was better in transportation because it had non-stop service to/from the parks and we didn't have to wait 5 min at each individual bus stop for hordes of people to board (maybe I'm exaggerating a little), or at least those people who decide to board and then stop in the middle of a full bus (and trust me, 80% of the buses were full) so that the rest of the crowd is left standing on the steps of the bus and the bus driver has to yell at everyone to keep moving. (Sorry for the run-on sentence, I just had to vent a little.) I am, however, extremely patient in waiting for those with strollers and wheelchairs. But now you can see that each individual stop does take at least 5min, and that really adds on when you have to wait at 3+ resorts or so.... Maybe the rides to and from the parks to AKL were a bit longer, however the "longer" part of the journey was air conditioned and at least we were moving, whereas the "longer" part of the Epcot resort transportation was due to so many stops.
The ferries on the other hand, this is IMHO, were a joke. I can, and did, walk faster than them. I swear their maximum speed is 2mph. We waited 35 min for a ferry to MGM and then ended up walking 15 min to get there on the path, without seeing a single ferry on June 14th at 5pm. We ended up 30 min late to dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby in MGM, and no... it was not because of us, we were at the ferry landing 50 min prior to our ADR. 
Luckily the host at the Brown Derby told us that he has heard of other complaints and delays from diners prior to our arrival so we were seated within 20 min. I do not recommend the ferries at all. The walk to MGM and Epcot is enjoyable. That is my humble opinion, no flames please. Also note that we are an active family and enjoy walking and wildlife.
Other than the slight ferry incident, we had an amazing stay and we plan on returning to the BCV somewhere in the near future. I hope you enjoyed reading this uber long review. Thanks!
I returned Monday, June 18th from an amazing stay at Disney Vacation Club's Beach Club Villas. After perusing this board, I feel entitled to write a review.
We arrived on Monday, June 11th around 3pm. We were able to check-in immediately at the Beach Club's beautiful lobby and head to our room.
Our room was on the third floor. If you stuck your head out of the balcony to the far left you could see a bit of Epcot. Straight ahead we saw trees and a bit of the 5th floor of the Beach Club resort. It was an awesome room- extremely quiet. There was some wear and tear, but all in all we were extremely satisfied with the room condition. DVC honored all of our requests- 3rd to 5th floor room, dedicated two-bedroom, (2 queen beds in the extra bedroom), and a woods view. We heard Illuminations, but did not have a view of the high fireworks. The dryer was loud, but I don't think it was any different than any of the other dryers in the villas. We're just used to our quiet dryer at home.
The Beach Club Marketplace was great. The gelato is excellent
and changes daily. We were on the Disney dining Plan and were able to use our quick service meals here. We could get a breakfast item (ham and cheese egg or plain egg crossaint or yogurt parfait) with two drinks in the morning, which was awesome for check-out day, or a sandwich or salad with a drink and a cookie or rice krispie. The food was fresh- the yogurt parfaits, salads, and sandwiches were made to order. The desserts were very good. The marketplace sold a plethora of goods and we were satisfied with the aloe selection for sunburns . The cast members were also nice and helpful. We could also borrow DVDs for free, which is an extra perk for DVC members staying at DVC resorts.Since we are DVC members, we had mousekeeping come on day four to exchange towels and empty the trash. Upon check-in we were greeted with a towel doll. Very cute!
My best friend (bff) celebrated her 18th bday on June 11th. We informed the receptionist upon check-in and she noted it down in our file and asked us who her favorite character was. My bff received a beautiful Disney card signed by Belle and the Beast with a photo of them in front of Cinderella's Castle. What a special touch.
