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View Full Version : Beach Club vs. Yacht Club



MississippiDisneyFreak
08-17-2013, 02:01 PM
Lately I am seeing a lot more good reviews for the Yacht Club versus the Beach Club. There have been a few complaints about the wear and tear at Beach Club and the noise level due to more kids. We decided we wanted to stay at an Epcot resort next trip due to the Food and Wine Festival. Going purely by pictures on the WDW website and other travel sites we picked out the Beach due to the decor, it looked more inviting and feminine to me than the other two decors. I asked for a full balcony on my reservation too. Now I'm second guessing myself thinking I should go with the Yacht club.

How likely am I to get a full balcony? We don't mind kids at the resort but were just wondering if it really is noisy or just people who would rather not be around as many kids. Is the Yacht club in better shape with furnishings that BC? Wondering if I should switch.

DisneyEpcotDad
08-17-2013, 08:08 PM
:mickey: My wife and I stayed at the Yacht Club last December. It is a little more quiet and less congested than the Beach Club where I have stayed several times. We had a full balcony, so depending on the time of season you go, you might be able to get a full balcony. We also had a view facing towards the pool area some, which wasn't that bad. There is also a section of the Yacht Club near the Dolphin/Swan that is very quiet by the "quiet pool". :mickey:

buzznwoodysmom
08-17-2013, 08:21 PM
Having stayed at both I can tell you that Yacht Club definitely felt quieter and seemed to have less kids. The number of kids, and noise at BC never bothered me, it's just less so at YC.

We were at YC last Aug. and thought the resort was in great shape. Didn't see any wear and tear at all. It's been a long time since our stay at BC so I can't comment on wear and tear there.

Given the choice we would probably pick YC over BC, but just by a smidge! I just like the quiet, cozy feeling there. And also prefer the dark wood and nautical decor over the pastel colors and seashell motif they have going on at BC. Just a personal preference.

spoiledraf
08-17-2013, 10:12 PM
Have not stayed at the Yacht Club in some time but I do remember it being quieter. I like the BC because it seems closer to the pool, Epcot and the Marketplace if you need a bite to eat or want to refill your mug. On the Down side it is the last stop on the bus route and that can occasionally be a problem. As for the kids, I enjoy seeing the excitement and energy they have, something I can no longer seem to muster! ;-). I think you're good either way.

MississippiDisneyFreak
08-18-2013, 08:13 AM
Yeah, I think I'm just overthinking things again. I'm going to just stop worrying and be happy I'm getting to go at all:thumbsup:

AgentC
08-18-2013, 11:42 AM
Yeah, I think I'm just overthinking things again. I'm going to just stop worrying and be happy I'm getting to go at all:thumbsup:

You'll love it. :thumbsup: I personally prefer the Yacht Club because like the decor slightly better but I would never hesitate to stay at the Beach Club.

MississippiDisneyFreak
08-18-2013, 01:58 PM
Thanks again. I was looking at the pictures of the Boardwalk and its lobby is gorgeous too...I still like the BC room decor best though:blush:

Mogie
08-29-2013, 11:32 AM
Yacht club is definitely quieter. While the lobby of the beach club, and especially the Cape May cafe (character meals) are always crowded and bustling with lots of people and loud children, the yacht club is quiet & clean. I definitely noticed an older crowd as well. The Captain's Grill at the Yacht club is quiet because of its proximity to the Cape May Cafe. I guess everyone goes to the Cape May to take advantage of the character breakfast. Also remember the hotels are connected, and share a pool, and both a short walk to Epcot.

goofy-4-disney
08-29-2013, 02:38 PM
I loved our stay at both the Yacht Club and the Beach Club. Our Yacht Club view was of Epcot and we could sit on our balcony and watch Illuminations. Beach Club was a shorter walk and still very nice. To me the distance difference isn't a deciding factor because when you walk all those miles during the day, does an extra 500 feet really matter. Both resorts are wonderful and they're in a great location.

MississippiDisneyFreak
08-31-2013, 11:28 AM
I loved our stay at both the Yacht Club and the Beach Club. Our Yacht Club view was of Epcot and we could sit on our balcony and watch Illuminations. Beach Club was a shorter walk and still very nice. To me the distance difference isn't a deciding factor because when you walk all those miles during the day, does an extra 500 feet really matter. Both resorts are wonderful and they're in a great location.

Sounds lovely, I do like the idea of sitting on the balcony to watch Illuminations. What view did you have? Water/Garden/Standard?

goofy-4-disney
09-03-2013, 02:07 PM
I don't recall what view we had, this was several years ago. My best guess would be garden view. Although, we could still see the lake as well. Originally we were booked at CBR and when checking in there we were upgraded to the Yacht Club at CBR pricing.

