Disney's YACHT & BEACH CLUB RESORTS Information & Questions

[White Rose]

Omg...it felt like we were at the 30+ day mark forever...but we will be in the teens this week. I have a few last minute phone calls, putting together small gift bags together for the kiddos. (As a reminder we are a party of ten with five under the age of 18, dad is paying for the trip for his 80th birthday!)

We have Epcot Illuminations Cruise planned for our first night. We have a Disney tour guide planned for two days of our trip. We are just staying in three standard rooms... But it would be really awesome if we could get some pixie dust, but I'm sure everyone feels that way! I know it won't happen...but I can dream! There was just too much of a cost difference between getting one suite and a room, and getting three rooms. My brother has a large family, five kids, and they are used to getting a suite or similar style room...hope they won't be disappointed.

Since my husband and I are spending my dad's money, I could not justify the cost increase. Pixie dust would really help! I know the chances are very slim, but I want my dad to have the ultimate experience. He always scrimped and saved his whole life, never had any luxuries, and this trip is the first chance he has to really "live it up". We booked him first class for our flights to FL, we are all flying down on different days, it will be 4 of us in first, my 13 yr old nephew, my hubby, my dad and I. (We are doing a side trip to Universal.) My dad has never flown first class before....I am excited to see the look on his face when he realizes! My hubby used his FF points from his business trips, so we could do this! We are surprising him, and my nephew, when we get on the plane.

We had to make a few trip adjustments, like planning for 8 to go to church Sunday morning...now we are looking for a good breakfast 1 credit Character meal for 2 on Sunday, with only 24 days remaining! (We have it planned for them to go to Mary, Queen of the Universe for 9:30 mass.)

Anyway, our magic bands are being delivered today!!! 24 days left!!

 

[jerseygal]

Guess Uber is getting their share of business there.

 

[merrick]

thanks for everyone for sharing all their great info, photos and tips. i am wavering and considering cancelling this trip. we need a new roof. oh, and that pesky canadian dollar, or should i say "northern peso". ugh. how un-magical can you get???

but DD is going into grade 10, if i cancel now saying i can always do it next year, she may not be able to come based on her own (rapidly filling up) schedule. our trip last year was our first plane trip family vacation ever.

i think i will regret if i cancel, especially since i got free dining and some awesome ADR's (our only real complaint from first stay at CR last year was lack of good food options).
so when i feel like, we really shouldn't be doing this... i come on this thread and get all pumped up again!!!

 

[ocalla]

Thanks for the luggage transfer stories!! I think DH and I just decided that taking a cab with our luggage is the way to go!!!!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

White Rose - just an idea, but if you didn't do the 2 days of the private tour the difference might be able to upgrade to deluxe rooms. (Way less expensive than suites) and you would be able to get CL perks.

Of course when I go in the site it looks like both BC and YC are completely booked the whole next month. Looks like it won't be able to upgrade or get pixie dust!

 

[Best Aunt]

Okay, people, I'm back. I had promised to investigate some things during my 24 hours at the Beach Club Villas. My back was bothering me, so I didn't do much while I was there. Sorry about that.

Some people have asked about the food available for purchase in the Yacht Club gift shop. To be honest, if I were staying in the Yacht Club, I would pop over to the Beach Club Marketplace if I wanted to buy food for my room. The Beach Club Marketplace has a bigger food selection. But if you're too tired to get over there, here are the adult beverages at the Yacht Club gift shop in July 2015:

 

[Best Aunt]

If you are looking for other beverages at the Yacht Club gift shop, here are your options.

You will note that milk does not appear in any of my pictures. I asked the cast member working there. She said that normally they do carry milk in small (not gallon) sizes, but they did not happen to have any that day.

Note there are some adult beverages on the bottom shelf of this photo:









I believe I posted while I was still there about cases of water. Both the Yacht Club gift shop and the Beach Club Marketplace sell cases of water. The price is not marked on the case or on the shelf. There was no way I could lift one to take it up to the cash register to find out the price for you guys. I asked in both shops and got two different answers regarding the price. The case contains 24 twelve-ounce bottles.

 

[Best Aunt]

Someone specifically asked about buying breakfast cereal in the Yacht Club gift shop. They sell what we called "snack packs" when I was growing up. They are single-serving sizes.







There are more cereal options in the Beach Club Marketplace (which I will get to after I get my sheets out of the dryer and back on my bed).

 

[Best Aunt]

Your other food options at the Yacht Club gift shop are mostly broken into three categories: (a) breakfast pastries, (b) chips, and (c) Disney-branded snacks.




















































There might have been more of the Disney-branded snacks. By the time I got around to taking those pictures, I was exhausted. (My room wasn't ready, which wasn't a surprise because I got to the hotel at about 11:15 am. I left my suitcases with Bell Services, but I was not comfortable leaving my electronics there, so I was carrying around my phone, iPad, and camera while wearing shoes rather than sneakers. Not a good combination for someone who had been having back pain before traveling.)

