WDW Park Planners Rating:
Location: Epcot® Resort Area
Resort Category: Deluxe Resort
Walking into the lobby of Disney’s Beach Club Resort is one of our family’s favorite things at WDW. The sites, the sounds and the beachy smell (they make a candle of it!) just brings a flood of happiness to us. We’ve stayed at this resort more than any others and have a hard time staying anywhere else – there are so many things we love about it! Picking just five favorite things was tough, but here is what we came up with…
5. The lobby
From the time you get off the Magical Express and are welcomed by the lobby greeter, the New England ambiance is pure relaxation. The distinct lobby smell has been captured perfectly by this candle company HERE.
4. The Rapid Fill Refillable Mugs
Purchase your refillable, 16 oz. plastic mug for $19.99 and get free refills on soda, hot chocolate, hot tea, iced tea and coffee for your entire stay! It’s worth the investment if you’re there for more than a long weekend (and you like your beverages). We’ve even shared our mugs between family members to save money – two kids to a mug. Bring your cup down to the pool and you can stay refreshed with refills at Hurricane Hannah’s. Keep in mind, though, you cannot refill the mugs at the parks. Fun souvenirs to bring home after your trip!
3. Lafferty Place Arcade
While arcades may not be for everyone, this spot located near the pool is a family favorite of ours. We like to hit it in the afternoon after some pool time, and then we swing by Beaches and Cream for ice cream on our way back to the room. You pay to play at this arcade, but it’s worth it since the AC is always cranked in there! Kids will love the pop-a-shot, air hockey table, skee ball and Guitar Hero (okay so those are my favorites…let’s be real).
2. The Kitchen Sink
So many great family memories ordering The Kitchen Sink at the ice cream shoppe, Beaches and Cream. This monstrous sundae comes, as the name suggests – in a kitchen sink – and is enough to feed a very hungry family! When we were a family of 6, we got pretty close to finishing the entire sink, but we never quite found the bottom. Regardless of the challenge, it’s fun to order, and is a Beach Club Resort staple!
1. Location, location, location!
Choosing our top reason for loving the Beach Club Resort was easy. We love being close to Hollywood Studios AND Epcot. Taking the boat to Hollywood Studios is a nice change from the buses (although they can get pretty hot in the summer) or if your group is up for it, you can make the mile-ish trek by foot.
The best location perk though, is the very short walk to Epcot. Having access to the side entrance to the park allows you to get in to World Showcase in just minutes. Easy in, but even easier out. No fighting the crowds after Illuminations – just a quick walk back to your room.
Our family loves going to Epcot when we stay at the Beach Club. We definitely spend more time there than when we’re at other resorts – we like to walk over for drinks, to enjoy the live music (British Revolution!!), and then to hit up our favorite countries for dinner before catching Illuminations!
WDW Park Planners Tip
Take advantage of being able to walk to Hollywood Studios – if your group is able to and up for the extra steps! We’ve done the early morning walk to the park AND the late night walk back to the hotel.
MORNING: When Extra Magic Hours were at 7am at Hollywood Studios this past August after the opening of Toy Story Land, we wanted to get to the park by 6:30am to be there when they start letting people in. Well, the boat doesn’t start running until 6:30am (which we didn’t find out until we were out there in the pitch black), so we decided to make the trek by foot. I’ll be honest, not everyone in my family was thrilled about this, but we had some good laughs as we watched the sun rise over the park. And for the record, we were some of the first people on Slinky Dog Dash that day 🙂
NIGHT: Be prepared to walk home from Hollywood Studios! The boat line can get extremely long, especially after Fantasmic or the Star Wars fireworks let out. If the boat is a better option for you and your group, you may want to consider heading out a few minutes early (before the show/fireworks let out), so you can get in the boat line quickly. We’ve also done this in the past, especially when my youngest sisters were still in strollers. Definitely worth it with strollers! Otherwise, you may have to wait for a few boats before you get on, and they typically run every 15 minutes or so.