This is very timely for me, as I'll be heading to WDW in just a few short weeks.

It appears we'll be staying at the Yacht Club (originally thought we were going to be at AK) - looks like close proximity to Epcot (good thing for my first 5K, I suppose, which takes place there) and Hollywood Studios? I can't imagine I'll be at the hotel much, but what was the experience like?

Have a great trip Helen.

Next time I would suggest AKL, my husband had a wonderful time watching animals. He is not really a park guy but having a safari outside the room made it a great trip for him too. Well except for swelling up like the Godfather but he had a safari to entertain him.

Also just to make sure this is clear, the Poly is a Monorail resort so the resort loop trains stop right in the main lobby. Staring from the Poly you go to the Grand Flo and then to the MK. Coming home the stops are Contemporary, TTC, Poly.

From the TTC, you can catch the express train that goes directly to/from the MK.

I hope I can get a chance to greet all you incoming WDW visitors! (Alas, I haven't got park access these days. But I enjoy the odd Downtown Disney or resort visit.)

My advice, of course, is don't miss riding the Walt Disney World Railroad. (The narrator on that train sounds like he must be a complete dreamboat!) :D

I'm not a big fan of any of the food options at Poly (I find Kona Cafe to be a slightly improved Denny's and while the food is fine at Ohana, it has always been an exercise in waiting for when what you want to eat might come around again plus the nature of the experience gives higher odds to being int eh proximity of people who are obnoxiously loud and not controlling their children; have not done the luau but living in Hawaii drilled into me to avoid tourist luaus), but like the hotel.

It strikes me as a better place for just lounging about than AK (though when an animal wanders by that is nice. The beach area is pleasant and not crowded with easy access to amenities.

If you have iPhone/smartphones download the My Disney Experience app. It's recently been updated to include a lot of the menus around the resort, which can come in handy when trying to decide where to eat on short notice.

I haven't stayed at Yacht Club, but have stayed at the Boardwalk, which is across the lake. It is close to the International Gateway of Epcot, so you will have easy walking access from there. You can also take a nice walk to DHS, but it's a little farther. I'll be there for the Goofy, but not doing the 5K. I get in Thursday night. I hope your race goes well!

I hope we can meet up too!

Interesting!

With three full days, what would be your itinerary? We will have that 1 hr. early entry through the Disney card. We will be splitting into two groups: hubs and me (slow and easy) and daughter and her bf (ready to rock the resort).

"Be our guest" is the new in spot, unfortunately it's probably been booked for months perhaps you could sneak in for lunch. I had more fun that I thought I would at the SciFi dine in restaurant. The stone crab claws at Fulton's in downtown Disney where excellent, I like the Cobb salad for lunch at The Hollywood Brown Derby, The Lunching Pad at MK is evil (and not in a good way), Tusker House in AK was meh, Yak and Yeti might be better. At Epcot Coral Reef is cool visually but just OK on food. Nine Dragons was uninspiring, Restaurant Marrakesh was quite tasty.

Note: These impressions are a bit dated, your experience may vary.

MK- one day
Epcot- one day
DS/AK- half day each with AK in the morning so you can actually see animals on the Safari (ride early).

Epcot is really a tough one day park but you can do it if you plan well and don't get bogged down riding/doing things that are better skipped in a time crunch.

IMO, the luau is meh and I agree with Alex about the food at the Poly (unless you have a little kid along...they tend to love Ohana) but overall it is an awesome hotel (the entry really does remind me of some of the hotels in Hawaii- I think it may be the smell). You can watch the MK fireworks from the beach (they pipe the music through their outdoor speaker system).

@blueerica...the Yacht Club is probably my favorite Disney hotel, beating out the AKL because of its proximity to Epcot (and because it is difficult to travel anywhere in the resort from AKL unless you have a car). Yes you are close to DS too. The YC and BC are sister hotels and very similar except YC seems to be more adult oriented, BC more family (kid?) oriented. The YC seems to have a bit more of a laid back vibe to it. I'll be surprised ifyou don't love it.