What You Need to Know about Staying at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Walt Disney World owns and operates more than 20 resorts, each of which offer a plethora of dazzling amenities.
You’ll love staying at any of these places, but you’re likely flying blind on how hotel visits work at each location. So, we’re starting a new series today!
Here’s what you need to know when staying at Disney’s Beach Club Resort!
The Hotel’s Location
When you look at EPCOT on a map, you’re basically looking at Beach Club Resort as well.
credit: D23
I say this because the International Gateway exit at EPCOT resides about five hundred steps away from where Beach Club starts.
That’s not me saying that, either. It’s my Fitbit! So, depending on how fast you walk, you can leave the hotel lobby and enter EPCOT in a matter of minutes.
Photo: Disney
Disney built three hotels close to Crescent Lake, but that’s not all! The company also constructed an entertainment complex, Disney’s BoardWalk.
This section of Disney provides a delightful amount of shopping, restaurants, and even live entertainment.
Photo: Disney
When you stay at Beach Club, you walk across the bridge, and you’re at the BoardWalk in like 60 seconds. Overall, it’s a shorter walk than the one to EPCOT.
So, this hotel’s location is basically the Heart of EPCOT/Disney’s BoardWalk.
Credit: Disney
The Hotel’s Restaurants and Shops
When you stay at this resort, Beach Club Marketplace becomes your everything.
This place sells everything from cups and plates to beach towels to pizzas. Seriously, imagine one long room that sells all your vacation needs. That’s Beach Club Marketplace.
You may prefer a different vibe for your meals, though. Beach Club definitely has you covered here.
For a throwback meal in a unique setting, you’ll choose Beaches & Cream Soda Shop, which is just what it says: a soda shop.
Photo: Disney
This place serves burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Many of the ice cream dishes here are decadent, and the restaurant overlooks Stormalong Bay, which we’ll discuss in a moment.
Beaches & Cream also offers a to-go stand on one side when you need a quick ice cream fix.
Of course, you may prefer seafood or character dining. Cape May Café will satisfy either need.
In the morning, Minnie Mouse hosts a buffet breakfast. At night, Cape May Café serves all-you-care-to-enjoy seafood. You’ll love both, but I prefer breakfast with Minnie.
Credit: Disney
Other dining options in the area include Yachtsman Steakhouse, all the restaurants at Disney’s BoardWalk like Flying Fish, and the entirety of the World Showcase.
Friends, the eating is goooood at Beach Club!
Photo: TouringPlans.com
The Hotel’s Amenities
We could discuss several, but one matters so much more than the rest.
Beach Club hosts THE best Disney resort pool on the planet. Named Stormalong Bay, this pool doubles as a small water park. I’m not even joking.
Photo: Disney
The size of Stormalong Bay surpasses anything else at Walt Disney World that’s not an actual water park.
Seriously, we’re talking about a place that is more than twice the size of a football field. And it includes 800,000 gallons of water to boot.
Photo: Disney
Disney has repurposed some of the space as a lazy river, which is my favorite part of Stormalong Bay. It’s a seamless transition from swimming to lazy-rafting here.
Meanwhile, the sand bottom floors will make swimming at the pool feel like tiptoeing through the ocean.
Photo: Disney
Also, your kids will love the artificial shipwreck that has permanently lodged itself at Stormalong Bay. They can walk around this area before making their way to the top.
The shipwreck hides a secret here on the top floor. It’s actually a waterslide! In fact, there are two slides in the area, the longer of which covers 230 feet!
Photo: D23
The one thing to know about Stormalong Bay is that Disney doesn’t allow Pool Hopping here.
You MUST stay at Beach Club or Yacht Club to use Stormalong Bay. That’s reason enough for many guests to pick this resort.
Image: MickeyBlog.com
The Hotel’s Logistics
I’ve already hit on two integral parts of Beach Club’s logistics. You can walk to EPCOT or BoardWalk in a matter of minutes.
Along the way to EPCOT, you’ll also arrive at the Disney Skyliner. I don’t count this as an official Beach Club amenity, but it easily could be.
You can reach this spot in three minutes if you’re staying on the closer side of Beach Club.
The Skyliner gondola system will transport you to Disney’s Hollywood Studios or multiple hotels like Disney’s Riviera Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
What I love best about the gondola system is that it’s somehow even more reliable than Disney’s monorails.
We’ve all been on the monorail when it had to stop due to congestion. The monorails must maintain space on the line, which is impossible to keep on a set schedule.
Conversely, the gondolas are almost an Omnimover system in that they loop infinitely at a set pace.
When taking the Skyliner, you’ll know when you’re arriving at your destination. Even monorails come with a bit of uncertainty in this regard.
Speaking of which, guests at Beach Club can walk to the front of EPCOT and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom.
So, I’m not exaggerating when I say that Beach Club’s logistics provide ready access to three different parks.
Photo: Disney
Please understand that the walk to the monorail from Beach Club takes 30 minutes on its own, though.
This means of transportation is only something you would do if it came up organically during a park visit, though.
You’d want to take a bus if you’re at Beach Club rather than inside EPCOT.
Meanwhile, Google indicates that Disney Springs and Disney’s Animal Kingdom require 10-15-minute bus rides.
In short, the logistics here are among the best of any Disney resort.
Other Considerations
The decision tree on staying at Beach Club has changed a bit recently.
Photo: Disney
Since Disney added the gondola service, guests can easily move between multiple parks and resorts.
For this reason, other Disney properties can match Beach Club’s logistics…or come close enough that you won’t care.
So, the primary benefits here are Stormalong Bay and Disney’s BoardWalk. If you’re not a big vacation swimmer, you should compare prices carefully.
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, Disney’s Riviera Resort, and (especially) Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort may provide better bang for the buck.
Personally, I’m Beach Club for life, as a member of my family owns a Disney Vacation Club contract here. We visit regularly for this reason.
Also, while the other resorts claim similar logistics, I’m unwilling to give up Beach Club’s proximity.
EPCOT
Image Credit: Disney
You legitimately leave your hotel room and are entering EPCOT in five minutes. Nothing beats that.
