Beach Club or Boardwalk?

[DisneyWacker]

I'm looking into buying into DVC via resale as I'm not interested in Saratoga Springs. I like the idea of being near Epcot. Which would you choose, Beach Club or Boardwalk Villas?

I would probably buy 160 points at Boardwalk (gets me a 2BR Sun-Thurs) or 170 points at Beach Club (same idea). Beach Club looks a little more expensive both from a per point basis and points required basis, so it will probably cost me an extra $2500 give or take a couple hundred. Is it worth it?

 

[RobDoc]

If using SAB (Stormalong Bay at BC) is at all important to you, then buy at BCV (Pool hopping is not allowed to SAB from other resorts). Otherwise, BWV would allow for a little less up-front cost and a similar location.

Enjoy!

 

[kimberh]

We have just purchased Boardwalk and one thing that helped me make up my mind was the Standard View points being so much less with the 11 month window. Then, there is the other end of the spectrum of being able to have the Boardwalk View at the 11 month window. They have the pool and garden view which is the same amount of points as the Boardwalk view, these are the Preferred View. As previously posted the pool at Beach Club is only for Beach Club Guest. Good luck with your decision.

 

[byoung]

BWV have much better views tnan BCV.

 

[browniemtb]

I think you would be happy at either. We choose the BWV because of the Boardwalk itself. Lots of stuff going on and my kids just love sitting out there and watching. Also the clown pool is great...again my kids love coming down the slide. The only thing is the BCV is a closer walk to Epcot......and for us the down side was storm a long bay......great pool don't get me wrong but with the little one its takes some parental coverage if they are going to use the slide....good luck in your decision....you'll be happy either way. Don't forget where ever you buy you can still stay at the other....
Brownie

 

[chrisd596]

BWV has much better views than BC. Even the garden view at BWV is beautiful.

Not much of a view at BCV.


Best of LucK

Chris

 

[CarolMN]

Don't buy BWV thinking you wil be able to get a standard view rooms - unless you are willing and able to make your reservations 11 months prior to arrival. Standard view rooms make up less than 20% of the total availble at the resort and they do book quickly. For some times of the year, you will have to call day by day to ensure you get a standard view and date changes closer to arrival may mean a switch to a Preferred view. If you choose BWV, my advice is to buy the same number of points for BWV as you'd buy for BCV. Tha way you avoid putting the extra stress of always having to call at 11 months and have the flexibility to stay elsewhere once in a while too.

We are BWV owners and love it there. We seldom use the pool, so that is not a negative for us. Many have said that it is easier to keep an eye on your children at the BWV pool than it is at SAB. That's especially true if you have more than one and they are relatively young.

We like the standard view option (best bargain on property, IMHO), the guaranteed Boardwalk view option and the great location. We nearly always walk to EPCOT and MGM, and there are also many good restaurants within walking distance. We like being so close to the Boardwalk activities, too (esp JellyRolls). Of course, other than the views, you can say the same things about BCV - they basically have the same great location.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Dean]

They are similar in many ways. Since the point schedule is the same excluding standard view, I'd buy the same number of points. Of course resale you may not find exactly what you want so look at a range. I'd recommend you buy enough for 5 nights (excluding weekends) in a 2 BR during Magic Season if you're looking at yearly, that's around 200 points. I feel BWV is the better value due to the standard view units, fees should be about the same over time.

 

[mmmcq]

I can't disagree with anything that's been posted here thus far. This is a question that comes up on the DIS board frequently.

We own at both BWV and BCV. We bought BWV first on a trip in '99 and we purchased 170 points just before BWV sold out and as BCV was coming on line. We were thrilled and love the location at BWV.

After only a couple of years we realized that 170 points was not enough for us (we had 3rd DD in '99) and we asked our guide to put us on the waiting list for points at BWV. When our guide called in April '02 to offer us some BWV points, however, we added 30 more points at BWV and opted for 200 points at BCV instead of a larger add-on at BWV. We were all surprised by our choice, but it has worked out well for us.

Our DD's had found SAB and we decided we wanted the flexibiliy of staying at either location. This is not a feasible scenario for most. I just happened to have some inheritance change in my pocket that I was able to use. We couldn't do it now with college tuitions beginning next summer.

