23. Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts Deep Dive

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[00:00:57] Aber du kannst du in deinem Bett länger in der Morgen. Du kannst du nicht so schnellst du wachst, weil du einfach direkt zu den Gaten. Das bietet dir einen Schlafstern in der Morgen. Oder ein Schlafstern oder ein Schlafstern. Hey, da, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Moms Behind the Magic Podcast. I am your host, Allie. I'm here today with only Stacey, which can mean only one thing. We are

[00:01:23] diving deep into another resort on Disney World property. And I am smiling big today because I love this resort and I cannot wait to talk about it with you, Stacey. How are you today? Good morning. It's all good today. I love these episodes. It's just the two of us. It feels very special, like a little fun friend time together. It is. And we need it. We've been so busy lately. I feel like we haven't talked. I have been, I'm in, you know, we've talked about this all the time is

[00:01:52] I'm in travel sports season. So every weekend just feels like a whirlwind. And my, my little girl who I have to preface saying loves her activities. Okay. She's not looking for an out. I always check in with her. We're always saying, is it too much? Are you overwhelmed? And she's no, she's steadfast and ready. She loves it. But she did ask me the other day because our dance weekends, please don't judge me. We have to wake up 5 AM over the weekend every day. And I woke her up the other day and she

[00:02:20] was just like, mommy, do I ever get to sleep in? And I thought forward to everything we have coming up. And the answer is just frankly, no. Right. Do you have that times where you're like really tired and you're looking on your calendar? Like which of these days do I finally get to sleep in a little bit? And it's so disappointing when it's really like, it's not even on the calendar. You just don't even know when school lets out. Yeah. I need one day. Yeah. It's May. I mean, that's what the May Simber

[00:02:47] jokes, you know, and I've kind of joked, I thought it was going to be emptiness season was going to be less. And it really is. Now I'm not, I do not want to compare what I have going on even close to what you have going on and what I've had in the past. You know, I've had five very active children at one time with various sports and activities. And like, it's, it's crazy and I'll fun in the moment, but after being out of it, it's like, whew, I'm glad I'm out, but it's still busy. I mean, even for

[00:03:15] average Joe, like me, it's still May is just still busy. I've got a lot on the calendar. I've talked to you and particularly Becky, we kind of coordinate a lot of our recordings just because of our different roles that we're taking and with me editing. And I have things really between now and June that I know I need to, I need to prep how I'm going to schedule these editing and make sure that I get everything done so that it doesn't get to be, I just don't get behind. You know,

[00:03:45] there's a deadline, there's a deadline for the work I get to do for this podcast. And I, I just really cannot let it slip by just because it's busy. That times are busy. So. Well, we're so grateful that you adhere to those. Otherwise M&Ms would wake up disappointed on Tuesdays. So cheers to that one. And also, yeah, these mornings are just, we talked about this last May. We definitely talked about May summer being a thing and it's

[00:04:09] just, the mornings are early. The nights are late and I would not trade this. I love this time. I just want to also say that this is not coming from a place of complaining at all. It's just simply acknowledging, you know, I, these weekends that are stacked with lacrosse and dance and cheer and flag football, they're so fun. They're so great. And I wouldn't trade it, but they are, you know, they're exhausting and the mornings then are early. You know, we got home late last night. We got up early for school this morning. Every night is full of art shows and dance shows and school tours. My

[00:04:37] younger kids are starting a new school next year, which means we're officially leaving. We're leaving our elementary school that we've been in for eight straight years. I think we've had kids in this school and we're wrapping up. There's not very many days left of school. And yeah, actually, by the time this drops, I haven't even looked at the date. They may be done. So we're, we're leaving the school. I'm really sad about it. And we have to do the new school tours and all of that. We had try it out band and choir night, you know, all the fun stuff, but then you have to

[00:05:06] coordinate it with dinnertime and which we never find time for dinnertime. Actually, it's the most unhealthy dynamic of all time. But you know, we're just, we're just making it, you know, we're making it. And it really is fun. I joke about how I don't really want to go back to the exhaustion, but man, those were really good times. And I look back very fondly on even just grabbing McDonald's and tossing it back to the car. You know, it's like here, y'all divided up back there.

[00:05:30] Yeah. I mean, I mean, and I, let me tell you when I started out as a young mom with babies, I was the highest of hopes for how natural organic food, let me make some baby food for them. And then activity started and I'm serious. It was fast that we became McDonald's drive-thru mom. Like it was, Oh, it just, it happens. I mean, it, it was a harsh reality check for myself.

[00:05:58] I was the exact, I had, we got a, what the heck, what was that thing called? The baby food purifier thing. Yeah. Oh, it had a, it did have a name. Um, I cannot believe I can't, I don't know what it was called, but you would steam it. You would steam it in this like little steaming pod and then dump it in the, in the thing. And then you purify it. When I was really on my A game, I would add like breast milk to it. And then that would just make it the healthiest it could possibly

[00:06:24] be. This was me as a baby mom. And I would look online at just all of these healthy recipes and Oh, after school ideas. And I was like, Oh, when my kids start school, I'm going to be that mom that makes all this really cute snack time. And it's organic. And I remember these like mermaid yogurt bowls. And yeah, I'm so glad that you said drive-thru mom. I bet so many M&Ms are listening and they're like, yeah. Oh, thank God. Me too. Me too. You know? Oh my goodness. Yeah. It's, it was quick. It was a

[00:06:51] quick, quick thing. And I do feel for my youngest babies because they never really experienced the healthy mom, you know, like I, they were born into the drive-thru mom and it's like, Oh my bad. I really used to care about what my kids ate at one time. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I'm glad you said that. It amazes me. Honestly, it amazes me that they have actually turned into as, as adults just have hope young moms. My kids turned out all right. They really did. I'm glad you're on the other side

[00:07:19] of it. They actually exercise. They eat right. Yeah. They, they really do. Like they, it's like, we did a little bit talk the talk and we didn't walk the walk and they still caught onto some parts of it anyway. That's good to hear because I'm telling you what I can only hope. I was just saying right now, it's a hope it's more hanging on a hope. It is. Those are crazy times. What you are in are really some of the craziest and yet most rewarding times. I'll tell you what too,

[00:07:43] this is on a different topic completely, but just goes into the chaos. We live in an old home here in our town and you know that, and I don't know if I've said that on the show, but our, our town that we live in is very, very old and very historical. And we have these homes in town that are part of the historical society. We live in one of them. And every year, once a year in the spring, they do the historical home tour and they asked us to be part of it this year. So it was yesterday and it just

[00:08:11] got layered into a massive dance weekend and just all this other stuff that we have going on, of course. And it was a lot of the work fell on my wife. So kudos to her because she had to get the house really whipped into shape. I, I, there were a lot of reasons that I couldn't be of much help for that. So the good news is a lot of our small odd things that were on the list that just hadn't gotten done yet, got done because 500 people walked through our home yesterday.

