Beach club or Poly?

[Reese'smom]

which one do I choose? It will be DH, musket and our two kids (9,7) and my parents. My parents are footing the bill so cost isn't a problem for once. It's too hard of a decision! Give me pros and cons!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Firstly how nice re your trip and your parents paying. I personally really love the BC. I love the theme of the resort, the eating options it has in EPCOT, the boat to DHS and the walk into EPCOT. The BoardWalk looks lovely at night. I don't care for the Poly. It might be because as a disabled person it is a difficult resort to get around with its cobbled paths. But the theming is dark also. I prefer the Grand or Wilderness Lodge near MK. We stayed at BC last year and were really impressed. for your kids they will love the Storm a long pool.

 

[Reese'smom]

Firstly how nice re your trip and your parents paying. I personally really love the BC. I love the theme of the resort, the eating options it has in EPCOT, the boat to DHS and the walk into EPCOT. The BoardWalk looks lovely at night. I don't care for the Poly. It might be because as a disabled person it is a difficult resort to get around with its cobbled paths. But the theming is dark also. I prefer the Grand or Wilderness Lodge near MK. We stayed at BC last year and were really impressed. for your kids they will love the Storm a long pool.

Yes, my parents are amazing.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

One more pro of BC the staff were beyond helpful! I did not like that the pool at the Poly was salt water either but we stay in DVC units. The main pool might not be.

 

[jenhum]

I couldn't decide between those two either...so we are doing a split stay! We'll do MK while we're at Poly and then Epcot and HS while we're at BC. I think if I had to pick one, I would have picked BC. Both look amazing though!

 

[Farro]

We've stayed at the Beach Club a few times. This time we are staying at Polynesian and very excited for it.

The Beach Club is a nice hotel and is great for going to Epcot, although our trips are longer and we started to get bored with Epcot. Pool is fantastic, big and winding.
People will tell you the nights are fun with the Boardwalk and everything, but frankly it's the opposite for us. We found it to be a ghost town after 9 and we were quite bored. Also, standard views at Beach Club can be pretty bad.

We decided on the Polynesian this time. The ambiance looks fun, it's got a great bar(s), the fact you can take a boat or monorail to Magic Kingdom and walk to the TTC to catch Epcot monorail really appealed to us also. Overall it seems to be laid back and fun, being able to see the castle and fireworks, the electric water parade is such a bonus. The tiki torches and piped in music...love it. Being able to take the monorail to Grand Floridian and the Contemporary is great.

I doubt you can go wrong with either!

 

[raddisneyfan]

If I were just choosing for theme, I would definitely vote Poly===plus bigger rooms at Poly. Other Poly pluses--close to MK and rail to EP. Poly has 2 good pools, but BC has a much bigger one--but shares with YC. BC walking distance to EP and HS. If you are going to spend most of your time at MK, then definitely Poly is the one.

 

[beccasmom]

Both are terrific in my opinion. I guess it may depend on what theming you may prefer. I like the BC a smidge more because of its proximity to Epcot and its numerous eateries. And the guys in my family enjoy heading to the ESPN Club, right across the waterway.

Good luck with your decision; both resorts have much to recommend them.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We stayed at both last trip since I couldn't choose between the 2 - this year we're doing the same (and adding GF, I'm very indecisive - haha!).

Location-wise both are great - Poly is great for MK, plus you can walk to TTC and take the Epcot monorail. Beach Club you can walk to Epcot and DHS. When we were there, buses at Poly were much better. Beach Club we had to wait forever for the bus to MK since it fills first at Yacht Club and if it's full there, just goes straight to MK...(although we would fix that next time by just catching the bus at YC instead).

Food we preferred Poly (Dole Whips right by the pool!).

Rooms we loved the theme of both - I preferred the main building and grounds at Poly, but I think I preferred the room decor at BC, although Poly gets pitch black at night which I love for sleeping. The BC sinks were outside the toilet/shower part, which is nice for more people getting ready. Poly all the bathroom stuff was in the one room.

Pool we 10000% preferred Beach Club. I love the sand bottom and it never felt crowded. The Poly pool felt like there were a lot of unsupervised pre-teens and it got a bit irritating dodging them sometimes.

Edited to add that seeing the castle from the Poly and watching Wishes at the pool gives it a slight edge over BC.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

For proximity to parks, a ton of restaurants and lots of entertainment options, I much prefer BC. Poly is lovely as well. If you are spending more time at MK, go with Poly. If more time in DHS and EP, go with BC. Rule of thumb for us in WDW, the less travel time, the better.

 

[Babsy]

I agree that if you are spending more time at the MK/Epcot, then the Poly is the better option and if spending more time in Epcot/DHS then the BC is the better choice.

