Beach Club vs Polynesian Resort

[hicee612]

Hi everyone. We are planning a trip to Disney 8/28/16-9/4/16 and have booked our stay at the Beach Club Resort. I will be traveling with my boyfriend and our children (ages 4 and 8). We went to Disney last August and stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. We really liked it, but the proximity to the parks and the size of the resort were downsides (lots of walking outside in order to get food or go to the pools, catch the buses, etc). I had 2 friends recently stay at the Beach Club resort, well....one stayed at Yacht Club and they loved it. We did not get to do Epcot the last time and I thought staying so close would ensure we visit. Both of my children enjoyed all of the parks, but their faves were Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I get that neither of these parks are close to the resort we have picked so now I am second guessing myself. I had initially considered the Animal Kingdom Lodge (my daughter is obsessed with everything Africa), but felt that it was too far from everything else to make it worth it. My boyfriend is now pushing to change to the Polynesian. We visited the Poly when we did the O'hana breakfast and while it seemed nice, the resort itself seemed kind of tired and run down. We would only be able to afford to stay in a "standard view room" if we stayed there. I'm wondering how the rooms are and their proximity to the main building? How are the food choices? How is the pool? My kids fell in love with the Beach Club pool....another reason I chose that resort to begin with. It would be nice to have the monorail right there and I know Epcot is also easily accessible from Poly as well. Everyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated....particularly if you have stayed at both.

 

[Chelle's Belles]

Our first trip was to the Poly is a standard room and it was just OK. I agree that the resort felt kind of worn out. It was also just too dark and 70s like for my taste. The pool is nice. I can honestly say I have never considered staying at Poly again. We are staying at Beach Club this trip b/c winding down at the pool at the end of a park day is a big part of the joy for my kids. Sounds like you know what you want to do -- just need to convince your boyfriend that you have made the right decision I will say that I ADORE AKL. It is a bit removed from the rest of Disney, but I found that escaping the madness of the parks added to the magic. We loved the animals, food, ambiance and pool at AKL. And the commute was never a problem. Plenty of busses.

 

[Vernie822]

We have not stayed in the BC area, but we have stayed at the Poly. My quick thoughts...

The Poly was amazing. Hands down the best Disney resort experience I have ever had. Hopping on the monorail and getting to MK - you cannot beat that.
Ohana is fantastic and we did both breakfast and dinner there. Dinner is our favorite meal on property. It was nice being there and being so close, but I wouldn't change my hotel reservation on that point alone.
We also did Kona.. fabulous!

Your kids would love Stormalong Bay (at Beach Club). It's also really close to HS/Epcot, so you could easily get to both of those parks.
I love how close it is to the back of Epcot - walking in for a drink, snack, or dinner would be so convenient.

But, if your kids favorite park was MK and you think you'll go there most often, being that close was so amazing! Just my two cents.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi everyone. We are planning a trip to Disney 8/28/16-9/4/16 and have booked our stay at the Beach Club Resort. I will be traveling with my boyfriend and our children (ages 4 and 8). We went to Disney last August and stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. We really liked it, but the proximity to the parks and the size of the resort were downsides (lots of walking outside in order to get food or go to the pools, catch the buses, etc). I had 2 friends recently stay at the Beach Club resort, well....one stayed at Yacht Club and they loved it. We did not get to do Epcot the last time and I thought staying so close would ensure we visit. Both of my children enjoyed all of the parks, but their faves were Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I get that neither of these parks are close to the resort we have picked so now I am second guessing myself. I had initially considered the Animal Kingdom Lodge (my daughter is obsessed with everything Africa), but felt that it was too far from everything else to make it worth it. My boyfriend is now pushing to change to the Polynesian. We visited the Poly when we did the O'hana breakfast and while it seemed nice, the resort itself seemed kind of tired and run down. We would only be able to afford to stay in a "standard view room" if we stayed there. I'm wondering how the rooms are and their proximity to the main building? How are the food choices? How is the pool? My kids fell in love with the Beach Club pool....another reason I chose that resort to begin with. It would be nice to have the monorail right there and I know Epcot is also easily accessible from Poly as well. Everyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated....particularly if you have stayed at both.

