First time staying at a Deluxe Resort help me choose please!

[davisfamilyfive]

We are looking to go to Disney World for 10 days the end of August and can't decide which Deluxe to pick. We have three kids 8,9 and 14. The most important thing to them is the pool. We will be visiting all the theme parks and water parks. What would you pick and why? Thanks in advance for your opinion!

 

[Dis703]

If pool is the most important I'd go with BC or YC. Their pool is considered the best on property. They have a sand bottom pool, a pirate ship slide, a lazy river, etc. Some people call it a mini water park.

Aside from that it's also a great resort with a great location. You can walk to both Epcot and HS from here and have the Boardwalk with various shopping, dining, and entertainment options right there in walking distance. You can even walk to mini golf from here.

 

[Smittolis]

We are going End of July for 2 weeks, we've stayed at most of the hotels over the years and have 3 munchkins (5,7,11). The kids favorite is the Poly, although my 5 year old is very partial to the Villa's at Wilderness Lodge! If its a pool then the Poly is a great shout, nice rooms, great amenities and access to the monorail and boats to the MK and beyond. I personally like the Contemporary or BLT, but their pools are not very good in comparison to others.

Overall based upon all the things we use it for I would say the Poly is the overall #1 choice for our family, which is why we are splitting our stay between Wilderness Lodge and Poly! haha ;o)

 

[davisfamilyfive]

Does BC have boats to Disney Springs?

Also, I should mention we are from the Pacific NW so I'm just not sure I want to stay at Wilderness Lodge, may seem to much like home.

 

[SG131]

I completely agree with Dis703. Yacht and beach club share amazing pools that are a step above the other resorts. If pool is most important I would definitely go that route. If your kids were a bit younger and you were focusing most of your time on MK then I'd suggest a resort along the monorail.

 

[SG131]

Does BC have boats to Disney Springs?

Also, I should mention we are from the Pacific NW so I'm just not sure I want to stay at Wilderness Lodge, may seem to much like home.

No, the boats only got to HS and Epcot.

 

[Smittolis]

We are from the PNW too, however, Wilderness Lodge is really cool... but I get your point.

 

[lala5176]

We are looking to go to Disney World for 10 days the end of August and can't decide which Deluxe to pick. We have three kids 8,9 and 14. The most important thing to them is the pool. We will be visiting all the theme parks and water parks. What would you pick and why? Thanks in advance for your opinion!

Based off what you said about pool being important and the age of your children I would agree with the others and say BC or YC. The pool is great and do is the location of the resort.

 

[MaC410]

Like others have said, if the pool is the most important thing then BC/YC is the number 1 choice.

 

[Marionnette]

Does BC have boats to Disney Springs?

Also, I should mention we are from the Pacific NW so I'm just not sure I want to stay at Wilderness Lodge, may seem to much like home.

If you want a boat to Disney Springs, the resorts you want are POR/POFQ (both are Moderate Resorts), or OKW or SSR (which are both Deluxe Villa Resorts).

I'll be the contrarian and recommend BWI. Walkable distance to both HS and Epcot (but also accessible via boat). Best pool slide on property. Some families with young kids feel that SAB (the pool at YC/BC) has too many deep areas and poor sight lines. It is an amazing pool but when we went with my brother and his family, I was a nervous wreck trying to keep an eye on his kids (age 5 & 8 at the time).

 

[Wood Nymph]

Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge only sleep four in their resort rooms, unless you book a deluxe room.

The nice thing about the BC and YC is that there are a lot of food options within walking distance of the resort. Our kids loved it there.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The pool is very important for our vacations. My kids favorite pool is SAB at BC. My son lived in that pool.

My kids found the poly pool to be pretty boring and small.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

Based on the pool criteria, I would go with YC/BC (the pool activities are the most varied here), Poly or Animal Kingdom Lodge (two of the best theme-wise).

YC and BC win for convenience for me (just stayed at YC last week, actually). You can very easily walk to Epcot and fairly easily walk to Studios (with boats to both). You have buses everywhere else and the added bonus that there are typically two bus lines going (Boardaalk/Swan/Dolphin and YC/BC). So, you can catch either and simply walk home along the Boardwalk. With that, you lose a bit of that seclusion/escape/separation that the other resorts have. So, plan accordingly!

I would steer you away from Contemporary and even Grand Floridan. They both have OK pools, but they feel more like large hotel pools than something special to me.

 

[jcvalenti]

You might also consider Animal Kingdom Lodge. The pool doesn't have the crazy bells and whistles of the Beach Club pool, but it's very cool, and FAR less crowded in the summer. Plus the Lodge has TONS for kids to do ... story time in the lobby, Animal watching all over the place. My kids LOVE the place. Beach Club and Yacht Club are both great, but when I walk by that pool in the middle of summer and see how packed it is ... ugh.

 

[Mrs.Milo]

I would go with the Boardwalk, great pool with slide plus 2 quiet pools. My family's favorite.

I stayed at BC last year, I'm a senior at 5'3" and A good swimmer, and I find the YC/BC pool a little scary in the "lazy river" as the current is fast and pretty much on my toes and trying to hold on to the sides......I think your 2 youngest could not swim there. And am I the only one who doesn't like the sand bottom? It feels weird to me!

 

[Babsy]

Boardwalk if you want to keep track of the kids at all times. Also, has a great slide. Note: Creepy Clown face on pool slide.

YC/BC for Storm Along Bay pool (many claim to be the best pool in WDW) if the lack of visibility isn't an issue. Also note: kids have to go outside the enclosed pool area to access the slide entrance.

Take a look at pics online of the two pools. It is easy to see the pros and cons of each.

If you want a boat to DS, then you are looking at Port Orleans Riverside, IMO, which is a moderate resort. Boardwalk and YC/C are all Epcot area resorts with boats to both Epcot and DHS. The location is really good for 8, 9 and 14 yo kids, IMO.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Another vote for AKL here if the theme appeals to you at all - having the animals just makes is an amazing feel IMO!

 

[mousegear]

my 13 y/o love BC/YC for their pool. It's perfect for the summer since we could spend hours and not be bored at the pool. Our first stay at BC was when he was 7 and we weren't comfortable since the main pool is so big that we couldn't keep track of where he was. Even back than, he was strong swimmer being on competitive swim team and all.

BC/YC is so convenient due to proximity to Epcot and DHS as well as Boardwalk. We picked BC for this summer trip for that reason.

 

[Nancyg56]

If you want a boat to Disney Springs, the resorts you want are POR/POFQ (both are Moderate Resorts), or OKW or SSR (which are both Deluxe Villa Resorts).

I'll be the contrarian and recommend BWI. Walkable distance to both HS and Epcot (but also accessible via boat). Best pool slide on property. Some families with young kids feel that SAB (the pool at YC/BC) has too many deep areas and poor sight lines. It is an amazing pool but when we went with my brother and his family, I was a nervous wreck trying to keep an eye on his kids (age 5 & 8 at the time).

I am right there with you. My DGD is a strong swimmer but that pool was a nightmare for me. At 11 she wanted to swim and enjoy the pool slide, but it was nearly impossible for me to keep eyes on her all of the time. I think that if you are like me, the kids may have fun but you will not.

SHe likes the Poly pool, and we all loved AKL pool.

 

[Shanti]

Yacht Club or Beach Club, without question. They share what is far and away the best pool on property.

You can also walk to Fantasia mini-golf from there, fyi. It's about a 10-minute walk, which is nice on a summer night.