Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

Look at this (starting at Post 5). Someone presents a theory that BC has a policy which impacts which Magic Bands will open your door. I do not know if the person who said it is a castmember with actual knowledge of the policy being implemented, or is just repeating something which may be inaccurate. Honestly, I am not sure I believe it but I'm trying not to be too negative when stating my opinion.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/magic-bands-as-room-keys.3780911/#post-61309509
Very interesting thought!
 
We left Orlando on Saturday night & got back to the UK on Sunday after 14 nights at the Yacht Club, in a water view room (2043) which had a lovely view over to the Boardwalk, the room had a king bed, a large leather chair with foot stool & the usual desk & chair, no sofa of any description though so definitely not suitable for a family but perfect for the two of us.

Mousekeeping were up to their usual high standard & kept our room looking immaculate & well stocked with towels, coffee pods & the other usual amenities.
The resort as always at this time of year looked even more beautiful than normal & all of the front line cast members that we met & spoke with were fantastic, they really are the heart & soul of the resort.

The only negative part of our visit was the bus service which was awful from when we arrived to when we left, buses would show as being 10 minutes away on the app & on the board by the bus stop & then would just disappear for 5 minutes & when they came back they were for 20 minutes later, it also became a running joke how many times buses arrived earlier than was shown on the board & the app & then drive off usually as ourselves & other guests were walking out of the front door of the hotel.

One morning we along with a few other people were waiting for an AK bus, we saw it turn in to the bus road & get as far as the barrier at the bottom of the road that leads up to the YC bus stop but it never appeared, we then saw it heading back down the road.
There was a cast member at the bus stop with an ipad who seemed to be counting people & when she was asked where the bus had gone, replied that it had been sent to the BC & she was doing a headcount to see if we would all fit on the bus, if not then we would just have to wait for the next bus to appear.
I along with several other people told her that we were not happy with that scenario given that some us had already been waiting 20 minutes.
The bus did eventually turn up & everyone ended up getting on, but we were not impressed, we found out from someone that had asked the cast member what was going on & had been told that the previous AK bus had only been able to pick up 2 people from the BC so they had decided to prioritise BC guests on the next bus over YC guests.
On one hand I understand the logic but surely the correct thing to have done would have been to put an extra bus on!!
Why potentially upset two sets of guests?

The second incident was what caused me to speak to a manager, we had a dinner reservation at Wilderness Lodge & based on how sucky the buses had been already decided to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the MK & then either get a resort bus or boat up to WL.
To further complicate matters the usual YC bus stop was closed, so buses were picking up & dropping off from the YC Conference centre, we got down there 90 minutes before our ADR & as we arrived saw a MK bus pulling out a few minutes earlier than it was listed to on the app.

Not a problem we thought, we have loads of time to spare, only we didn’t, 30 minutes later & still no sign of an MK bus, by this time there were at least 30 people waiting.
A DS bus pulled up & as guests were getting on it a MK bus finally pulled up behind it, we along with everyone else waited for the DS bus to pull out & for the MK bus to take its place when the driver of the MK bus suddenly pulled out & drove past the DS bus, myself & couple of other people tried to stop it by shouting & waving to the driver, who slowed down, looked at us, laughed & then drove off towards to the BC.

At that point we made the decision to head back to reception & get an Uber, I tried to see a manager to let them know what had happened but there were none available at that time.
We did speak to a manager the following day to make them aware of the two incidents & he confirmed that we were not the only people to complain about the buses that week he also confirmed that he would speak to someone in transport.
We have never experienced the same level of issues with buses on our previous visits, it got so bad in the end that we used Uber & or drove way more than we normally do, to ensure that we got to places on time.

I don’t know what has changed because we always visit at the same of year, i.e. the week before & of Thanksgiving.
We did notice that there were significantly less cars in the car park this time so possibly the cost of parking your car is causing more people to not drive or hire cars & hence use the buses.
The sharing of Disney Springs buses with the BW, Swan & Dolphin & YC & BC also resulted in some very crowded & uncomfortable journeys to & from DS.

With the exception of the issues involving buses we still had a great time & the YC has confirmed itself as our favourite onsite resort.
Although we plan to eventually get round to trying the other deluxe resorts I doubt that we would consider staying anywhere else for a full two weeks.
As we sit in a very cold London writing this, we would both give anything to be back in our happy place at our favourite hotel right now.
 
