I am hoping to still go to Disney World in March of 2021. For a party of 6 (grandma, parents, and three kids (15, 12,10) would you rather book two yacht club hotel rooms or two beach club studio rooms. They are the same price. It appears that yacht club has 16 extra square feet than the Beach club studio as well as two queen beds. I have read the Beach club studio has a queen and pull out sofa, but has a toaster/kitchenette area. I have never stayed at a Cresent lake/Epcot resort, so do not know which is better for pool access. I am having analysis paralysis. Which would you stay at? Thank you in advance for sharing any wisdom.
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Don’t know if it factors in to your decision making, but I personally like the decor at YC better. I am in a similar situation for April 2021 and currently have 2 rooms at YC and a 2 bedroom villa at BC booked. The villa is cheaper, but I would really prefer to stay at YC. I am hoping that AP discounts, assuming they ever come out, can make the prices more comparable.
We stayed at YC a few years ago. If I remember right we had to walk through the lobby and down a bit of BC hall to get to the pool entrance. But it wasn’t a long hall at all and we never minded it. Personally we preferred the decor of the YC more than BC but they’re both nice.
Do you think you will use the kitchen? Who will sleep on the sofa bed? If you don’t for-see using the kitchenette, I would go to YC for the beds. I’m not sure how far the pool is from SAB. Can the villas use SAB?
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YC rooms have had a refurb. Beach Club needs some TLC… not bad, just tired carpet and furniture. Both are very comfortable beds.
YC slightly closer to the dock for friendship boats. BC slightly closer to the Epcot International gateway entrance and the skyliner. They share the same pool Storm Along bay, and each have small quiet pools as well.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/map/#/id=yacht-club-resort/
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Thank you so much for this map drawing! I love it! Maybe it makes more sense to pick Yacht club since I don’t know if I need the toaster for the kitchenette. I didn’t know about the refurb either. I suppose if I were to rent points for two Beach Club Villa studios it would be cheaper, but riskier. What if the parks shut down again but somehow the villas are open? Or another risk would be if everything is closed, how do I get my money back from a middle man with rented pionts? I read a little bit about the DVC point rental return dilemmas at the start of the pandemic with David’s DVC rentals. I am not sure if I want to risk it, unless numbers change and there is a sentiment and signs that Disney is expanding and not getting rid of services (fast pass, parades, park hoppers, fireworks)
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We’ve stayed at BCV twice and the BC resort twice, never YC. Having walked thru the YC however, it is a resort that I hope to stay at someday. You didn’t list the BC as an option, but I would do that (or YC) in a heart beat over the BCV. We found walking from the BCV rooms to anywhere a long trek. And hallway noise was way too obvious while in the rooms. At our last stay, the BCV room we were given was at the very end of the hallway by the west parking lot. We asked for, and were given, a room change the next day to the BC resort. We found the BC room to be much nicer with 2 beds, quieter and slightly bigger than the villa room. I would think that the YC rooms would be comparable in that respect. Lastly … and this is just my crazy opinion … but your kids at their ages might like the BC more than the YC as my impression of the YC decor is that it may appeal more to adults than kids if that even matters. 
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I’m one of those who has posted about the risks associated with renting DVC points previously. I’ve rented from David’s in the past and DVC Rental twice. I can tell you from personal experience you probably will not get your money back. When they say no refund, they mean it. It is possible that the DVC owner may allow the broker to refund your money, but that is rare. And the broker may offer a voucher in lieu for future use. Your best option may be to purchase “cancel for any reason trip” insurance, It is expensive and may only reimburse you for 60 - 80 % of your rental, but it is better than nothing. I bought conventional trip insurance last time and it refused to provide any coverage for a resort closure. This is something your will have to decide for yourself when compared to Disney’s (or a vacation agency’s) refund policy. FWI, when we booked thru the MVT agency last year, they allowed us to cancel the reservation 5 days before arrival due to hurricane Dorian approaching Florida. No easy answers here. Good luck.
I have stayed at YC and really liked it. If you decide to do that, I assume the kids are all with you? Or will they be with grandparents, too? The reason why I ask is that the fifth sleeping spot in a YC room is a smallish twin, and not all the rooms have it. We needed it one time, and the room we were given didn’t have it. They moved us to one that did. This was before the refurb though, so that problem may be fixed now.
Of course, if some kids are with the grandparents, then it’s not a concern.
I like the YC because of the decor, and it’s quieter than the BC.
I stayed in those exact two units last year with my DS.
If space is a priority, definitely go with the YC standard room. It was recently updated, large, and had two real beds. The BCV studio was a little on the small side, and the lack of a second true bed may be an issue if an adult has to sleep on the sofa bed or pull down.
All BCV rooms have great access to the little quiet pool near the entrance to the BCV cluster, but you have to pass through the main lobby to get to Stormalong Bay.
At YC, you could be right next to Stormalong Bay, or a fairly long walk depending on the room they put you in. Technically, Stormalong Bay is right between BC and YC, but if you’re in the peripheral wings, you could be pretty far.
For location, I liked BCV because you can walk out the back door and be super close to EP, and because BCV is small, you know exactly where you’ll be relative to the big pool.
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Good questions. I don’t think we will be using the toaster as much as the pool. A full bed is probably much nicer than a sofa bed and I can picture my boys fighting for access for the real bed. I have heard that yes, the villas can use storm along bay.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience at Beach club villas. I do not know if Beach Club hotel will be open in early 2021 as you cannot book it and I read another blogger/poster stating that Disney called them to tell them that Beach Club is not anticipated to be open in March 2021 and they got upgraded to a two bedroom villa at Beach club. On another note, I am so sorry to learn of your DVC rental experience. That must have felt awful. To go from feeling great about getting a good deal to swimming in a sea of emails trying to get a refund…not fun for sure I imagine. Will you ever rent DVC points again?
