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Studios at Disney’s Beach Club Villas
(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Beach Club Villas, see this.)
PHOTO TOUR OF A STUDIO AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
Studios at Disney’s Beach Club Villas, after their 2016 renovation, sleep five, on a queen bed, a fold-out sofa bed about the size of a full bed, and a flip-down bed about 75″ by 33″ that sleeps shorter than that.
You enter into a hall with the bath and closet on one side, and a kitchenette on the other.
The first item you’ll see is this hat rack. The door reflected in the mirror is the connecting door to a One Bedroom Villa.
The bath has this open sink area…
…tub and such in their own separate space…
…and, next to the sink, this closet.
A view inside the large closet–which, given the limited storage elsewhere in the room, would have benefited from shelving.
On the other side of the entry hall you’ll find this kitchenette. All Disney World deluxe rooms have a mini-fridge and coffee maker. Studios add a toaster, microwave, and very basic utensils.
A closer view of these supplies…
…and of the mini-fridge.
Deeper in the room on one side you’ll find a queen bed and a couch.
The bed side from the back of the room.
A closer view of the queen bed.
Between the bed and sofa is this bedside table with two much-needed storage drawers.
As part of the 2016 refurb many power points were added–there’s some on the back of the bedside table.
Next on this side is a sofa and coffee table.
The coffee table has a couple of drawers, one on each long side.
Don’t load the drawers with anything heavy, though, as you need to move it to open the sofa bed. I measured the sofa bed as around full size–54″ by 78″, with a four inch cushion.
At the end on this side you’ll find your balcony or patio.
The other side of the room has a long object with a flat-screen TV above and a small table and chairs in front.
This side of the room from the back.
At either end of the long object is a set of two small drawers. That’s it for dresser storage, so many families will need to supplement these four drawers with the other drawers in the coffee table and bedside table noted above.
After you move the chairs, the third sleeping spot in the room folds down from the large object, disappearing the table.
When folded down, you find a bed I measured as 75″ by 33″ with a 3 inch cushion. It sleeps shorter than the 75 inches would imply, as wood framing makes toesies suffer on anyone much taller than 5′ 9″.
A closer view of the sleeping Donald revealed when the bed is folded down.
A shot from the entry hall with all the beds unfurled.
THE LIVING/DINING/KITCHEN AREA OF ONE AND TWO BEDROOM VILLAS AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
This review continues here.
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August 14, 2014 6 Comments
Review: Disney’s Beach Club Villas
OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
Note: Guests at Disney’s Beach Club Villas are eligible for Disney World’s Early Entry program, and have the ability to pre-book as early as seven days before check-in Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass rides. They are also eligible for its Extended Evening Hours.
Disney’s Beach Club Villas (a Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) resort, and one of the Epcot resorts,) is a wonderful place for returning visitors to Walt Disney World to stay, and could easily become one of my personal favorites among the DVC resorts.
For typical first-time visitors, I don’t recommend the Disney Vacation Club resorts.
That said, these “DVC” resorts can be a great choice for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.
Among the Disney Vacation Club resorts, Disney’s Beach Club Villas ranks ninth overall for first-time visitors, and is particularly strong for charm, compactness, convenience to Epcot, and access to the great pool Stormalong Bay.
THE BEACH CLUB VILLAS AND THE DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORTS
You can have a spectacular visit at any Walt Disney World resort.
However, this site recommends that typical first time visitors to Walt Disney World avoid the Disney Vacation Club resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first.
(You can find extensive detail on the DVC resorts here.)
The recommendation comes from the simple fact that the distinguishing features of these resorts–extra space and full kitchens–will not be of much value to first-time visitors following one of the itineraries on this site, as they won’t be used much.
However, the Disney Vacation Club resorts represent more than 10% of Walt Disney World’s total rooms, and are very appropriate for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.
Because of this, I’m providing a series of up-to-date reviews. We’ve stayed in the Beach Club Villas four times, and this review is based on those stays.
It includes the following material:
- The page you are reading, an overview of Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Theming and accommodations at Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Photo tour of a Studio at Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Photo tour of the living/dining/kitchen space in One and Two Bedroom Villas at Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Photo tour of the bath and master bedroom in One and Two Bedroom Villas at Disney’s Beach Club Villas
THE 2016 REFURB AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
The Beach Club Villas came out of a refurb in September 2016. The most material changes:
Studios now sleep five–the fifth on a fold-down bed.
Studios have also lost drawer space.
One and Two Bedroom Villas have had much carpet replaced with wooden flooring.
The master bath in One and Two Bedroom Villas is simplified, with the whirlpool tub being replaced with a soaking tub, and the window between the bath and the master bedroom now gone.
In all villas and studios, the refurbed spaces have a more austere and less playful color palette than the former decor.
Compare the above from an old Studio…
…with this from a new one.
A photo tour of all these newly refurbed spaces begins here.
DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.
