How have families dealt with limited food choices at BC/YC/BW?

[ColinCodyMom]

Hi all! My family of 4(2 adults and 2 kiddos, 12 and 15) are currently booked at AKL for June. I love this resort and have stayed a couple times before. We have also stayed at CR, BLT, WL, Pop and OKW. I have to say we have enjoyed every stay we've had. I have been contemplating a moderate stay because of the savings (were looking pretty closely at CSR) but I keep being swayed back to the deluxes. I kinda want a change just to see another resort. I've been looking at BC, YC, or BW but all seem to have horrible food options for the morning or quick service. For those with kids who don't enjoy cold cereal, how do you manage with the options at these resorts? Or maybe I should count them out for that reason. There seemed to be a kiosk at boardwalk but I'm not sure where that is in relation to BC. Of course, I love SAB so I'd prefer BC or YC. Every time I get close to a decision, something sways my mind again. It seems that's pretty common on these boards . For anyone with advice who would advocate one resort over another, I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

 

[sweetcreams]

We stayed at the BC one year. I loved being so close to the back gate of Epcot, but the buses to other parks picked up at other hotels too, so it was a long ride to MK. The BC Marketplace has quick service food. I remember the flatbread being pretty good, and the veggie sandwich. We didn't eat breakfast there, but they do have hot food like eggs, breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal etc. The BW is right around the lake from there, so we also went to the Bakery, which also has some pretty good breakfast and lunch choices. You can pack oatmeal or dry cereal for the room, or make a stop at the grocery store on your way in if you have a car. If not, try Garden Grocer. They have a website where you can choose exactly what you want and they deliver groceries to your hotel. We used them when staying at the cabins at FW and had really great service, and prompt responses to any questions we had.

 

[Kim1964]

The BC marketplace has some breakfast stuff: Along with these menu items, a variety of Grab 'n' Go items are also available, including breakfast cereals, whole fruit, chips and other snacks, and pre-made sandwiches and salads.

Breakfast 7 - 11 a.m.

Scrambled Egg Platter - with bacon, potato casserole and a biscuit $6.79

Breakfast Sandwich - - with bacon, egg, cheese, potato casserole $6.99

Oatmeal $2.79

Espresso $2.99
Latte or Cappuccino $3.39


YC has the Captain's Grille for a sitdown breakfast. BC has Cape May for a character breakfast.

 

[triciari]

There's also a coffee shop off the YC lobby that has pastries.

 

[mmmears]

Like pp's have said, the Marketplace does have some options. There is also a good sit down breakfast at the YC, if that is more what you are looking for. My family eats a light breakfast before the parks open and then we have a nice sit-down lunch in whatever park we happen to be that day, so the breakfast options at the YC/BC haven't bothered us. When we did want a big breakfast we went to the restaurant (Captain's Grille, I believe) at the YC -- it's great since you can have the buffet or order a la carte.

YC/BC is great for the location and the pools. We love AKL, too -- you have some great resorts to choose from.

 

[bookgirl]

Took my parents to BC a few years ago. My stepdad wants breakfast, a real breakfast, every day. We had to deal with the morning food question.

We ate at the Captains Grille for a sit down breakfast, which was very good and moderate in price. You can order eggs alacarte if you get the buffet so he could get an omelet plus the other offerings and that made him happy. Buffett runs around $17.

We ate at the Marketplace before the menu change but we were fine with a breakfast sandwich (they used to have french toast sticks as well). But my step dad really does not like this, we got him a sandwich and some fruit and he had part of my mom's french toast sticks, but it was not what he considered 'having breakfast'.

Last morning we ate off site at IHOP as I was taking them to the airport to go home. Honestly it was a relief, to not have to deal with morning food questions after he left.

I'm more of a grab something on the run type, so all my solo stays I keep some quick/easy on the go snacks or bagels w/PB in my room then plan an early lunch or snack.

 

[Sandi]

DH and I just returned from BWI and I'm going back with DD in August. We ordered breakfast (and other) food from Garden Grocer (yogurt, cheese, bread). Depending on when you are going, the Boardwalk Bakery expansion/renovation may be completed as well. It's supposed to be done at the end of April. I'm not sure what the menu will be like, but I suspect it will be more expansive than it was. Another thing we did was pick up pastries from France at Epcot a couple of evenings and one pastry actually made it to breakfast!

