Hey! Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge?

dreday3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
For a possible trip in 2023 (spring, not sure if we will do this or go on a non-Disney cruise) - but anyways...which do you like better?

We've stayed at Yacht and Beach a few times. We really like the hotels and obviously the walk to Epcot. (DHS isn't really as important to us).

My other half has always wanted to stay at Wilderness Lodge, but I never liked the look of the rooms. Well now I love the new rooms (unpopular opinion, but hey!), and I really do love the look/feel of entire resort. Very gorgeous, very Disney.

I like the pools at both resorts for different reasons.

If we stayed Beach Club, we'd only be able to comfortably afford a standard view. WL we'd be able to get a courtyard view. While Beach Club has advantage of Epcot hopping for food, WL has more options in resort itself and a much better lounge - Geyser Point.

But WL is a bus to everything but MK. But....if the boat to Contemporary comes back to WL by 2023, we can always boat there and jump on Monorail to Epcot (unless we are in a hurry) or resort hop/eat around the MK loop!

Argh. Opinions? :)
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We've stayed at both.

I don't know if my opinion is typical, but I loved absolutely everything about WL and would stay there again in a heartbeat. Beach Club was just "meh" for me, and I don't care to stay there again.

First of all, the buses: yes, WL was all about buses, but they were convenient nonetheless, and the small footprint of the resort made it easy to get to the depot. MK is our favorite park and the one we visit most frequently, so we appreciated how close it was -- I think the bus ride to MK from WL was 5 minutes, if that.

Theming is relative, but to me, the Wilderness Lodge is stunningly beautiful, majestic, and grand in scale and design. Beach Club has more of a "Rich New England Grandma" vibe to me, which is classy, but less warm and welcoming. I also actually preferred the relatively serene Wilderness Lodge pools to the loud and chaotically busy Stormalong Bay, although that had a lot to do with the fact that I was visiting with small children, and trying to keep an eye on them at Stormalong Bay was a nightmare -- trying to see around fences, bridges, lighthouses, and walkways -- while keeping an eye on them at the WL pool was easy and relaxing, with many vantage points from which I could see the whole pool area.

When it comes to food, I think Wilderness Lodge beats the pants off of Beach Club at every level -- TS, CS, and lounge -- all with broader menu variety/quality and more attractive decor and views.

In short, if you've already stayed at Beach Club, I'd give Wilderness Lodge a try, if only for something different. I think you'll discover it has a lot to offer, even if it can't give you the variety of transportation and park proximity that Beach Club can.
 
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dreday3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We've stayed at both.

I don't know if my opinion is typical, but I loved absolutely everything about WL and would stay there again in a heartbeat. Beach Club was just "meh" for me, and I don't care to stay there again.

First of all, the buses: yes, WL was all about buses, but they were convenient nonetheless, and the small footprint of the resort made it easy to get to the depot. MK is our favorite park and the one we visit most frequently, so we appreciated how close it was -- I think the bus ride to MK from WL was 5 minutes, if that.

Theming is relative, but to me, the Wilderness Lodge is stunningly beautiful, welcoming, majestic, and grand in scale and design. Beach Club has more of a "Rich New England Grandma" vibe to me. I also actually preferred the relatively serene Wilderness Lodge pools to the loud and chaotically busy Stormalong Bay, although that had a lot to do with the fact that I was visiting with small children, and trying to keep an eye on them at Stormalong Bay was a nightmare -- trying to see around fences, bridges, lighthouses, and walkways), while keeping and eye on them at the WL pool was easy, with many vantage points from which I could see the whole pool area.

When it comes to food, Wilderness Lodge beats the pants off of Beach Club at every level -- TS, CS, and lounge -- all with broader menu variety/quality and more attractive decor and views.

Thank you!!!
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Not this time.
First, I'd want a Savannah view and those are almost $700 a night!!!
Second, I'm emotionally scarred from the bus situation at Gran Destino. 😂 We need to stay where at least one park has another option besides bus!
The bus from AKL to Magic Kingdom is faster than the boat from Wilderness Lodge. The boat is a *nicer* ride, but it isn't any faster.
 

dreday3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The bus from AKL to Magic Kingdom is faster than the boat from Wilderness Lodge. The boat is a *nicer* ride, but it isn't any faster.

Maybe another time.

The boat ride is probably one of my favorite things about WL. It was the best part of staying at Polynesian. Once we are on our way to the park, we're aren't normally in a hurry. And if boat to CR and Fort Wilderness is running by the time we'd go, opens up a whole bunch of stuff.
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
Maybe another time.

The boat ride is probably one of my favorite things about WL. It was the best part of staying at Polynesian. Once we are on our way to the park, we're aren't normally in a hurry. And if boat to CR and Fort Wilderness is running by the time we'd go, opens up a whole bunch of stuff.
In that case, I copy and paste literally every word @Weather_Lady said.
 

