Wilderness Lodge vs. Beach Club

[ashaway12]

Good afternoon everyone, after recently completing our 2022 trip to Disney it is on potentially to our 2023 trip! Traveling would be me and my wife (40 years old) and our two kids (would be 9 and 6 at time of travel). We have stayed twice at the Wilderness Lodge and we absolutely love it and would be fine staying there every trip we made to Disney. Some of the things that we like about the WL are its proximity to MK (we loved being on the bus at 7:25 and being through security by 7:45), the calm feel of the resort, the compactness of it (most everything is all under one roof, not spread out), and the pools. But the flip side is that we want to make sure we aren’t missing out on something that we might like just as much. Looking at other resorts the Beach club seems to check a lot of the boxes that we would want, especially the pool. I would welcome any thoughts comparing the two. How is travel to MK from Beach Club? That is the park we frequent most and would like to continue to have convenient access to it.

 

[hes122]

If your kids are not strong swimmers I might caution against BC as the pool is pretty deep in places.

As for transportation, I don't remember it being terrible from that area to MK, but we also didn't use it first thing in the morning.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I had trouble breaking my MK resort habit at first... it went on for years. Then one time we did a Poly stay with a tacked on night at BC at the end "just to try it" (as I wasn't ready to commit a full trip to something new, at the time). We ended up really loving BC/YC (I'm a bit partial to YC, but BC is fine too - YC just feels quieter, less lobby crowds, closer to the side of SAB we like better, etc). Definitely a different overall feel/vibe compared to WL. I'd say it feels busier, more people around, more amenities within walking distance. Being walking distance to two parks is really nice at times.

Not sure your length of stay, and splitting brings its own set of pros/cons - but if a long enough stay I might consider giving a split stay a try just to sprinkle in a bit of what you know you love in WL and something new in BC. You can also plan your park time to be more MK/DAK-centric while at WL (or only MK) and EP/DHS while at BC.

6 and 9 is a pretty good age for SAB, although it's so big, has multiple sections, the slide entrance is outside the main pool complex, etc - it can be a handful if you have kids that like to run off. But it's also a lot of fun too. Maybe a little more fun for the adults when they're old enough to have a bit of freedom around the complex.

 

[Her Dotness]

The drawback might be bus-only to get to MK from BCI. That could mean a very early rise to rope drop MK.

There also is not as substantial QS at BCI (only gift shop foodstuffs), so you may want to pack foods for a light breakfast in your room on MK days and add a few like milk from the gift shop.

Outside of those concerns, your kids are likely at ages that they'll love Stormalong Bay. Just from observation, I think it'd be great for kids about those ages.

Also, you've more restaurant variety than at WL, being within easy walking distance of BoardWalk and the other Epcot resorts. Plus, it's scarcely a 5-minute walk to the Skyliner station near Epcot's International Gateway for easy access to Riviera Resort. Kids often consider the Skyliner another attraction, I've seen people remark.

Beach Club draws lots of young families so you probably won't find it as calm and cozy as WL. However, a dramatic change may be fun.

Enjoy, whichever you choose.

 

[nw6675]

We just got back from a split stay at YC and BC. The busses to and from MK were pretty bad, particularly the waits leaving MK. The bus picks up at YC first so that was nice. But we hated it when we moved to the BC side.

As pp mentioned, BC is chaotic and despite staying there several times in the past, we won't again. We will stick with YC or BLT.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We love both the WL and BC/YC but stay at the BC/YC more often because of the benefits of walking to two parks. Storm Along Bay is great, too. The additional benefit of the Skyliner makes the Epcot resort area even more fun, since the Skyliner is also a ride.

The morning bus to MK for rope drop can be a little crowded at times, but otherwise it is great. The bus to AK is really equal when comparing BC to WL.

The rooms are bigger at the BC/YC and most of them have a sofa bed. The BC has full balconies in only approximately 50% of the rooms while the YC has 99.9% full balconies.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

Our kids love YC/BC especially Stormalong Bay. My husband and I enjoy it too! The walking to two parks is great. Our first time there, we did miss the MK resorts for the convenience of being near the MK, so we started doing split stays. (Wilderness Lodge is mine and my husband's favorite, but a family of five so we can't get a regular room there.) We plan our park days based on where we're staying. We do a pool day the day we switch resorts. This July we're doing YC first and will stay there for the pool day and head over to GF around 3:30/4:00.

 

[MamaMermaid]

If your kids like to swim, definitely give BC a try!

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We love both of the resorts you mentioned. WL is fantastic around the resort, but you can’t walk to any park. BC is more spread out at the resort (with not as great food), but has SAB and is walkable to the Boardwalk & 2 parks!! Walking into Epcot in like 5 minutes really can’t be beat. MK is still my favorite park though, so I get it. I do think a split stay would be perfect, just to give BC a try