Category — q. Reviews

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, see this.)

ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

All Disney deluxe resorts have standard rooms; concierge rooms, which Disney calls “club” rooms; and suites. (See this for more on suites at Walt Disney World.)

At Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, standard and club/concierge rooms sleep either four or five, in two queen beds, or two queens and a day bed. Standard rooms are covered in detail earlier in this review. King bed rooms that sleep two or three (the third on the day bed) are also available.

CONCIERGE ROOMS, DELUXE ROOMS, AND SUITES AT DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

I generally advise against special room types for first-time visitors, as they won’t be spending much time in their rooms. However, they may be well worth it for families intending to spend more time at the Yacht Club Resort than implied by this site’s itineraries.

TikimanPages.com has a great discussion of the value of concierge rooms here. Though focused on the Polynesian, it applies to any deluxe resort.

Most Yacht Club concierge rooms (Disney calls them “club” rooms) are the same size as the rest of the resort’s rooms.  However, there’s also an option called a “Deluxe” rooms, and several types of two-bedroom suites.

Deluxe rooms don’t offer any more sleeping capacity–they just give you more space, and more separate spaces, for your family to live in. Deluxe rooms (which used to be called junior suites) are about 60% larger than standard rooms, and include two queens and a semi-private sitting area.

The two-bedroom Turret Suites have an unusual shape and layout–with one of the bedrooms connecting the other spaces.

There’s also two-bedroom Presidential and Admiral suites, each with ~2000 square feet and the two-bedroom Captain’s Deck Suite, with ~2400 square feet.

For more on suites, see this, and for more on larger families seeking deluxe options, see this.

Note that to all the capacity figures above you can add a child under three in a crib. A crib fits nicely between the dresser/TV and the closet.

THE THEMING OF DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort opened in November 1990, and in 2009 completed a major renovation. Word is that a badly-needed refurb is coming soon.

According to Disney World’s website, the Yacht Club

“…[features] lush landscaping and the formal grace of a grand New England yacht club.

Designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern—known for his East Coast beach houses—this splendid 5-story Resort transports Guests to the summertime Shingle Style hotels of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. (Sister resort Disney’s Beach Club Resort is a more relaxed, pastel-toned edifice next door; the 2 share many amenities.)

Public areas, guest rooms and suites are adorned in dark wood and wicker furniture, portholes and simulated captain’s wheels. Cast Members are decked out in ship’s crew regalia, including navy blazers and captain’s hats.”

The architect (and former Disney board member) Stern on his own website also talks about the Yacht Club in its context with the Beach Club:

“While both hotels draw their inspiration from America’s architectural past, each has a unique identity.

The Yacht Club is reminiscent of the rambling, shingle-covered seaside resorts that were built toward the end of the last century in New England towns such as Newport, Marblehead, and Bar Harbor.

The Beach Club is lighter, more airy in expression. It is modeled on the many Stick Style cottages and resorts that could be found in towns like Cape May, New Jersey.”

(For more on Stern’s role in Walt Disney World, see this.)

Well, I have a couple of issues with this.

First–and yes, do laugh at me for arguing with Stern, the master, about his signature Shingle Style–vernacular Shingle Style has a few more curves than the Yacht Club. Rounded turrets and eyebrow dormers are common elements missing in the Yacht Club.

But more to the point–these two resorts just aren’t that different.

Yes, the Yacht Club (above) is a tad more formal, and yes, the Beach Club (below) is a hint lighter. …but some of the discussions about these two resorts make it sound as though they were comparing the Grand Floridian and the Wilderness Lodge.

In fact, the Yacht and Beach Clubs are more like one another in theme, style, decor, layout, and rooms than are any other pair of deluxe resorts at Walt Disney World.

And this makes a bit of sense, considering that they are really just one building with mirror-image hotel wings.

See the map.

The Yacht Club rooms and lobby are on the left, the Beach Club rooms and lobby on the right, and in between is shared space used for restaurants, kitchens, and other shared support activities.

Above this central shared space on the map is the shared convention center, and below it the shared spectacular pool, Stormalong Bay.

Note that the room wings are essentially mirror images of each other, and of course the room layouts themselves are identical.

What’s different between the two resorts in terms of theme is a set of small choices of decoration and decor, which do establish a difference but just don’t add up to much.

