GADisneyDad14-you made the leap from BWI club level to Yacht Club and have talked very fondly of the resort. With 19 stays at the Boardwalk what can we expect in terms of differences? I am researching but also like first hand experience.
Well I'm not the person you asked, and I'm DVC so I don't stay in the regular hotel rooms, but I've stayed at both BCV and BWV several times.
Pre-Covid: if it was a hot day and you had a late flight, the locker room at BWV was a good place to shower and change before heading to the airport. YC/BC does have showers by the pool, but they were an afterthought and I don't think they have as much space around them as the showers within a locker room do. I hear the YC/BC showers have reopened; I don't know if the BW locker room has reopened.
If it's hot or rainy, YC and BC have gift shops and places to eat within the hotel. At BW you have to go down to the BoardWalk, except for that tiny gift shop in the lobby (which has not re-opened since COVID).
If it's hot and sunny, the walk from YC/BC to Epcot feels a lot shorter than the walk from BW to Epcot. It's not as noticeable in cooler weather. But I suppose if you are walking to DHS, you've got the opposite feel.
I think the grab-and-go food situation at YC/BC is better than at Boardwalk. The gift shop on the BoardWalk doesn't have much grab-and-go food, probably because they assume you will go over to BoardWalk Bakery -- but BoardWalk Bakery doesn't have much grab-and-go either. I'm thinking a salad, or some carrot sticks. The cupcake situation is fine on both sides of the lake.
If you want someplace to sit other than your room or the lobby - BC has the Solarium and BCV has 2 rooms off the little lobby. BoardWalk has nothing except the Belle Vue Lounge.
BWV has a Community Hall (and you do not need to be a DVC member to go in there); BCV doesn't.
People will comment on how the BC has more of a family-friendly atmosphere and YC and BoardWalk feel more adult-oriented, but frankly I've never noticed that.
I'm happy at either one. And if I stay anywhere else, I end up wishing that I was at either one.