Welcome aboard the Yacht Club (TR Wrap Up)

[JustCor]

Hi everyone! My Disney day is finally here, and already there's much to update. I've checked into my room and have a bit of time to burn while this rain passes by. Now seems as good a time as any to start this trip report out.

This is the third year that I'm hitting up Disney on a Labor Day vacation. Along with some very nicely priced rooms, the crowds have been lighter than other times I've visited. That's a nice combination for a Disney vacation. This year, I'm staying at the Yacht Club. My sister and some friends have stayed at Beach Club or Yacht Club and all have had great things to say about both. I have to say, so far I'm quite happy with this place.

Checking in went smoothly, with just a small handful of people waiting in line that were attended to very quickly. I had already done online check-in, but I had a few questions and wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything, so a little wait was in order. I was there just after 11:30am and wasn't surprised that the room wasn't quite ready. I made some plans just in case anyway.

This is my first time actually in the Yacht Club. I've been to Beach Club a few times for dinner and really enjoy the atmosphere and the smells. Yacht Club may be my new favorite, though. It's got a very comfortable feel to it that I can't quite describe. There's a lot of wood paneling and plenty of places to sit and rest. It just feels like some place I've been before and would love to come back. The scent is similar to Beach Club, but with a little more oomph to it, if that makes sense. It's a good smell. I love that each of the resorts seems to have it's own perfume.

So, after checking in and making sure that I'm set to receive a text, I made my way to Hollywood Studios for my one and only fast pass selection for the day. I did a quick look around the resort to just get an idea of where things were and then made my way to the boat dock for a nice cruise up to DHS.

Not too long ago, I would avoid DHS entirely. To be honest, it's always been a fairly boring park to me. Now that half of it seems to be closed down, it should be more so. Yet, I think I've gone more now that half the park has closed than before when things were open. It's gotten a smallness that is kind of appealing, and I still enjoy two or three of the rides. For today, though, my only Fast Pass was for Toy Story Midway Mania. I arrived about 45 minutes before I could ride, so I had a little time to burn. I did a little bit of walking around and watched the hourly Star Wars thing that is almost interesting but feels like it's just not a complete show. After, I made my way towards the deadend that is currently the Pixar zone.

I proceeded to the very back of the area and took a seat in the shade, sipped on some water and did a bit of people watching. The weather was quite nice, with a light breeze rolling through and not too much humidity to be drowning in the air. I still had a good 20 minutes to go, but I was pretty nicely relaxed and enjoying the views. At that point, I received a text letting me know my room was ready. I was tempted to just cut bait and head back to the resort to check in, but a little wait wasn't going to change anything. My room wasn't going anywhere.

The Army Men are always fun to watch. They always seem to be pretty good and being borderline funny and annoying, but in the perfect balance. They were doling out high fives left and right and being pretty funny the whole time. Watching them killed off the rest of my wait time, so I made my way over to the fast pass entrance for a little fun.

The line for fast passes was non-existent, and I cruised through and was able to basically hop right on. Score one for planning!

Not a bad score. I wasn't too far off of the daily high score, though it was still early and I'm sure there's a kid who's done this more times in one day than I've been on this ride in my life who's goal was to crush all high scores, but for the moment, I was close and that was good for me. I considered hopping on again, but the standby time was at 70 minutes and I don't have that kind of patience. Instead, there's a room with my name on it that's waiting for me to fill.

 

[JustCor]

There were two things that I was completely unaware of when I booked the Yacht Club:

1. The rooms were under renovation this year
2. The room renovations were just completed

Now, My expectations for the rooms were based on the photos on the Disney website. I had an idea of what things would look like and, while not overly thrilled with the themes in the rooms, in no way was it a deal breaker. I'll say this right off the beginning though - there are going to be people who don't like the new theme because it's very low-key Disney now. With all that being said, I'm in love with this room!

I lucked out and got a corner room, so there are plenty of windows, which I like. There's no carpet! As nice as some of the rooms have been that I've had the good fortune of staying in, the carpet in every single one of them, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Polynesian included, has been horrendous. It's hard to overlook worn out, beat up, dirty carpeting, especially in the Deluxe Resorts. It takes a nice room and immediately makes it look dated and worn out. This room looks fresh! I know this won't be ideal for people, and that it may look a little sterile now, but it changes everything for me.