[00:08:34] What? And maybe more, honestly. Oh my goodness. And it was five hours long. We had two amazing friends that were docents for us, which a docent is, you know, like a museum, somebody in a museum that would take a little tour. And they were positioned. We were on our feet all five hours straight, just repeating ourselves as people would walk through the home for five hours. I'm telling you what, five o'clock hit, we slammed that door shut, locked it, ordered hibachi. We were, I was like,

[00:08:59] shaking. It was so hard, but it was so fun. Oh my goodness. That is a lot of people on a home tour. Yeah. Well, that's amazing. These are really well known, like, you know, it's a historical town and historical town. And so people see these houses all the time and they're, they're always like, I want to see what's in them. So when there's six houses on the tour and we got to do the tour last week, like the homeowners got to do all the walkthroughs for all the homes last week. So I got to see everybody's and it was wild. Some of them were just, you know, these are homes that were built in the

[00:09:26] early 1800s. Wow. That is very cool. Yeah. Do you, do you want to tell our listeners about the time you sent us a very haunting photo of something you found in your wall? Do you remember you? You're like, it was terrifying looking. I was like, get out of your house. You found that in your wall. You need to call the police. I, I was recording a podcast and there was somebody, I was home alone recording with one of y'all or two of whoever. And there was a friend of ours

[00:09:53] working. We're trying to tear out a bathroom, but everything here is really old. This house is built in 1836. And so everything is old, old, old. The bathrooms obviously aren't from 1836 clearly, but nothing is really super new. So we're trying to redo a bathroom in the guest room and it connects to a bathroom in my daughter's room. So it requires gutting everything. And I was recording one day and on my laptop, uh, in my, you know, my text messages will pop up in the corner of my screen. And I usually have them, I just swipe them away or I have them on not to appear while I'm recording. But for

[00:10:23] whatever reason that day, this one popped up and it was a picture. I was like, what, what is, what am I seeing? So I click it and I literally started shaking. I did not know what I was looking at. Our friend that was working in the other room had sent it y'all. It was bones. It was a full carcass of bones. I was like, do I, what do I do with this? Do I call the police? What is happening right now? Like, what have you done in my wall? Yeah. And I mean, it was seriously the, the most

[00:10:50] alarming, scary thing I'd ever seen. And the way the picture, because you, you sent it to us and the way the picture was framed, you couldn't tell what size these bones were. Correct. It was zoomed in close enough that it looked to be possibly human monster size. Yes. And I am at this point, he's gone. He had stepped out to go get something or maybe he ran away. I don't know. My wife is not home. So I'm alone now with the bone in the house and I know they're here and I'm like shaking.

[00:11:16] Y'all, what do I do? It turns out just for everybody listening, who's like, what the heck was in her wall? Um, it was like a bird or a bat. Okay. We did a lot of examining. We showed a lot of people the way that the hip structure was. It's clearly a winged something. Yes. Okay. But we still will never small and it was small. It was small. Yeah. But man, it looks like it could have been Dracula. The way the photo came in, it looked like it could have been Dracula. Oh my goodness. So anyway,

[00:11:45] that, that bathroom is still torn apart. It's just still gutted. We had to shut that door for the home tour and I did not tell the story about the carcass. Um, sorry to all, everyone who went on your home tour and didn't get to see that. I'm so sorry. I fooled that. Yeah. Yeah. We should have opened it, left it in an exhibit. No, the bones are no longer there. They were, they were taken out immediately. That is too funny. Um, but this is the, I, it makes you wonder what else is in the wall. So funny. Um, yeah. So anyway, we love our house even despite what may be in the walls. We love it.

[00:12:14] So, okay. This is fun catching up. We are diving down deep today into yacht and beach club. This one is so requested in our Facebook community. Everybody wants to hear about yacht and beach club. We're going to talk about all the things you want to know, all the things that are fun to know, the history, the rooms, the dining, the swimming, the transportation, and so much more. And of course, we're ending with trivia and I hope we don't embarrass ourselves, but we always do somehow. So we

[00:12:41] probably will again today. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, it's yacht and beach club all day. This episode of moms behind the magic is brought to you by baby quip, baby quip.com use code magic to get $30 off of any order of $150 or more baby quip has grown. It's not just about babies anymore. Baby quip offers a huge range of baby and toddler gear, cribs, strollers, car seats, toys, and more. And now they're also renting your pet essentials and

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[00:14:32] any order of $150 or more. That's babyquip.com. Code magic. Pack light, travel happy. All right. Yacht and Beach Club, a fan favorite for sure. A bucket list for sure. The type of place where it might feel a little unattainable to some at first, but I know we're going to dig into this today. You can find this resort incredibly affordable with good strategy in times of year.

[00:14:58] This resort opened in 1990, the Yacht Club and 1990, the Beach Club. Yacht and Beach Club. Do you think of these as different resorts? I've had to train myself to understand what this was, honestly, because, and it is interesting to hear you say 1990, you know, we talk about these years and what, what automatically comes up in our own lives and that, I mean, I was in high school, so I was probably at the age of like hearing there's, oh, there's a new fancy hotels, you know,

[00:15:24] and I knew that, which kind of started out this unattainable mindset, you know, immediately, like when they were created. And then to when I, young adult, I couldn't do it. And I really never understood what it was. It was combined naming. I assumed it was a place called Yacht and Beach Club. And I, it took me a long time to realize it's, it is two resorts, but they are sister resorts. I guess that, is that the best way to kind of clarify what it, how it is? What do you think?

[00:15:54] Yeah. I think that's a great way to say it. Here's the thing though, because this is a deep dive. And I, I think a lot of people are tuning in because they either are planning to stay here or are dying to stay here or have stayed here and they want to relive it. Right. The thing I think is important to say, yes, this is two resorts. Yacht Club is a resort. Beach Club is a resort. I, in my mind, even though, I mean, I book these all the time. I am very well aware this, these are two resorts. I have stayed at both of these resorts many, many times. In my mind,

[00:16:22] I make them one resort. To me, in my mind, the way I still think it is Yacht and Beach Club, even though I know it's not. But the reason is, and I think this is good information to know and understand, is that they are one big property. They do share all of the main amenities. The restaurants that are within one and the other are easily accessible from either. You know, it really does feel like one massive compound of a resort. Right. So yes, it is two Yacht Club and

[00:16:50] Beach Club. Really, the difference to me is just which theming do you prefer? Right. And even beyond, even beyond that, because I think they are, you know, they were both built to be like seaside elegant, you know, like a coastal charm, yacht club, more formal nautical. Right. And then Beach Club being more casual beach, beach side. Yes. And maybe you have a preference of one of those and that's how you decide. But honestly, pick your dates, pick your budget, see which one's available. If they're both

[00:17:20] available, pick your theming. If only one's available, it's basically the same thing. Yeah. Right. Well, and kind of, I think for me that the naming helps me understand location a little bit more because there is in my mind, I prefer the location of one over the other. And that helps me determine, you know, if both are available, which one I would rather have is, is based, even though they're in the same

[00:17:46] main spot, one is closer to Epcot than the other. Yes. Yeah. And I think those are the key details here that we're going to talk about today that are important because first of all, I'm saying stay here no matter what, whichever one's available. Yes. Right. One big space with mutual. Because it's all relative. What we're talking about is all relative and very close. I mean, when we say that Beach Club is closer to Epcot, that is true. We were from fireworks to beds in five minutes when we

[00:18:15] stayed at Beach Club. Yep. We're talking, it might've been 10 to go to Yacht Club. Exactly. Exactly. Do you know what I'm saying? And so yes, and, and Yacht Club is closer to Hollywood Studios in, in the same kind of respect. Uh, the other big difference is that Beach Club has a DVC building. That Beach Club is part of Disney Vacation Club. So it also has a lot of different room types available and we will get into room types, but that is one big difference is the room types at each of

[00:18:44] these are very different, even though they are in one big space. Uh, you're going to see very different room offerings between Yacht and Beach Club. But if you're just one family heading to Disney World, you can stay comfortably in either of these places. Yes. Would you say that Yacht Club, doesn't it get used more for like business outings? Wouldn't you say if a company was coming to do a conference or something in the Yacht Club, going to be more what they get assigned versus the Beach Club?

