Choices, choices. Looking for somewhere outside of Beach Club. <3

[Ducky'sMom]

Hello everyone!
I finally get to start thinking about our 2020 trip(s)! (Though to be honest, I never stopped.) When deciding a resort last year, I thought poly would be where we’d want to go, but the TA I used had a great quote for Beach Club. I’d never heard of it and it seemed the least exciting of the deluxes. Boy was I wrong! It’s my whole family’s favorite place, cemented further by Epcot being our favorite park. Now that I’m planning WDW 2020 and I’m wondering about other resorts, I wanted to ask other DISers opinions.

Do any other resorts give you this sort of feel/amenities that you’d recommend--?

• The ability to wander over early morning/late night to the mug refill station without having to make a trek?
• A resort that feels central, meaning either you’ve got direct access to a park/DS or the transportation (when onboard) isn’t too long?
• A place that, even when busy, feels laid back? (subjective, I know)
• Big plus if there are good breakfast options (big breakfast eaters)
• Something unique/interesting to the pool area?

I’m conveying the same feelings I had while staying at BC, which I know is a little abstract. Let me explain it this way. We were @ BC Aug 28-Sept 5. We loved the pool and evening vibe of people walking to/from the parks so much that we were at the pool almost every night, and people watched from our balcony most mornings while waiting for someone to finish getting ready. *cough/dad/cough* I loved being able to run down to the marketplace to refill my mug knowing it wouldn’t take more than 5 mins each way. When we were ready for the day it never felt like we had to stop and wait for a bus which kept the energy going. The amazing view of Boardwalk/CL and the surprise our first night of seeing Epcot’s fireworks go off while at the pool was something I’ll never forget. Not to mention we’d pop over to F&W for dinner if we didn’t want anything offered at the other parks. Those are the feelings I want to have, even if they’ll be different experiences (because if I wanted exactly the same, I’d just rebook BC for every trip!)

I feel like this post is a little too long, but I did want to contribute my thoughts on a couple resorts I’ve looked at--!

PORS/POFQ- Seem like solid pool options and the boat access to DS is nice, I think I might be holding back on FQ since I grew up near NOLA and have family from there. The layout makes it seem like the bus would be a PITA..?
Poly- Might be an obvious choice, can’t find much fault with the option other than we’re not super big MK people and the monorail experience going from MK to Epcot was less than stellar last time.
CB/CS- Seem similar in that they’re both big and both got updated, only edge might be to CB for being a skyliner hub, but that might not be a good thing (time will have to tell there).
WL- Maybe? Seems tucked away, but we all like the aesthetic. Does it feel far from things?
BWI- Creepy clown pool aside, I don’t understand the food option setup. Do I have to go outside the resort on the boardwalk proper to fill up my mug? And I get more of a couple’s vibe from it. Wrong?

 

[Christine]

I know you don't have Contemporary on your list, but I always loved it. I think it meets most of your criteria:

• The ability to wander over early morning/late night to the mug refill station without having to make a trek? YES
• A resort that feels central, meaning either you’ve got direct access to a park/DS or the transportation (when onboard) isn’t too long? YES
• A place that, even when busy, feels laid back? (subjective, I know) - Maybe not inside the tower.
• Big plus if there are good breakfast options (big breakfast eaters) - Contempo Café and The Wave have excellent breakfast options. Love The Wave's understated breakfast buffet.
• Something unique/interesting to the pool area? This is the only drawback though I liked the pool area and being out on Bay Lake.

The 4th level of CR is great for people watching. There's also great MK fireworks viewing if you don't happen to get a theme park view in your room.

But you may find that you are forever a Beach Club fan. Many people are.

 

[sponica]

As far as PO/POFQ is concerned. FQ has it's own bus (generally speaking), I think it shares at times midday, but it's the first dropoff point from the park.