We love Epcot at night and spend most of our trips strolling around the World at night after dinner there. BCV is great because you can literally walk out the back of the resort onto a sidewalk near a service road and come out a gate right near the Gate at Epcot. You can also hop a boat just like BWV to MGM. And because you're so close to Epcot....you can get to the Princess Breakfast at Norway and thru Epcot to the monorail to MK. We do that route frequently. Because of BCV we have truly come to appreciate all that Epcot has to offer. I don't think I/we had set foot more than 5 times in Epcot in the 15 years prior to that purchase.

With respect to the restaurants and pools...... I don't find the parental supervision at SAB as daunting as some. We're usually in the pool with the kids and we're likely not to be there until late afternoon. My youngest DD actually has been afraid of the Clown pool and for her there isn't much to do at the BWV pool. My older DD's don't care for the slide at BWV.

As for restaurants, while we love dinner at Spoodles,Flying Fish, lunch at ESPN and walking the boardwalk.....we love being closer to Beaches N'Creme at the BC and the boardwalk is just a fun boatride away.

We also don't care about "views". We are hardly ever in our room looking out the window! Someday we will enjoy the view......my DH and I will stay at BWV and we'll give BCV points to our kids and our grandkids and hopefully we'll all be happy!

For us BCV has a bit of a foot up in an overall family vote.

 

[ScooterL]

I personally would choose BWV. We own points there, and it's our favorite resort. I've stayed at BCV, but the units seem quite a bit smaller there (and the bathroom/door layout in the one bedroom is really funky! I feel like I'm on "Let's Make a Deal" - what's behind door #2?), and I didn't enjoy it as much. Also, many of the units at BCV don't have much of a view...you MIGHT get one where you can see the IllumiNations fireworks, but only if you're lucky.

Stormalong Bay is not a big deal to us, but I agree with the other posters who have stated that if that's important to you, it should factor into your decision. I will say that BCV is closer to Epcot than BWV, and it's a smaller resort so you don't end up walking those endless hallways like you can at BWV if you end up in one of the outlying rooms.

Either one of them is a great choice, though. We love that proximity to Epcot and the Studios - easy walking distance!

Laura

 

[rinkwide]

...Beach Club looks a little more expensive both from a per point basis and points required basis, so it will probably cost me an extra $2500 give or take a couple hundred. Is it worth it?

When you factor in maintenance fees and resale values it's close to a push (the gigantic child-vomiting clown being the wildcard).

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I'm looking into buying into DVC via resale as I'm not interested in Saratoga Springs. I like the idea of being near Epcot. Which would you choose, Beach Club or Boardwalk Villas?

I would probably buy 160 points at Boardwalk (gets me a 2BR Sun-Thurs) or 170 points at Beach Club (same idea). Beach Club looks a little more expensive both from a per point basis and points required basis, so it will probably cost me an extra $2500 give or take a couple hundred. Is it worth it?

Looks like you have young children. I think the BWV is the better investment, but in my opinion BCV is better suited for the young family.

 

[Granny]

Looks like you have young children. I think the BWV is the better investment, but in my opinion BCV is better suited for the young family.

But is that a good criteria for a 35 years of use decision? The family will only be "young" for a relatively small portion of that.

Both are great resorts. To us, it comes down to which one makes you feel more at home? The laid back, quietly sophisticated beachy feel, or the more active boardwalk area. Either way, you are pretty much in the same location so they both work fairly equally.

Rink....the clown slide is what gave BWV the edge for us!

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

If I had to decide between just those two i'de give the nod to BW (cheaper up front and the opportunity for cheaper points per stay if you can book at the 11-month window) Don't purchase with a resale value in mind, its not the point of DVC.

That said you can't go wrong at BC it's a fabulous resort.

 

[Mississippian]

I decided to purchase 50 points on the open market and had decided on the BCV. I had gone so far as to tell my agent at The Timeshare Store. My wife and I had stayed at the Boardwalk Villas when it was new on a CRO reservation. We were upgraded from a studio to a 1-bedroom, and loved it.

My two children, then ages 6 and 4, joined me on a dad-only trip to the BCV, where we stayed on rented points. It was too cold to swim, but we loved the location. In fact, I love a lot of things about the BCV, but the Boardwalk magic was missing, and by the last day I had decided that my small contract would be purchased at BWV instead of BCV.

Well, on our last day at Disneyworld I got a call from Jason at the Timeshare Store telling me I could buy a 50-point contract at BWV for $80 a point. The price was high for the time, but I snapped it up. Shortly thereafter I learned from these boards that I could buy through Disney at the sold-out resorts. So I bought a 150-point contract at around $88 per point financed through Disney, also at BWV, although a different use month.