[00:19:13] Well, actually the way it is, is Disney will say Disney's Yacht and Beach Club resorts feature a convention center. I think it's kind of made for both locations. And a lot of people use this for weddings. Yeah. They probably have overflow where they have to use both. Right. Right. I just picture that side as having more, you see people walking around in their, their badges from their convention a little more so on the Yacht Club side, but that may just be appearances. I don't know. That may be

[00:19:39] just, yeah. And you might be thinking that because of that high end nautical vibe that you get over there, you're thinking of it more fancy. And when I say that, I don't want to mislead anybody into thinking that Yacht Club is this fancy resort that's stuffy. It's just not, it's so fun. When I was younger, you know, I talk all the time about these trips I took to Disney. We loved staying at Dixie Landings, now Port Orleans Riverside. We did a little bit at Coronado Springs. We fell in love with

[00:20:07] boardwalk in the boardwalk area. And then eventually we kind of graduated to Yacht and Beach Club because you can still, and this is the logic I still use today. We stayed between Yacht and Beach Club. And I think my family did Yacht Club more. I think that that is true. I do Beach Club more now, but mostly just because we have Disney Vacation Club. But when you stay at Yacht and Beach Club, you have a view of the boardwalk. You have all of the accessibility with the walkability. And we'll talk about that. You get the best pool on property, which we will dive into.

[00:20:36] Unfully intended. Yes. You also get walkability to the boardwalk. And so you, you get all of the perks of being at Disney's boardwalk resort, which is accessing that, the food and the entertainment of the boardwalk, because it's just a walk away really, really, really close. But then you also get the pool of the beach club and still the walkability of the park. So I kind of think this is the best Disney resort area. I really love it. Situated right there on the lake between two of my favorite parks with

[00:21:06] accessibility to some of the best food and entertainment on property. It's just a sweet spot like you can never believe is, is Yacht and Beach Club. And the reality is under a good promo, it can be wickedly affordable. I don't know if this is the time we want to talk about it. There is a time every year, the Skyliner does close for refurbishment and it's, it's usually only about a week or so. The truth is about Yacht and Beach Club, as it pertains to the Skyliner is that you don't need

[00:21:35] it. You don't need the Skyliner at Yacht and Beach Club. You can fun. Yeah. Like if you are using the Skyliner and you're staying at Yacht or Beach Club, you're simply doing it because you want to ride the Skyliner. It is absolutely not going to be your most convenient. Obviously you're going to walk when you're staying at Yacht and Beach Club, you are situated right next to the international gate. And I mean, right next to it for Epcot. So you're going to be accessing the international gate, which is going to drop you off right between UK and France. Rope dropping Remy is really,

[00:22:04] really easy at that point. It's a wonderful way to enter the park. You have far less crowds. I mean, it still gets really congested with everybody coming in off of the Skyliner and from the boardwalk area, but not nearly like the main entrance with everybody driving in and taking the buses and the marils, right? Not even close. So you're walking. Yeah. You're walking, or you can take a boat to Epcot. You can take a boat right under the bridge and that's fine.

[00:22:29] You really don't need to. And if you're going to Hollywood Studios, a walk or a boat ride are going to be your most convenient options. The Skyliner would actually take a lot longer. You would have to do like a Skyliner line change and you would simply be doing it maybe because your kids wanted to. So you're not going to be giving up really anything. Yeah. When you stay at Yacht and Beach Club, if the Skyliner's not, you just simply don't need it. So the way this resort is laid out,

[00:22:55] Yacht Club is sort of a main building and a lobby and Beach Club is a main building and a lobby, but then it also has the Villa building and the Villa building is going to have your DVC different room types. And we'll talk about the room types. So it's pretty consolidated where we talk a lot about how these resorts at Disney World can be really big and sprawling and it can take a really long time to get to your room from the lobby or to get to the pool from your room. That is simply not going

[00:23:23] to be the case at these resorts because they really are just right here. You have the two main buildings plus the one extra building, which is typically where my family is. And I honestly don't really love that building because you kind of have to sacrifice view. And you know, I love view. And so even the preferred view there, I was kind of like, but you can get, if you are a person that likes a view, the premium view there is going to be the water view because at Yacht and Beach Club, if you get a water view and then you request a view of the boardwalk, it is so beautiful to see

[00:23:53] it all lit up in the water. You can often see Epcot, depending usually more from Yacht Club as it curves around there. And you can see, you know, and these are all lucky, lucky requests being granted when you pay for that premium view, but it's just so beautiful in this resort area. Yeah. It really is. You know, you don't have a beach that you can get into, right? There's not a beach. No, there's no beachy areas where you go into the water. In fact, you will possibly never

[00:24:20] be allowed back at Disney if you go. Yeah. So, but the, but the, the view, there is a white sandy beach that is gorgeous and it's a really, a nice element that's there. That's where they'll have some things for children. They'll have the, the little s'mores night, you know, campfire night. Yeah. And, and it's just really nice. My memories of staying here are at times where it was really, really hot. And so we enjoyed it more. We wouldn't get out there too much, you know,

[00:24:49] just during the day, but at the evenings as the sun was setting, it's so nice to just kind of be walking through there. This is just a gorgeous, and I do like how you say it's compact. It's a very compact little area. Yeah. There are still trees over there and it's, so it's got some shaded elements to it as well, which is really nice. Hammocks. It's beautiful. It is really one of the most scenic and beautiful resorts on property. Without a doubt. And there are loungers on that beach and

[00:25:17] hammocks on that beach. My kids have played in that sand. There are beach volleyball nets. Oh yes. You know, this is just a place to really hang out. And there is a corner of the beach and it's situated. There's a long pier where you walk out to catch the boats, which we'll talk about transportation more, but there's a really beautiful long pier with a lighthouse, like a structure, not a, you know, a structure that looks like a lighthouse. And two of my very best friends in the world got engaged, excuse me, right there in the corner of that white sandy beach,

[00:25:44] right position next to that pier. It was so, so amazing. I mean, the most beautiful, as you said, scenic, like I'm trying to paint a picture here. My best friends got engaged there, you know, and it was like the most beautiful day. And then we went and had champagne inside at one of the amazing lounges that are right there accessible. So, I mean, this is really premiered. It is comfort, beauty, convenience, all of it. And the sunset, I mean, like all of it, it's just, you know,

[00:26:11] you've got water, you've got the boats going by. It's pretty little boats, you know, it's all so beautiful in the Skyliner and, and you can see the Eiffel tower out of the France pavilion. Um, it's really a gorgeous area and we're talking outdoor, but even indoors, particularly now it's beautiful indoors, very crisp and clean and very that, that new England look. That's so pretty, but these are some of the most beautiful spots during the holidays. I just think about how well

[00:26:39] they, they do their lobbies for the, um, for Christmas time where there's pretty famous carousel, a gingerbread carousel in the beach club lobby. And it's really gorgeous. All times of year and a place where I think more so than some of the other resorts where you do particularly have those off days where you can enjoy the space. If you're staying at Yada Beach Club, you need to arrive early on check-in day because you get access all day to the amenities and

[00:27:07] you need, I mean, if you have the opportunity to stay there and it's a quick weekend trip, of course, do it. Sure. But it is always going to be more ideal to have at minimum one full down day. And the more you can add, the better, because like I said, at night, you can access the boardwalk for entertainment and there's tons of things going on at the beach club. And then just enjoying the grounds and the amenities right there where you're staying, you can do, and we have, we did a

[00:27:37] whole resort stay over spring break one year. We only went to the parks one day and we just stayed at Yacht and Beach Club. That would be so fun. I want to do that. On the beach club side. And that's what we did. We did, we did boardwalk entertainment. We did dining, character meals, every meal right there in the boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Club area. We watched fireworks from the resort grounds. We swam in Stormalong Bay all day long. And it was a wonderful vacation. It was perfect. Sounds so fun.

