Mickey with Minis
Real-life advice for touring Disney parks with littles in tow, from two sisters who've done it and lived to tell the tale.
Mickey with Minis
Deep Dive on Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, with a Special Guest - Episode 207
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This week Hayley and a surprise guest are breaking down everything you need to know about the Yacht & Beach Club resorts at Walt Disney World.
Want to take your own Disney vacation without all the stress? Danielle would love to help! Reach out to her today at daniellegriggs@fantasticalvacations.com to get started!
Mickey with Minis podcast outro music
Hello everybody. This is Haley. I am recording without Danielle today because in the summertime it is just a little hard to coordinate our schedules. And I've been traveling for what feels like forever, actually. It was kind of a long trip. It was wonderful, and we'll cover that in a separate episode, but um it's been hard to coordinate a time to record together since we got back. So I have a special guest here today, which is my husband, Nick. Hello. Um, because today we are going to continue our hotel deep dive series and talk about our experiences staying at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club resorts. And since I have stayed, let me think, I've stayed at Yacht and Beach Club. I've stayed at the Yacht Club three times with Nick, right? Our first time we stayed there, I want to say it was 2016.
SPEAKER_01We did Captain's Level.
SPEAKER_00We did club level, yeah. I think it was, I think it's called the Regatta Club. Actually, yeah. We stayed at the Regatta Club back in 2016 at the Yacht Club. Amazing. We stayed at the beach club in 2017. And then we stayed at the Yacht Club in September of 2025 when we did our baby moon before Leek was born. And then we also, on our last trip, uh just about a week ago, stayed at the Yacht Club for two nights um after we got off the Disney Wish our cruise. So I thought it would be good to have um Nick here with me today, since we're going to be talking about those hotels since he has experienced them all with me. So um just, you know, kind of for clarification, they are technically two completely separate hotels. Um you, but it they do share a pool. They share Storm Along Bay, which is the huge pool. Um, widely, I think, considered probably one of the best on Disney property. It's absolutely massive. It's got all easy river, it's got a huge slide. Um, so they share that. And obviously, you can use any of the restaurants or anything like that at the other resort, which gives you a lot of extra options. Um, but they are technically two distinct resorts. So um, so let's talk first kind of your general impressions about Yacht and Beach as a whole before we get into kind of the differences between the two resorts and what we think of each of them. What are your impressions overall? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I think if you're looking for more of like a business kind of vacation, then they aren't necessarily the properties that you would go to, but I think for very nice and well-town.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I would agree with that. They're definitely not Disney themed, um, like maybe Pop Century or an All-Star, um, or kind of a little bit more whimsical, like the Polynesian, for example. That said, I do love the theming of both of them. Um, if the yacht club had DVC, I think that would be a strong contender for where would would be for where I want to own. I absolutely love it. Um, the kind of vibe of the yacht club is maybe a little more serious feeling, a little bit, maybe. Do you think that's right? Like the the um kind of centerpiece of the lobby is this huge globe that has a hidden Mickey on it. So the kids really like that. A lot of like wooden ships put together, a lot of yeah, lots of dark woods and stuff like that. Um, but the rooms do not feel dark at all to me. Um, it had the white bedding with kind of pops of red, it's very nautical feeling. Um, it does not feel to me stuffy at all.
SPEAKER_01No, yeah. It's a real absolutely huge compared to being on a cruise.
SPEAKER_00Compared to being on a cruise. That's definitely true. And then the beach club feels um a little bit more of obviously a beachy vibe. There's lots of kind of pastel colours, lots of beach umbrella decor, things like that. Um, that feels a little more whimsical than the yacht club to me. But personally, for I think I I like the the vibe and the colors and stuff of the yacht club. So to me, a huge pro of these two resorts is the dining scene. So at the yacht club alone, you have Ale and Compass, which we've never actually eaten inside of, but we have gotten to go from there, and it was fantastic. Really, really good. And it's nice that you have a to-go option there.
