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 — L to R: Beach Club, EPCOT, the Boardwalk

2026 Update: How Big A Deal Is All This Construction?

As we head into 2026, there’s a specific wrinkle to this post that I have to touch on—construction.

Over the last few years, the construction calendar has helped us to distinguish between these resorts. The Yacht & Beach Club pool was closed for an extensive time (it’s reopened now), making BoardWalk the obvious pick. And BoardWalk got updates to both its rooms and lobby in recent years, with Beach Club’s rooms also getting big updates.

For a while, it seemed like we’d finally be at something of a calm point heading into 2026, but it’s not to be. Indeed, all three resorts now have construction notices covering 2026.

Here’s a look at these, as posted on the Disney World website (note: I removed the notice of the annual Skyliner closure). First, Yacht Club:

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is undergoing routine exterior maintenance through late 2026. As part of this work, the porte cochere will be closed through late November 2025. This work may impact views from various locations throughout the resort, and at times, alternate paths of travel may be in place.
While efforts will be made to minimize disruptions, construction may be noticeable during daytime hours. All services—including valet, luggage assistance, and transportation—will remain available. All pools, resort dining and most other amenities will remain available.

Once the porte cochere reopens, this notice should get simplified a bit. This leaves us with “routine exterior maintenance.” Generally, this is the sort of work that might (1) impact your photos and (2) impact a midday nap, but it shouldn’t ruin your trip.

Here’s the similar notice over at Beach Club:

Disney’s Beach Club Resort is undergoing routine exterior maintenance through 2027. As part of this work, the porte cochere will be closed through late November 2025. This work may impact views from various locations throughout the resort, and at times, alternate paths of travel may be in place.
While efforts will be made to minimize disruptions, construction may be noticeable during daytime hours. All services—including valet, luggage assistance, and transportation—will remain available. All pools, resort dining and most other amenities will remain available.

This is the same notice, just with exterior work through 2027 instead of late 2026.

Finally, the reason for updating this post is a new notice at BoardWalk Inn:

Beginning late November 2025 and continuing throughout 2026, refurbishment work will take place in select areas of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. While Guests may see or hear work during daytime hours, most Resort amenities—including dining, recreation, and merchandise locations—will remain available.

(Note: There’s also a feature pool closure at BoardWalk Inn from January 11, 2027, through April 2027 that I’m not including here.)

The BoardWalk notice came as a surprise to most people in the Disney sphere. For starters, it was announced in mid-November with a late-November start, so very little notice. Second, it’s rather lengthy—throughout 2026. And, most notably, BoardWalk Inn just got a bunch of interior work done, including on the rooms, Club Lounge, and lobby.

Coincidentally, I happened to be zig-zagging back and forth across the BoardWalk for a few days when this announcement was made, and my mind went in the same direction as most people’s—all the vacant store/restaurant space.

Along the western half of the BoardWalk, we’ve seen closures of Big River Grille, Promenade Fine Art Gallery, and Jellyrolls in recent years. Remaining on that side of the area is Atlantic Dance Hall, and the combo general store Thimbles & Thread / Screen Door General Store.

Now, if (big “if”) the work is confined to that side of the BoardWalk, the first (slightly tricky) thing to note is that this is the Villas (i.e. DVC) side of the resort. Rooms at BoardWalk Inn presumably wouldn’t be impacted by work on that side of the resort.

BoardWalk Map Comparing Sides / Vacancies - Map Copyright Disney, Fair Use Claimed

If you book a villa, you’d be closer to the work on that side. And, notably, you might not always catch that you’re booking a villas when you book on the Disney World website—you need to look at the fine print to see that a “Studio” is a villa, for example:

And, if the work is at all extensive, it could ruin some of your photos.

The bottom line here is that we’ve got two somewhat ambiguous construction notices at Yacht and Beach, plus a more ambiguous notice at BoardWalk Inn. But, hopefully, none of these notices actually have a significant impact on guest experience (again, except for the Gram).

Heading into 2026, my approach would still be to stay at BoardWalk Inn, with the caveat that it’s reasonable for Stormalong Bay to tip the scales in favor of Yacht or Beach. I’d be betting the construction work is on some of the vacant storefronts on the Villas side, and that wouldn’t bother me.

If nothing else, the broad “exterior maintenance” language of the Yacht and Beach Club notices means that basically any room could have daytime working occurring on the nearby exterior. Of course, we have no confirmation as to where the BoardWalk work will be, but if we assume it’s related to the vacancies, then the Inn-side at least would be free from major disturbances.

So, with this note on construction in the back of our minds, let’s move onto the rest of the post.

Location & The Boardwalk

Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk Inn are located around Crescent Lake in an area sometimes 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 heavily 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.

You also can take the Skyliner between the two parks. This takes a more circuitous route than going via Crescent Lake, and it’ll take about 20 minutes.

disney world yacht beach boardwalk compare map.jpg

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 rely on Disney transportation, 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.

Bottom Line: BoardWalk Inn has the best location by the tiniest of margins.

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. In 2026, BoardWalk Inn rates start at $673, while Yacht and Beach start at $636 and $631, respectively.

This price gap between BoardWalk and Yacht/Beach has been around for years and doesn’t make much sense to me. This whole post is built around the premise that these hotels are pretty tough to choose between, so a $40 nightly gap is maybe a bit much.

Of course, that $40 is something like only 6% of the prices we’re talking about here. Am I surprised if whatever algorithm Disney uses for coming up prices concludes BoardWalk should be 6% higher than Yacht & Beach? I guess not, it’s close enough.

