Ever stayed at two resorts in one trip?

[Takeitforgranite]

My family of 5 has stayed the Poly 4 times now, and we love it. Everything about it fit us and our preferences. We book through David's, and it works out great. We plan to stay there every summer.

The kids are now 17,15,and 12, and are WDW veterans. I still would like to find ways to give them new experiences, though. I was thinking about booking another resort for 2-3 nights before our Poly stay to give us all a chance to enjoy the amenities and conveniencies of another resort.

Since GotG opened, we have been going to Epcot more often, but the Monorail makes that convenient from the Poly. Beaches and cream is always part of our visit, but the walk from Epcot and back is tough in the summer. The pool there looks great, so staying at the Beach Club would help with that and access to HS.

Any of the resorts with access to the Skyliner could be good.

I am open to any suggestions for a family with older kids. We have never been a family that visits other resorts much, so I know there are a lot of things yet to see and do.

 

[nickys]

We do a split stay every trip.

With teens I suggest either the Beach Club or Boardwalk. Both has access to the Skyliner, and also the boats to DHS. Or you can walk in around 20 minutes strolling pace.

Depending when your trip will be, Stormalong Bay at BC will be closed from early 2025 until May / June.

 

[RememberWhen]

I agree Beach Club would be a good bet. i would throw out Animal Kingdom Lodge if you’re able to do some resort time (hard for my family to tear ourselves away from the parks). It’s beautiful with plenty to do right there.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

a great many times

For that matter, we often do 3 or even sometimes 4.

1. arrival night or departure night at inexpensive option
2. Universal
3. WDW
4. Sometimes split WDW portion into 2 stays.
5. Some trips are combo of Orlando and beyond Orlando- like Tampa, St Augustine and beyond.

To clarify, we don't split every trip into multiple stays, mostly just longer visits. Sometimes we do splits in order to get the room at a discount, or just to try a new hotel.

To answer your question, there are a number of good options in that area: BC, YC, Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve. Of the S/D SR options, we like SR and Swan best. SR is new and super clean, but a little further to walk. Swan has the best location of the 3.

If you want to try something new, consider a club level stay perhaps. Though only if the price difference for Club is $200 or less and you aren't doing the Dining Plan for that portion of your visit. With 4 people and a rate of $200 (over non CL) that works out to $50 per person for club lounge. The CL is a bit like half-board. You get access to the lounge from 7am-10pm. They serve breakfast 7am-10am, and the rest of the day you can get snacks and beverages if you visit the lounge up until 10pm. It isn't always convenient to return to the lounge mid-day, but the 8-10pm desserts are tasty. It isn't too hard to get back before 10pm. Some of the CL's now offer ice cream during the day. If you have 4 people, CL doesn't exactly save money, but it can be a fun splurge, and it saves time over getting breakfast anywhere else if you want to make rope drop at Epcot or HS. I would not pay more than that for CL though.

Of the WDW resort options, BC and YC are just 2 halves of the same resort, and BWK is also nice. We tend to pick whichever one has the best rate. I should maybe add, we don't care much if we have a balcony. If a balcony is important to you then there is some difference between them. I'm not 100% certain, but I think YC has more (full-size) balconies than BC.