So....gotta love the front desk @ YC, calling out Anthony.
We arrived around 10:30am this morning, semi checked in & were walked up to club level. We booked water view/club. No room available so we wander to Epcot & stop at the fish shop. It’s a tradition.

Imagine our excitement at receiving a room ready text @ 11:30a! We wander back, get our bags & head up to 5th floor & our bands open our door. However (and I know it’s not a third world problem) but it’s a king bed. No way, Jose. The concierge peeps were jammed so we head back to front desk. After about a 15 minute wait we get Anthony. What a nice young man. We explained that on vaca, we need our sleep & hubby snores. He makes a few calls but has bad news. No 2 queen rooms available at all, club level. I ask how about the 4th floor but key our magic bands to take us to 5th floor/elevator? He goes in back & talks to his boss, who totally got the need for 2 queens. I checked touring plans, it’s the only king room in that section and somehow we got:(. Anthony pulls some strings & we ended up on 4th floor, water view & direct view of Epcot fireworks! Better view than what our club room was gonna be! We stopped at concierge and they had robes/slippers sent down! Big win.

Moral of my story is stay nice/ask nice/and show appreciation for the extra effort. Thank you Anthony!
 


We arrived at the BC around 10:45 this morning and some good luck.Our Magical Express driver got mixed up and stopped at the BC first instead of stopping at Caribbean Beach first, which was nice for us. :)

We got the text that our room wasn't ready so we headed into Epcot for lunch and a few rides. We had gotten a couple texts that the room wasn't ready but never got a text to tell us that it was ready. Luckily, DH was checking the MDE app and saw that we had a room number. This was around 12:30pm. We headed to the resort around 1:30pm and our MagicBands opened the room door, which was great. :)

We booked a standard view room through a travel agency that we have used before. We usually get a room located above the big flat roof. But not this time. This time we got a free upgrade to a very lovely garden view room. We are delighted with the view and will post some pictures once the trip is over. Now, if people would just not talk in the hall when they walk past, it would be almost perfect.

It is a lovely, sunny day and just a little on the cool side. We saw people lined up in the Candlelight Processional standby line at 11:30 am. Tonight's narrator is Neil Patrick Harris. I guess he is popular.
 


We left Orlando on Saturday night & got back to the UK on Sunday after 14 nights at the Yacht Club, in a water view room (2043) which had a lovely view over to the Boardwalk, the room had a king bed, a large leather chair with foot stool & the usual desk & chair, no sofa of any description though so definitely not suitable for a family but perfect for the two of us.

Mousekeeping were up to their usual high standard & kept our room looking immaculate & well stocked with towels, coffee pods & the other usual amenities.
The resort as always at this time of year looked even more beautiful than normal & all of the front line cast members that we met & spoke with were fantastic, they really are the heart & soul of the resort.

The only negative part of our visit was the bus service which was awful from when we arrived to when we left, buses would show as being 10 minutes away on the app & on the board by the bus stop & then would just disappear for 5 minutes & when they came back they were for 20 minutes later, it also became a running joke how many times buses arrived earlier than was shown on the board & the app & then drive off usually as ourselves & other guests were walking out of the front door of the hotel.

One morning we along with a few other people were waiting for an AK bus, we saw it turn in to the bus road & get as far as the barrier at the bottom of the road that leads up to the YC bus stop but it never appeared, we then saw it heading back down the road.
There was a cast member at the bus stop with an ipad who seemed to be counting people & when she was asked where the bus had gone, replied that it had been sent to the BC & she was doing a headcount to see if we would all fit on the bus, if not then we would just have to wait for the next bus to appear.
I along with several other people told her that we were not happy with that scenario given that some us had already been waiting 20 minutes.
The bus did eventually turn up & everyone ended up getting on, but we were not impressed, we found out from someone that had asked the cast member what was going on & had been told that the previous AK bus had only been able to pick up 2 people from the BC so they had decided to prioritise BC guests on the next bus over YC guests.
On one hand I understand the logic but surely the correct thing to have done would have been to put an extra bus on!!
Why potentially upset two sets of guests?

