Which resort would you choose? We need help!

[Now Is The Time]

My wife and I will be at WDW during the holidays this year. We typically stay at one of the moderates but we're saving up to splurge a bit and stay at a deluxe this time. We love the Boardwalk and have always wanted to stay there, especially because of the nice walk to Epcot. We also love the candy carousel they always put in the lobby (as well as visiting other hotels on property for their food displays - Beach, Yacht, GF, Contemporary, etc.). We also want a room that overlooks Crescent Bay. So.. I have to questions for you guys...

1) Which is better? Boardwalk or Beach Club? Beach Club is a shorter walk to Epcot but how do the two compare?

2) My wife really has an interest in staying at Wilderness Lodge because it's so great there during the holidays, but I'm a little concerned that it's off the beaten path a bit and not as convenient as other hotels to get around to where you wanna go. Thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

 

[RNRguy]

wilderness is very nice.. its the first resort as you enter the magic kingdom area.. and as for off the beaten path.. i really dont think so.. bc you have boat to mk and then can transfer to monerail to the other parks or you have the bus. if mk is your main park then i would say yes do wilderness..

 

[mickeysshoes]

My vote is WL...our home away from home. We think the WL is beautiful at holiday time. THe tree is HUGE and very nice. 69 days until we go home!!! But i have always wanted to try a resort over at the boardwalk area but have had a harm time the with cost differnce with the WL and getting DH to agree to stay over there. Either way you can go wrong...Holidays at Disney!!! what more could any one want!!!! :xmas:

 

[Zummi Gummi]

The Boardwalk is my favorite resort, and I love how it gets done up around the holidays. I also love being able to walk back to the resort after Illuminations while everyone else is fighting to get on the buses.

 

[zurgandfriend]

You should discuss with DW and decide what you both want the most.
If you want the Boardwalk and the dining/shopping of World showcase than an Epcot resort should be your choice. I would take the Beach Club over the Boardwalk but that’s just my preference.
If you want the magic Kingdom and being close to the monorail resorts than the Wilderness is great, I agree it might be a little off the beaten path, but that’s why we like it. People have to make an effort (boat/bus) to get there. It also should be a little less expensive than an Epcot resort.
The wilderness is a great deluxe resort for 2 people. I work with a woman who goes to WDW twice a year and always stays at the Wilderness.

 

[CoastalX]

Of the few times that I stayed at Wilderness lodge, i loved it. Not too much out of the way as they have a boat to the MK and from there you can take a monorail to epcot, and also they have buses that go to all of the other parks too, but just the size and beauty of the resort makes it worth staying at.

 

[Ariel484]

Of the 3 you’re asking about I’ve only stayed at the BW (May and November 2009), so I can’t really argue for one over the other. I’ll just say that we love it there are wouldn’t hesitate to go back. I think one disadvantage is that it doesn’t have a quick service restaurant actually in the hotel itself, where BC and WL do. I don’t think that the walk to the IG is that much further compared to the BC though (maybe 5 minutes?). Of couse the WL may be a bit cheaper (I think the BW and BC cost the same). Not sure if this is helpful or not…:shrug: Just know that we had 2 great experienes at the BW!

 

[travelgip]

If you are going for the holidays, stay at WL. It is just a short boat ride or bus trip to MK or TTC. It is decorated beautifully and quite a destination on it's own. Also, I like that when you walk out on the boat dock, you can hear all the sounds of MK, train whistle, boat bells, etc. :xmas:

 

[wdwwdeagle]

I vote for Boardwalk.

I stayed at WL and BWI over new years this past year, and very much preferred the Boardwalk to Wilderness Lodge. Location, transportation, atmosphere, rooms/soft goods... imho, all of these at BWI beat what WL offered. Both resorts had beautiful holiday decorations, though.

Also stayed at YC in March, and really liked that resort as well. Not BC, but very nearly so. However, I liked the more centralized location of BWI as compared to YC/BC. It's a pretty easy walk to both EPCOT and DHS from Boardwalk. Yes, BC is closer to Epcot, but not by that much, and BWI is a much easier walk to DHS than YC/BC is.

 

[slappy magoo]

I will say this, the difference in the distance to Epcot between the Boardwalk and the Beach Club is negligible, IMHO. Unless you have someone with limited mobility and no scooter/wheelchair. Of course, in that case, Epcot's probably the worst park to visit anyway.

I don't find Wilderness Lodge to be that far out of the way of anything else. Aside from the aforementioned ferry service to MK and bus service to the rest of the parks and DTD, there's also (usually) ferry service to the Contemporary, AND ferry/bus service/a walking path to Fort Wilderness, and all the amenities their resorts contain. Of course, going to the Contemporary, just as with MK, you can then visit the other monorail resorts easily.

