Epcot Resort Advice

[Aj1129]

Hi Everyone!

Looking for some advice. Our family travels to Disney each August and we are just starting to think about August 2020. We have been trying different resorts each trip (all MK resorts). My husband would like to try an Epcot resort for the 2020 trip. My issue is we will have an almost 5 year old boy who loves MK. I think the easy access to MK from a monorail resort would make the most sense. I’m looking for options from anyone who has stayed with a young child in an Epcot resort and having to travel using the bus to and from MK often. Is it annoying? Is the pool at the BC/YC worth the travel? We use the resort pool each afternoon and will park hop in the evening.

 

[Best Aunt]

Bus picks up at yc before bc and sometimes is full by the time it gets to bc.

 

[nursejackie]

We have stayed at BCV and loved Stormalong Bay. We stayed at BLT once, and although the pool area was enjoyable and gave us access to Contemporary pool area, it didn't beat Stormalong Bay for us.

 

[Aj1129]

Bus picks up at yc before bc and sometimes is full by the time it gets to bc.

Thank you! This is helpful information. I was looking at the YC for our dates.

 

[Eastern]

I would choose YC. They also usually have relatively good prices on Club Level, if you were considering that.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi Everyone!

Looking for some advice. Our family travels to Disney each August and we are just starting to think about August 2020. We have been trying different resorts each trip (all MK resorts). My husband would like to try an Epcot resort for the 2020 trip. My issue is we will have an almost 5 year old boy who loves MK. I think the easy access to MK from a monorail resort would make the most sense. I’m looking for options from anyone who has stayed with a young child in an Epcot resort and having to travel using the bus to and from MK often. Is it annoying? Is the pool at the BC/YC worth the travel? We use the resort pool each afternoon and will park hop in the evening.

BWV is one of my home resorts. I love it for its easy access to HS and Epcot. But the buses, especially during off hours, can be hit or miss. But I feel that way about YC/BC, too.

As far as pools, SAB is amazing but keeping an eye on a young child there can be anything but relaxing. The lazy river can be somewhat deep in areas with a strong current. The shipwreck slide requires you to exit the fenced-in pool area to access the steps. OTOH, the BWI pool has one of the best slides on property (as long as you don’t have clown issues).

BWI does not have a QS restaurant inside of the hotel. You must exit the hotel and walk down the boardwalk to the Boardwalk Bakery (which is somewhat small). The same goes for TS restaurants. There are none inside the actual hotel. But there are a number of options on the boardwalk itself.

TBH, if you visit every year I would put off the Epcot resort for a few more years. If your little guy loves the MK, that’s where you’re going to spend most of your time. So having convenient access to Epcot (which will still be a construction zone in August 2020) is not really an asset. If you really want to be able to get to Epcot easily, you could stay at a Poly and walk to the TTC.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Hi Everyone!

Looking for some advice. Our family travels to Disney each August and we are just starting to think about August 2020. We have been trying different resorts each trip (all MK resorts). My husband would like to try an Epcot resort for the 2020 trip. My issue is we will have an almost 5 year old boy who loves MK. I think the easy access to MK from a monorail resort would make the most sense. I’m looking for options from anyone who has stayed with a young child in an Epcot resort and having to travel using the bus to and from MK often. Is it annoying? Is the pool at the BC/YC worth the travel? We use the resort pool each afternoon and will park hop in the evening.

If you're going to spend a lot of time at MK with a young child and don't have a car, I recommend staying at a monorail resort rather than an Epcot resort. Or even stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which has two good feature pools to choose from and better bus service than the Epcot resorts. Yes, bus service to MK from the Epcot resorts leaves something to be desired. It's not horrific, but it will be nothing remotely like the convenience of staying at a monorail resort. And with a small child, convenience is important.

