Hey all! Wanted to share a little about our recent stay. It was our first stay at YC. We really enjoyed it and would definitely stay there again. The CMs were all very friendly. Our room was ready two hours before our arrival. We did end up with a room that did not have a sleeper couch. I was thinking that most rooms had them, but after reading some more, maybe that's not the case. Our kids ended up having to share a bed, which they weren't expecting, but turned out not to be a big deal. The lack of a sleeper couch meant two desks. There is a little one on wheels that is tucked under the bigger desk.
Things I loved: Loved a lot of things; the layout of the room, the balcony, the wardrobe closet and the way it was arranged, being able to walk to Epcot and HS (no park hopping was a total bummer though..but not YC's fault), Ale and Compass for breakfast, laid back atmosphere, beautiful grounds, bus transportation was never a long wait and never crowded, housekeeping did a great job of coming every other day and taking our towels and trash and replenishing with plenty of towels. I'm a big fan of the new housekeeping situation wherein they don't need to do more than towels, trash, toiletries. Oh, and I loved that there were individual toiletries and not the ones bolted to the wall.
Things I didn't love: It was really hard to find a quick meal. The Market is very difficult for meal purposes if you have any sort of allergy. The staff have nothing to reference for the hot food that is made to order. It's not their fault. They do need an allergy notebook like WDW has had just about everywhere else for ages. There needs to be more training. They were also low on a variety of items and were running out of things. Again not their fault. The parks are closing early and more people are looking for dinner at their resorts. This is something higher up management needs to be taking care of. We ended up eating Uncrustables for dinner one night and I was feeling bummed for not just packing peanut butter and jelly. Nothing wrong with Uncrustables...just would have been nice to have more options after a long and exhausting day.
It would also be cool if The Market had more Yacht Club merch and WDW merch vs clothing brands that one can find at a mall off property.
In the middle: I love dogs and LOVE animals/all sorts. If someone wants to bring a friendly kangaroo who loves to travel on their vacation, that's fine by me. I do feel that after 10pm the kangaroo, or dog, or whatever creature one has brought along, needs to be quiet. There were some nights that neighbor's dogs were barking well after 10pm. Not just a - I need to go out- bark, but a barking and barking and barking and barking... ... For us, we were up anyway, but I could see it being a real problem for those trying to sleep and needing to get up early the next day.
The balcony was great, but it was covered in dirt..as in layers of dirt. So, I had to wash it down before we could really use it. I know..I know..it's outside and dirt happens. I like the outdoors. I don't really mind dirt, except when I sit down after just getting ready. I don't want to be wearing dirt on my backside after having sat in the chairs. It's a deluxe resort. Wiping down the balcony furniture after each guest should be something that happens.
All in all it was a great time and I just wanted to share our individual experience to give others an idea of what to expect.