Many Walt Disney World guests look into the hotels and quickly realize the location they’d like. One popular spot is Crescent Lake, aka “the Boardwalk area,” between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Crescent Lake is home to three of Disney’s deluxe resorts—Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk Inn.
The challenge becomes choosing between these three resorts. They’re similar in price, theme, and location—so what sets one apart from the other? Read on to learn how to choose between Yacht Club, BoardWalk Inn, and Beach Club!
L to R: Beach Club, Epcot, Boardwalk
Recommended Reading
Our hotel content runs pretty deep, but you came here with a specific question in mind, so we’ll keep our recommended reading simple. Here are the three relevant reviews:
Within those reviews you’ll also find links to other hotel content.
Important Note: Disney has announced that from January 2025 through June 2025 (not 2024), Stormalong Bay, the feature pool at Yacht Club and Beach Club will be closed. We do not recommend staying at these hotels during this time, and recommend you instead consider Boardwalk Inn.
Location & The Boardwalk
Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk Inn are located around Crescent Lake in an area also known as “the Boardwalk area” because of the presence of the Boardwalk—one of Disney’s popular dining, shopping, and recreational areas.
Crescent Lake is located between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, both within walking distance of all three hotels. If you have a trip specifically focused on these two parks (common during Epcot festivals or just for groups without young kids), this area is a particularly good option.
There are two ways to get between Epcot and Hollywood Studios via Crescent Lake.
A walking path takes approximately 30 minutes between the two parks. There is also a boat that runs between the two making three stops at Swan & Dolphin, BoardWalk Inn, and Yacht & Beach Club and taking around 30 to 45 minutes.
The location between these two parks is what makes the three resorts so popular. You’ll be able to walk to two parks, which means you don’t have to count on Disney transport, which can become crowded and have long waits.
Besides the easy access to two parks, you’ll also have all the restaurants and bars of all three resorts—including everything on the Boardwalk—at your fingertips. Basically, you’re getting over three hotels worth of convenient dining options with this location.
If you wanted to split hairs, BoardWalk Inn probably has the best location of the three, but this isn’t really something to pick the hotel for. We’re talking a few minutes walking difference overall. BoardWalk is maybe 1 to 2 minutes average closer to the two parks than Yacht & Beach Clubs.
BoardWalk is closer to its own bars and restaurants, which make up a large number of the options in the area. But the entire loop around Crescent Lake is 0.8 miles, meaning you’re never more than 0.4 miles, or about 8 minutes walking, from any hotel.
Boardwalk seen from Yacht Club
Which is cheapest: Yacht Club, Beach Club, or BoardWalk?
None of these are cheap in any way. But Yacht Club and Beach Club have lower prices than BoardWalk, generally. Here’s a look at some 2024 pricing (you can always find this information at MouseSavers):
Early Feb — Yacht/Beach $569 vs. BoardWalk $641
Mid April — Yacht/Beach $721 vs. BoardWalk $738
Christmas — Yacht/Beach $1043 vs. BoardWalk $1118
This price differential has been around for years and never made sense to me. While Boardwalk has a slightly better location, it also has a worse pool.
But with the new Boardwalk rooms, everything has changed. These are some of Disney’s newest and best rooms. The Beach Club is the only one of the three resorts with “old” rooms, but Yacht Club’s were among the first to receive the recent renovations, so they’re showing some age just as the new Boardwalk rooms have debuted.
Yacht vs. Beach vs. Boardwalk — Best Dining Options
With their close locations, you shouldn’t spend much time comparing dining options at these three. You’re never more than 0.4 miles from the other two resorts, and all guests have equal access to all restaurants at Walt Disney World.
I suppose you could be planning for a rainy day worst case scenario, in which case you’d probably prefer to be at Yacht or Beach Club Resort, because the Boardwalk Restaurant entrances face outside. But that’s usually a non-factor.
It’s also worth noting that while dining and drinking come up a lot in discussing these hotels, that’s just because of all the options. These are all still Disney and thus kid friendly hotels.
Yacht vs. Beach vs. Boardwalk — Best Rooms
Finally—an area we can draw some distinctions! We’ll include a gallery of room photos from each of the three hotels, along with some commentary. The individual reviews cover the rooms in more detail. (We’re also just focused on standard rooms here—we’re not comparing specific views or suites or anything like that).
Boardwalk’s New Rooms
As of mid-2023, Boardwalk Inn has debuted new rooms. These are very nice, simple rooms. While we miss some of the charm of the old rooms, there’s not much doubt that these are the best rooms in the area.
Yacht Club Rooms
The Yacht Club rooms are no longer the new kids on the block, with Boardwalk Inn having much newer rooms.
