BC, CR or WL

[wmoon]

Hi
We are looking at accomodation for 2019, here in the Uk the free dining offer for 2019 should be released in a couple of weeks so trying to decide on accomodation.

We have narrowed it down to Contemporary (Garden Room - Standard View), Beach Club (Garden View) or Wilderness Lodge (standard view). We will be staying either for 15 nights or doing a split of say 11 nights deluxe and then 4 nights at AOA (Little mermaid, to keep costs down and we like the theming there).

I just can't make up my mind which one to pick ( I know hardly first world problems). I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary but we have stayed at the Yacht Club before and loved the location. Wilderness lodge looks lovely but I've not read great things about standard rooms and I'm worried its a trek to everywhere other than MK, same with Contemporary.

It will be me, dh and ds (11) and we have stayed previously at POR, Poly, YC, AKL and AOA.

Where would you pick and why? Or is there somewhere I'm missing?

Thanks for any advice you have.

 

[Shanti]

Hi
We are looking at accomodation for 2019, here in the Uk the free dining offer for 2019 should be released in a couple of weeks so trying to decide on accomodation.

We have narrowed it down to Contemporary (Garden Room - Standard View), Beach Club (Garden View) or Wilderness Lodge (standard view). We will be staying either for 15 nights or doing a split of say 11 nights deluxe and then 4 nights at AOA (Little mermaid, to keep costs down and we like the theming there).

I just can't make up my mind which one to pick ( I know hardly first world problems). I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary but we have stayed at the Yacht Club before and loved the location. Wilderness lodge looks lovely but I've not read great things about standard rooms and I'm worried its a trek to everywhere other than MK, same with Contemporary.

It will be me, dh and ds (11) and we have stayed previously at POR, Poly, YC, AKL and AOA.

Where would you pick and why? Or is there somewhere I'm missing?

Thanks for any advice you have.

What time of year? If it's summer & you'll swim at the resort pool, then Beach Club is the hands-down winner for Stormalong Bay.

We really enjoyed our stay in the Contemporary's garden wing. CR is great for transport to MK by foot & good for Epcot via the monorail.

Wilderness Lodge has a grand lobby, but it's rooms are a bit blah. Nothing wrong with them, though, besides being on the smaller side.

 

[Capang]

We love WL because it is close to MK without all the foot traffic through the resort. We’ve never had transportation issues and it is not far from everything except maybe AK. BC is a great location with a great pool as mentioned above. CR is a great location BUT it can get crowded and noisy. Really, all 3 are great so you should do fine whichever you choose.

 

[wmoon]

What time of year? If it's summer & you'll swim at the resort pool, then Beach Club is the hands-down winner for Stormalong Bay.

We really enjoyed our stay in the Contemporary's garden wing. CR is great for transport to MK by foot & good for Epcot via the monorail.

Wilderness Lodge has a grand lobby, but it's rooms are a bit blah. Nothing wrong with them, though, besides being on the smaller side.

Thanks Shanti. It will be summer.

 

[wmoon]

We love WL because it is close to MK without all the foot traffic through the resort. We’ve never had transportation issues and it is not far from everything except maybe AK. BC is a great location with a great pool as mentioned above. CR is a great location BUT it can get crowded and noisy. Really, all 3 are great so you should do fine whichever you choose.

Thanks. I think thats what makes it so hard to pick.

 

[Shanti]

Thanks Shanti. It will be summer.

In summer I'd definitely skip CR because of its dinky pool. Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club is not only an amazing pool complex, but it is the only resort pool that has CMs scanning magic bands to keep crashers out. So it's never overcrowded, unlike some of the other resort pools.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

Does your DS have a favorite park or activity? I think WL would be fun for that age, but if he likes HS/Epcot it would be nice to be within walking distance. If his favorite park is MK then CR. Did you show him pics of each resort and see what his reactions were?
It’s funny bc I wanted to stay at Contemporary for our Feb trip but when I showed my DD6 pics of that and WL she said she liked WL better. We ended up staying at Poly and loved it- I’m guessing that’s not part of the deal?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hi
We are looking at accomodation for 2019, here in the Uk the free dining offer for 2019 should be released in a couple of weeks so trying to decide on accomodation.