[00:28:03] So relaxed and laid back. Let's, let's start to talk a little bit about how this resort works. So the lobbies are coastal New England charm split into two distinct experiences. Okay. And we're going to just talk seven fun facts about these two lobbies. And again, these are two separate resorts kind of situated right there together in one compound of a resort. Uh, okay. Number one,

[00:28:26] the Yacht Club lobby is more refined and nautical. It's darker woods, ship models, and a grand staircase while the beach club is bright, airy, and whimsical with pastel colors. I think this is true for both resorts throughout. One is very think ship, right? And one is very think beach party and both are fantastic. You can't go wrong. Right. I don't think either of these lobbies are massively impressive

[00:28:53] though. Do you not? No, not like they're not grand. I, that's kind of maybe the word. Yeah. Yeah. That compact feeling of the entire resort has made its way into the lobby as well. You know, there is, it's a smaller, tighter fit, but beautiful. I definitely do get the freshness of it. I do walk in and feel the, the brightness and the pastel colors and in particular in the beach club,

[00:29:17] because it's a little, little different coloring over at Yacht. And it is still a breath of fresh air type feeling walking in. There is a, we've talked about this before. All of the resorts have their own kind of signature smells. I feel like this one in particular have more of a memory of, like this one has a distinct feeling that goes along with that feeling of walking in. It's also, the smell is very noticeable to be there in a beautiful way. Well, that is our fun fact number

[00:29:45] two. The beach club lobby smells like a subtle beach fragment. And I'm so glad you just said this because many guests say it is one of the most iconic scents on property. And I think that that's true. Absolutely. The beach club. I don't know why, but I, I have the sense that the beach club is more popular than yacht club. But like I said, I look at them as one in the same, just mentally myself because they're both so great. But I think beach club is responsible for the more iconic scent. And people are always like, I want to stay at beach club. And I'm always like, well, it's,

[00:30:14] you know, you get the same vibes if you stay at yacht club in terms of your convenience and your amenities, but that smell, everybody loves it. And I actually have that scent. We, you and I talked about our candles and car fresheners and things. And actually in our communities, people have been following up about that, but I have, I have beach club in my car or I did for a long time. It kind of wore out its scent, but I had it forever. Yeah. It's such a, it's a good trigger in your, your memory. Fun fact number three, both lobbies feature intricate

[00:30:39] maritime and seaside details, including model ships, seashell motifs, and vintage coastal decor. This is really painting a good picture of what you're experiencing. And when you walk in, we talk all the time about the way your jaw drops. When you walk into wilderness lodge, grand Floridian jumbo house at animal kingdom lodge, the Polynesian. Yeah. This doesn't necessarily

[00:31:04] give you that jaw drop in my opinion. Yeah. But you feel I am somewhere nice. I am somewhere exciting. I, there is a levity about being there and I'm very, very happy when I'm standing in either of these lobbies, if that makes sense. Yeah. Oh, totally. That it's, it is a smaller, more cozy feeling, but so beautiful. It's really beautiful. We're looking at our notes here about these details and it just becomes very clear to me. I've noticed this by myself. I don't, I'm not a details person.

[00:31:34] So it's funny hearing all this. I'm like, Oh, I guess people notice those kinds of things to me. That is like, okay, cool. There's, there's a seashells and you know, that I don't even notice. Well, I actually love that you just said that because it's like, even if you're not a details person, you're more of a vibes person. Yep. And it's like, the vibes here are good. Two thumbs up, five stars. They're so good. Yeah. Very beachy, very, I'm on vacation. It's,

[00:31:59] even when you step outside and you're in the main pool area and the music is going and you're on that walkway between the beach and the pool. And sometimes there are people doing pick a pearl. Sometimes there are a little like stands where you can do hair wraps and braiding. It's just life going on. Yeah. You know, there's just life happening at this resort and kind of everywhere you turn, it just feels like Disney. I'm here, but it's not immersed in your face, like over the top theming that that's going to be overstimulating. It's very comfortable. It's very vacation. And I

[00:32:29] so appreciate that feeling. Love that. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I like knowing that I'm on a vacation and I mean, and of course, obviously you walk into the Polynesian, you walk into the Grand Floride and of course you, you know, you're in a new place because it's, they're so significantly grand and jaw dropping as we've used that term. And every deluxe DVC home there's, they welcome me home. Right. I think at beach club, it really feels that way the most, you know, it's so like,

[00:32:57] oh yes, I'm going to go drop my bags, put on my swimsuit. It's just such, it's a relaxing feeling. It is a great feeling. And in my old age now, I just enjoy and appreciate that feeling of this resort so much more than probably I ever have. Yeah. I love that you said it feels like vacation. I love anytime, anytime Disney can make you feel like you're on two vacations. So, you know, when you say it, we've talked about when you stay at Wilderness Lodge and you feel like you kind of have that

[00:33:25] mountain, like escape and woodsy cabin feel, but then you also have the theme parks and the Disney crazy magic, right? Number four here in our fun facts is that Imagineers were inspired by real New England resorts from places like Nantucket and Cape Cod. That's exactly right. And I've never actually visited those places, but they are high on my list. And I'm certainly not trying to say this is a substitute for going to those places. Obviously I would like to go to those places,

[00:33:51] but it is really cool to see how Disney takes an idea from another place and turns it into the Disney version and kind of makes you feel like you are on two different vacations. Because when you're staying at Yacht and Beach Club, you do have your resort vacation and your parks vacation, and they are very, very different. Yeah. You have both. You get to have your fun, fun, go time. You know, everybody's just getting themselves worn out. And then you have your space

[00:34:18] where you can unwind. You have your space where you can breathe. You have your space where you can recharge. And this resort is class act for that. Yep. Possibly the best at that. I know I'm having this horrible time right now where I'm in an identity crisis on what my favorite resort is. And I just, the favorite's the one I'm at. I know. And I, I can't step to this area, this resort area and not be like, how can this not be my favorite? This is the most beautiful

[00:34:48] scenic convenient. I mean, it's just perfect. And then I landed the poly and I'm like, Oh, wait, nevermind. But then I go back here. It's hard. All right. Number five. And I love this. Of course, this is true of most hidden Mickey's can be found throughout both lobbies, especially in carpets, railings and artwork. My kids are freaks for finding hidden Mickey's. I love that we're getting Cape Cod and Nantucket with Mickey heads. I mean, that's right. That's me. That's me in a nutshell. So that's really, really fun. And I'm glad that that's threaded throughout. Of course,

[00:35:18] number six, the beach club lobby is known for its relaxed seating areas and popular quiet escape from the parks. That's absolutely true. The loungers and the chairs and the couches and just all of the different areas throughout the lobby, which isn't grand, but is cozy is a great, great call out. Yes. I agree. And then number seven, and you already did mention this a little bit during the holidays, especially Christmas, the beach club features a famous life size gingerbread carousel

[00:35:45] display. Yeah. Not just a tabletop. Yeah. Not just a tabletop carousel. I have a hard time sometimes around the holidays. I don't really want to stay at yacht and beach club. And I don't really want to stay at the Polynesian because I don't like palm tree Christmas trees. No, I want, I want Grand Floridian Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, you know, those resorts at that time of year, even Port Orleans Riverside, which is very, very magical at the holidays. But I mean,

[00:36:14] seeing that carousel. It is so cool. Is it as worth it as the giant gingerbread house? I think it's, it's more unique. I think it's, I think it's pretty amazing. Yeah. It's way less known. I know. I think it's worth seeing for sure. It is beautiful. It moves, you know, I mean, it is a actual carousel made of gingerbread. It's, it is a marvel. An artist, these artists have put this together. Remember not to eat any gingerbread for sale. It's disgusting. Yeah. Not

[00:36:42] good. None of the shingles, right? No shingles. Yeah. I wonder how a carousel piece would taste though. We should, I guess, compare it. Yeah. You do that. I'm not interested. I thought it was such a quirky idea that the Grand Floridian sold shingles. I thought it was going to be a hit. Not a hit. Horrible. So, okay. So, so far we've established location is perfect. The vibes are perfect. The scenic picture

