Beach Club or Poly?

[rileyroosmom]

We are a family of 5 staying at the Poly in a few weeks. However, I am suddenly very interested in the Beach Club and am thinking I've picked the wrong resort! I know my kids (DS11, DS8 and DD4) would love SAB. I got the Poly with a pin code and I'm thinking of calling CRO to change to the BC. Anybody care to give me some feedback, especially those who have stayed at both resorts? Thanks!!!

 

[Jovo]

I have stayed at the Yacht Club and the Poly. I liked the Poly better because it is smaller, and you can easily access the pools, food court, etc. The monorail is wonderful to save time as well.

I usually stay in Hawaii, which is the conceirge long house.

All of the rooms are spaceous and the staff is just incredible. You are able to sit at night and see the castle change colors. OHana's is right there. There are beautiful flowers everywhere and gas torches lit at night. It is a charming and serene resort. We also enjoyed the water-mice everytime we went. It was alot of fun leaving the magic kingdom at night and going back to the poly via boat.

The yacht club was HUGE. If you forgot something in your room it could take you 20 minutes to go back and get it. With kids, that is a pain.The themed pool was very nice, but very crowded. No food court either.I also did not like having to go from the pool through the lobby in a wet bathing suit. The room was nice, but I liked the Poly better.

The one thing I did like better was that you are so close to EpCot you can walk, making it very easy to go there around 5 p.m. at night and see all of the countries acts and specialties.

Good luck in your choice.

 

[Melrosgirl]

Just back from Poly (last week). Although I liked the Poly, I love Beach Club. Poly was great for monorail access with a stroller, that's for sure! I just feel like BC is more of a home to me and I love the Epcot location and boardwalk location.

You can't go wrong with either one though!

 

[johnnyr]

We have stayed at both and really like both resorts. My DD9 loves SAB and the slide. DD6 likes the Volcano pool and everything about the Poly. DW and I love the Poly because of the tropical atmosphere and ease of transportation. The BC is a great location if you will be spending a lot of time in EPCOT or MGM.

We let the kids pick this trip and they chose the Poly over the BC. I don't know how long you will be staying, but would a split stay work? The AP rate between the two is not that much of a difference.

 

[ksc37]

Both are very nice, but I probably prefer the Poly. The Hawaiian feel makes it seem more like a tropical vacation for me. But that's pure personal preference. We also have two young children in strollers, so using the monorail to get to/from the MK is extremely convenient.

However, the Beach Club is very convenient to Epcot. It's great to walk over and have dinner, then watch illuminations and be back at your hotel in less than 5 minutes. It's also an easy walk to the Boardwalk for an evening or afternoon. And of course SAB is fabulous (but the Poly pool is nice, too).

Your choice may be as easy as this: if you prefer Epcot, go to the Beach Club. If you'll spend a lot of time at the MK, go to the Poly. When our boys are older, we'll probably go to the BC again. Until then, it'll be MK resorts for us.

 

[pooh2001]

Thanks for asking the question. We are staying for two weeks and are wondering if we should split our stay between 2 resorts.
Our DS said yes - first 1/2 BC, 2nd 1/2 Poly.
Now to convice DD & DH.
I want everyone to be happy - sounds like they will be

 

[TheRobbs]

Stay at Both!! As you can see below, that is what we will be doing in a couple of months.

The Robbs

 

[NCombs]

We stayed at BC last year. The pool was great and it was beautiful. However, we also have 3 children and found access to food quickly to be lacking at BC. Beaches and Cream is very small so during the time we were there (over Memorial Day week) it took a long time to get in. The lack of some kind of food court or restaurant where you could quickly pick something up was a drawback for us. Next year we are staying at the Poly.

Do you have a strong preference between the individual buildings the Poly has vs one big building like at the BC?

If you care about the view, you might have a better chance of getting a nice one at the Poly. The garden view rooms at BC can be nice but they also have a lot of rooms that look over the parking lot and a large roof below you. We ended up in one of those rooms last year (and with only a standing room balcony) and didn't like it because it was also down a series of hallways making it seem like forever to get to the lobby. However, they did move us the next day to a wonderful room so we were very happy with that.

 

[Suzanne74]

Another plus with Poly is that even though BC is closer to Epcot, with Poly the monorail takes you right to Epcot, MK quickly in the AM and then to GF and CR for dinners, character breakfast etc.. If you can do both, I would recommend that, if not, I would do poly first and try BC the next trip.

