Need Advice - Polynesian Or Beach Club??

[cw_disney_bound]

So I ahve it narrowed down to the BC or Poly, but I can not decide. The Poly is more expensive, but is the monorail worth it. I hear you have to walk to a TTC to catch the monorail. Is it really that much shorter than taking a bus from the BC? The BC looks so beautiful and much mroe updated than the Poly, but the location of the Poly may be worth it. I have two little ones - 4 and 6, so I'm looking for convenience as well. This is our first time with the kids, so we want it to be wonderful. Where would you stay? Is the Poly that outdated and dark? When staying at the BC, can you really get to the early magic hours in time taking the buses?

 

[LadyZolt]

I've stayed at the Beach Club many times and I like it because you can easily walk to the World Showcase entrance of EPCOT, and you can also walk to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). The pool (Stormalong Bay) is fabulous, the hotel is beautiful, and there are buses that go regularly to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and the water parks. You can also hop on a boat to get to EPCOT or MGM if you don't want to walk.

My next trip, we will stay at the Poly because I stayed at Shades of Green and it's a short walk to the Poly, so I got to see a lot of it and I really liked it because it reminds me of when we lived in Hawaii (and the Beach Club reminds me of the east coast beach resorts, where I grew up). You can get on the monorail at the Poly itself, and it will take you to the other resorts in that area (Grand Floridian and Contemporary) and also to Magic Kingdom and the TTC, where you can switch lines and take a monorail to EPCOT. You can also take a ferry to Magic Kingdom, which is fun (I think anyway -- I'm just a kid at heart -- LOL!).

I think either hotel would be a fine choice, and you just have to ask yourself which one will be best for your specific family. Our stays at the Beach Club occurred when my kids were 10 and up and they loved Stormalong Bay, and we usually went during Star Wars weekends for my son, the Star Wars fanatic. My other son, the daredevil, wanted to go on Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. I love many attractions at the studios (I even got on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire -- Play it!" once!). If you think your kids, because they are so young, will want to spend the most time at Magic Kingdom, the Poly might make more sense because of the ease of getting there (ferry or monorail). You could easily pop back to the Poly for an afternoon nap or rest and not lose as much time as you would getting from MK to the Beach Club. But if you think your kids would enjoy spending more time at EPCOT or the studios, then the Beach Club would give you that convenience. So, it really depends on where you think you'll spend the most time.

Either hotel, though, will be wonderful and I hope that you and your family all have a magical time!

Oh, and yes, you can easily get from the BC to Extra Magic Morning hours at any park, and if you walk to EPCOT, though, you will go in the back gate and have to walk to future world because only future world is open for morning EMH. But you can do it -- we did it lots of times. And, of course, the boats and buses run before EMH, so you can even make EMH at Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom and MGM without any problems.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[cw_disney_bound]

Thank you so much for the advice! It is a touch call, but I know either would be wonderful. We'll probably be at both for two days since we'll be doing the Princess breakfast at Epcot. This is what makes it a tough call.

 

[mommy_2_two]

I have never stayed at the BC, but we stayed at the Poly last January. We have 2 kids DD (6) and DS (4). WE LOVED THE POLY. To be honest, the pictures do NOT do it justice. They have refurb. all the rooms and they are big and wonderful. The proximity to the monorail is AWESOME. The TTC is a short walk albeit a beautiful walk, with all of the greenery and palm trees everywhere at the resort.

I'm sure the BC is great too, but we LOVED the Poly and we are picky about our hotels.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[auntie]

Each has it's fair share of fans, and it might just come down to the theme you like best. I don't really know why Poly is just a bit more..I don't see it.
We've stayed in both, honestly..the monorail just wasn't an issue for us. My kids were pretty little when we stayed there, and I didn't find the monorail a reason to choose the resort. I found having to walk outside your long house(where your rooms are located) to reach the lobby to take the monorail to Mk, wasn't all that convenient..especially if it's raining. That being said..we are WL fans, because we enjoy the theme and the fact that you can leave the hotel at various levels..but you don't "have" to go outdoors to reach the lobby or dining options if you don't want to. This is the case for the Beach Club as well. I think you will also find that the MGM Studios is very geared to the little ones. I know we spend quite a bit of time there..even now. The Beach Club is incredibly close to it. It's just a water launch ride away. You also have the option of strolling through Epcot in the evenings..which is a nice way to relax touring the countries..as you can walk from the Beach CLub right into the World Showcase entrance. All in all I think Beach Club is a better location...if you are choosing between the two.

 

[Coconuts]

Never stayed at BC, but was at Poly in 2006. Kids were 5 and 3 and they loved it. We spent most of our time at MK and getting there in a few minutes by monorail, which the kids LOVED, was so convenient. We stayed in Rarotonga long house which was next to lobby so it wasn't a long walk. Kids also loved the small boat ride back to the resort at nite and watched Wishes from the benches at the Poly dock. Pool was great with zero entry and next to the beach if they wanted to play in the sand. I wish we could afford this resort every trip.

 

[disneygirl32]

They are both FABULOUS, so sooooo different from each other. It depends on what you are looking for out of the trip. If you are going to spend a lot of time at the pool and you'll be there for really warm weather I vote for the Beach Club just because of the sand- bottom pool. We keep going back there even though I love the Poly, because our kids can't get enough of that pool. If you have little ones, they can build sandcastles INSIDE the kiddie pool- it is like a little shallow lagoon for them. We also love that we can just stroll with the stroller over to World Showcase. It is pretty , and bright, busy and bustling there. The Poly is relaxed and lovely. We have lots of love for the Poly.. the theming and feeling of being somewhere special... you just can't beat the Poly for that. The flaming tiki torches at night... it's wonderful there.
If you want the convienience of hopping back and forth from the hotel to the parks, it is SO awesome to hop on the monorail to go to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It's a tough call!! Good Luck!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We've stayed at both, and the family loves the BC.

