Disney’s Yacht Club Resort Review (Is it worth it?)
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is one of the most beautiful and convenient hotels in all of Walt Disney World. With its classy design, enormous pool, and prime location, it’s easy to see why the Yacht Club at Disney World is such a highly sought after place to stay.
My family and I have visited numerous hotels on Disney property, but the Yacht Club always keeps us coming back for more. We love the close proximity to Disney’s Boardwalk, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.
The multiple transportation options are a huge plus, especially for those who don’t like to solely rely on Disney buses. And of course we have to mention the Yacht Club’s pool, Stormalong Bay. This elaborate resort swimming area is arguably the best pool at the Walt Disney World Resort!
If you’re still not quite sold on the Yacht Club at Disney World or if you would like more information, continue reading below. In this post, we will cover everything you need to know about this deluxe Disney resort, including the activities, restaurants, and rooms available at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
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Yacht Club Restaurants
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is full of all different types of restaurants. Since this hotel shares dining options with its sister resorts, you’ll find even more places to eat within a short walk of your room.
These are the Yacht Club restaurants you will find just a short stroll away:
- Ale and Compass – sit-down restaurant in the Yacht Club that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (also available to-go)
- The Market at Ale and Compass – quick service restaurant at Yacht Club with to-go items and menu options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Yachtsman Steakhouse – fine dining restaurant at the Yacht Club that is open for dinner
- Crew’s Cup Lounge – bar at the Yacht Club that features a small dinner menu and full bar
- Cape May Cafe – offers a character meal breakfast buffet and sit-down dinner with no characters
- Beach Club Marketplace – features to-go items and menu options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Beaches and Cream – available for lunch and dinner with reservations highly recommended
- Martha’s Vineyard – offers appetizers and full bar
- Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill – pool restaurant with full bar and lunch/dinner options
Furthermore, the Yacht Club is located just a short walk away from Disney’s Boardwalk, where you’ll find additional restaurants and bars.
Pools
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is home to the most popular pool on Disney property. It’s such a hit that you’ll find cast members handing out wristbands at the entrance so that only hotel guests can enter.
The main pool, Stormalong Bay, features a large sand bottom swimming area that’s super shallow and great for toddlers and little kids. There’s also a lazy river that’s a fan favorite in my household.
Guests can also enjoy other large swimming areas at Stormalong Bay, including an activities section where you’ll find games like pool volleyball. Stormalong Bay offers a large waterslide as well as a smaller slide that empties into a shallow pool.
In addition to Stormalong Bay, the Yacht Club in Disney World features a “quiet” pool that is seldom busy. This is a great spot to relax or swim laps.
Rooms
My family and I love the nautical decor and ambience of the Yacht Club guest rooms. Additionally, we appreciate that the rooms offer full balconies. In our post on Disney’s Beach Club vs Yacht Club, you’ll read about why these balconies are a major pro for Yacht Club compared to its sister resort.
Disney’s Yacht Club features standard rooms and club level rooms. If you book a room with Club Level benefits, you get access to the Regatta Club. Here, you’ll find food and beverages offered at certain times throughout the day.
Guest rooms at the Yacht Club come with views of the lake, pool, garden, or hotel rooftop/parking lot. These rooms typically feature 1 king bed or 2 queens. Some of them also offer a daybed. This means that if you book a room with 2 queens plus a daybed, you can sleep a family of five!
Prices at Yacht Club
Since Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is classified as a deluxe hotel at Disney World, you’ll notice that the prices are higher than at some of the other hotels. This is because the Yacht Club offers deluxe room space, extra amenities, and a prime location.
We will explain all the significance of all of these perks in more detail below, but it’s important to note that Disney’s Yacht Club truly offers a deluxe experience. The updated guest rooms feature plenty of space, including private balconies. Plus, the hotel is conveniently located within walking distance of other Disney hotels, restaurants, theme parks, and more.
If you would really like to experience the location, amenities, and entertainment at the Yacht Club without the hefty price tag, we suggest booking a room at the sister hotel through David’s Vacation Club Rentals. You will be blown away by the cost savings on David’s DVC rental site! We usually save hundreds of dollars per night by using this method to book a room at a deluxe resort.
Just use the cost calculator to see exactly how much a room costs at Yacht Club’s sister resort, Disney’s Beach Club Villas. These villas are located just a short walk away from the Yacht Club hotel, and they both share restaurants, pools, and activities. While you can reserve one of the villas on the official Disney website, we prefer to book through David’s DVC rental website. We have used this reputable company for years to rent timeshare points at Disney villas.
Things to Do at Disney’s Yacht Club
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort sits on the same property as two sister resorts: Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Villas. These three hotels share restaurants, activities, amenities, and entertainment options with each other.
One of my family’s favorite things about the Yacht Club is that you don’t need to leave the property to have fun. So, if you’re looking for activities at Disney outside of the theme parks, the Yacht Club offers lots of great options. These are our favorite things to do at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort when enjoying a relaxing day at Disney:
See Epcot Fireworks
We recommend walking to the bridge that connects the Disney Boardwalk to the Yacht and Beach Club Resort to enjoy the nightly Epcot fireworks show. You can even grab some ice cream to enjoy during the presentation.
Take a Ride on the Skyliner
Since the Disney Skyliner sits just outside of Epcot’s International Gateway entrance, you can easily access it from the Yacht Club Resort. Just take the short (less than ten minutes) walk toward Epcot and hop on the Skyliner for free!
Fish
Book a fishing excursion on Crescent Lake for a truly unique experience while staying at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
Eat Ice Cream
Disney’s Yacht Club is home to one of our favorite WDW restaurants, Beaches and Cream. While reservations can be difficult to snag at this popular dining spot, you can access the walk-up window to order shakes and ice cream to-go.
