Do BC/YC feel "away" enough?

[honeymom]

We are currently booked at Poly. Chose it for the tropical theming, the monorail ease, and the "away from it all" feel.

We may switch to BC/YC because of pool slide issue (I have teens and the pool slide being open is important to them). I like the idea of it being right by Epcot - we have a lot of dinners planned there. However, when I look at pics, despite the largeness of the pool, I just do not get that "away" from it resort type of feel that I do the Poly or WL. My husband wants to stay at the Poly despite the pool situation because he really wants to feel away from it all. He's leaving the decision up to me, but if I switch, will he wind up somewhere that is "too in the middle" of everything to get that fantasy of I'm away from everything vacation?

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Lst may I stayed at the boardwalk and poly on a split stay. Poly has always been my favorite for lots of reasons.. But I have to tell u, I loved the boardwalk area. Lots too do!! I am staying at the bc in April specifically for the pool. I loved the pool area at the poly, but it's small and without the slide the kids may b bored..

 

[harmsja]

I have stayed at Poly, Beach Club and Yacht Club.

I loved Poly. My kids (10 and 8) did as well. They loved the pool, but it is small for how large the resort is. My boys did quickly tire of the volcano slide.
Dining is great there as well.

The pool at Yacht Club and Beach Club is amazing. We are going again this year and that is the resort they chose. The slide is more challenging and the sand in the bottom of the pool is way cool.

Beach Club tends to have more kids running around and its lobby is much "busier" because of it.

Yacht Club has a lot of adult guests and is very calm and relaxing. The views of the lighted Boardwalk at night are great. You can't beat walking to Epcot in the evening and walking back to the resort after fireworks without the crowds. You can see Illuminations from your balcony as well.

Monorail is key if your kids are younger and MK is your main park. But for older kids, Yacht and Beach Club is great. The dining options are wonderful too.

 

[francie57]

The Epcot resort area is the best area to stay in. We have stayed at all of the monorail resorts and prefer the Epcot resorts. We have stayed at both the BW and the BC and you definitely will feel like you are on vacation. We are returning to the BC this Aug. and we love being able to be in Epcot in about 5 min. since we have most of our dinners there. You definitely won't be disappointed with the Y/BC.

 

[dizlizz]

We stayed at the Yacht Club this past August and we all loved it ( family of 5 with 2 boys 16 & 14 and a girl aged 10). We were booked at the Beach Club, but since no garden rooms were availablee with full balcony as we had requested,the CM on duty upgraded us to water view at the yacht club next door( with full balcony). I can assure you that we had the " away from it all " feeling when we sat out on the balcony and looked out over Storm Along bay and the boardwalk resort across the lake - magic. I'd book a water view room at the Yacht club without hesitation! (as opposed to the Beach club - because what good is a water view if you're not guaranteed a balcony to sit on?)
When booking I had originally wanted the Poly as well - it had always been my dream to stay there since I was a little kid - but the proximity to Epcot and the pool made the Beach/Yacht club resorts the logical choice for us - and we had no regrets. Now I can't imagine staying anywhere else!!

Hope this helps - I'm sure you'll have a great time either way.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

We are currently booked at Poly. Chose it for the tropical theming, the monorail ease, and the "away from it all" feel.

We may switch to BC/YC because of pool slide issue (I have teens and the pool slide being open is important to them). I like the idea of it being right by Epcot - we have a lot of dinners planned there. However, when I look at pics, despite the largeness of the pool, I just do not get that "away" from it resort type of feel that I do the Poly or WL. My husband wants to stay at the Poly despite the pool situation because he really wants to feel away from it all. He's leaving the decision up to me, but if I switch, will he wind up somewhere that is "too in the middle" of everything to get that fantasy of I'm away from everything vacation?

The theming is not as strong at the BC as it is at the Poly or WL. So no, IMO, you will not feel as immersed in theming i.e. feel that you are on a polynesian island, or out in the wild, wild west.

But the BC is awesome for reasons already mentioned by you, and in this thread.

Have fun!

 

[HelenParr]

I understand your DH's thinking, he knows, and loves, the Poly. Hard to switch, particularly when you've found a resort that you know you are going to like. Switching it up is a risk! Having said that...

Our experience at YC/BC has been excellent. We feel away from it all there. Many really relaxing features: a stroll around the circle to/from the Boardwalk is always relaxing...Sitting on the rockers outside the lobby entrance at the YC with a coffee, or adult beverage...great lobbies to sit and people watch or meet up with friends...pools (and SAB slide) are amazing...beach chairs...beach movies...nice, kid friendly bars (sounds wrong, but so much fun)...ice cream parlor..."soda" shop with burgers...good arcade...smells good (sounds crazy but it smells really nice).

And still centrally located.

Good luck choosing!!

 

[honeymom]

I'm not worried about me being happy. But, the busyness in the BC/YC area does concern me. My husband is a bit of a Fuddy Dud type and wants a lot of quiet. We are not the go out an party it up at night types of people He really does not like Disney and probably will look for any reason to not like it further on this vacation.