I personally wouldn’t rent DVC again for the reasons above. If you are thinking of it maybe consider booking a room direct through Disney and check DVC last minute deals the week or two before your travel dates when you can be more confident that the parks will be open. If you check the websites they have lots of last minute deals for $9-10 dollars per point.
Current examples for next week:
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7 nights at AKL (Savanna) in a 1 bedroom for $2900.
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5 night at Boardwalk in a 1 bedroom for $2100
*3 nights at Bay Lake in a 2 bedroom (theme park) for $1900
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I have stayed at both BCV (in a one bedroom) and YC. I also have stayed at the end of the hallway for BCV and it was very painful to trek from the pool alllllllllllllll the way to our room, while freezing and wet. The one advantage was to get to the buses, we could walk down the stairwell by the parking lot and be much closer.
I am a huge fan of eating breakfast in the room before I go, and so the microwave and toaster would be nice and would push me towards the villas. If you aren’t going to take advantage of these, then I would go for the two beds at YC. (I also personally like the YC style more, but both are wonderful.)
I was caught up in the pandemic holding a reservation for a time when the parks were closed. Thankfully, David’s granted me (and most people in my situation) credit toward future travel. I was able to book the exact same rooms for a year later. However, they have changed their contracts and are pretty adamant that they won’t grant credits again if the parks close.
While it’s unlikely that the parks will close again during the pandemic (due to a mixture of politics and the fact that the worst wave is likely behind them in central Florida and they stayed open through it), I would be very wary about renting points until we are clearly on the other side of it, just to be safe. Also make sure to get insurance that would cover you if you can’t go for some reason - that can happen even when there is no pandemic.
Ultimately, it’s a huge savings to rent points over paying rack rates, but it may not be worth the risk depending on your risk tolerance and the specifics of your situation. But risk aside, it has been a great experience working with David’s.
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I do not know if Beach Club hotel will be open in early 2021 as you cannot book it and I read another blogger/poster stating that Disney called them to tell them that Beach Club is not anticipated to be open in March 2021. [/quote]
Sorry, would not have suggested BC had I known that. To be honest, I’m one of those people who likes all of WDW’s resorts and suspect you will probably be perfectly happy with whichever one you select. I would not let our “nitpicking” sway you too much. cbalusek is right, both are wonderful.
Renting DVC points are generally the most attractive cost options for the quality of the room you get, which helps explain their appeal. And some owners are extremely good to work with and understanding. Just not always, especially when a broker is involved. It pays to shop around and know your risk tolerance. There are other safer & good alternatives out there. I secured lower room rates with a MVT agency exclusive offer last fall, and from Disney directly in February this year with my AP than what I could have gotten at the going $20/point DVC rental rate both times for the same room type in the same resort. Even Disney’s plain old “special offers” are pretty good too, especially when you factor in Disney’s refund policy if something goes wrong.
Mark Twain is credited with saying “If a cat sits on a hot stove, that cat won’t sit on a hot stove again. Won’t sit on a cold stove either." Unfortunately for me,I identify with that cat now. Nuff said.
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Thank you for sharing your experience working with David’s DVC rental company. I am glad that you got a credit for a future visit! Phew! I am glad you also told me that they changed their policy and future credits are unlikely if the park closes again. I just did a quick glance at the website and could not tell if they would grant future credits or not if the park shut down, but if they added a clause that you are really out of funds for thousands of dollars and out of luck to get a future credit that would just be too risky for my family at this time. I am sure I will have the “FOMO” Fear of missing out of a good deal when I get to Disney knowing I could have saved thousands to get a Beach Club two bedroom villa with laundry vs. paying for two rooms at the Beach or yacht club from Disney. The pandemic really makes it difficult to plan anything. A good reminder that we are not really in control. The Disney rule book has completely changed and I will have to learn the new best touring plans etc.
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Thanks for the tip on the Magical Vacations Travel agency. I have not heard of that before. Looks like there is no upfront fee either.
Here’s what they said on their website originally back in March. I think this will be their policy if the parks closed again for some reason. They later issued blanket credits for everyone who was affected, but that was a one-time concession. In the future, I would be prepared to eat the cost of any missed reservation, and treat any refund or credit as a bonus.
March 16th original message:
Although our NO CANCELLATION contract is clear in every detail, we are willing to work with each and every guest who wishes not to travel. We promise to listen to your concerns and work with each contract to attempt to make changes that are acceptable to the both parties involved, the guest and the owner. While we can not guarantee a change to the agreement, this might involve a date change or the re-rental of the points to another guest therefore providing you with compensation. The success rate will be highly dependent on the owner’s willingness to change the agreement and the status of the points they have used to create the reservation contracted. We ask that you be patient as it may take owners several days to reach a Disney Vacation Club Cast Member.
April 1st update with credits:
We understand the severe impact that the COVID-19 virus is having. We want to assure you that we are doing everything in our power to accommodate the points you rented, given the confines of the Rental Agreement and the Disney Vacation Club rules. We are prepared to issue those that were impacted by the Disney Vacation Club Resort closures a Travel Credit through David’s Vacation Club Rentals. This Travel Credit will be the dollar value of the cost of your DVC Rental less any compensation already received. As this Credit is in its infancy and we are working with several facets of our business, we do not have all of the details to provide to you today.