Beach Club SAB Pool

[atthebeachclub]

I think the difference between BWV and BCV is mainly the point chart value options at BWV, the pool, theming, and lock off 2 br. I strongly prefer BCV theming and lock off 2 br. Others have different preferences. And the value options for point charts at BWV are great! I just can’t get past the weird nanny chairs and the circus vibe. Plus I LOVE the BCV seaside vibe!

 

[VGCgroupie]

I think the difference between BWV and BCV is mainly the point chart value options at BWV, the pool, theming, and lock off 2 br. I strongly prefer BCV theming and lock off 2 br. Others have different preferences. And the value options for point charts at BWV are great! I just can’t get past the weird nanny chairs and the circus vibe. Plus I LOVE the BCV seaside vibe!

I loved the theming in the rooms at BWV so much I forgot about my encounter with the nanny chairs upon arrival.

I haven’t stayed at BCV yet.. but I’m hoping I love theming. Before buying BW I did look at videos of BC and no characters in the art in bedroom was a for me. I did love the Murphy bed art though.

 

[PolyRob]

Really appreciate everyone's thoughts. I think I'm leaning toward sticking with RIV for this trip (and possibly SSR or OKW if I decide I want to save points given it is Easter week). I do want to try BC at some point, but maybe I wait for a trip where the kids are both good swimmers, can be a little more trusted to go off on their own, and we visit during more of an off peak time for the pool.

Of course, continue to welcome anyone's thoughts.

The reason you're hesitant about SAB is also a wonderful reason to stay at BCV this week. Easter is very busy at WDW. Walking distance to two parks cannot be beat.

Yacht Club and Beach Club will also feature oversized eggs on display. The Yacht & Beach Club pastry team is incredible and hand-decorates these eggs. It's a lovely experience staying there because you can appreciate them early in the morning or late at night when the lobbies have calmed down.

https://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/di...tup-of-2025-beach-club-easter-egg-display.htm

There are also three additional pools at Yacht & Beach Club if SAB becomes too much.

If you're able to secure BCV in the 7-month window I say go for it. You own RIV and you can always hop on the Skyliner for a snack or ADR if you're feeling homesick. OKW and SSR are pretty easy to book and will always be available next time if you need them. BCV is much harder to book.

 

[VGCgroupie]

The reason you're hesitant about SAB is also a wonderful reason to stay at BCV this week. Easter is very busy at WDW. Walking distance to two parks cannot be beat.

Yacht Club and Beach Club will also feature oversized eggs on display. The Yacht & Beach Club pastry team is incredible and hand-decorates these eggs. It's a lovely experience staying there because you can appreciate them early in the morning or late at night when the lobbies have calmed down.

https://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/di...tup-of-2025-beach-club-easter-egg-display.htm

There are also three additional pools at Yacht & Beach Club if SAB becomes too much.

If you're able to secure BCV in the 7-month window I say go for it. You own RIV and you can always hop on the Skyliner for a snack or ADR if you're feeling homesick. OKW and SSR are pretty easy to book and will always be available next time if you need them. BCV is much harder to book.

I always forgot you can also visit Yacht Club pools

 

[buzzrelly]

I've been seeing the social media videos of people "rope-dropping" Stormalong Bay and it's definitely making me nervous for our upcoming trip in October. That said, we are BCV owners and have never rope-dropped the pool and have always been able to find at least a couple of chairs. I hope all these people being trendy don't ruin a good thing.

 

[toesmom]

I keep wanting to book Beach Club. I feel like I have heard so many good things about it, and there seems to be a lot of love for it amongst long-time DVC owners. I was going to book it for part of our February stay, but my wife got freaked out when she heard about an 8 ft deep lazy river - ended up cancelling our reservation and dates are no longer available, so no big deal (I've since convinced her there is no need to worry about that). Now, I'm planning a spring break trip - planning to do 4 nights at a WDW resort and 4 nights at Vero Beach. I was all ready to go for BC as soon as my 7-month window opened up for a 1 BR villa. Seems like I'd have a decent shot for a 1 BR if I'm ready to go at the 7-month mark.

