Beach Club, Polynesian or AKL?

[beckygeez]

Me, DH, DS and 2 DD are going next March. I'm trying to decide which place to stay at? Please give advice, pros, cons, etc. We stayed at CBR 2 previous times and loved it, stayed at POR once and weren't impressed (we're from MN - we want to see palm trees not pine trees when we're on vacation ) Kids will be 15, 11 and 7 when we go. Thanks for any help!

 

[lmhall2000]

I would have to go with Beach Club...mainly for the ages of your children...if they were all under 10 I'd say the Poly for the monorail and large rooms...But Stormalong Bay is just the fit for your heat starved family! And you can walk to Epcot and along the Boardwalk..not to mention a cool little ice cream shop like Beaches & Cream to take in the sights. The only reservation I would have is if your 15 year old would be comfortable on the Daybed at BC...I'm assuming he's the boy...the girls could share a bed...the Daybed at Poly is a full twin size..I'm not sure about the daybed at BC...anyone know?

Tara

 

[Tikiman]

Well I have been to the Polynesian, the AKL and the Yacht Club (next to the beach club) and I liked all of them but the Polynesian is our favorite for a few reasons.

Better location and transportation options at the Polynesian. The Yacht Club was nice to walk into Epcot but the busses were bad and the boat was fun at the YC but took forever to go a short distance. I started to hate the boat.

The AKL had a great concierge and the animals were fun to watch. It also had great food (we always go eat there even when staying somewhere else) and it does not share a bus but even with not sharing a bus we watched 3 other busses for the same resort come before ours came to pick us up. We did not like feeling away from everything and we missed having a beach like the Polynesian or YC.

The biggest thing for us is the Polynesian makes you feel like you are somewhere else but you still feel in the middle of it all with easy access to MK or Epcot and the other resorts on the monorail are so easy to get to that they are an extension of the Polynesian. You want palm trees than go to the Polynesian.

If you will be there a while than stay a few days at one and move on to the Polynesian.

I don’t think you will be disappointed in any of the choices and they are all better than the CBR or POR in my opinion.

Aloha

Steve

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Actually one year we stayed at the Polynesian, AKL and Yacht Club (next door to the beach club) to try to please everyone. Our 3 ds are teens now. But each resort has it pros and cons. AKL was our least favorite, we had a lot of problems there, but I am sure we were the exception to the rule, broken ice machine, dirty towels on floor, hardly saw any animals from our very expensive balcony, got sick on the food etc, kids got eaten up by bugs going to the pool etc. But if you are willing to pay a good amount of money to hopefully see animal than that is the resort for you. Bomas is an experience in itself, the major drawback there is the distance to the parks, long bus rides etc.
For Beach Club - while stormalong bay is great, for a family with 3 kids we did not enjoy the hassle of not having a convenient mug refill option, you can go to b and c restaurant but they fill it for you and we did not like the lack of a good fast food snack type place open later etc. Yes, there is hurricane hannahs outside, but I dont know if that is open all year etc.
For Polynesian - our favorite resort - We like the many transportation options, captain cooks for mug runs and good quick food choices, childrens activities, this is neverland club for arts and crafts, arcade challenge, hula lessons, water volleyball and pool games etc., beach access, watercraft rental and bike rental access etc. Volcano pool for the kids. A garden view room is a little more than a bc room. At the bc they do also have little checkers and chess table in your room etc.
If you are spending alot of time at the resort you should see what one has the most to offer your family for what you are looking for. Good luck deciding.

 

[copper68]

not sure how long your staying, but have you considered splitting your stay? try one mk resort and one epcot resort.. my picks would be poly and bc.. and as far the poly goes, tikiman hit it right on.. he's the poly god...

 

[A4Disney]

Me, DH, DS and 2 DD are going next March. I'm trying to decide which place to stay at? Please give advice, pros, cons, etc. We stayed at CBR 2 previous times and loved it, stayed at POR once and weren't impressed (we're from MN - we want to see palm trees not pine trees when we're on vacation ) Kids will be 15, 11 and 7 when we go. Thanks for any help!

I've stayed at Beach Club and Poly.For your age children I would pick Beach Club.I haven't stayed at AKL and don't want to because of how secluded it is.

 

[diathoney]

Beach Club! It has plenty of eating options - Boardwalk eateries, Epcot dining, Swan and Dolphin restaurants are all within walking distance. Easy access to Epcot (walk) and MGM (boat).

AKL is beautiful, but you have to take the bus to a park or eat outside the resort. Poly is beautiful, but I have been disappointed in the CMs and Ohana's plus it cost abit more than Beach Club. Storm a Long bay is a great pool.