SPEAKER_01Um sat down at the bar and had bar bites.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so there's there's Ale and Compass the restaurant, and then there's the Aaron Ale and Compass Lounge, and then there is the market at Ale and Compass. So those are three separate locations. Um, we have not sat inside the Ale Compass restaurant. We did get to go. We got the Parker House rules, which were amazing. I've been hearing about these for years and never tried them, and they absolutely lived up to the hype.
SPEAKER_01Um they didn't make it back to the room for me.
SPEAKER_00They they're amazing. They're so good. The spreads they give you are incredible. There's a bacon jam. Um, there's like a pub cheese spread, and I forgot. I think the third one was maybe a citrus butter. Um, they're amazing. So, so good. And then what did you get from there to go? Do you remember?
SPEAKER_01Peppered mall with like a party's own cream source and chicken. It was good. It was really good, especially for to-go.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yeah. I will say if you're getting food to go from there, um, which again is a great, a great option to have because I think there's some resorts where there's not like a sit-down restaurant with to-go service. Um, but if you are doing it, it did take quite a while from the time I clicked um I'm here, prepare my order. It was, I think, almost a half hour until the order was ready. So you want to be expecting um that it is gonna take that long. And there is a pop-up you get when you do table service to go um that does warn you about that. It basically says like expect the same amount of time you would spend, like sitting at your table after you placed an order at a table service restaurant. Um, so that's just something to know. And it does charge you if you're gonna use your dining plan on that. It is a table service credit, even though you're getting it to go. So that's something to know. But um, yeah, we really liked what we got to go from the Ale and Compass. We got a fair amount of drinks to go from the Ale and Compass lounge. And I also sat there with the kids for about an hour one day when I was trying to get them out of Nick's hair while he was working. Um, plenty kid friendly in the lounge, I would say. Um, and we sat there on our last trip, our family trip too, before dinner at the Yachtsman. Um we sat there for about an hour and had a drink, and I really liked the just peachy drink. That was delicious. And I forget what was your go-to there? Did you have one?
SPEAKER_01I can't remember what she brought.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. But everything we had, I would say we enjoyed, and the service was awesome. The bartenders were really great, very friendly. Um, and then okay, my only complaint, I think, the market at Ale Encompass, I think was a little bit lacking. Um, we had a problem when we stayed there in September. They did serve Mickey waffles in the morning, but they didn't come on a plate or a tray. They came in like a tall box. So, unless you had a plate handy, there was no way to cut up your food and eat it. So, what I wound up doing was just with my hands tearing up the Mickey waffles and letting the kids dip them into syrup, which was kind of weird. So it's just it's just not the greatest setup. Um, we have a really picky kid right now, and they did not have chicken tenders on the menu. So I would say that wasn't a huge hit for us. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't it's not a great quick service. I think there's a lot more options um both for food and for merchandise over at the Beach Club Marketplace. We both popped over there when we needed things, right? I don't know. What is the answer?
SPEAKER_01I love anymore. Food because you used to only make those pizza, if you remember.
SPEAKER_00It serves a little bit more than it used to. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um we gave a lot of hurricane Hannah's or we did.
SPEAKER_00We we made really good use of Hurricane Hannah's this time when she's out by storm along bay. Um, the bartenders there were awesome. One of them was from Indiana. It was talking to them about your college, which was in Indiana. They were very friendly.
SPEAKER_01Um they were excited. I bought their hat.
SPEAKER_00Yes, Nick found a Hurricane Hannah's hat um at the gift shop. And then all the employees at the Yacht and Beach Club were asking him where he got the hat. It must have been new merchandise, I'm guessing, because none of them had seen it before and they were so excited. So that was funny. But no, Hurricane Hannah's was great. They had chicken fingers, which is like our our main priority at this juncture in our lives.
SPEAKER_01Um they also have some age item. They have crap covered French fries and stuff.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01They also have like a seafood roll, which is kind of like lobster roll, except it's made with shrimp and scallops.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um I got that one right.
