Crescent lake choice

[Partyof4LA]

We are a family of 5 with 3 kids aged 14,9, and 2. Current availability for our dates are Beach club studio villa, boardwalk garden view, or yacht club garden view. I’m having a hard time deciding. It’s about $40/night difference between the villa and garden view rooms so price isn’t really a deciding factor. We will be doing Epcot, magic kingdom and Hollywood Studios during this stay so will need to use bus services for at least one park.

We’ve never stayed in any deluxe hotel before, only mods and value. What are the pros/cons between these?

 

[holden]

BC/YC pool (Stormalong Bay) is definitely better than BW’s pool. If you plan to use the pool, I’d eliminate BW.

The BC villa will have a kitchenette. You’d get a microwave, toaster, fridge and coffee maker. If that appeals to you, I’d go with the BC Villa.

Having said that, 3 adult bodies and 2 kids will be tight in a studio villa or hotel room. If you are considering a villa, I’d price out a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom. Renting points is usually cheaper.

Wherever you stay, have a great trip!

 

[RanDIZ]

You can’t go wrong with either since both are in walking distance to EP and HS. I’d give BC the edge for the pool and my pre-COVID favorite restaurant Cape May Cafe.

 

[Best Aunt]

We are a family of 5 with 3 kids aged 14,9, and 2. Current availability for our dates are Beach club studio villa...

BCV studios have 1 Queen size bed, 1 double-size sleeper sofa, and 1 single pull-down bed which is smaller than twin size. If you have the sofa bed pulled out and the pull-down bed pulled down, there's not much room to move around. The studios have a kitchenette, which is good if you like the toaster and microwave, but not so good because it takes up space. The BCV studios have very little storage space because what could have been a dresser is now the space where the pull-down bed is. The bed is on a platform so you can't put your suitcases underneath it. I haven't been there since the pandemic started, but pre-COVID, there was a lot of stuff in the closet which cut down on space you could use for storage (iron, ironing board, vacuum cleaner, extra pillow and blanket, broom, dust pan, fire extinquisher).

I think BCV studios are great for solo travellers and couples. But your family might be happier in a regular hotel room.

 

[nyy]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices!
We loved our BWI stay! The pool is underrated, in my opinion. The BC/YC pool complex is awesome, but it can get crowded and it can be a challenge keeping everyone happy in one section. If your kids are in different sections, you can't see them.
Our BWI room had a large balcony with an awesome view of Illuminations! (It was a garden view room.)
You will have plenty of food and entertainment options and can easily get to any of them in the Crescent Lake area.
We are at YC for our next trip, but our kids will be 17 and 20.
The walk to EPCOT is easy, but we prefer the boat to HS as it is a bit longer.
One caution - we have stayed at all levels of resorts - but once we stayed Deluxe nothing else compared. Just our experience.
You will have a great trip!

 

[Marthasor]

We are a family of 5 with 3 kids aged 14,9, and 2. Current availability for our dates are Beach club studio villa, boardwalk garden view, or yacht club garden view. I’m having a hard time deciding. It’s about $40/night difference between the villa and garden view rooms so price isn’t really a deciding factor. We will be doing Epcot, magic kingdom and Hollywood Studios during this stay so will need to use bus services for at least one park.

We’ve never stayed in any deluxe hotel before, only mods and value. What are the pros/cons between these?

For me, it's a tie between YC garden and BWI garden. With a family of 5, I would take the BC studio out of the equation as the pull-out beds are not comfortable, IMHO. With YC and BWI, you will at least have 2 queens and possibly a day bed, so much more comfortable bedding. We like YC as it feels a bit quieter than BWI and we like the easy access to QS and TS. I'm not a huge fan of the pool, though your older kids may enjoy it - just be aware that the entrance for the big pool slide is across a path. With a 14 and 9 year old, that may not be a deal breaker depending on how independent they are. I like the set up at the BWI pool better, but accessing food at BWI is kind of a pain, IMHO. You have to go out to the Boardwalk to access everything and that can be inconvenient especially if it's raining outside. As an overall resort, I like YC better, but I do like the slide and pool at BWI more.

 

[Partyof4LA]

Thanks for your replies. We’ve eliminated the studio villa. Glad I asked, we thought we would be getting more space overall that way. I looked into renting points, there aren’t any larger DVC villas available.
As for boat/skyliner/bus transportation to HS or MK, or walking to Epcot, are boardwalk and yacht club on pretty equal footing?

For the standard garden view room, it lists “2 Queen Beds or 2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed or 1 Queen Bed and 1 Twin-Size Sleeper Chair and 1 Day Bed or 1 King Bed”
Is there any way to know which one you’re getting ahead of time? The rooms with a day bed +/- the twin sleeper chair would be the best for the 5 of us since baby will probably not sleep in a pack n play. I worry they won’t automatically put us in one the 2 year old isn’t technically going towards room count.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Thanks for your replies. We’ve eliminated the studio villa. Glad I asked, we thought we would be getting more space overall that way. I looked into renting points, there aren’t any larger DVC villas available.
As for boat/skyliner/bus transportation to HS or MK, or walking to Epcot, are boardwalk and yacht club on pretty equal footing?

For the standard garden view room, it lists “2 Queen Beds or 2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed or 1 Queen Bed and 1 Twin-Size Sleeper Chair and 1 Day Bed or 1 King Bed”
Is there any way to know which one you’re getting ahead of time? The rooms with a day bed +/- the twin sleeper chair would be the best for the 5 of us since baby will probably not sleep in a pack n play. I worry they won’t automatically put us in one the 2 year old isn’t technically going towards room count.