We've stayed at both and while we had a nice stay at the BC, my choice would be the Poly. I'm glad we tried the BC, but we weren't wow'd by SAB (we prefer the Poly pool) and the limited CS options are a deal breaker for us. With that said, we love the Poly for the following reasons:

- beautiful tropical atmosphere
- 2 monorail stops from MK (3 coming back)
- 5-7 minute walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail
- large, spacious rooms with all rooms having a daybed (daybed is just a request at BC)
- great pool that backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle (can watch fireworks while swimming)
- variety of great dining options at the GF and CR
- new Oasis pool
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacks

Good luck

 

[chocolateavocado]

We've stayed at both and while we had a nice stay at the BC, my choice would be the Poly. I'm glad we tried the BC, but we weren't wow'd by SAB (we prefer the Poly pool) and the limited CS options are a deal breaker for us. With that said, we love the Poly for the following reasons:

- beautiful tropical atmosphere
- 2 monorail stops from MK (3 coming back)
- 5-7 minute walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail
- large, spacious rooms with all rooms having a daybed (daybed is just a request at BC)
- great pool that backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle (can watch fireworks while swimming)
- variety of great dining options at the GF and CR
- new Oasis pool
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacks

Good luck

Completely agree with everything Mickeynut1 said.

Our first wdw trip was 11/13 and we stayed at the poly. Our 2nd trip, 11/15, we stayed at Beach Club. While the new bc rooms were beautiful- we really missed the poly and being on the monorail as well. Our ds9 liked the Poly pool better, too. We're planning another trip for sometime 2017 (still trying to pick out the dates to workout w/ ds's school schedule) but we're looking forward to returning to the poly!

Good luck with wherever you choose! They're both beautiful resorts & you can't go wrong either way

 

[Aurora0427]

The negative to Stormalong Bay is you will have to follow your kids through the pool. The way it's set up, they need to be really strong swimmers or else you'll need to swim with them the entire time. For smaller children, the Poly pool is great.

We've stayed at both resorts. It's a tough call. We always picked the bc before having kids bc we love to eat at Epcot every night. But since having kids, we spend most of our time at magic kingdom. The Polynesian is so convenient to MK. The rooms aren't my favorite, but the resort has this great relaxing Hawaiian vibe. We stayed in Raratonga with a standard view. We had a room facing the monorail with a balcony and it was great. We could see the monorail and the parking lot was hidden because of all the foliage.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've stayed at both multiple times and they are both great! We always pick our resort based on what our goals and plans are for a particular trip. If you are going to spend more time at MK, than EP and DHS, Poly is a great choice. The resort is beautiful and, IMHO not worn out or shabby. They just re-did so many areas of the resort - re-done lobby with beautiful furnishings, re-done Volcano and Oasis pool. I'm not a huge fan of the QS food there, but others seem to like it, plus they just added a grill QS at the quiet pool. As you mentioned, you will also have quick access to EP via the monorail from Poly as you can walk to the TTC from the Poly.

BC on the other hand is also great! Fun atmosphere, tons of restaurants and recreation within walking distance, including both EP and DHS. I agree with PP, that you'll need to keep you eye on the kids at the pool. There are two great kiddie pools - one huge one with a sand bottom and one smaller one on the ship with a little slide. The pool itself is a bit meandering and can be very deep in some areas.

AKL is beautiful, but it is remote (except for its proximity to AK) and the rooms are much smaller than BC and Poly.

 

[BattyKoda]

I'd base it on where you plan on spending the most time. If you will be at the parks the most, especially MK, I would go with the Poly. If it's a lot of time at AK (based on your comments) AK resort is a good idea. If you will be spending a lot of time at the pool and less time at the parks (or more at EP and HS), go with BC.

All are great resorts and you will enjoy each one.

 

[abline]

Make tour boyfriend happy and switch to the Poly. You won't regret it. After a long day at MK you are back to your room in no time. It's an original hotel and truly special. Mickeynut1 did nail it.