SPEAKER_00We were also big fans of the category five beverage, which is it's kind of like a run punch, but with a 151 floater, it was very good. Had a couple of those. Um, so Hurricane Hannah's is a great option to kind of add to the mix. Um, the Yachtsman Steakhouse is under refurbishment, sadly, until August of this year is when it's supposed to reopen. But I think I go back and forth. That's it's definitely in my top three favorite dinners at Disney World. It might be my number one. What about you?
SPEAKER_01I would say it's definitely the best steak on Broadway.
SPEAKER_00Yes, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Um I don't always like getting steak at Disney.
SPEAKER_00Right, right.
SPEAKER_01Just because every restaurant has steak on them and get them.
SPEAKER_00Right, yeah. But no, the Yatzman um is up there. To me, Yachtsman, Topolinos, and Narcuzis are probably my three favorite steps.
SPEAKER_01Nothing.
SPEAKER_00At the Yatzman, at the Yatzman Steakhouse. And they have a sauce flight with the steak, which I'm a big fan of. You can try all the different steak sauces. Big fan. Um, also has been a pretty big hit with our kids. Um, one of the desserts that they have is like it's like a white chocolate puzzle, and it comes with um chocolate paint, so they can paint the puzzle and then eat it. So that that's been a pretty big hit with our kids too. So I'm really looking forward to that reopening. I definitely missed it on this trip, and we absolutely would have eaten there um had it been open. Yes. The place right next to it is the cruise cup lounge, and again, this is all still just at the yacht club. We haven't even gotten over to the beach club yet. Um, right next to the Yachtsman is the Cruise Cup Lounge, which is currently open. Um, you do have to go through like a little construction area to get to it. I would say that was fine. I would reserve judgment on it because I'm not sure how much their menu is affected by Yachtsman being closed. It was we went there just to watch the um a World Cup game that we wanted to see. And um it was fine. It was okay. Yeah, I would it wasn't a great place to watch a game, but we tried to watch it at Martha's Vineyard over at the Beach Club and they were at capacity. Um, so that's a really, really good place to watch a game. But um, yeah, their menu is very limited right now. I wonder if it will expand once the Yachtsman is reopened. Um, but the drinks we had were good. Um, and the service was really good, I would say. Um definitely worth checking out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, I don't know if the menu is, like you said, just limited because there weren't there weren't really many items on the menu. No. Um, but I mean there were things on there I wouldn't need in mind. Just it was everyone need any more kids.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they had no kids' menu at this time. Um, hopefully that will change once Yatzman is reopened. And then when you move over to the beach club, um, you have Beaches and Cream, which is kind of has a cult following. I did not love that, but I would I've only been there to eat for a meal, not just ice cream one time. So I would definitely give it another try.
SPEAKER_01Um people love it.
SPEAKER_00Yes, Nick got so there's the restaurant, and then there's also a to-go window where you can order ice cream and different drinks to go. And he got the hard root beer float, and both you and your brother absolutely loved it. Yes. Um, our kids which is good. And our kids love going to that window to just get an ice cream to end the night that just like says vacation to them, basically, is a daily ice cream, so that's a big hit. Um, I would, and like I said, I would give the restaurant food itself um another try. I I didn't go there under the best of circumstances. We had been up since like, I don't know, 4 a.m. for a flight. Um, I was pregnant, I was with the girls by myself, and the bathroom was located outside the restaurant. So when one of the kids needed to go to the bathroom, we had to exit the whole restaurant and then come back. And it was a whole thing. It was very stressful. Um, so I'd give it another try. People seem to really love it. So that's Beaches and Cream. And then there's, as I mentioned, Martha's Vineyard is another lounge at the beach club. Um, it has a whole bunch of TVs. It would probably be a great place to watch a game. I'm sure that's why it was at capacity for the Norway World Cup game that we were trying to watch. Um, I've been there once years ago when we took a trip with dad. We had drinks there one night. No, we never got food, but I I was excited about their menu. They had a decent menu, and I wish we had gotten to be there instead of Cruise Cup, but such is life. Um, we already talked about the Beach Club Marketplace, which seems to have a little bit better of a menu than the one over at the Yacht Club and definitely a better merchandise selection. Um, so a couple of things. One, I was looking for a spirit jersey that seems seemed to be everywhere on Disney property, and I stupid of me waited till the last day to get it. And they actually didn't have it at the yacht club, but I was able to run down to the beach club marketplace and get it, and they did have it there. Um, we needed, let's see, what happened the day we needed diapers? Did you have to go to Beach Club or did they find them at the yacht club?