But I can also understand the appeal of staying in the Epcot resorts, you'll have ferry service and walking paths to 2 of the 4 theme parks, plus you're walking distance to 4 other resorts, their restaurants and lounges, the Boardwalk area...

I've not stayed in Beach Club, but not for lack of trying Have stayed in Wilderness & Boardwalk. I'd be thrilled to stay in either one (or Beach Club) again. I guess I'd suggest you think about which park(s) you'll visit most, if you want access to a lot of lounges or resort-oriented activities (boat rentals? biking?), or are more interested in just hitting the parks.

 

[spear]

wilderness is very nice.. its the first resort as you enter the magic kingdom area.. and as for off the beaten path.. i really dont think so.. bc you have boat to mk and then can transfer to monerail to the other parks or you have the bus. if mk is your main park then i would say yes do wilderness..

Agree "off the beaten path" a little but that is a good thing and for getting where you need to go the transportation is good. And for the holidays it is great. My family has stayed there for the last 5 years during the holidays and we love it. This year we are pulling the reverse and going to a moderate POFQ. I hope we are not making a mistake and I hope you have a good trip.

 

[ThinkTink721]

I have never stayed at a deluxe, but I have toured most of them.

This is how I would list the ones I would like to stay at:

1) Beach Club
2) Polynesian
3) Wilderness Lodge
4) Animal Kingdom Lodge
5) Grand Floridian
6) Boardwalk
7) Contemporary

They are all nice though. It would be a hard choice. :wave:

 

[Magical Dreamer]

We're also trying to decide between the Boarwalk & Beach Club. If you can help it would be great......

Family of 5 with DD-15, DS-13 & DS-5.

We want to book 11/12 - 11/22 with our first 5 days spent at POR and then splurge on a transfer to either the boardwalk or Beach Club resorts for our remaining 5 days.

Thoughts?

 

[Main Street USA]

I prefer Wilderness Lodge of the 3 you mentioned. It's hidden back in the trees, but it's a quick, beautiful, relaxing boat ride over to the Magic Kingdom. That alone is a good enough reason, but I also prefer the theming of the resort itself.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

My wife and I will be at WDW during the holidays this year. We typically stay at one of the moderates but we're saving up to splurge a bit and stay at a deluxe this time. We love the Boardwalk and have always wanted to stay there, especially because of the nice walk to Epcot. We also love the candy carousel they always put in the lobby (as well as visiting other hotels on property for their food displays - Beach, Yacht, GF, Contemporary, etc.). We also want a room that overlooks Crescent Bay. So.. I have to questions for you guys...

1) Which is better? Boardwalk or Beach Club? Beach Club is a shorter walk to Epcot but how do the two compare?

2) My wife really has an interest in staying at Wilderness Lodge because it's so great there during the holidays, but I'm a little concerned that it's off the beaten path a bit and not as convenient as other hotels to get around to where you wanna go. Thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

We were at the WL and we LOVED it. Your concern about the connection of the WL to the other parks didn't appeal to be a problem to us. Bus service was very good, we normally never needed to wait longer than 10 minutes until the next bus arrived and we were e.g. in the MK in less than 5 minutes, less than 10 minutes to all other parks. The boat service to MK is a little slower but is a nice trip if you are not in a hurry.
The WL is beautifully themed, perfectly clean and we loved it when we entered the huge main lobby the first time.
Rooms were a little small compared to deluxe standards but very well kept and we got complimentary upgrade to courtyard view although we only had booked garden view when I told the CM at the check-in-counter it was a childhoods dream to stay at the WL.The main pool is, like at most disney deluxe hotels, a little small compared to the capacity of the WL but it was not overcrowded.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Mrs Sak loves WL and I have to say that it is aesthetically pleasing and has many nice features and eateries.

However though Im not a great fan of the resort itself, I thought it was cold and unfriendly, The Boardwalk is indeed handily located for the Studios and the back door to Epcot. Which being a drunkard is quite appealing.

But Id pick the Polly or the AK over either.

 

[dizzney]

Having stayed at both and enjoyed the stays, I have to say that my preference is Boardwalk since not only is it a great resort but its reight next to Epcot and DHS. We were there last year for New Years Eve and had a Boardwalk View 2 bedroom and it was great, we will definitely do that again when we can. We toasted the New Years in on the balcony watching the Epcot fireworks to the right and MK to the left and below were hundreds of people screaming and greating the New Year. (we had seen the early Illuminations at Epcot and returned to BW for midnight)

BW's decorations are awesome and there are so many activities at night for our kids to do.

Have fun!