Poly or Boardwalk?

[stinie18287]

I was pretty set on a split trip between Pop Century and the Polynesian and now I'm considering Pop Century and the Boardwalk! Any comments? The main reasoning would be that were visiting EPCOT a few times bc its our favorite park and the boat ride/walk there is pretty appealing! I'd love some advice!

 

[figment_jii]

My family's favorite park is Epcot so we always stay at an Epcot area resort. That way we can take the boat there or walk and not have to worry about buses or monorails. Also, we tend to eat a lot of meals at Epcot in World Showcase, so entering the park through International Gateway makes the walk shorter. If you like Epcot and plan to spend considerable time there, I would stay at the Boardwalk!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have stayed at both resorts and I would highly recommend the Boardwalk. In my opinion they have the best theme and atmosphere of any of the Walt Disney World Resorts, plus you can't beat having walkways to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

 

[pixarmom]

OP, we've stayed at both Poly (several times) and BWI (once.) Our most recent Poly stay was January of this year and our most recent BWI stay was August of this year. We love both for different reasons and under different circumstances. (We're a family of five with three boys, ages 4, 11 and 12.)

For example, our most recent Poly stay was for our 4-year-old's birthday when we spent more time at MK than usual and booked lots of character meals in the MK area. I've loved Poly since my first stay in the 80s and I think it's still in great shape for its age. The rooms are large, the grounds are so well-maintained and the restaurants include some of our favorites. I love Ohana for breakfast, Kona for lunch and the sushi bar for late-night snacks. Captain Cook's is currently my favorite resort CS - great variety and very tasty!

But for most trips, we spend days at MK, DHS or AK and then we go to Epcot in the evening for dinner. We absolutely love just walking out the International Gateway at the end of the evening back to our room. We don't use CS that often, so the concerns some express about that don't apply to us much - especially with park hoppers and World Showcase right there. So overall, BWI and BC are top choices for our family right now. And CL at BWI is amazing, if that's something you might consider.

So if Epcot is your favorite park, I'd definitely recommend BWI. There is nothing like just walking out of a park and to your room!

 

[Tori 2001]

Of course, it depends what you are looking for, and which park you want to be close to.

That said, IMHO - Poly Poly Poly!

The grounds are so nice, the theme is so good, the food is great, you get a little "beachfront" getaway included, and being a monorail resort is fun and super-convenient to get to the MK.

The boardwalk hotels are fine and very pretty, but to me they don't have as much Disney feel as the others... they're kind of like any moderately upscale hotel might be. Nothing special. Nothing romantic for adults... aside from pools, nothing terribly memorable for children. The easy access to EPCOT could be a tipping point if you want to spend a lot of time in that park.

We've been disappointed in the Boardwalk... when we've gone there, there hasn't been much going on in the way of street performers or crowds, the shops are nothing special... we seldom do more than stroll through and get bored and leave within half an hour.

Personally, I'd stay at the Poly, and after closing head over to Downtown Disney where things are a little more interesting.

 

[Forever Fairy]

If you have younger kids, I'd say the Poly - easly to hop on the monorail to get to the MK. For older kids or adults only - definitely the Boardwalk. As posters have said, easier to get to both Epcot and the Studios from there - just a walk.

Doesn't matter for AK, you'll have to take a bus no matter where you stay.

 

[stinie18287]

We're now looking into renting DVC points. So what if it were between Boardwalk Villas or Bay Lake Tower? Or any other DVC locations I guess. The studios at Bay Lake seem the nicest and are very reasonable. We'd probably stay there the whole time instead of a split stay. Thoughts?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We're now looking into renting DVC points. So what if it were between Boardwalk Villas or Bay Lake Tower? Or any other DVC locations I guess. The studios at Bay Lake seem the nicest and are very reasonable. We'd probably stay there the whole time instead of a split stay. Thoughts?

Since you were originally considering the Boardwalk Inn I would go with Boardwalk Villas.

 

[browniemtb]

Unlike what one post said....my kids love the BW area. Though it really shouldn't be a destination to spend a day. But staying at the BW it provides easy access to 2 parks and while strolling home from the Epcot fireworks, while everyone else scrambles for tram/bus, you just slip out the side entrance and you may run into street performers and other activities along the Boardwalk. There are also a few good adult oriented spots as well.....all with the Disney feel in my eyes.