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-03-2013, 05:51 PM
I've just about decided if possible to switch to YC. I think the full balcony is more important to me than the color of the bedspreads. The reviews on BC are getting consistently worse lately sounds like a rehab is in order reviews for YC seem to still be good

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-04-2013, 10:28 AM
Well YC garden view for my dates in 2014 are already sold out so hoping we love BC:mickey:

RavsRuleDisney!
09-11-2013, 07:14 PM
Yeah, no worries mate!! :thumbsup: We have done the BC a few times now and have no complaints. We enjoy the down-by-the-sea look and feel, and nothing seemed too dated looking or beat up to us. Good eats, great pool, convenient location....ur gonna luv it!!

DisneyFan1979
09-12-2013, 09:03 AM
I was just a the Beach Club the first week in March and it was wonderful--no complaints about wear and tear or noise. The noise from kids is "deluxe resort level" noise, so overall much quieter than the values. We always note a full balcony request on our reservation and have always received it. I'm going again next week and the only reason we're not staying there again is because we wanted to try the villas and the Beach Club Villas are booked. So we'll be across the water at the Boardwalk.

Melanie
09-12-2013, 09:11 AM
Well YC garden view for my dates in 2014 are already sold out so hoping we love BC:mickey:

I think you will! I've had great stays at both Yacht and Beach, and while I do prefer Yacht, you cannot go wrong with either, IMO.

We had a great balcony at the Yacht, and the decor there is more to my preference as well. But my favorite stay ever was at Beach, when I was in a room in the furthest building by Epcot, and my balcony had a view of Illuminations. Plus it was so easy to just walk out of the building and onto the walkway to the International Gateway.

Have a great trip!

Christine
09-12-2013, 10:05 AM
Another thing to keep in mind is, the YC had a Bette shop, but no food court.
The BC has a smaller shop, but a food court.

Just to throw that out there. :)

Also I would ask, could the wear and tear complaints have come from the DVC side? The reason why I ask is we had several issues when we stayed in the villas in may (broken lamp, exposed rusty screw and loose towel holder in bath, ripped seat cushion with stuffing coming out) yet our friends that stayed at the Inn had a perfect room.

BrerGnat
09-12-2013, 02:06 PM
We have loved our Beach Club stays. Our rooms have always been in perfect condition. I don't personally prefer the theming at YC but they have the better gift shop and Captain's Grill is over there which we are big fans of. I prefer the BC decor and honestly, staying at one is essentially staying at the other. The hotels are literally connected and it's very easy to go back and forth to each side as needed.

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-12-2013, 05:08 PM
The reviews were for regular rooms. A lot of the comments mention the lobby and outer areas seem to be kept up just not the rooms themselves. Maybe they'll work on the rooms before we're there we still have some time:) Karen did request full balcony on my request so I'm hoping it will be granted

DisneyDINK
09-12-2013, 10:35 PM
I love second-guessing and obsessing about this stuff as much as you do, but your attitude will make more difference than a wear mark on a sofa. Don't sweat the small stuff. The YC, BC and BW are all a great location. It just cracks me up that the word "Yacht" makes one resort appeal to mature and the word "Beach" makes the resort a paradise for the wee ones. THEY are like THE SAME DARN RESORT! Take away the decor and you have like the same floor plan. They have the same awesome pool! The differences are subtle by non-Intercot standards.

If I were having a less than magical time I'd go to Jellyrolls or the Crew's Cup and order myself an Attitide Adjustment (2 parts whatever your poison is, one part sugar, one part ice). Repeat as necessary,but don't overdo it.

Seriously, you know you're going to have fun. :mickey:

BrerGnat
09-13-2013, 08:42 AM
The reviews were for regular rooms. A lot of the comments mention the lobby and outer areas seem to be kept up just not the rooms themselves. Maybe they'll work on the rooms before we're there we still have some time:) Karen did request full balcony on my request so I'm hoping it will be granted

Beach Club rooms are scheduled for a refurb during 2014. Not sure when you are going, but just FYI.

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-13-2013, 08:43 AM
I love second-guessing and obsessing about this stuff as much as you do, but your attitude will make more difference than a wear mark on a sofa. Don't sweat the small stuff. The YC, BC and BW are all a great location. It just cracks me up that the word "Yacht" makes one resort appeal to mature and the word "Beach" makes the resort a paradise for the wee ones. THEY are like THE SAME DARN RESORT! Take away the decor and you have like the same floor plan. They have the same awesome pool! The differences are subtle by non-Intercot standards.

If I were having a less than magical time I'd go to Jellyrolls or the Crew's Cup and order myself an Attitide Adjustment (2 parts whatever your poison is, one part sugar, one part ice). Repeat as necessary,but don't overdo it.

Seriously, you know you're going to have fun. :mickey:

Yeah, really it didn't make a big difference to me whether we had YC or BC I was going more for location. I just liked the colors in the room at BC a bit more so that's why I originally booked BC. I started reading that BC didn't always have full balcony which I really want so we put that on my request. Now, I'm thinking I should have just booked YC since they all have full balconys and recently I'm seeing great reviews for YC but not so great for BC.

