Poly or Yacht Club Club Level?

[Swosutrish]

My DH, myself and our 3 DS age 4, 6 and 9 are coming for our second trip in May. We booked the Poly for proximity to MK, relaxed atmosphere, and Wishes from the beach. However, I was checking rates and can get Yacht Club club level for the same price. I know that they are starting renos in the Club Level rooms, but it's supposed to be between 9-5 only. What should I do? Club level saves money on food and Stormalong Bay sounds amazing. We have several dinners at Epcot as well. My husband likes to relax at the pool and I think my older boys will be ok at SAB, but not sure about the 4 yo. Any thoughts are very much appreciated!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

How important is a day bed (couch that converts to a bed) given your head count? If so, double check that your room/view category at YC guarantees one. I am not sure if YC is the same but at BC with a lot of room/view types you are not guaranteed a day bed. At Poly all rooms have a daybed.

Also note that Poly standard rooms are quite a bit bigger than YC standard rooms.

How familiar are you with the Epcot resorts? Have you stayed there? Are you sure it will fit with your touring style? I only ask because you mention a bunch of major benefits of staying at Poly in your second sentence.

If this were me (and this is coming from a major CL fan in general), I'd stick with Poly.

Also, FWIW, this is not the common opinion of SAB but I found its large/sprawling nature tough with kids you can't let out of your site. Places like Poly are so simple in that you can keep an eye on everyone from almost anywhere.

Happy to elaborate on anything if needed.

 

[loves to dive]

I love YC, it's my favorite WDW resort and stay there any time I can if I can get it and price is right. Having said that, with little ones you might be spending a lot of time in MK so the proximity to it from Poly can't be beat. I'm not a big fan of Club Level, I just can't seem to wrap my hear around paying that much more a night for a few snacks that if I paid out of pocket for would cost a lot less. I've only stayed at one, at CR years ago and just wan't impressed. I might be wrong but I don't think the rooms are any bigger or the views any any better but there are a number of people who love it. You can't go wrong with either resort.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Honestly, IMHO, the Poly pool may be a better bet for your family. SAB is really spread out and there are some very deep parts. You also need to walk across the path to get to the entrance of the slide. I only have DS9 to keep track of (and he is a really strong swimmer now and is mature enough to get to the slide by himself now), but when he was younger, wherever he went in SAB, I went, too. When he was around 4 and 5 years old, he only wanted to hang out in the smaller pool in the ship which has a little slide, which was great for him, but your older kids might get bored there. Poly has a zero entry pool and you can pretty much see the kids wherever they go in that pool except as they are walking up to go to the slide. Poly also has a splash pad which is cute. Have you checked rates for BWI? We love BWI and DS really loves that pool and slide. It's not zero entry, but it's more compact than SAB and usually less crowded. You can even see the kids the whole time they are walking up and waiting for the slide. I love that pool because I can actually sit in a chair on the pool deck and see DS wherever he is. They also have super cute pool parties. We love BWI and that will most likely price out less than Poly. Sorry for the long winded answer. I just, personally, wouldn't be comfortable with young children outnumbering adults at SAB. Just a personal opinion.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I love both and you really cant go wrong at either. Its been a while since I stayed at Yacht Club, but I am doing it this year for the exact reason you are contemplating!

But....I am only traveling with DH and DD13. We frequent Epcot restaurants for dinner and dont recall it being any more convenient to get to than from the Poly. At the Poly, you cant walk to the TTC in less than 5 minutes and hop the Epcot monorail. From Yacht Club, its a 15+ minute walk to international gateway or you can wait for the ferry, which sometimes can take up to 30 minutes to get you, drop you at IG.

At Poly, it soooo convenient to make a quick decision to go to MK for "one more ride" or a bedtime cookie and milk snack at the bakery on Main St. You can also get to many great restaurants on the monorail loop, take quick swim breaks/nap breaks during the day when at MK or Epcot.

My experience getting to DHS from the Yacht Club is that it took just as long as the buses. Transportation there is not great. For my upcoming trip I am renting a car.

