The Yacht Club Resort

There is nothing like the Yacht Club and their quaint restaurant the Captain’s Grille. We liked the old decor of pastel blue, yellow, and light pink and the old name Yacht Club Galley, but it is still nice and has good food. It is a pleasant place to eat without feeling rushed.

Dining at the Yacht Club

The Yacht Club is a destination of itself. We like to sit in the library atmosphere, admire the floral arrangements, and just feel comfortable taking in the ambiance. Rates are very high now and preclude us staying there, but we still visit nearly every trip and especially during the Christmas season to see the snowy display train scene. Will get pictures during our Thanksgiving trip.

Center Lobby

The red chairs in the picture have been moved and there are now long plush sofas. Some things change very quickly at DW. The Yacht Club is most famous for Stormalong Bay, definitely not just another swimming pool. A trip to the YC just to see Stormalong is worthwhile. Of course, going in Stormalong is the best swimming treat anyone could have. Overall the YC is just shy of elegant, a comfortable relaxation point, and a superb location between Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

Milkshakes

Oh Beaches and Cream and the best chocolate milkshakes…

Front Door to Beaches

        We often sit at the counter and watch all the activity. We usually get the equivalent of Philly Cheesesteaks and the milkshakes which last time we saved for dessert. We envy the Wurlitzer jukebox and will set up certain oldies to play [no charge to use it]. The pastels and ornate trim are part of the fun. You can carryout, but it’s more fun to dine in. Watch out for the after Illuminations crowd at 9:30p. Beaches should be expanded into where the arcade is now and the arcade should be moved out towards the water. It is a very intimate feel right now and it can be

                                        difficult to get an immediate seating. It is worth the wait if you love the

                                        oldtime feel and maybe even remember when there were fountain

                                        drinks. Don’t miss this piece of the resort magic.

Vintage Inside

It’s only been a week!

Michael asked me today how long it had been since we were at the D. Only a week…no way! Really think we’ll end up living in the DW area in the next 5 years or so. We are working on a host of business adventures and who knows maybe something will click. At least we are trying.

We always think DW as Halloween approaches. This is our big time of year. We love to track all the holiday decorations. You will see the long tractor trailers full of Christmas stuff at the junction of the Ft Wilderness road and the main road to the Magic Kingdom. Just look over to the right just past the monorail. We’ve caught the Disney Holiday Teams unpacking and unloading all through November. It’s always so amazing to see the resorts change right before your eyes. Mostly we track the progress at the Wilderness Lodge. We’ve seen the tree assembled at least three times. The Disney people keep changing the dates on us though and everything has been up the last two years or so. Our day jobs usually interfere with our DW jaunts so we only get there on the weekends. That’s why we need to move to the D! Like we really needed a reason…

Kidani Master Bedroom

Kidani One Bedroom Master

 

Kidani Studio

Had to put these in another post. DVC sales are climbing and do not worry about a very pushy tour. All the DVC guides we have had contact with have been very easy going. It is an investment, so take your time thinking about it. We first saw DVC in 1993 and waited until 2000 to buy in.

Current DVC members do receive a perk for referring a new member, so be sure to mention whoever tells you about it before you sign a contract. The quick scoop is that you pay a fixed rate for @45 years of vacations. If you love Disney it helps, but not completely necessary. We recouped our intial investment in three short years. Our annual dues for maintenance of the properties is partially tax deductible as a vacation home. The annual dues don’t bother me at all. Our yearly vacations would cost more than twice our annual dues, so for me it’s a no-brainer. Ask questions…we love them!

Kidani Village

May 2009 isn’t really that far away and Kidani Village has begun to blend in a bit better with AKL.

Close to the front of KV

 

You really wind around to get to the front. Instead of turning right to the AKL, you go straight. Right now the road is closed to visitors at the end of the AKL parking lot. We took this picture after a small hike from the main parking lot.

The back of Kidani Village facing AKL is the most intriguing. New lobby, nooks to explore, a new gift shop, new dining…wow it’s fun when a new resort opens.

                 

Kidani living room mock-up

    We have stayed in the AKL studios and right now 

    AKL is the very best Disney Vacation Club.

     The Kidani Village one bedroom looks even better

     than the main lodge. It’s very spacious, great decor,

     and the hall bath is so welcome.

Kidani Kitchen

Monorail

I love this picture.

Monorail

This pix was taken from the Contemporary deck on Level 4 facing the Magic Kingdom. Think about sitting on your Bay Lake Tower balcony watching the monorail slide by with some ice tea just waiting for the sunset and fireworks. This DVC property is on track to open late fall 2009. We saw lights on at dusk inside the building on the lower floors. Whoever imagineered this should get a big raise. It’s remarkable.

Bay Lake Tower

We took quite a few pictures of the construction and room mock-ups.

The rooms are superb! Can’t wait to stay there.

Tower Looking Good!

 

The one bedroom and larger Tower rooms have a main area full bath and a Master bath which is really necessary when there’s more than two of you. The walk through kitchen is beautiful and spacious.

walk through kitchen

 

Master Bedroom

 The photos don’t do it justice. 

 The studio is a bit smaller, but the galley kitchen is worth it.

Studio Galley Kitchen

  Mock-ups are available for viewing if you take the DVC Tour or if you are a member from 5-7p over at the Saratoga Springs old movie theater. Don’t miss these. They are down the ‘hall’ from the Kidani Village mock-ups which are incredible as well. Everything DVC is doing these days tops the charts.

Right Now at the Magic Kingdom

MK Front Entrance

                                   

  These are some pictures from the Magic Kingdom we just took this weekend.

            The weather was very pleasant and it was not

            overcrowded. We are excited to return for our

            Halloween Party on October 20th. Our granddaughter has her Aurora

                                             gown and is all set for trick or treating. What a fabulous time of year!

This Weekend

Michael’s birthday is today and we are driving up tomorrow morning, staying at All Star Music Saturday night, returning Sunday night. Will be taking lots of pix to share of the new developments and the autumn entrance to the Magic Kingdom. Am contemplating getting a FL resident after 2p water park pass next year. Pretty economical and I still like the lazy river and family tube ride. Why not?  Loving the nice weather we are having down here and gearing up for all the DW fun in the next 3 to 6 months. Life is good! Have you checked out their website at http://www.lifeisgood.com/ ?  Stuff is very cool.

DVC

We received our bound booklet from DVC yesterday. ‘Welcome to Your Palace Next to the Castle.’  It’s quite a fancy piece of advertising material. We already knew the Bay Lake Tower would sell out fast, but Disney is making sure all the true fans and members are getting hyped. Actually, we probably won’t buy anymore points for awhile, but we are anxious to see the room mock-ups and make reservations for late next year. It is pretty remarkable that there is a vacation club right next to the Magic Kingdom., right on the monorail. DVC is just so exciting. Have any questions or concerns? Just email us we’ll give you the whole, honest scoop.