???s about BWI.....and concierge too

[Goofy'sFriend]

Hi all. I've made up my mind to try the Epcot/MGM resorts after many stays on the other side of the world. Right now I have a waterview room at the YC reserved. We have 3 boys and they will love SAB I'm sure. I am a little worried about the room size and called to check in on something larger. I could reserve a deluxe concierge (2 queens and parlor area with sleeper sofa) at the BWI and I have some questions:

Would it be worth the extra $160 a night to have the larger space, as well as concierge?

How loud is it at night.......at bedtime? (We are up late anyway, but curious)

Is the pool "congested".....when we walked around the resort last summer, it seemed like the Swan/Dolphin were right on top of the pool area. Am I remembering that correctly?

Are all concierge deluxe rooms overlooking the Boardwalk?

Anything else you could add would be great!!! Thanks

 

[maryella]

We stayed at the YC last June. One day the pool was closed for repairs and they gave us a free pass tp BB and told us we could use the pool at the BWI. I have to say it was not enjoyable. Very crowded, not enough loungers and a overall small pool area compared to the pool at the YC/BC. We stayed on the concierge level at the YC and loved it. Our favorite!

 

[KerryCM]

I love the BWI concierge. It is the only place I stay now. I always use the quiet pool there . The main pool may have been crowded because of the guests using it from the YC, BC and BCV! I have been in March and OCT. and never had a problems with the pool when taking my young grandaughter to it. I would use the quiet pool for reading and sunning!!! The rooms are large and very comfortable. The lounge is much roomier and more comfortable than the ones at the YC and BC, I have stayed at both.

 

[TammiMcMan]

We recently stayed at the YC. As far as the room size goes, we had 3 adults and 2 children in our room and found that it wasn't overly crowded. This trip, we didn't spend much time in our room anyway, so it wasn't an issue. You haven't seen crowded until you experience SAB in the summer. I don't know the ages of your children, but as a parent, I was not comfortable with this pool. It's huge and trying to keep track of my 8 year old was not an easy task. It's not like a regular pool that you can walk around the edges, it twists and turns and you have to cross bridges to get to the other side. Also the slide is very popular, but to get to the starting point, the kids have to walk across the public walkway. I was pretty tired after escorting DD back and forth. I didn't like the concierge service at the YC. The lounge was small, not enough seating and it's only open during the food service hours. You couldn't just stop in anytime to grab a cold drink. The 5 hours of mid-afternoon snacks consisted of goldfish crackers, nuts, gummy worms, cookies and pudding cups. I wouldn't recommend any additional cost for the YC concierge, but I would definitely consider it for BW. You'll have more space, a nicer concierge lounge, plus the additional amenities like the pre-planning assistance (the YC/BC/BW has the best staff in all of Disney). The concierge lounge won't take the place of a meal, but if your cereal, or bagel type people, then breakfast will satisfy you. The lounge offers cold drinks and soda, so you can figure out that cost and in the evening they have wine, beer and late night cordials. With all things considered and if it's within your budget, I would take the BW deluxe concierge room.

I admit that concerns about noise is what held me back from staying at the BW also. We're going to try the Villas for our next trip, so I've been doing a lot of research on that area. I'm looking forward to trying it out and you can't beat the proximity to MGM and Epcot.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Goofy'sFriend]

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions. This is such a hard decision for me. I guess the one thing that is bothering me is that when we visited the BWI last summer on a walk (granted, we did not tour the entire resort), but when we walked around the pool it seemed like the other hotels were right there. Usually at a Disney resort, you are immersed into the theme/surroundings. I didn't seem to get that feeling on our first impression visiting the BWI. Can anyone add anything that would help ease my mind.......or not.

 

[Cinderella37]

We stayed at the GF for years and needed a change. We will never stay anywhere but the BWI again! I was also very worried that the resort wasn't Disney enought, but it is by far! We stay in a deluxe concierge room (they all overlook the BoardWalk) and even though there's only two of us, the extra space, as well as drawer space, is great! The staff is fantastic - very friendly and helpful. Pre-planning is also delightful.

As you can see, I can't say enough about the place. I am a very Disney person and had only ever stayed at the GF and Poly, always in the MK area. Now that I've stayed at the BWI, I'd never go back to the MK area. There's so much to do in the Epcot area! I was always concerned about the proximity of the other resorts, but once you're at the BWI, you feel very immersed in the theming and away from the other resorts.

