What would you do - Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk or try to wait for Poly?

[brandyleeann]

Hi everyone,

We are planning a trip Jan 1 to 6, 2018 before our 7-day Disney Cruise.

I really wanted to stay at the Poly and had hoped to book points to make it affordable. The 11 month booking window opened today and the broker did a great job of managing expectations that we can go in a queue, but that the Poly is popular and may sell out before they even get enough points for our planned stay.

The broker indicated they do have availability at both Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge and a studio at Boardwalk with a preferred view.

Is anyone able to compare these? Here are things I am looking for:

• great pool area as we are planning 1.5 days at resort with no parks (my kids will be 7 and 5);
• we plan on doing Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios for one day each
• we had not planned to do Epcot, but have a 5-day pass (free with Air Miles) so could do Epcot twice to access restaurants and such which I understand is in close proximity (walking?) distance to Boardwalk
• great restaurants on-site
• there is a chance Christmas decorations may still be up, so that may be a consideration
• theming is important. My kids are really into Disney. Heck, I am into Disney. I want to know I am at Disney even when I am sleeping!

Thanks for any help you can provide in making this decision.

Brandy

 

[rpcvpanama]

I would pick Boardwalk, but don't wait too long. Boardwalk will begin booking up when the window opens for Marathon weekend. If you want it I would jump on it. You will be hard pressed to find either a monorail resort or an Epcot resort for your stay once the 11-month window opens for the Marathon which will be in about 3-4 days.

 

[riddlemethis]

Beach Club has the best pool in all of Disney. Hands down. No questions asked. It has a faux-sand bottom that doesn't make the water murky, an amazing water slide (out of a pirate ship!!) and a very nice pool-side bar..
Beach club also has a quiet pool by the villas for DVC renters. The downside to this s that beach club isn't very "Disney" themed. It's also right on the boardwalk, which is pretty interesting. Has boat and bike rentals, nice walking areas, lots of food options- very central. You have to take a bus to AK, MK but can boat to HS/Epcot or walk to Epcot. It took us 4 minutes to walk over to the boardwalk area. Beach club shares the lake with the boardwalk, so it is just a matter of walking to the other side. It's an easy walk. Beach club has both Beaches n Cream (burgers, hotdogs ice cream) and Cape May Cafe (character breakfast/buffet). You also have close access to the boardwalk restaurants, and if I'm not mistaken there are 4?

Wilderness lodge is has an awesome theme! The pool is okay, but it doesn't touch BC's pool. Wilderness lodge is beautiful on the inside, covered in wood and has a great rustic feel. WL allows you to boat to MK, and take buses everywhere else.

Personally, we loved the Beach Club when we went down to scope everything out. We booked Beach Club for our upcoming trip in April. If you get bored one day, you can always resort hop- it's what we did while I was down visiting family. Killed a day checking out all the different resorts.

It really just depends on if you want to go rustic and woodsy, or if you want a more polished atmosphere.

Poly does run out pretty quick and is great... but nothing beats the pool at Beach club. Hope this helps.

 

[brockash]

Hi everyone,

We are planning a trip Jan 1 to 6, 2018 before our 7-day Disney Cruise.

I really wanted to stay at the Poly and had hoped to book points to make it affordable. The 11 month booking window opened today and the broker did a great job of managing expectations that we can go in a queue, but that the Poly is popular and may sell out before they even get enough points for our planned stay.

The broker indicated they do have availability at both Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge and a studio at Boardwalk with a preferred view.

Is anyone able to compare these? Here are things I am looking for:

• great pool area as we are planning 1.5 days at resort with no parks (my kids will be 7 and 5);
• we plan on doing Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios for one day each
• we had not planned to do Epcot, but have a 5-day pass (free with Air Miles) so could do Epcot twice to access restaurants and such which I understand is in close proximity (walking?) distance to Boardwalk
• great restaurants on-site
• there is a chance Christmas decorations may still be up, so that may be a consideration
• theming is important. My kids are really into Disney. Heck, I am into Disney. I want to know I am at Disney even when I am sleeping!

Thanks for any help you can provide in making this decision.

Brandy

I'd pick Boardwalk, however if you can swing Beach Club, I'd def. do that. At Boardwalk you'll be close to more restaurants, shops, and some entertainment on the Boardwalk.

 

[Quellman]

I wouldn't pick boulder creek for 11 months. Rumor has it Copper Creek at Wilderneess Lodge will begin reservations this year, so that will be a whole new place for people to book leaving other places potentially open.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I wouldn't pick boulder creek for 11 months. Rumor has it Copper Creek at Wilderneess Lodge will begin reservations this year, so that will be a whole new place for people to book leaving other places potentially open.

On the other hand, there won't be a lot of home resort points in the mix to start for CCV, so the openings for marathon will come into play at 7 months -- and probably also be gone within the first hour of the day at 7 months. Not necessarily a great scenario for renting in.

