Help Me Decide - Beach Club or Boardwalk

[chrismom3]

We're traveling late July and currently have a reservation at the Beach Club. We've stayed there numerous times and love it, however, this year we weren't able to apply the summer discount to our reservation (completely sold out 7:05 am on the day discounts came out!!!). Our other option would be Boardwalk Inn ($600 less with discount - same Garden View). Here are a few points we keep pondering:

- love the pool at BC (not a fan of the clown at BW)
- Would really love a full balcony (big enough to sit)
- Both the BC/YC are completely booked (according to website and CM on phone) - too crowded??
- Doesn't look like there are that many garden view rooms at BW (according to map I saw)

Looking for recommendations and opinions since we've never stayed at BW. Thanks!

 

[Wild4Walt]

I've stayed at both and the one point that stood out was that you'd like a full balcony. I know the room we had at BC was one with the Juliet balcony and I had really hoped for a full balcony as well.

I hear what you're saying about the BW pool - it wasn't my favorite but it also wasn't a bad place to hang out.

If it were me, 600.00 can buy a lot of food and/or souvenirs. I'd go with the BW - it's lovely and a short walk over to BC if you still want to visit.

 

[POTCfan]

I like both. If I could save $600 by staying at Boardwalk, I would do that. Though I don't mind the clown pool (I prefer Beach Club's pool, but not enough to spend the extra money).

 

[Sue M]

I prefer YC, because of full balcony and lobby is quieter. But for $600 I may be tempted to move to BW. I’m nit a fan if the clown either! So I’d be sitting with my back toward it! No eye contact, lol.
But keep checking web site. People change reservations or cancel all the time and something may pop up at BC/YC with discount. If you see it, I’d book online before it disappears then phone back and cancel other res.

 

[Shellyb84]

BC! It's our favorite resort. You do run the risk of not having the full balcony, but put that as your number one room request. Of course it's not guaranteed, but that's what we've done all 3 times we've stayed there and so far we've gotten it every time.

BW doesn't really appeal to us much. Not to say I would never stay there, but I wouldn't stay there in the summer. We spend a lot of our trips at the pool and that clown is just an eye sore IMO. I wouldn't want to have to look at that all the time lol.

 

[Marionnette]

We're traveling late July and currently have a reservation at the Beach Club. We've stayed there numerous times and love it, however, this year we weren't able to apply the summer discount to our reservation (completely sold out 7:05 am on the day discounts came out!!!). Our other option would be Boardwalk Inn ($600 less with discount - same Garden View). Here are a few points we keep pondering:

- love the pool at BC (not a fan of the clown at BW)
- Would really love a full balcony (big enough to sit)
- Both the BC/YC are completely booked (according to website and CM on phone) - too crowded??
- Doesn't look like there are that many garden view rooms at BW (according to map I saw)

Looking for recommendations and opinions since we've never stayed at BW. Thanks!

Boardwalk is one of my home resorts. I love it for the easy walk to both EPCOT and HS. Some people don't like the clown pool or the long hallways. It also has no indoor access to restaurants. You have to walk outside to grab a quick meal or to access a TS restaurant. Even the refillable mug stations are very inconvenient - located at the Leaping Horse near the feature pool or at the Boardwalk Bakery.

On the plus side, not every "garden/pool view" overlooks the clown pool. Some overlook the Village Green. And there are actually more garden view rooms than there are water views. You are more likely to get a full balcony at BWI than you are at BC. The slide at the feature pool (yes, the clown) is considered to be the best on the property. SAB tends to get crowded with a lot of people claiming lounge chairs early in the day. It's difficult to get good sight lines when watching your children at SAB.

But for me, the deciding factor is the $600 savings. I would have to love BC a lot to pay that much more to stay there.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

BWI is my DS's absolute favorite resort. He loves the clown pool (thinks the slide is the best!). I love the fact that we can always find chairs or loungers and I can see him at all times from the pool deck (I can even see him as he walks up to the slide and waits to go down!). He does like SAB at BC/YC as well, but when we want to stay in the EP area, I simply book whichever resort is cheapest for our dates. The only difference, IMHO, is the pools, otherwise you can still access EP, DHS and all the restaurants and entertainment in the EP resort area from all of those resorts. BC is definitely not worth $600 more than BWI!

 

[Hopefully]

We like both. In July though, I would stay at BC for SAB

 

[FSU Girl]

I've stayed at both BW and BC and I loved the Boardwalk, it's one of my favorite hotels on property. It's a lot closer to Hollywood Studios for walking and isn't a bad walk to Epcot. I think I like the decor more over there too (which before I actually stayed there I was worried looked like my grandma's room) The clown pool wasn't bad to me and it wasn't crowded at all, which the Beach Club one usually is. And you're saving $600, you could do a lot with that savings.