But, then I started looking at some FB groups, and started hearing about some real craziness of late - people lining up to "rope drop" SAB, and if you don't, difficult to find a chair. Not enough floaties for the lazy river, so you better bring your own. Not enough shade, so bring your own umbrella. Some people seem to say that if you have younger kids, SAB can feel pretty stressful - pool is busy, somewhat sprawling, and waterslide entrance is outside of the gated pool area. Obviously, spring break season is going to be busy (and our spring break is Easter week, so I don't expect low crowds). But, I'm also not interested in making the crowds/stress worse than they need to be.

So, now I'm rethinking my plan - starting to think about alternatives (RIV/SSR/OKW come to mind most often). Welcome any thoughts about SAB and the pool experiences at BC. Is what I'm reading on FB overblown or does SAB often get pretty busy with "rope dropping" the pool being a pretty common experience if you want to get a couple of chairs? Should I wait to book BC when my kids are a bit older and we're traveling at more of an off-peak time? Or just go for it and see how it goes?

Welcome any thoughts.

We have stages at BCV many times since we became owners in 2005. It is one of our favourite resorts and the pool is great. I would say go and enjoy. One bedroom should be easier to book at 7 months. I prefer studio savings when we haves stayed there but we did do one bedroom in 2016 and loved the space. BCV is great resort.

 

[kgou]

Thank you! I really had not even thought about BWV. Will have to take a look. I think most of the time I hear about BWV, it’s from people doing an adults only trip. And, up until recently, heard such positive things about BC and SAB was thinking that’s one we really want to try out, but maybe BWV would be a better choice.

happy planning and keep us posted as to what you decide!!!

 

[airjay75]

Alright, you all may be talking me in to giving BCV a shot (and also giving some more thought to BWV). It's only 4 nights - I honestly don't know that we'll be spending a lot of time at the pool - I think we want the option to go, and just don't want to feel like it's a madhouse if we decide to go. That said, I know Easter week is going to be busy everywhere, so need to be going in with that mindset no matter where we stay. And, yes, we'll definitely be trying to book a 1 BR. Probably wouldn't even be thinking about BCV or BWV if I were going for a studio since I know those are pretty hard to book t the 7-month mark.

If anyone has any more thoughts on BCV vs. BWV, I welcome them. Main pool at BWV looks like pretty fun theming too - maybe a little more relaxed than SAB but not quite as exciting. Looks like the 1 BRs at BWV have the balcony that connects between the two rooms, while BCV 1 BRs do not. And, the one other downside about BWV seems to be the lack of a traditional QS restaurant, just the pool bar or walk-up window on the BW. Seems to me the highlights I've picked up so far.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Alright, you all may be talking me in to giving BCV a shot (and also giving some more thought to BWV). It's only 4 nights - I honestly don't know that we'll be spending a lot of time at the pool - I think we want the option to go, and just don't want to feel like it's a madhouse if we decide to go. That said, I know Easter week is going to be busy everywhere, so need to be going in with that mindset no matter where we stay. And, yes, we'll definitely be trying to book a 1 BR. Probably wouldn't even be thinking about BCV or BWV if I were going for a studio since I know those are pretty hard to book t the 7-month mark.

If anyone has any more thoughts on BCV vs. BWV, I welcome them. Main pool at BWV looks like pretty fun theming too - maybe a little more relaxed than SAB but not quite as exciting. Looks like the 1 BRs at BWV have the balcony that connects between the two rooms, while BCV 1 BRs do not. And, the one other downside about BWV seems to be the lack of a traditional QS restaurant, just the pool bar or walk-up window on the BW. Seems to me the highlights I've picked up so far.

We stayed at BWV over Easter. If you aren’t really planning to use the pool or think you wont love SAB I would go for whichever of the 2 is less points unless you can snag Boardwalk View then I think that is worth the extra points over BCV. The distance to Epcot from BWV isn’t bad at all and most days we walked on to the boat in 2 minutes so we just rode that since we enjoy it. The QS at BWV isn’t super close but we didn’t mind it at all especially since during that time of year we didn’t experience any rain.
I haven’t stayed at BCV but this is my take on it if you are good with either resort.

