Should You runDisney From Disney’s Beach Club Resort?

Disney’s Beach Club resort is not a hard sell. It’s a deluxe accommodation with a spectacular location, multiple popular restaurants on site, and the most coveted pool complex on property. I’m not here to ask if you should stay at the Beach Club. But I am asking: is the Beach Club a good place to set up camp during a runDisney race weekend?

GETTING INTO BEACH CLUB ON THE CHEAP

Full disclosure: I did not reserve a Beach Club room at rack rates. Instead, I rented Disney Vacation Club points for a studio at the Beach Club Villas, the DVC wing of the greater Beach Club resort. By renting points, I paid around what I might have for a basic room at a moderate resort. Split among four friends, the total was very reasonable.

However, the DVC points rental route isn’t for everyone. For starters, there are NO REFUNDS on rented points. If you’re at all unsure, you’ll either want to go the regular, cancellation-friendly resort room route, or shell out extra money for trip insurance.

Depending on your preferred resort and room type, you may also need to jump on your DVC room before you even get your bib. Studios are one of the most popular DVC room types, and are open for booking to DVC owners 11 months out. If you want a studio, I highly recommend renting those points on drop day – because it’s probably the only way you’ll get in. Consider it a leap of faith.

ONE BEACH CLUB VILLA, GENTLY USED

Perhaps you expect me to display tidy, untouched, visibly pleasing resort review photos that show a pristine room not yet marred by human use.

Not today! I didn’t take my photos until Becky and I, the last men standing, were packing up to head home. Hence the, er, slightly messy tableaus. It’s kinda more fun that way, though, don’t you think? Seeing how actual people filled the room and made it their own? Right? Right? I’m going to assume you’re nodding along here.

I’m not going to do a 1000% comprehensive, totally granular review of the rooms at the Beach Club Villas. (I bet Disney In Your Day will so make sure you give her a follow!) In order to make the re: running portion make sense, I do feel like a top level overview will provide necessary context. Here’s a quick-run through.

DON’T PLAN TO COOK IN A DVC STUDIO

A studio at the Beach Club is little different from a standard room elsewhere in the resort, but with some key differences. The most obvious element is that all DVC studios feature a mini-kitchen.

Unlike multi-room DVC suites such as we saw at Old Key West and Fort Wilderness, the studio does not offer all the comforts of cooking at home. This kitchen is more of an alcove, and it doesn’t have… most appliances, really. Regular, non-DVC rooms have mini-fridges and coffee makers too.

However, the Beach Club’s coffee machine wasn’t a single-pod, single cup contraption alone. You had that option, but you could also make a full pot. That’s nice when you’ve got four people in the room!

The other big feature is the microwave – you won’t find one of those in a regular room.

A BONUS BEACH CLUB BED

To be honest, the Beach Club studio is a little cramped. I think we were pushing the limits with four people, given the size and singular bathroom. Still, the Beach Club did lend itself more to this than other single rooms with the addition of a pulldown twin bed under the television. That’s right, the Beach Club can sleep up to five: two in the queen standard bed, two in the queen Murphy bed, and one in the twin.

Unfortunately, with all of those beds pulled down and left down, you’re not left with a ton of living space. Sure, you could put the beds back up during the day, but that’s a pain. Especially when you’ve got blankets and pillows and stuffed animals (just me?) and crud to contend with.

THE REST OF IT

We’re left with only two areas left to cover: the balcony and the bathroom.

We didn’t spend a lot of time on the balcony as the Murphy bed made it kinda tough to get out there. It wasn’t particularly large, but it was bigger than the ones in the regular, non-DVC rooms – those are teensy Juliet balconies one person can barely stand on. Ours at least had room for two chairs and a small table.

The bathroom is a pretty standard Disney bathroom, divided into parts. The mirror and sinks are open to the main room with no door. To your left is the closet, and to the right is a door to a separate room for the toilet and shower. This shower does have an attached tub, which doesn’t seem to be a given of late.

One odd thing we noted: there was no full length mirror anywhere in the room.

TRANSPORTATION

The Beach Club is a Boardwalk area resort, and with that comes the old real estate maxim: location, location, location.

You can walk to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as well as any of the other resorts, shops, and restaurants on the Boardwalk.

You can take a gondola to any of the resorts and restaurants on the Skyliner. Technically you could also take the Skyliner to the Studios, although by the time you’ve done so I’m not sure you’d save much time or effort over walking.

There’s also the option to take a Friendship boat to Epcot, the Studios, or any of the resorts and restaurants on the Boardwalk. In this case walking will usually be faster, but it will save you steps in many cases.

You’ll need to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, and anywhere else on property. Beach Club generally shares a bus with Yacht Club and occasionally the Boardwalk as well depending on the time of day and where you’re headed.

As for the runDisney bus situation, busses to the races and expo are shared with Yacht Club and Boardwalk.

AMENITIES

Not to sound like a broken record, but it’s kind of a primary selling point: Beach Club is in the Boardwalk resort area, and has easy walking access to all the restaurants and businesses contained therein. That means places like the Cake Bake Shop and Atlantic Dance Hall, plus everything the Boardwalk and Yacht Club arms of Disney’s resorts have to offer.

