We are back from an AMAZING Disney World vacation and today I’m going to do my best to answer all of your questions! First up, the number one question I received was “where did you stay?” Answer: Disney’s Yacht Club. And it was perfect! We loved everything about this Deluxe resort. Here’s a break down of our favorite things:
#1 The pool!
If you are looking for a Disney property with an awesome pool, this one can’t be beat! The Yacht Club and the Beach Club are sister resorts that share this pool and it is massive! In addition to lots and lots of swimming space, this pool features 3 hot tubs, a sandy beach with sand bottom pool, whirlpool, lazy river, a giant water slide, and a separate pool with a smaller water slide. The big pirate ship you see in the above photo shows my kids at the top, waiting their turn for the waterslide.
The waterslide and pool are an attraction all on their own! We had one full resort day where the kids swam and swam and swam. And then during the week we would take a break from the Disney parks and enjoy the pool for a little bit.
The pool was so well staffed too…there were lifeguards everywhere and they were very active and attentive to guests. It felt very safe and was so much fun. My kids will be talking about this pool for a long long time. The pool at the Yacht Club and Beach Club is the most highly rated pool on Disney property…so if you are planning a resort day (which I highly recommend) you should for sure consider this resort!
Pro tip: there is a walk up bar, Hurricane Hanna’s, at the pool too, and a quick serve restaurant. The kid’s meals at the pool come in a cute little sand bucket with a shovel!
#2 Location
We loved the location of the Yacht Club on Disney property. It is located within walking distance to Epcot and a short boat ride to Hollywood Studios. In the picture above, you can see another Disney resort, The Boardwalk, behind us. It took about 5 minutes to walk over to the Boardwalk (you could also take a boat!) where there were a few restaurants, a pizza place, bakery, and a really great gift shop!
Being able to walk to Epcot was a HUGE bonus. It was so nice to be able to control when we arrived and when we left so easily. When you stay at a Disney resort you get early entry (currently 30 minutes) to all of the Disney parks. More details coming on that feature later this week! But when you walk to Epcot from the Yacht Club, you enter from the International Gateway, which is the “back” of Epcot located right by France….which means if you want to rope drop the new Ratatouille ride, you are in a PRIME spot to get there first before all of the other Disney resort guests. (We never did this because by the time it was our Epcot day my kids were exhausted. But it was my plan and I did hear from other guests that it worked perfectly for them!). I’ll talk about rope drop and using Genie+ later this week.
#3 Transportation
The Transportation at the Yacht Club was pretty seamless! No matter where you stay on Disney property, you’ll end up having to take a bus somewhere. Here is how transportation went for us:
To and from the airport: Uber XL (the magical express is no longer available. You’ll have to book transportation on your own)
To Magic Kingdom: Bus from the Yacht Club. The bus schedule is available in the My Disney Experience App and also at the digital bus stop display in front of your hotel. A bus arrived about every 20 minutes and began service one hour before early entry. While we were there Magic Kingdom opened at 9:00 a.m. for all guests, so 8:30 a.m. for resort guests. That meant bus service was supposed to start at 7:30 a.m. but we were there early and found it actually started at 7:15 a.m. At the end of the day we did have to wait for a bus for about 20ish minutes because there was a long line of people waiting to get on. But overall it was pretty easy! Plan on the bus taking 40 minutes (wait time + drive time) and be pleasantly surprised when it takes 20! You will share a bus with the Beach Club, but it picks up and drops off at the Yacht Club first.
Also, with all busses, you have to fold up your stroller. This is a pain, just FYI.
To Animal Kingdom: Bus from the Yacht Club. Again, this bus runs about every 20 minutes and is shared with the Beach Club, and when it’s not super busy, the Boardwalk too.
To Epcot: walk! Seriously only takes 5 minutes! You could also take a Friendship Boat but it is faster to walk.
To Hollywood Studios: The Friendship Boat. Boats from the pier at the Yacht Club and Beach Club run about every 15 minutes and my kids LOVED taking the boat! You could also walk to Hollywood Studios but expect it to take at least 20 minutes. We found the boat to be much faster! They also start running one hour before park open and keep running until on hour after park close. They honk their horns A LOT….and we could hear them faintly from our room. If you are a light sleeper, bring a sound machine.
#4 The View!
Everything is seriously so pretty! If you are looking for Disney theming and characters this is not the resort for you. My girls would have loved character theming in the rooms like they have at Art of Animation. But the pool and easy transportation cannot be beat at the Yacht club. It doesn’t scream “Disney” but there were some hidden Mickeys in our room. And everthing was so beautiful.
#5 The Room
We had a “water view” room on the first floor and it was awesome! We were close to the pool and right by a side exit door, which made walking to the Boardwalk and Epcot super easy. The buildings you see in the above photo is the Boardwalk. And the bridge on the left is where the Friendship Boats to Epcot and Hollywood Studios pick up and drop off. I believe all rooms at the Yacht club have either a balcony or patio like we did! We stayed in room 1159 if you want to request something similar.
There was this super cute gazebo right outside our door too!
This isn’t the best photo but we could see Epcot fireworks every night from our patio!
#6 The Skyliner
The Yacht Club isn’t officially a skyliner hotel, but you can walk to the International Gateway at Epcot and hop on it! My kids wanted to ride it for fun during our rest day so we gave it a try! I loved it and so did they. But if you have someone in your party who is nervous about heights, DO NOT go on it. Trust me on this one. Jon HATED it the whole time. We rode the skyliner to Disney’s Rivera Resort. Walked around a bit and mobile ordered from their quick service Italian restaurant, then hopped back on it to go back to the International Gateway. (Also, side note about the Rivera: It is also a deluxe level resort but their pool, although nice, was really lack luster compared to the Yacht Club and Beach Club pool!)
Honorable mention: The Food. I didn’t take any photos, but there are a few restaurants at the Yacht Club and Beach Club. Our favorite was mobile ordering Mickey waffles, bacon, and eggs from Ale & Compass!
Be sure to check out my Instagram highlights for more insights into our stay at the Yacht Club. And if you have any specific Yacht Club questions, let me know!
