Resort suggestions please!

[Kimberly9701]

My son and I stayed at the Poly this past September. We loved it!! He especially loved the pool and we utilized it every day. We had a theme park view room in Tuvalu and watched the electrical water parade and MK fireworks from our balcony twice. So...there is ever reason for me to go back. But..here's the hesitation- we are doing a very Merrytime cruise in November, I was going to do a combo with the parks, but have decided that I don't want to take him out of school for a full 2 weeks again. Therefore we are doing 2 trips. We already have another summer vacay planned, and I don't know if I want to splurge on the Poly for this trip- it will only be 4 days instead of 8 this time though. Any recommendations on a less expensive but still great resort? Two key factors- must have a "cool" slide, and transportation has to be reasonable. Wilderness Lodge maybe? I just don't know the full extent of construction there.

 

[uccats97]

Stormalong Bay is probably the coolest pool onsite. Guests of both Yacht Club and Beach Club get to use it. If you can
rent DVC points to stay at either resort, you may be able to get a room for less than what you paid at the Poly.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Stormalong Bay is probably the coolest pool onsite. Guests of both Yacht Club and Beach Club get to use it. If you can
rent DVC points to stay at either resort, you may be able to get a room for less than what you paid at the Poly.

I've stayed away from looking at Epcot resorts just bc we will be skipping Epcot this trip. But maybe will be worth it. How are travel times to MK? Only other park we'll do is HS- for Star Wars of course lol

 

[sndral]

Stormalong Bay is probably the coolest pool onsite. Guests of both Yacht Club and Beach Club get to use it. If you can
rent DVC points to stay at either resort, you may be able to get a room for less than what you paid at the Poly.

YC doesn't have an associated DVC, so you can't rent points there, but BC does have BCV.
For cash reservations the least expensive deluxes usually are WL & AKL. Next are YC, BC & BWI. Then BLT, Poly and finally the most expensive is usually GF.
The buses from YC/BC to the MK are ok. It's about a 20 minute walk or boat ride to DHS. For a quick summer trip w/ an emphasis on swimming the YC/BC have a lot to recommend them w/SAB. Also, if you have APs or hoppers you can always duck into Epcot through the IG to watch Illuminations and then walk back to your room after.
Or maybe stay w/ the Poly but chose a less expensive (eg non theme park) view?

 

[Kimberly9701]

What about Boardwalk Inn? Any reviews? Also, the size of YC/BC - are they very big? The Poly is relatively small which was nice. I know POFQ is as well, but that's just too far out of the way. I briefly considered the Contemporary, but honestly I feel like the theming would not interest my son at all...besides the monorail. I probably shouldn't be this worried over such a short trip.. I just don't want him to have a 'let down' after our September visit.

 

[Kimberly9701]

YC doesn't have an associated DVC, so you can't rent points there, but BC does have BCV.
For cash reservations the least expensive deluxes usually are WL & AKL. Next are YC, BC & BWI. Then BLT, Poly and finally the most expensive is usually GF.
The buses from YC/BC to the MK are ok. It's about a 20 minute walk or boat ride to DHS. For a quick summer trip w/ an emphasis on swimming the YC/BC have a lot to recommend them w/SAB. Also, if you have APs or hoppers you can always duck into Epcot through the IG to watch Illuminations and then walk back to your room after.
Or maybe stay w/ the Poly but chose a less expensive (eg non theme park) view?

Nothing avail for the week I can go. Only club level theme park left

 

[sndral]

What about Boardwalk Inn? Any reviews? Also, the size of YC/BC - are they very big? The Poly is relatively small which was nice. I know POFQ is as well, but that's just too far out of the way. I briefly considered the Contemporary, but honestly I feel like the theming would not interest my son at all...besides the monorail. I probably shouldn't be this worried over such a short trip.. I just don't want him to have a 'let down' after our September visit.

Boardwalk has that crazy clown pool, which despite the theme apparently has a great slide. SAB @ YC/BC has the big shipwreck slide and massive pool.
I've stayed at YC and Poly, and I think how far from the lobby your room is determines how 'big' a resort feels to me. When I have a room at the edge of the property the resort feels big to me, if I'm near the center not so big The rooms at the Poly are definitely bigger than the YC/BC rooms.
I'm also not a fan of the Contemporary (which is what I meant in my PP, rather than BLT.)
Have you thought about renting Poly DVC points? Don't know if there's any availability left or if it would be much of a savings - but you might check w/ a broker.

 

[hedberg1661]

If the pool is something you are concerned about as a pp stated SAB at Yacht/Beach Club is the best. The slide is beyond "cool".

