BC or WL

[120304]

Hi everyone, currently booked at BC for 5 nights in Sept.
It will be me, my husband, DD9 and DS5. We love the idea of being able to walk to Epcot and boat or walk to DHS. Have one day planned for each of those and two days at MK. My DD is a good swimmer, DS, not as strong and a little more timid. Wondering if SAB will be a bit overwhelming for DS - and maybe even us keeping up with 2 kids with different swimming abilities.
Also, recently spoke with two different people who have stayed at BC and both mentioned that it was a very large resort with a lot of walking - to refill mugs etc. one of those two has stayed at WL and loved it here, said it was much more compact and easier to get around resort especially after walking in the parks.

Any advice? Has anyone stayed at both BC and WL and can shed some light on these concerns?

Thanks so much! Not a tough problem to have deciding between the two, but one I can't figure out!

 

[RookieLady]

I have stayed at both and liked both. I have two sons. My twelve year old's all time favorite is BC. My 9 year old's favorite is WL.

As for the pool at BC, it is big, but if you have two adults supervising, I think you will be fine. The resort is large, but beautiful. I really enjoyed the pool and the convenience. We walked and boated to both nearby parks, and I really enjoyed the boardwalk. Beaches and Cream and Cape May were also favorites.

I went to the WL in winter, so we did not utilize the pool. The resort was much more compact and I did enjoy my stay. I hated the boat ride to MK, but that was solely because I was dressed inappropriately and it was cold (purposely done, because later in the day it would be appropriate). I don't like the busses, and you utilize busses here to get to three resorts, so that was a bummer.

My plans next are to try WL in the summer. I loved your post, because it was WWIII at my house over where to stay next, given the fierce loyalties of each kid to his respective resort. You won't go wrong with either choice. I went with WL because I never gave it a shot in the summer.

 

[mckelvey72]

When we went last year in April my son had just turned 6 2 weeks before we left. We stayed away from Storm Along Bay for the reasons you stated....I wanted to be able to sit down and relax and it seemed like I would be chasing him everywhere. He is VERY active kid.

HOWEVER.......we stayed at WL and we LOVED the resort. The only thing I did not like was the water depth. He was just shy of 48 inches and he could not stand anywhere in the big pool. He is a good swimmer and thankfully his older sister stayed with him and lugged him around on her back but there is no zero entry at WL. If I remember it was all at least 4 feet depth. Cause 3 ft depth he would have been head above water and he wasn't. So something to consider. I think Storm Along has zero entry parts. Now WL does have a kiddie pool but obviously the slide is in the big part. Other than that we loved WL..it is compact, we loved the boat ride to MK, loved our bunk bed room so the kids didn't have to sleep together. WL is compact in my opinion and really beautiful. I have never been to Beach Club but we loved WL so much we are going back in December.

 

[Pakey]

I find SAB to be stressful with children who are not great swimmers. It's a good pool for toddlers (great beach area for the little ones) and it's great for excellent swimmers. However, the in between kids are the ones that have to be watched. The lazy river is deep with a strong current, very deceptive. The slide requires you to leave the pool area and cross a public sidewalk, you can't see your children from the pool area. This is not the pool you want if you are hoping to sit in a chair and watch him.

The WL pool is one of my favorites on property. It's definitely more relaxing than SAB.

I don't know that WL is any smaller or more convenient to get around than BC. It probably depends on room location at either resort. Compared to many of the other deluxe resorts, I've found BC to be more convenient than many. This would not be a factor in my decision.

 

[diskids2]

I stayed at the BC last summer and although my children are not children (22, 18), I remember thinking that it would have been difficult to deal with them at SAB. Don't get me wrong...we loved SAB! But for all the reasons you might not. There were many different "areas" none that were easily seen from another area. Large. Lots to do. Slide across the walkway.

This summer we are going to WL (as long as I don't change my resort choice for the fifth time) so I can't comment on things I don't know, but the pool area seems more manageable for younger children based on my walks by on the way to Whispering Canyon over the years.

Nothing was more convenient to EPCOT than the BC. We used the secret (maybe not so secret anymore) exit/entrance by room 1501. We never walked to DHS. Just seemed too long for me, but everyone is different in that regard.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi everyone, currently booked at BC for 5 nights in Sept.
It will be me, my husband, DD9 and DS5. We love the idea of being able to walk to Epcot and boat or walk to DHS. Have one day planned for each of those and two days at MK. My DD is a good swimmer, DS, not as strong and a little more timid. Wondering if SAB will be a bit overwhelming for DS - and maybe even us keeping up with 2 kids with different swimming abilities.
Also, recently spoke with two different people who have stayed at BC and both mentioned that it was a very large resort with a lot of walking - to refill mugs etc. one of those two has stayed at WL and loved it here, said it was much more compact and easier to get around resort especially after walking in the parks.

Any advice? Has anyone stayed at both BC and WL and can shed some light on these concerns?

Thanks so much! Not a tough problem to have deciding between the two, but one I can't figure out!

We've stayed at both and while we loved the BC and thought SAB was nice, our preference between the two is the WL. BC is in a great location and we enjoyed being within walking distance to both Epcot and DHS, but the resort is more spread out and the CS options are limited, IMO. The WL pool is also easier to navigate with kids than SAB (this just being my opinion). Both are beautiful resorts and we did have a nice stay at the BC, but the WL is one of our favorites.

 

[120304]

Thank you all so much for your insight. It seems that WL might be the best choice this time and we'll save BC with SAB when they are a little more "fish" like in the pool. Happy travels and thanks again!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We just got back from a 10 night visit to YC. Last summer we stayed at WL for 10 nights. We had great stays at both but just LOVED WL.

Our kids are 9 and 6 and SAB was a bit daunting, and required us to be in the pool with the kids most of the time. Our 9 year old is an ok swimmer, not great, but does it. Our 6 year old is not a swimmer, and she always wanted to be with big sis who is much taller than her. It was difficult because the shallow end is separate so DH and I couldn't even really hang out in the pool because the kids were in different sections and both needed supervision.

I will say that at BC/YC if you can get a room close to the elevator/lobby, you won't have a ton of walking to do....but you can't beat the compactness of WL.

 

[homedad]

stayed at both and really like both resorts but BVC may be our family fav. Kids love it and so does wife, that being said both kids are very strong swimmers and I did wait to book resort when they were 10 and 8.