Help this foodie family decide on a resort?

[magicmountainmama]

Our last trip (January 2018) we rented DVC points & stayed at Boulder Ridge. We LOVED the 2 bedroom villa (family of 5), but we were super underwhelmed & disappointed in the dining selection at the resort. The location makes it tough to leave & go elsewhere to eat without a lot of trouble...our youngest is 3, & waiting for the bus or boat with a hungry 3 year old was a pain.

Now I'm planning our next trip for June 2019 & I'd like to stay somewhere with easier access to more restaurants. We also want a nice/fun pool area. My thoughts are:
- Beach Club - BW & Epcot are both in walking distance, right? Obviously Epcot has lots of food choices, but the BW does too? The pool, of course, gives this one a big plus.
My main drawback here is the difficulty getting to MK. We love MK & will visit several times over the course of the week. So that's a huge minus.
- Bay Lake Tower - We like the Wave, and being on the monorail would make it fairly easy to visit Poly & GF to eat. Obviously walking distance to MK is a huge plus for us.
Main drawback is the theming (DH is not a fan) & the pool looks kind of boring.

Any one have anything to offer that could help me go one way over the other? Or any other resort suggestions (Poly is out because we need a 2 bedroom)?

 

[Marionnette]

Our last trip (January 2018) we rented DVC points & stayed at Boulder Ridge. We LOVED the 2 bedroom villa (family of 5), but we were super underwhelmed & disappointed in the dining selection at the resort. The location makes it tough to leave & go elsewhere to eat without a lot of trouble...our youngest is 3, & waiting for the bus or boat with a hungry 3 year old was a pain.

Now I'm planning our next trip for June 2019 & I'd like to stay somewhere with easier access to more restaurants. We also want a nice/fun pool area. My thoughts are:
- Beach Club - BW & Epcot are both in walking distance, right? Obviously Epcot has lots of food choices, but the BW does too? The pool, of course, gives this one a big plus.
My main drawback here is the difficulty getting to MK. We love MK & will visit several times over the course of the week. So that's a huge minus.
- Bay Lake Tower - We like the Wave, and being on the monorail would make it fairly easy to visit Poly & GF to eat. Obviously walking distance to MK is a huge plus for us.
Main drawback is the theming (DH is not a fan) & the pool looks kind of boring.

Any one have anything to offer that could help me go one way over the other? Or any other resort suggestions (Poly is out because we need a 2 bedroom)?

VGF. It's smaller but you have access to the restaurants at GF. a walk away from Poly and dining there and a monorail ride away from CR. There's a boat to MK, which I find to be more relaxing than cramming into the monorail. The splash 'n play area is really adorable and the pools are quite nice. Drawback is that because it's a smaller resort, there are not a lot of owners and only a few who will rent their points out.

Although, TBH I would choose one of the Epcot resorts if you can get them. Walking distance to HS (think Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land!). Dining not only at YC/BC and BWI but also close to S/D and everything that Epcot has to offer

 

[Ecstatic Eeyore]

I’d even consider staying at the Boardwalk itself. It’s a little farther of a walk to Epcot but you are the. Closer to Hollywood studios if you are going there. Plus you are by the boats so you can take that method to get to Epcot or Hollywood studios. One other benefit of staying in the beach club / boardwalk area is taking full advantage of the refillable resort mugs. Epcot was the one park where we could take advantage of them since it was so close to the resorts.

 

[zavandor]

Boma, Jiko, Sanaa. Do I have to say more?
Ok then, Tiffins 5 minutes away.

 

[Geomom]

For food at the resort itself, I'd say Animal Kingdom Villas. The room service at Kidani is from Sanaa--it was fantastic to have something out of the ordinary for room service vs. standard 'American' food.

Otherwise, I'd say Boardwalk--multiple restaurants right there, and you can walk to both Epcot and Hollywood studios to access restaurants at both those places...although I don't find Hollywood studios very interesting to eat at! And with the Epcot access (from both Beach club and Boardwalk), you enter between the UK and France..so you're right in the country area! From Boardwalk, you could also easily walk over to the Swan/Dolphin hotels and their restaurants.

Be sure to still have a stroller for your youngest child--it makes walking to the parks (from BLT, BWV, etc) much more pleasant. We let our youngest have a stroller until she turned 6 (we let her use it on the trip she turned 6...but we had no stroller when she was 6 1/2) as it's just too much walking on little legs. That last stroller trip was with a cousin a year younger--that family ended up renting a stroller for their 5 yr old. The girls called the strollers 'chariots'...and felt like princesses being carted around.

 

[DenLo]

For your kids, BLT is a great resort. A 10 minute walk to MK. The pool is perfect for a three year old as it has a zero entry, a small slide for the toddlers, a spiral slide for the older kids, and a water splash area. And if you want you can use the pool at CR for their splash areas and larger pool. There is a beach for the kids to play in the sand. It has a community hall. The Table service restaurants are the Wave and California Grill which has great viewing of the fireworks. And you can monorail to the Poly and Grand Floridian for those restaurants or boat to Ft. Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge for dining at those resorts.

So I would at least consider a monorail resort. Walking around the Epcot resorts with a 3 year old might sound great but the walks get long after a while. The monorail is more like a ride for the kids.

