I am planning a trip to WDW for myself, partner and our 3 children - 5, 7 and 9. We have narrowed down our accommodation options to Old Key West villa; Beach Club or the Boardwalk inn and we cannot decide! we are all new to WDW so have been reading up trying to decide but its too hard!
We love the idea of being close to Epcot and Hollywood Studios but also close to Springs if we stayed at OKW…
The pool sounds amazing at Beach Club, as does the character breakfast which my daughter would love (although we could do this anyway…)
We would also love a balcony that we could slip onto after the kids go to bed…but from what I have read not all rooms at Beach Club or Boardwalk have balconies big enough to sit on! But if we stayed in an OKW villa we would not have this problem as we would have a separate living area…
Please help! Fab pool…close to 2 parks…numerous dining options…but smaller room with potentially no balcony…or villa with space, close to Disney Springs…help!!!
To me, a MAJOR perk of Beach Club or Boardwalk is the proximity to Epcot and Hollywood. If you will be getting hoppers, and will be going to EP or DHS, then those two are basically the only choice between the three, imo. I’d say if you plan on spending the more time at disney springs and areas easy to get to from okw, then okw would be the better choice.
You can walk to epcot faster than taking the boat from bc and bw.
The Boat to DHS will take about 15-20 min (you could probably walk faster than the boat to DHS as well.)
The cool thing about the Epcot area resorts is the hopping factor, it you plan like I do. I’d hit MK and AK early on diff days, take a break in the afternoon, and hop to EP or DHS at night. You have a TON of restaurants within walking distance of each other. The Boardwalk has some neat spots, and EP/DHS rope drop are a breeze. If you have hoppers, any restaurant in World Showcase is fair game, and the street shows at World Showcase are fair game anytime as well. Swan/Dolphin restaurants, Boardwalk restaurants are all walking distance, too.
I’m not sure if staying at OKW has the same options, but from my limited research, (again, I might be wrong,) okw doesn’t even come close to having the same amount of amenities within walking distance, and you can’t walk to any park from okw, can you?
I can’t even begin to tell you how cool it is to be in your hotel room at BWI or BC after Illuminations at EP before most people are even in a bus queue, or even getting to their car.
I agree with the above poster. Have never stayed at OKW. Have stayed at Boardwalk and BC. Proximity to the parks there is fantastic. Beware, once you get used to be a short walk (or at worst boat ride away) you will never want to go back. If you plan on Epcot and/or HS, that would mean I wanted a boarwalk resort.
The BC pool is amazing. But, I went with DS 9 and 12 who are both very strong swimmers. The pool is very spread out. It would have been exhausting to me when they were younger if I was trying to keep up with them. Some people hate the clown pool at Boardwalk. I kind of liked it. Depending on how you feel about chasing young ones, you might give the edge to Boardwalk. I found the rooms to be equivalent/very simlar at the two resorts. Definitely smaller than elsewhere we have stayed and slightly less functional.
Thank you so much for the advice it really helps! We are now definitely crossing OKW off the list - location beats space on the priority list I will be preparing a room request and that we get lucky with a balcony.
I’m also looking at these resorts. I’m in between BWI STD room and BC dlx CL I got FD with both. What rooms are better for families of 5? I know BC just got refurbished so I was wondering if those rooms are nicer? What do you guys think?
I’ve only stayed in DVC. rooms were really comparable amenities after refurb. How old are the kids? the BC pool may be an advantage (or disadvantage) depending on age. And I think the food options are better at BC/YC.
Ok, I’m a little bias here and maybe a little late, but we love Old Key West Resort and wouldn’t stay anywhere else. We are DVC members and OKW is our home resort. The rooms are bigger than any other room on Disney property. The buses come often and it’s a short distant to Epcot and DHS. They have a shuttle boat which takes you straight to Disney Springs. The rooms at OKW have huge balconies (the suites). The onsite restaurant Olivia’s has some great food. The pool at the Beach Club is probably better than OKW, but the pool at OKW is rarely crowded. OKW doesn’t have a character meal, so that’s a negative for your situation.
I will be preparing a room request and 
that we get lucky with a balcony.