SPEAKER_01They found them at Yacht Club, but we didn't have them up, you had to ask for it. And they said it's because they don't have enough room to handle okay.
SPEAKER_00So at the yacht club they didn't have all the baby stuff displayed. And at the beach club, I know they did have uh like a whole rack of baby supplies. And um what was the other thing at the beach club? Oh, um, one day we had left our luggage with bell services because it was our check-in day and the baby uh needed an outfit change rather abruptly, and they did not have any onesies at the yacht club um gift shop, but over at the beach club they did. So um, so if you're staying at the yacht club and you're looking for a little more variety in your souvenir shopping, you might want to check out the beach club side. And then we talked about Hurricane Hannah's. Let's see, have we covered all of the oh no, oh my gosh, how could we forget Kate May Cafe? Cooper, would you like to chime in on Kate May Cafe? He would not like to chime in. However, we wound up going there. Was September the first time we went there last September? Yes. Um, we went there just kind of last minute. We were staying at the yacht club. We needed breakfast. We wanted to make sure Cooper ate, which means we needed plentiful Mickey waffles. These restaurants that give you like two Mickey waffles and call it breakfast are not working for us right now. We need like an all-you-can-eat Mickey waffle situation.
SPEAKER_01We might hold the breakfast like you.
SPEAKER_00I can't even imagine how many he has eaten. But um, so we wound up just saying, hey, we'll try Kate May Cafe, and it has become a favorite of ours. I think it's a really solid buffet. Uh, I'm on the record here. If you listen often, I do not love buffets in general, especially with kids, because I find them just kind of a little exhausting. Um, but it's a really good buffet, and we we really like it. We've been there now, I think, three times. Um, the character interactions are really good. It's Minnie and Friends in um their beachware. So there's no Mickey, but it's Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. Is that everybody? Yes. Yeah, the character interactions have always been great. They do a little, a little dance at one point. Um they come around to all the tables. So that's been a big hit for us. And then they also do dinner there. I think that is without characters, but don't quote me on that. And I've never actually done the dinner, so I cannot comment on how it is. But Kate May Cafe has definitely grown on us. So that's all of the dining at the Yacht and Beach Club, but that doesn't even get into the fact that you are easily walkable to the boardwalk, to the Swan and Dolphin, to Epcot, to the Skyliner, to hop on over to the Riviera to go to Topolino's. So, really, like if you're looking for a really good dining trip, I think this hotel is fantastic.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can't be located for the sorts.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01There's just so much around them that you know, you're right in the middle of a lot of things. Or a walk from Hollywood's CVOs, too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Um I would say the walk from if you love risking your life. Nick does not like the Skyliner. I'm sure we'll mention that before, but he's not a fan, and neither is Cooper. Um, the walk from the beach club over to International Gateway at Epcot was maybe five minutes. Very, very quick. Maybe closer to 10 from the Yacht Club, depending exactly where your rim is located, but it's very, very close. Um, you also have the boat transportation that goes to Epcot and to Hollywood Studios. Um, and then you can also walk to the Skyliner over at um International Gateway and get over to um the Riviera to all the other Skyliner resorts. So that's pretty awesome. So let's talk about the amenities. Um, it has all the amenities you would expect at a Disney Hotel. It has the movies under the stars, it has the campfires on certain nights, they have a whole activity schedule you can look up online before your trip to see what's going on. They have pool games at certain times, just like all the other hotels. Um, they have a gym, they have an arcade, all those things you would sort of come to expect from a deluxe Disney trip.
SPEAKER_01You will not need any of them because you're gonna be spending your time.
