Disney’s Beach Club Recreation Guide
Planning a stay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort? Our recreation guide will help you get started.
Wellness
You’ll have a couple of opportunities to enjoy fitness activities during your stay at Disney’s Beach Club. They are as follows.
The Ship Shape Health Club
If you have a regular exercise routine, you can use the resort’s fitness center, the Ship Shape Health Club. The hotel gym offers a variety of cardio and strength training equipment. We also like to take advantage of the showers and locker area toward the back of the gym. This can especially come in handy when you’re using the pool. (A separate shower and changing area is available near the pool, but most guests are unaware that this additional locker room is available.)
Per Disney, guests must be 14 years or older to use the health club, and guests 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. This facility and the pools are intended for guests staying at the hotel. You’ll need your MagicBand or Keys to the World card to access these amenities. The Health Club is available 24/7.
Here are a few photos of the gym. For a complete gallery, see Ship Shape Health Club at Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club.
Jogging Trails
If you enjoy jogging, you will likely love the Epcot Resorts Area. The loop around Crescent Lake is 0.8 miles, and you can enter it from the Beach Club. You can expand the length at several points in the area if desired. Many guests will take the walkway to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and then double back to the loop. See our resort jogging guide for more details.
Feature Pool
Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club is home to four incredible pools. Stormalong Bay is the primary pool shared between the resorts. It’s spreadout over three acres, featuring an expansive sand-bottom pool area. The mini water park offers a 230-foot waterslide, a lazy river, three whirlpool spas, and a wading pool with a tremendous sand pile in the center. An elevated tanning deck is also available for those looking for a quieter spot to relax.
If you have smaller children, make sure to look inside the Shipwreck, which also serves as the entrance to the waterslide. Inside, you’ll find a kiddie pool with a miniature slide, perfect for the little ones.
As mentioned above, the pools are intended for the use of resort guests. From our experiences, Disney does an excellent job of keeping cast members staffed at each of the pool entrances. You will have to show proof that you’re staying at the resort to enter, and as a resort guest, this is for your benefit. The pool is very popular and often busy, but it would be even worse if it were not monitored.
See our Stormalong Bay Guide for photos and a complete list of amenities.
Poolside Activities at Stormalong Bay
Offerings include themed pool games, relays, trivia, and more! Each day, a recreation cast member invites guests to participate in poolside games and trivia for a couple of hours in the afternoon. This is an excellent way for children to get involved while parents or guardians watch from a nearby lounger.
Poolside Cabana Rentals
Cabana rentals are available at Stormalong Bay. This is a unique and limited experience (there are only four) that often sells out. Cabana rentals at Disney’s Beach Club come with the following amenities.
- Dedicated Cast Member providing service to the cabanas
- Cocktail service
- Ceiling fan
- Padded furniture, including chairs and a couch
- Television with cable access
- Charging outlet/USB
- Mini refrigerator stocked with complimentary sodas and water
- Fruit basket (may not be available without reservation)
- Plush towels
- Cabinet safe
For more details, see Poolside Cabana Rentals at Disney World. It details our experience renting a cabana at Stormalong Bay.
Leisure Pools
In addition to Stormalong Bay, Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club are home to three quiet or leisure pool areas. The Tidal Pool sits in a garden area toward the front of the Beach Club, facing Crescent Lake. It’s a sizeable pool at 43,000 gallons. You’ll also find the Beach Club’s primary laundry facility and a whirlpool spa in the immediate area.
The Dunes Cove Pool can be found in the Beach Club Villas wing of the resort. It’s a 55,350-gallon pool. Even though this pool is part of the Villas, a Disney Vacation Club Resort, all guests are welcome to use it. It also has a whirlpool spa.
Lastly, the Admiral Pool sits on the opposite end of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, near the tennis courts. This quiet pool is adjacent to the primary laundry room at Disney’s Yacht Club. It’s a 54,000-gallon pool with a whirlpool spa.