 

[Babsy]

If you are willing to move, it might make sense to do a split stay. How long do you visit? I would do at least 3 nights each. So, for example, try min 3 nights at the Poly with min 3 nights at the YC. There is a little bit of time moving, but if you plan for it, it can be minimal. That way you can spend some time near the MKI but still allow DH the chance to try out the Epcot resort hotels.

If you don't want to move, then I would stay with a MK resort for another few years. If you are going to stay in the Epcot area, the PPs have all given great feedback. My choice with a 5 year old would probably be the BWI (reasons above).

They are all great resorts, so you can't lose! Enjoy!

 

[chris benton]

One of the joys of the EP Area resorts is that FROM MK or AK, you can hop on any of the EP area resort busses. They are all short walks from each other, and connected by walking paths. Swan/Dolphin / BW / BC/YC - if there is a bus boarding, and none other in sight, you can hop on if you don't mind a quick walk.

For going TO mk/ak, if the bus sched says it'll be a wait, and the crowd to get on the bus looks like any kind of issue, I'll use Uber/Lyft in a heartbeat. Might be some sort of an issue with a 4 year old, but I'd assume that if an Uber/Lyft doesn't have one car seat in their trunk in Wallyworld, they are setting themselves up for failure.

That said, weigh your options out for how much you want to be at MK, and to a lesser extent, AK, vs the benefits of being able to walk or boat to ep/dhs (which is FREEKING AWESOME FOR HOPPING, btw.)

We always do EP area, because we are up early with no issues, then take a swim break, then hop to a diff park. Negating travel time to 2 parks (either to or from) is a great value, imo.

Have you considered a split stay? Mk area + Ep area?

 

[KMarston]

We typically go in January to take our DGS 4. We stay a the Poly because it’s such easy access to MK. Even if we are at another park during the day. In August we stayed at YC on an adult trip and absolutely loved Stormalong bay! The kids in the sand pool we’re having so much fun! We live on the water and vacation three weeks a year at the beach. We’ve never spent much time in WDW pools EXCEPT for Stormalong Bay! We spent hours each day in the pool. Really enjoyed it! Just last night we decided that after this coming January trip to the Poly we’ll be trying for YC during warmer months for the pool for him. Biggest drawback we saw is getting kids out of the pool!

 

[Deb & Bill]

If your almost 5 yr old son isn't marvelous swimmer, you will want to keep your eyes on him at all times. There are some very deep areas in Stormalong Bay, like eight feet deep, with a strong current. On the YC side, there is an area that is probably better for younger kids.

You'll need to take a bus or Uber or Minnie van unless you have a park hopper pass and Epcot is open. Otherwise, you won't be able to access the monorail from an Epcot resort.

 

[Aj1129]

If you're going to spend a lot of time at MK with a young child and don't have a car, I recommend staying at a monorail resort rather than an Epcot resort. Or even stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which has two good feature pools to choose from and better bus service than the Epcot resorts. Yes, bus service to MK from the Epcot resorts leaves something to be desired. It's not horrific, but it will be nothing remotely like the convenience of staying at a monorail resort. And with a small child, convenience is important.

I feel the same way. We’ve stayed on a monorail resort the last three years and have enjoyed the convenience of being so close to MK with a small child. My husband is ready for a change, but I don’t think our family dynamic is ready for an Epcot resort and you assured me that my gut feeling was right.

 

[Aj1129]

One of the joys of the EP Area resorts is that FROM MK or AK, you can hop on any of the EP area resort busses. They are all short walks from each other, and connected by walking paths. Swan/Dolphin / BW / BC/YC - if there is a bus boarding, and none other in sight, you can hop on if you don't mind a quick walk.

For going TO mk/ak, if the bus sched says it'll be a wait, and the crowd to get on the bus looks like any kind of issue, I'll use Uber/Lyft in a heartbeat. Might be some sort of an issue with a 4 year old, but I'd assume that if an Uber/Lyft doesn't have one car seat in their trunk in Wallyworld, they are setting themselves up for failure.

