Poly or Beach Club??

[flinkerfrosch]

I am so torn on what resort to stay at?

Originally, we were staying 5 nights Poly, 5 nights Beach Club & 5 nights AKL (Arusha view)

Now, my DH wants to stay in a condo for one of the 5 night stays due to having a washer/dryer and kitchen. He wants to make some meals etc because he states 16 days at Disney is too much eating out.

So, for the 1st 5 nights I want to stay on property at either Poly or BC, next 5 nights in the condo and the last 5 nights at AKL. I WILL NOT delete AKL, so I am stuck between Poly & BC, and what resort for our 1st 5 nights.

This is our 1st visit to WDW. My boys are 6 & 3 and LOVE to swim!

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[myboysx3]

What a choice--two great resorts! I would choose Beach Club for the location and its awesome pool. My three boys loved the pool especially the pirate slide and the lazy river. It is also great to be able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We loved being so close to the parks. We also love all the great restaurants and activities that are available at beach club, Epcot and the Boardwalk. We did still have to take the bus to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom but luckily we have never had a long wait. We are staying at Beach Club again in November. It has become our favorite resort. Hope you and your family have a great vacation!

 

[goldnvalli]

We just returned from a week at Disney. This was our first stay at The Beach Club. My only regret was spending too much time at the park and not enough time at the resort. All I have to say is Wow!!! There was just took many positives. Stormalong Bay was amazing!!! The slide,
The hot tubs and the sand at the bottom of the pool! Our room was feet away from Epcot. We could hear the drums at night. We were able to walk to Epcot and take the Ferry to Hollywood Studios. I was worried about the Bus trips, but it was always delightful. I am so sad that I had to leave Beach Club. I loved every minute of it and definitely highly recommend.

 

[lthiesfeld07]

Have you thought about getting a studio or a 1 bedroom at The Beach Club? A studio would get you a kitchenette and a 1 bedroom would get you a full kitchen.
I would rather do that for sure!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[mickeynut1]

I am so torn on what resort to stay at?

Originally, we were staying 5 nights Poly, 5 nights Beach Club & 5 nights AKL (Arusha view)

Now, my DH wants to stay in a condo for one of the 5 night stays due to having a washer/dryer and kitchen. He wants to make some meals etc because he states 16 days at Disney is too much eating out.

So, for the 1st 5 nights I want to stay on property at either Poly or BC, next 5 nights in the condo and the last 5 nights at AKL. I WILL NOT delete AKL, so I am stuck between Poly & BC, and what resort for our 1st 5 nights.

This is our 1st visit to WDW. My boys are 6 & 3 and LOVE to swim!

Any help would be greatly appreciated

We've stayed at both and while we did like the BC, the Poly is our favorite of the two (and we prefer the volcano pool at the Poly over SAB at the BC). We love the Poly for the following reasons:

- rooms are quite a bit larger
- all rooms come with a daybed
- the volcano pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle while swimming
- the beach is great for watching the fireworks with a short walk back to your room
- just 2 monorail stops from MK
- convenient for getting to Epcot as it's just a 5-7 walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail
- convenient to a variety of dining options at the GF and CR
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacks

 

[vettegirl]

Wow this thread has me super excited to stay at the BC next month

 

[flinkerfrosch]

Have you thought about getting a studio or a 1 bedroom at The Beach Club? A studio would get you a kitchenette and a 1 bedroom would get you a full kitchen.
I would rather do that for sure!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Ive been trying to get a DVC rental for months, but nothing so far

 

[flinkerfrosch]

We just returned from a week at Disney. This was our first stay at The Beach Club. My only regret was spending too much time at the park and not enough time at the resort. All I have to say is Wow!!! There was just took many positives. Stormalong Bay was amazing!!! The slide,
The hot tubs and the sand at the bottom of the pool! Our room was feet away from Epcot. We could hear the drums at night. We were able to walk to Epcot and take the Ferry to Hollywood Studios. I was worried about the Bus trips, but it was always delightful. I am so sad that I had to leave Beach Club. I loved every minute of it and definitely highly recommend.