I've stayed at Riverside, and even though I know the bus has multiple stops, it doesn't stand out in my brain. Maybe I just got off at the first stop and walked to my destination? I had preferred the time I stayed there, which is close to the main bus stop (which I believe is the last one)

 

[Merida816]

CB used to my favorite until they built the tower so I can't say what the updates are like, but it was a really relaxing resort and it's close to Epcot. People say it's a large resort for walking, but I always found BC and other "indoor" hotels to have longer walks to the main areas. Contemporary was also really lovely, but breakfast was meh. I think any of the moderates suite what you are looking for. Personal favorite is Old Key West for atmosphere, but it does tend to be larger if you don't get a room near the main building. Very, very relaxing, decent food options, good bus service / boats, and larger rooms. The Suites are great and there's a little balcony as well.

 

[MainMom]

My teens love the Boardwalk Resort and so do the adults! You do have to go down to the Boardwalk to refill mugs, the restaurants are on the Boardwalk, but we don’t find this an issue.

 

[cvjw]

Of all your choices, only poly seems to be a match for the feeling you got staying at beach club. None of the moderates are going to measure up. Wilderness lodge is fine, it just doesn’t compare to the beach club or poly.

I personally love the boardwalk, and own points there and at the beach club. It doesn’t have the quick walk for food or the great pool that the beach club has. It does have an easy walk to Epcot and Hollywood studios.

We’ve stayed at all the Disney resorts (except for the all stars) and the poly, bay lake tower, and boardwalk are our family favorites!

 

[jsbowl16]

I am not sure if it is available all day but there are times at The Boardwalk when you can fill your mugs at the bar at Belle Vue Lounge which is inside the resort. We find it especially convenient in the mornings.

 

[Sandiz08]

Don’t really know that it exists. While I love the poly, you really can’t walk to a park. You can walk from the contemporary but I really don’t like aesthetics there. We have stayed at wilderness lodge and love it, but your right , it is secluded and not in the middle of it all. We have done beach club and thought it was great. So we will probably be returning to Yacht club next, kind of a different feel, but same location.

 

[pinkxray]

We did a split stay between Dolphin/Poly last year. The Poly has some pluses for you. Great views from the balcony while waiting for people. We liked Cpt. Cooks ok for breakfast and really enjoyed Ohana breakfast. (Didn’t have time for Kona) We were close to the main building so it was very easy to pop over to Cpt Cooks to refill our mugs or buy food.
We enjoyed the pool and the surroundings.
However, our Poly stay followed our Dolphin stay. The dolphin stay felt much more central to everything. The monorail/boat at Poly was great for Mk but if you don’t spend much time there it doesn’t matter.(we drove to EPCOT so don’t know about that monorail.) I felt like it was easier to find stuff to do around the Dolphin with two parks so close/plus eating options at the Epcot resorts and WS so close. I missed the EPCOT area resorts once we moved to Poly and I have been to stay there forever.
In your case I would probably try Boardwalk or even Yacht club.

I loved Wilderness Lodge too but we are heavy MK people so I liked being close. The grounds are beautiful, great food options, good people watching, stunning lobby. The only draw back I see is that is a little farther from the other parks but we didn’t find it made much of a difference for us. A few extra minutes to travel maybe.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

Personally, I think that’s one of the things that happens when you stay at the BC/YC. You find you like the feel of the resort and the close proximity to DHS and Epcot. It is for that reason we own points at the BWV. You may want to try the BW since you know you like the area. I find the lobby at the BW to be less hectic than the lobby of the BC.

 

[Lalabubbles]

We are fans of the BC, it’s our favorite resort, we have a hard time staying else where. We did a split stay between the Poly & BC back in summer of 2017. While we enjoyed the Poly we couldn’t wait to get to the BC. The rooms at the Poly were huge as was the bathroom. But that’s one thing we like about BC, someone can get getting ready while another is showering. We also enjoyed getting on the monorail at the Poly but we also walked to the TTC at times, we don’t mind the extra walking. If you do try the Poly request a building near the Ceremonial House, ours was very close and convenient. It rained a ton when we went, more than normal, and it was nice being close so we could run over without getting too wet. The pool was nice but we prefer SAB. Being able to get to Epcot quickly is one of our favorite things about BC. We are going back this July to the BC. We would like to try the YC but the discount was better at BC. I would also like to try the BW but only when we won’t be using the pool too much, lol.
So all that to say we have a hard time staying else where.