The curtains have constellations on them and the constellations are subtle Disney character references. It looks really nice, and would be something I would put in a kid's room. The bed is big, comfortable, and on a nice stand that doesn't look like an Ikea reject that would have to be covered with a skirt. There's a definite feel of a captain's den on a ship that I'm picking up and enjoying quite a bit.

It's just a look that I truly appreciate and everything seems to just tie in nicely together. The Keurig is a nice touch, as is the ample selection of coffee and tea to use with it. The mini-fridge is a newer style with a glass door, rather than the solid color ones I've had in each room prior. It's a nice, simple touch that seems just a tiny bit more classy and modern.

The bathroom is a huge improvement. I'm a huge fan of a walk in shower. I haven't fit in a bathtub in god knows how long, so anytime a place forgoes such a thing and gives me a proper walk in shower, I'm overjoyed. I know Disney is a very kid focused type of environment, but to have a room that feels so... adult... is such a huge bonus. This feels like something I'd absolutely enjoy using. It's a small thing, but, like the glass door fridge, it's these small touches that add up to me really enjoying this room.

Can you tell I love this place?

It's only been a day (not even) and this is, far and away, my favorite of the resorts. Grand Floridian was nice and majestic, but its age was showing in places, and as nice as it is to be close to Magic Kingdom, the location of the Yacht Club feels far superior. I'm more likely to cruise right into Epcot for a snack or hop on over to DHS to sneak in a ride or check out the Star Wars stuff than to spend the same amount of time at Magic Kingdom. I do like MK, and it has a definite feel to it that I wouldn't miss, but as an overall spot to be in, this is just top notch. Epcot, Boardwalk, and DHS within reasonable walking or boating distance? This is a total win. It's only the beginning of my trip by I'm calling it now: Yacht Club is my favorite Disney Resort, hands down!

 

[Runnsally]

Great review so far...enjoy!

 

[JustCor]

Great review so far...enjoy!

Thank you!

 

[JustCor]

So, after unloading my car, setting things up, and waiting out the rain, I ended up taking a nap. It was just what I needed, even though I didn't realize it until I was passed out on the bed. I woke up in time to wash up and head on over to my first ADR of the trip: Cape May Cafe! I've been to Cape May on a few of my past trips and have enjoyed it every time. The buffet section is fairly small, but the food tends to be quite good across the board. There doesn't seem to be as much filler type stuff, just a nice selection of meats and seafoods and salads. I approve!

If I were a better reviewer, I would have at least tried to plate up something that looked nice and artistic. As it stands, this is what I have instead. The food piled on the plate from the top and clockwise (roughly) is the carved meat with a dab of horseradish sauce, clams, cornbread and some other kinda bread, paella, and cod nuggets. Everything was really good. The paella was slightly bland, but a dash of salt and pepper perked that up. The cornbread and cod nuggets were the star of the show. Both excellent, and both would end up on subsequent plates. I think one plate picture is enough though.

I had really filled up on dinner, but I wanted to sneak in a little dessert. The Key Lime Pie cakey thing on the top left was absurdly tart. It was hard to eat. The flan (two square dishes) was excellent, and the lemon cupcake was a little dry. I finished the flans and took a bite out of each of the cakes. That was about the limits of my stomach.

After dinner I did a lap around the water and around the Boardwalk before heading back to the room. There was a bit of thunder going on, so I scuttled any plans to do much else and relaxed for a bit to try and settle my stomach from all that food. It was a solid plan. I had one more thing that needed to be done before calling it a night though.

At some point in the last three months I got tired of being out of shape. I started going to the gym, not so much to lose weight, but to generally feel better and less tired. It would be easy to just take a break while at Disney (it is a vacation after all), but I'm determined not to be too lazy while here. Thankfully, there's a gym here, and as I kind of expected, it's really nice.

At 8:30pm, I trudged on down to the gym and did a nice bike ride as well as some weights. Hopefully that will help to burn off the mound of food I put in my stomach. It won't get it all, but at least I feel a little bit better about eating a bunch. Now, it's time for a little sleep. Today was a nice start to my trip. I think I eased into it quite nicely.

Tomorrow's Agenda:

• 9 holes of golf at Oak Trail
• Magic Kingdom!
• Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner
• Gym?
• Stuff!
• Things!