 

[gtpoohbear]

We are staying at YC next month, and the morning food dilemma has been giving me fits already! DH is another one of those who NEEDS a big, sit-down breakfast every day. Captain's Grille seems to be a good choice (in YC) if you can wait until 7:30am. But if you are trying to make an 8am park opening, that won't work. We are probably going to end up doing room service a lot of mornings because I can't come up with much else. The Swan/Dolphin, which are nearby, have a couple of options too if you don't mind walking over there (not on the DDP though).

 

[jenjersnap]

We have always found the Marketplace and BW Bakery perfectly adequate for our CS needs and Captains Grille and Cape May (Kouzzina is on our to do list) for times we want TS. If heading into Epcot for rope drop, I have read the bakery in France is open now. Yes, there isn't a food court at these resorts but I personally think the issue is overstated.

 

[elaw]

Due to YC/BC/BWI's proximity to EPCOT, We tend to wander over to the World Showcase for food needs. We usually stay CL, so our breakfast is covered.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Due to YC/BC/BWI's proximity to EPCOT, We tend to wander over to the World Showcase for food needs. We usually stay CL, so our breakfast is covered.

Exactly why we chose CL!

 

[goofy4tink]

The Bakery at BW is be rehabbed to enlarge it and allow them to offer more grab and go things.
I stay at BWV a lot....but we tend to have a bagel or such before leaving for the parks and then we get a big breakfast around 10ish. It's kind of like brunch at that point.

 

[karly05]

I'll be honest, this is exactly why, when I stayed at BC last year, I went to Captain's Grille at YC 3 out of 4 mornings for Breakfast. (The other morning I hit AM EMH at AK and grabbed a pastry and juice in the park.) Really liked CG, good buffet and quick service.

That's one thing I really appreciated about POFQ this year was more variety for a hot, multi-item breakfast from the food court.

 

[sethschroeder]

Due to YC/BC/BWI's proximity to EPCOT, We tend to wander over to the World Showcase for food needs. We usually stay CL, so our breakfast is covered.

First time to Walt Disney World this summer and BINGO!

I decided club level for a few reasons but when I threw in:
Breakfast each morning (no hot food but oh well)
Lunch Snacks
Pre Dinner Apps
Post Dinner Dessert
Drinks all day
Wine/Beer/Liquor in the evening

You really can't beat it also you get someone to book all your dining or outings if you choose. I would say skip breakfast go club level and eat an earlier lunch after the morning continental breakfast.

 

[jenjersnap]

We stayed CL at BC last trip and would never repeat it. The lounge was a crowded zoo with not enough places to sit and the food was snatched up the second it was put out. People acted like it was their last meal. There was never any food left at midday unless you count the gummy bears. we planned for all these "savings" but it didn't work out that way at all. So, egg sandwiches at Marketplace and the lovely buffet at Captains Grille are A-ok for us.

 

[goodferry]

It hasn't been an issue for us ever, but we don't eat many counter service meals. For breakfast we would usually eat in the concierge lounge, but we have also eaten in the Captain's Grill, Boardwalk Bakery, Kouzzina etc.
As far as Club Level, we have stayed 7 times at the Beach Club and have never had any of the issues mentioned by the previous poster. We usually go in June or October for Food and Wine and love it there. The staff is wonderful and the breakfast was always more than plentiful (incidentally, there will only be light snacks, ie cookies and gummy fish out after breakfast is over until evening appetizers)

 

[elaw]

...
As far as Club Level, we have stayed 7 times at the Beach Club and have never had any of the issues mentioned by the previous poster... The staff is wonderful and the breakfast was always more than plentiful (incidentally, there will only be light snacks, ie cookies and gummy fish out after breakfast is over until evening appetizers)

