Contemporary Resort , Boardwalk or Yacht/Beach Club?

[richard3330]

Hi,

We are going to WDW in under 20 days now! When we come back we will probably book again straight away for next year.

Does anybody have any opinions/views on the following three hotels:
Boardwalk
Yacht/Beach Club
Contemporary Resort

We have never stayed at any of them (except Yacht Club back in 1991!!), but would love to next year. We will probably choose 2 out of the 3 and split the vacation between the 2 we choose and a USF resort.

We would love to be on the monorail, but I'm not sure if we will like the Contemporary - anybody have any opinions? We love the look of the Yacht/Beach club, but is it a bit far out from most of the parks?, Stormalong bay looks great but I can't remember much about our stay at The Yacht Club in 1991! The Boardwalk looks nice too, we visited there on our last stay when we went to the DVC meeting - anybody have any views on this resort?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice that you can offer.

 

[cathyz]

IMHO, YC/BC or BWI would be my choice - hands down - over the Contemp.! But, it really depends on where you spend most of your time. To me, the location of YC/BC and BWI is the BEST! You can walk to both MGM and EPCOT. The convenience is great! Of course, both are also very nice hotels. The monorail is nice, esp. with small children to go to MK. But, other than that, I would much prefer the EPCOT/MGM area.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!

 

[Mom of 5]

DH and I just returned from the YC. Of all of the WDW resorts we've stayed at (WL, AKL, Poly, and ASMu) at, YC is my favorite, hands down! The whole resort is fabulous, and the rooms are all newly renovated. We found the location to be very convenient. While we were there we had a chance to tour the BWI lobby. It was beautiful. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there, either.

We had actually booked at split stay for our family in Jan.'02 at AKL and CR (price and monorail access). We stayed the first two nights at AKL and just loved it. Then we checked into the CR for our last 4 nights. We hiked out to our north garden wing rooms, and just hated the resort. The hallways are dark and dimly lit, and the room decor is just not for me. We turned right around, called the Poly for availability, and checked out of the CR. So...we really don't like the CR, but I know there are many that love it. We enjoyed our stay at the Poly, and loved the location.

Good luck with your decision !

 

[ead79]

Out of those resorts, I have only stayed at the BWI (in 2000). We really enjoyed our time at the BWI. It has a very relaxed, laid back feel to it, and the room decor is really cute. The BWI and the YC/BC are all very convenient to Epcot and MGM, and the Contemporary is very convenient to the MK. I personally prefer the theming of the BWI/YC/BC to the theming of the Contemporary, but that's all personal preference. I will be trying the YC out for the first time in 6 days, and I'll post what I think of it (I imagine I will enjoy it).

 

[weloveminnie]

We suggest you to stay at the Contemporary because I'll be staying here.

 

[mtdevine615]

As some others have said the real determing factor is how bad you want to be on the monorail and where you spend most of your time. If you look at a map of the entire grounds you'll see that the Epcot resorts are the most centrally located. An easy walk to Epcot and a slightly further walk (maybe 20-30 min) to MGM, or you can take the boat to MGM. If you have little ones I'm sure you'll like CR. For us it's not our cup of tea, to stark and less Disney. It's hard to explain most people love or hate it.

 

[SnowWitch]

We have stayed at all 3, sorta. We have stayed at the BWV's no the Inn.

We love all three for different reasons. First I would only stay in the Tower at the CT resort. We really love it but it was the first deluxe we stayed in so its special to us. The YC, great location, great pool if the kids are good swimmers. My kids are a little older and I trust them in water. If I had younger children or weak swimmers I would be frustrated with Stormalong Bay. I would think it would be hard to keep up with the kids because the pool, is sooo large. The BWV, fabulous location, nice pool, and if staying in a villa you have tons of room!!

 

[Disney Pal]

I'd go with Boardwalk all the way. We just came back from there this past October and
we had a BLAST. One thing that we really loved is the activity on the Boardwalk at night
It is just nice to have dinner and walk on the Boardwalk afterward and see the magic
shows and music. It give you something to do if you want lay low at night. And it is
a truely beautiful hotel.

 

[JulesMom]

YC is my favorite resort. It is SO close to Epcot!!! We could leave our room and be inside Epcot in about 5-7 minutes! Stormalong Bay was great fun for the kids--and me, too. I even liked the big slide

I really liked the Contemporary, too. I thought the rooms would be wild, but it was really nice and the rooms were large.

