First Time Deluxe - Poly or Boardwalk Inn?

[DisneyWishes14]

Boardwalk Bakery has great quick service breakfast selections and it's easier and faster than Capt. Cook's at Poly which is a chaotic mess IMHO. And I'm with Disneylover99 on Les Halles in France. Having breakfast at Les Halles is a tradition for us when staying at an EP resort - great food and coffee and usually very quiet.

 

[PlainJane]

BW is my favorite Disney resort. When it comes down to it, it's because of its theme. It transports me to another place unlike any of the other Disney resorts. It's hard to quantify something like that. As much as I think it's good to take the practical into consideration, also take into account the actual resort atmosphere and which one would best suit your family. Both are great resorts. I think you could have an amazing vacation at either one.

I almost always eat breakfast in the room, so I don't really have a lot of experience with that at these resorts, but in general I prefer Captain Cooks over the Boardwalk Bakery.

 

[HairyChest]

Poly

its about 15-20 minutes away from epcot

the magic of seeing Cinderella castle and the lagoon in front of your resort

and the beautiful relaxing tropical theme

that will make the vacation special. you will be in a whole other world

 

[VAfamily1998]

I have stayed at BWI twice and Poly once. I will say that BWI has a bit of an unfair advantage in my views, because both times I stayed there was club level, but I just had a standard room at Poly.
But BWI is far and away my favorite resort at Disney.
Jellyrolls is my favorite "grown up" place to be at all of Disney World and its so nice to be able to just walk back to your room after.

 

[EdmondD]

Drawbacks for BW - scary clown pool, buses to MK/AK.

Person who thinks clowns are scary has Dr. Facilier as an avatar??

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Person who thinks clowns are scary has Dr. Facilier as an avatar??

Good point! My daughter is the one with the clown phobia - prevented us from ever staying at BW.

 

[loves to dive]

Thank you everybody! I wish we could do a split stay, but we'll only be there 6 nights.

We didn't get to spend much time in Epcot last time, which is why I'm leaning towards BW...but I'm dying to experience the Poly too.

One thing that concerns me about the Epcot resorts is breakfast. There seems to be a lack of quick options for breakfast. What do people do?

You can get breakfast at the BW bakery, they serve a sort of continental breakfast in the bar at BWI, you can walk over to BC and get breakfast at the marketplace, you can walk over to the Dolphin and get a great sit down breakfast at their Fresh Med. Market, you can walk into Epcot and get breakfast at France.

 

[justme0729]

For breakfast, I think captain cooks, Kona, or Ohana are way easier to access than walking to the bakery at BW or into Epcot for a CS breakfast. I like how everything seems close to you at the Poly vs. the Boardwalk. At the Boardwalk, we had to do a lot of walking and didn't want to walk farther just to get something quick to eat.

 

[SnowWitch]

You can't go wrong with either choice. If its during the F&W festival, I vote BWI. We own at the BWV's and love it but about to have our 2nd stay at the Poly in 8 months. Love them both!

 

[Eastern]

You can't go wrong with either choice.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We've stayed at both. We would all stay at the Poly again, but none of us care to return to BW.

BW Bakery sucks. Captain Cooks was much better! The cast members at the Poly were so much nicer! We also enjoyed the table service meals there more. Kona Cafe is a must!

The monorail is a convenient way to get to Epcot and so fun!

The pool at the Poly is also much nicer. We also liked to watch Wishes from the beach. We tried Illuminations from the BW, but it wasn't as impressive.

 

[Kelly loves Food]

It looks like its now between Poly and the Beach Club in October. My heart says Poly, but my head is telling me Beach Club. I'll be happy either way...because its Disney!!

 

[Chrelaine]

I would vote BC for proximity to 2 parks. We stayed at Poly last summer and just didn't love it. We got soaked getting to the GCH if it was raining. The buildings felt very motel like with the outside stairs. Captain Cook's service is a disaster and the monorail just wasn't as convenient as we thought it would be. We did love the boat to MK and the walk to the TTC. You can't make a bad choice here. Just go with your gut and have a great trip!

 

[TJA]

Since you know the pros and cons of both Poly and BC, I'll list a few things that stand out to our family:

POLY:
> watch Wishes right from the main pool, the beach, and several other parts of the resort.
> have Kona pressed coffee.
> have tonga toast for breakfast.
> dinner at Ohana. Or twilight feast instead (Ohana dinner delivered to your room).
> Dole whip stand right at Poly.
> monorail to both MK and Epcot.
> boat to MK.
> walking path to GF.