Here’s what we say about this in our book:

So yes, the Beach Club is the better choice for most families.  But if you need Stormalong Bay or the easy access to Epcot, but can’t get into the Beach Club, don’t let the talk of formality keep you from bringing your kids to the Yacht Club. Yes, there is a tiny difference, and yes the Beach Club is preferable–but the Yacht Club is just fine for families!

MORE ON DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

The Yacht Club Resort is one of 5 (or 7, if you count the Disney Vacation Club resorts separately) resorts within walking distance of Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

(Boats also go to the both; most take the boat to the Studios–no faster than walking, but easier.)

These resorts–the Beach Club, Yacht Club, BoardWalk Inn, Swan, Dolphin, and the DVC Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas–share a number of strengths thanks to their location.

The biggest strength for first time family visitors with kids is the ease of access to Epcot and (to a lesser extent) the Studios. The other theme parks are served by buses with multiple stops.

Another great strength is their pools. All these resorts have fun, kid-friendly pools. The pool shared by the Beach and Yacht Club, Stormalong Bay, is the most kid-appealing among the Disney owned and operated resorts.

A strength they share for adults is their easy access to table-service dining options. These include the restaurants within the nearby resorts as well as those along the BoardWalk, and for those with tickets and/or park hoppers, the dining venues in Epcot itself.

Another strength for adults is a convenience store with normal, not Disney, prices within walking distance.

Dining options for kids, and counter service in particular, are more of a problem.

The three Disney resorts have exactly one counter service location among them–a thin set of offerings in the Beach Club’s gift shop.

Of the table-service restaurants, only Beaches and Cream, a soda, ice cream and burger shop near the Beach Club part of Stormalong Bay, has delightful kid appeal, but it is tiny hard to reserve, and commonly packed.

(Character dining is available in the Beach Club for breakfast, but is uninteresting compared to most other character meals.)

The Yacht Club Resort’s strengths for first time family visitors are Stormalong Bay and its easy access to Epcot.

The Yacht Club Resort’s principal negatives for first time family visitors are its relative lack of kid appeal and its poor access to counter-service dining options.

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(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, see this.)

 AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

You enter the Yacht Club into a two story lobby where you’ll find check-in and concierge services.

There’s a light nautical theming here, including fun ship models…

…and a globe.

You’ll also find lovely flowers.

There’s also an area where kids can be entertained while their parents fork over their inheritance to the Disney check-in and concierge staff.

The Yacht Club has its own gift shop, near the lobby.

Refurbed in 2017, the gift shop has on one side gifts, souvenirs and sundries.

The other side has a coffee bar and a wide variety of packaged snacks and drinks, and also functions somewhat trivially as a quick-service dining venue. More on this side of the gift shop is on the Yacht Club Dining page.

Outside the lobby on the left you’ll find the bus stop, with shared buses to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom the water parks, and Disney Springs.

Monitors indicate the time to the next bus.

Steps from the bus stop, at the main vehicle entrance to the Yacht Club, is where you pick up your Minnie Van. (The Minnie Vans are a new-in-2017 Disney World-specific version of Lyft.)

The Yacht and Beach Clubs are nestled together along Crescent Lake. Sensibly (though it took me years to note the correlation with themes…), the beach that they share fronts the Beach Club, and the marina and boat dock they share fronts the Yacht Club.

Friendship Boat service will take you to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios from the lighthouse end of this pier.  You can also walk to either park. The Studios is too far for most, but many walk to Epcot.

A Friendship Boat at night.

You can also rent boats for play at the marina in this area.

On the outdoor walkway to the Beach Club you’ll find this workout room and mini-spa.

Lovely beaches are on the Beach Club side of the complex, nearer Epcot.

On the beach you’ll also find a firepit for early evening s’mores…

…and later evening movies.

There’s also three quiet pools in the complex. One is a hike–at the far end of the Beach Club–and not worth the walk.

Another–and the best–is back by the Beach Club Villas, convenient only if you are heading to the Beach Club anyway–e.g. to get lunch.

The third is at the far corner of the Yacht Club, and makes sense only if it’s near your room.

This pool at night.

The utility building for this pool also has a guest laundry.

There’s another much smaller laundry on the first floor of the Yacht Club proper.

This particular laundry is in the red-circled area of the Yacht Club. This is a good area to know, as it also has the second elevator bank and a door to the outside that can save much walking to Stormalong Bay or Epcot.

Back to the small pool, the hot tub here.

Also near the small pool is the dog-relief area–marked in yellow in the map above.

The Yacht Club in November 2017 became dog-friendly.