[00:37:07] that it paints is perfect. The relaxed vacation vibes are there. You feel vacation, you feel immersed, but not in a way that causes a headache. And you're really going to have everything you need within one resort to make the resort a premium part of your vacation. So we're going to dive down into all of the other things I know you're dying to know. M&M's, the rooms, the dining, the pools, and the recreational activities. Take another break and then we're hitting those categories. M&M's, I am so

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[00:39:24] That's popsoul.com or by following the link in today's show notes. Okay. The idea of getting around Disney feels like a head spin. Do I need a car? How am I getting places? I don't understand. Well, every resort offers unique ways and all of it is complimentary. Yacht and Beach Club offer the best ways. So they have bus, boat, Skyliner, and walking. The only thing that they

[00:39:52] don't have of all of the options at Disney is the monorail, but you are so close to Epcot. And if you have a park hopper, you can walk through Epcot, catch the monorail to Magic Kingdom. And there you have the monorail. Yeah, that's right. But from the resort itself, it has everything. But multiple transportation options are what makes this one of the most conveniently located resorts on all of Disney property. The walking distance to the International Gateway at Epcot is premium. The access to the Skyliner, which we briefly touched on, is the drop-off point for all resorts

[00:40:21] that are trying to go to Epcot. So if you're staying at, say, Pop Century and you want to go to Epcot and you take the Skyliner, your drop-off point is right there at Yacht and Beach Club. It's on the Beach Club side, right by Epcot. And that is where you would catch the Skyliner. If you just wanted to ride it and take it to Hollywood Studios. But as I mentioned previously, it is not the most convenient option. Okay. So let me hop in here. I understand convenient might be, hey, we're avoiding the crowds.

[00:40:47] We're just, just go, you know, but I don't ever walk. I take, to me, the convenience is that I get to sit for a few minutes and still end up where I want to end up. I don't have to walk. So to me, it is totally worth it, particularly if I'm park hopping and that downtime for just a moment to sit in the Skyliner, catch a breath, enjoy the views, and then end up at Hollywood Studios is awesome to me. Now,

[00:41:15] could I have walked there faster? No, no, no. That walk from Epcot to Hollywood, I mean, you'd have to be a quick walker, like a mall walker if you wanted to get it. Yeah, it's too much. So I know that it's convenient, quote unquote. But to me, like, no, I really do want to be on the Skyliner. Do I have to be? No. Right. I think it makes the most sense. I think using the Skyliner when you're staying at Yacht and Beach Club makes the most sense in two circumstances. Number one, when you're park hopping

[00:41:42] from Epcot to Hollywood. Number two, when you're coming back to your resort from Hollywood, you can choose to take the boat or walk, but you can also just hop on the Skyliner. It's going to be the longer of the three options, but it will drop you off right there. And especially if you're at the Beach Club side, the Beach Club side in particularly, you're closer. Yeah. I mean, and I guess, yeah, I was talking about hopping there, but even when I'm going to Hollywood Studios straight from my hotel room,

[00:42:07] like I'm leaving the resort, I'm still going to the Skyliner. Does that make me lazy? What is that? I mean, I know. The gondolas are amazing. It's the right choice. It is so relaxing. It is such a break. It's really great. I mean, I guess if you are really, if you're really hustling to rope drop, you want to be the first in line or you just don't do that. Yeah. Maybe there's a, maybe there's a benefit to like rushing and walking. I'm just not in that stage of life. I'm not really there.

[00:42:36] I like the Skyliner. Well, what about if you have a stroller though? This is one of the most stroller friendly resorts because on most boats, which we already said you can take a boat to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, you don't have to fold up a stroller. Usually even a double stroller will not need folded on the boat. Obviously you can walk with a single or double stroller without folding it. That's a huge perk. The Skyliner can be stroller friendly, but a double stroller side by side will need folded. So that is a huge consideration. Now we've talked a lot about Epcot and Hollywood

[00:43:04] Studios, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs, all buses. Still bus. You take a bus to those locations. Yes. You have at least two of your park days are going to be bussed. That's true. No matter where you stay, at least two days are going to be bussed and which two parks depends on which resort you're at. From Yacht and Beach Club, Magic and Animal Kingdoms, both going to be bus transportation. You're going to fold that stroller. You're going to want to give yourself the extra time. It's not super close necessarily, you know, so just give yourself the time for a 20 minute bus ride plus

[00:43:31] a bus stop wait. Yeah. I mean, like you said, every resort you stay in, you're going to have to use the bus at some point if you're going to all four parks. So it's such an ideal transportation location. You may have the most options here. I'm trying to think if there's, if there's one that's more because it's, it's so nice. Contemporary, you know, comes to mind. Yeah. You can walk to one park, but not two. This is the only resort area where you're going to get

[00:43:56] walkability to two parks. So it really is premium. It's number one for that reason, in my opinion, free parking when you're a resort guest with a really big central parking area. So you also have that option, a free parking at the resort. You're going to have so much less stress on park days when you're staying at this resort and you can really strategize as a deluxe resort guest. And while they're offering it, you get those extended deluxe evening hours on select nights. And when you have

[00:44:22] those, you're going to want to strategize, you know, be in Epcot on that day. You're in Epcot till 1am and then you're walking back to beach club and you're there and you're in your bed by 1.15. It's after a quick shower and brushing your teeth, you know, it's awesome. It's great. What a way to strategize. And we're talking about when you're getting there, you're in your bed so quickly afterwards, but you also can stay in your bed longer in the morning because if you're on your Epcot day, you don't have to wake up so early because you just literally walk straight to the

[00:44:50] gate. It is so close. So incredible. That buys you some sleep time in the morning as well, or some breakfast time or your coffee time, whatever it is. It just adds to that vacation feeling of a little less hustle and bustle. It's wonderful. It's so wonderful. We touched a little bit about the rooms. Let's dive deeper. So Yacht Club, it has less options because it doesn't have a villa's DVC building, right? So you have the same classical nautical elegance and darker tones with upscale

[00:45:20] finishes. They have three different view types, resort view, water view, and then club level option with resort and water views. They do have an awesome club. They both have a club. And Yacht Club will also have some really high-end suites. They have the turret suite, which is a really, really big room located in the turret of the Yacht Club buildings, which is very, very nice and very cool. Of course, that's on the pricier end. But I think Disney even really views these as one main resort

[00:45:49] because a lot of times that resort view and water view option will be the exact same cost, like to the penny between most of these resorts. So it's really pick your theming most of the time, right? But that's kind of what you're getting at Yacht Club. Whereas Beach Club, you're getting light and airy, that same beach cottage style with the softer colors, light blues, things like that, with the same options, resort view and water view, along with the club level, same thing. So water view,

[00:46:14] you have to be really, really specific with your request because you can, the water that you view could be that lake where you look directly onto boardwalk, like I was mentioning, but it also could just be like a quiet pool around the side of the building and you might not see the boardwalk. So I recommend anybody that likes a nice view that's splurging on the water view to put in that request or have your travel agent do so. Yeah. Have we ever really talked about what it means to have a club? I don't know if we've really talked about that too much. Should we, I think because Yacht and Beach Clubs are so great,

[00:46:44] I feel like they're excellent club options. We should maybe touch on that a little. Yeah, do it. So this is when you have a club level room, you have access to an area that's, that's a key card entry and you have a club space where there's food, there's drink that is included in your stay. They have the concierge cast members there that will help you with anything and need

[00:47:09] assistance with. Cast members there to, that get to know you on your vacation. When you have access to this food and gosh, and I think about how it's almost a waste when you're so close to Epcot as well. It's like, there's so much food. There's so many options. What food do I eat? Because it's all this great food just right at your fingertips. And all the food that we haven't even talked. I know. Restaurants. Yes. This is a, gosh, is this the foodie place? There's just so much available,

[00:47:36] but this club level is just, you're paying extra to have access to the club. But once you have that, it, you have very nice options to eat here. Drink options include some alcoholic beverages as well, which is of great value. So it's just a really great way. And I think particularly yacht and beach clubs club area are some of the best. And I love that they both have one, a separate one.