On this basis, Disney’s Beach Club Villas comes in ninth overall of the Disney Vacation Club resorts. (See this for resort rankings.)
Beach Club Villas Kid Appeal.
The kid appeal of the Beach Club Villas, such as it is, comes from largely the pool it shares with its parent resort the Beach Club, and not its design, architecture, or theme.
Kids will love the Stormalong Bay pool, the best pool at a Disney-owned resort, but otherwise find the Villas a yawn compared to resorts with higher kid appeal.
Beach Club Villas Convenience.
Disney’s Beach Club Villas is the sixth-most convenient of all the Walt Disney World resorts in carrying out the Magic Kingdom-focused itineraries for first-time family visitors on this site.
All of the Epcot resorts are convenient to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Epcot is a short walk away, and the Studios are a longer walk or boat ride away. The Disney Skyliner is also an option for getting to the Studios–after a change at Caribbean Beach.
The other two parks are accessed by buses from the main Beach Club resort, which are shared with some of the other Epcot resorts.
BEST AND WORST ROOMS AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
On the map, the Beach Club Villas are the dark brown building in the upper right corner. On the map, these Villas kinda looks like a cat with its tail raised, seen from the side. (Well, it does to me…) The cat’s head faces the center of the map.
The Beach Club itself is the brown building below the Villas, and the Villas share its amenities, dining, and pools. In the Villas, there’s two elevator areas–one at the cat’s neck, and the other about halfway along its tail.
The Beach Club Villas is very compact, so room location matters less than at some other resorts. The best views are of its little quiet pool, as other views can be so-so. First floor rooms have patios.
All guest services–check in, dining, etc.–are available in the Beach Club itself. There is also a little check in/concierge desk in the Villas themselves, not open all the time.
Parking is available where the top of the Villas crosses the canal at the top of the map–at the top of the cat’s tail.
The pathway to Epcot is in the middle of the right side of the map–the white path that is cut off by the map’s key.
The boats to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are reached from the pier that juts out into the lake (in front of the Yacht Club). From the Villas, it’s faster and almost shorter to walk to Epcot than to walk to the boat dock.
Buses to the other two parks and Downtown Disney are at the Beach Club’s bus stop, which is at the top center of the map, near but to the left of the cat’s head.
All things considered, the pool-view rooms on the second and higher floors of the cat’s head are the best choices–these are even numbered rooms 202-210, 302-316, and 402-412. These rooms are close to the elevators, have a stair at the end close to the bus stop, and are close to the main Beach Club services.
Don’t ask your reservationist for a cat’s head room or they may hang up–instead ask for a pool-view room on the second floor or higher in the wing that’s closest to the bus stop.
There really aren’t any bad rooms, but a first floor room on the non-pool side at the tip of the cat’s tail has little to recommend it other than being close to parking.
BEST FOR:
First time family visitors looking for extra or more comfortable space, and prefer its theme or location to DVC resort with more kid appeal, such as The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge.
WORST FOR:
Families on a budget; families looking for the highest degree of kid appeal.
THEMING AND ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS
This review continues here.
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August 13, 2014 18 Comments
March 2015 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: MARCH 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD
This page reviews March 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.
The first week of March can be a great time to go to Disney World, and is so in 2015. The rest of March 2015 will be a bear, with high prices and high spring break crowds.
MARCH 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Few kids are on break the first week of March, so I have it rated as low crowd with a crowd ranking of 3.
The next three weeks have large and roughly equal numbers of kids on break, and are also popular with northern families taking their kids out of school and away from the snow. I have each of the weeks beginning 3/7, 3/14 and 3/21 ranked as high crowd with a crowd ranking of 9.
The week beginning March 28 is the week before Easter, traditionally a horribly-crowded week at Walt Disney World. In 2015 I’m seeing the week after Easter as worse, and the week before Easter as a little better, than usual. But the week of the 28th will still be lousy, with higher crowds and a crowd ranking of 10.
See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.
MARCH 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
March hotel prices begin the month at 25% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 20% higher at the moderates, and 16% higher at the deluxes.
On March 6 they jump to 45% higher at the values, 30% higher at the moderates, and 33% higher at the deluxes.
On March 29 prices go up even more, to 75% higher at the values, and 45% higher at the moderates and deluxes.
See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.
MARCH 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Deals are available for March 2015. See this for details.
MARCH 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
March weather shifts from the variable and cooler temperatures of winter to the higher and more predictable temperatures of spring.
For example, at the beginning of March, 80% of the time the daily high will be 70 or better, but it will be higher than the lower 80s only 20% of the time. By the beginning of May, 80% of the time the daily high will be 80 or warmer, and it will be 90 or higher 20% of the time.
Tornadoes can be an issue during this period. See this for more.
Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.
MARCH 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS
The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival begins March 4 and continues until May 17.
MARCH 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.
The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.