Until tomorrow.

 

[JustCor]

Day two is off and running! I woke up early to get out to Oak Trail for 9 holes of golf. When I started playing golf a few months ago, my first course ever was the neighboring Magnolia Golf Course. It was good to try a new place out. Oak Trail is a 9 hole walking course. No golf carts here! They do have very nice push carts to rent, so I gave that a go. It was a beautiful day for some early morning golf, and even though my skills are just above atrocious, I had a fantastic time.

With all of the dew on the ground, it almost looks like a frosting of snow, but it was already starting to get a little hot while out there, even early in the morning. By the end of the round, I had gone through 3 bottles of water and could have used a few more just to keep hydrated. Still, things were beautiful out there.

There was a bit of Disney appropriate fauna watching over me and potentially laughing at some of my terrible shots. This one followed me through two holes. I was probably close to a fawn and she was protecting it, so I kept my distance to not scare her away or draw the wrath of an angry mother. I ended up shooting a decent round (for my skill level anyway) and look forward to playing out there again. Walking the course was an excellent bit of exercise that was a great way to begin today.

Now that I'm back in the room and showered up, I'm starting to get hungry. I have some fast passes at MK today, but I may push them back. I think a little walk around Epcot and a bit of something for lunch may be in the works. We'll see how things go. More to come later, I'm sure.

 

[KnK]

Love your live reports.

 

[JustCor]

Love your live reports.

Thanks!

 

[dvc at last !]

Enjoying reading your TR.
Nice room at Yacht Club. I did see they are being updated. No carpet - yeah !
The dew on the course does look like snow.
Exercise on vacay ? I have done that, but now I say I walked many miles each day instead.

Enjoy.

Waiting for more.......

 

[JustCor]

So, where was I? Oh yes, off to Epcot for something to eat...

I wandered around the World Showcase with no real plan in mind. I wanted something kind of light to hold me over until dinner. What I wasn't aware of was that Food and Wine had started. I could have sworn it was later in the month. As good as everything looked, it just wasn't doing anything for me. In the end I stopped at Germany and went a little basic. I love Germany, the actual country, and I love their food. I tend to end up in Disney Germany out of habit, so it's no surprise that I would stop there for a bite. What I wanted was a bratwurst (tomorrow maybe), but what I ended up with was a pretzel.

A big, giant pretzel. It was... disappointing. Maybe it was just because it was really hot out, or maybe I had my heart set on a bratwurst. Whatever it was, the pretzel didn't do much for me. It was just a thing that sat in my stomach. What a bummer. So I did another lap of the World Showcase and tried to find something else.

Ok, so maybe not the greatest thing to pick, but it's a really tasty donut, and the Dole Whip felt great in the heat. I was sweating pretty profusely out there, and that Dole Whip did some wonders to cool me down. So, with a ton of sugar in my system and two tons of sweat soaking my clothes, I went back to the room. The heat was just beating me up.

In the room I dried off, downed a bunch of water, and took a nap. I still had four hours until dinner time, so an hour of sleep couldn't hurt anything, right? So, I laid down in the bed and an hour and a half later, I was up and ready to head to MK for some fast passes and dinner. Well, one fast pass. My nap knocked out one fast pass, and golf took care of another. I had one more left to use and I was intent on making it to Big Thunder Mountain.

Unfortunately, the bus was not cooperating. As the small crowd of us sat and waited for the bus to Magic Kingdom, our frustrations grew as the bus to the Animal Kingdom was followed shortly by a bus to Disney Springs, followed by another bus to Animal Kingdom, followed by another bus to Disney Springs, followed by another bus to Animal Kingdom, and another bus to Disney Springs. We were three cycles deep and there was no sign of a Magic Kingdom bus. At the 45th minute, we watched a Disney Springs and Animal Kingdom bus pull up together. That was when the collective group lost it. The group split up and each took to a bus, venting their frustrations at both drivers. After a bit of calming by both drivers, we were told there was a bus to Magic Kingdom that was less than five minutes away. That abated the crowd. When the bus arrived, it was nearly full. There was an air of frustration in the air, but people crammed onto the bus. I waited. I was fortunate not to be on an overly tight schedule, and as much as I was tired of waiting on buses, I had no desire to cram into a bus while hot and sweaty and stand in the middle of people. No thank you. Five minutes later, an empty bus to Magic Kingdom showed up. A little bit of patience paid off in the end.