The Poly is very nice, the pool is great plus being right next to the lagoon is wonderful. Plus we loved being able to jump on the monorail to get to the MK and Epcot.

BUT

We all love the BC. This will be our 3rd trip in a row staying there. The pool is awesome. We walk to both Epcot and Disney Studios and we love to walk over to the BW in the evening to see the magicians, jugglers and rent surrey bikes.

BTW , my kids are 9 and 4.

 

[Tam1067]

We stay at the Poly because the rooms are larger, and we like being on the monorail and close to MK. I just love sitting at the pool and seeing the castle; it's magical.

We've never stayed at the BC because the kids and DH refuse to switch from the Poly. So we're coming up to our third Poly trip.

 

[npmommie]

We are Poly fans here too.........we were there last november and LOVED it!! BC looks fabulous too. I thought the monorail access was great, we were in Tokelau, close to everything in my opinion, just a short couple of minute walk. we did the ferry to MK and the monorail, both quick and fun.
the buses to other parks were ok, a bus is what it is, it is never going to be as fun and quick as riding a monorail or ferry.
one thing i think we would love is that you can walk to MGM from BC. we loved MGM, not sure between that and MK which was my kids fav they loved both

 

[Aw Phooey]

I've been at the BC. That actually the only Disney resort I've stayed at. Usually we're off the property.

The family loved it. The pool is amazing. It's a sandy bottom but the sand doesn't stick to you like regular beach sand does. The grounds are really pretty too. And there's this guy dressed as a ship's captain that greets everybody at the entrance. The same guy was there every time we came in through those doors (does he ever stop to rest his feet?) and he was probably one of the most cheerful CMs I've come across. I see his photo in a lot of BC promos. You can't fail to recognize him.

I couldn't believe how close it was to Epcot. It was a pretty easy walk. I didn't realize it puts you in World Showcase. So seeing Spaceship Earth in the distance is pretty misleading. The park is closer than it seems.

My dad was in a wheelchair that trip due to a foot injury and it's just not a Disney vacation without my grandmother so walking to MGM was out of the question. Personally...I'm not a big fan of ferrys. Once you get on them, they get you there fast enough. It's the waiting for them that kills me. XD And we were waiting for that MGM ferry for a long time...longer than any bus.

That's...really my only complaint. And I'll be the first to admit that it's a pretty anal one. I loved the Beach Club.

But the next time I go to Disney, I'll be at the Poly. We'll only be in WDW for a few days and only Epcot and MK are on the itinerary as far as the major parks go. With that in mind, booking a hotel on the monorail track made the most sense.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Although, I love both resorts....I would choose the Poly because of the kids. It is a lot quicker using the monorail. The kids will probably want to spend more time at MK than any other park. We stayed at the Poly many times when our kids were young. We now use the Epcot resorts since they are older and don't spend as much time in MK.

 

[cw_disney_bound]

I have spoken wiht so mnay poeple at Disney as well as at the Poly directly, and I get all different kinds of answers. How long does it take on the monorail to get to MK and Epcot. I'm hearing 20 miniutes to MK and 45 to Epcot. Is that right? If so, is the monorail system really that much faster? If so, where is the best place to stay at the Poly? I will have a garden view room, so where is a better location within the resort in relation to getting to the monorail? Can you really walk to the GF and the TTC as well?

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Another vote for the Poly here. We *almost* stayed at the Beach Club one year but the Polynesian is so convenient for us. The Monorail is PRICELESS!

As for transit times, from pickup at the GCH to dropoff at the MK, it's taken about 10 minutes to get to the MK. Now the trip to EPCOT *can* take 45 minutes if you get on the monorail at the Poly, take it all around the Seven Seas Lagoon until you get to the TTC, then transfer to the EPCOT monorail and then get to EPCOT.

Walking directly through the Poly resort grounts to the TTC and then taking the monorail from there takes about 15 minutes in transit time. MUCH faster!

 

[cw_disney_bound]

Great tip! Thank you!! It's amazing the resorts don't tell you anything about this.

 

[auntie]

Once you are "on" the monorail at the Poly it probably takes less than 5 minutes to reach the MK. How long it takes you to get to the lobby and to the upper level where you would catch the monorail..depends frankly on how fast you walk and where your long house is located. 10 minutes?...Again, it wasn't a major concern for us. In fact, we rather enjoyed taking the water launch from the Poly to the MK...but that's us. Also..you can take the monorail from Poly to Epcot. You either walk to the TTC from the Poly or take the monorail in the lobby around past the GF, the Mk, and through the CR..and then to the TTC. Easier to walk over to it. The thing is..you are going to be in the front of Epcot..the main entrance. Which frankly, I hate. We prefer to enter Epcot through the World Showcase Entrance(where the "countries" are). MUCH more relaxing and we find it easier. This is very easily accesible from the Beach Club..because you simply walk from your resort right into that entrance. It's a liesurely stroll. Even when my kids were little I think we spend more time at MGM, because it offers so many attractions for them. It's also smaller and you can criss cross the park if you want to without it taking forever. Where as in MK ..we pretty much would go from one section to the other..it was too much to cover otherwise with them being young. Also..even Epcot features the Nemo ride now for the little ones.
Again, me personally, I would choose the resort based on which theme you like..not the convenience of the monorail. There are times the thing is so packed and you will be waiting like sardines at the end of an evening to get on and return to your resort. (I think that's when we decided we liked the water launch better!). They are both lovely resorts and you can't go wrong with either.