Sounds like a great vacation Thanks for the help!

 

[mirage0306]

I'm going to dissent and say the Poly. I have not stayed at BC, but have stayed in the Epcot resort area at BWI and while the area is super fun and walking to Epcot is amazing, there's just nothing like the Poly. The monorail location, the atmosphere, the relaxing surroundings...It was absolutely heavenly.

I also found the transportation from the Poly to other parks to be much better than from the Epcot area (with the exception of Epcot, of course, and if you want to walk to DHS). The Epcot resort area is really great, but I would choose the Poly every time.

 

[flinkerfrosch]

What a choice--two great resorts! I would choose Beach Club for the location and its awesome pool. My three boys loved the pool especially the pirate slide and the lazy river. It is also great to be able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We loved being so close to the parks. We also love all the great restaurants and activities that are available at beach club, Epcot and the Boardwalk. We did still have to take the bus to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom but luckily we have never had a long wait. We are staying at Beach Club again in November. It has become our favorite resort. Hope you and your family have a great vacation!

Thank-you! What kind of activities do they have poolside?

 

[flinkerfrosch]

We've stayed at both and while we did like the BC, the Poly is our favorite of the two (and we prefer the volcano pool at the Poly over SAB at the BC). We love the Poly for the following reasons:

- rooms are quite a bit larger
- all rooms come with a daybed
- the volcano pool is great as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle while swimming
- the beach is great for watching the fireworks with a short walk back to your room
- just 2 monorail stops from MK
- convenient for getting to Epcot as it's just a 5-7 walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail
- convenient to a variety of dining options at the GF and CR
- Captain Cooks is great for quick CS meals/snacksTE]

You make some very great points, thank-you!

Why do you like the Poly pool better then SAB, just curious?

 

[flinkerfrosch]

Wow this thread has me super excited to stay at the BC next month

 

[flinkerfrosch]

I'm going to dissent and say the Poly. I have not stayed at BC, but have stayed in the Epcot resort area at BWI and while the area is super fun and walking to Epcot is amazing, there's just nothing like the Poly. The monorail location, the atmosphere, the relaxing surroundings...It was absolutely heavenly.

I also found the transportation from the Poly to other parks to be much better than from the Epcot area (with the exception of Epcot, of course, and if you want to walk to DHS). The Epcot resort area is really great, but I would choose the Poly every time.

This is such a hard choice! Some of you make the Poly sound so amazing and the others make BC sound amazing as well!!!

Thank-you for the help

 

[mickeynut1]

You make some very great points, thank-you!

Why do you like the Poly pool better then SAB, just curious?

You're welcome .

We thought SAB was nice, but we didn't see all the hype that it gets. We just love the Poly pool for it's very relaxing atmosphere as it backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle. I also felt SAB was very spread out and since it is shared between 2 resorts, it seemed more crowded than the Poly pool, which makes the Poly pool more relaxing (all of this being just my opinion). Both resorts are great, IMO, and we really enjoyed our BC stay, but the Poly just blew us away as far as atmosphere and overall theme/decor .

 

[bethclayton]

i think your best bet would be to hear from those who have stayed at both (mickeynut?)

we will be staying at BC in a little over a week and are SO excited. it will be our first trip there. i am confident that the resort is wonderful. so take this with a grain of salt, but i would choose poly.

1. your kids' ages make me think that they would be better suited to spend more time at MK, which is more easily accessible from the poly- and epcot is super accessible from there, too. you can visit AK while you are at AKL. that only leaves HS to take a bus to.

2. your kids' ages make me think that SAB might be a real pain to keep track of them because it appears to be very spread out. the volcano pool is still completely awesome and has a really fun slide. apparently, the slide at SAB can be an issue with younger kids bc the entrance is not near the exit.

