BC/YC or BWI?

[yaya74]

Is any of these three resorts, BC, YC and BWI, much better than the others? We are not DVC members.

 

[cutigerlady]

I've stayed at all three and I would say it depends. Are you looking at the villas or a regular room? When my kids were little, I preferred BWI because the pool area is smaller and it was easier to keep up with the kids. Plus you have to exit the pool area for the entrance of the water slide. That was hard for us because our kids are 4 1/2 years apart and we had one that wanted to ride the slide and one that could not. At SAB, you can't wear a life jacket down the slide. Some people say the clown pool at BWI freaks them out, however it didn't affect us at all. At BWI, I've only stayed in the villas and the rooms were very nice, but we were at the far end and had quite the walk to our room.

The BCV are much more compact. We had excellent rooms here. I haven't stayed in them since the refurb, but they look even nicer than before. The lobby of BC is very loud and crazy at times because of Cape May Cafe. My kids like this pool now that they are older. We have also stayed at the YC in regular rooms several times and have enjoyed our stay. This lobby is very quiet and if you are looking for relaxing, I would probably pick this over the BC. My family likes eating breakfast at Captains Grille and you can always just walk in. Depending on when you are going though, YC is currently being refurbished. Honestly, for regular rooms between BC and YC, I always go with whichever one has a better rate.

My family prefers staying at the Epcot resorts and you can't go wrong with any of them. We love being able to walk to two parks or take the boat. We love that you can easily get between the resorts for dining and entertainment on the boardwalk at night.

 

[loves to dive]

YC is my favorite of all onsite resorts but if it's not available or I can get a room at BW or BC for less, I'll stay at one of those. I like the darker lobby and more adult feel of YC over BC, which tends to lean more toward kids. I also like the fact that other than one or two rooms, you are guaranteed a full balcony at YC where at BC you may end up with the little Juliette balcony. I like sitting on the balcony in the mornings with my coffee and watching the resort wake up and at night with a glass of wine and watching it go to sleep. BW is my least favorite of the three but I've only stayed in studios there so that might make a difference. I found the studio rooms to be a tad bit smaller than a regular resort room and it was before the recent renovations so they were definitely in need of some TLC. YC is getting ready for renovation but the last time I stayed there, last Sept., I had no problems with my room.

 

[yaya74]

I've stayed at all three and I would say it depends. Are you looking at the villas or a regular room? When my kids were little, I preferred BWI because the pool area is smaller and it was easier to keep up with the kids. Plus you have to exit the pool area for the entrance of the water slide. That was hard for us because our kids are 4 1/2 years apart and we had one that wanted to ride the slide and one that could not. At SAB, you can't wear a life jacket down the slide. Some people say the clown pool at BWI freaks them out, however it didn't affect us at all. At BWI, I've only stayed in the villas and the rooms were very nice, but we were at the far end and had quite the walk to our room.

We are looking at a regular room. We were at Cape May Cafe for dinner one night and Stormaway Bay and the walk around the lake caught our attention. My kids can swim without a vest so the fact that no vest allowed at SAB wouldn't matter us. I have shown my kids the picture of the clown pool at BWI. None of them have a fear of clowns and they love waterslides...

The BCV are much more compact. We had excellent rooms here. I haven't stayed in them since the refurb, but they look even nicer than before. The lobby of BC is very loud and crazy at times because of Cape May Cafe. My kids like this pool now that they are older. We have also stayed at the YC in regular rooms several times and have enjoyed our stay. This lobby is very quiet and if you are looking for relaxing, I would probably pick this over the BC. My family likes eating breakfast at Captains Grille and you can always just walk in. Depending on when you are going though, YC is currently being refurbished. Honestly, for regular rooms between BC and YC, I always go with whichever one has a better rate.

My family prefers staying at the Epcot resorts and you can't go wrong with any of them. We love being able to walk to two parks or take the boat. We love that you can easily get between the resorts for dining and entertainment on the boardwalk at night.

We stayed at AKL during our recent trip. Though AKL is beautiful, the lobby area was loud especially with the sound of drums... I don't think BC was as loud as AKL despite people going to Cape May Cafe.

thank you for your feedback!

