Yacht or Beach club, which have nicer rooms? Which do you prefer?

Childs1stTime2Disney

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Can you tell me about the Yacht or Beach club? Which has nicer rooms and why? Which do you prefer? Do they share the pool, etc?
 
Staying at the Beach club for the first time in October (!!!) so can't compare rooms, but we did stay at the Yacht before and after room refurb so I can give some info on that.

I personally liked the rooms at Yacht better before refurb, as I think they had more character, but they are very nice after, if a little plain. We found the beds were abnormally high up, if that could be an issue. The curtain had Disney constellations on it and was very cute.

They both have very different feels- the yacht club has darker wood, deep blue colors, etc. However, the lobby has tons of windows and is very bright, as well as the store. The beach club has more of a, well, beach theme and is lighter wood, blues, etc. Same with windows. The outsides are close, except the Yacht club is gray and the Beach club is bright blue.

They share both Stormalong Bay and Hurricane Hanna's (the eatery/bar by the pool.) They both have separate quiet pools, though I'd imagine you wouldn't have trouble using a quiet pool at the sister resort, if you so desired.

They also share the same resort gym & spa, Ship Shape.

There really aren't any BIG differences- it's mostly aesthetic and where you want to go. Beach club is closer to the Epcot entrance (but you could get there by walking through both hotels, in air conditioning, as well.) The yacht club exit leads right out to the friendship boat dock. If you plan on Yachtsman and indulging in bars and lounges (and Ale and Compass's breakfast) you may find that Yacht works better. However, all the restaurants are pretty easy to get to, so that's not even a make-it-or-break-it sort of thing.

They're both gorgeous and good resorts, so you really can't go wrong with either!
 
We have stayed at the BC three times in previous years and we just stayed at the YC for the first time this year. They both are really great resorts, within walking distance to two parks and access to SAB. I’m going to give the slight edge to YC. We love the new rooms and think they are nicer than the BC. At the YC I believe all rooms have a full balcony, where at the BC, you have no guarantee of a full balcony. We like that the YC is the first bus stop before heading over to the BC. We also appreciate the quietness of the YC. I never noticed how loud the BC lobby was until we visited there while staying at the YC; it seemed chaotic to me. With all that said, I’d gladly return to the BC. It is really nice, too.
 

They are really just 2 sides of the same resort. Amenities are shared. You can easily walk via inside hall from one to the other with a short bit outside by SAB but still under cover.
I prefer YC mainly because all the rooms have full balconies. And having a balcony is important to me. At BC only 50% of the rooms have a full balcony.
 
They've both been recently refurbished and both are gorgeous. I would pick the one that satisfies any other criteria more. Do you want to be closer to EP? Pick BC. Do you require a full balcony? Pick YC. Do you want something livelier? BC. Something closer to the boat dock? YC. IMHO, you can't go wrong either way. Yes, they share resort amenities.
 
As pp said, both are gorgeous. We lean more towards BC though. It really is more lively with children, and I feel more fun. The four yacht club stays we've had, have all put us relatively far from Epcot WS entrance, compared to BC. You are closer to the boat dock at Yacht club and to HS path. We've stayed at BC more than a dozen times, every time but one we are able to cross the bridge towards WS within a minute. I love that. Our favorite resort is Poly, but BC is a close second. We just stayed at GF for the first time this year, we missed being able to walk to the Boardwalk, Epcot etc. Hope your stay is magical!
 
Yacht Club for full balconies and newly refurbed rooms, as bathroom area has barn door as well as no carpet and with the addition of the market for drink refills/snacks, the YC is tops for us.
 
Our one stay at YC was post-refurb. Biggest criticism of the resort is it's lack of theming and convention center-like feel.

I agree. I could not get past the "stodgy" feel of the lobby even though we visit the YC almost every trip. I prefer the BC and choose that resort over many simply because of the beachy feel and the energy in the common areas of the resort. The proximity to EPcot is a plus for me, however it is the theme that wins my family over.

The YC is beautiful as well, and all amenities are shared, so I would choose the resort that has the theme that appeals, as well as the considerations that matter to your family. If you need a full balcony I would lean to YC. If a seemingly quieter setting is important, YC wins. If a beach vibe is in order, look at BC.
 
I've stayed at both and slightly prefer the decor of the Yacht Club, but this is really subjective and I can see why others would like BC better. I also preferred the larger balcony we had at Yacht Club versus the Juliet balcony we got at BC. As far as proximity to Epcot, the most distant room at YC can't be more than a couple minutes farther away than the closest room at BC, so I wouldn't go by that.
 
I've stayed at both, and I agree the lack of full balconies at BC is a drawback. Also, I did not like walking by the Cape May buffet clam chowder smell every night. The lobby still had the sunscreen yummy smell, but as soon as you got near the restaurant you could smell the sterno and seafood. I think I prefer the theming of BC though, especially with kids.

Both resorts have long mazes of hallways, so if you are at the far end of YC you will be pretty far from Epcot. Still walkable, but a long walk at the end of a long day. We were at the farther end of BC and was able to walk down a staircase and through a courtyard and be right at the IG.
 
I've stayed at both, and I agree the lack of full balconies at BC is a drawback. Also, I did not like walking by the Cape May buffet clam chowder smell every night. The lobby still had the sunscreen yummy smell, but as soon as you got near the restaurant you could smell the sterno and seafood. I think I prefer the theming of BC though, especially with kids.

Both resorts have long mazes of hallways, so if you are at the far end of YC you will be pretty far from Epcot. Still walkable, but a long walk at the end of a long day. We were at the farther end of BC and was able to walk down a staircase and through a courtyard and be right at the IG.

Thanks for this info! What do you think is the ideal location at Beach club? I do have young children btw if that matters and yes, planning to walk to Epcot.
 
I've stayed at both and even though they are connected, they have different feels to them. Yacht Club is more sophisticated with dark woods. Beach Club is more casual and the lobby is lighter.

You'll share the same pool ( which is one of the best on property, IMO ) and can easily walk between the 2 hotels ( there is both an internal walkway and an external ).

The location of both is great as you can walk to both Epcot and HS.

We preferred BC a bit more - it was just more our style.
 
Thanks for this info! What do you think is the ideal location at Beach club? I do have young children btw if that matters and yes, planning to walk to Epcot.

We really liked the rooms at the end of the resort next to and facing Epcot. There is a little gate there that you exit through and you are just steps from the IG! It almost felt like we were staying in WS in Epcot. We would go out on our balcony and listen to the bands play in the 'UK' . I don't know that it is necessarily any more ideal than other locations, but we love it there.

Other locations that are nice are near the lobby for convenience to the bus stop and pool areas (SAB).
 
We've stayed at YC our last 4 trips and never at BC, though we walk over there for food or just to visit. Biggest drawback to BC for me is that BC doesn't have full balconies for all rooms. And BC seems a bit more chaotic.
 
We stayed at Yacht Club for the first time this past December. I was not excited about it at first (I wanted to stay near MK, boyfriend wanted to stay near Epcot, he won) but I ended up loving it! Walking through BC and comparing the two, I definitely prefer YC, but I think if we had kids we'd choose BC - it felt much more family/kid friendly. I agree with the previous poster that BC feels more chaotic. I loved how adult and mellow YC felt. Now it's my favorite!
 


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