Beach Club or Bay Lake?

[DietCokeMommy]

I am undecided between Beach Club and Bay Lake. We will have two young kids - 4.5 and 7. I love BLT for the proximity to Magic Kingdom (of course) and BC for the pool and the whole boardwalk area. I know in terms of parks we'll want to spend the most time at MK but I like down time on vacation too, so Stormalong Bay is calling to me.

So which one would you choose?

 

[NJ Goofy]

Overall we prefer Beach Club ! As you noted the pool is great, plus we love the ability to walk over to EPCOT at night. With that said, if you are going to spend most of your time at MK, I'd chose BLT. It's only a 10 minute walk so you can go back and forth whenever you like. Either one is great, I don't think there is a wrong answer.

 

[Brian Rodriguez]

My wife and I had a reservation at BLT earlier but we ended up changing it to GFV. I still want to stay at Beach Club one of these days. We've stayed at Boardwalk and love the location being so close to Epcot and DHS. We are looking into staying at Beach Club in the future and the location is a big draw, not to mention the pool!

 

[jennab]

When are you going? Will it be hot so lots of pool time? Sounds like you have stayed at both so are familiar. I love the location of BLT and not needing to deal with bus/monorail for MK (especially after fireworks) but it's also nice to walk to EP and HS from BC. Such a hard choice! Can you do a split stay? That's what we did the first time we stayed at both. Did most of our MK days and a party when we stayed at BLT then moved to BCV for the rest of our trip and did the other parks.

 

[beccasmom]

I would opt for BLT for the location which is very convenient for the MK. But a split stay is a good suggestion for the best of both worlds. Both are great resorts, so you can’t make a bad decision.

 

[cruisin5]

SAB can be tough with younger kids, limited sight lines and the entrance to the big slide on the public path. You really can't beat BLT for the MK locations and dining options. Do BLT now and save BCV for when they are older.

 

[megs1313]

BLT 100%. I would never stay there with a young one again because of how difficult it is to see/navigate at SAB. (I know this isn't a popular opinion here, but I really had NO idea how hard it was going to be to see the kids at all times at SAB.)

 

[MissionMouse]

Things I would consider is your general schedule (i.e. park time vs resort time) along with the time of year and expected/projected crowds. Another item I would consider is my dining plans and are they a part of my park touring or are they special trips for dining. For us BC works great with warm weather, big crowds and plans to take it easy and hang out at the pool. Easier to watch the kids at the MK resort pools than Stormalong Bay pool where watching your child can provide a challenge. A part of the items I just mentioned is reviewing the amount of time it would consume from each of the two resorts you have referenced above. MK resort work great when the kids were very young as they allowed a lot of flexibility for breaks, using Club services and taking advantage of the pool whenever we decided to leave MK. Of course getting a good discount on your room can play an important part of the decision if they differ greatly when the same type of room category. We also felt the foot traffic was heavier at the iconic resorts of MK where BC/YC and BWI we felt less foot traffic with the exception of specific dining times. Overall, you will be fine with either choice

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Thanks everyone, I didn’t think about SAB being so difficult with little kids. We were there for Cape May and walked around afterwards and I saw a few toddlers playing in the sand in a shallow area and I thought it was just so awesome. But my kids will be past the toddler stage yet still young so that’s something to think about.

We’ll be going in February and I know from experience you may not be able to count on pool days.

And this question might be moot anyways as DH is not thinking Grand Floridian, lol.

 

[toolmanjan]

What size room are you thinking?

 

[hawkeyesparks]

For me..The Beach Club, Boardwalk area is the best choice. It's quiet, and it's proximity to epcot is incredible

 

[jpakstis]

Our girls were similar in age (4 and 6) when we stayed at BLT. We are currently planning on a stay at BC next year when our girls will be 11 and 9. We have gone to WDW three times, most recently last year.

I couldn’t imagine our girls would have had as good a time at BC when we stayed at BLT. We probably spent 75-80% of our time at MK. I’m looking forward to our stay at the BC but Epcot is BIG! Even at this last stay our girls were practically wilting away toward the end of our days at Epcot. And there really wasn’t much for them there whereas the MK has a ton. I am hoping that now that they are older they’ll appreciate Epcot and the World Showcase a little bit more. Also they are much better swimmers and will enjoy SAB even more.

To me the biggest advantage that BLT has is the proximity to the MK. It was nice to walk or take the monorail if we so chose. And having the Contemporary as the first stop on the way back was more relaxing. Also it’s only one stop to the TTC. It just made things a little more manageable for us.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

What size room are you thinking?

A studio.

Our girls were similar in age (4 and 6) when we stayed at BLT. We are currently planning on a stay at BC next year when our girls will be 11 and 9. We have gone to WDW three times, most recently last year.

I couldn’t imagine our girls would have had as good a time at BC when we stayed at BLT. We probably spent 75-80% of our time at MK. I’m looking forward to our stay at the BC but Epcot is BIG! Even at this last stay our girls were practically wilting away toward the end of our days at Epcot. And there really wasn’t much for them there whereas the MK has a ton. I am hoping that now that they are older they’ll appreciate Epcot and the World Showcase a little bit more. Also they are much better swimmers and will enjoy SAB even more.

To me the biggest advantage that BLT has is the proximity to the MK. It was nice to walk or take the monorail if we so chose. And having the Contemporary as the first stop on the way back was more relaxing. Also it’s only one stop to the TTC. It just made things a little more manageable for us.

This is kind of where my thinking is at right now.

 

[gharter]

I think it comes down to which is more important, being close to MK and park time or pool time. If you will have a lot of downtime and spend at the pool, definintely BC. If you plan to spend most of the time at MK and only a little pool time, BLT makes more sense.

 

[toolmanjan]

IMHO a studio at BLT with 2 young ones wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[Deb & Bill]

A studio.


This is kind of where my thinking is at right now.

You can fit four people in a BLT studio, but the living space is pretty much wall to wall beds (queen bed, double sleeper sofa) when you open the sleeper sofa. Very little space on both sides of the bed and the sleeper sofa is right up next to the slider window.

 

[LindaY]

We just got back from staying at Yacht Club which is connected to BC and share a pool. I will say this about the pool. It’s a bit nerve racking keeping up with your kids! I felt like I was always on the hunt and couldn’t relax. Also, I really missed being so close to MK. The only time we could get a FP for SDMN was 6:00pm and after our afternoon swim I couldn’t get anyone willing to get on a bus and go back. Just too much of a hassle. It was nice for Epcot at night but still not worth it to me.

 

[tvsdisney]

I’d stay at BC. I didn’t find the pool to be that difficult with a four year old at all and the sand area is great. Also, the studios at BLT are very small and I like to be able to spread out a little. There is very little room where the sofa bed pulls out. Keep in kind if you have a stroller it will limit your space even more.

 

[DisneyCAL]

BC would be my suggestion. We loved it. Our kids were 6 and we all loved the storms long bay. DS and DD also stayed at Bay Lake with their grandparents but came home saying they like BC better.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Are you staying at the BC or BCV? That might also make a difference.