Quote Originally Posted by wendyburger View Post
Boardwalk or Beach Club are where we always stay. Like others have said, Beach Club has the BEST sand-bottom pool. They also have a better store for refilling up your mugs (self-service) while Boardwalk you have to go the Bakery, Coffee shop, Pizza place or Lounge...sometime there can be a line.

Boardwalk has a bigger selection of restaurants (but not really counter service) They have a hotdog/burger cart but it's a hit or miss on how late it is open. If we are at the parks late, we usually eat before leaving because it could be hard to find fast food other than pizza. They both have the stores with frozen items, bread, chips, etc.

Personally, I like the Boardwalk better just because when you are walking back from Epcot at night, there is still a "party" going on with magicians and other street entertainers. Walking back to Beach Club is quiet....but that is a personal preference. Also Boardwalk is closer to walk to Hollywood Studios. We never take the boat to either Epcot or Studios because it is much faster to walk (about a mile from Boardwalk to studios but only takes less than 15 minutes). Also if you request a room close the the elevators, sometimes you can get a partial Boardwalk view for the price of a preferred...either way....close the elevators is the way to go with the LONG hallways.

That said, either resort is a GREAT CHOICE. Animal Kingdom Villas are nice, big zero entry pool, good counter service at the Jambo House, but you will bus it everywhere. Saratoga Springs is close to downtown but that bus is also annoying with what, 6 internal stops? Like others said, Old Key West has the biggest rooms with actual TWO real beds in the studios...nice grounds but again, lots of internal bus stops. LOVE Bay Lake Towers, walking distance to MK, the best counter service, IMO, great zero entry pool.

Our home resorts are Boardwalk and Bay Lake, but we end up staying at Boardwalk way more because we love Epcot. It's so nice at the end of the day at Epcot to not fight the crowds back to the bus. We just stroll out the back entrance

For kid "day care" I have used the Sandcastle Club at the Beach Club twice and the once at Polynesian. I dropped my 8-year-old son and 3-year-old cousin at the Sandcastle Club for 3 hours while we attended the Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic. They feed them dinner, have games, toys, video games, crafts etc. and there were no complaints from either kid when we picked them up.

Another fun thing for kids in the Beach Club/Boardwalk area is that "Pirate Cruise" I've let my son go to that several times and we have a nice relaxing people watching session at the Boardwalk while he is having fun
Thanks for all the great info! We're leaning toward Beach Club but it will depend on what pops up as far as availability. I didn't realize they have a mug refilling station so that's helpful. Is the walk to Epcot about the same from Boardwalk and Beach Club? But Boardwalk is shorter to Hollywood Studios?