This new dog-friendliness has delighted some, and troubled others, especially the stray cats you’ll find within yards of the dog relief area.

Pretty much all the stray cats at Disney World are haunted by dreams of the glorious litter boxes at Fort Wilderness.

Also near this pool is the tennis court.

But most people, when they think of pools at the Yacht Club, think of Stormalong Bay.

STORMALONG BAY AT DISNEY’S YACHT AND BEACH CLUB RESORTS

This review continues here!

PAGES IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

• Overview and summary of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Accommodations and Theming at the Yacht Club
• A photo tour of a Yacht Club room
• Dining at the Yacht Club
• Amenities at the Yacht Club
• Stormalong Bay, the Yacht Club’s main pool

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, see this.)

PHOTO TOUR OF A ROOM AT DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

Standard rooms at the Yacht Club sleep either four on two queens or five on two queens and a sofa that converts to a bed.  These photos (and the floor plan) from my May 2014 visit are of a five-person room. (For a four person room, see the second page of the Beach Club review–rooms at the Yacht Club are identical except for decorations.)

As is typical, when you enter the room the bath is on one side and the closets on the other.

Somewhat unusually, in the closet side you’ll first find this small set of drawers…

…expanding the storage available in the room and handy to the bath. The coffee maker may be on top of it, or on the desk.

Next comes the large closet. Here’s one side.

Note the ironing board etc. on the other side of the closet. There’s also a small safe set in the closet–all Disney rooms have small safes, some smaller than others.

On the other side you’ll find the bath, starting with a pair of sinks.

Here’s a closer view of the sinks.

In a separate space you’ll find the toilet and tub.

Deeper in the room you’ll find two queens on one side, and in the rooms with the fifth sleeping spot the desk is on this side too.

Here’s the beds from the other side…

…and a close up of one of the beds.

Here’s the desk.

As is typical in the Disney deluxe resorts it includes a small rolling table that plays multiple roles: perch the kids on the couch or bed and roll it up to them for dining or use it as a better-height laptop table.

Note the worn edges.  The Yacht Club rooms are badly in need of a refurb–which is expected to be completed in 2017.

On the other side of the room you’ll find the TV and dresser, and in five person rooms a couch–maybe I should call  this a daybed?

The dresser includes a mini-fridge…

…and four smallish drawers–making the extra drawers near the bath that much more valuable.

Here’s the couch.

Take off the throws and it’s a bed. I measured it at 72″ long by 30 inches wide, with a 6 inch cushion.

The arms are right on the cushion, so it sleeps shorter than the mattress length implies–but it is comfortable!!

The balcony…

..and the view from mine of the roof of the central back-of-the-house kitchens shared by the Yacht and Beach Club…Most views are better than this!

There’s some nautical art in the room–e.g. the 12 Meter race above the couch…

These rooms are nicely proportioned and have all the right furnishings.  They were tired, though, and need their refurb!

MORE ON DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

This review continues here!

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OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, one of the Epcot resorts, is the seventh best deluxe resort at Walt Disney World for first time family visitors.

You can have a wonderful visit at any Walt Disney World resort hotel.

However, this site recommends that first time visitors to Walt Disney World who can afford it should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a deluxe resort, and that those who can’t should stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, a value resort.

(It also suggests that first time visitors should avoid the moderate resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. See this for why.)

Compared to other Walt Disney World owned and operated resorts, the deluxe resorts are distinguished by having (on average) the most amenities, nicest views, best dining options, best transport options, largest rooms, best service, and highest prices.

Among the deluxe resorts, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort–where we last stayed in May 2014–has a lot of positives. 

It stands out for sharing with sister resort the Beach Club the best pool on property, sharing with the Beach Club and the BoardWalk Inn convenient access to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and also sharing with these resorts a short walk to dozens of table service dining options located in these resorts, at the Swan and Dolphin, on the BoardWalk, and in Epcot.

(See this for much more on resort distinctions by price class–value, moderate, deluxe, etc.)

FLOOR PLANS AT THE YACHT CLUB

Standard rooms at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort are sized in the middle of the deluxe resorts.

They are larger than those at the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, but smaller than those at Disney’s Polynesian Resort and the other monorail resorts.

Most of these rooms sleep five–two each in two queens, and another in convertible sofa. Four person rooms with two queens, and rooms with one king bed are also available.

The Yacht Club floor plan above is for a five person room–for an example of the layout of four person rooms, see the review of the Beach Club.

