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Disney Beach Club Exchange worth it for one?

Nolathyme

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I am coming to Orlando for 4 nights in the beginning of February for a conference (by myself mid 40's).

I was able to get a last minute exchange into the Disney Beach Club for 7 nights.

I've never stayed at a Disney property. Is it worth it to pay the extra $95 resort fee or should I save the money and try to book into another property like the Vistana?

Will I be charged the entire $95 fee if I am only stay 4 nights?

Does Disney have a 1 in 4 rule.

Are the pools heated and warm in Feb? The sand beach pool sounds interesting.

I will have a half day before the conference starts to enjoy the resort. Other than that I will be at the conference from 8 to 6ish.

Can I go to Epcot center in the evening without paying full price admission?

Will I see Mickey Mouse ?
 

sfwilshire

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If the TPUs were relatively low, the $95 plus the exchange fee aren't terrible for the atmosphere. The fee will still be $95 even if you shorten your stay.

No 1 in 4 rule so far.

No discounted Epcot admission unless you can get something through your conference. I think there are a few of those sorts of deals around.

We saw Mickey Mouse the last time we stopped in BCV, but that was around the Christmas holidays.

Sheila
 

vacationhopeful

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Go. The $95 is a one time fee for the 7 nights - not by the night. Pools are heated. Warm? Depends on you; I have been in the pools and lived.

You will need a park ticket for Epcot to get in (just like all the other parks), but you are a short stroll from the back entrance.

Stay the whole week. Then you can look for Mickey. Plus, as you are staying in a DVC, you get EMH (Extra Magic Hours - early and late admission to the parks - usually one per day early and 1 per day late OR MORE). Yes, you will need a park ticket for those EMH along with your room card.

No 1in4 rule. YET.

I leave on Sunday for my exchange. I was there in Dec on exchange. And I am not a big Disney fan, but I brought a season's pass in Dec to make the in and out of the parks effective for these two trips. I will do at least ONE more trip in the next 6+ months.
 

djs

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Is the conference on a Disney property or in Orlando? If it isn't on-site I'd probably lean towards staying elsewhere (depends on how much time you're going to have at the end of each day). If you can take the whole week as another poster suggested then I'd say stay at Disney and buy a park pass for the whole time you'll be there. Also, since you'll be in your conference during some of the days I wouldn't spend the extra money for a "Park Hopper" pass as on your conference days you likely wouldn't have time to hit multiple parks.

What does your $95 get you? About the only thing I can think of is the bus to/from MCO to your hotel (though I believe it's per unit and not per person) and the Extra Hours. The AM Extra Hours likely wouldn't be useful to you but the evening ones might be. It is a fairly steep price for the few hours you will have though.

There are free busses running between the hotels/parks/Downtown Disney however those are available to anyone and not just folks staying onsite.

Will you need a car? Likely if your conference is off site (this would be the case no matter where you stay), so one more advantage to staying at a Disney property is that you wouldn't pay for parking at any of the parks. If your conference is onsite then you can get by w/o a car.

Check out http://www.disboards.com/ for all the information you could ever want on Disney.
 

bnoble

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Is the conference on a Disney property or in Orlando? If it isn't on-site I'd probably lean towards staying elsewhere
This is my take too. You don't have a lot of spare time, and "crossing the bubble" can be surprisingly inconvenient.
 

Nolathyme

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The conference is at the Marriott World Center , 4.7 miles away. Is traffic bad going into and out of Disney (mid - week 1st week of Feb)?

I can't stay any extra days :bawl:
and I don't want to spend $85 to do epcot for the night.

If I can find Vistana or Hilton , I may give this up.
 

bnoble

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No, traffic isn't bad, but it's a hassle. Vistana is right around the corner from the MWC. You might even get a cheap rental at one of the Marriot Palms (that's the same complex, right?)
 

djs

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The conference is at the Marriott World Center , 4.7 miles away. Is traffic bad going into and out of Disney (mid - week 1st week of Feb)?

I can't stay any extra days :bawl:
and I don't want to spend $85 to do epcot for the night.

If I can find Vistana or Hilton , I may give this up.

Based on this, I would highly recommend that you consider using Hotwire or Priceline for your stay. You said that you are there the first week of February so based on that I did a search on HW and found you could get a 4* hotel in the "Seaworld - International Drive" area for $62 a night (total of $287 after taxes/fees). Dates I searched were 2/6 - 2/10. From the 1st - 5th a 4* hotel in the same area is $51 per night for a total of $239.

Keep in mind that if you went this route, you won't know the hotel until you commit to it and there are no refunds/changes. Also, a general practice if using Priceline is to bid below what Hotwire is offering.

Given that you'd have some sort of exchange fee that might come close to these totals, it seems a shame to use a whole week unless you are using something that is set to expire soon.
 

MichaelColey

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I believe the pools at all Disney pools are heated to 85.

Even if you don't enter the parks, you can walk over to the bridge and watch the aerial portion of Illumnations for free each night at 9.

I couldn't imagine any reason to stay on site at Disney if I wasn't going to Disney. The units are smaller (which really isn't an issue with just one person, I suppose) and all of the benefits of staying there are because of the location and in-park perks.

I would got with Hotwire or Priceline and just get a hotel. (Unless you want to be able to cook, in which case I would look for a cheap timeshare rental.)
 

malyons

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Marriott has 3 timeshares on the world center property if you have access to II, something to consider....
 

mdurette

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Marriott has 3 timeshares on the world center property if you have access to II, something to consider....


Correct - Sable Palms is the closest. If you have II - this is what I would do.
 

colamedia

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Unless your deposit with RCI is about to expire, I'd just go get a room somewhere for 4 nights. Using a lot of TPUs for 4 nights with full exchange fee usually isn't the best value for somewhere like Orlando with a lot of availability, timeshare and non-timeshare.
 

glypnirsgirl

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The conference is at the Marriott World Center , 4.7 miles away. Is traffic bad going into and out of Disney (mid - week 1st week of Feb)?

I can't stay any extra days :bawl:
and I don't want to spend $85 to do epcot for the night.

If I can find Vistana or Hilton , I may give this up.

The traffic isn't bad at the Disney end, but it is horrid at the Marriott end. It has sometimes taken us 20 minutes to move 2 or 3 blocks when there is a big convention in town. I would get something close enough that I could walk.

elaine
 

Twinkstarr

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You know when I stayed at VWL a few years ago, the concierge was helping someone with directions to MWC, as the guest had a conference there. Cast Member was telling him traffic could be bad, so get an early start.
 

bnoble

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it is horrid at the Marriott end
Huh? There is maybe one traffic light from the border of Disney property and the MWC entrance---at the entrance. If you take Buena Vista (along the Epcot resorts) there are a few long four-way lights, but Epcot Center Drive (the route you'd take from VWL) is practically barrier-free.
 

Nolathyme

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I booked Vistana , someone else will enjoy the beach club more than me.
 

chriskre

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I booked Vistana , someone else will enjoy the beach club more than me.

Vistana is nice and also has a good location. All the rooms are remodeled now so you'll be sure to have a nice comfy room. And it's right next to the Chick Fil-A. :D
 

Nolathyme

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Chick-fil-A would have sold me 10 years ago, now there are too many of them and it's not as special as it use to be.
 

chriskre

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Chick-fil-A would have sold me 10 years ago, now there are too many of them and it's not as special as it use to be.

We don't have any where I live so to me it's a treat as is the Golden Corral across the street. Orlando is the land of the cheap eats chains. :D
 
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