Hi sammysmom! We love BC and have stayed there many times. Our most recent BC stays have been in March 2010, July 2010, February 2011 and August 2011. But we also love BWI and it's with BC at the top of our list of favorites. They are so similar, and (aside from the pools) it's great to be able to enjoy both resorts when staying at one of them (shops, restaurants, movies, etc.)
There are several things that made our August 2011 BWI stay particularly wonderful:
1) Club Level. We've stayed CL at both BWI and BC. The BWI club lounge was wonderful and particularly convenient, given the way the BWI is set up. At BC, it's convenient either way - with CL, we just stop by the lounge, but with non-CL, we can just walk the interior corridors to the BC Marketplace for coffee or a snack. At BWI, there are several different CS locations, and they are all out on the Boardwalk. And there are refill locations for the refill mugs at BWI, but they are not self-serve like at BC Marketplace. But CL resolves that issue entirely. The CMs at BWI CL are really amazing and we felt very welcome. Point is, I think CL at BWI was a big part of our positive experience there.
2) Balcony/View/Boardwalk Atmosphere. We had an incredible Boardwalk view. Our balcony was huge and we were right above Flying Fish, so the water was right there in front of us. We could see the MK fireworks from our balcony at night, and Illuminations from the club lounge balcony. I love a water view, and the view of BC/YC is particularly nice. The Boardwalk was lively at night, but not too loud. I was initially concerned about it being too busy, but didn't feel that way at all. Actually, it was very peaceful in the morning and because we stayed there pre-cruise, we were able to spend more time at the resort than usual in the morning.
3) Pool/Slide. Our entire family definitely prefers SAB, but I think the slide at BWI is outstanding. The clown didn't bother us one bit and we had a lot of fun on the slide.
4) Split Stay. We actually stayed at BWI CL, then Dream Cruise, then BC CL in August. That way, we had the chance to try BWI, but still used SAB when staying at BC for the end of our trip - perfect!
So here's what we've decided (at least for now) regarding the two: If we're visiting in the summer, we'll definitely book BC in there somewhere - it's hard to pass up SAB in the summer. If we're visiting in the winter and we don't plan to swim as much, that's a great time for BWI. But when book BWI, it will be CL. Next February, we're doing a multi-split stay and will stay at both.
Hope that helps!