 

[sallytigger]

Since you aren't going to Epcot, that changes my answer to Wilderness Lodge. It's different and my kids enjoyed the pool. You take a quick boat to the Magic Kingdom (or the Contemporary or Fort Wilderness). The Electric Water Parade comes by also.

Not sure what the construction scheduleule at the DVC is, so that may affect things. We loved a wilderness Lodge, though.

 

[Kimberly9701]

The whole renting DVC points confuses me. I actually looked into becoming a DVC member during our last stay. The prices for the Poly were astronomical. I can't afford to stay in one of the bungalows, and I wasn't very impressed with the villas. Not that there was anything wrong with them, I just prefer the regular room floor plan better. I'm a single mom who is constantly running around from work, sports, cooking, packing lunch etc. the last thing I need on a vacation is a kitchen. I would never utilize it.lol

 

[lala5176]

I agree with pp that Wilderness Lodge may be your best bet. It's close to MK and is not too sprawled out of a resort.

 

[Micca]

There's another thread here where people are saying WL is a complete mess due to construction. I don't have any personal knowledge of it, but you might look into it before you book.

 

[bethclayton]

i do not think any epcot resorts are a good idea if you are skipping epcot. my ds and i just had a great trip to BLT, we rented points, you might look into that. walking distance to MK is awesome!

 

[dsanner106]

Construction or not, I like the WL as a fall back after reading your plans. The location is great with the boats to MK and we love the pool.

 

[Kimberly9701]

There's another thread here where people are saying WL is a complete mess due to construction. I don't have any personal knowledge of it, but you might look into it before you book.

Thank you, I will check there!

 

[Kimberly9701]

I agree with pp that Wilderness Lodge may be your best bet. It's close to MK and is not too sprawled out of a resort.

Do you feel the bc/yc are very spread out? Last thing that I want, after a long day at the parks, is to come and have a mile walk back to a room with a too tired 5 year old.lol

Also, does anyone know if you can see the fireworks or water parade from any rooms at WL?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My DS8 LOVES the slide at BWI! The clown doesn't bother him. I've done the slides at Poly and BWI and BWI is definitely as good as Poly's! The BWI pool is smaller, like Poly as well. BWI is awesome, especially if you are going to DHS as you can simply walk back and forth! Or take the boat. The Boardwalk is so much fun as well - great jugglers and magicians at night, carnival games, great food and surrey bikes. It's really an entertainment destination in and of itself. Plus you have easy access to all of the great restaurants at all the resorts there. BWI also doesn't share a bus with any other resort, so you will have direct buses to MK. We really love BWI and BWV! If you are interested, I would check rates for a BWI room and also a BWV studio (you can pay cash for DVC resorts through WDW).

If you want something possibly cheaper, you may want to look into AKL. Not close to MK or DHS, but really gorgeous, fun resort.

 

[Kimberly9701]

My DS8 LOVES the slide at BWI! The clown doesn't bother him. I've done the slides at Poly and BWI and BWI is definitely as good as Poly's! The BWI pool is smaller, like Poly as well. BWI is awesome, especially if you are going to DHS as you can simply walk back and forth! Or take the boat. The Boardwalk is so much fun as well - great jugglers and magicians at night, carnival games, great food and surrey bikes. It's really an entertainment destination in and of itself. Plus you have easy access to all of the great restaurants at all the resorts there. BWI also doesn't share a bus with any other resort, so you will have direct buses to MK. We really love BWI and BWV! If you are interested, I would check rates for a BWI room and also a BWV studio (you can pay cash for DVC resorts through WDW).

If you want something possibly cheaper, you may want to look into AKL. Not close to MK or DHS, but really gorgeous, fun resort.

That all sounds WONDERFUL!!! I have debated on AKL, I've heard great things about it. But honestly, I know it's not the same, but we have annual zoo passes and have an amazing zoo here, and have done an overnight there as well. So yes, the theme is great I'm sure, but I want something completely different than what he is used to. Last time with the Poly- the theme and the volcano slide were my deciding factor (Stitch is his favorite Disney character), and distance of course.lol I think I'll look in to BWI more!

 

[lala5176]

Do you feel the bc/yc are very spread out? Last thing that I want, after a long day at the parks, is to come and have a mile walk back to a room with a too tired 5 year old.lol

Also, does anyone know if you can see the fireworks or water parade from any rooms at WL?

BC?YC can be a bit of a hike. It all depends on where your room is located. Also the boats and buses stop at both BC/YC and Boardwalk along with swan and dolphin so it could take a while to get to your room after a long day. If you will be spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom I would stay at one of the resorts there. We love being close to Magic Kingdom too!

 

[lala5176]

Oops I think BW buses are not on the loop with the others. I was thinking of the Magical Express.