Bottom Line: Yacht Club and Beach Club are less expensive than BoardWalk Inn.

disney world yacht beach boardwalk compare 1.jpeg

Yacht vs. Beach vs. Boardwalk — Best Dining Options

With their close locations, you shouldn’t spend too 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.

At the very least, we can’t distinguish between Yacht Club and Beach Club on these grounds. Those hotels are literally attached and even share a map. But between Yacht / Beach and BoardWalk Inn, I think Yacht / Beach has the better dining lineup.

Particularly, Yacht / Beach’s highlights include:

a character meal (Cape May Cafe)
a proper steakhouse (Yachtsman Steakhouse)
an awesome ice cream shop (Beaches and Cream)

BoardWalk Inn, which has seen pretty significant restaurant turnover and modifications the last few years just can’t compete. AbracadaBar is a standout bar, but Flying Fish and Trattoria al Forno are a level below Yacht / Beach’s best.

I think some people would put The Cake Bake Shop in a slightly higher tier than the other BoardWalk restaurants, but it isn’t enough to close the gap with Yacht and Beach.

Bottom Line: Yacht Club and Beach Club have better dining than BoardWalk Inn (but feel free to walk or boat there from BoardWalk).

Yacht vs. Beach vs. Boardwalk — Theme

Each of these hotels has a distinct (but related) theme. Here’s a quick look at how Disney describes each of these:

Yacht Club: “formal grace of a grand New England-style yacht club”
Beach Club: “casual elegance of this charming, New England-style Resort hotel”
BoardWalk Inn: “charm and whimsy of turn-of-the-century Atlantic City”

I’ll give some photos below, but here’s my quick take on these themes.

Yacht Club is by far the most formal. It is aiming for fancy Yacht Club, it hits the mark, and it’s second in elegance at Disney World only to Grand Floridian. Expect dark blues, dark browns, and white polos.
Beach Club is a less formal alternative to Yacht Club. Basically just think of how you’d feel being at a beach next to a Yacht club, and you’ll get the vibes. It’s still nice, but it’s meant to be more welcoming and less stuffy. It’s like Yacht Club, but with lighter blues, lighter browns, and the occasional dash of pink.
BoardWalk Inn is doing it’s own thing, and I think Disney is right that “whimsy” is the resort in a single word. It’s a fun, colorful aesthetic. Lots of ocean-foam green with soft pinks and yellows.

Now, here are just a few photos (mainly lobbies) from each. You’ll also get a sense of the theme from the room and pool photos, later in this post.

A Peek at BoardWalk Inn Theming

A Peek at Yacht Club Theming

A Peek at Beach Club Theming

Bottom Line: These themes are similar enough that you’d rarely have to have one over another, but you might find one fits your preferences.

Yacht vs. Beach vs. Boardwalk — Best Rooms

Room design overlaps with theme, but there’s also some more specific distinguishing features between the rooms at these hotels. 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 Rooms

BoardWalk Inn debuted new rooms in 2023. These are very nice, simple rooms. While we miss some of the charm of the old rooms, these are our favorite rooms of the bunch.

Yacht Club’s Rooms

Yacht Club’s rooms were the first in the area to get the modern refurbishments that really went deep, introducing the hard floors and the expansive dresser-console under the TV. This gave it a leg up on the other two hotels.

Then BoardWalk got the same upgrades. Then Beach Club…well, we’ll get there next. But Yacht Club was suddenly the old one of the bunch. Enter 2025, when Yacht Club rooms got a soft goods refurbishment (e.g. new curtains, throw pillows) that added some pop to the room.

You can see the new rooms here. The below photo does not have the latest soft updates. Overall, the latest updates basically serve to keep Yacht Club’s rooms competitive with BoardWalk’s rooms in my mind.

Beach Club’s Rooms

I’m not sure what happened here.

Beach Club was the last of these three to get the hard refurbishment, and for whatever reason they didn’t get the full remodel basically every other resort got. For example, you can see below that they still retain the old wooden entertainment console under the TV:

With Yacht Club’s rooms just having gotten a new soft goods update, we’re somehow back in the universe where Beach Club is more than a full round of updates behind Yacht Club. That said, if you had no familiarity at all with Disney rooms (sorry!), you might not even notice this one is a bit behind the curve.

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.

Bottom Line: BoardWalk and Yacht Club have fresh, well-themed rooms, while Beach Club lags a bit behind.

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 pics to enlarge:

Bottom Line: The shared Stormalong Bay pool at Yacht and Beach Club is in a class of its own, but the BoardWalk Inn pool is plenty fun, too.

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.

Bottom Line: BoardWalk’s Innkeeper Club is our favorite club lounge of the three.

Yacht Club vs. Beach Club vs. BoardWalk — Conferences

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.

Finally, note that large conferences actually take over all three hotels at the same time. Really large conferences even take over these hotels plus the Swan and Dolphin.

Our Pick Of These Three Hotels

Based on our recent stays—and as not-food people—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.

Practically, the biggest loss picking BoardWalk is you miss out on Stormalong Bay. This could matter to some people, but our kid has just as much fun in the secondary pools at the value resorts as at any other pool.

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 BoardWalk, that would probably even be enough for me to pick those over BoardWalk (and I’d probably set time aside for Stormalong Bay). 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.

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.)

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.

disney world yacht beach boardwalk compare 9.jpeg

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 newer building with wonderful rooms and beautiful design.

All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered

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Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.

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Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.

Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.

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