 

[yaya74]

YC is my favorite of all onsite resorts but if it's not available or I can get a room at BW or BC for less, I'll stay at one of those. I like the darker lobby and more adult feel of YC over BC, which tends to lean more toward kids. I also like the fact that other than one or two rooms, you are guaranteed a full balcony at YC where at BC you may end up with the little Juliette balcony. I like sitting on the balcony in the mornings with my coffee and watching the resort wake up and at night with a glass of wine and watching it go to sleep. BW is my least favorite of the three but I've only stayed in studios there so that might make a difference. I found the studio rooms to be a tad bit smaller than a regular resort room and it was before the recent renovations so they were definitely in need of some TLC. YC is getting ready for renovation but the last time I stayed there, last Sept., I had no problems with my room.

I didn't get to visit YC during our recent trip. Having balcony is a plus. Our upcoming trip is not until next summer. I currently have a room reserved at BwI with the BB booking as there is no availability at BC or YC. My parents will likely be going to WDW with us. I am a little worried that BWI might be too busy for their taste (I felt BW is busy from the pictures of the pool area... all that carnival thing). They might prefer something like BC or YC. But they also like the night time activities along the broad walk at BW.. Thank you for your feedback!!

 

[loves to dive]

I didn't get to visit YC during our recent trip. Having balcony is a plus. Our upcoming trip is not until next summer. I currently have a room reserved at BwI with the BB booking as there is no availability at BC or YC. My parents will likely be going to WDW with us. I am a little worried that BWI might be too busy for their taste (I felt BW is busy from the pictures of the pool area... all that carnival thing). They might prefer something like BC or YC. But they also like the night time activities along the broad walk at BW.. Thank you for your feedback!!

Easy enough to walk over to BW from BC/YC and it's a nice stroll. There is a quiet pool at BW so you don't have to even go to the clown pool. You really can't go wrong with any of the three. You can always book what's available and keep looking to see if something else opens up. You can cancel up with no penalty for a certain amount of time.

 

[bunnyman]

BC and YC are basically the same resort, with lobbies separated by the restaurants. Have stayed at both, and found whenever WDW is throwing around room discounts, YC is usually a better bargain (i.e. last time it was 30% of YC and 20% off BC, as BC is closer to Epcot). The only problem with YC from our last stay there was location. We were literally in one of the most remote rooms (first floor, facing the water, all the way closest to the bridge over to the Boardwalk area). It was quicker to walk over to the Swan and Dolphin and take boats from there! Also, YC doesn’t have a true quick serve dining area, so you had to traipse all the way over to the one in the BC, which was quite a hike to say the least.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We have stayed at all three and I voted for the BC. It is the closest to the International Gateway and has Marketplace for quick service. BWI only has outdoor food service, which makes it inconvenient to get food when it is raining. BWI also has very long hallways and a crazy system of getting out of the building. We had a room on the ground floor facing the inner courtyard by the quiet pool. We had to go up a flight of stairs, through the hallways and then down a flight of stairs to get out of the building. But the rooms are nice and the quiet pool is lovely.

 

[madalex]

BC and YC are basically the same resort, with lobbies separated by the restaurants.

Totally not the same resort. They are very near each other and do share a pool, but there are otherwise numerous important differences between the resorts, such as: (a) substantially all YC rooms have balconies, (b) BC lobby is usually quite loud, while the YC lobby is rarely so, (b) BC has a quick serve dining area, which YC does not, (d) YC quiet pool is actually in a location that is quiet (behind the building), while the BC quiet pool is just off the walking path around the lagoon, and (e) BC is closer to Epcot, YC is closer to HS (boat or walking).

That being said, I've stayed at each of YC, BC and BWI on multiple occasions. They are all great resorts and many wonderful amenities. So, to answer the OP's initial question, I don't believe that any one of those three resorts is substantially better than the others.

 

[bunnyman]

Totally not the same resort. They are very near each other and do share a pool, but there are otherwise numerous important differences between the resorts, such as: (a) substantially all YC rooms have balconies, (b) BC lobby is usually quite loud, while the YC lobby is rarely so, (b) BC has a quick serve dining area, which YC does not, (d) YC quiet pool is actually in a location that is quiet (behind the building), while the BC quiet pool is just off the walking path around the lagoon, and (e) BC is closer to Epcot, YC is closer to HS (boat or walking).