 

[vettechick99]

I've stayed at both numerous times and will be at the BC later this year. I adore them both but we normally go with the BC because of the immediate access to Epcot.

However, the Poly is so fun and relaxing and being right in the MK area is just wonderful...I'd keep your ressies but know that either is a fantastic choice!

 

[TJA]

I'd really be tempted to just leave things alone since you are all set to stay at the Poly. We just stayed at the Poly 5 months ago and absolutely loved it. Later this month, we are staying at BC. I suspect they will be 2 totally different trips. At Poly, MK was our main park. At BC, we anticipate spending lots of time at Epcot and MGM. With 3 kids, I think it's a pain to switch resorts mid-stay, but many people do it and enjoy it. So it's your own personal preference. Frankly, I enjoy unpacking and moving in. If in your shoes, I'd keep my reservations at the Poly and plan a stay at BC next trip. In fact, that is exactly what I did!!

 

[rileyroosmom]

Thanks for all the replies and sooo much info on the resorts! I don't like splitting my stay (too much work IMO) and I think for our purposes the Poly is the resort for us, although my dh wants to explore it a little further. Thanks for all your replies!

 

[minijeanie]

stayed at both resorts....absolutely choose the Poly

I disliked the BC...Pool too crowded and we had to move table and chairs to get to balcony. For $300 plus a night, I found that very unappealing.

 

[packy]

If you have young kids you will probably spend most of your time at MK, so Poly is the choice. If you have older kids, the BC location is great as it is closer to Epcot, MGM and AK and the water parks. We have stayed at both and I liked both. Poly probably gives you more of the Magic as you have the monorail and can get up to see the MK across the lake every morning. Base your decision on the age of your kids.

 

[Leota]

Having stayed at both, my preference is for the Beach Club. I like the Epcot area better, there are more dining/recreation options at your doorstep. I like the light, airy look of the resort better, the pool is better - But the topper is that I found the service & attitude at BC much better than the Poly.

 

[Minnie824]

DH & I stayed at the YC for our honeymoon. We're going this year w/our DDs aged 4 and 1.5 for the first time later this year, and went back and forth between Poly, GF and BC. We decided on BC. We LOVE the area. We plan to go to all the parks w/the girls, and to us, taking the bus to MK isn't a big deal. The pool is great, location is great, we'll walk to Boardwalk for snacks, and Epcot for dinners sometimes. Next trip, we'll try either Poly or GF, just because we do want to try different resorts. I'm sure you'll love either one, you just need to decide whats best for your family at this time. Have fun!

 

[agnes!]

...was wondering if folks have any room or area recommendations. We are staying at Beach Club (standard room) for the first time this August . I've already figured out that on my next call to WDW that I want to request a full balcony. Initially requested a non-smoking room(guaranteed) & a Garden View - as opposed to a parking lot/"loading-dock" view ...

agnes!

 

[Mymatisse]

Pick the Beach Club!

We stayed at both resorts last September and the Beach Club won hands down. The Poly's environment just seemed hetic and chaotic. There were always people milling around because the the set up of the resort and the monorail. The Beach Club was relaxing and I especially liked that I could just take a 5 min walk over to World showcase whenever I felt like it! I LOVED having Beaches and Cream close by, the food is very good!

Lastly, since we had a car and were driving to most of the parks I found that the Beach Club (EPCOT) area in general was much more accessible. We were a closer drive to downtown disney, MGM, Animal Kingdom, and it was easier getting off property if we wanted to go to Walgreens or Shoney's for breakfast as we did many times

Can you tell I love the Beach Club!

 

[NCombs]

...was wondering if folks have any room or area recommendations. We are staying at Beach Club (standard room) for the first time this August . I've already figured out that on my next call to WDW that I want to request a full balcony. Initially requested a non-smoking room(guaranteed) & a Garden View - as opposed to a parking lot/"loading-dock" view ...

agnes!

We loved being on the second floor close to the lobby. We were probably the third or fourth room down the hallway. It was great just to head up the open staircase to our room and not have to wait for an elevator. We were close to the lobby, pool, bus stop, food, etc. We also avoided the meandering hallways that twist and turn. Our view was of a grassy area facing the BC Villas.

 

[leighe]

We are splitting our stay between the Poly and BC as well. I am so excited! Changing resorts is really no hassle at all. We've done it 3 times and never had a problem.