Disney Yacht Club vs Four Seasons, opinions??

[Disneydad09]

Looking to visit end of July and normally stay at Grand Floridian, but was disappointed last year. Looking for better pools and stuff. We only visit the parks every other day and utilize the hotel on off days. I have kids 7 and 4. Any input on which is better would be much appreciated. Four Seasons prices out about $300 more for our visit. Thank you in advance.

 

[Think Tink]

I haven't stayed at the Four Seasons, but the Yacht Club is my personal favorite hotel. Stormalong Bay is the best pool on property! Plus being able to walk to Epcot and HS is a nice bonus. It is quieter than some other hotels similar to the GF. I think either option would be nice from what I have heard about the the Four Seasons. Just depends on what you want out of your hotel.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I personally prefer the GF over YC, but this is a purely subjective matter and I know many people will pick YC or BC simply for Stormalong. Ultimately, while I haven't stayed at that particular Four Seasons, I think about it this way....

If you choose the Four Seasons, you are choosing what I consider to be true luxury. If you choose YC, GF, or really any of the Disney resorts, you're going more for convenience of being right next to a park. It all boils down to which is more important.

 

[Disneydad09]

I haven't stayed at the Four Seasons, but the Yacht Club is my personal favorite hotel. Stormalong Bay is the best pool on property! Plus being able to walk to Epcot and HS is a nice bonus. It is quieter than some other hotels similar to the GF. I think either option would be nice from what I have heard about the the Four Seasons. Just depends on what you want out of your hotel.

Thank you for your input.

 

[Disneydad09]

I personally prefer the GF over YC, but this is a purely subjective matter and I know many people will pick YC or BC simply for Stormalong. Ultimately, while I haven't stayed at that particular Four Seasons, I think about it this way....

If you choose the Four Seasons, you are choosing what I consider to be true luxury. If you choose YC, GF, or really any of the Disney resorts, you're going more for convenience of being right next to a park. It all boils down to which is more important.

Thank you. We've stayed at GF last 4 years, but just seemed last year that the pools were not up to par anymore and the rooms needed some refurbishments. YC pools looks great, and the rooms I believe were just redone. Thats why we are trying to choose the YC or the FS.

 

[wdwfan22]

Thank you. We've stayed at GF last 4 years, but just seemed last year that the pools were not up to par anymore and the rooms needed some refurbishments. YC pools looks great, and the rooms I believe were just redone. Thats why we are trying to choose the YC or the FS.

The Four Seasons will offer a more deluxe experience over Yacht Club. However The Yacht Club is nice and has a special charm to it. The rooms are very nice since they updated them. Do keep in mind though that the rooms at Yacht/Beach are smaller than those at Grand Floridian/Four Seasons.

 

[Disneydad09]

The Four Seasons will offer a more deluxe experience over Yacht Club. However The Yacht Club is nice and has a special charm to it. The rooms are very nice since they updated them. Do keep in mind though that the rooms at Yacht/Beach are smaller than those at Grand Floridian/Four Seasons.

Thank you! The room size is great information to know. Appreciate it.

 

[eliza61nyc]

So it really depends on what you are looking for. The four seasons, is the four seasons. They built their brand solely on luxury, it's opulent. Their pool has a lazy river. My husband and I loved it for couple getaways.

That being said, I will say that it in no way gives me the Disney "ambiance" at all. It's very adult and very polished.
I would not stay there with a 4 and a 7 year old.

Now with any onsite deluxe you are paying for staying on site. nothing wrong with that , I adore the beach and Yacht club. I think on off days you'll have more to do to entertain the kiddies there than at the 4 seasons although I'm not sure of the kid offering at the 4 seasons. For me immersion is important, I love walking home from Epcot to my resort and seeing the little lights twinkle in the ground, I love hear the horns from the boats, I love seeing the view from across the lake to the boardwalk area.