Dine with Characters
Check out Cape May Cafe during breakfast/brunch when it becomes Minnie’s Beach Bash. Guests can meet Goofy, Minnie, and Donald while they dine at the breakfast buffet.
Float along the Lazy River
The Beach Club’s main pool, Stormalong Bay, offers many fun features. One of our favorite things to do at the pool is to grab (free) tubes to float along the lazy river.
Play Games in the Arcade
Lafferty Place Arcade offers lots of fun games for kids and adults to enjoy. This is a particularly great place to spend time at Disney World when it’s raining.
Ride the Friendship Boats
The Disney water taxi picks up visitors near the Yacht Club. You can ride this free boat to the Disney Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin Resorts, Epcot entrance, and Hollywood Studios entrance.
Build Sandcastles
Did you know that Stormalong Bay features a shallow, sand bottom pool and beach area? Kids love digging in the sand and splashing around in this section of the pool.
Make S’mores
Visit the nightly campfire to roast marshmallows during your visit. You can even purchase S’mores Kits for a few dollars.
Rent a Boat
Spend time on Crescent Lake on your own private pontoon boat. Guests can rent boats from the marina near the Yacht Club.
Workout
Disney’s Yacht Club offers a large fitness center for guests to use during their stay. Ship Shape Health Club is even open 24 hours a day, so you can squeeze in a workout at any time.
Stroll along the Disney Boardwalk
The Disney Boardwalk is full of amazing activities and entertainment options and is just a short walk away from the Yacht Club.
Play Volleyball
As you walk along the boardwalk in front of the Beach Club, you’ll notice a sand volleyball court. This is a great spot to pick up a game with friends or family. You can also often join a game of volleyball at Stormalong Bay Pool.
Enjoy an Evening Movie
Each evening, Disney Yacht Club guests can watch a movie under the stars. These family friendly movies are a great way to unwind after a long day.
Play Mini Golf
Stroll over to Fantasia Gardens and Miniature Golf Course where you’ll find two 18-hole courses. This fun spot is located near the Dolphin and Swan Resorts.
Swim Some Laps
If you’re looking for a quieter poolside experience to swim laps or relax, check out the leisure pool at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. You’ll also have access to the quiet pools at Beach Club and Beach Club Villas.
Go Jogging
If you’re not into running or jogging on vacation, you can spend time strolling along the jogging paths at the Yacht Club. You’ll find lots of great spots to take pictures and may even catch some surprises along the way.
Join a Kid Friendly Party at the Pool
Each afternoon, Stormalong Bay hosts fun poolside activities like hula hoop competitions and limbo.
Play Tennis
Guests can find tennis courts near the Yacht Club’s quiet pool.
Zoom Down Waterslides
Stormalong Bay features two separate water slides for guests to enjoy. The main waterslide stretches from the pirate ship and across the Beach Club boardwalk to the main pool.
You’ll also find a smaller slide that’s perfect for toddlers and small kids at the entrance to the main water slide.
Book a Fireworks Cruise
Take in the sights and sounds of the Epcot fireworks show from your pontoon boat on Crescent Lake.
Transportation
As mentioned above, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort sits in a prime location in the center of all the magic at WDW. If you’re planning to visit one of the theme parks, you’ll be happy to know that several of them are just a super short walk or ride away.
These are our preferred ways to get from Disney’s Yacht Club to other places in Walt Disney World:
- To Magic Kingdom – You can access the Disney buses in front of the hotel. The ride to Magic Kingdom should take 15-20 minutes.
- To Epcot – Exit the back of Yacht Club (toward Crescent Lake) and turn left. Epcot sits just under a ten minute walk away!
- To Hollywood Studios – You have several options for getting to Hollywood Studios. We find the quickest option *usually* is walking. Hollywood Studios sits just a 15 minute walk away from the Yacht Club. You can also ride a Friendship Boat to Hollywood Studios. However, by the time you wait on the boat to make stops, this method can take longer than walking. You could also walk toward Epcot to catch the Disney Skyliner. With this method, you should be able to reach Hollywood Studios in around 25 minutes.
- To Animal Kingdom – You can hop on one of the Disney buses to get to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. This is roughly a ten-minute ride.
- To Disney’s Boardwalk – You can make the five-minute walk around Crescent Lake to easily reach the Disney Boardwalk. Guests can also take the Friendship Boat from the Yacht Club lighthouse and ride across the lake to the Boardwalk.
- To Disney Springs – You can take a bus to Disney Springs, which typically takes 15-20 minutes.
Is Disney’s Yacht Club Worth It?
Since Disney’s Yacht Club may be my personal favorite resort in all of WDW, I would definitely say it’s worth the cost! I love the classy guest rooms and bathrooms with their nautical decor.
The lobby seems to be quieter and calmer than that at other resorts, and the cast members are super friendly and helpful. My family and I enjoy the food at all the restaurants on site, and we appreciate the ability to easily walk from the Yacht Club to the Beach Club’s dining options.
The close proximity to Epcot makes the Yacht Club an ideal place to stay since there’s no rush to get to the park in the morning or back “home” at the end of a long day. Plus, you enter and exit through the International Gateway entrance to Epcot (near World Showcase), so the lines to enter are basically nonexistent.
Additionally, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is just a short walk, boat ride, or Skyliner ride away. And if you feel like venturing out, you can take the scenic stroll around Crescent Lake to the Disney Boardwalk.
Overall, we highly recommend the beautiful Yacht Club Resort! For additional information on Disney resorts, join the conversation on our Facebook page: Mom’s Guide to Disney Resorts! Do you have a review of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort? Comment below to share your thoughts with us!