The second incident was what caused me to speak to a manager, we had a dinner reservation at Wilderness Lodge & based on how sucky the buses had been already decided to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the MK & then either get a resort bus or boat up to WL.
To further complicate matters the usual YC bus stop was closed, so buses were picking up & dropping off from the YC Conference centre, we got down there 90 minutes before our ADR & as we arrived saw a MK bus pulling out a few minutes earlier than it was listed to on the app.

Not a problem we thought, we have loads of time to spare, only we didn’t, 30 minutes later & still no sign of an MK bus, by this time there were at least 30 people waiting.
A DS bus pulled up & as guests were getting on it a MK bus finally pulled up behind it, we along with everyone else waited for the DS bus to pull out & for the MK bus to take its place when the driver of the MK bus suddenly pulled out & drove past the DS bus, myself & couple of other people tried to stop it by shouting & waving to the driver, who slowed down, looked at us, laughed & then drove off towards to the BC.

At that point we made the decision to head back to reception & get an Uber, I tried to see a manager to let them know what had happened but there were none available at that time.
We did speak to a manager the following day to make them aware of the two incidents & he confirmed that we were not the only people to complain about the buses that week he also confirmed that he would speak to someone in transport.
We have never experienced the same level of issues with buses on our previous visits, it got so bad in the end that we used Uber & or drove way more than we normally do, to ensure that we got to places on time.

I don’t know what has changed because we always visit at the same of year, i.e. the week before & of Thanksgiving.
We did notice that there were significantly less cars in the car park this time so possibly the cost of parking your car is causing more people to not drive or hire cars & hence use the buses.
The sharing of Disney Springs buses with the BW, Swan & Dolphin & YC & BC also resulted in some very crowded & uncomfortable journeys to & from DS.

With the exception of the issues involving buses we still had a great time & the YC has confirmed itself as our favourite onsite resort.
Although we plan to eventually get round to trying the other deluxe resorts I doubt that we would consider staying anywhere else for a full two weeks.
As we sit in a very cold London writing this, we would both give anything to be back in our happy place at our favourite hotel right now.
I also got back from Yacht Club this past Sunday, and I experienced a 45-minute wait for a bus to AK. It was pretty terrible and almost caused us to miss our Flight of Passage Fastpass window. I am glad I wasn't the only one to recognize this problem. We got caught on a Disney Spring bus that also went to BW, Swan and Dolphin, YC, and Bc. It was highly uncomfortable for my girlfriend and me also.
 
Really in busy times the BC (and BCV) and YC and the Dolphin/Swan shouldn't be sharing buses at all during peak times --- park opening and closing. We've been there in busy times staying at BC where we've seen multiple AK/DS/MK buses skip the BC stop altogether after filling up at YC --- super frustrating to be waiting for a bus that never even comes to the bus stop. Since BC and YC and Dolphin/Swan are all considered deluxe resorts the transportation should be first class --- maybe off hours say 9 am to 8pm they can share the route but at opening and closing during busy times this is crazy.

We usually stay BC and don't view the opening and closing times for AK, MK, DS as worth depending on the buses at all if we had an early ADR. (Thank goodness the walk to Epcot and DHS is quick.) Sort of sad really... we used to rent cars for our stay but with the new parking fee we haven't bothered --- but if their bus services can't perform that will make us way more likely to stay offsite and just rent a car. Sort of sad to see this though.
 
I also got back from Yacht Club this past Sunday, and I experienced a 45-minute wait for a bus to AK. It was pretty terrible and almost caused us to miss our Flight of Passage Fastpass window. I am glad I wasn't the only one to recognize this problem. We got caught on a Disney Spring bus that also went to BW, Swan and Dolphin, YC, and Bc. It was highly uncomfortable for my girlfriend and me also.

We were shocked by how bad the buses were this time, I do think something needs to be done.
I'm glad it's not just us that feel this way, I am going to reach out to the manager of both resorts in an e-mail to make her aware of the situation.
We felt really bad for the BC guests on a few occasions when it was standing room only for them by the time the buses got over there, the Disney Springs buses are a joke.
 
Really in busy times the BC (and BCV) and YC and the Dolphin/Swan shouldn't be sharing buses at all during peak times --- park opening and closing. We've been there in busy times staying at BC where we've seen multiple AK/DS/MK buses skip the BC stop altogether after filling up at YC --- super frustrating to be waiting for a bus that never even comes to the bus stop. Since BC and YC and Dolphin/Swan are all considered deluxe resorts the transportation should be first class --- maybe off hours say 9 am to 8pm they can share the route but at opening and closing during busy times this is crazy.

