Which Resort pool for kids?

[BellaBeast787]

We are going to visit Disneyworld in October and are trying to figure out which resort. Yacht/Beach Club vs Polynesian. If you have been to both which resort and resort pool did your kids enjoy more? I feel like my kids would love the sand bar at Y/B club but my husband is saying Poly.

 

[MarkS2112]

Beach Club hands down. Has lazy river, sand bottom pool and large area for kids. Much bigger than poly and best on property. Also more sitting area at BC. It is absolutely the best on property. Poly is nice but no match for BC.

 

[bumbershoot]

I haven’t been to either, but every kid I have ever known loves just a simple big pool that they can swim in. Which means that the big pool at all star music is as great, if not better, as any other pool.

 

[SarahC97]

We've stayed at both and my kids overwhelmingly prefer YC/BC's Stormalong Bay. The pool at the Poly, aside from having a nice view of Magic Kingdom, is a bit underwhelming.

 

[westie55]

How old are your kids? I would say BC for ages 7+ but Poly for younger kids. To access the stormalong bay water slide, you need to exit the pool area, cross a path, and enter again. I would be uncomfortable letting my little ones do this alone. The pool at BC is so sprawling that it's hard to keep an eye on young kids. I won't be returning until my kids are older and more independent.

 

[BellaBeast787]

How old are your kids? I would say BC for ages 7+ but Poly for younger kids. To access the stormalong bay water slide, you need to exit the pool area, cross a path, and enter again. I would be uncomfortable letting my little ones do this alone. The pool at BC is so sprawling that it's hard to keep an eye on young kids. I won't be returning until my kids are older and more independent.

They are much younger 5 and 2

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It's a toss-up for me. What's nice about the sand-bottom area for younger kids at SAB is that it's quite large so there is a lot of space for the younger kids. There is also a small slide behind the Flying Jib slide. Poly has the splash pad, which is nice and a zero entry area for the pool, but the actually swimmable area for younger kids (if they aren't strong swimmers), isn't that big. The younger kids will be able to sit and even make sand castles at YC/BC. I would probably do YC/BC. Just keep an eye on the kids as that pool complex is a bit of a maze.

 

[Wild4Walt]

With your kids ages, I'd pick Poly. It's also a bonus to have the monorail to MK and Epcot.

 

[Deb & Bill]

With your kids' ages, you could stay on the YC side of Stormalong Bay and avoid the BC side of the pool. Otherwise, you will go crazy trying to watch your kids. There are some very deep areas in SAB where it is about eight feet deep with a swift current. BW pool is also kind of fun for little kids with the theming. GF pool (the Alice in Wonderland themed pool) has a great play area for kids.

 

[Sue M]

For kids that age I think they’d enjoy any pool. But I’d lean toward Poly or GF. Pools have a gradual entry. So little one can sit/splash In the shallows. And it’s pretty magical being able to see the Castle from the resort and watch the MK fireworks and Electric Water Parade.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are going to visit Disneyworld in October and are trying to figure out which resort. Yacht/Beach Club vs Polynesian. If you have been to both which resort and resort pool did your kids enjoy more? I feel like my kids would love the sand bar at Y/B club but my husband is saying Poly.

We've stayed at both and my choice would be the Poly. SAB is nice, but I think the Poly pool is more relaxing and less chaotic. I also love that the pool backs up to the beach with a distant view of the castle, with the ability to watch fireworks while swimming. Our boys are young adults now, but we stayed at both the BC and Poly when they were younger and they much preferred the Poly resort/pool over the BC/SAB.

 

[cgattis]

Secret option c) AKL or AKV!! AKV has a great water play area for the 2YO and a slide big enough to entertain my DH, so therefore also a 5YO LOL The main pool at AKL has lots more room to sit; didn’t use it, so can’t say much more about it, except that it was beautiful.

Also, FWIW, my kids enjoyed the grotto pool at the Dolphin more than SAB as little kids. SAB just gets slammed.

 

[buzznina]

We've stayed at both and my kids overwhelmingly prefer YC/BC's Stormalong Bay. The pool at the Poly, aside from having a nice view of Magic Kingdom, is a bit underwhelming.

Our DD's found it more than "a bit underwhelming", they actually preferred a couple of the Mod pools better than Poly. We are at the parks at night so viewing fireworks from the pool is not an incentive for us. The only downside to SAB is that it's a big area and with toddlers you have to stay together because your view is limited and it's crowded.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Poly for kids that little. I need to be able to see my kids at pools and that is a challenge at Stormalong Bay. The Oasis(quiet) pool at the Poly is great for younger kids.

 

[han22735]

With the ages of your kids I would definitely stay at the poly. Great pool plus the splash pad area.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I agree with most of the points that have been made on this thread, that both pools are nice but that Stormalong Bay is better. That the Poly is more manageable is you're the solo parent at the pool trying to keep track of multiple little kids who don't swim well. That SAB has great features (sand castle area, etc.) that are great for littles if supervision isn't an issue.

Beyond that, I'll mention that we once did a split stay between Poly & Yacht Club (so we swam in both pools on consecutive days), and the Poly pool was much more crowded. At SAB they have CMs patrolling the entrance by scanning Magic Bands, whereas Poly has an unmanned gate. It was noticeably more crowded at the Poly pool than at SAB during the very same trip. I assume that difference is due to gate crashers at Poly, but of course there is no way to know for sure.

 

[Heather07438]

We're doing a Poly/BC split stay in January. Hope it won't be too cold to try both pools.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

We have stayed at both. I think the Poly is better when going with younger kids bc you have the monorail to go to MK & Epcot. It was great for when using strollers. The pool is nice and my three kids enjoyed it when we stayed. We stayed at YC and the kids loved Stormalong Bay. But our youngest was 7 at the time. Even then I was on high alert because the pool area is so large. On our next trip we are doing a split stay between Poly & YC.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

They are much younger 5 and 2

Poly. BC is too overwhelming. I would feel too chaotic with my little kids there. Not fun to me!

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Having stayed at both and having younger kids myself I would agree with the Poly vote. When playing zone defense (2 adults/3 kids), you can enjoy yourself at Poly and not worry so much about where the kids are due to SAB’s sheer size. Easier to keep an eye on your crew and the resort as a whole is just awesome. Monorail, beach, restaurants all top notch at Poly.