SPEAKER_00Yes, the pool. Okay, so let's talk about Storm Long Bay. I think it can be maybe a little bit divisive. Storm Long Bay is the huge pool that the yacht and the beach club share. Something to know if you are staying there, but maybe your family is staying in another hotel. They are not getting into Storm Long Bay to spend the day with you. So if you're traveling with other people, that's definitely something you want to keep in mind. Um, before you enter Storm Long Bay at any of the entrances, they're gonna scan the band of one person in your party, and you'll only get as many wristbands as the people who are registered to your room. And um, on this trip at least, you could keep the wristband on for the entire trip if you wanted to. Um, we did not realize that till the last day, so we were taking them off every night and getting new ones the next day, but you can leave them on if you want to. Um, but it's definitely a very secure pool because it is so awesome and people want to come there and they want to make sure that the people who are paying to stay there have, you know, the best time.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it's really three pools.
SPEAKER_00Yes, basically, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's like your fan pool.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01And it's the lazy river, and then it's the pool that connects to the massive water slide.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's amazing. And kind of four, because then there's the whole other pool on the back of the water slide, which is much more shallow and has a kiddie slide. So the whole Storm Along Bay complex is three acres. That's crazy, right? So our our trip there with kids, our first trip there with kids was last September. And at first, the first day at the pool, I think we kind of made ourselves crazy trying to be like, okay, you take the girls and go to the kitty pool. I'm gonna take Cooper, he's gonna do the slide, and we were like trying to split up. And by the second day, we were like, hey, we're all sticking together. We're gonna do one area at a time, and we're all gonna be in a group because it's it is a huge area, and that's one of the complaints I hear about it is that people it can be a little bit hard to keep track of your kids. If you're not, you know, keeping them right there with you on one area, you could kind of easily lose track of them. My other complaint about this pool. So I mentioned we stayed here back in like 2016. I do remember that there was a sandy area. My memory is most of the rest of the pool was not sandy, it was just one area. You you don't remember it all. Maybe I'm misremembering. I don't love sand. As it stands today, the whole pool area is sand bottom, except for um right where you come down the big slide, one little area off to the side where there's kind of like a whirlpool. It kind of if the kids can kind of go in a circle and and kind of be swept around in a circle and they really like that, that doesn't have sand. And then the kitty pool on the back does not have sand. But the rest of the pool has a sand bottom. My feeling is why did we take the worst parts of the beach and bring them to a pool?
SPEAKER_01Sand doesn't bother me.
SPEAKER_00I may have some sensory issues. Yeah, sand bothers me. My children were doing snow angels in the sand, and I was cringing and saying, Yeah, my only complaint is it is difficult to move across the walk, to walk across the pool. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01In the sand. Definitely. And by pretty deep I mean like a couple inches. Yeah. And then there are parts where there's barely any sand and it's just like a thin layer of concrete. Yeah. But like trying to walk across, especially like where the main sand area is. If you like trying to move from one side of that pole to the other, it's like, you know, your worst experience trying to walk across the beach. Right. Like trying to reload relocate.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00So from that, it probably sounds like we don't like storm a long day. And I don't want that to be the takeaway because I do think it is pretty amazing. The slide is awesome. It's huge, really huge. Um, when we stayed there last year, our son spent, I think, three days going up and down the steps and deciding he couldn't do it when he got up there. And then he finally did it, and he absolutely loved it. But it's high. It's really, really high. Yes.
SPEAKER_01It is I'm not a material hype to my own. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And the other thing to keep in mind too is that to get to the top of the slide, you need to exit the pool area and cross a sidewalk. And that's where you reach the part where you climb up. So if you're keeping an eye on a kid, um, you need to keep in mind that you can't really be at the bottom of the pool waiting for them and also monitoring them climbing up the slide. You kind of need adults to tag team both locations.
SPEAKER_01And it's a spiral staircase, Joe.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Not like a spiral charactercase, like going around like a lighthouse or something. It's like a straight-up spiral staircase.
SPEAKER_00We spent almost a full day at the kitty pool on the back, and our kids went up and down that slide. I don't know, 75 times probably. They absolutely loved it.