This puts the Yacht Club rooms in the middle of the three:
Best — Brand New Boardwalk rooms
Second — New Yacht Club rooms
Third — Old Beach Club rooms
Some people find the Yacht Club rooms too dark or too modern. Having stayed in almost every style of room at Disney World, we find these to be a great blend of modern design and theming. But if the darker style isn’t your thing, you’ll probably love the Boardwalk (or maybe even Beach Club) rooms.
Beach Club Rooms
Beach Club’s rooms the oldest of the bunch, with no under bed space or sliding bathroom doors. They also retain carpeting, unlike Yacht Club and Boardwalk.
While we find the design of Beach Club’s rooms to be a bit bland, there’s no doubt they might appeal to people looking for a warm, calming feel. Even look back on our last stay at Beach Club, I find myself remembering the rooms more fondly as time goes on.
Yacht vs. Beach vs. Boardwalk — Pools
This is an easy one. Yacht Club and Beach Club share a pool, known as Stormalong Bay, which is the best hotel pool at Walt Disney World, including a sand bottom and a small lazy river.
BoardWalk Inn’s pool is fine, and some people may fall in love with the whimsy, but it is not as good as Stormalong Bay. Tap the arrows for photos of both pools:
Yacht vs. Beach vs. BoardWalk — Club Level
We get that not everyone will even consider staying Club Level at a Disney World resort, but we want to cover all our bases. While these clubs are mostly the same—all of Disney’s are quite similar—we do think that Stone Harbor Club at Beach Club and Innkeeper’s Club at BoardWalk are a step above Regatta Club at Yacht Club.
You’re going to get similar experiences—food, lounge quality, and service—across all three. But we found Innkeeper’s service to be among the best at Walt Disney World and Stone Harbor’s lounge and service to be above average.
Innkeeper Lounge at BoardWalk Inn
Yacht Club vs. Beach Club vs. BoardWalk — Everything Else
Having grown up rotating between these hotels on annual Disney vacations, I feel like I have a pretty good sense of them. In terms of tone, I’d say Yacht Club is the most serious, BoardWalk is the most whimsical, and Beach Club is in between.
None of these is going to compete with the tacky fun of the value resorts, though (we say that lovingly as big value resort fans). BoardWalk’s creepy chairs might be the only bit of kitsch you’ll find among these three hotels.
All three hotels have convention/conference centers. The Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club share a convention space with 100,000 square feet of meeting space. BoardWalk’s conference center has 20,000 square feet.
You’re probably not here planning a meeting—so why did I give you those figures? They’re pretty indicative of the crowds you can expect if an event is in town.
You shouldn’t plan around conferences, but I’ve found the crowds—particularly at the bars and restaurants—to be a nuisance at Yacht Club when a big enough conference is around. Conference crowds tend to be adults who are traveling without their families and looking to let loose a little.
Our Pick Of These Three Hotels
Based on our recent stays, we give the edge to BoardWalk Inn. We really enjoyed the new rooms, and we did appreciate that the location was a nice balance between Epcot and Hollywood Studios, even if the difference is just a matter of minutes. I’d probably pay the higher BoardWalk rates to stay there in the future, but if a deal was available at Yacht Club or Beach Club but not Beach Club, that would probably even be enough for me to pick those over Boardwalk. The gap just isn’t huge.
Crescent Lake vs. Other Options
In closing, we’ll talk about some other options at Disney World. You came to this post primarily interested in these three hotels, but it bears mentioning some other options you might be interested in.
Walt Disney World Dolphin
Also just a few minutes walking from the Boardwalk are the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin hotels (Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve). These hotels are owned and operated by Marriott, so they are not Disney hotels. These hotels typically have lower prices—but not low prices—than Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk.
If it’s access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios you’re interested in, you might consider saving some money by staying at Art of Animation, Pop Century, or Caribbean Beach along the Disney Skyliner. (Riviera Resort—also along the Skyliner—won’t save you money but is an option.)
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
These three hotels (ignoring Riviera) are very different experiences from the Crescent Lake resorts, as they’re two value resorts and a moderate resort. But if you came upon Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk for the location, the Skyliner access is an alternative worth considering.
If you’re looking for the “nicest” hotels, you’ll want to consider the other deluxe resorts, too. The monorail resorts—Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary—offer better access to Magic Kingdom, and otherwise are each better in some ways and worse in others than each of the Crescent Lake resorts.
Meanwhile, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge offer exceptional theming and lower prices than the other deluxe resorts, at the expense of not having exceptional transportation to any of the parks.
Finally, if it’s a more “adult” experience you’re looking for, go to Washington D.C. Just kidding. Our go-to for a more serious tone around Disney World is the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs. It’s a brand new building with wonderful rooms and beautiful design.
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