[00:48:02] Mm-hmm. You know, I almost think they could have made one big club. They probably could, you know, but they, I, yeah, but it's great. I'm all about a view though, but it does like, this resort is more difficult, you know, whereas somewhere like the Polynesian, you say theme park view and bam, you get magic kingdom with water view being the upscale view here at these resorts. It just does require a little bit extra with your requests and your strategizing. Then there's the beach club villas. There's no club level when you stay in a villa owned by DVC.

[00:48:29] And this is where you're going to get the studios. And honestly, we stayed in a deluxe studio, not my favorite, a little, it felt a little small compared to the studios at the Polynesian, for example, and the boardwalk. But they also do have one and two bedroom villas here. And those are amazing and well worth it and wonderful. So the fact that this side of the resort, you can get those villas is a huge perk for larger families.

[00:48:56] Yeah. Anytime that you can have separate bedroom spaces, it really can provide some sanity when you're traveling with a large crowd, give you a little bit of separation, a little extra space. So it is really nice. Deluxe studios definitely have their place and their purpose that can be a great benefit. But I agree that moving into that villa space is definitely a step up. Right. Yeah, completely. The rooms are vast enough that you can find something for really any family,

[00:49:25] right? Which is great. View can be a little bit of a pain point. Transportation is epic, right? That's where we are. What about dining? You have pretty much everything. I love it. You have everything. So at the beach club, character breakfast with a seafood buffet for dinner, Cape May Cafe. You're one of your favorites. It is. For characters. Well, for character it is. Yes. Character breakfast is Minnie's Beach Bash.

[00:49:51] It is the cutest. And I know that I think you've said you don't really like this food quite as much. I don't get that. It's great. It is such a great little breakfast buffet. All of the options for your traditional breakfast fare with your, even including Mickey waffles, omelet station, omelet bar, all that kind of good stuff. It is so delicious. They have the beach rolls. What are they called? Hold on. Hold on. The sticky buns. The... No, that's not their name. Beach.

[00:50:18] Beach buns. They're beach buns, right? Yeah. I don't know. I think they're beach buns. Anyway, and they come with this delicious little pour over that you... Those things are amazing. Oh my goodness. And I do not like sweets for breakfast, but I like a sweet dessert like that for breakfast. You know, at the end of my savory, I like the savory. I really want my eggs, my sausage.

[00:50:42] That's the omelet is so good. But yeah, that, but having those little beach buns at the end of my meal for a little dessert, and then hitting the parks, I am good to go. And the characters here are so fun, you know, and they do the, of course they're walking from table to table and then they have your little dance number where everybody takes a break and dances with the characters. And it's really, it's a really good one. This is a great character meal. And I think a great value for a

[00:51:08] character meal. It just seems to be priced a little. I hope that stays forever. Yeah, it is. That's a true statement, but currently and traditionally it is less than a lot of your other character breakfasts. Yeah, it is. And it is a fun experience. And my wife loves it. She had such a great time there. I thought it was just okay. Personally. I mean, if you're staying there, it's absolutely a great option, but also one Skyliner stop away is Tapalino's at the Riviera. So I,

[00:51:35] I have a hard time committing to Cape Bay, but it, I don't necessarily think you'd be disappointed. It's just not my favorite. Yeah. Another staple or actually probably more of a staple beaches and cream soda shop, the home of the ice cream kitchen sink. Yeah. What a fun, what a fun place. It's a little diner. The food is diner food, simply okay. Right. Burgers, grilled cheese, things like that. But the ice cream is exquisite. It's why you go best ice cream on property by far. The Sundays.

[00:52:05] Oh my gosh. So good. Like you can get cupcakes in the Sundays. Oh my God. It's everything. It's the kitchen sink. That's what they're saying. You throw it in all the parts of every. Well, I'm just even talking about the personal Sundays you can get. And then there is the kitchen sink. And the kitchen sink is a whole can of whipped cream, the whole family. I mean, it's one of those things that you get. It's the most preposterous thing. It's massive and it does come in like a sink. And they make it a, it's a spectacle when you order it. It is a, there's

[00:52:33] lights. Oh yeah. They want to point out that you're ridiculous. They, yes. And it's so fun to do with your family. It's one of those things you'll always remember. And I'm telling you, if you're sitting there eating a meal, you will see the lights go off and you'll hear kitchen sink. Yeah. Multiple times. You know, it's not that rare. People do it every day. Lots of times. Yeah. So fun. They also notably have a walk-up window and you can order most of the Sundays and menu items right there at the walk-up window to enjoy just on the resort grounds. We've gotten a mini sink doing it

[00:53:03] that way. And my kids shared it at the pool and had so much fun. It was great. So cute. Okay. Ale and Compass is like a steakhouse restaurant, right? And breakfast and dinner. Yeah. Yep. Breakfast and dinner. And it's not my go-to. I don't usually go to Ale and Compass. Do you? I've never been. I looked at the menu before and it looks so nice, but there's too many other options over there. I don't choose it when I'm over there. We haven't even talked about the other walkable

[00:53:31] option of food. I'm sure we will. It's surely it's on this list we're going to mention, right? Which one? Go ahead. Trattoria is right there. Well, but it's at this resort. I know. I know. That's why I hate. Well, Ale and Compass. Ale and Compass has breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yeah. And if you like a sit-down breakfast and you're not looking for a character meal, this is a good option. It is. But it is important to point out that you are walkable to the boardwalk. Trattoria does have a breakfast that's pretty inexpensive and really those fluffy pancakes over there are

[00:54:00] great, but they have the dark chocolate waffle and a crab cake Benedict at Ale and Compass. And that's legit. Those things are really good. And they have steak. I mean, this is a great, it's a great option. It is a great option. This is on the yacht club side. It's just that there are so many good options. It's just one I usually overlook. They also have a quick, they have quick service there. It's the market at Ale and Compass. And then the beach club also has a quick service marketplace. Honestly,

[00:54:28] the quick service options at both of these resorts kind of very basic. Yeah. Not, not like you're not like Captain Cook's over at the Polynesian, like by a long shot, not like most of the quick service, not even close to maybe in my opinion, as good as what you might get at Art of Animation, right? They kind of are an afterthought, but it's because you have so much access to so much good food. So much food. Oh my goodness. The Martha's Vineyard Bar and Lounge. That's a great place to catch a game on TV just outside of Epcot's back gate. It really hidden gem, perfectly themed and

[00:54:57] available. There's something called the Cruise Cup Lounge. It's just another bar lounge option. I've actually never been. Ale and Compass also has a lounge. That's where we got our champagne after my friends got engaged. It was so fun. And then Hurricane Hannah's is the better quick service option. That's over at the pool. That's the water side bar and grill. And let me tell you something about Hurricane Hannah's. They serve their kids meals in, I actually don't know if they still do

[00:55:23] this. They used to serve it in, and then I think they switched to serving with, and I, if an M&M has recently stayed in nose, please tell me, in a sand bucket and pail, like a bucket with a sand scoop. And then after kids would eat, they could use those. We're going to transition into talking about pools. You could use those in the sand area of the pool, and then a lot of people would leave them. And so there were tons of just buckets and shovels available because a lot of people just leave them

[00:55:48] to become communal use. Great marketing, right? I mean, what a fun way to get those kids meals. I love that. But let's use that to transition into the pool. There are quiet pools on both resorts. We're not going to talk about those much. They're there. If you just want like a square pool, the hangout, that's fine. But what is really most important is Stormalong Bay. The best. Stormalong Bay,

[00:56:15] the best pool on Disney property. I do have a couple issues with it, and I'm going to point those out because I think it's important. Anything that's awesome, we also have to point out why it might not be. But it is the feature pool. It is shared between Yacht and Beach Club. It is a three-acre water complex, okay? Over half of this pool has a sand bottom. Crazy. There is an entire kid pool,

