Hi There ...

My sister just booked us rooms in July at the Yacht Club & her family at the Boardwalk ... my parents are bringing their RV and staying at the Campground (Fort Wilderness I think ? )

My head is still spinning at the cost for what you get ... online the rooms just dont look THAT great for the price (let me know if Im wrong - sometimes pictures don't do rooms justice)

It looked like the rooms at the Contemporary Resort were newer & a little more spacious, but that was just WAY out of our price range (to say the least ! We were quoted 1000 a night :eek: )

First of all which hotel would you say has the * nicest * cleanest * newest rooms ?

And next - were not finding any great deals booking this since its in July, so would it be better to just stay off property at a nicer hotel for the same price or even less ?

Or are the benefits of staying at the Disney resorts and getting the "extra magic hours" ( and whatever else they offer ) so worth it ??

Thanks !!

ps .. by the way, we are traveling with 5 children between ages 2-7

The biggest plus (as far as I see it) of staying at either the Yacht or Beach clubs, is the pool. Stormalong bay is FANTASTIC. The wading area (for the little ones) has a sand bottom, and zero entry. And it seemed very very large to me.

Is it worth the price? Only you can decide that. But there are other resorts on site that are less expensive that still offer the benefits of staying onsite. Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge are less expensive, but still in the Deluxe category. And then you have the Moderate and Value resorts. If it's your family that has 3 kids, for the moderate and values you'll either need to stay at Port Orleans Riverside, which has trundle beds in some of the rooms, get two rooms, or the family suite at All Stars Music.

Having met up with another person that was staying at another resort on one trip, coordinating transportation was a bit of a hassle. If you're at Yacht and your sister is at Boardwalk, you can just walk or boat between them, so that hassle goes away.

So there are SEVEN of you total? You won't find a room on property that will allow you all to stay in the same room. Or is that 5 children between 2 different families? Even as a single traveller I find it hard to stay at the deluxe resorts. Unless you've got tons of money, they just don't return the value for the buck in my opinion. I'm a moderate guy, and with the discount I get from my annual pass I find it a terrific value (usually around $100 a night). But when money's tight (like it is for this next trip) I have no problem staying at the Pop Century for around $70 a night (again with the AP discount).

If you use a site like expedia.com you'll find all sorts of nearby hotels that offer great rates. But it is pretty cool to stay on property and keep yourselves totally immersed in the Disney vibe all week. About the only tangible benefits you'd give up by staying offsite are the Extra Magic Hours (a selected park will open 1 hour early or stay open 3 hours late, for different parks every day) and transportation. I always rent a car at the airport and drive myself to the parks, even when staying on site, so Disney transportation is a non-issue for me. Many offsite hotels offer free bus service, but it's usually pretty spotty, and often doesn't run as late or early as you'd like. If you decide to stay off property, definitely rent a car.

Good luck in your decision making!

It is 5 children between the two of us.

I have two and she has 3 ... if they have problems finding a room for all of them, one of the kids can always stay with my parents in the rv.

Although the Deluxe rooms are bigger, the biggest difference is not so much the room, but the hotel amenities, and the location. We stayed at the Beach Club last year (in the DVC villas), and the pool was just amazing. You can walk to Epcot in about five minutes, and you have loads of dining options. You can easily walk to the World Showcase in Epcot just for dinner, and to walk around awhile. As far as the Extra Magic Hours, it is really worth it, especially in the morning, with young kids. Most people don't show up at the parks till late morning, and you can get a great deal accomplished in two or three hours, with minimal waiting times. When the crowds hit, your kids will probably be happy to return to the hotel, to hang out by the pool. Then you go back out, later in the day.

Thanks mom22gls !

Whats up with the Beach Club vs. Yacht Club ? ... the pictures on the site looked like the same hotel !

Thanks mom22gls !

Whats up with the Beach Club vs. Yacht Club ? ... the pictures on the site looked like the same hotel !