He liked WL a lot a few years ago. I think that in addition to the theming, he really liked the Sea Raycers and the boat over to MK. I know they have Sea Raycers at Beachclub, but I hear the speed is much more restricted. Also, that slow boat to Hollywood Studios is not nearly as nice as the boat to MK from WL. I would stay at WL again, but I really don't feel like dealing with the transportation issues.

My kids, while teens, are not into thrill rides. So we will probably still do a little more MK than even I would like.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Well as far as relaxing and being a fuddy dud, I would say the Poly pool is the worst because it is so small and usually crowded.

SAB can get crowded to but it's enormous and it's easier to find a quiet spot to call your own.

Really what you want is the Grand Floridian! It is excellent, beautiful, peaceful, relaxing, you will absolutely get that "away from it" feeling, it has 2 pools and the one with a slide, well the slide is really good...nice and fast with a couple or 3 nice turns. the only problem there is the construction...

 

[kmermaid]

SAB is crazy busy in the summer, not sure how it will be around presidents day (that is when you are going correct?) Even so my DH is similar in that he likes to have that away feeling. The quiet pools at bc and yc are great for that. And you can't beat being able to walk over to WS at night.

 

[Mickey & Minnie Mom]

We love to stay at the BC, even during the "busy" summer months.

We love to hang out around SAB ... we find a nice quiet spot away from the pool party area, usually at a table with umbrella for shade. Love when our favorite waitress, Rocky, comes around to take our drink orders. And if we're hungry, having our food brought to us really does make it feel like we are away at a resort being taken care of.

Floating around the lazy river is relaxing .. and even my DH & I get a few rides down the awesome water slide.

Walking around the Boardwalk is fun, seeing the beach area brings relaxing thoughts. Love how friendly the staff is.

And we feel extra relaxed staying at BC because of the time we feel we gain not having to deal with transportation to Epcot or DHS. Sometimes instead of the bus, we'll make the 20 minute walk to DHS or even drive ourselves which is so easy ... 5 minutes across the street and you're there.

And we've had nothing but great success with the bus to the MK. Now we do go in the summer so we only share the bus with YC.

Before we stayed at BC, we really liked the WL as well. Stayed there twice and didn't think we'd like anyplace better. Now, we just want to go back to BC every time.

Good luck in your decision. If you do go with BC, check out the YC/BC thread for lots of info on what to expect, how to get around, before you get there so you can lead your DH to all the best the resort has to offer.

 

[Marlton Mom]

We were at the Beach Club for 10 days in June of 2011 for Star Wars Weekend. The weather was ferociously hot so we always hit the Storm Along Bay pool from 1:30 to 4:30, which is peak time. The pool is so large and curvy that it had the capacity to host a lot of people with out feeling crowded. We could always get chairs at the pool during that time too so, despite being busy, the pool never felt packed or overcrowded to me. There are also 3 other pools that you are allowed to use besides Storm Along Bay (Yacht Club quiet pool, Beach Club quiet pool and the Beach club villas pool). These pools had an abundance of chairs, tables and hot tubs, all for easy enjoyment.

There are lots of little nooks and crannies to relax in at this resort, especially outside away from the pool. The lobby is the only place that seemed busy to me and we were always just passing through so no problems there.

I hope that helps.

~Marlton Mom

 

[natebenma]

We love, love, love the Beach Club mainly due to the ease of getting to EPCOT. The world showcase is a 5-7 minute, pleasant walk away. We love popping in for a quick lunch or dinner and sometimes even take our food back to our room to enjoy during a park break. We love watching Illuminations and being back in our room by 9:30.

The pool and the Jib slide rock!!!

I don't know how important the counter service food offerings are for you, but it might be a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with what is offered at the Beach Club Marketplace or close to the resort to see if that would work for your family.

Here's a couple of links:

Beach Club Marketplace Photo and Information Thread

Here is a link to pictures of the menus at various CS restaurants around the EPCOT resort area. Thanks, Pixarmom!

EPCOT resort Counter Service Menus


As others have said, the Yacht Club may offer more of a "getaway" feeling than the Beach Club, while still enjoying all of the benefits of the resort. And as mentioned, the Yacht Club has full balconies for all of the rooms.

I would like to invite you to take a few minutes to check out the photos on Page 1 of the BC/YC FAQ thread- see how it hits you. You can click on the link in my signature.

 

[honeymom]

Ugh. I am so upset. I called and switched to BC today. However, I told the agent garden view, and even asked 2-3 times if she was giving us garden view. Reservation came through tonight as standard view. I know that some people don't care, but we do. It was literally the last room available in YC/BC so I doubt I can change. Honestly, I don't think I would have given up Poly if I knew we would be stuck overlooking a parking lot or something worse.

I've left message for agent helping me. Hopefully she can work magic and fix it. I had finally gotten to a really happy place with my decision to switch and feel so let down.