I will post more pictures after a laundry break.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Thanks to Best Aunt for doing the recon and I hope your back feels better!

Dee! Did you see any of these in Jellystone National Park?

~NM

 

[jerseygal]

Omg...it felt like we were at the 30+ day mark forever...but we will be in the teens this week. I have a few last minute phone calls, putting together small gift bags together for the kiddos. (As a reminder we are a party of ten with five under the age of 18, dad is paying for the trip for his 80th birthday!)

We have Epcot Illuminations Cruise planned for our first night. We have a Disney tour guide planned for two days of our trip. We are just staying in three standard rooms... But it would be really awesome if we could get some pixie dust, but I'm sure everyone feels that way! I know it won't happen...but I can dream! There was just too much of a cost difference between getting one suite and a room, and getting three rooms. My brother has a large family, five kids, and they are used to getting a suite or similar style room...hope they won't be disappointed.

Since my husband and I are spending my dad's money, I could not justify the cost increase. Pixie dust would really help! I know the chances are very slim, but I want my dad to have the ultimate experience. He always scrimped and saved his whole life, never had any luxuries, and this trip is the first chance he has to really "live it up". We booked him first class for our flights to FL, we are all flying down on different days, it will be 4 of us in first, my 13 yr old nephew, my hubby, my dad and I. (We are doing a side trip to Universal.) My dad has never flown first class before....I am excited to see the look on his face when he realizes! My hubby used his FF points from his business trips, so we could do this! We are surprising him, and my nephew, when we get on the plane.

We had to make a few trip adjustments, like planning for 8 to go to church Sunday morning...now we are looking for a good breakfast 1 credit Character meal for 2 on Sunday, with only 24 days remaining! (We have it planned for them to go to Mary, Queen of the Universe for 9:30 mass.)

Anyway, our magic bands are being delivered today!!! 24 days left!!

Hope that you have a Wonderful Birthday celebration for you Dads 80th!

 

[Best Aunt]

Here are some photos which were requested of the Beach Club Villas.

The lobby floor:



The pool table in the Drawing Room:

Note that the balls and cues (is that what the sticks are called?) were on the table.
This room is right off the Beach Club Villas lobby.
The door is not locked.


The refrigerator in the studios. Remember that the Beach Club Villas will be rehabbed. These pictures are pre-rehab. The bottle of water in there is the standard size which is sold at Disney World. I think it's 20 ounce. If you wanted to put something taller in the fridge, you could take out the shelves.


Studio fridge door:



The coffee maker:



The coffee maker was clearly the four-cup size, so nobody try to tell me differently! However, if you want a bigger one, try calling Housekeeping and requesting one.



Here are directions on how to use the coffeemaker, if you can figure out the hyroglifics:



Here are some shots of the view from BCV studio room 416. The room was very close to the elevator and to the laundry room. You can see the BCV pool and hot tub.

 

[Best Aunt]

Here's the balcony from BCV studio 416. I guess it's considered a full balcony, but you certainly couldn't have a party out there. There are two chairs and a small table.

 

[jerseygal]

THANKS Best Aunt for the Awesome pics!!! Pretty view!

 

[Best Aunt]

While I'm being so chatty and taking over the thread, here is some random advice from my trip:

1) I did not do online check in. When I got to the hotel, the person at the front desk asked for my Magic Band. I gave it to her. A few hours later, I received a text with my room number. I went to my room and... you guessed it, the Tragic Band would not open the door. I had to go back down to the lobby. I went to the Concierge Desk instead of waiting in line at the front desk. The guy there said, "Your Magic Band has not been activated."

In all fairness to the Tragic Bands, we had this happen back in the days before Tragic Bands, when your room key looked like a credit card.

So here's my advice: If you are not traveling alone, send one person up to the room with all of the Magic Bands. Everyone else should stay comfortably seated in the lobby with all of the luggage. If your scout determines that most or all of the Magic Bands work to open the room door, he/she can call you on your cell phone, and the rest of your group and luggage can proceed to the room. If your scout determines that the Magic Bands do not open the room door, he/she can go back down to the lobby and straighten it out. This saves the rest of the group from either going up and down like a yo-yo, or staying outside a locked room door with nowhere to sit.

2) When I was able to unlock my door, I went into the room and took off my shoes. The carpet was wet. I assumed that housekeeping had cleaned the carpet and it was still damp. It was not until later that I realized that someone had turned down the temperature in the fridge. The fridge had started to defrost. There was water on the shelves in the fridge and water spilled out onto the carpet when the fridge was opened.

Strangely enough, the same thing happened the next day, when I checked out of Beach Club Villas and into a non-Disney hotel.

So here's my advice: If there is a refrigerator in your room, open it immediately. If you are not hit with a blast of cold air, look closely to see if there is water on the shelves. Call maintenance. Insist on having the fridge removed and replaced.

 

[Best Aunt]

Oh, yeah, I was supposed to discuss the cereal situation at Beach Club Marketplace.

