Oct 2021: Beach Club or Poly with a toddler and 5 yr old?

[DisneyFave]

Will be visiting WDW in October 2021 with toddler and almost-5 yr old. Should we stay at Poly villas or BC villas? Looking at standard studio, both of which are available according to DVC Rental Store.

Location: I get so tired at Magic Kingdom and love Epcot and DHS the best. We hope to do a MNSSHP one night though. And it would be great to have Epcot and MK be monorail accessible given our use of a double stroller.

Pool: is Stormalong Bay really stressful with a toddler? Can't tell if we'd be better off with the Poly's calmer pools and splash pad. Kiddo loves the pools the most on our WDW trips. We had a blast at typhoon lagoon when we were alone with him as a 2.5 yr old (also loved the Poly's splash pad that trip), but now we'll also have a 1.5 yr old and I might be solo parenting for some of the trip.

TIA

 

[Spunky946]

I’d stay at the poly. Storm along bay is stressful with big kids, I can only imagine how stressful it would be with little kids.

 

[Buzz2014]

I went to beach club for the first time 2 weeks ago and to be honest if I were alone with one child I would not have been able to keep up with him. I imagine you will be near the toddler but if the older child wants to do anything like the slide or lazy river I would say it would be super challenging to keep an eye on them, I love that pool but it’s huge, and I wish going up to the slide did not involve crossing paths with random ppl walking by. The poly on the other hand I was able to stand in the play area and see almost everywhere my son was at. I could not see him when he was climbing to go to slide but I was able to see him when it was about to be his turn and was able to wait for him down below.

 

[pinkxray]

Poly! My kids(5 and 2 at the time) loved the pool! As much as I like the Beach Club, SAB is too big for little kids especially when you have two kids that might want to spend time in different areas.

 

[Spazz2k]

I am on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to Beach Club with toddlers...We have been many times with toddlers and the pool has never been an issue for us. They usually almost always want to just play in the huge kiddie / sand castle area with all the other little tikes. I actually think there is more to do for toddlers at Beach Club than Poly IMO....walk over to the Boardwalk...see the entertainers, play some games, go on the playground, ride the bikes around the lake...take a ride on the skyliner.

I think you can't go wrong with either choice, but for us, with toddlers....more options at beach club.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Location: I get so tired at Magic Kingdom and love Epcot and DHS the best. We hope to do a MNSSHP one night though. And it would be great to have Epcot and MK be monorail accessible given our use of a double stroller.

It sounds like you would enjoy staying at BCVs rather than Poly. The sandy area of Storm Along Bar is great. Kids can spend hours playing in the sand. The kid's meals from Hurricane Hanna come in a plastic sand bucket with shovel. The kids won't want to play anywhere else. BCV also has a quiet pool which is very nice.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you swim on the YC side of SAB, you might not be so worn out. But unless your 5 yr old is an expert swimmer and capable of saving himself if he gets into trouble in the pool, you'll want to stay right with him. If two parents don't mind splitting up while watching the kids and not wanting time to spend lying on a lounger with a book or tablet, you might be okay. SAB gets kind of crowded in the pool especially in the sandy bottom area that it nearly is people soup sometimes.

 

[Marthasor]

I think you need to decide what is most important to you - better access to EP/DHS or more conducive pools for toddlers, particularly if you will be alone with them. SAB has a small pool behind the flying jib slide with a toddler slide, but it doesn't compare to the splash pad at Poly.

 

[jenmsmith]

Depending upon the length of your stay, I recommend a split stay, and then planning park days to coincide with your location. We did a BLT/Yacht Club split stay with a toddler and two teenagers in October and had a great time.

 

[colinsdad]

Beach Club hands down. The zero entry sand bottom pool is excellent for young children. Unless you plan on spending your entire trip at MK, you have a much easier time traveling to parks from BC.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Location: I get so tired at Magic Kingdom and love Epcot and DHS the best. We hope to do a MNSSHP one night though. And it would be great to have Epcot and MK be monorail accessible given our use of a double stroller.
...

TIA

I wouldn't make a reservation planning on Halloween parties, park hopping through Epcot and the Epcot monorail operating. They could all still be closed next fall.

 

[RanDIZ]

You can’t beat the proximity to both HS and EP. If Magic Kingdom is not high on the list for you, Beach Club is the place to be.

 

[DisneyFave]

Thank you everyone!!!

I ended up going with the Poly. You scared me with the talk of how crazy SAB can be with littles, so I guess we will save that for when they’re bigger. Sigh.......

Also I just loved being able to push our stroller onto the monorail at TTC or in the Poly lobby to get to MK/Epcot, and their splash area is tops.