We've never heard any noise from the BoardWalk in our room with the doors closed. It is a very peaceful resort with fantastic theming. If you want to be part of the bustle, it's great for that too. I would not worry about the noise, though, as we've never had a problem. The pool wasn't congested when I've been there. I've never had a problem finding a chair (I use the themed pool). If giant clowns bother you, you may want to use the quiet pool. I try not to make eye contact

It's really a wonderful place!

 

[Goofy'sFriend]

Thanks Cinderella, I have read some of your other posts and you are one of the reasons I'm so confused!! You do a great job of promoting the resort. Our top 3 fav. resorts in order are Poly (twice, once honeymoon), WL (three times), AKL (concierge)....we've tried others too. There isn't one that I wouldn't stay at again. We are anxious to try the Epcot area......now I need to decide between the YC and the BWI. Decisions, decisions

 

[wdwfan]

We have stayed at the BWI three times and absolutely loved each stay. On our last stay we stayed in room 4229, which is a concierge deluxe room. It was a beautiful room! Since we are a family of 4, having the extra space was wonderful. My husband and I enjoyed watching tv together in the evening in the sitting room area after the kids went to bed. It is a great room! Now as far as concierge at BWI, it was fabulous! The BWI concierge cm's put the magic into Disney. They are just really nice people, who care about their jobs and the people who stay with them. They are Top Notch. I had a wonderful vacation last August at the BWI. I think it will be very hard to top it.

 

[10nis]

Goofysfriend--what time of the year are you going? Just curious. I have stayed at both YC and BWI. I personally prefer BWI. IMHO, the only advantage YC has over the BWI is SAB. I have never stayed at either of these properties in a "peak" season so I can't comment about how busy the pools get or the availability of a lounge chair when it is crowded. When we were there in January for the marathon, the weather was in the 70s and SAB was under going refurbishment so they were carting the guests from YC/BC to BWI pool. On Sat before the marathon the pool area was very busy and finding a chair in the shade proved difficult. Then on Sunday after the marathon the bar was short help and we had to wait 20+ min for service. The bartender said that they were short help bcs they take their vacation time during "slow" periods--obviously, they can't predict a January heat wave! I did go by the "quiet" pool on Saturday and there was literally NO ONE there. The hotels run pretty close to capacity over marthon week-end but I believe it is a different client base than Disney's normal peak season!

I had the conciege deluxe and loved the extra space. I enjoyed sitting on the balcony in the evenings and watching the action on the BW. Noise was never a problem. I believe all of the concierge deluxe rooms face the BW.

The YC just didn't do it for me, personally. Our room was at the end of the property--walked out our door, down stairs and we walked out onto the pathway to the Dolphin--very close to the Dolphin. Anytime we used the bus service or our car it was a dang hike to the front of the hotel.

For your added $$$ you will have the convienence of the concierge lounge--probably won't get $160/day out of it but I have read many times on this board that you can't justify the expense of concierge for the food. There were 7 of us in our group and we all were satisfied with the breakfast offerings--bagels, pastries, cereal, yogurt, fruit. We also enjoyed the afternoon snacks (great chocolate chip cookies!!!) Very nice to have the sodas available during the day and evening. Since we were there in January and the park hours are somewhat limited, we probably used the lounge more than we would have had we gone when the parks stay open later. I really enjoyed having our room close to the lounge. I also utilized the planners for our PS and loved having that service.

good luck! Definately will get different opinions!

 

[Goofy'sFriend]

We are going in June, so I imagine both pools will be quite busy. I wouldn't upgrade $160 just for concierge, but the BWI deluxe will give us another 200 sq. ft. or so. When we stayed at the AKL, I was able to get concierge for just about $50 more.....that was definitely worth it for a family of 5!

I really enjoy hearing about your great stays! Maybe what I should do is plan for one resort this summer and the other for next summer! I just hope I enjoy them as much as the Poly, but whenever we have visited the Epcot resorts for dinner, etc. we always say we need to try one of them.

 

[jjohnson]

I don't know if you considered BC but they have the deluxe rooms too for about $65 less than BW. Here's a link to photos that were posted a few weeks ago:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rtc19...=&.done=http://photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

 

[SouthernPrincess]

We've stayed at both YC concierge and BWI deluxe concierge and I loved them both. I'd go with BWI simply because the room was much bigger and so was the concierge lounge. Plus we love the Boardwalk at night.