[00:56:40] I would say, that has a massive sand mound in the middle where my kids, when we did that resort today, my kids played on that sand mound for like three hours while we sat in chairs right around it. They didn't even want to leave at all. That's so fun. This is truly the most unique pool experience that you will have anywhere. The sand bottom is just so fascinating to me. How much more immersive can

[00:57:05] you get at somewhere that's a beachy vibe to have sand under your feet while you're in the water? So legit. It's amazing. And then for the have those play areas for kids, what is it about a bucket of sand that kids will just stay for hours? It's so fun. And the sand mound itself is massive. And so it is

[00:57:27] entertainment all day. Yeah. There is a lazy river, the only lazy river right now on Disney property. I have a feeling we're getting another pool with a lazy river. Oh, we are. It's confirmed. Yeah. So we're not going to talk about that today. That's mystery for later. But right now, the only lazy river on Disney property is at Stormalong Bay Yacht and Beach Club. And it is

[00:57:53] so amazing to just float around. I mean, my kids were so little and we'd be floating around with them on our lap for, you know, an hour or whatever. It's a small lazy river, but it's there. But that's just the surface, you know, the kids sand play area and the sand bottom area of the main pool. And then the lazy river, that's not even everything. Then there is the water volleyball net, the massive swimming area, the three hot tubs, the largest water slide on Disney property,

[00:58:22] which also brings me to one of my issues, by the way. So zero entry, zero entry. Yeah. The zero entry, which is sand. Yep. Again, just so immersive. So vacation feel amazing. Unbelievable. The slide is half in, half out. It is a long, dark, enclosed tunnel followed by an open spiral. It's so long and so amazing. My kids have been going down it since they were maybe two. Here are my two issues at this pool. And they're not even that big of a deal, depending on how old your kids are

[00:58:49] and where you are in life. But the entrance to the slide is outside of the pool. You have to leave the gated pool area to go across the walkway to a secondary gated pool area. Yeah. And then to access the slide, you have to get into a little pool of water to go to the slide. A little inconvenient when you have little ones who like when we're at the Polynesian, for example, my kids, I can sit in one chair. My kids can just run around the entire pool deck. I never have to worry or wonder where they are. Whereas at Yon Beach Club, I really need to position myself based on where they are. That's my other

[00:59:18] issue is you really can't see from one side of the pool to the other. But it really, you also have to remember you're more of in a water park type experience. So, you know, if they're going to the water slide, they're going outside of the pool. It's close enough that if they're big enough, you can still allow them to do it. But yeah, it goes far away at all. It's not that it's far. You leave one gated area, you enter a different gated area, then you slide into the original gated area. It's still the best slide. It's important to point it out, but it is not really that big of a

[00:59:48] deterrent. You're right. It is pointing out. Yeah. It's important to realize, but this is the best pool and property, the sand, the water side and the lazy river being absolute standouts. Kids are going to be happy for hours and hours and hours. And it's really why, along with some of the other entertainment we've talked about, the accessibility we've talked about, it's why having resort days is so important. Yes. And even just to eat. Yeah. Even just eat. Other recreational activities, things that you find at most Disney resorts, you're also going to find at Yon Beach Club. That includes movies under the stars.

[01:00:17] That includes campfires, which we talked about. The beach along Crescent Lake. So fun and unique. Surrey bike rentals over at the boardwalk. You can ride them all around. What a fun thing. We did that when I was little. I absolutely remember it. Nothing more difficult than two parents that have to pedal a Surrey bike whose kids can't touch the pedal. You can do boat rentals and fishing excursions. You can do boat rentals to watch the fireworks. All really accessible right there from the

[01:00:44] pier by the resort. There's tennis, pickleball, sand volleyball courts, regular volleyball courts, miniature golf within walking distance, which if you have a Disney resort package, you get mini golf tickets. Most people don't even realize that passes. And then there are jogging walking paths all over as well as an arcade. And man, do I have memories playing in the Disney World arcades for hours when I was little. So fun. We're not really an arcade family anymore,

[01:01:11] but they are there. And I really should let my kids go play in them. But Disney, Yon Beach Club has a great one. It's right over there by Beaches and Cream, kind of situated, more central between the two resorts. You know what arcades are really great for? Those little rain showers that come throughout the day and you're at the pool and they have to shut it down because there's lightning nearby. That's when the arcade is great. Exactly. Yep. Or running inside. To distract from having to miss

[01:01:36] out on pool time. Exactly. Exactly. So good. This resort is just so serene and convenient. I love it so much. Today's magic word for all you M&Ms listening. Should it be serene? Oh, that's a good one. That's what we're going to do. It is so serene. And I want to leave that vacation serenity vibe with you as you're listening about this resort. And honestly, you should be staying here. Fine. Do what it takes to stay at Yon Beach Club. Absolutely. All right. Anything else you want to say about it? Just

[01:02:05] that it's perfect. Just that it's perfect. It's just perfect. It's a must do. Particularly if you know you're not going to be here very often and you don't have the opportunity to kind of come to Disney, you know, on a more frequent basis or you don't have plans to go very often. This is worth the splurge. This is worth the investment, the saving up, maybe waiting an extra year to go so that you

[01:02:26] can save and pay for pay longer. This is worth that kind of patience and effort and focus and planning. It really is truly the vacation experience that I think lifelong memories are coming from this place. Anytime you say. And I have them. I mean, I have them from staying here with my family when I was and I know at least one of the time we stay here a lot, but I remember checking our bags and our luggage rack was parked next to another family's luggage rack and Harry Potter five had just come

[01:02:55] out. That gives you like a timeline. The fifth book had just come out. People didn't know the ending of the Harry Potter series yet. And I remember this girl had her book on her luggage rack. So that that was probably one of the first times we stayed there. Nice. Now that that gives you an idea of timeline, but yeah, gosh, it's the best. If you appreciate this episode and now you want to stay at the Yon Beach Club and you want to support the podcast, a great way to do that would be to leave us a five-star review, share this episode with your friends and family. If you love this

[01:03:21] content, they probably will too. So make sure that you are spreading this love, spreading the fun and filling the lives of your family and friends with lots of fun, love and joy. All right, we're going to take a quick break, head to our friend like me segment, and you're going to scroll your phone. I know you're already scrolling probably unless you're listening while you're driving, in which case you better not be scrolling and you better go back to this segment to make sure that you don't miss out on following anybody or joining anyone's community where you may find common

[01:03:47] interest, common ground. A place you want to hang out online is all that I think most of us are seeking when we're online. We follow people that are interesting. We join communities where the conversation is something we want to add to. And that's what these next ladies in our segment are going to be offering. So find somebody you connect with, follow and join, and then find us on the other side. Okay, friends, I want you to follow our friend Monica at House of Mouse and Beyond on Instagram. She is helping families use their tax refunds strategically. And if it's for last minute

[01:04:17] trips or deposit for next year's spring break, she can give you the best tips. She's a boy mom of two navigating a neurodivergent elementary age child and a rambunctious toddler. She specializes in Disney Universal and cruising. And the best part, she speaks both English and Spanish and creates content in both languages, making your feed more diverse and making travel planning comfortable for Spanish

[01:04:41] speaking families. House of Mouse and Beyond on Instagram. Eminem's, if you are from Canada, we have a group for you on Facebook. You have to join our friend Kim at Canadians Talk Disney World Vacations. They talk about things that maybe people here in the States don't have to think about like exchange rate and how to fly from Canadian airports or make that decision to drive across the border. This is not a generic Disney group. It's a Canadian sharing real life experience group from flight routes to travel

