6 Reasons You Must Stay at Disney’s Yacht Club
The Walt Disney World resort that you select for your vacation functions as your home base. You’ll spend all of your downtime here, getting ready each morning and winding down each evening. You want to pick a place where you’ll feel comfortable and happy. Disney owns and operates many hotels that could work, but we’re going to prioritize one of the best today. Here are six reasons to stay at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
The Ambience
Are you familiar with Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings? It’s a formal event wherein high-level MLB executives from all 32 teams get together and discuss the league’s most pressing issues. Lots of baseball trades and free agent signings take place during these meetings, too. It’s a huge deal.
On several occasions, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort has hosted this event. MLB could choose literally thousands of other hotels across North America, but they keep coming back to this one. They do so because of the resort’s ambience. Yacht Club is upscale in the best possible way, a Deluxe Tier Disney property that feels welcoming to all. The beachy vibe of this themed hotel fosters a comfort level that you’d find at any island getaway. The fact that you’re close to a couple of Disney theme parks is just a happy bonus.
The Boardwalk
Crescent Lake is the body of water that rests behind Epcot’s World Showcase. Three resorts reside on the two sides of Crescent Lake. On one side is Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, while Disney’s Beach Club Resort mirrors it on the other side. Just beside Beach Club is Yacht Club, a kind of fraternal twin.
Obviously, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is right beside the BoardWalk. Yacht Club is on the other side of the water. It’s only a few hundred steps away, which is nothing for people used to walking around Disney parks all day. At the BoardWalk, you’ll discover a carefully crafted entertainment district complete with shopping and dining. You’ll even find some dancing available here after dark.
The BoardWalk is a lovely place to visit, and it’s also visually gorgeous. When you stay at Yacht Club, you can see this beautiful area from your hotel and, if you’re lucky, your hotel room. By the way, when you want to save your feet during a hectic vacation, Disney’s boat transportation system is your best friend. You can board a boat on your side of Crescent Lake and get dropped off at the BoardWalk in a couple of visits. It’s the next stop on the boat route.
Should you want to go the other way, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is only a few stops away. You’re roughly 10-15 minutes away from this park when you use the boats at Crescent Lake. Remarkably, that’s not the closest park access, though…
International Gateway
Disney insiders are smiling knowingly right now. One of the best-kept secrets of Walt Disney World is the International Gateway. Think of it as the back entrance to Epcot. Guests who stay at the Crescent Lake hotels are right beside this location. In fact, the aforementioned boat system will transport Yacht Club guests to the International Gateway in only a few minutes.
By taking the International Gateway entrance, you’ll avoid longer security check lines that occur at the front of the park. You’ll arrive at the World Showcase close to the France Pavilion. Yes, the beauty of the International Gateway is that you’re a brief walk away from E Ticket attractions like Soarin’ Around the World, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track. Plus, you aren’t fighting the crowds from this back entrance, a huge advantage early in the day when Rope Drop takes place.
Stormalong Bay
Do you like to swim while you’re on vacation? Or maybe you like to hang out by the pool while sipping margaritas? Stormalong Bay is the unquestioned champion of Disney resort pools. Many (accurately) describe it as a mini-water park rather than a pool. And it’s exclusively available to guests of Beach Club and Yacht Club!
The Stormalong Bay area comprises three acres of land, and its sand-bottom pools mimic the actual beach experience. Once you dip your toes in the sand flooring, you’ll instinctively worry about jellyfish for a moment before remembering that you’re in a controlled environment at Walt Disney World, not the actual ocean, a place known for The Meg-style attacks.
Should you prefer to sit by the pool, the lounging area at Stormalong Bay is vast. Plus, the pool bar isn’t technically swim-up (although it’s very close). You can work over to place your order without getting wet. This place even serves light entrees, which makes it a terrific place to hole up for several hours. Of course, if food is your highest priority, you can do better at Yacht Club…
The Food
I could (and probably will at some point) write an entire article about the food at the Yacht Club/Beach Club area. For now, I’ll merely hit the highlights. Yacht Club features a restaurant called Yachtsman Steakhouse. It’s in the conversation for best steak at Walt Disney World. It’s also one of the most elegant meals on the campus. I highly recommend it for a romantic date. And the hotel also offers the Ale & Compass, a new gastropub that opened over the past 12 months.
Since Yacht Club is connected to Beach Club, the restaurants at the two places are synonymous in my eyes. At Cape May Café, you’ll discover a wonderful Minnie Mouse-based character breakfast and an evening seafood buffet. At Beaches & Cream, you’ll step back to the 1950s, a time when jukebox burger joints were all the rage. The food here is simple comfort food, and the ice cream is exquisite.
Also, I’ll get kicked out of Disney Writing University if I fail to mention the Kitchen Sink, a decadent ice cream dessert that serves (at least) four people. I think it has more calories than the full Cape May Café seafood buffet. Suffice to say that you’ll never go hungry while staying at Yacht Club. It features one of the finest restaurant selections at Walt Disney World.
The Logistics
Let’s complete the Yacht Club discussion by tying together a couple of threads while adding a third one. Earlier, we discussed the boat ride that takes guests from the resort to Hollywood Studios. If you think that’s valuable now, imagine what it will be like when Star Wars Land opens next year.
Then, there’s the back entrance to Epcot. This unheralded locale is where you can enter the park more quickly while avoiding standard Disney mobs. You’ll also start near a couple of World Showcase pavilions, and you’ll be quite close to the end of Future World (i.e. the middle of the park).
At the main entrance to Epcot, you’ll only have to walk a few steps to reach the monorail system. This particular monorail is a one-way trip to Magic Kingdom. From there, you can go other places, of course, but let’s remain park-specific for now. Let’s say that you’re done with Epcot and want to take a ride on Space Mountain. You simply walk to the front of the park and ride the monorail to Magic Kingdom.
Sure, other resorts have transportation options that will take you where you need to go. Only the hotels located at Crescent Lake, however, have such strong logistics. From these three resorts, you can board a boat to Hollywood Studios, walk or ride a boat to Epcot, and take a monorail to Magic Kingdom. That convenience is the strongest selling point possible for guests who want to max out on park time during a vacation. You should speak to an agent at MickeyTravels to discover the best rates at Disney’ Yacht Club. The logistics more than justify the cost.