We usually stay BC and don't view the opening and closing times for AK, MK, DS as worth depending on the buses at all if we had an early ADR. (Thank goodness the walk to Epcot and DHS is quick.) Sort of sad really... we used to rent cars for our stay but with the new parking fee we haven't bothered --- but if their bus services can't perform that will make us way more likely to stay offsite and just rent a car. Sort of sad to see this though.

Totally agree with you, when you consider how large both of the resorts are, it really is a joke that they expect both of them to share buses at peak times.
We've never really noticed how bad it can be for BC guests until this trip, but on numerous occasions over the two weeks that we were there it was standing room only by the time we got to the BC.
I'm glad it's not only us that were upset by the situation, we realised in the first week how bad it had got since our last visit & knew the second week would be way worse with it being TG.

Disney get it right in so many ways but so wrong in others, they have got us all planning our trips almost down to the hour now with ADRS & FP+ & people now really do rely on buses, boats, monorails & the Sky Liner to run on time.
We gave up on getting a boat to or from the studios back in 2017 & walked as the wait was so long if you had just missed one.

We used the Sky Liner a lot this trip particularly when heading back to the resort as it always keeps moving, yes it's a bit of a journey to go to CB/RR first & then change to the Epcot line but at least you keep moving & I still think it's quicker than waiting for a boat at peak times.
I've mentioned in another post that I'm going to reach out to the manager of the BC & YC to make her aware of the situation with the buses.
 
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'Tis the Season (for getting behind on the FAQ thread) (AGAIN)!!!


Just booked the BCVs [Studio] for our 2020 F&W trip, 10/21 - 10/29 . Can you please add us to the BOG list? Now, I need to focus on our marathon weekend trip which is in less than 7 weeks! :drinking1

Got it! I'll add your listing next time I do an update.

:woohoo:


Good Morning! I have my choice of Beach or Yacht club for a conference in March. Would love some of your expert opinions on which to choose. The location to Epcot or HS doesn’t matter much to me but the size of the room and if it’s a newly updated does. Any help would be so appr. Any room numbers would also be helpful for a decent view as I’m sure the conference just gives standard.
Thanks Everyone! Looks like I may go with the Yacht club since the rooms seem to be newly renovated. Any suggestions for a standard view room number with a decent view?

I'll put you down for YC in March on the Be Our Guest list- Page 1, Post 15.

:cool1:


Do the beach club club level rooms have a balcony?

:welcome: to the thread!

Have you booked a trip or are you still in the planning stages at this point?

As @Wood Nymph indicated, about 3/4 of the Beach Club rooms at Club Level have full-size balconies.

:goodvibes

We just booked our annual August Disney trip! We have been trying many different resorts over the years and this trip we decided on the BC! We have never stayed at an Epcot resort before and we are very excited to be able to walk to/from HS and EP. Our son will be a few days away from turning 5 on this trip and I think he will love the pool. Can’t wait to break the news to DS next month for Christmas.

:welcome:

I'll add you to the list.

Let us know how the reveal goes!

:dogdance:
 
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We stayed at the Yacht Club last year for a conference and really really enjoyed it. (I'm 5'3 and the beds were never an issue). The new rooms are a bit more sophisticated and we enjoyed the simplicity of the resort. Having stayed at the Beach Club the year prior, we found it to be a bit sleepier overall.

PS: If you like chocolate, please don't miss the Chocolate Ganache waffles at Ale & Compass; they are by far one of the best kept breakfast secrets at Disney.

Thank you for your comments!

:thumbsup2


Dee, we had a change in plans. Will you please move us from August 2020 to August 2021.

Got it! Will do.

::yes::


Are toddler rails available at yacht club upon request?

:welcome: back!

Do you have an upcoming stay booked?

:goodvibes

Just got back from staying at week at YC, here are my two cents:

Overall , I really liked the hotel. For the most part , the cast members at both sister resorts were amazing, except for one issue which I will get into. Ale and Compass is a sleeper hit for breakfast that most ppl NEVER talk about. The proximity to Epcot is great too.

We had a great view overlooking the main pool, and got to watch fireworks from Epcot on the balcony. The room was really clean, and nicely appointed and the beds were super comfy.