[01:05:09] hacks and more. You can make the trip to Disney World happen from Canada and Kim and her group Canadians Talk Disney World Vacations can make it happen. You can join by clicking the link in today's show notes. Eminem's, who out there has teenagers to plan vacations with? Join our friend Jacqueline at Travel with Teens Tips and Stress-Free Family Vacations Planning Community on Facebook or by clicking the link in today's show notes. She has traveled with her kids in every stage, but she now

[01:05:36] lives in that teenage young adult era when teenagers have opinions about everything they do. She has tons of resources and she's brutally honest. She knows she may have to tell you where to save and where to splurge and she's always going to do so honestly. Travel looks different as your kids age and you want them to be involved. You want them to be happy. So join her on Facebook at Travel with Teens Tips and Stress-Free Family Vacations Planning Community. Okay, time for some trivia. Let's see what Becky

[01:06:04] has for us. She blacks out the answers so that Stacey and I cannot see. She even said, yeah, she said we need a, because we have made this a thing now, right? We're, we're so ridiculous in our trivia attempts that we need in a name for it. We need to like brand this trivia time. That's just the two of us. And she said, call it the mom brain quiz. And I thought that was kind of funny because- Oh, I totally have mom brain. I feel like I have grandma brain, but there is something very relatable to mom

[01:06:32] brain. Like that is the most, you don't even have to describe what that is. Yeah. Mom brain trivia with Allie and Stacey, I love it. I did not get what she was trying to say in that thread, by the way. This is how things get lost on me. This is how things get lost on me. Yeah. All right. That's my mom brain. There you go. It's a perfect name. There it is. Yeah. And I actually know the answer to this right away. Okay. What's the first one? What is the name of the lake that sits between Disney's Beach Club and Disney's Yacht Club Resort? Oh, I know this too. Crescent? Is this Crescent?

[01:07:00] Crescent Lake. Yeah. Yes. This should be Crescent. This should be Crescent Lake. Boom. Crescent Lake. Okay. Good. Yeah. What Disney parks, resorts, and activities can you walk to from these resorts in 15 minutes or less? Oh, look at her giving us easy ones. A little softball tosses here. I know. She's being so kind. Yeah. This is Epcot and Hollywood Studios are both walkable. And miniature golf. Oh, yes. And the boardwalk. Correct. Entertainment. And then everything that they're doing on boardwalk

[01:07:29] entertainment is one of the prime reasons you stay at Yacht and Beach Club because you get Stormalong Bay as an amenity of the resort you chose, Yacht and Beach. And you get that free entertainment of the boardwalk and you get Cake Bake Shop. So that's what we're doing. That's true. Yeah. And entertainment meaning like street musician, not musician, street magicians, which up close magic is. And musicians. Yeah. There are definitely musicians as well. Yeah. Acrobats. Jugglers, acrobats. I mean,

[01:07:54] like all the fun little New England boardwalk, that's the vibe. And it is so, the entertainment there is so fun. So fun. All right. What is the name of the walkway that connects the resorts to Disney's Hollywood Studios that passes the boardwalk? Uh, that has a name? Hollywood Boulevard. No, it's not. I did not know that was named. Gosh. Let's see. Okay. Walkway between. Isn't Fantasia Mini Golf over there? So is it something about Fantasia? Fantasia Fairway?

[01:08:23] I mean, could it be? Yes. I don't, I have literally, I don't know. And if this is something I'm familiar with when we see it, I'd be surprised, but I have no idea. Well, I made two guesses and you made no guesses. The walkway. What about, what if it's, so it could be, what if it's like Hollywood Walk of Fame or something like that, but there's not really stars or anything. There's no stars. Yeah. I have no idea. All right. Let's see. What's a famous street in Nantucket or Cape Cod?

[01:08:48] Oh, no. Oh, the Crescent Lake Promenade, often just referred to as the boardwalk pathway. Oh, duh. Oh my goodness. Yeah. The Promenade. All right. Well, I mean, I guess, hey, if that's the name, well, by golly, let's call it that. From now on, I'm going to say, do you guys want to take the Crescent Lake Promenade? Shall we walk along the Promenade? We are not promenading. Okay. We are huffing it. We're sweaty and gross. And this is giving

[01:09:16] the wrong representation. Oh, that's so funny. Okay. What is the name of the boat service that transports guests between Epcot area resorts and parks? I think I know this. I mean, it's a friendship boats. They're mostly friendship boats, right? I mean, is that what she's asking here? You gotta be friendship boats. Friendship boats. Yeah. It's easier than I thought. All right. Which famous Imagineer helped design these Epcot resort area hotels? Hmm. I know in her mind,

[01:09:43] they're famous. I don't know the name of any. I know one. I know one. And I know the guy that's on those Disney. Rhodey. The guy that's on the Disney Plus shows and he has the gauge, gauge ears. Yeah. That's really cool. R-O-H-D-E or however it's pronounced. Roddy. Yeah. All right. We're going to say him because he's the only one I really know. Yeah. I don't know. All right. Robert A.M. Stern. Okay. Well, I've never heard that name. He sadly did pass away in November.

[01:10:09] Aw. Also planned the city of celebration. Florida. Well, that is a name we should know. Respect. Props. Props to Mr. Stern. I'm sorry. Yes. Yeah. We didn't know. And we love your resort area. We absolutely do. Thank you so much for your contribution. Good job by you. Yes. What is the name of the lighthouse located at the yacht club often used for weddings and photos? And where my friends got engaged? I'm sure that has a name, obviously. I don't. Um, let me think. Have I seen

[01:10:37] this on a map? Do you know? I mean, I feel like it's just like. No idea. Lighthouse point or well, but in lighthouse. Yacht club lighthouse. I mean, yeah. Something like that. Oh, the yacht club lighthouse. Way to use that noggin, Allie. Way to use that noggin. Great guesses here. That's not just a headphone holder. No, no. I've got it going on in here. All right. What is the name of the

[01:11:02] recreation complex shared by the Epcot resort area resort? That's the ESPN center over there, right? Uh, no, no. Let me explain why I said that. There used to be the ESPN bar. In fact, very close to where the cake bake is. Very close to there. It was, it was that, it was that. Yeah. So I was just, that was, that was the ESPN restaurant and we used to eat there all the time. It was awesome. I was getting older and like wanting to order my own food without my parents involvement. Like, don't ask me what I want.

[01:11:30] I'm going to read the menu myself and order. And I remember sitting in that ESPN zone eating and, you know, my parents said, do you know what you want? Yes. I know what I want. You don't need to ask me. I'm just going to order it when the server comes. I'm one of you. Then the server came over and I said, I would like bowdy pasta. And I was mortified. My whole family looked at me like I wasn't, I'm like, oh no, I've said it wrong. Of course it was bow tie pasta. And that's my biggest stickler memory. ESPN zone. That is so cute. Wanted to order my own food. I was so proud. I love it.

[01:12:00] And then for years, they'd be like, you have bowdy pasta. I was so embarrassed. That is so cute. To the actual center. No, it has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do with ESPN, does it? I don't know then. How about that? I don't know. Once again. The racket club. Let's see. Oh, the ship shape health club. I've never heard that in my life. So we're talking really right there. Let me look on this map. I want to see this.

[01:12:24] Wow. Well, I'm proud of us. We did it. And this was really fun. Everybody should be staying at Yacht and Beach Club. You can do it within a wide range of budget. If you hit the right time of year for promos, lower park times, there is a sweet spot and you can get this for lower end pricing, not low like value, but lower for deluxe resorts. Plus you get the best pool on property, best convenience, best transportation. This resort is the best. We have to get you there.

[01:12:50] That is going to do it for us here on another episode of the moms behind the magic podcast. Please make sure you have your automatic downloads turned on. We want to be in your feed every Tuesday so we can inspire your next trip to Disney world. And until next time, we're sending you lots of fun, love and joy. And we'll see you real soon. Well, that was abrupt. It was just like bloop. This was over. That was it. I should not say that.