The bus delay had me miss my final fast pass. Oh well. Not a huge deal. I walked around MK and popped into a few stores to look around and lap up the air conditioning where I could. I had a little wait until my dinner at Liberty Tree. A bottle of water and a lap around the park later and it was time to eat.

I've never been to Liberty Tree Tavern before, so I didn't know what to expect. What I didn't expect was the volume of food they started me out with. So much selection! Prior to this plate coming out, I had a large salad which was a little dry (it needed a lot more dressing) and two roles with delicious butter. I picked at everything on the plate, and it was all pretty good. The corn was nice and sweet and not too mushy. The turkey tasted pretty good. The mashed potatoes were tasty but a little too smooth for my tastes. The pot roast was really flavorfull. The other meat thing was ok, but I didn't care for the spices. The cranberry sauce was good, though a little tart and orange-y. The stuffing was alright, but I like mine with ground sausage in the mix. The mac and cheese was just bad. Super bland, no flavor, and not enjoyable.

I polished off the plate and got refills on the turkey and mashed potatoes. The potatoes that came out seemed even more liquidy than the prior batch and I didn't finish them. I like a little bit of thickness and maybe some chunks. The turkey was still good, so I finished that off. I was exceedingly full after but I stilled tried to force down some dessert.

The dessert was easily the highlight of the meal, but I was so full from the main courses that I could barely get a few bites down. The ice cream sat atop a warm ooey gooey toffee cake that was delicious. I wish I hadn't got the extra potatoes or eaten the dry salad. I could have crammed more desserts down. It was unfortunate, but I left completely full and satisfied. I could easily eat here again, though I'd probably adjust my game plan and skip some of the pieces and load of on the other stuff.

After dinner I did a little more walking around to settle the food in my stomach. I decided to call it a night and head back to the room and lucked out by getting to a half empty bus ready to head back to Yacht Club. This was a much better bus situation than earlier.

I skipped the gym tonight. Too much food still sitting in my belly could only lead to bad things. Tomorrow's a good gym day. And bratwurst day. And maybe some kind of cake day. I'm also going to The Wave for dinner, and I love that place more than any other restaurant on the property. It's my only real plan for tomorrow and it's the one I've been looking forward to the most.

Until tomorrow.

 

[JustCor]

Enjoying reading your TR.
Nice room at Yacht Club. I did see they are being updated. No carpet - yeah !
The dew on the course does look like snow.
Exercise on vacay ? I have done that, but now I say I walked many miles each day instead.

Enjoy.

Waiting for more.......

I'm trying to keep my activity level up. I do end up feeling much better after going to the gym, even when I drag my feet to get there. I also feel a little tiny bit less guilty for eating so much while here. Today I did skip it, but between all of the walking at the parks as well as walking 9 holes and playing golf, I think I hit a fair activity level to cover my lack of gym time.

 

[JustCor]

I slept in a little bit today and got a little later start than expected. Still, aside from a dinner ADR at The Wave, I have nothing actually planned out. The sky looked a little on the dull grey side when I stepped out and made my way towards Epcot, but I was hoping that I was focused on getting a bratwurst for lunch. Rain was not going to stop me today. After passing through security at the back entrance to Epcot, I noticed Rapunzel on the right towards the water doing a photo op. It took me a minute to realize it, as there was only one person in line. I thought for a moment that it was just somebody dressed up way early for the Halloween Party, but that would be tomorrow and the costume was way too ornate and there were Disney handlers with her, though none with a camera. I hopped in line behind the one person and waited a short time for my turn. I had gotten a picture with Rapunzel when I went to the Halloween Party two years ago, and she was awesome then and easily my favorite of all of the princesses at the parks. This Rapunzel was just as sweet and very interactive.

I hadn't planned on doing any photos with princesses this trip, but I couldn't pass this one up. The timing was perfect and it was one of the princesses that I have enjoyed getting a photo with in the past.

After that opportune moment, I made a B-line to Germany for some lunch. I was starving and ready to devour anything, but I was intent on a brat. They looked and smelled delicious yesterday, so I would not miss out today.

