During our past trip to Disney, we stayed at Disney’s Beach Club. It is now our favorite Disney resort! Why? Well, not only is it a lovely place to stay with comfortable rooms and beautiful decor, but it has the BEST pool in Disney (in our opinion) and there is so much to do there!
We enjoyed the Epcot Resort area as a whole. Settled on Crescent Lake, this area is modeled after the east coast seaside towns (maybe that’s why we love it so, as we are Marylanders!) and has a relaxing vibe around it which is refreshing after the hustle and bustle of visiting the parks.
Beach Club is situated on the Lake along with a few other resorts. Right next door is Yacht Club. These two resorts share a lot including the pool, Stormalong Bay. On the other side of Beach Club is the Boardwalk resort. Across Crescent Lake are the Swan and Dolphin. All these resorts are situated around the Lake in an easy circular path. This makes for AWESOME resort hopping! It costs nothing to walk around the Lake and pop in to each resort and look around.
One of the best things about this area is the huge variety of restaurants available! Between all of them, there are over a dozen, ranging from quick services to ice cream shops to bars to character dining and fine dining. There is something for everyone and all price ranges! Some of our favorites are Beaches and Cream (ice cream), Hurricane Hannahs (bar/quick eats next to Stormalong Bay), ESPN (Dave loved this sports bar so close to “home”; we walked here for some alone time a few nights) and the Boardwalk Bakery. Over at Swan and Dolphin, you can choose from over 10 restaurants, each with it’s own special theme or cuisine!
There are plenty of activities to do in the area too. Our favorite was just walking around Crescent Lake and seeing the sites. You get a good look at each resort without even having to go in, although you can totally do that! You can also circle the Lake on a bike. Head over to the Boardwalk and rent a 2, 4 or 6 person bike to breeze along the path. Prices range from $18-$25. The best deal for a family is to rent the surrey bike for $25 so you can all ride together and chat about the sites:)
For night time entertainment, stop by Jellyrolls the dueling piano bar or Atlantic Dance! Jellyrolls features live entertainment and sing a longs from the dueling piano players. Atlantic Dance comes alive at night with blaring music you can shake to, and on some nights they have live entertainment too.
For shopaholics you can visit the General Store, Character Carnival and Thimbles & Threads along the Boardwalk. The guys may like The Yard next to ESPN for sports related merchandise. Each of the resorts, Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin have their own shops near the lobbies where you can find all of the Disney Merchandise you can dream of! We loved walking around the resorts and stopping into their shops to see what was available. Most resort shops have special merchandise just for that resort.
We also loved the beach at Beach Club. You can’t swim in the Lake, but right out front of the hotel was a sandy area with lounge chairs and swings and it was a wonderful place for us to come and sit and people watch or talk about our day. These are some of my favorite memories because we were forced to slow down just enjoy being in Disney, soaking it all in!
You can’t beat the location either. Our room was far from the lobby, but literally right next to Epcot. It was probably less than a 5 minute walk to International Gateway, which drops you right in World Showcase between UK and France.
Overall, we decided that this was our favorite resort in all of the World. With so many activities to choose from, some of them costing nothing, and all those restaurants and the pool and the proximity to Epcot, we can’t beat it. I loved how it helped us slow down but still have a great time and enjoy all that Disney has to offer, which is so very magical for me!
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Tina works full time as a school counselor in an elementary school. She lives close to Baltimore, MD with her husband Dave and her 13 year old stepdaughter, Ashley. They also have a furry family member, a cat name Frodo, that keeps life interesting in their house! Tina began visiting Disney World as a child with her family, and now her, Dave & Ashley take a trip to the World every year. She considers herself a Disney “fanatic” and once her family is finished one trip, she is already planning their next one. Tina loves to find the best deals, even in the busy seasons (she can only go when schools are off!) and loves sharing those deals & tips with anyone and everyone! What Tina loves most is the magic of WDW, it makes her feel like a kid again. She hopes that every family has the opportunity go to the World and experience the magic for themselves because it has a way of reminding its visitors that dreams do indeed come true! Read more of Tina’s work on her blog A Not So Bland Life, where she writes about home decor, cooking, couponing, traveling, and and of course, Disney!
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