Your cereal options include:

- single serving size of Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, Froot Loops, Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran

- standard size boxes of Froot Loops, Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes and Kashi Go Lean Crunch

- Kellogg's Fun Pack consisting of 8 single-serving boxes. Shown on front were Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops. I don't know if it was two boxes of each type.

- Kellogg's Variety Pack of 10 single-serving boxes. Shown on front were Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Crispix, Special K Original and Mini Wheats Original (sorry, can't tell if they are Frosted Mini Wheats or not). I don't know if it was two boxes of each type.

If anybody has questions, let me know and I will attempt to answer them.

 

[Wishes Count]

My staycation at the BC is over and my family has returned home! I'm sad to have to return to work tomorrow! We had a great time! It rained the first few days pretty hard so that was a bummer but it wasn't too bad the rest of the week. We were in room 2575 and it was great! It had the daybed and large balcony and overlooked the courtyard/volleyball court. This was a garden view but if you look the left you have a lovely water view. A couple of things about the rooms. First there is no need to bring a night light. There is one built in near the sink by the bathroom, and second the iHome that they have in the room for the clock gives off so much light. I always bring a sleep mask, but I probably would have unplugged the iHome if I didn't because it was incredibly bright! Just something to keep in mind. They were doing construction on the 1st floor from 9am to 5pm each day and we could hear it if we were back during the day. It was not incredibly loud, just some muffled tapping or sounds of drills.

We had a really great time. Here is a photo of our Gluten Free "Kitchen Sink" from Beaches and Cream. They can make it with Gluten free pound cake and Gluten free Brownie and other toppings.

I also enjoyed a lobster roll from the Boardwalk Bakery as a quick service meal one day. Wow! What a great value to use your credits there! Sorry, there is a bite taken out of it, I was really hungry and forgot before I took the photo! This was very very good and much much better than the one at Hurricane Hannah's. In fact, I wouldn't even bother with that one, AND you can pick any dessert out of the case at the bakery!

Finally here is us before dining at Trattoria Al Forno one night for Dinner. We really enjoyed our dinner here. It was one of my Mom's favorite restaurants on this trip. Although mine was Teppan Edo.

So now, I'm sad because my vacation is over and my family has left. Also I have to cook my own food, and not eat mickey bars and have no snack credits left to use . Also we probably won't get to stay at the BC again for a while as we usually stay at a value and I'm completely spoiled now! If anyone stops by Port Orleans on their trip for beignets and sees me working feel free to say hi

 

[khurley23]

HOLY MOLY! I mean, I know it's Disney but $15 for a 6 pack of crappy beer?? Wowza!!

 

[Christine9125]

Will be staying at YC for our honeymoon in May 2016, can't wait

 

[White Rose]

White Rose - just an idea, but if you didn't do the 2 days of the private tour the difference might be able to upgrade to deluxe rooms. (Way less expensive than suites) and you would be able to get CL perks.

Of course when I go in the site it looks like both BC and YC are completely booked the whole next month. Looks like it won't be able to upgrade or get pixie dust!

if we did not do the private two for two days we would need to extend the trip by 2 days...which is impossible, and would negate any savings from not doing the tour guides...we only have three days plus 2 travel days to do 4 parks. CL is not a benefit we'd take advantage of as much as I'd like it, it would not be a value add... we are on the dining plan and not going to be in the hotel except for sleeping and pool time - but the kids are whining they will have to share beds, and they are used to more space.

full logistics details...my oldest nephew (17 and a college freshman starting in august) has never done Animal Kingdom and because of timing, was not going to come with us because he is starting school etc. We were trying to plan the trip sometime in august before the kids (and he) went back to school. My SIL then went ahead and planned outings and trips for her to go with my brother during that time so we could not book anything....then we planned the trip to be Sept 1 to the 7th (with the oldest nephew joining us Sept 4-7 over labor day weekend!!) but my SIL, trying to sabotage the trip, planned additional things for various members of the family, including concert tickets etc on the first and second of Sept after we told her the dates. We shortened the trip to be Sept 3-7, cutting out universal for the majority of the group...but we need a dedicated day for Animal kingdom or else my oldest nephew won't come down from school.

My Dad said he wanted EVERYONE, so in order to give everybody what they wanted (pool time, day at AK, a chance to ride every ride in every park, everyone there together, BBB for the 9 year old, a relaxed pace, and deal with avoiding every single negative thing my SIL has thrown at us... all this now in THREE full DAYS, plus 2 travel days) we had to do a tour guide. We are doing AK our own, one day in MK and one day for Epcot/HS with the tour guide.

We have been hiding the drama from my dad, it's his trip. Logistically, basic rooms, tour guide, dining plan, was the best option based on what my dad wanted to spend and the complex logistics of getting 10 people to Disneyworld. CL would not be a benefit, except for breakfast, and the price difference is not worth it, but I would be tickled pink for my dad to walk into a suite.