 

[lsyorke]

Beach Club! In in the minority and not a fan of Boardwalk. 3 stays there and not happy either time. 2 out of 3 switched to a different resort due to problems.

 

[kiford]

I actually prefer the standard rooms at BWI. We've often managed to get a room that faces Epcot and you can partially see the fireworks at night. We've never used the clown pool there. We always spent our time in the quiet pool. It's a nondescript pool - just a small rectangle but it is well named. There's hardly ever anyone there so it was always nice to go in the afternoon and nearly have it to ourselves. And it's in a lovely setting in the rose garden.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would go with whatever is cheapest. I've stayed at the BC and absolutely loved it. Our upcoming trip we rented points and since BWV was cheaper (less points) I went with that. I just love the Epcot area and was open to whichever was cheapest but I also wanted to try something new. I'm looking forward to comparing the two.

 

[reluctantredhead]

We actually have stayed at and love both resorts, so like many other PPs, I always just book whichever is cheaper or has availability. We actually have a BWI stay beginning this Sunday, and a BC stay as part of a split stay in December. For the stay beginning Sunday BWI was cheaper than BC, and in December we booked BC because we wanted a 1BR suite and there were none available at BWI.

The clown pool doesn't bother us at all, and our D agrees that the BWI slide is the best one at WDW. And I actually prefer the more whimsical room decor at BWI...but not enough to pay more for it! Also, we're weirdos in that we don't spend any time on our balconies if we have them, so they aren't a factor in our decision on where to stay.

So all that to say...for us, it'd be a no brainer and we'd stay at BWI for $600 less...IMHO you really can't beat the 3 EP resorts for their convenience to EP and HS. We absolutely LOVE being able to walk to both and not having to drive or rely on Disney transportation...we only bother with the boats if they happen to be loading as we're walking by.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

Personally I prefer the Beach Club but have stayed at the Boardwalk and it is fine - especially for $600 less. If you don't like the Clown there are quiet pools as well. It is an easier walk to DHS from there. It is nice to walk on the Boardwalk and grab something for breakfast at the bakery.

 

[Firebird060]

The question really is will you get 600 dollars worth of pool time. If a whole day is a resort pool day then maybe the Beach club is where you want to stay, you can watch the fireworks from HS from the hot tub, but if your not making a day a whole resort day, take the 600 in savings and go eat at Victoria and Albert's or upgrade to a Annual Pass and enjoy the merch Discounts.

 

[gillep]

I would do either BC or YC if I planned on spending any time at the pool, but that's just because we really dislike the BWI pool and pool bar. We know that we can often get a BW room at a cheaper rate than BC or YC but we don't even look because it isn't our preference. I would keep checking at YC and BC, we weren't able to apply the summer discount to our BC room but were able to switch to YC and get it. I believe that all WDW resorts operate at a very high occupancy so I wouldn't think that sold out vs normal high occupancy would make the resort that much busier.

 

[Shanti]

We're traveling late July and currently have a reservation at the Beach Club. We've stayed there numerous times and love it, however, this year we weren't able to apply the summer discount to our reservation (completely sold out 7:05 am on the day discounts came out!!!). Our other option would be Boardwalk Inn ($600 less with discount - same Garden View). Here are a few points we keep pondering:

- love the pool at BC (not a fan of the clown at BW)
- Would really love a full balcony (big enough to sit)
- Both the BC/YC are completely booked (according to website and CM on phone) - too crowded??
- Doesn't look like there are that many garden view rooms at BW (according to map I saw)

Looking for recommendations and opinions since we've never stayed at BW. Thanks!

Keep your Beach Club ressie. Boardwalk will probably sell out by July, too. A great thing about Stormalong Bay is that CMs scan MBs for entrance, so it never gets really crowded.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

For me it all comes down to price because both BWI and BC offer similar rooms and locations with BWI edging out BC due to guaranteed balconies as well as closer distance to HS. If I had an issue with the clown pool and was in your shoes with the savings of $600, I would do a cost analysis of adding the water parks to my ticket vs the savings. Example, if it costs $300 or less to add water parks, I would certainly do that instead of pay more for BC-SB.

 

[heidijanesmith]

BW for sure!

Every year we say, let's try the BC and every year we stay at BW or YC. The full balcony or a patio is a deal breaker. I would not be happy with out one.

We just can not chance the balcony issue, so we stay at the other resorts.

I like the location of the BW better than YC and really enjoy the nightlife.

For a $600.00 savings, go for the BW!

 

[dansdad]

We prefer BWI anyway. And to save $600, that would be a no brainer for us. Don't sell the BWI pool short, that is THE best slide on property.