That said, weigh your options out for how much you want to be at MK, and to a lesser extent, AK, vs the benefits of being able to walk or boat to ep/dhs (which is FREEKING AWESOME FOR HOPPING, btw.)

We always do EP area, because we are up early with no issues, then take a swim break, then hop to a diff park. Negating travel time to 2 parks (either to or from) is a great value, imo.

Have you considered a split stay? Mk area + Ep area?

I’m thinking about a split stay now. Didn’t think about it until other suggested. We usually stay about 6/7 nights. We love to park hop. We will do one park in the morning have a swim break eat dinner and hop somewhere else. I do think being able to walk to two different parks is fabulous!

 

[jenmsmith]

I feel the same way. We’ve stayed on a monorail resort the last three years and have enjoyed the convenience of being so close to MK with a small child. My husband is ready for a change, but I don’t think our family dynamic is ready for an Epcot resort and you assured me that my gut feeling was right.

What about Wilderness Lodge? While not a monorail resort, it is an MK resort with easy boat access.

 

[Aj1129]

What about Wilderness Lodge? While not a monorail resort, it is an MK resort with easy boat access.

We stayed at WL. It was beautiful and we did enjoy our time there, but we really didn’t like the transportation options. The boat was down often because of lightning which made for long bus waits. It could have just been an off week for transportation and weather related issues, but we decided we would skip WL for a while after that trip.

 

[chris benton]

I’m thinking about a split stay now. Didn’t think about it until other suggested. We usually stay about 6/7 nights. We love to park hop. We will do one park in the morning have a swim break eat dinner and hop somewhere else. I do think being able to walk to two different parks is fabulous!

Don't forget aabout the Friendship Boats, either. They are nice, but slow, and they can be packed when you're coming from Hollyweird after park close. The walk to/from Hollywood is a bit longer than EP, so if you've had a long day, and it's HOT, the walk might seem long. But if you have to wait for a boat, and don't make it on the first boat, walking would be much faster.

 

[Karebear]

The YC is my favorite resort! We have stayed at the Poly and at the CR and honestly didn’t find getting to the Magic Kingdom that much easier than getting there from the yacht club. Walking to the Magic Kingdom from the CR was great but with tired kids they always wanted to take the monorail and waiting for the monorail was almost as long as waiting for a bus. At the YC you can walk or take the boat to 2 parks which is great in my opinion. Also You are not that far from both the MK and AK by bus... you’re in a very central location. Storm Along Bay is amazing and I think that you would like it. My daughter was 6 on our first YC stay and we won’t stay anywhere else. Give it a try!

 

[mickeymom22]

When we had little ones we loved to stay at the Beach Club. We really enjoyed Stormalong Bay. Also just walking around the resort and over to the Boardwalk area was a good place to let them walk off some energy. They liked eating at Hurricane Hanna's and getting their lunch in a sand bucket and then using it at the pool. We would get park hoppers and we would always start the day at MK/HS/AK and then end our day at Epcot with a relaxing TS meal. We then would walk over to the Beach Club. It was such a nice peaceful transition from the parks to the resort. We have never stayed at a monorail resort so I can't compare the two experiences, but I can say that we really enjoyed our stays at the Beach Club when the kids were little. We did stay at the Boardwalk once...the kids were older and it was really nice, but I missed the Beach Club...maybe it was I was nostalgic for the yester years...

I will say our room at the Boardwalk seemed like it was so far away from everything. We had a long walk each night down the hallway to get to our room, but the interior of the room seemed larger than the Beach Club rooms.

Happy Planning! Five is such a perfect age to make Disney memories!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

YC/BC are both beautiful resorts. I would consider BWI as well. The pool is easier to navigate with a 5-year old as you can see the entire pool and slide from the pool deck. Plus, the pool bar is right next to the pool making getting snacks and beverages super easy. My DS12 has loved the vibe at BWI since he was young - jugglers, magicians and carnival games at night - it's super fun!