 

[Henwen88]

All above choices are good ones!!! I like VGF, because even the quick service and pool bar food are better than average. I know the beach pool (which is my fave for crab cake sandwiches and margaritas) was closed for refurb when we were last there in Jan - what a bummer - but I believe it's back in business now.

 

[kboo]

Add another vote for VGF! Although I would also add BLT as a close second. We have now tried every restaurant at both BLT and VGF and VGF has both more restaurants and better ones, although DH likes California Grill.

We have little kids (6 and 2) and have taken them to most of the restaurants including the signatures. As far as QS, the QS at GF is better than the one at BLT.

 

[magicmountainmama]

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies!! Although you have not made my decision any easier But basically what I'm hearing is that I cant go wrong with BLT, GV, BC, or BW...which is very good to know! I'll be renting through Davids & trying as close to the 11 month mark as possible, so I'm hopeful we'll be able to secure a reservation at one of those resorts. Thank you all again!

 

[gdrj]

Good choices no matter what. I would make choice based on what Park you are going to go to most.
1- If you are going to MK mostly being able to walk about to the resort in 10 minutes is YUGE. While the pools at BLT and Contemporary (you have access to both), proximity is great especially if you want to head back to room for a break or the pool.
2- If you are going to spend a lot of time at the pool Beach Club is the obvious winner, discussion over.

Also as far as the theming can be a concern, it has more theming than a crowded bus at the end of the night leaving MK back to the Beach Club or BW. We have done many split stays. Stayed near MK for those days and possibly a day at AK. BCV or BW for EPCOT and HS. Only Bus is 1 day for AK no matter what part of the trip you are on.

 

[zavandor]

If you have to rent the points then I have a different suggestion: SSR.
To book VGF you need the 11 months window and it requires a lot of points. This means you have to pay the resort premium and much more points than SSR. Looking at David's cost calculator, a week in June in a 2B standard at VGF is $7684, a week at SSR standard is $4512. 3k+ is a lot of money. You could book preferred for $5300 and be 5 minutes walking distance from Disney Springs, which has now dozens of great restaurants. If the trip is focused on food, that's really not a bad choice.

 

[crisi]

We are a foodie family. Since we pretty much only eat at resorts in signature restaurants, it doesn't matter where we stay - we will be taking a cab to dinner to get where we want to go all nights but one or two. We like Flying Fish and Blue Zoo in the Epcot resort area, Sanaa and Jiko over at Animal Kingdom Lodge(s), Artists Point at Wilderness Lodge, Morimoto's in DS.

 

[OKgirl]

Another vote for VGF for foodies! The pool bar by the villas has the best crab cake sandwich I've ever had (though my son prefers the lobster roll). This is our first stop after arrival. The quick service is also great and we love Citricos, Grand Floridian Cafe, and Narcoosee's. We would love to try Victoria and Albert's one day! We love the short walk to Poly for the great restaurants and sushi bar there and it's 2 stops to the Contemporary for California Grill (my absolute favorite restaurant on all of Disney World property) and the Wave. I love not having to go into a park to eat dinner, which we always seem to do when we stay near Epcot. (I can wear my heals and fancy clothes if I'm not walking a ton in a park!) Good luck with your decision!

 

[sarah4770]

I agree with Crisi that it might make better sense to plan for a cab or uber for dining, rather than choose a resort based on the food. I would choose a resort based on amenities, convenience, and cost. VGF is going to set you back a bit! You have a kitchen, so just get some groceries in for quick meals, and plan for a great table service each day.

 

[jimmytammy]

From a foodies standpoint, BWV and BCV both make the most sense. As you say, the location in regards to Epcot, lots of choices there with a short walk to IG. I can't say that BW is loaded with lots of choices for dining. Trattoria is good, ESPN is ok for a bite, Big River IMO is not that good. But if you factor in all the other eats around this area, including Swan/Dolphin and Yacht and Beach Club, plus a couple decent places at HS, and you have a foodies dream spot. The pools at both BCV and BWV are among the most fun and themed on property. So those factors might help

Your other choice, BLT would be my choice. Don't get me wrong, I love BWV for all the choices above, esp. during Epcot festivals. Heck, we own pts there, for the festivals!
But BLT just for proximity to MK alone draws me in. I love that you can walk to the entrance of MK in 10 mins. from BLT. The Wave and Contempo Cafe are both good draws, plus a monorail ride away are Kona, Ohana and GF Cafe. MK itself doesn't really draw me in just to eat, but if you are there, Liberty Tree for lunch and Skipper Canteen both are good meals. If your little one can handle the boat for a few mins, Geyser Pt at WL is a nice spot, and the breakfast at Trails End ranks almost as good as The Wave to me. I do agree, the pools are just so so, but I wouldn't let that be a downer for all the other plusses the place offers.

 

[juncker]

If food choices are the driving factor, I'd go with SSR or OKW so that you have access to Disney Springs. They have the best food options in my opinion.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

it doesn't matter where we stay - .

Car, train, monorail, boat, bus, whatever it takes, I do not limit my dining choices to a specific resort, too many good options everywhere.