Disney’s Beach Club Resort

Are you considering a stay at Disney’s Beach Club for your Walt Disney World vacation? If so, you’re in for a treat. Beach Club is a resort that’s practically perfect in every way. Almost.

Disney’s Beach Club offers a casual elegance with New England charm. It’s reminiscent of a beachside inn that offers a dose of nostalgia for seaside vacations past. This is not just a place to stay but rather an emotional journey to a time and place where you couldn’t wait to dip your toes in the sand. You can do that here in the resort’s sand-bottom pool or white sand beach along the lake. For this vacation, the theme parks will have to substitute for the ocean.

During your stay at Disney’s Beach Club, you’ll want to be aware of the available amenities. For example, the resort has one of the best locations in Walt Disney World. But if you aren’t aware of what’s a few steps beyond the property, you might go out of your way to get around. Beach Club sits within the Epcot Resorts area. You can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios from the hotel. You can also walk, boat, or take the Skyliner to other nearby hotels for dining and entertainment.

This is just one of the many positives of staying at the Beach Club. There are, however, so many other things you need to know. So, with those thoughts in mind, we’ve created this resource guide for Disney’s Beach Club Resort. It is meant to be a library that houses all the information you need to plan a stay.

Below, we’ll discuss a few critical details for your stay at Disney’s Beach Club. Then, we link to our most valuable content, which provides in-depth discussions, photos, and videos on specific aspects of the resort.

You will likely find the most value in the detailed review of our last stay at Disney’s Beach Club. We try to stay at each of the resorts at Walt Disney World at least once every two years to keep our coverage as updated as possible. We pay out-of-pocket for our stays. Therefore, the information we provide is at our expense and from our experience.

When you’re finished with this guide, you can use the menu links below to explore more details about the resort.

Overview Recreation Dining Amenities Accommodations Transportation

The Basics

Here are a few basic things you’ll want to know about the resort:

  • Check-In (3:00 p.m.)
  • Check-Out (11:00 a.m.)
  • Self-Parking (Complimentary)
  • Free Wi-Fi Internet
  • Address: 1800 Epcot Resorts Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Overview

Disney’s Beach Club is a deluxe resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This category of resorts offers more amenities than any other. Additionally, Beach Club ranks high on our list of the best deluxe resorts at Disney.

The resort sits on Crescent Lake, a large body of water in the center of the Epcot Resorts. Other resorts along the lake include Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Yacht Club, and the Swan and Dolphin Hotel. Disney’s Yacht Club is connected to Disney’s Beach Club. The Beach Club is the softer side of the resort, while the Yacht Club is more nautical.

These sister resorts are unique because they each have their own amenities. Yet, they share the combined feature pool area, Stormalong Bay. Other than location, having access to Stormalong Bay is among the top reasons to stay at Disney’s Beach Club.

Combined, Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club have close to 1200 guest rooms. Beach Club is home to approximately 583 of those rooms. Disney’s Beach Club Villas has an additional 280 units.

A Note on the Villas Wing

Disney’s Beach Club Villas is a Disney Vacation Club Resort. Therefore, it operates differently from the average Disney Resort Hotel. Disney’s Vacation Club members have the first choice of rooms when reservations become available. However, it is rare for rooms to fill up, so Disney makes these rooms available on a cash basis to regular resort guests. Therefore, you do not have to be a DVC member to stay at this or any other Disney Vacation Club Resort. The villas will have the conveniences of home and are more similar to a condo than a standard hotel room.

Learn more about Disney’s Beach Club Villas.

Benefits for Resort Guests

Guests of Disney’s Beach Club Resort can participate in Disney’s early theme park entry, a perk extended to all Walt Disney World Resort guests. Additionally, deluxe resort guests are privy to extended evening hours on select nights at select parks.

Early Theme Park Entry: This perk allows resort guests to enter any Walt Disney World theme park 30 minutes before officially opening to the general public. This early entry provides several advantages:

  1. Lower Crowds: Being among the first to enter the park allows you to experience popular attractions with shorter wait times. This will help you to check off must-see rides and experiences ahead of the crowd.
  2. Photography Opportunities: If you love capturing the magic of Disney, the early hours provide a fantastic opportunity for photos in front of iconic landmarks with fewer people in the background.
  3. Cooler Temperatures: Morning hours are often cooler, making outdoor activities more comfortable. But if you visit during cooler weather, don’t forget a jacket!

Extended Evening Hours: Guests of deluxe and deluxe villa resorts will have the opportunity to stay in some parks later on select evenings. Most of the year, we see this perk offered at Epcot on Monday evenings and at Magic Kingdom on Wednesday evenings. However, the schedule does change from time to time.