We have narrowed it down to Contemporary (Garden Room - Standard View), Beach Club (Garden View) or Wilderness Lodge (standard view). We will be staying either for 15 nights or doing a split of say 11 nights deluxe and then 4 nights at AOA (Little mermaid, to keep costs down and we like the theming there).

I just can't make up my mind which one to pick ( I know hardly first world problems). I've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary but we have stayed at the Yacht Club before and loved the location. Wilderness lodge looks lovely but I've not read great things about standard rooms and I'm worried its a trek to everywhere other than MK, same with Contemporary.

It will be me, dh and ds (11) and we have stayed previously at POR, Poly, YC, AKL and AOA.

Where would you pick and why? Or is there somewhere I'm missing?

Thanks for any advice you have.

For that long of a stay, I would do BC. You will have SO much within walking distance - EP, DHS, all of the other resort restaurants, Boardwalk entertainment, etc. I love WL (especially at Christmas), but I would get pretty antsy there if I were staying longer than a week. Plus the rooms at WL are quite a bit smaller than CR and BC. CR also doesn't really do it for me as an overall resort. The pool is in desperate need of a refurb and, yes, walking to MK is very convenient, but getting everywhere else, not so much.

BC will offer you a big room, a great pool and tons of things to do within walking distance. BC gets my vote!

 

[wmoon]

In summer I'd definitely skip CR because of its dinky pool. Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club is not only an amazing pool complex, but it is the only resort pool that has CMs scanning magic bands to keep crashers out. So it's never overcrowded, unlike some of the other resort pools.

Yes, the pool at CR seems very lacking compared to stormalong bay or even the pool at AKL which ds loved last year.

Does your DS have a favorite park or activity? I think WL would be fun for that age, but if he likes HS/Epcot it would be nice to be within walking distance. If his favorite park is MK then CR. Did you show him pics of each resort and see what his reactions were?
It’s funny bc I wanted to stay at Contemporary for our Feb trip but when I showed my DD6 pics of that and WL she said she liked WL better. We ended up staying at Poly and loved it- I’m guessing that’s not part of the deal?

He likes all the parks, that is until they finish star wars and then I think HS will be top. He does not seem that keen on CR, he likes the look of WL and BC. No the Poly is not up for discussion, too expensive and we have stayed there before over the 4th of July and the craziness put me off. Thanks

For that long of a stay, I would do BC. You will have SO much within walking distance - EP, DHS, all of the other resort restaurants, Boardwalk entertainment, etc. I love WL (especially at Christmas), but I would get pretty antsy there if I were staying longer than a week. Plus the rooms at WL are quite a bit smaller than CR and BC. CR also doesn't really do it for me as an overall resort. The pool is in desperate need of a refurb and, yes, walking to MK is very convenient, but getting everywhere else, not so much.

BC will offer you a big room, a great pool and tons of things to do within walking distance. BC gets my vote!

Thanks, you are right about the sheer amount of things within walking distance of the BC/YC.

 

[soccermom54]

I will throw in my 2 cents. When we stayed at Wilderness Lodge with a standard view, it was of the service parking area and trash dumpsters. We like sit on the balcony in the evening and have a drink after a day in the parks. This view personally bothered me and 11 nights of that would not be a happy addition to my WDW trip if the balcony is important to you. It is a beautiful resort and if you could choose another room view, I would highly recommend it. The Contemporary rooms are wonderful and we stayed there several times when our children were young and we wanted to be near the MK. Just be aware that the rooms in the garden wing on the 2nd and 3rd floors do not have a balcony and the 1st floor has a patio if sitting outside is important to you. You would probably want to request 1st floor when you make your reservation if you want this. We love the YC/BC area. So many choices for dining, the wonderful pool area and the easy access, walking or boat, to EPCOT and The Studios. However, if a full balcony is important to you, request it on your reservation as some rooms at BC have walk-out balconies only. We also love entering and leaving EPCOT through the international gateway. It is much easier and quicker that the main gate in the mornings. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[hedberg1661]

Assuming cost is the same...I think you first need to decide which park(s) are more important to you. If MK then CR. If EC or DHS then BC. BC also gets extra points for the best pool on property. WL IMO has a better pool than CR but the rooms at CR are by far the best of the 3. Lots to think about but I think you need to decide which park is important to be close to.