I would stay 1/2 of time at Contemporary and then the rest at YC.

I don't think you could go wrong with any of those 3 resorts!

 

[auntgee]

We just got back from the Contemporary (under SoG). I thought it was very clean and we got a great rate. I had requested a first floor room but was given one on the third floor in no man's land. I went back to the desk and requested something closer and was switched to the fifth room from the elevator. We loved the convenience of the monorail, the hot tub was great and the last night the maid arranged my DD stuffed animals and toys and left a swan out of wash cloths. It was just a short walk to the entrance to catch the buses, which came pretty frequently and never had to stand!

CR Nov. 21-27, 2002

CAN'T WAIT TO RETURN!!!!!

 

[DemoBri1]

My wife and I stayed there for our honeymoon in 98 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now that they are finishing up renovations on both resorts, you should have fairly fresh-looking rooms when you go down there next year.

Second choice would be BWI.

The location of the Epcot resort area is second to none. If anything, I would say that the CR is probably your least desirable as far as location goes, unless you plan on being in the MK for most of your stay. As other posters have stated, you can walk to both Epcot and MGM from the Epcot resorts, and you can actually get to MK as well via the monorail from Epcot. The only park that you would have to bus/drive to would be AK.

Whatever you decide, HAVE FUN!!

 

[richard3330]

Hi,

We have a young son (3 years old) and will be travelling with friends who have a young daughter (6 years) and son (3 years).

We will probably spend most of our time in MGM/MK/AKL, rather than Epcot.

Will Yacht/Beach club's pool be too wild for them??

Also what os transport like from BWI and YC/BC?

Thanks for all your replies!! Keep them coming!!

Thanks Again,

Richard

 

[TerriBelle]

We have stayed at all the resorts you mentioned. If you are planning to split your stay, then I would pick the Cont and the BC. We just returned from the BCV and we have twins that are 4 and a 9 DD. My kids all LOVE SAB. There is a big slide but they also have a small one on the pirate ship that is perfect for small children. It dumps into a shallow kids pool. My boys also used this pool last Oct. when they were 3. (pool hopped from BWV when this was allowed) Last year they also loved playing in the sand at the kiddie pool but this year they only wanted to swim!

The CR is great for going to MK and the BC is great for EPCOT and MGM.

 

[cinmell]

We love the Contemporary and can't wait to go back in May. I've only stayed in the tower so I can't comment on the garden wings but the rooms were very clean, bright and I thought they were a great size. It's great being able to walk to the MK in under 10 minutes. It's a big plus to be able to walk back to your hotel after the parade or fireworks at the MK and not have to deal with crowds on buses/monorails.

The arcade is big and there are 2 pools and a small playground. The Food and Fun Center is okay and Concoures Steakhouse has a great breakfast and there is always Chef Mickey's. We really enjoy being able to take the boat over to Wilderness Lodge and Ft. Wilderness to eat and explore. Have fun wherever you decide to stay!

 

[laurenk]

We just split our stay between CR and BWI from November 8th til the 18th.

The CR is great if you are spending alot of time at MK. We left earlier then planned to go over to the BWI because the CR just wasn't for us. We LOVED BWI, even though our room was in France . We overlooked the quiet pool and rose garden, and that was a hike. I always wondered why people said certain rooms were way out there, and now I know. You can't beat the location of BWI, IMHO. My 9 year old twins loved it there. We have also staye at YC, and loved it there as well. Any of those choices are great...it is all about what you make it. Anywhere we stay on any ofour trips seems pretty good to us. Enjoy!

 

[chrisp]

Contemporary! Our family of five has stayed at the Contemp 14 times over the years (we have stayed at other resorts also) and like it the best. The tower room and garden room differences make it two different resorts - stay in the tower if possible. The view of either bay lake or mk from the tower is fantastic. Chef Mickey's is right there, also the Concourse Steakhouse is terrific. The Food and Fun Center makes snacking/fast eating a breeze. For a top notch meal, there is the California Grill. The pools are fun, and the lake offers various boating activities. The monorail of course makes mk and epcot easy and convenient, especially for midday breaks. The buses run often everywhere else and we've never had to stand.