CynBeth

Active Member
WL! WCC is one of our favorite breakfasts on property we have a meal there every trip no matter what resort we are staying. We love the theming and the only time we stayed there the boat and bus was fine. Plus you get the water pageant at night.
 

dreday3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
WL! WCC is one of our favorite breakfasts on property we have a meal there every trip no matter what resort we are staying. We love the theming and the only time we stayed there the boat and bus was fine. Plus you get the water pageant at night.

Oh that's right, the water pageant!!!
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
But WL is a bus to everything but MK. But....if the boat to Contemporary comes back to WL by 2023, we can always boat there and jump on Monorail to Epcot (unless we are in a hurry) or resort hop/eat around the MK loop!

Argh. Opinions? :)
just a comment, but even if the boat to the Contemporary isn’t back, you can still do those things by taking the boat to MK then hopping on the Monorail there.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I'd prefer Beach Club.

I actually like Boardwalk Inn the most in that area, but the Boardwalk area is such a nice bonus to have and the location of those three resorts is much better than Wilderness Lodge IMO.
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
I love both.
So first remember the themes are very different. Wilderness lodge true to its name is dark, woodsy, browns and greens as much as I loved the lobby that was my one "con". Our rooms always seemed "dark". No sunshine.

While the food is definitely better at WL, you can't beat the food "options" at the beach club. All of boardwalk, swan/dolphin restaurants and Epcot world showcase restaurants in walking distance. We rarely eat at the beach club except for maybe beaches and cream. We also love the boardwalk area especially just to chill after coming home from the parks

Lastly we like hoping on the new skyliner and its right outside the back of Beach club
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
We've stayed at both.

I don't know if my opinion is typical, but I loved absolutely everything about WL and would stay there again in a heartbeat. Beach Club was just "meh" for me, and I don't care to stay there again.

First of all, the buses: yes, WL was all about buses, but they were convenient nonetheless, and the small footprint of the resort made it easy to get to the depot. MK is our favorite park and the one we visit most frequently, so we appreciated how close it was -- I think the bus ride to MK from WL was 5 minutes, if that.

Theming is relative, but to me, the Wilderness Lodge is stunningly beautiful, majestic, and grand in scale and design. Beach Club has more of a "Rich New England Grandma" vibe to me, which is classy, but less warm and welcoming. I also actually preferred the relatively serene Wilderness Lodge pools to the loud and chaotically busy Stormalong Bay, although that had a lot to do with the fact that I was visiting with small children, and trying to keep an eye on them at Stormalong Bay was a nightmare -- trying to see around fences, bridges, lighthouses, and walkways -- while keeping an eye on them at the WL pool was easy and relaxing, with many vantage points from which I could see the whole pool area.

When it comes to food, I think Wilderness Lodge beats the pants off of Beach Club at every level -- TS, CS, and lounge -- all with broader menu variety/quality and more attractive decor and views.

In short, if you've already stayed at Beach Club, I'd give Wilderness Lodge a try, if only for something different. I think you'll discover it has a lot to offer, even if it can't give you the variety of transportation and park proximity that Beach Club can.
If the rooms at Boulder Ridge we're refurbished I would finally try it and would have pushed it for our next trip. Alas I was outvoted and family wanted SSR. I second what you said about BC's pool. It was stressful too many blind spots.
 

wlodge_man

Active Member
For a possible trip in 2023 (spring, not sure if we will do this or go on a non-Disney cruise) - but anyways...which do you like better?

We've stayed at Yacht and Beach a few times. We really like the hotels and obviously the walk to Epcot. (DHS isn't really as important to us).

My other half has always wanted to stay at Wilderness Lodge, but I never liked the look of the rooms. Well now I love the new rooms (unpopular opinion, but hey!), and I really do love the look/feel of entire resort. Very gorgeous, very Disney.

I like the pools at both resorts for different reasons.

If we stayed Beach Club, we'd only be able to comfortably afford a standard view. WL we'd be able to get a courtyard view. While Beach Club has advantage of Epcot hopping for food, WL has more options in resort itself and a much better lounge - Geyser Point.

But WL is a bus to everything but MK. But....if the boat to Contemporary comes back to WL by 2023, we can always boat there and jump on Monorail to Epcot (unless we are in a hurry) or resort hop/eat around the MK loop!

Argh. Opinions? :)
Listen to your other half and stay @ WL. It's a win-win for you!
 

MotherofaPrincessLover

Well-Known Member
Oh man, that is a tough one. I absolutely love Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club is great too. Since you haven't stayed at WL, I'd pick that one for the trip. It's not as convenient to get to the parks as BC is, but it just has such a great atmosphere that can make up for that.
 

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