But, then again, Club level is appealing! Tough decision, but for me Poly wins by a tad...especially with a couple of young children.

 

[princessemsmom]

We are actually doing a split stay and doing both Poly CL and YC CL for the exact reasons you mention - so we will get some time at both - sorry I can't offer any more advice than that...can you split??

I do believe you will have a Magical trip regardless of where you choose.

 

[Swosutrish]

Thank you all so much for your replies! I think if my boys were a little older that we would do Yacht Club, but I think we will stick with the Poly!

 

[mickeynut1]

How important is a day bed (couch that converts to a bed) given your head count? If so, double check that your room/view category at YC guarantees one. I am not sure if YC is the same but at BC with a lot of room/view types you are not guaranteed a day bed. At Poly all rooms have a daybed.

You are correct, YC and BC are the same in that not all rooms come with a daybed. Parties of 5 are given preference for those rooms, but they are not guaranteed (they will, however, provide a roll away if you don't get a daybed and have 5 people).

Also note that Poly standard rooms are quite a bit bigger than YC standard rooms.

This is one of the many reasons we love the Poly. We found the Poly rooms to be quite a bit larger/more spacious over BC/YC, which is great for a larger family.

Also, FWIW, this is not the common opinion of SAB but I found its large/sprawling nature tough with kids you can't let out of your site. Places like Poly are so simple in that you can keep an eye on everyone from almost anywhere.

You're not alone as these are my thoughts as well.

Thank you all so much for your replies! I think if my boys were a little older that we would do Yacht Club, but I think we will stick with the Poly!

I don't think you'll be disappointed, the Poly is a great resort!

 

[Mousefan mom]

My DH, myself and our 3 DS age 4, 6 and 9 are coming for our second trip in May. We booked the Poly for proximity to MK, relaxed atmosphere, and Wishes from the beach. However, I was checking rates and can get Yacht Club club level for the same price. I know that they are starting renos in the Club Level rooms, but it's supposed to be between 9-5 only. What should I do? Club level saves money on food and Stormalong Bay sounds amazing. We have several dinners at Epcot as well. My husband likes to relax at the pool and I think my older boys will be ok at SAB, but not sure about the 4 yo. Any thoughts are very much appreciated!

We've stayed at the Beach Club (similar to the Yaht) and the Poly. SAB was amazing, and my kids loved it, but it does typically close earlier (It closed at 10pm last summer, so much of our night swimming took place in the less eventful "quiet pools", where as the Poly kept their pools open until 11 so a dip after a long day in the parks was nice. Yaht offers you more access to the international showcase at Epcot, but its a further walk than Beach club and after a long day in the parks...that walk becomes a bit more demanding. Also, for Hollywood, its about a mile walk over there and the only other transport option is the Friendship boat, which can take a long time to get to and from DHS since you also share stops with Boardwalk, Swan/Dolphin, etc. The transportation, for us, seemed better at the Poly. Our kids also loved the Poly pool. The rooms are larger at the Poly, and the food options were better for the resort (all we ate in Epcot a lot more when we stayed at BC). Love both, but liked Poly better.

 

[monorailsilver]

I have only stayed at the BC once and I was 18 so watching my every move was not in my parents interest!

That being said, I wouldn't stay there if my kids couldn't swim (nor did we do a water park until they all could swim).

We always stay at the Poly. It I am dying to get my feet in SAB again now that they can all swim, I'd still watch them as my youngest will be 11 in March.

The Poly made it easy for me to see the entire pool from where I was sitting, pre kids area and I sat at a table by the slide exit. I could see my then 7 yo swimming with her siblings and if I couldn't my DH could. And when she was younger we could be in the pool with her and watch the other 2.

As far as saving money with Club level, are you planning on eating all your meals with the offerings they have? Or just breakfast? If it is just breakfast, ship/grocery delivery breakfast items and thaT alone is a cost savings.

And it is just as easy to hop on the monorail to Epcot thru the walkway at the Poly. We do 5 park days and 3 of them are evening Epcot hours and 1-2 are am Epcot hours. And we stay at the Poly.