I think I have decided on Yacht Club for 12/6 -12/11. Any pros/cons for the Yacht Club (stayed at Boardwalk last time and it was fine)? Taking DM, DS (7) and DSD (9). Also, better off using Lyft than bus system and what about skyliner to HS? It is DM’s first time and the kids and I have been once. Any must dos/don’ts? Very excited and want to make this a great trip for them with limited headaches! lol
Never stayed at yacht club but did beach club and boardwalk. I liked our room itself with boardwalk view in boardwalk but we had the club level deluxe room with sitting area so it was a bigger room than we had in beach club. In beach club I loved our regular room at the very end of the hall on the fourth floor with the balcony as big as the entire side of the building. Kids were running sprints on it it was so huge. We had a view of Epcot and the fireworks and could hear the music in UK. We were right next to the back staircase and three min from the back entrance to Epcot. It was magical for us. Since yacht club is on the other side and there are no fireworks and not much street entertainment to listen to from your balcony I would have to say the room itself was just okay. But the best thing about that resort was the pool and the slide was fantastic and that’s a shared pool with yacht club so if it’s one of those 80 degree December days maybe you can enjoy that. We were able to walk to DHS as well though we did ride the boat back in the evening. We had a car both stays and we drove to magic kingdom hotels booking a breakfast there and taking the monorail into magic kingdom leaving our car at that hotel instead of dealing with TTC. At the the time you could do this and it was just charged as your nightly parking rate for your hotel. Not sure in covid days how that works. We also drove to animal kingdom. I have used lyfts in the past though and I think it’s nice to be dropped off and not have to deal with buses and parking so I would recommend them if you aren’t renting a car and can afford the convenience. But for Magic Kingdom where the lyfts drop you off is so far in the back of TTC I’m not sure it’s worth it. The bus is probably your best option for magic kingdom unless you have dining reservations at contemporary (we’re doing that next month for 7am chef mickeys with the 9am magic kingdom open time). That’s the only way I think they’ll currently let you get dropped off via Lyft at a magic kingdom resort.
And must do’s:
Magic Kingdom: splash, big thunder and space mountains, buzz light year, seven dwarfs mine train, Peter Pan, Pooh, little mermaid, haunted mansion, pirates and with that age Tom Sawyer. My kids about that age loved the pirate scavenger hunt but i believed it’s closed currently.
Epcot: test track, Soarin, frozen, Nemo and the aquarium. If it’s back then the scavenger hunt in the world showcase is great fun. Maybe you’ll get the new Remy ride too
DHS: do not miss Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash. If you’re kids can handle it ToT is one of my faves of all time and my kids love it but my oldest didn’t when he was younger. Toy story mania and millennium falcon next on my list and I haven’t ridden the new Mickey and Minnie runaway railway yet so I can’t comment on that. But whatever you do get a pass for rise of the resistance. Jaw dropping ride
Animal Kingdom: hands down Pandora. Then Kilimanjaro safaris and all of the animal trails and if they’re not scared dinosaur and expedition Everest are also top notch
I am grateful for the info, thank you!
I realized I didn’t answer all of your questions but I do think the pros or yacht club is it’s location. You are within walking distance to two parks (or the boat). I haven’t don’t the skyliner. You have an amazing pool, weather permitting. My kids loved the beach cream soda shop as well. The cons would be more difficult to get to magic kingdom than the magic kingdom resorts so the bus is your best bet since it avoids TTC and the rooms aren’t as big as the deluxe rooms at the more expensive Magic Kingdom resorts. But to me the Epcot area is superior location wise for being in the middle of it all with not just one but two parks you can walk to. And the mini golf course is within walking distance too. Hope you have a lot of fun!
I am sold, I booked the Yacht Club! Do you know if the boats are running to HS?
Looks like just the magic kingdom ones are:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/water-transportation/