Now for some nit-pics about some things that weren't exactly positive imo:

1. I know its been stated in before in some other places, maybe even here in this thread BUT, personal advice? Request rooms that aren't connected. The room on the right side of us was quiet with barely audible noises like a normal hotel. The connected room to our left was another story. You could hear EVERYTHING. It was like there was just a quilt separating our two rooms as absolutely thin as the walls were. This became quite aggravating because they had very rowdy small children who absolutely LOVED to let out extremely loud blood curdling screams every morning at 6 am demanding waffles , toys, etc....

2. The shower/bath area left much to be desired. The bathroom in the La Quinta Inn we stayed at coming down had a better bathroom. Disney has been putting in more updated shower equipment which is appreciated, but the wand barely trickled any water out of it. I don't know if Disney has a limit on water pressure they allow each bathroom to have or it was just a faulty system in our room, but just something to keep in mind.

3. At 2 am on my birthday (21st) a fire alarm went off for like 5 seconds and woke everyone up. I called the front desk as I saw ppl leaving in a hurry, but I thought it odd the alarm only went off for just a few seconds so I called down to the front desk to double check, and the cast member laughed at me when I asked and said "its just a false alarm, go back to sleep.". This made my dh quite irritated by the flippant mocking response , and I left a dm message on a Disney help/resort etc twitter page just letting them know what happened , and that they might want to talk to this cast member regarding this in case this happens in the future. I received a response immediately within 30 minutes .


Again , the negatives are just my opinion to keep in mind , and nothing was vacation ruining or anything.

Would I stay here again? Maybe after I am done sampling the other resorts, but next time I will try to get a NON connecting room.

Thanks for the feedback about your stay. I have a section on Page 1, Post 16 for guest reviews. I would like to add a link to your review if you don't mine.

::yes::


One month exactly until I arrive at my favourite place on earth...Beach Club!!!!

I spoiled my family on our first trip with BCV and we have now been to BC 3 other times!

I cannot wait to put my feet in the sand!

Getting closer...

:cool2:


Happy Thanksgiving to all as I excitedly start my single digit dance. We will be checking into the BCV in 9 days!!!!

Have a great trip!

:goodvibes


Happy Thanksgiving!! Checking into YC Saturday morning. :banana:

Hope you are having a magical time!

:woohoo:
 
Returned last night from the YC. I agree with the bus situation, it was terrible. In the past we always rented a car, but with the parking fees, the ability to walk to two parks, and Lyft we didn't rent a car on any trips this year. We took the bus to the MK for MVMCP, it was horrible, we waited a half hour, they kept moving up the time. Tried to call a mini van and that was 20 minutes out. Was in the processes of calling a regular lyft when a bus finally pulled in, it quickly filled up with people who came 20-30 minutes after us. :sad2: Fortunately a second one came in right after. We almost didn't get on that one either, it was only because someone was kind enough to get up for me to sit. Both buses were standing room only before it got to the BC. Since there is no line for the bus people coming in at the last minute get on before people who have been waiting longer, we weren't the only ones who who were waiting that didn't get on the first bus. We rarely use the bus because I can't stand on the bus and often have to wait for a 2nd or 3rd to get a seat. We used Lyft for everything else for less than the parking fee would be.

Everything else at the YC was great. We had the CL room without a balcony, we loved the room, it is a little bigger than most of the rooms, I'll take bigger room over a balcony any day. It was room 5163, 2 queen, day bed, tub shower combination, and no balcony. I was a bit of an upgrade since I booked SV and this is a GV. For the PP asking about dogs at the resort, I did see five dogs, the most ever, one was a service dog. Usually we don't even see one.

Next trip to YC April 12-16, 2020.
 
Anybody at YC or BC today with any experience on walking to DH today for the opening of RotR? I am wondering how close you need to get to join the VQ.
 
Anybody at YC or BC today with any experience on walking to DH today for the opening of RotR? I am wondering how close you need to get to join the VQ.
According to Disney you and every person you wish to add to the Boarding Group must have entered HS. So it isn't a geo-location thing but rather a strict did you enter HS today or not.
 
According to Disney you and every person you wish to add to the Boarding Group must have entered HS. So it isn't a geo-location thing but rather a strict did you enter HS today or not.

Thanks for that information but according to another thread people entered the VQ before entering the park today so was just curious if anyone experienced it that was at either location today.
 

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