Yacht Club v AKL

[Snowball18]

I’ve booked AKL for next May but thinking about changing it to Yacht Club, will cost and extra £300 for the 5 nights.

Is it worth it and what’s the advantages and disadvantages? How’s the bus service compared to AKL?

[NewtoOrlando]

We were torn between AKL & YC for next summer but went with YC. Reasons being location, light & airy rooms, great pool, well kept grounds, and lots of food options. It was also cheaper when we booked compared to AKL for the 5 nights. I always think about AKL but in reality, it's just too dark for me, I like bright and light spaces so YC won for us.

[Mexy02]

We moved from akl to yacht for the rooms as well. Akl is stunning though .

[THE WIZARD]

We stayed at AKL a few weeks ago and went to YC to check it out as I thought I wanted to stay there next trip should there be one and decided it is definitely not for us. We are two adults no kids and even though it was about 9pm the pool at YC was full of shouting kids & no adults & the pool was so small compared to AKL which is the largest on WDW property apparently. The inside of YC was dead compared to AKL, no fun nothing going on and no one laughing or sitting about chatting & the grounds at night so dark & I found a bit scary as no one around. We came back to AKL to a fun lobby with things going on, children doing brass rubbings on the floor, a lovely African doing wood carving and showing people how to do it and a table with animal prints for people to ask questions about or booking to go on the Savannah Safari bus all in all a totally different atmosphere. I said to DH forget YC or BC we come back here again. We didnt have a Savannah room but did have a Pool view room, we were on 2nd floor and walk down a flight of stairs to the pool 3 mins max. After time laying on the beds or in the pool it was lovely to walk round the corner and see the Zebra's and Giraffes etc wandering about. Loved the buzz of BOMA's in the background too. AK being our fav park anyway was lovely to get the bus there within 12 minutes & no problems at all with any of the other parks, even had Richard and his 'put your hand in the box and guess what the 3 things are' at the bus stop each evening while we waited for our bus (things like Ostrich egg, Rhino tusk etc.) So educational for adults and children alike & 3 great restaurants on property made it even better. Pretty obvious how much we loved AKL.

[MrsBC]

We love AKL but love Y&BC more - you only need buses for AK, Disney Springs and MK (and you could actually use the monorail from Epcot to go there) as the other 2 parks are walkable / boats, and now the Skyliner is a 5 min walk away too. To be fair we've never had a problem with AKL buses though. We do prefer BC to YC as we're not keen on the amount of conferees in suits at YC
Can't understand the comment about the size of Stormalong Bay.
Uzima pool at AKL holds 234,980 gallons - it is one of WDW largest, but Stormalong Bay has 750,000 gallons (it's a mini waterpark with sand bottomed pools).

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

We were torn between AKL & YC for next summer but went with YC. Reasons being location, light & airy rooms, great pool, well kept grounds, and lots of food options. It was also cheaper when we booked compared to AKL for the 5 nights. I always think about AKL but in reality, it's just too dark for me, I like bright and light spaces so YC won for us.

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When I stayed at Beach Club last month I had a mooch around Yacht Club. I didn't think it was bright amd light, I found it quite dark and dreary. I did find Beach Club light and airy though and loved the colour scheme and general vibe.

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by THE WIZARD

We stayed at AKL a few weeks ago and went to YC to check it out as I thought I wanted to stay there next trip should there be one and decided it is definitely not for us. We are two adults no kids and even though it was about 9pm the pool at YC was full of shouting kids & no adults & the pool was so small compared to AKL which is the largest on WDW property apparently. The inside of YC was dead compared to AKL, no fun nothing going on and no one laughing or sitting about chatting & the grounds at night so dark & I found a bit scary as no one around. We came back to AKL to a fun lobby with things going on, children doing brass rubbings on the floor, a lovely African doing wood carving and showing people how to do it and a table with animal prints for people to ask questions about or booking to go on the Savannah Safari bus all in all a totally different atmosphere. I said to DH forget YC or BC we come back here again. We didnt have a Savannah room but did have a Pool view room, we were on 2nd floor and walk down a flight of stairs to the pool 3 mins max. After time laying on the beds or in the pool it was lovely to walk round the corner and see the Zebra's and Giraffes etc wandering about. Loved the buzz of BOMA's in the background too. AK being our fav park anyway was lovely to get the bus there within 12 minutes & no problems at all with any of the other parks, even had Richard and his 'put your hand in the box and guess what the 3 things are' at the bus stop each evening while we waited for our bus (things like Ostrich egg, Rhino tusk etc.) So educational for adults and children alike & 3 great restaurants on property made it even better. Pretty obvious how much we loved AKL.

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Did you look around Beach Club too? The vibe is totally different with a buzzing lobby, plenty of people around etc. As a solo woman I felt perfectly safe outside when it was dark. I wasn't overly impressed with Stormalong Bay but loved the Beach Club quiet pool. It was very relaxing and very close to my room.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Snowball18

I’ve booked AKL for next May but thinking about changing it to Yacht Club, will cost and extra £300 for the 5 nights.

Is it worth it and what’s the advantages and disadvantages? How’s the bus service compared to AKL?

See more...

I am very keen to stay at AKL one day, it is my favourite resort to visit, but for £300 I would definitely pick YC. As two adults we loved the peaceful reception area, a nice calm oasis after a busy day. Epcot is my least favourite park but I still found the YC location to be excellent with so much in walking distance.

The transportation at YC is the best we have ever had at Disney, never waited more than ten minutes (if that) for a bus, always a seat and there was hardly anyone at the stop. We had a late breakfast at Boma last week and headed to the park afterwards, there was an almighty queue at the bus stop. I have literally never had to stand on a Disney bus before but we were lucky to squeeze on from AKL and it was late morning so very unexpected and very off putting. I would not want to put up with that kind of transport scrum on a daily basis.

[THE WIZARD]

The busy bus must have been due to the amount of off siters adding to capacity after coming for BOMA breakfast. I can honestly say we never once stood on any of the busses in fact we were once on the VIP bus! Just DH & I travelling !
Have to say if you do prefer a quiet lobby AKL would not be for you as always something going on & buzzing atmosphere we loved walking in and every time being greeted with 'Welcome Home' by someone.

[NewtoOrlando]

Originally Posted by Andybear

When I stayed at Beach Club last month I had a mooch around Yacht Club. I didn't think it was bright amd light, I found it quite dark and dreary. I did find Beach Club light and airy though and loved the colour scheme and general vibe.

See more...

Not bothered about the lobby area to be honest as we will rarely visit it and we’re only onsite for 5 days. The rooms have all been refreshed which suits us and AKL rooms are very dark as are the corridors. Horses for courses and all that!