We have a few photos of the pools below. For a complete overview, see our guide: The Four Pools at Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club. It offers more photos, information about changing rooms, life jackets, towels, and other amenities available at the resort pool.
Lafferty Place Arcade
The resort’s arcade sits along the indoor/outdoor walkway that connects Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club. It’s directly between the hotel gym and Beaches and Cream Restaurant. It’s an excellent place to spend a little extra downtime, especially on a rainy day. However, this activity does require an additional fee.
Bayside Marina Rentals
A marina sits adjacent to the lighthouse at Disney’s Yacht Club. Guests can rent a Sun Tracker Pontoon-style boat that seats up to 10 guests. Prices can vary. Fishing excursions are also available at this location. You can read more details on Disney.com.
Fireworks cruises set sail each evening from Bayside Marina Rentals. This unique experience allows guests to see Luminous: The Symphony of Us from the water. Prices for this experience vary. Read the fine print here on Disney’s site.
Sports Courts at Disney’s Beach Club
You’ll find the following sports courts at Disney’s Beach Club or nearby at the Yacht Club.
Volleyball Court
A volleyball court is located near the Tidal Pool at Disney’s Beach Club.
Tennis Court (or Pickleball)
A tennis court sits adjacent to the Admiral Pool at Disney’s Yacht Club.
Other Resort Activities at Disney’s Beach Club
Here are a few other activities you might enjoy at Disney’s Beach Club during your stay.
Movies Under the Stars
Movies Under the Stars happen each evening on Shipwreck Beach. You’ll want to reference the resort recreation calendar for exact showtimes and movies during your stay. See How to Enjoy a Movie Under the Stars at Disney’s Beach Club for more details. This is a complimentary activity, but you might like to purchase snacks.
Nightly Campfire
Before the nightly movie each evening, guests can roast marshmallows on a campfire with cast members. This is a free activity with the option to purchase an upgraded ‘smores kit.
Arts and Crafts
Throughout the years, we’ve seen a number of craft offerings at Disney’s Beach Club. Crafts are usually held on the beach, on the resort lawn, or in the Solarium during inclement weather. You’ll want to check the resort recreation calendar during your visit to find out what exact offerings are available. Here are a few:
- Mickey Tie Dye
- Mosaics
- Painting in the Vineyard
- Create Your Own Nautical Necklace
- Design Your Own Ocean Jar
- Paint Your Own Sea Magnet
- Create Your Own Sand Ornament (Holidays)
- Paint Your Own Seashell
Note that these are all paid activities, and the offerings change regularly. However, the following arts and crafts activities are pretty regular:
Mickey Tie Dye: Get creative with a Disney twist on this arts and crafts favorite. Most guests like to do this activity a few days before their departure, so the t-shirt has time to dry. It’s very popular.
Painting in the Vineyard: This activity is pretty regular, and the painting changes monthly. It’s often held on Fridays at 4:00 p.m. A sign is usually displayed outside of Martha’s Vineyard that offers exact details. Here is the description: Get in touch with your inner artist in this master-led painting class. Space is limited. For ages 12 and up. Available first-come, first-served served. Space is limited. Arrive early to secure your spot.
Other Activities
You might also enjoy a few other things around the resort. For instance, if you collect pressed pennies, you’ll find a few machines on the walkway behind Stormalong Bay. They are usually around Beaches and Cream. From time to time, we’ve seen caricature artists in the lobby. You can have your sketch drawn or leave a picture with an artist and pick it up later. We’ve even seen a few of the artist’s sketch pets based on a picture on their mobile device.
If you’re looking for a free activity, you might like to participate in the Hidden Character Hunt. Cast members hide a small character cutout in public spaces around the resort. Find Flounder (at the Beach club) or Max (at the Yacht Club) and take a photo of him. Then show the photo to a cast member in the lobby for a small prize. In our experience, we’ve received a button or stickers.
We hope this recreation guide helped you identify activities available at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. For more of our coverage, you might enjoy our resort guide.