I am sure it will be fine, I just obsess a little more because we don't go as often and this is actually my dream trip. I've always wanted to go this time of year but couldn't because I was always traveling with my son and we went around his school schedule. This trip is more about me and my mom and what we want to do. Because my dad gave me a generous Christmas gift last year I am also able to afford an Epcot resort which normally I wouldn't be able to do. I guess that's why I'm obsessing so much, this is probably my only chance to do it the way I really want.:unsure:

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-13-2013, 08:44 AM
Beach Club rooms are scheduled for a refurb during 2014. Not sure when you are going, but just FYI.

Whoo Hoo, we are scheduled Oct. 29-Nov. 4, I think we will just keep BC then!

arm00leg
09-15-2013, 05:33 PM
We have stayed at BC twice. Our first stay was fantastic, everything was great. We loved it so much we went back for F&W, the rooms were bad, very bad. We changed rooms mainly because over the top loud neighbors - yelling at the kids at 6 am to take a bath. Really? The room was worn looking also, very beat up looking. The second room was filthy, I do mean filthy. The bathroom counter had dried toothpaste on the counter from the previous guests!:ack: Blech!! Purple spatters on the wall by the coffee maker, the dresser was really beat up, the door knob going to the balcony was falling apart, wallpaper peeling, etc. A rehab is definitely needed and maybe better mousekeeping management. But you can't beat the location - especially for the Food and Wine Fest. Love the location!!

AvonleaCF
09-16-2013, 04:23 PM
I was at the Beach Club two weeks ago and thought it was great! My room was not run down at all; the one and only thing that could have used a replacement was the shower head (pressure was great, but it was definitely old and the spray went in different directions). But the room was big and clean and mousekeeping did a great job (and left three towel animals over the course of the week). The room was quiet; only noise I ever heard were the 9pm fireworks from Illuminations (if I was in the room at the time), and sometimes people walking by the room if they were particularly loud. But quiet neighbors.

Was very pleased to have a new fridge, and found plenty of stuff at the Marketplace for breakfasts in the room.

That said, I'm not entirely certain I would stay there again. The biggest perk was being so close to Epcot. At the end of the day it was nice to have a short walk back (especially using the "back" entrance near the quiet pool).

The distance from my room to the lobby was fairly extreme, and the distance to Stormalong Bay even longer. The lobby was clean and beautiful, but crowded and noisy (at all times, it seemed).

The advantage of the Yacht Club is a much closer walk to the boat launch and being the first stop for buses. Bus transportation was just "meh." Worst was going to Downtown Disney cause first it went to Swan, then Dolphin, then Yacht, then Beach, then Boardwalk. And then of course all five share the bus on the ride back, so it took forever (and if Typhoon Lagoon was still open when you went, you'd have to stop there, too). It was just a pain and I only went to Downtown twice during this tip instead of my usual 4-5. But the disadvantage to Yacht is no gift shop/marketplace; you have to walk over to Beach for that.

Buses otherwise were fine. No worse than anywhere else, I don't think. One day I was waiting for AK in the morning and two MK buses came and went, along with a DTD bus, before AK came (I think I waited 25 minutes), but otherwise they weren't too bad (on either end).

Stormalong Bay was amazing but CROWDED. Very difficult to find a chair. And if there's lightening in the area they close (which happened three times during my trip). I didn't eat at Hurricane Hannah's but the menu looked good. Sadly they never seemed to be open later in the evening. Anytime I walked by Stormalong Bay at night, it was closed, even though the signs said open until 10. So just be aware of that (for either Yacht or Beach). If there's any type of storm activity going on, it's closed. But the quiet pool was open. Not sure if that's a regular thing or I just happened to hit a bad week. It was weird seeing the pool completely vacant at, say, 7-8 at night.

But I must say I absolutely loved walking around the back of the resort in the evening. It is GORGEOUS. I did the loop around to the Boardwalk several times. And I made four ADRs in the area to take advantage of the location. I had an ADR at UK in Epcot one night, and I got ready in the room and walked over about 20 minutes beforehand and it was so nice to be that close. Not to mentioning watching Illuminations between Canada and UK and being back in the room 20 minutes later. Also ate in Germany (a bit further of a walk, but still close), and at the Flying Fish at the Boardwalk and at Cape May at the Beach Club. All the dining was great (Flying Fish in particular!). The Boardwalk was really lovely and I think I'll stay there some time; their gift shop seemed double the size of the Beach Club Marketplace.

Overall I must say I was quite happy, despite the cons I pointed out. I booked a garden view room but had a view of the lake and could see the Boardwalk and Swan/Dolphin from the balcony (not the fireworks though; I was facing the wrong direction). I would probably try the Yacht Club or Boardwalk before going back, but if someone I was going with wanted Beach and nothing else, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again!