 

[Marthasor]

We're now looking into renting DVC points. So what if it were between Boardwalk Villas or Bay Lake Tower? Or any other DVC locations I guess. The studios at Bay Lake seem the nicest and are very reasonable. We'd probably stay there the whole time instead of a split stay. Thoughts?

If you are going to EP a lot this trip, I would consider BWV and BCV. BCV has access to SAB and it looks like you are going in August so the use of that pool could be really nice for your family! We've stayed at BC and BWI and the proximity to EP can't be beat. It is so easy, fun and convenient to simply walk to EP! BLT looks amazing and the rooms are obviously newer than BCV and BWI, but if you are spending most of your time at EP, I wouldn't do it. That's a lot of wasted time on the monorail or bus for me. I would save BLT for an MK heavy trip.

 

[krb2g]

I'd definitely do BWV or BCV if you like evenings in Epcot. We stayed at the Poly once and loved it, but then we tried BWI and haven't been able to convince ourselves to book anywhere else! The location is superb--we walk to both DHS and Epcot. It's easier to take a break in the middle of the day because if we're headed to Epcot in the evening (something we often do), then we know we'll be a 10 minute walk from the park (and from our room in the evening).

 

[jandm]

We are debating the same thing, only trying to decide between BWI or BC. The looks of the BWI are so much more appealing to me and I think the kids would love the street performers. The pool at BC looks amazing, yet I'm wondering if it's a little TOO big for our younger kids. Is BWI a fun place for kids too? (PS - I've seen pics of the clown slide..doesn't scare myself or my kids, they think it looks cool) I have to chuckle when I read that grown adults are frightened by it!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We are debating the same thing, only trying to decide between BWI or BC. The looks of the BWI are so much more appealing to me and I think the kids would love the street performers. The pool at BC looks amazing, yet I'm wondering if it's a little TOO big for our younger kids. Is BWI a fun place for kids too? (PS - I've seen pics of the clown slide..doesn't scare myself or my kids, they think it looks cool) I have to chuckle when I read that grown adults are frightened by it!!

I would say the Boardwalk Inn is a great place for kids to stay because there is so many fun things for them like watching the street performers, playing the midway games with a chance to win prizes, they have two arcades and more.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Both are great choices. My short answer is to choose the BWK, but it depends a little on the rest of your stay.

I Mean BWK is not especially close to MK or MK eateries. If you are going to have dinner at the monorail restaurants then POLY would be best. So ONE deciding factor is where you prefer to dine.

Both areas have some great dining choices!

A second important factor is always the weather. When the weather is nice - there's no better area than the BWK at night! When the weather is miserable - being able to get from your hotel to dinner via monorail is nice (except that at Poly you still have to walk along uncovered paths to get to the main building and to access the monorail platforms)

Also, in cold weather the Poly has no hot tub; it has water jets in the main pool. (which better in summer, but less nice in winter.)

Still one more consideration is that the Boardwalk is pretty sprawling. Granted our room was at the far end of the resort - but it was some distance from our room to much of the resort. Poly is not exactly compact either. Some of the other deluxes are slightly more compact, but Poly is more compact than BWK. BWK is short walk to both Epcot and HS.


As pools go - also the BWK pool is pretty deep compared to most resort pools. The current at the bottom of the water slide is also fairly intense relative to other water slides at WDW pools. The theming at the Poly pool is pretty excellent. Both have neat water slides, but the BWK one maybe too much for some kids. For example, the water slide at AKL Jambo is MUCH tamer. If you have small kids, the zero depth entry at Poly would probably be much more fun, and relaxing for you. (ADDED to clarify: I'm not talking about the 'scary' clown - I mean mostly the water flow rate at BWK was intense.)

 

[damien]

With all due respect, this seems like kind of a no-brainer. It's like saying, "We plan to spend most of our time at the Magic Kingdom. Should we stay at Grand Floridian or Yacht Club?"

I personally prefer the Polynesian, but honestly, if you're planning on spending most of your time at Epcot then obviously the Boardwalk (or any Epcot Resort) is the better option.

 

[autismgoesdisney]

I have never stayed deluxe so what does my opinion matter? BUT I have to admit, I do daydream sometimes about going to Disney sans kids...and if I do, it will be Boardwalk. If I had my children with me and stayed deluxe, it would be Poly. Just my opinion