Accommodations

Disney’s Beach Club Resort offers a variety of rooms. Most of the resort’s standard rooms sleep up to five guests. Standard rooms offer a resort view (resort, parking lot, or garden view), or you can upgrade to a water view. A water view is usually a view of a quiet pool, Crescent Lake, and a few rooms offer views of Stormalong Bay.

See our Beach Club Accommodations page for an overview of the room types, or preview a standard, resort-view room in the article below.

The Stone Harbor Club

You might be curious about the room types listed as club-level offerings or access. The resort’s Stone Harbor Club is located on the fifth floor. Guests staying at the club level will be placed on this level. You’ll have to scan your room key or Magic Band in the elevator to access this floor.

As a club-level guest, you’ll be privy to the Stone Harbor lounge, which is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.They have multiple dining periods, including a hot breakfast with continental offerings, snacks, light appetizers, and night desserts with cordials. We have stayed club-level at this resort many times. If you want to learn more, read our review of the Stone Harbor Club at Beach Club.

We also have a separate guide with an overview of all the club levels at Disney World.

Dining at Disney’s Beach Club Resort

When dining at Disney’s Beach Club, you’ll have plenty of options between the resort and neighboring Disney’s Yacht Club. Here is a summary of the dining options.

Beach Club Marketplace is the resort’s quick-service location, combined with the hotel gift shop. We aren’t crazy about the Beach Club Marketplace for hot entrees, but you can at least find Mickey waffles for breakfast and a decent selection of grab-and-go offerings.

Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill: This quick service doubles as the resort’s poolside bar. This is your go-to place if you need an order of chicken nuggets and fries for the kids. They also have a variety of sandwiches, burgers, and beverages.

Beaches and Cream: This poolside table restaurant serves ice cream and the famous “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” sundae, which feeds a small army. You can also order comfort food like burgers, fries, onion rings, and similar diner-style items. It’s a true guilty pleasure, especially if you save room for dessert.

Martha’s Vineyard: This is the resort’s lounge that’s open every evening. Its appetizer menu allows guests to easily combine a few items to make a meal. We enjoy dining here, but prefer the menu at the neighboring Crew’s Club a bit more.

Cape May Cafe: This restaurant is a character breakfast by day and a seafood buffet (no characters) at night. Given its popularity, reservations are highly recommended.

Yacht Club Restaurants: Ale and Compass Restaurant, Crew’s Cup, The Market at Ale and Compass, and Yachtsman Steakhouse

Refillable Mugs at Disney’s Beach Club: This guide details everything you need to know about refillable mugs at Disney’s Beach Club. It shares photos of the locations where you can refill them, current pricing, and whether or not they’re worth it.

Coffee Options at Disney’s Beach Club: This guide shares coffee options in the room, at the resort, and nearby.

Recreation at the Beach Club

Disney’s Beach Club is one of the best resorts for recreation. During our stays, we’ve explored almost every inch of the resort. If we hadn’t, I doubt we would be aware of how much there is to do, and I have a feeling that most guests aren’t.

Aside from the location, many guests choose this resort to access Stormalong Bay. This pool area is similar to one of the water parks. It has a water slide, multiple kiddie slides, a lazy river, a sand bottom, and so much more!

Other recreation includes the resort’s quiet pools. Beach Club is home to the Tidal Pool and the Dunes Cove Pool. We have a separate article that discusses the pools at Disney’s Beach Club.

Additionally, the resort has a jogging trail around Crescent Lake. It’s 0.80 miles long, with options to add on at certain places. Or you might prefer to work out in the Ship Shape Health Club, the resort’s fitness center. Tennis courts are also available on the Yacht Club side of the resort. Other recreation includes the Lafferty Arcade, which is between the hotel’s gym and Beaches and Cream Restaurant. A volleyball court is on a grassy lawn near the resort’s entrance.

See our Disney’s Beach Club Recreation Guide for complete details.

Transportation

Regarding transportation, guests can walk to Epcot or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Epcot is within a short distance of Epcot (about 8 minutes), while Hollywood Studios is a bit further (about 15 minutes). If you prefer, you can take a Friendship Boat to either theme park or the surrounding resorts. However, the walk to Epcot’s International Gateway will be shorter than the boat ride.

Bus transportation is provided to the following locations:

  • Magic Kingdom
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom
  • Disney Springs
  • Water Parks

You can also walk to the Disney Skyliner station. It runs between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. You might take it to Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, or Art of Animation Resorts. We have a guide that teaches you how to efficiently use the transportation options at Disney’s Beach Club. We consider it the most beneficial guide when planning a trip to this resort.

Related Reading for Disney’s Beach Club

For your convenience, here’s a list of all our articles related to Disney’s Beach Club Resort:

Browse All Beach Club Articles

More Deluxe Resorts in the Area

If you haven’t decided on a resort, you might consider a few other options. The following resorts are part of the Epcot Resorts Area:

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