 

[AllieBoo]

We loved CR and YC/BC when we stayed there. If you are going to spend a lot of time at MK, I would go with CR; otherwise I'd go with YC or BC. Or you could do a split stay between those, which is what we did on our last trip. We stayed at CR during the part of our trip where we were going to spend multiple days at MK, and then moved to YC for the rest of the trip, where we were doing Epcot, DHS and AK.

 

[Farro]

If you are getting park hoppers, honestly Beach Club (or Yacht) can't be beat. Going to one park during day and being able to stroll into Epcot for dinner every night if you want is fantastic.

We normally stay there and we stayed at Polynesian last trip. Really, really missed the walk to Epcot.

 

[sbrown29]

Summer trip-- hands down, Beach Club. Stormalong Bay, alone, is worth it!

 

[wmoon]

I will throw in my 2 cents. When we stayed at Wilderness Lodge with a standard view, it was of the service parking area and trash dumpsters. We like sit on the balcony in the evening and have a drink after a day in the parks. This view personally bothered me and 11 nights of that would not be a happy addition to my WDW trip if the balcony is important to you. It is a beautiful resort and if you could choose another room view, I would highly recommend it. The Contemporary rooms are wonderful and we stayed there several times when our children were young and we wanted to be near the MK. Just be aware that the rooms in the garden wing on the 2nd and 3rd floors do not have a balcony and the 1st floor has a patio if sitting outside is important to you. You would probably want to request 1st floor when you make your reservation if you want this. We love the YC/BC area. So many choices for dining, the wonderful pool area and the easy access, walking or boat, to EPCOT and The Studios. However, if a full balcony is important to you, request it on your reservation as some rooms at BC have walk-out balconies only. We also love entering and leaving EPCOT through the international gateway. It is much easier and quicker that the main gate in the mornings. Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks. I have these dumpster views and that is what put me off. A beach club garden view is cheaper than a woods view at WL.

Assuming cost is the same...I think you first need to decide which park(s) are more important to you. If MK then CR. If EC or DHS then BC. BC also gets extra points for the best pool on property. WL IMO has a better pool than CR but the rooms at CR are by far the best of the 3. Lots to think about but I think you need to decide which park is important to be close to.

Thanks. Over the stay we will probably end up at Epcot and HS more than just MK. Contemporary is a bit more than the beach club.

We loved CR and YC/BC when we stayed there. If you are going to spend a lot of time at MK, I would go with CR; otherwise I'd go with YC or BC. Or you could do a split stay between those, which is what we did on our last trip. We stayed at CR during the part of our trip where we were going to spend multiple days at MK, and then moved to YC for the rest of the trip, where we were doing Epcot, DHS and AK.

Thanks, I'd love to do a split stay but for UK deals if you want free dining it needs to be a package you book with tickets. So if you did a split stay you would only get dining for the first hotel stay.

If you are getting park hoppers, honestly Beach Club (or Yacht) can't be beat. Going to one park during day and being able to stroll into Epcot for dinner every night if you want is fantastic.

We normally stay there and we stayed at Polynesian last trip. Really, really missed the walk to Epcot.

Thanks, we missed that walk too when we stayed at AKL. I think this reason is what is swaying me to BC.

Summer trip-- hands down, Beach Club. Stormalong Bay, alone, is worth it!

Thanks, I'm sure my ds would agree with you, he is not liking the look of the Contemporary pool at all!

 

[Cotillard]

That's hard. I love WL but would not want to spend 2 weeks in one of their small rooms. I think I'd go with BC.

 

[wmoon]

That's hard. I love WL but would not want to spend 2 weeks in one of their small rooms. I think I'd go with BC.

Thanks. BC is looking like our choice.