I'm very happy with my BWV purchase. I'd like to experience Storm-a-long Bay, but I can always do that as a hotel guest or in the shoulder season. I might consider a small add-on at BCV in order to just stay for a day or two.

If you look at it on paper, you can well conclude that BCV is the superior resort. After experiencing both on the ground, I prefer BWV, although I think both resorts are the best DVC has to offer.

I would suggest you try to stay at the Beach Club hotel or villas, and then walk over to the Boardwalk. Visit the pool area. Vist the Boardwalks Community House. Then make your decision.

Good luck!

 

[corpcomp]

We looked at both, picked BCV and the decision was based partially on Storm Along Bay for our son. While more expensive, it really is a fantastic pool that we all enjoy as well as a shorter walk from Beaches & Cream after stuffing our faces. Either would have worked nicely. I even went down the adult vomiting clown slide (a bit rough on your back) to test it out as well as the high speed face flopping pirate ship slide. We were not that concerned about the view as we don't spend a lot of time in the room and I've heard the rooms are about the same configuration.

 

[crisi]

Both resorts are lovely.

For me the criteria is "StormAlong Bay" or "Opportunity to be early in line for Views (Boardwalk and Standard).

I'm probably the poster Carol mentioned. I think SAB is a really cool pool, and we were fortunate enough to spend a day there when our kids were 4 and 5 because the slide at BWV was closed so pool hopping was allowed. But one day there convinced me that once your kids are "old enough to swim by themselves" but "young enough to need to be watched almost every moment" you won't catch me within 100yds of SAB with my kids in a swimsuit - I spend enough on haircolor as it is! That started about six months after we were there (oldest at about 5 1/2) - he is now eight and will last (I suspect) another two-three years for him - probably four or more for my more flightly daughter - so when she is 11-12. After that, I think SAB will be a great pool, but they will really want to spend their time at the waterparks anyway.

BCV does have the "superior" (IMHO) dining table set up....

 

[ChickieToo]

Stayed at both, own at BCV because we like BCV better. I am another poster who doesn't find SAB a daunting place to watch children. I only have one child, but we often travel with others, and I have to say, if your kids like the pool or swimming as much as mine does, then SAB is a better pool to be at. I don't get bored there, the way I do at the "child-vomiting clown". I can't just bob in that pool for very long, but I can play for hours in SAB. That is a plus for me as DD can stay in the pool for hours.

As for the size of the rooms, I don't think there is much difference between the two resorts. Also, although there is a lot of stuff actually on the boardwalk, there are no restaurants in the hotel, as there are at BCV. I don't know why, but when I stayed at BWV, it bugged me to have to leave the hotel to get something to eat.

I may be in the minority here (but if that is so, why are BCV ressies so hard to come by, and points so pricey?), but I'd choose BCV any day.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

But is that a good criteria for a 35 years of use decision? The family will only be "young" for a relatively small portion of that.

Both are great resorts. To us, it comes down to which one makes you feel more at home? The laid back, quietly sophisticated beachy feel, or the more active boardwalk area. Either way, you are pretty much in the same location so they both work fairly equally.

Rink....the clown slide is what gave BWV the edge for us!

I can't disagree. I guess though, something tips the scales for everyone. Just offering food for thought.

 

[lisareniff]

Here is my list of why to buy each resort:

BWV
GV*
SV lower points*
BW view*
Community Hall
Closer to MGM

BCV
SAB
Dedicated 2 bedroom's with 2 Q's in the second bdrm*
Very Close to Epcot
Close Self-Parking
Smaller & more elevator locations

* = may need home resort booking advatage

We own at BCV and have not stayed at BWV yet. We are on the waitlist for 3 days of Feb break and hope to switch over to give it a try. So I can't really comment on which we like better.

There is also theming of the resort and views. That is really a personal thing. I know there are also some little things that are better in each like, larger master closet in BWV and more efficent table w/bench at BCV. But those are minor. For the most part the rooms are the same and the location is the same. They are both great resorts.

As far as SAB, I'm in agreement with Crisi. You need a good adult per child ratio for that pool for the 4-9 ? age range. I made the mistake of taking our girls alone the first trip with our then 2 and 7(great swimmer). It was frustrating for us all.

I think If I was buying today I might go with BWV due to the resale price and the availability of GV's, BWview, and SV. Although my DH likes BCV better and the Dedicated 2 bdrm's with 2 Q's and very close self-parking.