Beach Club or Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[jlm196]

Help me decide where to stay... We are going in October 2014.
Pros and Cons?

 

[Mousemommy1]

Help me decide where to stay... We are going in October 2014.
Pros and Cons?

Depends on what's important to you....

BC has bigger rooms and a killer location. Being able to walk to two parks is awesome. Also, in October, the Epcot Food & Wine festival will likely be in full gear, so that easy access is a huge plus!

But, if you like animals...you may like AKL

Need to know more about the traveling party...kids?

 

[jlm196]

We are traveling with 2 boys. 6 & 8 at the time of travel.

 

[Mewissy]

Also, will you have a car?


BC's location is much better as you could walk to two parks. AKL is beautiful and less expensive. Having a car would help even out the locations a bit - although I would still bus to MK.

 

[Jennasis]

Help me decide where to stay... We are going in October 2014.
Pros and Cons?

Us too! In September. Couldn't choose, so we're doing both!

 

[jlm196]

We will not have a car.

 

[mickeynut1]

Help me decide where to stay... We are going in October 2014.
Pros and Cons?

We've stayed at both and they are both great resorts. The BC is convenient as it's within walking distance to Epcot and DHS, but we thought the bus transportation was great at AKL. Even though AKL is out away from everything, it didn't take more than about 5 extra minutes to get around compared to any of the other resorts we've stayed at. As far as room size, we found the rooms at BC to be only slightly larger than at AKL, with not a significant difference (to us). If your boys like animals, AKL is great as there are so many viewing areas even if you don't book a savanna view room. Good luck deciding, although you can't go wrong with either one as they are both great places to stay.

 

[suemom2kay]

The Beach Club is one of our favorite resorts. With your kids' ages, they will LOVE Stormalong Bay and October is great weather for pool time. A short walk and you're in the World Showcase between France and England. Also can boat or walk to the Studios. Just cannot beat the location or the pool.

Last year, which was our third stay at the beach club, we did a split stay between the Beach Club and Animal Kingdom. While we adore the Beach Club, we fell in love with the peacfulness of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. But, I think part of why we fell in love with AKL is that our daughter is now 11. So we tour the parks very differently.

If it were my choice, taking into consideration the kids' ages, I'd go with the Beach Club.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

I haven't stayed at either one, but here are my thoughts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge: I LOVEEEEEE African Animals, like, really, A LOT. So just off that, I'd love to stay there just because of that! Do your kids love Animals? They might love seeing them right at the resort they're staying at!

Beach Club: The pools look beautiful! You could walk to Epcot, which could be handy.


As much as I love animals, I think I'd choose to stay at Beach Club. I'd already be going to Animal Kingdom and I plan on visiting the lodge anyway!

 

[figment_jii]

I very much like both resorts...you really can't go wrong with either.

Beach Club

• Close proximity to Epcot and DHS. You can easily walk to Epcot and enter via IG. You can walk (a little over a mile) or take the friendship boat to DHS (25 minutes).
• Usually shares a bus with Yacht Club, but it can share buses with Boardwalk, Swan, and Dolphin.
• Marketplace has sufficient food options, especially the Oreo Bon Bons. There are also lots of other venues to eat because the other resorts are so close.
• Easy walk to Boardwalk for some non-park activities
• Stormalong Bay is one of the mot popular pools at WDW. It has a sand bottom and a pretty cool water slide.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

• Animals! You an see a wide variety of animals (e.g., zebra, giraffees, gazelles, etc.) on the savannahs around the resort.
• AKL only shares a bus with Kidani, but you have to take a bus to get anywhere.
• Mara has lots of food options, including Zebra Domes. There is also Jiko (Signature) and Boma, which are very good.
• Animals! Did I mention that there are a lot activities to do at the resort itself? There is animal viewing, night vision binoculars, etc. (All of these are available to any guest visiting the resort, but it's much more convenient if you're staying there.)

In terms of the resort itself, I like AKL. It's one of the most amazing looking resorts at WDW. However, that being said, I usually stay at the BW (used to stay at BC, but it's harder to get a room there during F&W) because of the proximity to Epcot.

 

[TorontoJoe]

I'll weigh in with a strong vote for the Beach Club...only because we've had such fantastic times there. Our daughter was 2 and 3 when we've gone, so a different age bracket than 6 & 8, but we loved how easy it was to walk to Epcot even for an hour or two, then back to the BC for some rest time, or a meal, or a swim at the fantastic pool.

Also, being able to walk around the Boardwalk and get a snack or just stretch your legs and take in the sights was great. I think that the location is the best of all resorts because of its central location and easy accessibility to multiple destinations.

Have fun wherever you wind up staying!

 

[mousegear]

I like both BC and ALK. In fact, we are doing a split stay between BC and ALK this coming Oct/Nov trip. We have DS 9 who loves SAB and proximity to Epcot and DHS is awesome especially during Food and Wine at Epcot. We spend lots of evening in Epcot. We are doing last two days in AKL, which I am looking forward to it as well. We'll probably spend one in AK and our last day, we will enjoy the resort and stay around.

I think your children will also love SAB at Beach Club as well. Also, walking to Epcot's WS is great! However, I could also see that they'll love seeing animals in AKL. Either way, they are both great resorts!!!

 

[herb102211]

I would go with the beach club. You can't beat the location and the theming of the resort is great. We really like stormalong bay too!