Contemporary or Beach Club?

[Momma_Lanier]

You could always do a split stay. We did that one year with BC, and we loved Stormalong Bay. That would be your best spot for a pool day. The pools at the Contemporary are nice, but they can't compare to BC's mini waterpark. BC is beautiful and walking into Epcot through the World Showcase is very convenient.

We loved the Contemporary. We had a tower room overlooking Bay Lake, and it was breathtaking. The Tomorrowland theme, although more subtle than other resorts, is quite striking. The convenience of the monorail or a quick walk to MK can't be beat. Dinner and fireworks at the California Grill is a sublime experience never to be forgotten.

We love BC, but we love seeing the castle every day from our resort and the convenience to MK. We prefer the monorail resorts. We actually just came home from the Polynesian, and that is our new home in WDW.

I'm so happy to hear your great reviews of both! California Grill is a dream of mine. We thought we could do the new Pixar Play Zone for the kids while hubs and I enjoyed dinner alone.

 

[FSU Girl]

I would do a split stay. It's really easy to do, you can get magic bands for both resorts or just one if you want. They will work at both, you don't need to call anyone to tell them you're doing the split stay. If you have a car you can move your luggage over to the other resort, if not the hotels will move it for you. The only downside to a split stay is when you make dining reservations your window will open for the first stay and then won't open for the second until that stays first day at 180 days out. For fast passes you can make all the fast passes for both hotel stays. The nice thing with a split stay, you can arrange your park days around what is near that current hotel.

Personally I love the Contemporary, being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom and being on the monorail line with it going through the hotel is just so cool to me. I've stayed at Beach Club and I like being able to walk to two parks, but the pool didn't wow me like it does others. I've heard with younger kids it can be a little stressful since it's so spread out it's hard to keep an eye on everyone. I've never used the Contemporary pool so can't comment there.

 

[Momma_Lanier]

I would do a split stay. It's really easy to do, you can get magic bands for both resorts or just one if you want. They will work at both, you don't need to call anyone to tell them you're doing the split stay. If you have a car you can move your luggage over to the other resort, if not the hotels will move it for you. The only downside to a split stay is when you make dining reservations your window will open for the first stay and then won't open for the second until that stays first day at 180 days out. For fast passes you can make all the fast passes for both hotel stays. The nice thing with a split stay, you can arrange your park days around what is near that current hotel.

Personally I love the Contemporary, being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom and being on the monorail line with it going through the hotel is just so cool to me. I've stayed at Beach Club and I like being able to walk to two parks, but the pool didn't wow me like it does others. I've heard with younger kids it can be a little stressful since it's so spread out it's hard to keep an eye on everyone. I've never used the Contemporary pool so can't comment there.

Thank you! I have heard the same thing about the Beach Club pool and it being stressful with younger ones. I'm not even sure my 3 littles would venture out more than the sand area lol! Split stay would be interesting though.

 

[ShayBells]

The beach club Pool I would say is more exhausting then stressful but so worth it. It was easy to follow my little one and we just stayed at the different sections. Lazy river. Sand area. Whirl pool. Sinking sand area. Etc. and they have people walking around that will bring you food if you want to order. The hardest was the slide but I always went down with him or with two adults just have one take them to the stairs than one standing at the bottom. I was worried about the stress of it I heard about before I went but it actually was fine and was awesome. Everyone should try it lol. A spilt stay sounds like the best of both. Hope you have a great time no matter what you decide.

 

[Momma_Lanier]

The beach club Pool I would say is more exhausting then stressful but so worth it. It was easy to follow my little one and we just stayed at the different sections. Lazy river. Sand area. Whirl pool. Sinking sand area. Etc. and they have people walking around that will bring you food if you want to order. The hardest was the slide but I always went down with him or with two adults just have one take them to the stairs than one standing at the bottom. I was worried about the stress of it I heard about before I went but it actually was fine and was awesome. Everyone should try it lol. A spilt stay sounds like the best of both. Hope you have a great time no matter what you decide.

Thank you!! How big is the slide?

 

[ShayBells]

Thank you!! How big is the slide?