SPEAKER_01Um, we're not fun to get a nice.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's nice. There's kind of like a little pirate ship thing back there. It's a little scenic. It's very cute. Um, so that's Storm Along Day. And then on top of that, there are three leisure pools at the Yacht and Beach Club as well. I wish I could comment on them, but I have never been to them because we're always at Storm Along Day. We did have a view of one from our room um back in September that looked very nice. I never saw anybody in it. Um, it looked nice. I will say this time around, uh the resort is very much under construction, which I wish I had checked before recording when that is due to end, because I don't actually remember. But uh we sat on our balcony and it was like a full construction zone. Like we could see all the workers out there. There was no noise problem in our room whatsoever. But if you are someone who likes to sit out on your balcony, that is something to keep in mind that there is construction going on right now that you might have a view of.
SPEAKER_01If you didn't look off the window and a seat down in.
SPEAKER_00Yes, you would not have noticed.
SPEAKER_01No. It was coming otherwise.
SPEAKER_00I almost hesitate to mention this because it did not bother us personally, but I feel I should mention it. Well, I guess it did bother us a little bit. Um, the yacht club is one of the few dog-friendly resorts at Disney World. My understanding is there are certain rooms set aside to be dog friendly. So if you're not bringing a dog, you don't need to worry that you're sharing a room a dog has been in. But our our daughter Emma is absolutely terrified of dogs. And on our last trip, she saw a few on our way to the elevator and it really freaked her out. Um, and then we have we have a dog, we have an 80-pound golden retriever who she hates with a fiery passion. Um, the dog is the sweetest old dog in the universe, and we don't know why Emma hates dogs so much, but she does. So um, seeing dogs definitely freaked her out. And on this trip, uh, on our walk from the room to the elevator, we passed a room that had a dog. And I swear to God, every single time we passed the room, that dog was barking its head off. And I was wondering, I wonder if it bothered the people on either side of him. You could certainly hear from the hallway. I don't I don't know if you could hear from the room. So if uh I would say if you don't have a major problem with dogs, this really shouldn't be an issue for you. But if you are traveling with someone who's maybe afraid of dogs, it it might be something you want to take into consideration. Um, let's think. I'm trying to think what else. The proximity to the parks is huge. Not needing to break down your stroller every time you want to go somewhere is pretty amazing. As people who are currently rolling with two double strollers everywhere we go, um, that's just a huge perk for us. I find it exhausting needing to break down two strollers and get on the bus and off the bus and set everything back up.
SPEAKER_01Another thing makes this property a little more difficult to take into the bus is it usually shares a bus stop or stops with the beach club or uh one of the uh boardwalk. Boardwalk. Yeah. So you're not only are you getting people from your resort, you're getting two other resorts, which generally makes the buses more crowded.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, definitely. And on the way back to the resort when you're kind of tired and sweaty, um, kind of the last thing you want to do is stop at other resorts, but that might be the situation. I think it probably depends on the time of day and how busy things are, but yeah, that's definitely something you want to think of. We could see bits of the Epcot fireworks from the pool one night, which was really cool. So that was very fun. Uh, I think our kids love both of these resorts um for the pool, and also there's just a lot of fun stuff going on. Like there's always people in the lobby of the yacht club who are dressed as I don't know what their titles are, but they're dressed as like captains, captains, and they're very friendly. Um they have those little scavenger hunts where you have a character that you need to find each day. I know at the yacht club it's um Max, the dog from The Little Mermaid, they have a picture of him that hides all over the resort, and you take your a picture of yourself with him and bring it to the front desk, and you go to pin. So that's very fun. Um, we already talked about all the food options, you know, giving you a lot of variety for kids, which is great. And that's kind of everything I can think of. Can you think of any kind of final thoughts about these two hotels that we should mention?
SPEAKER_01Honestly, they feel like the one hotel to me.
SPEAKER_00They do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01If you can't walk interior from one to the other, you have to leave the building. Yes. From the yacht club to the beach club.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And just about every other way, they feel like they're one resort. Uh the only differences are the colors on the outside of the building. Right. Um I know when we stayed at the beach club back in like 20, whatever.