In hindsight, I should have probably gone with saurkraut, but regardless, it was very tasty. On one of my previous trips, I had the bratwurst at B.B. Wolf's in Disney Springs and it was a letdown. This was much closer to a true brat. The bun was a little too soft, but I didn't mind at all. The chips were fine, though I think I ate about half of them and tossed the rest. Paprika chips don't do much for me. It was an excellent lunch that really hit the spot. Since I was in Germany, it seemed only right that I stop for something sweet.

Anything with caramel seems to always feed the sweet tooth appropriately. I was a little bummed that they didn't have the Blood Orange or Bacon caramel squares, but it didn't take long for me to find something to tide me over.

The sea salt and milk chocolate caramel was as good as I was hoping it would be, with just the right amount of salt to give the flavor a little punch. The caramel marshmallow swirl thing was awesome too, with the marshmallow being just a bit softer than the caramel to give it a little texture change. I really liked that one.

As I walked and ate, the skies opened up. I ducked into Italy and sat on a bench in a covered area to try and stay dry. After ten minutes, I got a little impatient. It wasn't raining that bad, so I decided to try and make my way through the stores as much as possible to get back to my room. I didn't do so well. Between Italy and America, things really opened up. I ducked under anything covered where possible, but it was no use. I was getting completely soaked. Every article of clothing that I was wearing started to squish with rain whenever I moved. I can handle most of my clothing being wet, but once my socks get soaked, forget it.

I ducked into a covered area in Japan and tried to wring out as much water as I could from my shirt and shorts as possible. It didn't really help all that much. I was drenched. I considered making a break and trying to get as far as France, but I thought better of the idea and instead ducked inside of the stores to look around. If nothing else, I wouldn't be rained on for a bit.

The stores in the Japanese pavilion are wide open and well lit. I don't think I noticed how dim and cramped some of the other stores are until I compared them to this one. I walked around a bit, taking in the sites and looking at all the delicious candy and hoped the A/C would dry off some of this extra water that clung tightly to my clothing. At the back of the store, I decided to try Sake. There wasn't much else going on, so I figured it would be the sensible thing to do, right?

I'm not much of a drinker, but this citrus sake was pretty tasty. I gave it sip or two and then made my way toward the door. The rain had finally abated and I was ready to make a quick dash to the resort to change out of squishy socks and soaked clothing. In a little bit I think I'll make my way out to Magic Kingdom. I have no real plans beyond that, so we'll see where the rest of this day takes me.

 

[jacksdadcan]

A TR with some golf?! Nice!

 

[JustCor]

So, a fire alarm went off in the Yacht Club and we're all sitting outside in the parking lot waiting. It's surprisingly humid outside and there's some nice lightning in the distance. I just realized that I'm asking fifty feet from my car but I left my keys in my room.

 

[JustCor]

Alright, we've been given the all clear to go back in. The fire trucks are still by the loading dock, but we're good to go. That was exciting.

 

[JustCor]

A TR with some golf?! Nice!

Yup! And barring any weather tomorrow, one more round of 9 before I head home.

 

[JustCor]

Now that this fire alarm fiasco is over, back to our regularly scheduled program.

At some point I made my way to Magic Kingdom. Unlike yesterday, there were plenty of Magic Kingdom buses. As one pulled up, another pulled in immediately behind it. That's what I like to see! Since I didn't have any fast passes planned out, I kind of just wandered around a bit. I meandered over to the Haunted Mansion and waited out the 20 minutes.

That was a nice way to kill off some time. I kept walking around and eventually made my way to the People Mover, yet when I got there it wasn't exactly moving any people. The carts were all stopped and the line to get on was growing quickly. It looked like that would be a no go, so I made my way back to Main Street for a little window shopping. Nothing really stood out in the shops, though to be honest, rarely do I see anything that I can't live without. I'm definitely not much of a souvenir person.

I still had just under an hour until my ADR for The Wave, so I decided to hop on the Mono and do two laps around the loop. It's kind of like the People Mover, right? When I got off at the Contemporary I had about 20 minutes left until my ADR, so I plopped down on one of the couches in the lobby and did a bit of people watching. I noticed that it was pretty easy to pick out the people going to The Wave and the people going to California Grill. One group looks quite casual, and one group looks like they're going to a trendy night club. I'll let you figure out which is which.