It’s long but slow. The entrance is actually outside the pool area. The exit inside. They also have kiddie slides at the bottom of the entrance to the big slide. At the “shipwreck”. You can YouTube POV rides on the big slide. It’s probably the best slide at Disney resorts but I haven’t been to all yet to verify that.

 

[OneinThree]

WL is my favorite resort. That said, I'm not sure I can think of any rooms on property that rival CR theme park view. BC/YC doesn't even come close.

 

[Babsy]

We will be doing 8 nights/9 days! I’ve never thought of a split stay. How does that work?

You book half you stay at one resort and the other half at the other resort (obviously), then you call and inform them of your split stay and tell them you need you MagicBands hooked up to both resort rooms.
after your first resort stay if you drove, you can take your car to the next resort, if you flew to Disney, I'm pretty sure a Disney Uber can take you to your next resort, luggage and all.

We sometimes do split stays and it is quite fun actually, it changes it up a bit

OK, so you already pretty much have the answer to your question here in the quote above.

I just have a couple of small points to add:

A split stay does not have to be half of your time at one and half at the other. You can use any number of your nights at one resort and then move for the remainder at your second resort. I would consider how many days that I wanted to spend at the MK vs the other theme parks and the pool day. Then I would book the CR for the MK days and the BC for the other days. (Personally, I usually like to stay for a minimum of three nights at a resort, so, in your situation, I would probably book three nights at the CR and 5 nights at the BC. Just my opinion, however.)

Consider when you want to visit which theme parks, so, if you want to start with the MK, for example, you would book the CR first and then book the BC for the second portion of your stay. Potentially a good day for the pool day would be the day that you move to the BC. (Some people like to hang around the second resorts pool while they wait for the room to be ready.) On that note, remember that check out time of the first resort is 11:00 am and check in time at the second resort is not until 3:00 pm. Sometimes, you can request a late check out for 12:00 or 1:00 pm and sometimes you will be lucky with the room at your second resort ready early, but typically there is at least a period of a few hours when you are 'homeless'. There are different strategies for dealing with this. One is to give your bags to Bell Services (to move for you to the second resort) while you head to a theme park for the day. AT the end of the day you go to resort number two, check in and call bell services to bring your bags to your room. This is easy, but you are separated from your 'stuff' until some undetermined time, sometimes into the evening when Bell Services get your bags moved over for you. Another option is to bring your bags with you if you have a car, check in and then go about your day either to a park or by staying at the pool. This can also be done using Uber, Lyft or a Taxi for a small fare. You can store your bags with Bell Services if your room isn't ready when you check in. The advantage with this is that you can always access your stuff, as Bell Services will bring anything out if you need it through the day, even if your room isn't ready yet, and put it back in storage when you are done.

One thing (unrelated to split stay) to remember with a family of 5 is that the CR rooms are significantly larger than the BC rooms. So, the CR will have two queen beds and a large daybed in every room. Some BC rooms only have the two queen beds, basically because these rooms are even smaller than the BC rooms with a sofa/daybed as well. And, of course, many BC rooms have a small, one person, standing room only balcony. All of the tower rooms in the CR have full large balconies. EXCEPT, be aware that the garden wing second and third floor rooms do not have balconies at the CR.( The ground floor rooms in the GW do have large patios.) If you are looking for lots of room to spread out, the CR in the tower is your best option.

Wherever you choose to stay, have a great trip!

 

[Momma_Lanier]

It’s long but slow. The entrance is actually outside the pool area. The exit inside. They also have kiddie slides at the bottom of the entrance to the big slide. At the “shipwreck”. You can YouTube POV rides on the big slide. It’s probably the best slide at Disney resorts but I haven’t been to all yet to verify that.

Sounds awesome!! Thank you!

 

[Momma_Lanier]

OK, so you already pretty much have the answer to your question here in the quote above.

I just have a couple of small points to add:

A split stay does not have to be half of your time at one and half at the other. You can use any number of your nights at one resort and then move for the remainder at your second resort. I would consider how many days that I wanted to spend at the MK vs the other theme parks and the pool day. Then I would book the CR for the MK days and the BC for the other days. (Personally, I usually like to stay for a minimum of three nights at a resort, so, in your situation, I would probably book three nights at the CR and 5 nights at the BC. Just my opinion, however.)