You can add to this capacity of five a child younger than three who sleeps in a crib.

DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.

On this basis, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is the seventh-best deluxe resort for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World.

Kid Appeal.

• Three of the deluxe resorts–the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Polynesian Resort, in that order–have spectacular kid appeal. The Yacht Club has comparatively little architectural kid appeal
• None of the moderates do.
• All of the value resorts–Disney’s All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies, its Pop Century Resort, and its Art of Animation Resort–have strong kid appeal.

The kid appeal of the Yacht Club Resort, such as it is, comes from its pool, not its design, architecture, or theme.

Stormalong Bay, the pool that the Beach Club and Yacht Club share, is the most fun and kid-appealing pool at Walt Disney World.

Otherwise, nothing about the design or architecture of the Yacht Club shouts out that it was built for kids. It is in fact rather austere.

Convenience. Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is the seventh-most convenient of all the Walt Disney World resorts in carrying out the itineraries for first-time family visitors on this site.

All of the Epcot resorts are convenient to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Epcot is a moderate walk from the Yacht Club, and the Studios are a longer walk or a boat ride away. (Epcot can also be accessed by boat.)

The other two parks are accessed by buses, which are shared with some of the other Epcot resorts.

Compared to the Beach Club, the Yacht Club has slightly more boring architecture and theming, a slightly longer walk to Epcot, and the complete absence of any counter-service dining.

There’s space within the Yacht Club footprint for a significant counter service option, on the right side (as you walk away from the lobby) of the windowed corridor along the right side of the gift shop.

(The image is of a family looking for counter service options in a different part of the resort.)

The wetlands currently in this footprint suggest such a counter service option would need to be carefully engineered–perhaps even cantilevered.

But the addition of one substantial counter service to the Epcot resorts, with the scope of say Mara at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, would be a huge increase in the livability of these hotels, which now have only minor options at the Beach Club and on the Boardwalk.

On the other hand, unlike the Beach Club, almost every room at the Yacht Club has a full balcony.

Best places to stay. This site suggests that first time visitors stay in standard rooms, not preferred rooms.

This is because they won’t be spending much time in their rooms.

The single exception is visitors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, who should always pay for savanna views.

On the map, the Yacht Club Resort is on the left, The Beach Club is center-right, and the Beach Club Villas are at the top right. The walkway to Epcot is at the far right, and the boat dock shared by the Beach and Yacht Clubs is at the center in the lake.

The room areas of the Yacht Club–at the left on the map–are in a long, narrow building with only two elevator banks, one central, and one on the left side.

As a result, some rooms on the left side of the Yacht Club can be a hike from the main pool and central services and restaurants area–and from Epcot.

So you should ask for a room as close to Epcot as possible. The current room request form won’t allow for that–but you can call and ask!

BEST FOR:

Any first time family visitors who can afford it, but can’t get into or don’t want to stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort or the Beach Club.  Here’s what we say in The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2017 about the difference between the sister resorts the Yacht and Beach Club:

WORST FOR:

Families seeking the highest degree of kid appeal. Families too large to fit even its 5 person rooms. See this for more on large families at Walt Disney World.

PHOTO TOUR OF A STANDARD ROOM AT DISNEY’S YACHT CLUB RESORT

This review continues here.

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(For the first page of this review of Disney’s Beach Club Resort, click here.)

THE THEMING OF DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB RESORT

Disney’s Beach Club Resort opened in November 1990, and in 2015 completed a badly-needed renovation.

According to Disney World’s website, the Beach Club Resort is

“a New England-style Disney Deluxe Resort, shaded by broad oak trees and lapped by the gentle waters of 25-acre Crescent Lake.”

As we will see in a minute, the “New England” reference is a bit of a crock, but in general the theming is meant to evoke summer beach houses and old-fashioned sea-side vacation resorts.

The Beach Club, its sister resort the Yacht Club, and the nearby BoardWalk Inn (across Crescent Lake above) were all designed to water-side themes by Robert A. M. Stern, a noted architect who was deeply involved in multiple properties during the Michael Eisner years at Disney.

Stern’s website notes that the Beach Club is “airy in expression. It is modeled on the many Stick Style cottages and resorts that could be found in towns like Cape May, New Jersey.”

Note that Cape May is not a New England beach town–nor is Stone Harbor, which is in Cape May County, New Jersey–and after which the Beach Club’s concierge lounge is named. In fact the Beach Club is themed to the New Jersey summer beach homes of denizens of the Philadelphia Main Line.