 

[airjay75]

We stayed at BWV over Easter. If you aren’t really planning to use the pool or think you wont love SAB I would go for whichever of the 2 is less points unless you can snag Boardwalk View then I think that is worth the extra points over BCV. The distance to Epcot from BWV isn’t bad at all and most days we walked on to the boat in 2 minutes so we just rode that since we enjoy it. The QS at BWV isn’t super close but we didn’t mind it at all especially since during that time of year we didn’t experience any rain.
I haven’t stayed at BCV but this is my take on it if you are good with either resort.

Thank you - very helpful. Interestingly, a 1 BR BWV BW or garden/pool view is 2 points cheaper than BCV for the 4 nights I’m targeting. So maybe see if I can snag a BW view!

 

[PolyRob]

Alright, you all may be talking me in to giving BCV a shot (and also giving some more thought to BWV). It's only 4 nights - I honestly don't know that we'll be spending a lot of time at the pool - I think we want the option to go, and just don't want to feel like it's a madhouse if we decide to go. That said, I know Easter week is going to be busy everywhere, so need to be going in with that mindset no matter where we stay. And, yes, we'll definitely be trying to book a 1 BR. Probably wouldn't even be thinking about BCV or BWV if I were going for a studio since I know those are pretty hard to book t the 7-month mark.

If anyone has any more thoughts on BCV vs. BWV, I welcome them. Main pool at BWV looks like pretty fun theming too - maybe a little more relaxed than SAB but not quite as exciting. Looks like the 1 BRs at BWV have the balcony that connects between the two rooms, while BCV 1 BRs do not. And, the one other downside about BWV seems to be the lack of a traditional QS restaurant, just the pool bar or walk-up window on the BW. Seems to me the highlights I've picked up so far.

BCV/BWV is always a big debate! People have strong preferences for one or the other.

My biggest gripes with BWV/BWI compared to YC/BC/BCV are the longer hallways and the fact that most amenities are outdoors and uncovered, requiring you to use a staircase or elevator to access them from the lobby. BW does have the Boardwalk Deli and the Blue Ribbon Corn Dog stand in addition to the pool bar and the walk-up window you mentioned for QS options. BWV is also much closer to DHS if you want to walk there, and I honestly think the recent refurb turned out better than BCV. That said, BCV would still be my personal preference.

You missed out on the infamous BW pool! IDK if the theming read fun or sinister

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

One thing I would add is that if your family isn’t already familiar with SAB (or over about age 8) the BWV pool will seem really cool (and it’s much more convenient to the villa wing than SAB is to BCV villas)— so better to try BWV first as it will seem less “exciting” if you do it second.

 

[airjay75]

One thing I would add is that if your family isn’t already familiar with SAB (or over about age 8) the BWV pool will seem really cool (and it’s much more convenient to the villa wing than SAB is to BCV villas)— so better to try BWV first as it will seem less “exciting” if you do it second.

Thank you! I need some intel like this to help me decide between the two! My boys will be 4 (almost 5) and 7 for this particular trip. I’m sure I’m going to keep going back and forth, but this seems like a good reason to try BWV first.

 

[Mouseforward]

One thing I would add is that if your family isn’t already familiar with SAB (or over about age 8) the BWV pool will seem really cool (and it’s much more convenient to the villa wing than SAB is to BCV villas)— so better to try BWV first as it will seem less “exciting” if you do it second.

Like when I took my 6 y/o niece , due to LL times we went on Tron first at MK...... Yeah she thought Peter Pan "sucked" after that.

 

[VGCgroupie]

One thing I would add is that if your family isn’t already familiar with SAB (or over about age 8) the BWV pool will seem really cool (and it’s much more convenient to the villa wing than SAB is to BCV villas)— so better to try BWV first as it will seem less “exciting” if you do it second.

This… I’m a little paranoid our stay at BCV will ruin all the other pools for my son.

 

[RivGirl]

I'll throw my 2 cents in as someone who has stayed at both Riviera and BC. Our BC stay was...2018, maybe? We have stayed at Riviera twice since then.

