Hi folks! Does anyone have any experience with staying at both Port Orleans Riverside and Beach Club? We are headed to Disney World in late November and currently have a 6 night reservation at Port Orleans. My parents are going with us and this will be their first time at Disney. I want them to have a great experience and am considering upgrading to rooms at Beach Club. I’d love to hear from anyone who has stayed at both resorts about how they compare. We will also have my three kiddos with us (11, 8, and 6), so the thought of having a bit more square footage in the room would be nice. I’d welcome any thoughts on room quality, dining options, transportation, etc. Thank you!!!
While I can’t say much about Beach Club, as we have never stayed there, we do LOVE POR! My kids have never wanted to stay anywhere else. Myself, I always wanted the Beach club… at least once, but frankly, we could never swing the extra $$$. Not sure if you have been to POR before but it’s really beautiful and serene, a large resort but building choices are pretty important if you want to be close to everything. We have no aversion to walking however and love the wind down after a big day of parks! Beach club looks beautiful so if you aren’t attached to POR and can upgrade… I say go for it!
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I have stayed at both. For years I had a hard time staying anywhere other than POR- I loved it so much. That changed the first time I stayed at the BC. Many will argue that BC has the best pool on property. You are within walking distance of two parks, You can walk to four other resorts- that outs so many food choices- plus Epcot with in walking distance for meals. All the rooms, including YC, are most likely closer to a food court than any POR rooms.
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Love both resorts. If money not a problem, stay at Beach Club. POR is great, but the ambience of BC/ BW area is amazing. Plus proximity to Epcot/DHS is a plus. They should also start putting up Christmas decorations.
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How do the rooms compare? Is the quality of the room noticeably different? What about buses? I found the bus service great at POR. How is the service from Beach Club?
Except for AK, and possibly MK (which you can also do via the Monorail on the other side of EpCot), you may not need the busses that much from BC/YC/BW. Still the three resorts, and the Dolphin/Swan are their own little loop connected to the Parks and Disney Springs. In other words, transportation is one of the least of your worries at these properties.
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Yes, and when you are in MK or AK all you have to do is jump on the first Beach Club/Yacht Club/ BoardWalk/SwanDolphin bus since it is a short walk to all resorts.
The rooms? At the Beach Club you enter the room from a hallway- at POR the room door enters from the outside. At POR you need to keep shades/curtains closed since people walk by that window. Beach Club is a deluxe resort. The beds, linen and toiletries are different. The rooms are larger and to me feel much more luxurious.
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Is there a walking path from Beach Club to the Epcot Monorail pick up point or do you have to cut through Epcot?
Do you typically take the boat or a bus to HS from Beach Club?
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I Always have a car so I drive or walk. It’s about a 15 mi. Walk. I do everything I can to avoid the boats.
You need to cut through Epcot but there is also a bus to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.
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I almost always walk- it is a lovely walk and can be a little faster than the boat.
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Alternative perspective here. I was a bit frustrated by the transportation options at BC. Walking to Epcot is fabulous, and I’d totally stay there again if I had a trip planned with park hoppers and lots of time at Epcot, especially in the evenings. However, when my family is with me, we don’t tend to get park hoppers and like to spend most of our time in MK or AK. I found the buses at POR to be very consistent. I knew where to go and it took about the same amount of time to get to each park. At BC, the options complicated things. It’s nice to have options! I just personally found it a bit less simple. Which resort I chose would really depend on what kind of trip I had planned.
I have never stayed at BC, but I’ve stayed at YC which is connected to BC so maybe my opinion will be valid?
It isn’t necessary to upgrade as POR is really a lovely resort. It has a great atmosphere which I personally think is better than the BC/YC vibe. You can take a boat to Disney Springs and there are multiple bus stops so there shouldn’t be much of a walk to get to your nearest station. That said, if money isn’t a concern than I would probably upgrade. Why? Location. It cannot be stated enough how convenient it is to walk out the back door of your resort and have a quick (think 5 min or less) walk to Epcot or being able to hop on the boat to Hollywood Studios. There are twice as many dining locations at the resort since BC & YC are connected. Or you could easily walk over to the Boardwalk, Swan/Dolphin, or Epcot for dinner. The pool is also pretty amazing.
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I agree with your point too, Sally. The one time we drove to WDW (from NJ), we stayed at POR-FrenchQtr and had a terrific visit. As we had our automobile and got on-site parking benefits, we drove everywhere and it was an extremely convenient location, especially the time from room door - to car - to park entrance.
In retrospect, WDW bus to MK might have been a tad faster than driving / walking to TTC and ferry across the lake, but I am leaving out a few “tricks.”
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I am still really torn about what to do friends! I spent some time last night looking at the views from the standard rooms at BC and they really weren’t all that great…lots of flat rooftop views. On the one hand, how much will we really be looking out the window? On the other hand, I think it takes away a bit from the experience. In addition, I’m conflicted about the transportation. We never had any issues with busses at POR and we were there during a high crowd time. I think we will most likely spend the most time in MK and AK which means busses from BC. I don’t worry about the busses back to BC, but rather catching a bus in the morning to make it to MK and AK by rope drop. Maybe I’m worrying for nothing. Thoughts? BC definitely gets the edge for pool, dining, and the ability to walk to two parks. Plus, it sounds like the rooms themselves are nicer quality. I’m definitely overthinking this!
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Both resorts are great. Whatever you decide I’m sure you’ll be happy
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Both are great. Seriously. If you want pool time, then BC is well worth it for the pool.
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I would be torn too. Probably the most disappointing visit I ever had at WDW was at the Beach Club, but primarily because a) I ended up doing most of the 5am baby-care while my wife and Mother-in-Law slept; and b) it was quite expensive for a pretty “ehhh” room. On the other hand, the BC/YC/BW complex is one of the best non-park hang-outs in WDW. I toured the whole area with my son in the stroller at 6~7am!
Not only is Port Orleans themed deliciously, it is a moderate vs. a deluxe so what kind of nightly $avings is that? The negative is that the food choices, at least in POFQ, were not great. The BC/YC/BW has fantastic restaurants.
My hope is that over the next few years, you will eventually stay at both and make you own memories.
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Thank you all so much for your thoughts and advice. We have decided to give Beach Club a go! The pool, additional dining options, and ability to walk to two parks put it over the top for us. Also, it will be great to experience a new resort having previously stayed at Contemporary and Port Orleans Riverside. We are really excited! I am very grateful for this community of folks who know and love Disney and can offer different perspectives. If anyone wants to recommend any “must do” meals near the resort, I’m all ears! THANK YOU again!
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