 

[Anthony1971]

For the pool... I think kids that age will enjoy any pool at Disney... The best slides at the resorts are Boardwalk and Poly-- the BW has a longer fast slide and the poly while smaller is in the dark. Other people keep mentioning Beach Club... the slide there is very slow but longer and you have to walk outside the pool area and across the main walkway to get to it... however the pool there has a lazy river and is huge which makes up for the slide.. however for your kids ages a smaller pool is better as you can loose sight of them. HOWEVER you are going in January and the weather may be to cold some days to swim..... so I would put more emphasis on the resort in which case wilderness lodge wins by a long shot... it has a lot of nice areas to sit and do nothing and be occupied at the same time especially the DVC side. you will enjoy which ever resort you choose in the end.

 

[riddlemethis]

For the pool... I think kids that age will enjoy any pool at Disney... The best slides at the resorts are Boardwalk and Poly-- the BW has a longer fast slide and the poly while smaller is in the dark. Other people keep mentioning Beach Club... the slide there is very slow but longer and you have to walk outside the pool area and across the main walkway to get to it... however the pool there has a lazy river and is huge which makes up for the slide.. however for your kids ages a smaller pool is better as you can loose sight of them. HOWEVER you are going in January and the weather may be to cold some days to swim..... so I would put more emphasis on the resort in which case wilderness lodge wins by a long shot... it has a lot of nice areas to sit and do nothing and be occupied at the same time especially the DVC side. you will enjoy which ever resort you choose in the end.

This is also really sound advice.

 

[cvjw]

I would not plan a Disney trip for early January based on a pool to swim in. We have visited Disney many times in December/early January and have never gotten into a Disney pool. Heck one trip in early January, it was literally freezing.

You are getting some valid advice about renting before Marathon weekend opens up to booking by DVC members. I would book a villa at BWV if I were you, and I would book ASAP. You are visiting at a very popular time for DVC members.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

This is a tough call. They are both beautiful resorts. BWV is actually our favorite. I love the theming and the ability to walk to two parks plus everything offered at the five resorts around the Boardwalk is a major plus. I think, given the fact that the weather is iffy in January and you have that 5-day pass, I'm going to vote for BWV. The pools at both resorts are lovely, but if the weather is cold and you can't swim, you will still have a TON of entertainment options in the Boardwalk area. As you said, you can walk right over to EP, there is super fun entertainment in the evenings, carnival games and you can walk to a mini-golf course as well. BWI also has really beautiful Christmas decorations. They may not compare to the big tree at WL, but they are still very pretty! If you stay there, I would also recommend checking out the decorations in the BC lobby. This year they had a merry-go round made of chocolate that was absolutely stunning!

 

[kayteekt]

If you're comfortable renting directly from an owner, you may want to look into that...you can check out the dvc rent/trade forum, we've also had great luck with redweek. You would need to find someone who owns at the poly to make the reservation that far out.

We used a company the first couple of times to rent, but recently we've rented from owners directly. We've yet to have any issues and have actually found booking thru the owner to have more flexibility, some offer some sort of re-booking policy, where as with the companies it's pretty much a done deal.

 

[melissapealo]

I would not plan a Disney trip for early January based on a pool to swim in. We have visited Disney many times in December/early January and have never gotten into a Disney pool. Heck one trip in early January, it was literally freezing.

You are getting some valid advice about renting before Marathon weekend opens up to booking by DVC members. I would book a villa at BWV if I were you, and I would book ASAP. You are visiting at a very popular time for DVC members.

I also would not make the pool area a deciding factor in where to stay. However I can tell you that my kids would go in the pool even if the weather were not warm enough for most. I guess coming from the cold of NY to the vast improvement of FL makes a difference so I would say that depends on the climate you are used to.
I would choose the WL, especially if there is a chance you will be there to see their Christmas decorations. Although I don't think you can go wrong with either resort.

 

[Mike_Mac]

We've never stayed WL for Christmas, but when we stopped by just this past December just to have dinner one evening, we wish we had. We really like the WL at Christmas. Holiday theming is excellent and probably the best (certainly top three) Christmas decorated Disney resort. There were high school-age girls singing classical carols while we were there, which was amazing with the acoustics of the main lobby (even the Whispering Canyon hushed while they sang). My wife and I decided right then that we were coming back to stay at WL next Christmas.

Beyond the Christmas ambiance, the boat access to Magic Kingdom is nice and keeps you in the Disney bubble. I've read a few people be down on the bus service, but we've never had a bad experience out of WL (CBR on the other hand...) at any time of day.

My family just landed at Boulder Ridge through a DVC rental agency, and we made our request right at the 11-month mark mid-January. It took about two weeks for a DVC member to accept our dates and points request, but that was right in line with what our agent told us from the beginning. It is our first time renting, and it was nice to see everything sync right up with our My Disney Experience account. The cost savings are tremendous, even when compared to 20% off rack rate of a standard WL room.