Consider when you want to visit which theme parks, so, if you want to start with the MK, for example, you would book the CR first and then book the BC for the second portion of your stay. Potentially a good day for the pool day would be the day that you move to the BC. (Some people like to hang around the second resorts pool while they wait for the room to be ready.) On that note, remember that check out time of the first resort is 11:00 am and check in time at the second resort is not until 3:00 pm. Sometimes, you can request a late check out for 12:00 or 1:00 pm and sometimes you will be lucky with the room at your second resort ready early, but typically there is at least a period of a few hours when you are 'homeless'. There are different strategies for dealing with this. One is to give your bags to Bell Services (to move for you to the second resort) while you head to a theme park for the day. AT the end of the day you go to resort number two, check in and call bell services to bring your bags to your room. This is easy, but you are separated from your 'stuff' until some undetermined time, sometimes into the evening when Bell Services get your bags moved over for you. Another option is to bring your bags with you if you have a car, check in and then go about your day either to a park or by staying at the pool. This can also be done using Uber, Lyft or a Taxi for a small fare. You can store your bags with Bell Services if your room isn't ready when you check in. The advantage with this is that you can always access your stuff, as Bell Services will bring anything out if you need it through the day, even if your room isn't ready yet, and put it back in storage when you are done.

One thing (unrelated to split stay) to remember with a family of 5 is that the CR rooms are significantly larger than the BC rooms. So, the CR will have two queen beds and a large daybed in every room. Some BC rooms only have the two queen beds, basically because these rooms are even smaller than the BC rooms with a sofa/daybed as well. And, of course, many BC rooms have a small, one person, standing room only balcony. All of the tower rooms in the CR have full large balconies. EXCEPT, be aware that the garden wing second and third floor rooms do not have balconies at the CR.( The ground floor rooms in the GW do have large patios.) If you are looking for lots of room to spread out, the CR in the tower is your best option.

Wherever you choose to stay, have a great trip!

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I had never even considered split stay cause I always thought it would be a hassle with moving our bags but with so many options of what to do, it may be the best case scenario! I definitely would like more room but we're hardly ever in our room except for showers and sleeping. You've given me lots to think about!

 

[disneygolfer1985]

Sounds awesome!! Thank you!

It is an awesome slide. I think the best on property that I have been on. It probably takes 10-15 seconds to go down. The first half is through a pipe and then the rest has twist and turns with water dumping on you before you enter the pool. The only annoying thing is to get out of the pool and walk back to the slide. The beginning of the slide is located at the kiddie pool.

 

[Momoftwins+1]

Both; split stay. We did this exact split stay this summer. BC for the 4 nights we went to Epcot, HS and AK, and MK 3 nights after moving to CR.

 

[monorailsilver]

I don’t know about the CR. But we just came back from a BC/Poly split. I was disappointed in the BC room size and the bathroom. The bathroom was jsut the toilet and shower behind the door but it was small. The sink area was great out side that. Just made it hard to get dressed as no where to put clothes and the steam from the post shower and getting dressed is not enjoyable.

When we got to th Poly I was so happy that the room was HUgE and this is coming from someone who only liked the 3 newer Poly building ps because they are a bit bigger.

Not sure room size of the CR.

 

[dansdad]

I don’t know about the CR. But we just came back from a BC/Poly split. I was disappointed in the BC room size and the bathroom. The bathroom was jsut the toilet and shower behind the door but it was small. The sink area was great out side that. Just made it hard to get dressed as no where to put clothes and the steam from the post shower and getting dressed is not enjoyable.

When we got to th Poly I was so happy that the room was HUgE and this is coming from someone who only liked the 3 newer Poly building ps because they are a bit bigger.

Not sure room size of the CR.

I know what you mean about bathrooms like that. Whenever we get a room with that type of bathroom set up, getting dressed happens in the room instead of the bathroom.

 

[monorailsilver]

I know what you mean about bathrooms like that. Whenever we get a room with that type of bathroom set up, getting dressed happens in the room instead of the bathroom.

There were 5 of us. Dh, me and our 3 kids-17, 14 and 12. They got partially dressed under the covers!