Calling it a “Jersey-style Disney deluxe resort” may have lost the point to those not familiar with these levels of Philadelphia society. My mom’s favorite sister married into such a family, so as little ones we summered frequently with them in their cottage at Stone Harbor.  I will shortly embark on a campaign to get Disney to refer to the Beach Club as a “Jersey-style… resort,” in memory of my mom and her favorite sister (both here).

STERN, EISNER, AND DISNEY WORLD HOTELS

Stern had designed Eisner’s parents’ apartment (Michael Stewart’s DisneyWar, p.  62) and gained fame for many later residential designs, including “lavish re-creations of turn-of-the-century shingle-style beach cottages…in wealthy enclaves like the Hamptons” (DisneyWar 80-81).

He later joined Disney’s Eisner-era board of directors, and was later dean of Yale’s School of Architecture.

The Beach Club was part of a renaissance of architecture and hotel options at Walt Disney World following Michael Eisner’s becoming Disney’s CEO in 1984–but this renaissance was not so completely an Eisner thing as it sometimes is made to seem.

You’ll see here and there references that imply that before Eisner, Disney World had only two options for guests to stay overnight: the Polynesian and Contemporary.

For example, you could infer this from p.63 of DisneyWar, which also quotes pre-Eisner chairman Card Walker as saying “Disney is not in the hotel business.”

Well, pre-Eisner, under Walker, Disney World had 5 on-site overnight options, was expanding these existing overnight options, and was planning even more hotels.

In place were the Polynesian and Contemporary, the Golf Inn (later re-named the Disney Inn, and then transformed into Shades of Green), the Fort Wilderness campgrounds, and the Walt Disney World Village resort area–the original parent of what are now known as the Treehouse Villas.

Both Fort Wilderness and the Polynesian had been expanded before Eisner came on board, and before his arrival the Grand Floridian was being planned. Also being planned then were an early version of what later became the Wilderness Lodge, and a never-built monorail resort called the Mediterranean Resort. (Koenig Realityland116; Jim Hill, The Kingdom that Never Came.) Moreover, Tishman, as per its contract with Disney, was designing two hotels that it would own for Disney World.

From the beginning, Disney World was intended to have many more overnight options than it opened with.  (See the second half of this for early Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon plans.) A recession in the 70s delayed these plans, but did not eliminate them.

That said, Eisner was absolutely right when he wrote in his autobiography Work in Progress that when he arrived at Disney in 1984 “no initiative [at Walt Disney World] had more promise than building new hotels.” (213.)

At that time there were no value resorts, no moderate resorts , no Disney Vacation Club resorts, and no Epcot resorts.

The Disney-owned and Stern-designed Yacht and Beach Club opened in November 1990, followed over the next 12 years by the Stern-designed BoardWalk Inn and Villas, and the Beach Club Villas.

The Yacht and Beach Clubs “became Eisner’s favorite hotels at the resort, the ones where he himself stayed.” (DisneyWar 81.)

The Yacht Club and Beach Club are in fact two sides of one ginormous building, with prettier decor at the Beach Club. Other than balconies–where the Yacht Club shines–rooms used to be similar, but after each of their latest refurbs, standard rooms at the Yacht Club are a bit more livable for most.

ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB RESORT

All Disney deluxe resorts have standard rooms; concierge rooms, which Disney calls “club” rooms; and suites.

At Disney’s Beach Club Resort, standard and club/concierge rooms sleep either four or five, in either two queen beds, or two queens and a fold-down day-bed. See the detailed overview of standard Beach Club rooms with photos here.

King bed rooms that sleep two or three (the third on the day-bed) are also available.

I generally advise against special room types for first-time visitors, as they won’t be spending much time in their rooms. However, they may be well worth it for families intending to spend more time at the Beach Club Resort than implied by this site’s itineraries.

TikimanPages.com has a great discussion of the value of concierge rooms here. Though focused on the Polynesian, it applies to any deluxe resort. An image of the evening spread in the Beach Club’s Stone Harbor Club Lounge is above.

Most Beach Club concierge rooms (Disney calls them “club” rooms) are the same size as the rest of the resort’s rooms.

However, there’s also an option called a “Deluxe” rooms, and both one and two-bedroom suites.

We’ve never purposely pursued concierge rooms at the Beach Club, but twice got upgraded into them–once into a regular concierge room, and once into a one bedroom suite.