BC:
> main pool is amazing, lots of different sections to enjoy.
> rooms are "fresher" (more recently refurbished) than rooms at Poly.
> walk to Epcot in just a few minutes.
> walk or boat to HS.
> surrey bike rental/route is beautiful around the water.
> boardwalk is fun, including ESPN Club.
> walk to mini-golf course.
> Beaches & Cream is fun restaurant for various ice cream treats.

Perhaps pick the one that you think will suit your DH best. Either way, they're 2 of our favorite resorts! We've stayed at both several times.

 

[Mainemama]

Thank you everybody! I wish we could do a split stay, but we'll only be there 6 nights.

We didn't get to spend much time in Epcot last time, which is why I'm leaning towards BW...but I'm dying to experience the Poly too.

One thing that concerns me about the Epcot resorts is breakfast. There seems to be a lack of quick options for breakfast. What do people do?

Based on your description of DH, I would actually think he would prefer BW. Being able to walk or take the boat to two resorts is huge. The buses are also shorter to AK and MK than buses from POly to AK and HS. Interesting that he wants the Poly. Your daughter may prefer Poly (volcano pool and Dole Whips are the stars for my 11 year old DD.) Having done a 3 night split stay, between YC and Poly, I think you should reconsider. It is so easy to have your luggage transferred. You could then only take a bus to Ak, and get the best of both wonderful resorts. On our transfer day, we packed up, had bell services pick up our bags, walked into Epcot for brunch, took the monorail to the Poly and were able to check into our room before noon, then hit MK. Our luggage was in our room when we returned in the evening. For breakfast at BW, I enjoyed picking up a few things from BW bakery and the lounge. We also tended to stock up on pastries at ales Halle's the night before. Table service breakfasts are fairly easy to access. The only thing missing is a quick service hot meal, but I have never been a fan of bounty platters, myself. Mickey waffles, on the other hand....

I bet your DH will end up loving either resort!

 

[Dis703]

We haven't stayed at a monorail resort because I just can't justify the extra money. We ended up with a discounted room spending less on BC CL room than the standard rooms at the Poly or CR for our first deluxe stay and I found this location to be absolutely perfect. We went back and did BWI the following year and both were fabulous resorts. The Epcot resort area just has so much going for it. You can walk or boat to both Epcot and HS. There are lots of great dining and shopping options as well as just the other resorts to explore. There is entertainment on the Boardwalk in the evening and opportunities to rent a Surrey bike to take a ride around the Boardwalk. One of the mini golf locations is walking distance as well. I loved to take a break and grab a snack at the Boardwalk Bakery and just sit and take in the beautiful surroundings. So peaceful and relaxing.

Two of our favorite Disney restaurants are also nearby. Cape May Cafe for breakfast was definitely our best breakfast on site and Captain's Grille at the YC has been great for dinner.

 

[justme0729]

It looks like its now between Poly and the Beach Club in October. My heart says Poly, but my head is telling me Beach Club. I'll be happy either way...because its Disney!!

If your heart says Poly, then I think you should do the Poly. The atmosphere there is just more magical to me than beach club and I love the monorail

 

[thepicklebee]

I love the Boardwalk area resorts, of which BW is my least favorite, but I still prefer them to the Poly. I really cannot justify the cost of staying at the Poly, and having stayed at the Royal Pacific at Universal, I feel like I have been spoiled on the Polynesian feel there and the Poly just doesn't do it for me as much.

I used to love Beach Club the most, but have recently changed my allegiance to YC. I think this may have to do with bourbon and truffle fries in the Crew's Cup Lounge... I love the proximity of the BW area resorts to Epcot. I love being able to pop over to the WS for dinner or a drink in the evenings. I enjoyed Abracadabar and have a blast at Jellyrolls every time.

 

[Angell]

It depends on what you are looking for.

Pros for the Poly
The Poly is a super easy 5 minute walk to the TTC.
The Monorail!
Ohana
Excellent theming
So close to MK
Watch the fireworks from the beach

Cons for the Poly
Pool is on the small side and is overcrowded

Pros for Boardwalk
Close to Epcot and Hollywood
Fun pool -unless you think clowns are scary
So many restaurants at your doorstep
The boat rides to Epcot and Hollywood
Fun shopping, bars, etc

Cons
Hasn't been updated recently -but still very nice !


You can't go wrong with either one. Have fun!
Angell

 

[Kelly loves Food]

I booked the Poly!!!!! We will be there for Food & Wine so I was thinking an Epcot resort would make more sense, but DH and DD don't love food like I do and they both voted for the Poly. I'm so excited!!! Thank you, DisFriends for your help, as always