These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR MARCH 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE
The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)
- 2/28/2015 Moderate-plus prices. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=10. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary
- 3/7/2015 Higher prices. High crowds. Crowd ranking=9. Week ranking=38. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
- 3/14/2015 Higher prices. High crowds. Crowd ranking=9. Week ranking=37. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
- 3/21/2015 Higher prices. High crowds. Crowd ranking=9. Week ranking=36. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
- 3/28/2015 Highest prices. Higher crowds. Crowd ranking=10. Week ranking=41. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2015 price seasons, see this
- For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
Want a second opinion? Then check out my book lol.
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August 13, 2014 2 Comments
Report from a Refurbed Studio at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge
As the first part of the great August 2014 Bay Lake Tour and meet and greet with Josh, I checked in tonight to one of the newly-refurbed Studio rooms at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge.
I’ll do a complete re-review of the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge in 6 weeks or so (I’m staying in a refurbed One Bedroom Villa here too, later this week, as part of the Bay Lake Tour that also includes a re-visit to the Cabins and my first stay at the new Four Seasons), but here’s some quick observations on these Studio rooms that completed refurb in May 2014:
The new look and feel is quite nice.
I need to live in this room for a couple of more days to really see feel how livable it is, but so far I really like the new third sleeping spot/room for a fifth person in these Studios.
The third sleeping spot starts as a simple dining table beneath the TV.
Press a wooden button, though, and you can make the table begin to disappear, and the bed begin to appear.
Complete it and you have the third sleeping spot/room for a fifth person! Plus Bambi, so darling…
This bed is bigger than I had guessed it would be. The mattress is ~ 32 inches by 75 inches– a few inches longer and wider than I’d predicted in The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit–and is 6 inches deep. The framing at the back has 79 inches clear inside.
However, the mattress sits inside–not on top of–the wooden frame. That means that when I tried to sleep on it, both my head and feet were on the frame, not the mattress. I’m a shade under 6 feet, so don’t plan on anyone sleeping on this unless they are shorter than 5′ 6″
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August 12, 2014 No Comments
The 2015 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
(This page is one of a series explicating Walt Disney World lingo, abbreviations, and FAQ for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World.)
DISNEY’S 2015 INTERNATIONAL FLOWER AND GARDEN FESTIVAL AT EPCOT
Every year from roughly early March through mid-May, Walt Disney World presents the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.
In 2015, the Flower and Garden Festival is scheduled for March 4-May 17.
The gardens at Epcot are almost always lovely, and they are at their loveliest during this period.
Disney’s own wonderful landscaping is supplemented by additional plantings, topiary, and specially themed gardens.
Also presented are special programs presenting gardening tips, and weekend concerts.
Likely growing in 2015 is the more emphasis on food we saw beginning in 2013.
See the official Walt Disney World web page for the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival here.
August 12, 2014 3 Comments
How the Disney World 2015 Week Rankings Were Built
I’ve recently published the final revision of the weeks of 2015 ranked in order of how good they are for a family on their first visit to Walt Disney World who may never return.
This page explains how they are built.
HOW THE WEEK RANKINGS ARE BUILT
Basically, I chunk up the weeks of the year based on certain criteria I’ll get to in a minute, and then sort within each chunk based first on crowds, and then, within the same crowd level, prices.
“WEEKS TO AVOID” AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
The worst chunk for first time visitors who may never return is the ride closure season—early January to shortly before President’s Day.
There’s some great weeks among the affected six 2015 weeks for returning visitors, but for those who may be on their only visit ever, times when terrific rides are commonly closed are to be avoided, and show up at the bottom of my list.
The next-worst chunk is the weeks with high crowds—twenty summer, spring break, and holiday weeks. These show up next to last—sorted, as are the ride closure weeks, first on crowds, and then on prices.
These two chunks together I class as “Weeks to Avoid.”
Taking out these two chunks leaves 27 low to moderate crowd weeks that aren’t in the ride closure season
“WEEKS I’M NOT SO KEEN ON” AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
From these, the first chunk taken out is the 8 peak hurricane season weeks.
Like the ride closure weeks, there’s some great options among these for returning visitors, but the (admittedly low) risk of vacation disruption from hurricanes leads me to downgrade these for those who may never return.
This leaves 19 low to moderate crowd weeks that are in neither the ride closure season nor the peak of the hurricane season.
The worst rated of these 19 weeks are in the chunk of 5 weeks with moderate crowds.
These two chunks together I class as “Weeks I’m not so keen on.”
“RECOMMENDED WEEKS” AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
That leaves 14 weeks with low crowds which are in neither the peak hurricane nor ride closure seasons. These weeks are this site’s “Recommended Weeks.”
They are divided into two groups—those in the Christmas program season and those outside of it.
The 3 Christmas program weeks are top-ranked; the remaining weeks are then sorted as usual based first on crowds and then on prices.
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the next best dates, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2014 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2014 price seasons, see this
- For 2015 price seasons, see this
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
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August 12, 2014 1 Comment