This has been our experience too ... We are always up early and the crowds are not an issue for us.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi all! My family of 4(2 adults and 2 kiddos, 12 and 15) are currently booked at AKL for June. I love this resort and have stayed a couple times before. We have also stayed at CR, BLT, WL, Pop and OKW. I have to say we have enjoyed every stay we've had. I have been contemplating a moderate stay because of the savings (were looking pretty closely at CSR) but I keep being swayed back to the deluxes. I kinda want a change just to see another resort. I've been looking at BC, YC, or BW but all seem to have horrible food options for the morning or quick service. For those with kids who don't enjoy cold cereal, how do you manage with the options at these resorts? Or maybe I should count them out for that reason. There seemed to be a kiosk at boardwalk but I'm not sure where that is in relation to BC. Of course, I love SAB so I'd prefer BC or YC. Every time I get close to a decision, something sways my mind again. It seems that's pretty common on these boards . For anyone with advice who would advocate one resort over another, I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

Limited CS options is the reason we haven't stayed at another Epcot resort since our BC stay in 2003. We loved the BC, but prior to our stay we weren't aware of the no CS issue (didn't know about the Dis back then and the year before we stayed at CBR with a full food court). My DH and DSs need a hot breakfast every morning and although we do book a couple of TS breakfasts during our trips, we don't like to do them every morning; so needless to say, we found ourselves in a tough spot once we arrived. The BC had nothing as far as CS for breakfast as there wasn't even the Marketplace at that time, so we found ourselves eating at Spoodles on the boardwalk 4 or 5 of our mornings. Spoodles became a favorite of ours that trip (we also did a couple of dinners there), but it did get old doing a sit down so many mornings. Sometimes we wanted to grab a quick hot breakfast and go without having to head to a park and grab something there, but that wasn't an option. With all of that said, the BC is a beautiful resort and you can't beat being within walking distance to 2 parks. I would love to try the YC or BWI, but my DSs want nothing to do with staying in that area again with no CS. Even though they were young during that BC trip (8 & 10), the first thing they always remember when I bring up the Epcot resorts is no CS. If limited CS won't be an issue, I'd give an Epcot resort a try. But if a food court or a CS with variety like those at the other deluxe resorts is important, the Epcot area might be challenging (IMO). Good luck.

 

[pixarmom]

As a previous poster mentioned, CL!!! We LOVE CL at BWI and the breakfast is perfect. But we may be a little different - we don't like the heavy breakfast options at most CS locations and prefer to avoid CS generally, so the CL breakfast is absolutely perfect for us.

At BC, we've stayed both CL and non-CL. Either one works at BC. With CL, breakfast is easy. Non-CL, we just grab breakfast at BC Marketplace, which is now my favorite resort CS location.

At YC, CL solves the breakfast issue.

For CL, we're always up early and haven't encountered crowds at BWI or at BC during value or peak seasons.

But there are other options for those who want more breakfast. Picabu at the Dolphin is less than a 10-minute walk from YC, open 24 hours and has an extensive CS breakfast menu. The Boardwalk Bakery serves breakfast, too. And if you have hoppers, you can hop over to the Les Halles in France at 9am for breakfast, too.

Part of the reason we love the Epcot area is the dining options. But that's because we prefer a quick breakfast in the club lounge or from the Marketplace (if staying non-CL) and then we have ADRs for lunch and dinner. We actually like the fact that there are no food courts in the area - that's a plus for us! The TS options in Epcot and the Epcot resort area can't be beat, and there's nothing more relaxing than just strolling back to your room at the end of the evening!

 

[mistysue]

We actually found the selection to be great if you didn't have to deal with complicated allergies.
At BC/YC for breakfast each has a TS, BC has a permanent CS and the bar in the YC lobby has continental breakfast type offerings. For lunch and dinner you can then add in hurricane hanna's, beaches and cream, the crew's cup and doesn't BC have martha's vinyard or something like that? I though they had some food. At dinner there is then also a signature TS. You have 7 choices of places to go for dinner plus in-room dining, without even having to leave the little area of the double resort... Most resorts don't have 7 options. Plus you can walk to Epcot if you have park hoppers and the boardwalk is really close with a list of places to go. You mention staying at POP, walking to the boardwalk is sort of like walking across that resort.