3. the beach at the poly is amazing and so is the ability to see the castle fireworks from it.

4. since it is your first visit, the poly is just quintessentially disney.

good luck with your decision and i am sure you can't go wrong with whatever resort you choose!

 

[njmom76]

We have stayed at both and love both, but prefer the Poly with little kids. We spend most our time in MK, so it is great being on the monorail. The slide at SAB is fun, but you have to leave the pool area for to get to it. We feel hoppers are a necessity when staying at BC to get the most of the experience and EPCOT convenience. Have fun!

 

[Wood Nymph]

This is such a hard choice! Some of you make the Poly sound so amazing and the others make BC sound amazing as well!!!

Thank-you for the help

We love the Beach Club. It is a great place to stay. We love being able to walk into Epcot. But we didn't start going to the BC until the kids were teens, and it was perfect for them.

But for your family of first timers with a 3 and 5 year old, I think you would really enjoy the Poly more than the BC. MK has a lot to offer for kids that age. And being able to get back to the resort easily for naps in the afternoon will be really nice.

 

[Marthasor]

I am so torn on what resort to stay at?

Originally, we were staying 5 nights Poly, 5 nights Beach Club & 5 nights AKL (Arusha view)

Now, my DH wants to stay in a condo for one of the 5 night stays due to having a washer/dryer and kitchen. He wants to make some meals etc because he states 16 days at Disney is too much eating out.

So, for the 1st 5 nights I want to stay on property at either Poly or BC, next 5 nights in the condo and the last 5 nights at AKL. I WILL NOT delete AKL, so I am stuck between Poly & BC, and what resort for our 1st 5 nights.

This is our 1st visit to WDW. My boys are 6 & 3 and LOVE to swim!

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Given the age of your children, I would pick Poly, particularly since this is your first trip. The theming is magical, you can see MK right from the beach, access to the monorail for both MK, EP and all the monorail resorts is fantastic and the pool, IMHO, is better designed to be able to watch your children.

The child's pool at SAB is very nice, but you can't "swim" in it. The bigger pool is not zero-entry and there are some very deep parts.

I would keep trying for a 1-bedroom at BCV, even if you have to pay cash. I would also suggest looking at BWV. Although you won't have access to SAB, you will still be in EP resort area with all of the amenities and close proximity to EP and DHS.

Another option - VWL or BLT (to be close to MK), BC and AKL.

 

[Masonmj84]

I stayed at both back to back on a split stay last December and have about the same views as mickeynut1 (overall, I prefer Poly, but each has its advantages).

Poly advantages:
-I prefer the theming at the Poly and find that the resort has a more relaxing and enveloping feel.
-Rooms are bigger.
-Being able to Monorail to MK and EP beats being able to walk to EP and HS (not because riding the Monorail beats walking, especialy given how frequently the Monorail is out of service, but because we spend a lot more time at MK than HS).
-I too prefer the Nanea Pool over SAB (it's more compact and the water slide, IMO, is better and much easier to access)
-I like the GCH lobby smell better than the BC lobby smell.
-Wishes on the beach.

BC advantages:
-Very nice to be less than a 10 minute walk to World Showcase.
-Boardwalk area is within walking distance and is very fun and lively in the evenings.
-Bathrooms have a better layout (vanity separate from shower and toilet).
-SAB has hot tubs.
-Don't have to go outside to get from room to lobby area.
-Easy walk to your room after Illuminations.
-Less expensive.

FWIW, a splt stay at both of these resorts worked out GREAT for us (realizing that split stays aren't for everyone).

 

[Sappermont]

Love the POLY! Haven't stayed at BC yet, but will be staying YC this upcoming trip. Is it possible to talk your husband out of staying in a condo? I'm sure you could do in-room breakfasts, etc. Or, there are always the Fort Wilderness cabins that have kitchens! Have a wonderful trip!