 

[DISR]

The YC is one of the nicest Disney resorts, and has a great location...I really like it. That said, if you didn't like the GF there is a chance you may not like the YC either. The YC pool is very good, but take a look at the Google overhead views and customer pics of the Four Seasons pool complex....It is amazing. The service, maintenance, etc at the Four Seasons will be unparalleled. You choose Disney to be in their bubble. That bubble includes location as well as integrated: dining, room charging, transportation, photographs, shopping, FP, etc all controlled by Disney. It does make things very smooth, but the importance of that varies from person to person. On a park centric trip, I like the Disney bubble. If pools, golf, dining, etc are a bigger part of the trip, it wouldn't be as important to me. This fall, we are doing a non-park trip. We are staying at AKL because my 5 year old will really like the animals. I was right on the verge of changing to the Four Seasons though. We will try Four Seasons for a similar trip in the future. The 2 downsides I see to the Four Season are that discounts are much more rare than they are at Disney, and the Four Seasons bubble may make Disney seem inexpensive. Expect to pay a significant premium for food/drink and other expenses at that resort.

 

[Disneydad09]

So it really depends on what you are looking for. The four seasons, is the four seasons. They built their brand solely on luxury, it's opulent. Their pool has a lazy river. My husband and I loved it for couple getaways.

That being said, I will say that it in no way gives me the Disney "ambiance" at all. It's very adult and very polished.
I would not stay there with a 4 and a 7 year old.

Now with any onsite deluxe you are paying for staying on site. nothing wrong with that , I adore the beach and Yacht club. I think on off days you'll have more to do to entertain the kiddies there than at the 4 seasons although I'm not sure of the kid offering at the 4 seasons. For me immersion is important, I love walking home from Epcot to my resort and seeing the little lights twinkle in the ground, I love hear the horns from the boats, I love seeing the view from across the lake to the boardwalk area.

Thank you. I always stayed at the GF and it made things easy, but last trip seemed like the GF lost a step....So looking for a change. Only feel like BC/YC or FS will be on same level or higher.

 

[Disneydad09]

The YC is one of the nicest Disney resorts, and has a great location...I really like it. That said, if you didn't like the GF there is a chance you may not like the YC either. The YC pool is very good, but take a look at the Google overhead views and customer pics of the Four Seasons pool complex....It is amazing. The service, maintenance, etc at the Four Seasons will be unparalleled. You choose Disney to be in their bubble. That bubble includes integrated: dining, room charging, transportation, photographs, shopping, FP, etc all controlled by Disney. It does make things very smooth, but the importance of that varies from person to person. On a park centric trip, I like the Disney bubble. If pools, golf, dining, etc are a bigger part of the trip, it wouldn't be as important to me. This fall, we are doing a non-park trip. We are staying at Animal Kingdom because my 5 year old will really like the animals. I was right on the verge of changing to the Four Seasons though. We will try Four Seasons for a similar trip in the future. The 2 downsides I see to the Four Season are that discounts are much more rare than they are at Disney, and the Four Seasons bubble may make Disney seem inexpensive. Expect to pay a significant premium for food/drink and other expenses at that resort.

That's the only issue we have. We are still visiting the parks, but its not park-centric trip, its both. I am figuring we can use Minnie Lyfts to get around.....I feel like both places have their advantages. FS is FS!! Pool looks amazing and the service will be top notch, but then the YC has that Disney magic, a very nice pool and you can rent boats and walk to Boardwalk and Parks....

Thanks for your input.

 

[durangojim]

We've stayed at them all, but (and this is a big but) the transportation at 4S is not great, or good. We wound up ubering everywhere. If you're planning on doing the parks and taking your kids then I'd do YC. the 4S has some great kids options, but the location of the YC can't be beat and the pool area is great (so is the Four Seasons). Also depending on your sleeping arrangements the 4S only has double beds or a King with a queen pull out (which might not be a big deal) where the YC has two queens. If this was an adult trip I'd say try the Four Seasons but in this case I'd do YC. Although we still love the GF.