 

[Babsy]

We've stayed at both and while we had a nice stay at the BC, my choice would be the Poly. I'm glad we tried the BC, but we weren't wow'd by SAB (we prefer the Poly pool) and the limited CS options are a deal breaker for us. With that said, we love the Poly for the following reasons:

- beautiful tropical atmosphere
- 2 monorail stops from MK (3 coming back)
- 5-7 minute walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail
- large, spacious rooms with all rooms having a daybed (daybed is just a request at BC)
- great pool that backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle (can watch fireworks while swimming)
- variety of great dining options at the GF and CR
- new Oasis pool
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacks

Good luck

Exactly!

I'd base it on where you plan on spending the most time. If you will be at the parks the most, especially MK, I would go with the Poly. If it's a lot of time at AK (based on your comments) AK resort is a good idea. If you will be spending a lot of time at the pool and less time at the parks (or more at EP and HS), go with BC.

All are great resorts and you will enjoy each one.

Good points.


I would stay at the Poly for all the reasons Mickeynut1 said. Plus, part of the appeal of a deluxe is the proximity to theme parks. It kind of defeats part of the purpose to stay at a deluxe that is convenient to the theme parks that you do NOT tend to visit as much.

 

[Shanti]

Hi everyone. We are planning a trip to Disney 8/28/16-9/4/16 and have booked our stay at the Beach Club Resort. I will be traveling with my boyfriend and our children (ages 4 and 8). We went to Disney last August and stayed at Port Orleans Riverside. We really liked it, but the proximity to the parks and the size of the resort were downsides (lots of walking outside in order to get food or go to the pools, catch the buses, etc). I had 2 friends recently stay at the Beach Club resort, well....one stayed at Yacht Club and they loved it. We did not get to do Epcot the last time and I thought staying so close would ensure we visit. Both of my children enjoyed all of the parks, but their faves were Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I get that neither of these parks are close to the resort we have picked so now I am second guessing myself. I had initially considered the Animal Kingdom Lodge (my daughter is obsessed with everything Africa), but felt that it was too far from everything else to make it worth it. My boyfriend is now pushing to change to the Polynesian. We visited the Poly when we did the O'hana breakfast and while it seemed nice, the resort itself seemed kind of tired and run down. We would only be able to afford to stay in a "standard view room" if we stayed there. I'm wondering how the rooms are and their proximity to the main building? How are the food choices? How is the pool? My kids fell in love with the Beach Club pool....another reason I chose that resort to begin with. It would be nice to have the monorail right there and I know Epcot is also easily accessible from Poly as well. Everyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated....particularly if you have stayed at both.

You've got a good understanding of both resorts. You can't go wrong with either. If it's a very parks-heavy trip, I'd pick Poly for convenience due to the monorail & boat to/from MK. If you'll include a lot of resort time, I'd pick Beach Club because it has more of a relaxed, upscale resort feel, less crowded & calmer than the Poly, with of course a much better pool & more hot tubs. They do a great job of checking Magic Bands at Stormalong Bay, but they don't do that at all at the Poly volcano pool, which I guess is why the Poly pool was like people soup when we were there, despite their new fence. Stormalong Bay, by contrast, never felt crowded. This was all on the same trip- we did a split stay between Poly & Yacht Club. We also enjoyed eating at Beaches & Cream and the Yachtsman Steakhouse. Being in walking distance of Epcot, HS, the Boardwalk, and Fantasia mini-golf was also nice.

 

[sls404]

I've stayed at both and while I like Poly, I LOVE Beach Club:

BC Pros:
5 min. walk to EPCOT
Stormalong Bay
Boat ride to DHS
Proximity to good restaurants (both inside resort and on Boardwalk or EPCOT)
Beautiful refurbished rooms (very tasteful and not over the top theming)
Rooms all under the same building (not outside walking to get to the lobby or restaurants)

BC Cons:
Lack of quick service options in the hotel

Poly Pros:
Monorail to MK
Good pool
Amazing food inside hotel (both table and quick service)
Larger rooms
Great tropical vibe with the music and torches lit at night
MK fireworks from the beach

Poly Cons:
One of the most expensive deluxe (unless your getting a special deal)
Depending on which long house you are in, may have to walk outside a little ways to reach ceremonial house