Pros of Poly:
Theme
great quick service
we prefer the dining options in the MK area resorts
Watch Wishes from the resort
Boat or monorail to the MK
monorail to Epcot
LARGE rooms


Pros of BC:
Storm Along Bay
walk to Epcot and DHS
Boardwalk a short walk away
Epcot restaurants nearby for dining

Good luck choosing!

 

[ziravan]

I'm a DVC member at both, for good reason.

We like to split stay. We go to Epcot and HS during our BCV part of our stay, and MK and AK during Poly.

 

[hamilkm]

If you love the MK, then the Poly hands down is the way to go! The rooms are also so much larger. Saying that, we are staying a week at BC in October to mainly to go to the food and wine festival at Epcot. You really can't beat the beach club for Epcot. I also found the buses from Beach Club to MK a little slow/lacking, so if you are planning a ton of MK time, I would go for the Poly. All the transportation options are awesome. Got on the monorail at 8:30 and caught the welcome show at MK! Amazing!

 

[chocolateavocado]

These are the only 2 resorts I have stayed at-Poly in 2013 and BC in 2015. They are both beautiful resorts, but we prefer the Poly. What we liked better was the overall feel/theme at the Poly, the pool & the fireworks, dining right at the hotel plus the other resorts, and the monorail - we really missed the monorail last year, lol. We found we liked the overall feel of the MK area resorts better than that of the Epcot area resorts. But, I must say the newly remodeled BC rooms are gorgeous! They were light and airy and everything just felt so clean and brand new. They are both wonderful resorts & I don't think you can go wrong with either one. I hope you have a terrific vacation!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We couldn't decide last year so we did a split stay. We loved them both but BC had the edge over the Poly.

My kids LOVED SAB. My DS says he only wants to stay at the BC. The walk to Epcot was wonderful. We loved the beach theme.

Poly does have bigger rooms and the monorail. The theming is great.

 

[TJA]

Both BC and Poly are great. Choose the resort based on your plans. Do you have a lot of pool time scheduled and a lot of meals planned in Epcot countries? Then go with BC. Will you be going to MK a lot and would your family love watching Wishes from the resort? Then choose Poly.

A few things to keep in mind...
> Poly's rooms are larger, but BC's rooms have a super nice refurb making them very polished-looking.
> BC's surrey bike trail is beautiful (around the boardwalk). Can also walk to mini golf from BC.
> Poly offers monorail service to MK, Epcot, CR, and GF. Boat to MK and GF. Walking trail to GF. Perfect view of Wishes and water parade right from the beach, some rooms, and even the main pool.

 

[mickeynut1]

Pros of Poly:
Theme
great quick service
we prefer the dining options in the MK area resorts
Watch Wishes from the resort
Boat or monorail to the MK
monorail to Epcot
LARGE rooms

We've stayed at both and while we had a nice time at the BC, my choice would be the Poly for the above reasons. I thought the BC was nice and I'm glad we tried it, but we prefer the MK area and the Poly is just amazing (IMO). Good luck!

 

[maryj11]

We have stayed at both, I loved how beautiful the grounds were at BC and the quick walk to Epcot was my favorite thing about the BC.
But the Poly is one of our favorites and I choose it. It also has a wonderful atmosphere, great transportation, great restaurants, we love watching the electric parade from the beach and just feel like it is less walking to get around the resort.

 

[maltdizzy]

What time of year?

The SAB mini water park is a huge part of YC/BC (it's why I decided on YC over Poly this coming August for my DS9). You kids are the right age to get the most out of it. To counter, Poly offers views of the MK fireworks and water parade from their pool and beach. The one major downside is the pool of the Poly seems relatively small and some complain it's "people soup" in peak times.

Poly offers easy access to two parks...MK and Epcot...monorail, boat or ferry (from TTC) to MK, monorail to Epcot (you can skip having to ride two monorails to Epcot by making the 5-10 minute walk right to the TTC. Kids love the monorail, and it's probably easier on the grandparents was well. You have to bus/drive to DHS or AK.

BC offers boat access to Epcot and DHS. You can walk to either park as well, it's an easy walk over right into the World Showcase, we like it for easy assess to dinner options. You can walk to HS, but it's not a short walk. For AK and MK, you bus.

Rooms are bigger at the Poly. I prefer the Hawaiian/tiki theming of the Poly (maybe my love for tiki goes back to staying at the Poly in the '70's), but others find it tacky. YMMV.

BTW, the choice may seem hard but there is no wrong option between the two.

 

[disny_luvr]

There is a lot of love for both resorts on these boards. We love them both and for the last two summers we've done split stays because we couldn't decide between the two. With that said, on this last trip we all agreed that Poly has a slight edge over the BC. We love the proximity to the MK, love seeing the castle when swimming in the pool, love the food options at the Poly, love the transportation options and the monorail, love the tropical feel, we just love everything. I really don't think you can go wrong though. I'd probably pick the one that is closest to the park you'll frequent the most (MK vs. Epcot/DHS). Have fun!