Disney's Yacht Club Resort

We are first time Disney peeps. Horrible first time experience. As far a the resort goes it’s super nice and was clean. Rooms were mediocre but nothing bad. Beds were comfy. Service was terrible. These are some of the most unfriendly people I have ever met for supposedly being the most magical place on earth. Staff was no where near friendly or personable. If you had a question and got within 8’ they backed up. For only being 25% capacity there were constantly lines at the pool side beverage and grill. Orders wrong. Workers not speaking clear English theu their masks... no customer service skills. Front desk definitely didn’t make us feel magical and great like everyone says Disney use to be. I guess if it was discounted you get what you pay for but nothing was cheap. And don’t even get me started on the “Disney Cast members at the parks. If you hate yourself job you shouldn’t be in the service industry if Covid has you stressed out. We would never go back

Prices didn't go down but service surely did. DON'T visit during COVID times if you have been a frequent guest at Disney. We have invested in DVC since 2010, don't do that either, no perks. We waited a year to travel during covid time. We have already had covid and gotten vaccines and still doing everything that we are to do. DIsney is taking those precautions to the max which is the only good thing about our stay so far and we have only been here for a day. Dreading the next 6 days here. Staff is NOT their "friendly" selves, dining options are ver limited and you need to use the app for anything that you want to do. Very nerve wracking. At 35% occupancy, you would think they would be wanting guests, no. SO different from normal times but wow, the complete opposite. Can't even find aloe in the hotel store. When I ask...the man said...."keep 6 feet away from me." I was atleast 8 feet. Then he said "no, we don't carry aloe anymore." No other help other than he kept telling me to stay 6 feet apart. Not helpful at all. Dreading our first visit to the parks tomorrow. And.... I ordered room service last night upon our arrival and good thing I check my online banking each morning, the charged me TWICE! They finally refunded me without an explanation or even a "sorry." Don't come here now. Wait til things go back to a normal. Trust me.

Our favorite Disney resorts are the Boardwalk and Beach Club but since both of these are shuttered, we got switched to the Yacht Club. Rooms are identical size as the Beach Club but have hardwood floors instead of carpet. The one thing about this at the Yacht Club is the beds are raised and you have significantly more storage under the beds. The closet storage is also superior to the Beach Club with lots of storage. The Yacht Club feels a little more “grownup like” than Beach Club. Location is superb. We still prefer the Boardwalk and Beach Club but would not hesitate to stay here again. Also there is no housekeeping service due to Covid but they send someone daily to “inspect” your room. They also now offer room service. We ordered twice, the food was cold both times.

I had read about how bringing your pet to Disney was made simple by this resort and was anxious to get the Pluto Gift bag on check-in that I had read about. I was severely disappointed to find it consisted of one very cheap plastic bowl and mat (see picture below). Disappointed, but dealing with it, I went down to the front desk to get the second bowl thinking that one cheap bowl in the bag must have been an accident, but was surprised to hear that one cheap bowl and mat really was all that’s included in the bag along with some plastic bags for accidents. Severely underwhelming especially for a Deluxe Disney Resort. Not worth the high price tag if they are going to skimp on the little things that make Disney so special.

This resort is arguably the best on property. I’ll start with my few negatives then go on to positives. Negatives: During our visit, various dining options were either completely unavailable or were offering extremely limited seating availability. This meant getting food after the parks closed at the hotel was a bit trickier than it should have been. Granted, our meals were great at beaches and cream but so-so from the quick service option. Not a big deal but I worth noting. Also mask enforcement was usually pretty strict although on Disney buses to/from the resort enforcement was almost nonexistent. Not much Disney can do about it since the driver is focusing on the road though. Positives: this property is ideally located. It is between Epcot and Hollywood studios parks (a little closer to Epcot than Hollywood Studios). Both are within walking distance. You can sky line or ride a boat to Hollywood Studios although I don’t recommend doing so as it likely will take just as long as walking if not longer. Hotels in this area are the only properties where you can walk to 2 parks I believe which is amazing. The property is also on the smaller side for Disney hotels which is nice when your room is only a short walk from the front desk compared to other Disney properties. The service was as good if not better then other resorts. The cast members were always welcoming and ensured we had a great visit. Shout out to the pool entertainment staff who made sure we had an exceptional day at the pool. The room we had was visually clean and of a decent size. It is more generic of a hotel room so nothing outstanding to note in terms of the room. Housekeeping was very accommodating to our special requests of replenished coffee and soaps. The value this property offers is also tremendous for a deluxe resort. While it is not in the Magic Kingdom district, it still offer most of the amenities those resorts offer however it is usually a less price. If you are considering this property and a hotel near the Magic Kingdom, I would encourage those, especially families with bigger kids (that won’t visit the Magic Kingdom as much) to look into this property as it checks off most of the boxes and is closer to 2 parks which is amazing. It was a great stay!