Hi Everyone!
We're back from our trip - 9/20 - 9/27 at the Beach Club Villas. We had a wonderful time!
We had room 202 (2-bedroom villa) and my parents/sister had 201 (2-bedroom villa). These rooms are the furthest point down the hallway that "ends" near the front of the resort, across from the bus stop. It was really convenient for us to be able to exit right by our door and just cross over to wait for buses. It was also really nice that they had put us across from one another and granted my request for a large balcony. We each had a balcony that was the length of the 3 rooms.
Here's just a few highlights/lowlights from our trip.
The good...
The resort. Not a single complaint. The amount of room we had in the 2-bedroom villa was awesome. We got a 40% pin and paid for the room in cash (didn't rent points) and we officially are spoiled. Our family DH, I, and 3 kids (DD7, DD4, DS4) loved the space and the living room/kitchen was great to use while others were sleeping. Also, Sean the conceriege for the Villas was so friendly and welcoming. We really liked SAB as well. We spent most of our time in the sand area, where I could watch all the kids and then on the slide. As opposed to others' experiences, we were able to wait in the pool at the bottom of the slide for our kids to come down and help them swim to the side afterwards.
MNSSHP. This night was a lot of fun. The fireworks were fantastic (particularly at the end) and we really enjoyed the parade. We did some trick-or-treating and danced at the Monster's U dance party. But, we didn't meet with any characters. We didn't want to spend any of the party time in lines. My only advice for others is to realize the night goes quickly.
Buses. Seriously - we had great bus experiences on property. We had great luck and only waited one time for a bus to arrive. All other times, a bus was waiting when we arrived (at either the resort or at a park). And the time we waited, was only for 3 or 4 minutes. Only after the MNSSHP were we on a bus where we had to stand. Also, none of the on-property buses shared with other resorts besides BC/YC. (Disclaimer: we didn't go to DTD. LOL)
Food. Overall, we had a lot of good meals. I made one sitdown reservation for each of our first 5 days - 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners. Breakfast at Arkershus was tasty and the kids loved the princess interaction. We also really liked the food at Garden Grill and Prime Time Cafe even though we had booked both for the "experience". We ate a CMC twice - once for breakfast and once for dinner. Both were quite good. Then, we were also able to get a last minute reservation at Flying Fish for dinner - the steak was delicious - and we ate one night at ESPN Club - I am still dreaming over the nachos! (We weren't on the dining plan) I also really liked what we got at Yak and Yeti in AK. The rest of CS were OK (we ate once at The Fountain at the Dolphin and it was good as well). The only thing that was terrible was the pizza we had delivered to our room.
The Pirate League - the kids LOVED it. We had 1 black beard, 1 empress, and 1 mermaid. The only small complaint is that the Mermaid seemed to get a little bit less interaction and things than the pirates. She got a necklace and signed a book promising not to bite (?), but didn't seem like as much as the sword, treasure chest, and naming for the pirates.
The not so good...
Photopass+. Photopass+ itself was great. We have over 340 pictures and we split the cost 3 ways, so it was reasonable for us. But, it is absolutely ridiculous to have to spend so much time redeeming the voucher. We arrived at MK around noon and I went to redeem the voucher, which kept my family waiting outside (I couldn't let the kids see the castle for the first time without me!). I got into line with 4 people in front of me and 25 minutes later there were still 4 people in front of me! Those with the CMs were looking at all of their pics, deciding what they wanted, etc. I had to abandon the line to make our FP+ time at Space Mountain. Then, when my family ate lunch, I went back. I had to wait a half hour just to get my card. THEN, head back to SpaceMountain to add the ride photos onto the card. They should definitely set up a kiosk or a separate line for those redeeming vouchers only. When I got to the front of the line, it took 2 minutes to get my card/lanyard.
The rain. We had a lot of rain while we were there. Tuesday was almost a complete rain out. We had our ponchos and kept going, but by 5pm (we were in EPCOT) we were done. We were soaked, cold, and a bit cranky. It was raining so much, there was actually water coming down the hallway in the BC. They had to block off the hallway near the Marketplace with chairs and put down towels. The kids' Albatross Cruise was also cancelled because of the weather on Wednesday. That was a major bummer.
The schedule. Between the ADRs (1 per day) and the FP+, I felt our first couple days were too scheduled for my liking. FP+ was great (don't get me wrong) because I booked rides that would have had long waits, but having to keep in mind where we were scheduled to be all the time was a bit of a drag.
OVERALL, we really enjoyed ourselves and loved our time together. Doing my research and knowing what I did was a big advantage although September was a great time to go. I followed easywdw's suggestions on what park each day and only at HS were lines long - and even there they decreased at the headliners in the afternoon.
Happy to answer any questions as you all helped me so much!
A villa is my idea of luxury. 
We can't wait to go back at the end of April. 
Hi Everyone!
We're back from our trip - 9/20 - 9/27 at the Beach Club Villas. We had a wonderful time!
We had room 202 (2-bedroom villa) and my parents/sister had 201 (2-bedroom villa). These rooms are the furthest point down the hallway that "ends" near the front of the resort, across from the bus stop. It was really convenient for us to be able to exit right by our door and just cross over to wait for buses. It was also really nice that they had put us across from one another and granted my request for a large balcony. We each had a balcony that was the length of the 3 rooms.
Here's just a few highlights/lowlights from our trip.