They DO look like the same hotel!
They are physically one big building, and the outside decor is only slightly different, but the inside decor is quite a bit different. Yacht club is lots of dark shiny woods and Beach Club is lots of painted woods. I've never been in a room in the Yacht Club, so not sure how far they take the dark wood decor, but the rooms in Beach are light and airy and could easily be on the Beach in RI or something like that (since I've never BEEN to a beach in RI, I'm strictly imagining).

Adding my $.02. . .

The Beach/Yacht Clubs are totally worth it in July, with little kids, the pools really are that great.

That said, I wouldn't go into debt for them, you still will have a great time at any Moderate or Value resort, they all have pools and your kids are still young enough that they won't really know the difference.

Hi Becky! Staying on site for my family is the only way to stay and play at Disney! We like to live the dream non-stop! So, of course, we think the benefits are worth it. I was curious why all the families aren't staying at the same resort? The Wilderness lodge usually has great deals during the summer and it is a fun family resort.

For us, the draw to the Deluxe resorts is a combo of a few things.
- The room size is larger, usually with a balcony or patio.
- The pools are better themed, usually with a slide or something like that. (although some of the moderates are good for this as well.) This is nice if you dont really want to spend the $$ on a water park or have younger kids who would not get a lot out of the WP's.
- Many have table service eateries which may be of interest.
- Queen size beds. As much as I love POR, I missed the larger beds in the deluxe resorts - ESPECIALLY the Beach Club! (Still the best beds on property in my opinion.)
- Many deluxe resorts are rather close to a park, some within walking distance. (This makes BC a big fave for our family.)

The thing is... while they are more expensive, whether or not you will get a good value out of them is up to you. Are those sorts of things important enough to you in order to spend the extra cash. If they are, then you have options. If you are looking for something simple and dont plan on spending much time at the resort, then a Value or Moderate may be a better use of the cash.

So many good tips ... thanks again everyone.

In doing more research we're actually tempted to switch over from the Yacht Club to Port Orleans ... looks SO cute ! And the kids are impressed by the pool with the Dragon ! ;)

Any advice on this - have any of you stayed there ?

It is a bit cheaper than the YC - but looks just as nice.

Its not considered one of their Luxury resorts is it ? So do we still get Magic Hours ?

Port Orleans is one of the moderates, and is very very nice. I think you and the kids will have a great time there!

Port Orleans French Quarter (the one with the dragon slide) is my fav moderate. And for me moderates are my favorite 'level', so that makes it my favorite resort :D

The big differences between a moderate and deluxe are the beds - they're double at moderates, queens ad deluxes, and the entrances to the rooms. In moderates you enter from outside, in deluxes, it's an interior hallway. I think the food courts are better at the moderates (not all the deluxes have them), and the rooms are a bit smaller.

Switching from Yacht to POFQ due to overall budget, etc is very reasonable, but don't do it just for the pool, please! Yacht's is miles ahead. When my sister and I stayed there a couple years back (got a killer deal and it was just a long weekend) we commented that if we'd stayed there as kids, Mom and Dad wouldn't have gotten us out of the pool and to the parks. Mom & Dad had a hard enough time getting us out of a normal pool at that age, I honestly can't imagine them trying to get us out of Stormalong Bay!

Wow ... decisions decisions !!!

I was thinking we'll be happy switching from YC over to the the Port Orleans ... that is until I read about the difference in bed size :confused: ... Yikes, were a tall family !!!

On the other hand - with all those magic hours getting us up early & in late, not to mention all those parks to see ~ were not planning on spending too much time in the room ! Mostly just a place to crash in between the chaos !! :p

Even with the pool - I know we will manage to squeeze in a little bit of swimming, but once the kids are in the parks I cant imagine they will want to leave to go back and swim (although it will be mid - July !)

One more thing .. location ?
Lets say we do want to go back to the hotel mid day from a park to swim and have lunch ... I see the Yacht Club has a boat ferry.
How long would it take to get to YC from the parks compared to getting to PO from the parks by bus ?

One more thing .. location ?
Lets say we do want to go back to the hotel mid day from a park to swim and have lunch ... I see the Yacht Club has a boat ferry.
How long would it take to get to YC from the parks compared to getting to PO from the parks by bus ?

Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom - they'll be about the same (AK a little longer from POFQ, MK a little longer from Yacht - but not likely to be noticable).

Epcot and Studios - Yacht Club, though the boat can seem VERYYYYYYYY slow at times, and I don't recommend walking to the Studios in July (My sister and I were drenched at 10:30 in the morning when we did it!)

They DO look like the same hotel!
They are physically one big building, and the outside decor is only slightly different, but the inside decor is quite a bit different. Yacht club is lots of dark shiny woods and Beach Club is lots of painted woods. I've never been in a room in the Yacht Club, so not sure how far they take the dark wood decor, but the rooms in Beach are light and airy and could easily be on the Beach in RI or something like that (since I've never BEEN to a beach in RI, I'm strictly imagining).

Drince88 .. you seem to be quite the Disney World Pro ~ :) Im sitting far far away at a desk in California trying to make decisions and am appreciating all of your advice so much !

Since the Beach Club & Yacht Club are intertwined & dont seem to have much difference & also look to be the same price ... if you had to choose one of them ~ which one would you say is better ??

Personally, I'd do Beach - it's a SMIDGEN closer to Epcot if you're walking (and I usually would), and I like the lighter painted wood decor more than the shiny dark would. But that's as close to a true coin flip decision as I think there is for resorts at WDW. It's REALLY a personal preference on decor.

:)Wow ... decisions decisions !!!

I was thinking we'll be happy switching from YC over to the the Port Orleans ... that is until I read about the difference in bed size :confused: ... Yikes, were a tall family !!!

On the other hand - with all those magic hours getting us up early & in late, not to mention all those parks to see ~ were not planning on spending too much time in the room ! Mostly just a place to crash in between the chaos !! :p

Even with the pool - I know we will manage to squeeze in a little bit of swimming, but once the kids are in the parks I cant imagine they will want to leave to go back and swim (although it will be mid - July !)

One more thing .. location ?
Lets say we do want to go back to the hotel mid day from a park to swim and have lunch ... I see the Yacht Club has a boat ferry.
How long would it take to get to YC from the parks compared to getting to PO from the parks by bus ?


The last trip we took was in July, and yes, it's hot! The advantage to this time of year however, is that the parks are open very late. (With the extra evening magic hours, even later). Since it's very crowded during July, being closer to the park allows you to leisurely go back to the hotel during the hottest part of the day and return to a park for the evening. I would imagine that your family will welcome a mid afternoon swim each day! We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and loved it, but I would like to try the Beach Club because of Stormalong Bay. As far as the moderate resorts go, I have friends who absolutely love POR! I don't think you can really go wrong with any place within WDW. You're going to have a fantastic time no matter what!! Have fun!

Since the Beach Club & Yacht Club are intertwined & dont seem to have much difference & also look to be the same price ... if you had to choose one of them ~ which one would you say is better ??

Another vote for the Beach Club. You most likely won't be walking to the Studios, but you will want to walk to Epcot through the International Gateway. And at the end of a busy day, you'll really appreciate the fact that the Beach Club is a bit closer to Epcot.

But remember that the ferry only goes to Epcot and the Studios, and as others have said it can be something of a wait to get on a boat. So I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor on where to stay. For me it always comes down to budget. If I can afford a deluxe, then that's what I go for. But the moderates are really very nice resorts. You can't go wrong either way.

Hi Bekky,
People mentioned that Stormalong Bay (the pool at Yacht and Beach Clubs) is way better than any other pool, but it's hard to describe. Think your own, personal mini water park. There's a giant water slide, wading pools, waterfalls, a lazy river, and only guests staying at Yacht and Beach Clubs are allowed in. Seriously. They check wristbands. I'm thinking, in July, with 5 hot, sweaty kids tired from the heat and waiting in long lines, that water park is going to be like heaven. Plus being able to walk to Epcot and the Boardwalk (which is a lot of fun at night, with free entertainment like magicians and music for kids on the actual boardwalk)... oops, I need to end this sentence. You get what I mean. If you can swing it financially, stay where you are. I have stayed at French Quarter, and I loved it! But I haven't been able to afford the Beach Club yet.