There is no Skyliner to MK; boats are available for HS and EPCOT as well as walking, and buses go to all the parks minus HS and EPCOT. You actually can take the Skyliner to HS from Crescent Lake by doing the following: walk or boat to EPCOT then Skyliner to transfer point then switch to HS. A very roundabout route that takes more time but allows you to experience the ride.

 

[Partyof4LA]

There is no Skyliner to MK; boats are available for HS and EPCOT as well as walking, and buses go to all the parks minus HS and EPCOT. You actually can take the Skyliner to HS from Crescent Lake by doing the following: walk or boat to EPCOT then Skyliner to transfer point then switch to HS. A very roundabout route that takes more time but allows you to experience the ride.

Yes, I know it’s only buses for MK transportation. I guess I miss worded the question. I was looking to see if one hotel had an advantage over the other in terms of order of bus route OR boat route OR distance walking to the skyliner hub or Epcot. Hope that makes more sense.

 

[alon86]

I would go YC over BWI, I think it’s a lovely classy resort. The pool is freakin awesome. We stayed at BCV and walking to Epcot is fantastic and super close. YC is right next to BC.
For the room selection issues, are you using a TA? They know the best way to make these requests and can note that the baby needs a bed. I dont think you will get a guarantee on the type of room but Disney is usually very good at keeping everyone happy.
lastly, you might consider a larger villa in another resort if you don’t think the 5 of you will enjoy being in one room? If you know it works for you, then YC all the way. Or if more space might make for a better vacation, you could look at renting points at SS or OKW. Or renting points might have more availability at BCV. (I personally like the proximity to Epcot and HS)

 

[Best Aunt]

Thanks for your replies. We’ve eliminated the studio villa. Glad I asked, we thought we would be getting more space overall that way. I looked into renting points, there aren’t any larger DVC villas available.

That's kind of odd - usually the studios are the first to go. Keep in mind (which you may already know) that the availability on the Disneyworld website is for people paying for villas with cash, and it's different from the availability on the DVC member website for people paying for villas with DVC points. Nonmembers cannot access the DVC member website. However, if you contacted a rental agency, they should have been able to access the DVC member website and give you a correct answer as to whether one-bedroom or two-bedroom villas were available for booking with points at that moment.

 

[Marthasor]

BWI and YC are about equidistant to the skyliner and the buses are equal, IMHO. You have a slight boat advantage to DHS from YC and slight walking advantage to DHS from BWI.

 

[yaya74]

My family just came back from a 6 night stay at YC. It was our first time there and I really like YC. We took ferry to Epcot and DHS all the time. The pool is great and your kids will like it. Our room had two queens and a day bed. You can request for it. On the arrival day I stopped by the front desk making sure that our room has two queens and a day bed and the front desk CM was helpful. My DH slept on the daybed during the whole week and he did not complain about it. One thing about YC is that dogs are allowed, just in case any of your family does not like dogs. I have seen dogs inside and outside of the resort. Dogs are all on leash.

 

[cutigerlady]

I would pick either BC or YC. Some of the standard/garden rooms have a sofa that pulls out and they are much bigger than the regular room, which would give your family a little more space. With 5 people in your reservation, you’ll have a much better chance of getting the extra sleeping space. I requested the sleeper sofa at checkin and was prepared to wait longer for my room.

 

[alon86]

That's kind of odd - usually the studios are the first to go. Keep in mind (which you may already know) that the availability on the Disneyworld website is for people paying for villas with cash, and it's different from the availability on the DVC member website for people paying for villas with DVC points. Nonmembers cannot access the DVC member website. However, if you contacted a rental agency, they should have been able to access the DVC member website and give you a correct answer as to whether one-bedroom or two-bedroom villas were available for booking with points at that moment.

Yes this is what I was referring to earlier. If you check the availability calendar on a DVC rental site (the largest broker has an availability calendar you can check on the fly on their website) you can see what’s available when and at which resort and the cost for the point rental. Might be worth checking out!

 

[Deb & Bill]

That's kind of odd - usually the studios are the first to go. Keep in mind (which you may already know) that the availability on the Disneyworld website is for people paying for villas with cash, and it's different from the availability on the DVC member website for people paying for villas with DVC points. Nonmembers cannot access the DVC member website. However, if you contacted a rental agency, they should have been able to access the DVC member website and give you a correct answer as to whether one-bedroom or two-bedroom villas were available for booking with points at that moment.

Different inventory for cash vs points. It's true that points reservations go first. But maybe not for cash.

Yes this is what I was referring to earlier. If you check the availability calendar on a DVC rental site (the largest broker has an availability calendar you can check on the fly on their website) you can see what’s available when and at which resort and the cost for the point rental. Might be worth checking out!

The point charts the brokers have might be wrong the minute they get them posted on line since they are just copies of what DVC posts for owners. Plus by the time you put in your reservations request with the broker and they respond to you, inventory is totally different. And they can only see one of each type of booking at a time. They can't tell if there are two studios available, just one at a time.

 

[Partyof4LA]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions/advice. We decided to stick with yacht club. I tried to call the reservation line yesterday to make a request for the daybed but wait times were over 2 hours so I scrapped that and will try another time. (We are not using a travel agent. I know they’d wait on hold so I wouldn’t have to, but I’ve had 2 separate bad experiences in the past and prefer to have control of my reservation from here out.)

I did look at DVC point rental sites and nothing was available for these resorts on the days we are going. The decision to do a split stay with an Epcot area resort was fairly last minute so it was slim pickings.

 

[melissalovesfigment]

I would choose the YC Garden View. The room will have 2 queen beds and a twin(ish) sized couch that flips over into a bed. Our daughter loved that bed when she was 2-3 (still does at 5). If 2 year old is still in a pack and play, it should fit in the bathroom area for a little more privacy. This is what we do with our 3 year old. The pool at YC/BC is much more fun than Boardwalk.