We stopped by the DVC sales pitch folks back in December to see what the program is all about, and they were really touting the newly renovated Poly rooms. The basic Villas have a new split bathroom layout as I recall, which looked useful if you have a lot of family who drag their feet in the shower. Since they're pushing Polys newly renovated rooms, that may translate into the bigger demand you're concerned about.

Seems like a win-win for either location, tho...

 

[justme0729]

Hi everyone,

We are planning a trip Jan 1 to 6, 2018 before our 7-day Disney Cruise.

I really wanted to stay at the Poly and had hoped to book points to make it affordable. The 11 month booking window opened today and the broker did a great job of managing expectations that we can go in a queue, but that the Poly is popular and may sell out before they even get enough points for our planned stay.

The broker indicated they do have availability at both Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge and a studio at Boardwalk with a preferred view.

Is anyone able to compare these? Here are things I am looking for:

• great pool area as we are planning 1.5 days at resort with no parks (my kids will be 7 and 5);
• we plan on doing Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios for one day each
• we had not planned to do Epcot, but have a 5-day pass (free with Air Miles) so could do Epcot twice to access restaurants and such which I understand is in close proximity (walking?) distance to Boardwalk
• great restaurants on-site
• there is a chance Christmas decorations may still be up, so that may be a consideration
• theming is important. My kids are really into Disney. Heck, I am into Disney. I want to know I am at Disney even when I am sleeping!

Thanks for any help you can provide in making this decision.

Brandy

If you like theming and don't really plan to do Epcot, I would stay at WL the Boardwalk felt unthemed to me and at WL, you would have the option of taking the boat to MK

 

[quandrea]

Boardwalk. I love that you can walk to both Epcot and the Studios. Access to restaurants cannot be beat. We were there last week and used the Studios as a transportation hub. Five minute walk, grab a bus anywhere in the world. Priceless.

 

[DG25]

I stayed at all three in June of 2016, actually we also did AKL Jambi and contemporary. Here is our rune down.

No to AKL, could not stand the drums banging at 10 and 11 and later at night. Two hated the abnoxious unparented kids at the pool everyday. Will not return to this villa. Staff was exactlent and went above and beyond.

Contemporary, NO, staff was awful. No theming, pool boring. Nice walk to Disney.

Ok the last three are really tight. For different reasons.

BWV, was great, but mainly we can't compare rooms since we were updated to a 1bedroom. Sorry that clown is scary. Pool was very much for younger kids, not for tweets and teens. Nice to be near Epcot, but you say you are jot going. Nice to be near resturaunts. Not my first out of your three, but not bad. Think it would be what your family wants, we are Epcot and dining people so we would not ever say no to this, but if you are MK and AK, this would not be the choice.

Poly, our home resort. Biggest room. Nice room, nice resort. Staff was okay, did not go out of there way like AK or WL but did there job. Pool great but crowded. The one real thing I remember most about this resort was food court, always way to crowded, not the best choices. Another thing I remember, because it bothered my granddaughter a lot, although I have mixed feelings, twice at the pool, boys over the age of 10 where in the girls bathrooms, at the shower and changing rooms. My granddaughter had a fit and refused to go in, and needed to walk all the way back to room twice. Like I say I have mix feelings, boys with moms only may need to be near, but maybe not in the shower and changing area. No curtains hanging and it was weird. Loved fireworks at night. Oh I loved the DVC only pool, no slide but cabanas you ask for in the morning on a first come first service, but I'm told that changed.

Lastly, WL, by and far the best for us. The rooms were a little smaller than poly but efficient, yet there were only two of us. Loved the boat to MK. Whispering canyon and roaring forks were great. The newresturants will be open by your visit. The pool was good, not crowded at all, and the new one will be open when you go. Love the feel, the much smaller more queint atmosphere, but even more, I loved to go over to FW by boat, horse back riding, archery, HDDR, Mickey cookout, trails end, pony rides, barns, the walking path between the resorts, ride a bike between them, especially in Jan if to cold to swim, never to cold to ride a bike in Florida anyway. A surrey would be better, the carriage ride at nite, the wagon ride at night. The campsite movie and s'mores that feel more like a camp out than anywhere else.

Okay I'll say it, I hear some suggest the BCV, I hate hate hate the BC would never stay there ever again. But I do like the quiet pool the villas has.

Okay there are my thought, hope you find what you want.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

We'd pick Wilderness Lodge over the other 2 options any day. The resort is beautiful! Their pool really is nice for all ages. Although BW is nice, the hallways seriously remind me of "The Shining" lol. It seems to take FOREVER to get in & out of the resort, and if you do end up by an elevator it's noisy. If the Christmas decorations are still up (& I think they will be) at Wilderness Lodge you won't be disappointed, IMO they're the best out of all of the resorts. Oh! WL has terrific dining too!