After trekking to the parks every day (my bff and I made use of extra magic hours), we took an afternoon respite at the quiet pool for BCV guests. It is a spacious pool- usually not very crowded from 2-4:30pm every day. But the term "quiet pool" is such an oxymoron
. The pool served its purpose and we had fun. On Saturday we spent all day at Storm Along Bay (SAB) . The sandy bottom is unique, along with the lazy river. We rented tubes for the whole day ($10 each/day or $3/hour). Since we went right when the pool opened (10am), we were able to stake out a good spot. It got more difficult for people to find pool chairs as the day went on. The lifeguards did their job in watching out for the kids, playing pool games with them, and making sure people were aware of the deep end of the pool. Most of the pool was around 4' to 5', however a section of it is 8' or so (the lazy river part). My bff and I enjoyed playing in the pile of sand in the beach area (a shallow section- 2'). The sand is nice and we found that our legs were very soft after burying them (like after a salt scrub). Kids played with sand toys that they brought or purchased at the place where you could purchase sunscreen/tubes/other beachy items. We also ordered virgin strawberry daiquiris at Hurricane Hannah's on snack points. Yum! You can use quick service points here. Tip: If you want to rent a tube (you can also rent tubes for two people, we rented single tubes), get there early! There is only a certain number and they sold out quickly. The pool temperature was warm (I just got back from swimming at Wellington Beach in NH with a water temp of 68*F, so maybe I'm not a very accurate judge), but definitely refreshing. The Beach Club location is fantastic- 5min to Epcot. The walk to Epcot's International Gateway is even faster from the Villas than the rest of the resort. We also walked to MGM Studios, which was a little over a mile. You can take the ferry to MGM and Epcot and the buses to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Downtown Disney. (More on transportation later.) We loved Disney's Boardwalk, there was so much going on at night. The walk around the lake is .8 of a mile and beautiful at night.
But I must admit, IMHO, that I would rather appreciate the beauty of the boardwalk than stay in the Boardwalk. I am from rural NH, so I value the peace and quiet, especially at night.On our first night we enjoyed the Beach/Yacht/and Villas stretch of beach by swinging on one of the bench swings. At 9pm every night (weather depending), the three resorts present a Disney movie for its guests. People can sit on one of the beach chairs in front of the huge screen on the beach. You are also encouraged to bring your own beach towel. We never did this, as we were either at fireworks or exhausted, but it looked fun. There are other children's activities, which are listed in the info presented upon check-in. The kids' Sandcastle Club is located right next door to the Beach Club Marketplace.
Staying in the Villas was a teeny bit of a walk, but we were closer to Epcot and the bus stop, along with the marketplace and sandcastle club than a lot of the rooms in the regular part of the resort. The Yacht Club and Beach Club are connected, so we were able to walk to SAB in air-conditioning the whole way (our farthest walk to somewhere in the resort).
The bus transportation kind of sucked. The buses were usually crowded because they accomodated around five resorts. We never waited long for a bus, but we always had to endure a long crowded trip, as they typically merge Boardwalk Inn, the Villas at the Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and Beach Club Villas on one bus. Yuck!
Although we got to our locations in a fair amount of time, IMHO, I wish to point out that AKL was better in transportation because it had non-stop service to/from the parks and we didn't have to wait 5 min at each individual bus stop for hordes of people to board (maybe I'm exaggerating a little), or at least those people who decide to board and then stop in the middle of a full bus (and trust me, 80% of the buses were full) so that the rest of the crowd is left standing on the steps of the bus and the bus driver has to yell at everyone to keep moving. (Sorry for the run-on sentence, I just had to vent a little.) I am, however, extremely patient in waiting for those with strollers and wheelchairs. But now you can see that each individual stop does take at least 5min, and that really adds on when you have to wait at 3+ resorts or so.... Maybe the rides to and from the parks to AKL were a bit longer, however the "longer" part of the journey was air conditioned and at least we were moving, whereas the "longer" part of the Epcot resort transportation was due to so many stops.The ferries on the other hand, this is IMHO, were a joke. I can, and did, walk faster than them. I swear their maximum speed is 2mph.
We waited 35 min for a ferry to MGM and then ended up walking 15 min to get there on the path, without seeing a single ferry on June 14th at 5pm. We ended up 30 min late to dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby in MGM, and no... it was not because of us, we were at the ferry landing 50 min prior to our ADR. Luckily the host at the Brown Derby told us that he has heard of other complaints and delays from diners prior to our arrival so we were seated within 20 min. I do not recommend the ferries at all. The walk to MGM and Epcot is enjoyable. That is my humble opinion, no flames please. Also note that we are an active family and enjoy walking and wildlife.Other than the slight ferry incident, we had an amazing stay and we plan on returning to the BCV somewhere in the near future. I hope you enjoyed reading this uber long review. Thanks!
I think if I stayed in that area again, I'd walk to Epcot and MGM too. 