 

[CTC]

We have stayed at the Yacht Club close to 50 nights over the years. Never disappoints. Location, location, location. Also, the YC has a nice quiet pool. We like Stormalong Bay at night after some Coney Island Chris and Ample Hills Creamery.

 

[winstongator]

The 4 seasons is my wife’s favorite WDW hotel - by far. We stayed once for a business trip. I did the water slides with my kids in really cold weather and we enjoyed it. They were 9 & 6 at the time. I can ask if they liked that slide better that yacht. The kids club at the four seasons are as good when we were there. Assume it’s still running. Don’t think they want you going to the parks while the kids are there though - double check me on that. The character breakfast is not crowded and a relaxed pace. I don’t remember if there was photopass - might not be.

You can’t walk to a park, but if you’re emphasizing hotel time, I’d do the Four seasons if it were evenly priced, let alone cheaper.

 

[Disneydad09]

The 4 seasons is my wife’s favorite WDW hotel - by far. We stayed once for a business trip. I did the water slides with my kids in really cold weather and we enjoyed it. They were 9 & 6 at the time. I can ask if they liked that slide better that yacht. The kids club at the four seasons are as good when we were there. Assume it’s still running. Don’t think they want you going to the parks while the kids are there though - double check me on that. The character breakfast is not crowded and a relaxed pace. I don’t remember if there was photopass - might not be.

You can’t walk to a park, but if you’re emphasizing hotel time, I’d do the Four seasons if it were evenly priced, let alone cheaper.

Thank you. The Four Season is actually 300 more, i mistyped. Spending about equal time at hotel and parks. Thanks again.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Stay at Yacht Club. The pool is amazing and it's within walking distance to Epcot and a short boat ride to DHS.

 

[KaliSplash]

So it really depends on what you are looking for. The four seasons, is the four seasons. They built their brand solely on luxury, it's opulent. Their pool has a lazy river. My husband and I loved it for couple getaways.

That being said, I will say that it in no way gives me the Disney "ambiance" at all. It's very adult and very polished.
I would not stay there with a 4 and a 7 year old.

Now with any onsite deluxe you are paying for staying on site. nothing wrong with that , I adore the beach and Yacht club. I think on off days you'll have more to do to entertain the kiddies there than at the 4 seasons although I'm not sure of the kid offering at the 4 seasons. For me immersion is important, I love walking home from Epcot to my resort and seeing the little lights twinkle in the ground, I love hear the horns from the boats, I love seeing the view from across the lake to the boardwalk area.

This post nails it! Yes more luxury for your $$ at 4 Seasons. More Mickey for your $$ at YC, BC or GF, etc. (Poly, Contemp, WL AKL

 

[pax_65]

Just throwing this out there... when my kids were young was when I really saw the value in my DVC membership. Staying in a DVC villa with lots of room is so much nicer than a hotel room when you have young kids. Is there any possibility (paying cash, renting points, etc) that you could get a DVC villa at Beach Club? Get a 1-bedroom villa, put the kids on the pull-out couch, you and your wife have a huge master bedroom. Full kitchen, living room, balcony. No idea how doable that is or what it would cost but it might be worth exploring. We stayed at at BC villa when our kids were young and they had a blast. The only problem I remember is keeping an eye on them at the pool - the whole complex is huge and kids move fast. My kids were always decent swimmers but still we wanted to have eyes on them.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Animal Kingdom Lodge

 

[correcaminos]

My issue with YC for you is your desire for better pools and the ages of your kids. The slide is only accessible outside the pool area. The pool is spread out and the seating is crowded with little shade. To get a good spot you have to go early. It's really not a great family pool IMO. I know I'm a minority here, but we're not fans and not for those who aren't strong swimmers or could walk to the slide on their own. If your kids can do that then you might enjoy it.