Where are you staying during your other parts of the trip? I always resort hop, but I do so on a basis of location w/ WDW. My favorite combination is AKL for access to AK, Boardwalk for the Epcot area, and then GF for the MK (and the finale of the trip, since it is my all time favorite resort!). I also love the Wilderness Lodge (so many great Disney resorts to choose from !). They had some of the friendliest CMs I have encountered, and we had nothing go wrong there (except a drunk guest who mistakenly yelled at me, but that's more laughable than anything else
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Anyway, the lodge is very beautiful and well themed...I think more nicely themed than the Yacht Club. It has a high rise lobby that is much prettier than Yacht Club's, and a stream through the lobby. The pool is wonderful, at the base of waterfallls and there are two jacuzzi's. It's great to be in a jacuzzi at night near the Lake with the geyser going off every hour. I love the wildflowers all around the property. Very authentic. Plus you have great access to horseback riding, jogging trails, petting zoo and show at the campground, etc. There is the electric parade on the water at night. The rooms are smaller at WL but we had a lovely view of the castle over the trees and liked the comfortable, relaxing feel of the resort despite the smaller rooms. For some reason, the rooms aren't as beautifully decorated as the rest of the resort. They are still very nice, but I'd question the choice of bedspreads
. The Yacht Club rooms are nicer with prettier decor (nautical), but I didn't feel as much Disney magic at the Yacht Club as much as the WL(probably due to the splendid CMs and the gorgeous foresty atmosphere). At the WL, our mousekeeper make angels and clowns out of our bathtowels
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The Yacht Club feels busier, and less private, and there are less private kind of nooks around the resort to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. I have never thought StormAlong Bay was as exciting as other posters. It is definitely not my favorite pool area (I think AKL and GF's pool areas are much cooler, AKL b/c its near the animals and the jacuzzis are so fabulous, and GFs b/c it is so gorgeous to be on the seven seas lagoon--and from the zero entry waterfall pool it looks almost like the pool is extended to the Lagoon--just gorgeous at night!), though I did like the nearly private quiet pool at Yacht Club--we were by ourselves in the jacuzzi nearly every night--and since we had a first floor view of the quiet pool, we could walk directly out of our patio to the jacuzzi! So great.
Yacht Club is not as user friendly w/ the refillable mugs--it was quite a walk to refill my morning coffee from my room, and for sodas, there is no "caffeine free diet" (which they have at AKL and I love) and no self service refills--you have to have a CM do it at the beach grill or Beaches and Cream,which made me feel like I had to tip and negated the free refill. There is a market that has caffeine free diet sodas for 1.50 (or 2.50?) each and other items, all, again, high priced. I like the Epcot area but prefer the Boardwalk for that location based on the decor and being on the Boardwalk itself, or the Swan and Dolphin for lower prices and same deluxe amenities and location.
In any case, I would go w/ the Wilderness Lodge over Yacht Club. Hope any of this info helps
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