The night before our Very Merrytime cruise, the kids and I stayed one night at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. Originally, we booked a room at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, but I got a pixie dust upgrade to the deluxe resort. I’m calling this a “quick review” since we were only there one night and didn’t experience the entire resort.
Location and Check-in
Disney’s Beach Club Resort is located near Epcot, across the lake from Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. Beach Club is connected to Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, and the two resorts share a water park pool area. Disney’s Beach Club Resort is the closest hotel to Epcot’s International Gateway at only a 5-minute walk.
We took the free Magical Express bus from the airport and arrived before 11:00 a.m. I did online check-in earlier, and just as we pulled up to the resort I received a text message that my room was ready. Since we had Magic Bands and the app to open our door, we didn’t even need to stop by the front desk. That was very convenient!
As soon as we walked into the lobby, we saw the gigantic gingerbread carousel. It smelled delicious!
Our Room at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Our room was on the third floor.
The room was nothing special. It had two queen beds and a desk.
The closet was big.
The bathroom had two sinks and a separate water closet.
My kids were slightly disappointed in our balcony. Some of the balconies at the resort are small Juliet balconies. It was very small!
While the room was nothing special, the colors and fixtures were attractive, and the room was in great shape. What really makes this resort a deluxe resort is the location and pool area.
Stormalong Bay
We didn’t waste any time after arriving at the resort. After quickly changing into swimsuits, we headed to the resort’s famous pool area, Stormalong Bay. The resort’s signature pool area is really more like a small 3-acre water park. Due to Stormalong Bay’s popularity, cast members monitor people at the gates to ensure only guests of the Beach and Yacht Club Resorts get inside. Once verified, guests are required to wear a special wristband. This is one of the few pools that even DVC members, who are normally allowed to pool hop, are not allowed to visit unless staying at this resort.
The weather on this weekday morning in November was sunny and warm, with temperatures in the mid-70s. Stormalong Bay was fairly empty at that time! We had our choice of loungers in every location.
The pool area is so large that we had trouble deciding where to start. The complex has a series of connecting pools. Some are traditional cement-bottom pools, while others have sandy bottoms.
We had fun in this small whirlpool area within the pool. The current kept us floating around in a circle.
The kids enjoyed the small lazy river. Warning: the water is very deep (5+ feet in some areas).
Both of my kids loved going down this long water slide (there is also a much shorter children’s slide):
We also enjoyed the hot tubs (we found at least 2) that were spread around the pool complex.
Since we were there over the lunch hour, we decided to order lunch poolside. The service we received was excellent. My son loved the pulled-pork sandwich. Our server even pixie-dusted us a free frozen lemonade.
We spent about three hours at Stormalong Bay, and we could have spent more time there if we didn’t need to head out to MVMCP.
The resort also has a large beach area in front of the lake (which now has a safety fence due to alligators).
What’s Missing
While we liked our room and loved the pool area at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, a few things surprised me.
The gift shop is incredibly small. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Disney hotel gift shop that is that small. My kids had birthday money to spend and I figured we’d conveniently shop at the hotel, but there really wasn’t much in the small shop. I know that the parks have so many gifts shops, but sometimes it’s convenient to grab something at the hotel.
My other observation is that the resort’s theming didn’t seem as unique as other Disney resorts I’ve visited. The decor and water park area reminded me a lot of Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. I know the theme is supposed to be a New England beach town resort, but it seemed like we were just in Florida. The theming didn’t take me to another place like it does at Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian Village or even Caribbean Beach Resort.
Since we are staying at this resort in six months again via a DVC points rental, perhaps I’ll get a better feel for the theming during a longer visit.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been wanting to experience Disney’s Beach Club Resort for years, and we got our chance to see it sooner than we expected due to an unexpected resort upgrade. Stormalong Bay is awesome, and the large pool area will come in handy when we visit during the hot summer time.
I hope that I will get a chance to soak in the New England theme more on our next visit. But if not, we will still enjoy the water park and the proximity to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
Have you stayed at Beach or Yacht Club? What is your opinion?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Stayed there before and prefer the Boardwalk since both are located in same area. The Yacht club gift shop might be a little bigger but next time walk over to the Boardwalk side you will find more there. As someone said the Yacht Club seems sterile more higher end or fancier.
@Boonie Many people seem to like the Boardwalk! On my next visit, I’ll check out the gift shop at Yacht Club.
I’ve stayed at both and honestly I liked Beach Club more that Yacht Club. Yacht was just so sterile to me. Beach Club was a little more “fun” if you will. We did love Ale & Compass at Yacht and of course Yachtsman Steakhouse. Of all the Epcot resorts we love Boardwalk the most. Also The Swan.
@Matt Interesting that you thought that Yacht Club was sterile, because that’s exactly the word I would use to describe the Beach Club. I hope that when we have a longer stay there next summer, we can soak in the vibe more. The pool area is hard to beat, though.
What a fun upgrade! I’d love to stay there sometime for that pool and the location is fantastic. I really like the Epcot-area resorts in general. I’ve never been in a pool with a sandy bottom.
@Kacie The sandy bottom pools are kinda fun. It feels like you’re in the ocean. If my kids were younger, they would probably just play in the sand for hours.