Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by my daughter Chelsea. Our stay at the Disney Yacht Club Resort was complimentary as part of the TravelingMom network retreat.
My family, like many families, usually stay at hotels that are, well, cheap. The cheaper the better. That’s why I was so surprised by a stay at the Disney Yacht Club Resort! Like seriously, I don’t think I had ever stayed at a hotel with a bell hop. He literally had his own desk, HIS OWN DESK! Why did he even need a desk? I don’t know, but it seemed classy. Let’s not forget about the entire lobby, it was basically the nicest lobby, ever.
And our room, guys our room, was huge! It had two queen size beds, a day bed and a large vanity area with double sinks and two mirrors (you gotta have that with more than one girl in the family)!
The only thing that was super funky, was we shared a balcony with three other rooms, so if the other rooms didn’t close their blinds, and you just so happened to look over, you’d see them. The guy that was staying in the room right beside us, didn’t ever close his blinds, and I guess he was against wearing a shirt? Yeah, he wasn’t the smallest guy. So I mean, I could’ve lived without that. But overall, our room was nice.
And my mom thinks the joint patio would be perfect if you were traveling with friends or family. But, well, that’s her opinion.
Obviously when you stay in a resort, you can’t just stay in the room that would be just too boring. My friend and I absolutely had to adventure around the resort. We walked around the entire property and we knew that place like the backs of our hands.
The gift shop had snacks and clothes and souvenirs, they seriously had everything! They closed at 9:00 though, so you couldn’t get a mid-night snack if you got the munchies. But if you had the mid-day munchies, they gotchu. They also have several restaurants to meet your food needs, in case you want to eat actual food not just junk food, I don’t know why you’d want to do that though, considering it’s a trip and you can eat junk food all day because that’s what you do on trips, but if you wanted to eat real food, it’s there.
One of my favorite things was, the ice cream parlor, Beaches & Cream Soda Shop! Golly, I love ice cream, I would have went to that place every hour of every day if I could have, but I had to fit into my swimsuit so I mean you gotta have priorities.
Talking about swimsuits, the pool, was incredible. There was not just one pool, but three! Plus a water slide and 2 hot tubs. Amazing. The main pool had sand at the bottom, which was different, but super cool.
Obviously we couldn’t just go swimming in the middle of the day, we swam after our long day at Disney, so we were literally the only people swimming, except for the ducks that shared the pool with us. Which was super cute, but I was afraid they would attack us.
We were swimming at night, which even in May, in Florida, was cold. We absolutely had to get into the hot tub after a couple minutes of being out. The hot tub was on the top of, what seemed like a mountain, seriously we had to climb a lot of stairs to get up there. But it was worth it! Two hot tubs on top of the “mountain” so if people were in one, you could avoid them by getting into the other. Because nobody likes to be in a hot tub with strangers, how awkward.
The absolute cutest thing the resort had, was a movie on the beach every night! Literally so cute, I didn’t want to stay out long watching a movie when there was adventuring to be done, but my friend and I stayed a little while to watch, Tangled. Seriously so cute and if you were traveling with young children, you’d probably welcome an excuse to slow down and enjoy the evening show.
I didn’t make it into the Parks much while staying there, but honestly I didn’t mind, the resort was so cool. I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything by choosing not to go into the parks on some of the days. I spent most of my time, out on their man-made beach, reading and tanning.
I would highly recommend a stay at the Disney Yacht Club Resort, it’s seriously so worth it. And one thing I forgot to mention, Epcot, my favorite Disney Park, is only a short walk from the resort. You can walk to Epcot and enter right into the World Showcase. How cool is that?
Don’t miss our other Disney posts:
Upcycle a Glass Jar into a Disney Travel Jar
3 Disney Souvenirs that won’t Break the Bank
Visiting Downtown Disney with Teens
Peek Inside the Fort Wilderness Cabins at Disney
Fort Wilderness Campground: a Memorable Stay, but not necessarily an Enjoyable One
© 2016, Tonya Prater. All rights reserved.
Katie says
That is tops on my list of places to stay when we finally do a Disney World vacation!
Trisha says
You didnt go to the parks? That’s the fun of it!
Tonya says
We did go to the parks, just didn’t spend a lot of time there. We’d been at the parks five months earlier and had our fill. Not as exciting with teens as it was when they were little.
Tammilee says
This looks beautiful. We have never stayed at a Disney resort before. It looks amazing.
Stefani says
I would love to be able to stay at a Disney resort. They look so beautiful from all the pictures I have seen.
Melissa says
Wow, what an incredible experience!
Stephanie @ CrayonMarks&TigerStripes says
I would absolutely LOVE to experience a Disney resort!!! It looks AMAZING!
Heather @ Work from Home with Kids says
Wow. I’ve never been to anything that looks remotely like this but it looks amazing!
Nicole Brady says
We’ve stayed at a variety of places but the Yacht Club (shares a really awesome pool with Beach Club) has been our favorite. Mainly because of the pool!
Tonya says
I think the Yacht Club and Beach Club are very similar. My daughter loved that pool!
Nichol says
We are saving for our first trip to Disney. It is something we all want to do but have wanted to wait for Zoe to be older so she’d remember. This resort looks beautiful!
Tonya says
My kids were a bit older when we went: 7, 8 and 10. I think they were at great ages. Young enough for it to be magical, but old enough to remember it. You’ll have a blast. There is nothing like that first trip to Disney.
Sarah @Must Have Mom says
I’m so jealous! One day I will get there with my 4 kids in tow!
Tonya says
Yes, and it will be worth the wait! The first time we went, we stayed off property and had a great time. We spent our days in the parks and at night we relaxed away from the parks. Perfect.
Mickey says
Wow, it looks just beautiful! I’d love to be able to take the family there someday.
Cat Davis says
Gosh, now I feel cheated. That’s way nicer than the Disney Port Orleans Riverside resort we stayed at for a pretty penny.
Tonya says
Port Orleans has always been one of the properties that I’ve looked at. Mainly because it sleeps 5 and that’s not the easiest to find at Disney.
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I love that it’s a relaxing escape from the craziness of the parks. That can be overwhelming after a while!
Tonya says
Yes! And much needed!
Jen - Life With Levi says
I love the daybed in the room. Our girls can share a bed, but it’s nice to have the option for Levi to sleep somewhere other than ours. This looks like an awesome option if we decide on Disney for our next vacation.
Tonya says
My boys will not share a bed so when we travel as a family, we need to have sleeping arrangements for four. That’s not always easy to come by.
Robin Gagnon {Mom Foodie} says
This would probably be a good choice for us. I can’t see going to the park every day. I think my daughter & I would get burnt out.
Tonya says
There is so much to do at the parks, but you’re right, you can get burnt out. We aren’t a stay at the park from open to close family. On this trip, my daughter barely stepped foot inside the park and it was one of her favorite visits to Disney — because she loved the hotel. 🙂
Donna says
What a gorgeous room! When we finally make it to Disney World, I’ll definitely look at the Beach Club Resort!
Kelly Stilwell says
We live just 90 minutes from Disney World, but have not stayed at The Beach Club. Putting it on my list!
cindy says
we have yet to go to Disney but I adding this place to my wish list for when we finally get there!
Heather @OurKidsMom says
This looks absolutely amazing… and so relaxing! Combining two of my favorite things… the beach and Disney. Thanks for the review!
Kay M. says
Oh, I would just live on the beach! Grab a book, a good thick beach towel (and SPF800 lotion!) and veg out.
Tonya says
Doesn’t that just sound like the perfect way to spend a vacation?