In Florida, I've learned that there are people who like grits and people who don't. I'm in the latter group. I think grits are pretty gross. The texture just isn't right and the taste is off. I've had plenty of people tell me that they're great, but then proceed to say how they have to add cheese or lots of butter or bacon or sugar. Here's the thing though: I absolutely love the grits at The Wave. They're cream and so full of flavor, and the egg on top is perfect. I like the pork belly they serve with it as well, but I'd trade it for half a scoop more of the grits.

I spaced on a main course and went with the noodles. I think at the moment, I was craving Pho and this seemed to call out to that craving. Unfortunately, pho it was not. It wasn't bad, but this might be the first mediocre thing I've had at The Wave, which is kind of amazing. And really, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't great, and after having so many great meals at The Wave, that kind of stands out.

So, after all that, I headed back to the resort for a little relaxation, only to have that quickly interrupted by a fire alarm at Yacht Club. I piled out of the resort through the emergency exit that happened to go through the backstage area. I got to see a little peek behind the curtains! It's a lot less glamorous than I kind of thought. Very... blah. With all of us outside waiting, we eventually got scooted out to the parking lot while we waited for the fire department to give the all clear. About 15 minutes later we were good to go. It seemed really quick, so maybe some punk kid pulled an alarm, or maybe some smoker picked the wrong spot to light up. Whatever the case, we were free to return to our rooms. The elevators were all packed as people tried to get to their floors, so I took a detour to the market to check out some snacks.

This caught my attention, not because of the price or because I wanted it, but because the cupcake looks considerably smaller than I remember them being. When I had the dining plan two or three years ago. They seemed easily double this size. Maybe these are specific to Yacht Club and the cupcakes elsewhere are still much larger, but I kind of doubt that. Who knows. I ended up walking out with a bottle of water that I didn't exactly need.

And that's the end of Day 3. Not too shabby a day for having almost no plans. I definitely ate pretty well. Tomorrow is another light day, though things may have to change. I have a round of 9 holes at Magnolia in the evening. I think I might have to head home afterwards rather than leaving on Friday. With this hurricane looking like it's going to hit home, I'll need to be back in the area to report to work. Oh the joys of working in a hospital. Stay safe everyone!

 

[JustCor]

I woke up about the same late-ish time as yesterday with no real plans in mind except to find something decent for lunch. I did a walk around the World Showcase checking out the Food and Wine booths and hoping something would jump out at me. Unfortunately, nothing really did. I was just hungry for a burger, and nothing stood out as burger-y as I tried to get things going. So, with that in mind, I made my way to the Boardwalk. Initially, I was going to go to the ESPN Zone and eat there. I've had a pretty good peanut butter and jelly burger there a while ago, and that kind of sounded like a winner, but then I remembered that I have been wanting to go to Big River Grille and Brewery and always seemed to forget that it existed. Not today! I think I tend to forget about it because you don't make ADRs for it, so it's never planned out. So, with that in mind, I walked right up and was seated immediately. That was kind of a surprise. I expected at least a little wait, but it was nearly empty inside, with two couples eating lunch.

There were fewer burgers on the menu than I thought there would be, to be fair, it's been a few months since I've looked at their menu. I settled on the bacon cheeseburger with the jalapeno ranch sauce. The burger came with a heap of house chips. It was just ok. The chips were plain and the burger tasted like a preformed frozen patty. The jalapeno ranch had an odd, almost taco seasoning kind of flavor to it. I ended up finishing it off, but about thirty minutes later I was not feeling so hot. Thankfully, the Yacht Club is very close, so I've been holed up here trying to recover from my stomach doing flips and turns. I can mark off another restaurant from my list, but this one will probably be a one and done situation. Golf later. Stomach settling now.

 

[Runnsally]

Ate at Big River once - huge potential, but could be the biggest miss on property.

 

[JustCor]

Ate at Big River once - huge potential, but could be the biggest miss on property.

I agree. The idea is pretty solid. I'm sure the beer is fine, and the location is excellent, but the food was subpar, the space looks like a spot that was once a clothing shop that was half-heartedly converted into a sort of restaurant. The inside just doesn't have a restaurant feel to it. The staff was fine and the view was great, but there's really nothing memorable about it, and that's giving it a pass on giving me a sour stomach.