That being said, I've stayed at each of YC, BC and BWI on multiple occasions. They are all great resorts and many wonderful amenities. So, to answer the OP's initial question, I don't believe that any one of those three resorts is substantially better than the others.

Point taken…ok, sorry for the brevity of my comment about them basically being the same resort, but I was referring more to them structurally than to their individual amenities. Take a look at an aerial view; it is one giant complex with the public spaces in the middle. Yes, they each have their individual characteristics and given each “side’s” sprawl they each have individual attributes as to their location (as I noted in my original comments proximity to EPCOT and Swan/Dolphin, etc.). I did also comment on the lack of the quick serve on the YC side. These two resorts are quite often referred to together as the “Yacht & Beach Club” given their very, very close proximity.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We love BWI and BWV. I prefer the location of the BW resorts over YC, just a little bit. They are both great locations as far as walking to and from EPCOT and DS. The BW has a lively lobby would out being too loud. The pool areas are great and does not seem as crowded as SAB.

Both YC and BW rooms can be quite a hike to the lobby, so if location is important to you, make a request to be by the lobby. A balcony or a patio is a deal breaker for us. We spend a lot of time on the patio/balcony, so BC is not a great option for us.

 

[nfouey]

BC and YC are basically the same resort, with lobbies separated by the restaurants. Have stayed at both, and found whenever WDW is throwing around room discounts, YC is usually a better bargain (i.e. last time it was 30% of YC and 20% off BC, as BC is closer to Epcot). The only problem with YC from our last stay there was location. We were literally in one of the most remote rooms (first floor, facing the water, all the way closest to the bridge over to the Boardwalk area). It was quicker to walk over to the Swan and Dolphin and take boats from there! Also, YC doesn’t have a true quick serve dining area, so you had to traipse all the way over to the one in the BC, which was quite a hike to say the least.

We stayed in a similar location at YC (aka the other end of the world)! But we found walking outside by exiting from the stairwells made our walk to the lobby, pool, BC marketplace, or transportation a breeze. After we figured out this tip I would almost request this area again!

 

[soniam]

I asked the same question not too long ago. We haven't stayed at any yet. This is for a November 2017 trip. I think it depends what is important to you and who is traveling with you. Room type is also a factor. I decided on YC, but it wasn't available. I booked BC instead. Our trip is adults-only during Food & Wine and the half marathon for a milestone birthday. I really wanted the balcony with a water view. I think YC is and will be undergoing some renovations and construction, which makes me very leery after experiencing the Poly construction. With kids, I think SAB, even for older kids, looks more fun than BWI. I think my son would enjoy it more. I don't think you will be disappointed in any of them though, unless there is a feature that you have your heart set on.

 

[bunnyman]

We stayed in a similar location at YC (aka the other end of the world)! But we found walking outside by exiting from the stairwells made our walk to the lobby, pool, BC marketplace, or transportation a breeze. After we figured out this tip I would almost request this area again!

Yeah, we found it quicker to walk near the quiet pool and enter the lobby at the end near there

 

[NH-to-FL]

Another vote for the BWI. With the following caveat: If a pool is high on your list than BC or YC might be a better choice.

We like the BWI for the theming and have always had rooms overlooking quiet courtyards with Epcot in the distance.

 

[yaya74]

Another vote for the BWI. With the following caveat: If a pool is high on your list than BC or YC might be a better choice.

We like the BWI for the theming and have always had rooms overlooking quiet courtyards with Epcot in the distance.

We only spent a couple hours at the resort pool during our recent visit. I guess my family won't spend that much more during our next trip as we have waterparks and more option. It just seems to me that BWI is not as calm and peaceful as BC.. But I could be wrong as I have never step my foot at BWI and I could only make that assumption based on the pictures...

 

[loves to dive]

We only spent a couple hours at the resort pool during our recent visit. I guess my family won't spend that much more during our next trip as we have waterparks and more option. It just seems to me that BWI is not as calm and peaceful as BC.. But I could be wrong as I have never step my foot at BWI and I could only make that assumption based on the pictures...

If you are looking for calm and peaceful YC is most likely going to be the most calm in the lobby area. Having said that, all WDW resorts have a certain level of hectic going on, it is a family resort so even GF will have some kids running around.