Resort Rundown: Disney’s Yacht Club Overview
Voyage aboard a finely appointed yacht with a touch of Disney magic. Disney’s Beach Club and Yacht Club Resorts are wonderfully seaside-themed resorts that neighbor each other, and share some amenities. Disney’s Yacht Club brings a sophisticated air to the seashore. Polished brass, well-oiled wood floors, rich blue tones; the decor is bold and refined, without being stuffy. With one of the best pools on Disney property and a long list of great features, Disney’s Yacht Club receives high marks.
Location
The Yacht and Beach Club Resorts are part of the EPCOT Resorts area. It is smack dab in between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You can walk to either theme park, walk to neighboring resorts, and have access to over 15 resort restaurants. Disney’s Fantasia Gardens mini golf is a reasonable walk from this resort too. This resort area is one of the most loved areas in which to stay at Walt Disney World. It can be hard to pick a favorite out of the hotels in this neighborhood.
Rooms
Disney’s Yacht Club has regular hotel rooms and suites. The interior of the rooms and suites are full of nautical themes and decor. Dark blue curtains and blue accents on the headboards are complimented by soft cream furnishings and dark woods. Polished brass continues the nautical feel. The rooms have deluxe features, including quite a bit of shelving and storage.
Elegant wall art inspired by sailing, ships, and other nautical themes adorn the walls. There aren’t many Disney touches, even subtle ones. Most rooms have two queen beds, though one king bed is available in select rooms. Some rooms also have a daybed in them.
There are three view types: Standard, Garden / Woods views, and Water views. Speaking of views, you can use the awesome TouringPlans Room Finder to help you narrow down the exact room location you would like. You can plug in your preferences and find rooms that match your needs. Then when you make your reservations and check in you can request your desired rooms. This tool is free to use.
Tour a water view room, that overlooks Crescent Lake, in our video:
Club Level
The Regatta Club Lounge at Yacht Club is as not as highbrow as the name implies. There isn’t much to the seating area, no outstanding features. A balcony adds to the amenities of the lounge itself. Regular rooms, as well as suites, are available to stay in as part of the Club Level experience. Club Level rooms include: evening turndown, secured key access to the Club Level lounge (serving refreshments 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily), complimentary newspapers in Club Level lounge, and health club access.
Dining
One of the biggest advantages of Disney’s Yacht Club is the variety of dining options. Not only does Yacht Club have its own variety of dining, but right next door Disney’s Beach Club does as well. Plus, you can easily get to the dining at Disney’s Boardwalk as well as the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels.
Just off the Yacht Club lobby is Ale and Compass Lounge, which went through a big transformation not too long ago. A great beverage menu, with light bites, is offered from lunch time until 10:00 p.m. For a full dining experience, the Ale and Compass Restaurant has become very popular following its transformation, and a variety of grab-and-go items are available too.
The signature dining restaurant at Yacht Club is the Yachtsman Steakhouse. One of the most elevated dining experiences at any Disney resort, you’re sure to have a fantastic dinner here. (Please note that this restaurant is currently closed as of April, 2021, but we expect it to reopen in the future.)
When you’re splashing the day away at Stormalong Bay, you can visit Hurricane Hanna’s Grill for great food and poolside drinks. Hurricane Hanna’s is popular with many Disney fans thanks to its beautiful views and great menu. (Please note that this restaurant is currently closed as of April, 2021, but we expect it to reopen in the future.) In-room dining is also available.
Securing dining reservations at popular full service restaurants like Yachtman Steakhouse can be frustrating and time consuming. You can use the TouringPlans Reservation Finder to help you secure dining reservations and save time. Simply select your desired restaurant, then plug in your desired date and time or meal period, select to be notified either via email or text message, and voila! This incredible tool is available with or without a TouringPlans paid subscription, but you do need to create, or have, a TouringPlans login.
Pools
This nautical-themed resort is home to two pools – one quiet pool and one feature pool that is the envy of all other Disney resort pools. The themed feature pool is Stormalong Bay and it has three great features that make it the most sought-after pool experience at a Disney resort. First, there’s the sandy beach that leads into the water itself. Then, there’s the waterslide that starts off at the top of a shipwreck. But arguably best of all is the lazy river. This feature pool sits right in between Beach and Yacht Club, and is available to guests of both hotels, and absolutely no one else.
Recreation
Being in a beach and boardwalk themed area, there are lots of ways to have fun here. Go for a blissful run, jog, or walk around the entire boardwalk and even up to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Head down to the marina to rent a variety of watercraft and enjoy Crescent Lake. There’s even volleyball and tennis courts, fishing excursions, nightly campfires, and movies under the stars. And don’t forget, Disney’s Fantasia Mini-Golf is within walking distance too. There’s so much to do!
Transportation
There are three modes of transportation at this resort. Being so close to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there is a delightful boat transportation that is shared with the neighboring resorts. It takes less time to walk to the theme parks, but if you’re looking to save your energy and rest your legs then the boat transportation is a very attractive feature.
You can also walk to the EPCOT Disney Skyliner station just outside the park gate and head to Disney’s Caribbean Beach station then transfer to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Yacht Club is less than a five-minute walk from the Skyliner station. For the other theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs, there is continuous bus transportation. One main bus station is located out front of the lobby.
Convention Center
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort offers meeting and event space. You’ll often find conventions and weddings at this resort.
Other Information
Come tour both Disney’s Beach Club and Yacht Club, in our video:
We sure ran through a lot of information about Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, so here’s a handy-dandy infographic that sums it all up:
Published June 14, 2020. Updated April 24, 2021.
As soon as I saw “7am” as the Regatta Club start time, I realized it would be a nonstarter for my family, who would primarily rely on lounge access for breakfast. Anyone who wanted to arrive, say 30 minutes before early entry hours, during times of year when regular opening is at 8am or 8:30am (with early entry at 7:30am or 8:00am), wouldn’t even have time for breakfast if they were headed to MK or AK.