A Sunrise Photo Walk Around the Lighthouse at Disney’s Yacht Club

During our last stay at Disney’s Yacht Club, I woke up early one morning and decided to venture outside to catch the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning and one of those rare times when you feel like you have the entire place to yourself. While that might be difficult to imagine, I can attest that early risers and night owls are privy to these moments around the resorts. During this walk, I encountered less than a handful of other guests taking advantage.

These photos were all taken a little over a year ago on a warm November morning between 6:30 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. At the time, we were visiting to get an early start on our holiday coverage of the resorts. So these pictures were placed in a forgotten folder and only recently uncovered in our ongoing photo audit. I hope you’ll forgive me for getting to them so late.

To make up for it, I’ll let you in on a little secret. The photo below shows one of my favorite places to sit and relax at Disney World. I’ve enjoyed breakfast, dinner, and more than a few snacks at this very spot. This small patio sits between the resort side entrance of the Yacht Club and the edge of Stormalong Bay. The view looks directly out to a pretty angle of Disney’s Boardwalk. (Talk about sightlines!)

We’ll continue to the lobby entrance of the Yacht Club and look directly to the lighthouse in the distance.

These potted plants are a Yacht Club staple. The only thing that changes through the seasons are the plants that fill them.

If you enjoy photography, you might have discovered that you always stop and take the same photo… no matter what. This is one of mine.

These next few photos are reminiscent of the Disney Parks Sunrise Series on Disney+. We continue toward the lighthouse as the area begins to offer a warm glow.

We look back to the Yacht Club.

The lighthouse sits at the end of the boat dock. If you’re visiting, this is where you’ll board the FriendShips. They travel to the surrounding resorts, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Of course, Epcot is about an 8-minute walk from the lighthouse. So it’s much quicker to walk.

At the edge of the dock, we can see across the lake to the Boardwalk.

Looking back toward the Beach Club, we see the shipwreck, which is home to one of Disney’s Beach Club’s best-kept secrets.

At this point, I had been out on the dock for some time and decided to walk back toward the Beach Club side of the resort.

The sun would be up in just a few moments.

If you’re ever walking around Crescent Lake, the area below is one of the best spots to stop for a photo. Stormalong Bay sits on the opposite side, and it gives the illusion that the stream from the lake runs under a bridge and into the pool area.

We’re almost to the shipwreck.

I thought it was funny that the sand had been grated on the beach. I don’t recall noticing it before.

Looking back, we see a grouping of Adirondack chairs. This is where the nightly Movies Under the Stars are held at the Beach and Yacht Club. (It’s a wonderful way to spend a night off from the parks. The weekly movie schedule is posted on the resort’s recreation calendar in the lobby.)

If we stayed straight, we’d be at Epcot’s International Gateway in just a few moments.

However, it was time for me to get ready for the day. So I took a left at the Beach Club and returned to our room.