Some photos from our November stay in a one bedroom suite:

The sitting room in a one bedroom suite:

The bed side of the king bedroom in a one bedroom suite:

The suite floor plans that follow are old, but I’m not aware of any better…

Deluxe rooms (and most one-bedroom suites) don’t offer any more sleeping capacity–they just give you more space, and/or more separate spaces, for your family to live in.

Most one bedroom suites are one and a half or two bays wide, and most two-bedrooms three bays.  The exceptions are the one-bedroom Vice Presidential Nantucket suite, which is two and a half bays, and the two-bedroom Presidential Newport suite, twice the size of the Nantucket.

For more on suites, see this, and for more on larger families seeking deluxe options, see this.

Note that to all the capacity figures above you can add a child under three in a crib.

PHOTO TOUR OF A STANDARD ROOM AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB RESORT

This review continues here.

PAGES IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB RESORT

• Overview and summary of Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Theming and accommodations at the Beach Club
• A photo tour of a Beach Club room
• Dining at the Beach Club
• Amenities at the Beach Club
• Stormalong Bay, the Beach Club’s main pool

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

(For the first page of the review of Disney’s Beach Club Resort, click here, and for the first page of the review of the Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, click here)

STORMALONG BAY AT DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB RESORT

Stormalong Bay is the pool complex shared by Disney’s Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts. It’s the best pool at any Disney-owned hotel, and the crown jewel among the amenities at these two interconnected hotels.

Stormalong Bay is commonly referred to as a “mini water park.”  That’s an almost comic stretch.

Yet even so, it does begin to mark the difference between this pool and the other pools at the Disney World resorts.

There’s no theming in particular, nor any lush setting–although the setting is fine, especially on the Beach Club end, with the pretty facades of the Beach Club on one side, and Crescent Lake on the other.

Rather, what Stormalong Bay offers is fun and flexibility–it has everything you could reasonably ask of a resort hotel pool–and then even more! (The photos that follow are from three stays–the Beach Club Villas in March, the Beach Club in April and the Yacht Club in May 2014–thus the different skies…)

There’s five basic areas to Stormalong Bay–three large pools, each with its own distinctive offering, a great bar and grille, and a remarkable slide.

Let’s begin with the shipwreck on the beach, lower right on the map–which many casual passers-by don’t even realize is part of the pool complex.

The shipwreck is actually the starting point of the two water slides at Stormalong Bay. In the image you can see people going up the spiral staircase to the slides.

A smaller slide for youngsters splashes down to this small pool near the beach.

The longer slide goes through what seems at first to be a dismasted mast and splashes down into Stormalong Bay proper. On the map, the slide entry is into the pool labeled “Play Pool,” at the far right side–hidden in the trees.

Despite the slide landing, the play pool is a favorite of both adults and families. It has a whirlpool area (top right, cordoned off with float lines in the image)…

…an area to play something like pool volleyball…

…and lotsa plain old swimming and sunbathing space, including two hot tubs on the upper left near the Beach Club, one of which you can see in the image.

Here’s the same hot tub at night.

Also near the Play Pool is a two story structure on whose upper deck you’ll find a shady place to relax…

…but also a few sunny spots places to sunbathe. This structure, a bit of a respite from the rest of Stormalong Bay, tends to attract adults and older teens.

Next is the pool bar and grill Hurricane Hanna’s–the only part of Stormalong Bay accessible to those not staying at the Yacht or Beach Clubs (or Beach Club Villas).

Hurricane Hanna’s has a more extensive menu than most deluxe pool bars–very helpful given the limited counter service among the Epcot resorts (although its capacity is low and lines can thus be long).

Another view of Hurricane Hanna’s and its seating area.

The next pool is the Lazy River pool.

Here it is at night. A constant current flows through the pool. You can either grab a tube or noodle and float dreamily in circles, or, if you are a better person than I am–and I think we both know that you are–get some great exercise by swimming against the current.

Next is the Sand Pool, with another hot tub between it and the Lazy River Pool.

The Sand Pool has sandy shores and a sandy bottom, and is much loved by toddlers. Red play buckets are available from Hurricane Hanna’s.

The Sand Pool from another angle.

Stormalong Bay is a great pool, worth exploring over multiple days. But don’t forget your MagicBands. Only confirmed guests of the Yacht Club and the Beach Club and Villas are allowed in, except at Hurricane Hanna’s.

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