As for the Beach Club itself, it has everything you might expect from a deluxe tier resort. There’s a gym, on site bars and restaurants, etc. However, they do have a couple unique elements. Cape May Cafe offers character meals.

Stormalong Bay, with its lazy river and water slide, is considered the premier pool complex in all of Walt Disney World. It’s a mini water park in and of itself. Stormalong Bay is ONLY accessible to Yacht & Beach Club guests; you’ll need a wristband just to get in.

Additionally, as a Disney Vacation Club outpost, the DVC part of the resort has a couple hangout spots. They’re largely just big rooms with some chairs and tables and TVs. Still, one of them did have a pool table. I believe most of these community halls have scheduled activities during the week as well.

BEACH CLUB VILLA STUDIO RE runDISNEY RACE WEEKENDS: THE PROS

Okay, so now you have an overview of what the Beach Club is like. Let’s move our focus to the primary question of this post. Should you runDisney from here?

First, the pros. Beach Club is inarguably in an excellent location as far as WDW is concerned. It’s specifically good for races thanks to its close proximity to Epcot. Sadly, you can’t walk through the park to the start line. You CAN walk through it after the finish. Well, assuming a) you have a ticket/annual pass/Epcot Park Pass for that day and are willing to use it and b) the park is open.

Even if you don’t, the Boardwalk resorts are so close to the staging area that the busses don’t take very long to arrive, whether you’re going to or from the start and finish. Spectators may still find themselves subject to mid-race road closures, however. Don’t get too cocky if you’re trying to catch your runner on course.

I can’t speak to the primary, non-DVC wing of the Beach Club, but the DVC part of the resort is set behind the main part and is therefore pretty quiet. We were on the fourth floor and didn’t suffer too much noise pollution even when heading to bed early.

Looking to quickly carb load at a nearby restaurant? Runners have the breadth of the Boardwalk and (slightly further away, Epcot) to choose from. This includes Italian stape Trattoria al Forno as well as a solid pasta option from The Cake Bake Shop among others.

While our kitchenette was barely even that, it was nice to have a microwave to nuke leftovers, as well as a full coffee pot when multiple people wanted coffee at once. DVC studios also stock plastic cutlery and paper cups, so you won’t need to run to the food court.

Because Beach Club is a smaller resort, the overall footprint of the complex isn’t overwhelming. Wherever your room, it shouldn’t take overly long to get to the bus stop for race or park transportation.

During WDW Marathon Weekend, there was a Cast Member stationed at a runDisney photo op near the bus pickup area. Not a guarantee, but it was a nice extra.

BEACH CLUB VILLA STUDIO RE runDISNEY RACE WEEKENDS: THE CONS

I must confess I was a little surprised by how spacious our DVC studio wasn’t. Yes, I realize it’s a studio, but I assumed that for DVC we’d be looking at something a bit more expansive. With the Murphy bed and pulldown twin both out, the room was admittedly cramped with four people. Not painfully so, but enough that I would think twice before sticking four people in a studio again. It doesn’t matter how well you get along. It’s just not magical blocking out suitcase space and forming a line for the bathroom.

Speaking of which, what’s with the lack of full length mirror? I almost wonder if that was an oversight. If you were hoping to adjust your race costume in your entire reflection, think again at Beach Club… in a DVC studio. The regular rooms DO have a full length mirror. Huh.

The kitchenette, while handy, also takes up a bit of space that would be open in a non-DVC studio. And if you were hoping to do some proper cooking a la the full kitchen offered in larger, multi-room DVC accommodations, that’s not gonna fly here.

On a related note, the Beach Club Marketplace quick service restaurant is one of the weaker counter service restaurants on property. The menu isn’t particularly robust by comparison to larger resorts.

Speaking of those larger DVC room perks, there’s no washer or dyer in the studios. There was a laundry room nearby, however. I understand it’s free for DVC guests (although you’ll need to provide or buy your own detergent).

I noted in the pros we didn’t experience much noise pollution. Keep in mind, though, that you are literally right behind Epcot, and you WILL hear the fireworks at night. If it helps, Beach Club doesn’t seem to pipe in the music.

WOULD I STAY AT THE BEACH CLUB FOR A RACE AGAIN?

To be honest, I’m not sure I’d pursue Beach Club for a runDisney trip again. Don’t think that’s because it has real drawbacks – there are many things I loved about staying there! However, I am – tragically – not made of money, and I’m not convinced Beach Club provides the best bang for your buck when a runDisney race is the focus of your trip.

I paid a comparable amount of money for a comparable amount of time with the same number of people to stay in a one bedroom suite at Old Key West last year. We had WAAAAY more space there, with a full kitchen and in-unit washer-dryer. And since I was running multiple races in the weekend, I didn’t really need to be in the middle of the Disney parks action. Disney charges an understandable premium to stay so close to Epcot. I’m not sure I’m willing to trade that for a more comfortable in-room experience, particularly when I may spend a fair amount of time in that room, have race costumes to contend with, etc.

This is very much a personal assessment. You know what I always say – value is subjective! If you’re considering staying at Beach Club for a runDisney weekend, I would encourage you to consider all my notes and decide for yourself how it stacks against your requirements, expectations, and budget.

Alternatively, would anyone care to sponsor my next runDisney venture? There are more analytical blog posts where this came from; I’m willing to stay at the Grand Floridian for science. 😉

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