I wish there was a curtain at the BC in the sink area. 2 people could get dressed at the same time or one could be in the shower/on the toilet while the other is getting dressed.

The Poly BR was bigger and had s place to put clothes but again only one in there although my family will use the toilet when someone is in the shower. But I wish there was a curtain at the entrance hall for another dressing spot.

 

[buzzrelly]

I am going to go against almost everyone here and vote for The CR.

With younger kids like you have, you cannot beat the walk to and from the MK and having the monorail to EPCOT right there.

Also, I have stayed at both the BC and the CR and, in my opinion the pool at the BC is nice BUT also VERY crowded and very spread out. If you can actually find a chair to put your stuff on, you won't be in it for long because you won't be able to keep track of your kids. And the lazy river is deep…like over an adult's head. When my kids were little, I would have been a nervous wreck with them in there.

We have always loved the pool at the CR. We and it to be nice and relaxing, unlike the BC pool. My kids have always loved the slide and I like that I could watch them from the water or my beach chair.

My vote would be for the CR and NOT for a split stay.

 

[monorailsilver]

I am going to go against almost everyone here and vote for The CR.

With younger kids like you have, you cannot beat the walk to and from the MK and having the monorail to EPCOT right there.

Also, I have stayed at both the BC and the CR and, in my opinion the pool at the BC is nice BUT also VERY crowded and very spread out. If you can actually find a chair to put your stuff on, you won't be in it for long because you won't be able to keep track of your kids. And the lazy river is deep…like over an adult's head. When my kids were little, I would have been a nervous wreck with them in there.

We have always loved the pool at the CR. We and it to be nice and relaxing, unlike the BC pool. My kids have always loved the slide and I like that I could watch them from the water or my beach chair.

My vote would be for the CR and NOT for a split stay.

I found the BC pool not so crowded! Yes chairs were hard to find but on our mid day break pool time I just needed on and I usually found one.

I loved how most of the kids were on the volleyball side of the pool and I could easily swim the other side. That was mid day. We were there 8/1-8/6.

I didn’t worry about my kids because they were not so little but if they were I’d swim with them or have them be in the “kiddie pool” area.

When we moved to the Poly, my dh initially said he didn’t like the BC but he said he never wants to swim in that crowded Poly pool again.

 

[Momma_Lanier]

I don’t know about the CR. But we just came back from a BC/Poly split. I was disappointed in the BC room size and the bathroom. The bathroom was jsut the toilet and shower behind the door but it was small. The sink area was great out side that. Just made it hard to get dressed as no where to put clothes and the steam from the post shower and getting dressed is not enjoyable.

When we got to th Poly I was so happy that the room was HUgE and this is coming from someone who only liked the 3 newer Poly building ps because they are a bit bigger.

Not sure room size of the CR.

I do not like bathroom set ups like that! I feel like it gets so cramped especially with 5 of us. I'll have to research and see how big the CR room is.

 

[Summer2018]

Thank you! I have heard the same thing about the Beach Club pool and it being stressful with younger ones. I'm not even sure my 3 littles would venture out more than the sand area lol! Split stay would be interesting though.

We went to Stormalong Bay when DD was in high school. I would wait until your kids are strong swimmers and probably older.

 

[Momma_Lanier]

I am going to go against almost everyone here and vote for The CR.

With younger kids like you have, you cannot beat the walk to and from the MK and having the monorail to EPCOT right there.

Also, I have stayed at both the BC and the CR and, in my opinion the pool at the BC is nice BUT also VERY crowded and very spread out. If you can actually find a chair to put your stuff on, you won't be in it for long because you won't be able to keep track of your kids. And the lazy river is deep…like over an adult's head. When my kids were little, I would have been a nervous wreck with them in there.

We have always loved the pool at the CR. We and it to be nice and relaxing, unlike the BC pool. My kids have always loved the slide and I like that I could watch them from the water or my beach chair.

My vote would be for the CR and NOT for a split stay.

That's originally what drew me to CR is because our favorite parks are MK and EP and walking to MK and riding the monorail to EP would be amazing! I like the idea of BC and walking to EP and HS and the Boardwalk but I'm not sure if we will be at the pool enough which is the main thing that drew me to BC. Either way, they both seem amazing!