My youngest was 3.5 when we stayed at BC. He did know how to swim, but I was definitely worried about the safety of SAB at his age, as well as tracking him on the big waterslide. We used SAB on our arrival day, and to my memory that was the only time. Both of my kids had a blast. My husband and I agreed in advance that one of us would have to be on 3.5yo watch at all times. The big slide was mild to medium stressful, because yeah, your kid can exit the pool area to get to the slide (or water play area) and then choose to wander off away from the pool. We had a few moments of "where is he? Did he wander?" But he never actually did and he always turned up at the bottom of the slide eventually. If I had to go back in time and do it all over again, I would have said that one of us needed to stay at the bottom of the slide, and the other needed to be the "runner" going back and forth from the gate of the pool area to the waterslide entry area. We also had a 7.5yo to look after so that complicated matters. Fun for the kids? Yes. Fun for the parents? .....not really.

We had one other pool afternoon that trip, and for that we used one of the quiet pools close to our room, which was lovely, quiet, and nicely sized.

Every time we go back to Disney, the youngest does remember the SAB slide and asks if we are going to be at the resort with that slide. He may be mildly disappointed at the answer, but he also has had plenty of fun at other pools like Riviera and Poly. And there are a lot of things about Riviera that both of my kids love and prefer. We have also made trips to Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach since then, which helps to scratch that waterslide itch for sure.

Now my kids are 10 and 14 and I wouldn't hesitate to go back to SAB and let them do their thing, as they are both confident and able swimmers. It's probably never going to be my first choice resort, though. Walking to EPCOT is great, but the food choices are pretty poor IMO and overall I don't like how SAB straddles that walkway. If only the waterslide entry and water play area were contained in the same gate as the pool...that would go a big way towards alleviating the sense of chaos there, I think.

 

[airjay75]

I'll throw my 2 cents in as someone who has stayed at both Riviera and BC. Our BC stay was...2018, maybe? We have stayed at Riviera twice since then.

My youngest was 3.5 when we stayed at BC. He did know how to swim, but I was definitely worried about the safety of SAB at his age, as well as tracking him on the big waterslide. We used SAB on our arrival day, and to my memory that was the only time. Both of my kids had a blast. My husband and I agreed in advance that one of us would have to be on 3.5yo watch at all times. The big slide was mild to medium stressful, because yeah, your kid can exit the pool area to get to the slide (or water play area) and then choose to wander off away from the pool. We had a few moments of "where is he? Did he wander?" But he never actually did and he always turned up at the bottom of the slide eventually. If I had to go back in time and do it all over again, I would have said that one of us needed to stay at the bottom of the slide, and the other needed to be the "runner" going back and forth from the gate of the pool area to the waterslide entry area. We also had a 7.5yo to look after so that complicated matters. Fun for the kids? Yes. Fun for the parents? .....not really.

We had one other pool afternoon that trip, and for that we used one of the quiet pools close to our room, which was lovely, quiet, and nicely sized.

Every time we go back to Disney, the youngest does remember the SAB slide and asks if we are going to be at the resort with that slide. He may be mildly disappointed at the answer, but he also has had plenty of fun at other pools like Riviera and Poly. And there are a lot of things about Riviera that both of my kids love and prefer. We have also made trips to Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach since then, which helps to scratch that waterslide itch for sure.

Now my kids are 10 and 14 and I wouldn't hesitate to go back to SAB and let them do their thing, as they are both confident and able swimmers. It's probably never going to be my first choice resort, though. Walking to EPCOT is great, but the food choices are pretty poor IMO and overall I don't like how SAB straddles that walkway. If only the waterslide entry and water play area were contained in the same gate as the pool...that would go a big way towards alleviating the sense of chaos there, I think.

Thank you - really appreciate your thoughts. If I end up going for BC, just going to need to go into it with a different mindset for pool time. Might be willing to do it, but I think I'm leaning BWV if we decide to try someplace new this trip - of course, you also remind me why we do love RIV - the pool area really is just perfectly sized for the resort. Big enough that you can pretty much always find a chair, but also contained and small enough that you can let kids run around with it being pretty difficult to lose track of where they are. Still leaving towards trying someplace new, but do occasionally feel like going back to RIV again.