SPEAKER_00I think it was 2017. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01We didn't like the beach club as much because there was really like no quick service option other than those pizza flatbreads.
SPEAKER_00It's definitely expanded since then. And so we had not made a lot of dining reservations. Um, and one night it was very stormy, and there was nothing to be had if you didn't already have a reservation and the quick service options weren't great. I definitely think they've improved a lot since then, which is great. I still think they there is room to improve for sure. I would love to see the deluxe resorts have you know some kind of food courts a little bit more similar to the values, because I just think those are so beneficial for families. But um, it's definitely come a long way since then. So it's a big improvement.
SPEAKER_01And if you were willing to squarge on whatever the regatta club regatta club, yes. That was amazing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Here okay, here's what I would say though. So that trip we did a split stay. We did club level at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and then we did club level at the Yacht Club. Tell me you don't have any kids without telling me you don't have kids back when we had disposable income. I do have to say, while the Regatta Club was pretty, there was nothing remarkable about it. Animal Kingdom Lodge had this like amazing balcony where you could look over the whole lobby, and that was really beautiful. The meals at Animal Kingdom Lodge or the meal times, and they granted Disney doesn't advertise them as meals, um, you know, they're their snacks or offerings or whatever. But at Animal Kingdom Lodge, you could totally eat all three meals at that lodge during the day in club level. The spread was amazing. Yeah, the especially the afternoon spread at the yacht club, it was like chips and veggies. Like there was not a lot going on. And even at night, I don't remember being wowed by the by the spread. So you make up your money with the yacht. That's true. Um, you you do get the the free alcohol um at certain times of the day in club level. So I uh you know the club level was nice to have, but I would say it was it didn't blow me out of the water the way the Animal Kingdom Kilimanjaro Club.
SPEAKER_01Did weacht club?
SPEAKER_00No. No, there's no kind of view or any kind of standout feature like that um at that club level. So that's a bit of a bummer. So but we've never done club level. I I think I could be wrong. I think the beach club has club level. If if it does, we've never done that one.
SPEAKER_01So I think being club level isn't done already.
SPEAKER_00Animal Kingdom and Yacht Club, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean Animal Kingdom one cocktail.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. By far still amazing. Yes, it's really fun. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Um as far as room types, I mean the yacht club does have some really like fancy type suites. If you're really like a high roller, they do not have DVC, so they don't have the um the kind of room um variety that the beach club has, because the beach club does have the the DVC studios and one bedrooms and two bedrooms and so on. Um that's great.
SPEAKER_01Like a single room.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was great. Yeah. It felt like there was so much space.
SPEAKER_01And we had 13 bags.
SPEAKER_00I do think part of that was having I do think part of that was just having stayed in a cruise room with six with six people. I do think that.
SPEAKER_01Uh I just gave us two more kids. We only have two of them.
SPEAKER_00Six six people, six people, two four kids. Uh, but yeah, overall, I think you cannot go wrong staying at either of these two resorts. They're some of my absolute favorite on Disney property. Um, and I can't wait to stay there again. I feel like we're due to for a beach clip stay, probably in the near future. So check that out again since it's been a while. So well, we do love the boardwalk. We own it the boardwalk, but I'm feeling like we're on a little bit of a hiatus from the boardwalk over the next year or so because they are doing some pretty heavy refurbishment. The main pool is closed. I think the pool bar is closed for a period of time. Um, so probably taking a little bit of time off of the boardwalk um until that's all back in working order. But we do we do adore the boardwalk as well. So I think that is everything. Um, buckle up because our next episode will probably be our trip report, which I think we're actually gonna do in three parts because we did Disney World, then we did the cruise, then we did a few days at Disney World after the cruise. So I think we're gonna break it down into a three episode situation. So it's not like a four hour episode marathon. So stay tuned. I think that will be coming next. And hopefully Danielle will be back on our next episode, and we'll get to catch you up on everything we've been up to. So see you real soon.