The good...
The resort. Not a single complaint. The amount of room we had in the 2-bedroom villa was awesome. We got a 40% pin and paid for the room in cash (didn't rent points) and we officially are spoiled. Our family DH, I, and 3 kids (DD7, DD4, DS4) loved the space and the living room/kitchen was great to use while others were sleeping. Also, Sean the conceriege for the Villas was so friendly and welcoming. We really liked SAB as well. We spent most of our time in the sand area, where I could watch all the kids and then on the slide. As opposed to others' experiences, we were able to wait in the pool at the bottom of the slide for our kids to come down and help them swim to the side afterwards.
MNSSHP. This night was a lot of fun. The fireworks were fantastic (particularly at the end) and we really enjoyed the parade. We did some trick-or-treating and danced at the Monster's U dance party. But, we didn't meet with any characters. We didn't want to spend any of the party time in lines. My only advice for others is to realize the night goes quickly.
Buses. Seriously - we had great bus experiences on property. We had great luck and only waited one time for a bus to arrive. All other times, a bus was waiting when we arrived (at either the resort or at a park). And the time we waited, was only for 3 or 4 minutes. Only after the MNSSHP were we on a bus where we had to stand. Also, none of the on-property buses shared with other resorts besides BC/YC. (Disclaimer: we didn't go to DTD. LOL)
Food. Overall, we had a lot of good meals. I made one sitdown reservation for each of our first 5 days - 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners. Breakfast at Arkershus was tasty and the kids loved the princess interaction. We also really liked the food at Garden Grill and Prime Time Cafe even though we had booked both for the "experience". We ate a CMC twice - once for breakfast and once for dinner. Both were quite good. Then, we were also able to get a last minute reservation at Flying Fish for dinner - the steak was delicious - and we ate one night at ESPN Club - I am still dreaming over the nachos! (We weren't on the dining plan) I also really liked what we got at Yak and Yeti in AK. The rest of CS were OK (we ate once at The Fountain at the Dolphin and it was good as well). The only thing that was terrible was the pizza we had delivered to our room.
The Pirate League - the kids LOVED it. We had 1 black beard, 1 empress, and 1 mermaid. The only small complaint is that the Mermaid seemed to get a little bit less interaction and things than the pirates. She got a necklace and signed a book promising not to bite (?), but didn't seem like as much as the sword, treasure chest, and naming for the pirates.
The not so good...
Photopass+. Photopass+ itself was great. We have over 340 pictures and we split the cost 3 ways, so it was reasonable for us. But, it is absolutely ridiculous to have to spend so much time redeeming the voucher. We arrived at MK around noon and I went to redeem the voucher, which kept my family waiting outside (I couldn't let the kids see the castle for the first time without me!). I got into line with 4 people in front of me and 25 minutes later there were still 4 people in front of me! Those with the CMs were looking at all of their pics, deciding what they wanted, etc. I had to abandon the line to make our FP+ time at Space Mountain. Then, when my family ate lunch, I went back. I had to wait a half hour just to get my card. THEN, head back to SpaceMountain to add the ride photos onto the card. They should definitely set up a kiosk or a separate line for those redeeming vouchers only. When I got to the front of the line, it took 2 minutes to get my card/lanyard.
The rain. We had a lot of rain while we were there. Tuesday was almost a complete rain out. We had our ponchos and kept going, but by 5pm (we were in EPCOT) we were done. We were soaked, cold, and a bit cranky. It was raining so much, there was actually water coming down the hallway in the BC. They had to block off the hallway near the Marketplace with chairs and put down towels. The kids' Albatross Cruise was also cancelled because of the weather on Wednesday. That was a major bummer.
The schedule. Between the ADRs (1 per day) and the FP+, I felt our first couple days were too scheduled for my liking. FP+ was great (don't get me wrong) because I booked rides that would have had long waits, but having to keep in mind where we were scheduled to be all the time was a bit of a drag.
OVERALL, we really enjoyed ourselves and loved our time together. Doing my research and knowing what I did was a big advantage although September was a great time to go. I followed easywdw's suggestions on what park each day and only at HS were lines long - and even there they decreased at the headliners in the afternoon.
Happy to answer any questions as you all helped me so much!
Glad you had a great time! It seems like a lot of folks are suggesting the stand alone kiosks for PP+ redemptions. Hopefully the powers that be will listen!
That is all so exciting!!! I can't wait to hear all about the proposal!!!
Teena, how is the little princess feeling today?
18 days to go!!!!
Woohooo my yellow magic band arrived... yesterday, but my super brought it to me today! So excited to bling it out October 30th!! I just checked my MDE page and both bands and my AP are active... So I'm gonna bring both bands with me and see if I can switch off! Now to wait and see if I get the chance to customize another band for my December trip... I'm thinking RED!!
~N
Here is the Activities Schedule for the Yacht & Beach Club for October
3:00 pm Stormalong Bay Pool Party
3:40 pm Changing of the Guard
6:30 pm Campfire
8:00 pm Movie Under the Stars
Movies by the Beach October 2013 Schedule,
Sun- Enchanted (PG)
Mon- The Haunted Mansion (PG)
Tues- Frankenweenie (PG)
Wed- The Little Mermaid (G)
Thurs- Tower of Terror (Unrated)
Fri- Hocus Pocus (PG)
Sat- Cars 2 (PG)
