Disney’s Yacht & Seashore Membership Resorts are within the midst of multi-year development till 2027. Throughout this, one under-the-radar undertaking has been a room redo at Yacht Membership. These have been final refurbished in 2017, and though the top outcome was controversial amongst Walt Disney World followers, we liked the brand new rooms. This evaluation encompasses a photographs tour of the refreshed visitor rooms, and our ideas on the nice & dangerous of the modifications.
We usually love Yacht Membership and discover it to be an underrated resort. The resort has a sure air of stateliness and class, with wealthy woods, darkish colours, leather-based furnishings, and an antique-looking globe, and an abundance of yachting decor to strengthen the theme. As somebody who’s solely publicity to yachting comes from wealthy individuals doing it in films, Yacht Membership has this air of fake exclusivity. Like we’re briefly members of a non-public membership for senators, titans of business, and such. It feels such as you’re getting an precise luxurious resort and never “simply” a Disney Deluxe Resort.
Loads of Walt Disney World followers dislike the resort for exactly the identical motive. What we see as stately and complex, they name stuffy and snobby. Whereas we don’t agree, we will actually see the idea for that perspective, and regardless of them being ‘sister’ resorts, Yacht Membership and Seashore Membership have very totally different vibes. The excellent news, in case you view the resort as too stuffy–or wealthy, darkish, and antiquated–is that the redone rooms treatment these criticisms!
Earlier than digging in, let’s cowl Walt Disney World’s official ‘development bulletin’ relating to the resort: Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort is present process routine exterior upkeep by means of late 2026. As a part of this work, the porte cochere will likely be closed by means of late November 2025. This work could impression views from numerous places all through the resort, and at occasions, alternate paths of journey could also be in place.
We beforehand mentioned this undertaking at size in Disney’s Yacht & Seashore Membership Refurbishments Prolonged to 2027, so if you would like extra details about the outside upkeep, discuss with that.
What I can add in regards to the exterior work is that we didn’t discover it throughout our Christmas-time keep in any respect. I’m undecided whether or not it is because the development is paused for the favored vacation season or if we simply by some means missed it. However we drove and parked at Yacht Membership and spent in depth time across the resort, and didn’t as soon as see something.
With that mentioned, Yacht Membership is a really massive resort. If there’s one factor having a room on the very finish of the hallway strengthened, it’s this. There are lots of tucked away areas, and even throughout my final time visiting Yacht & Seashore Membership, the facade upkeep was very focused. Simply small crews engaged on remoted areas.
In different phrases, don’t essentially take any of the above as a sign that the outside upkeep is completed. Walt Disney World just isn’t within the behavior of wrapping up development tasks a full 12 months upfront. Given how focused the work has been up to now, the possibilities that it’ll impression you’re low, however in case you’re chronically unfortunate, you would possibly need to make a room request simply in case. On the very least, it’s a good suggestion to ask for one thing nearer to the elevators–until you want some marathon coaching.
The under-the-radar room refurbishment was first introduced final April with a bulletin that “some” visitor rooms at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort could be below refurbishment from this January by means of Could. That was later revised to take away the top date and reference to the visitor rooms.
Our greatest guess is that Walt Disney World felt it pointless to have a separate alert for the rooms given the all-encompassing development bulletin. And as we identified again when the refurbishment was first introduced, ~5 months wasn’t lengthy sufficient to finish a room refurbishment at Yacht Membership.
Both method, Solid Members at Yacht Membership suggested us that this room refurbishment is now completed. It was a gentle items refresh, following up on the final onerous items refurbishment that was accomplished in 2017. This implies the undertaking was largely iterative in nature, so we’d cease in need of calling these “new” or “reimagined” rooms. Walt Disney World took the muse that was already there, refreshing and refining it.
Let’s check out the circa-2017 ‘new’ rooms earlier than we provide additional commentary:
As famous within the intro, the final onerous items refurbishment of Yacht Membership was controversial with Walt Disney World followers. The rooms went from being shiny and light-weight, with numerous reds, whites and blues to being darker and extra refined. Gone was the carpet, the playful headboards, mattress runners, and different Disney particulars, changed by lots of wealthy woods and muted tones.
These modifications to the visitor rooms at Yacht Membership have been largely geared toward making the extra interesting to the convention-going demographic. Yacht Membership is Walt Disney World’s luxurious resort for conventions, or not less than it was till Gran Destino Tower opened. Now, I wouldn’t be stunned if many massive occasions favor Coronado Springs, even when it’s technically a Average Resort.
One other view of the earlier “new” rooms at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort:
As you may in all probability think about, enterprise vacationers have totally different tastes and preferences than households. We’ve seen this mirrored in Walt Disney World’s room refurbishments during the last decade; when the objective has been making rooms extra interesting to non-families or non-fans, the outcome has left one thing to be desired for followers.
We’ve harped on this prior to now, so I gained’t rehash all of it right here. Mainly, the extra ‘mainstream’ Walt Disney World makes a resort room, the less-themed the outcome. There have been some exceptions to this, and these room designs have been a bit hit and miss. No less than, from my fan perspective. Conventioneers and others would possibly (and do) disagree.
When these rooms have been first redone, we spoke with a supervisor at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort who indicated that they’d solicited lots of suggestions, notably from conventioneers, prior to creating the updates to the room. Supposedly, Disney created a number of totally different check rooms to help within the redesign.
Our ‘unpopular opinion’ for some time was that the brand new rooms at Yacht Membership have been really good and well-themed. They weren’t excellent, however needless to say this was again in 2017. It was a darkish time (actually and figuratively) for Walt Disney World room refurbishments.
Opposite to the frequent notion that at the moment’s new rooms are “dangerous” or “unthemed,” lots of the redesigns that followers dislike have been really achieved from round 2015 to 2018. Admittedly, a number of the worst impulses are evident even in these Yacht Membership rooms.
We favored the brand new rooms at Yacht Membership again then, however (additionally admittedly) have been grading on a curve after experiencing the tasteless and boring rooms at close by Seashore Membership and BoardWalk. The type was a bit darkish and drab, one-note, and missing in that quintessential ‘enjoyable’ Disney vibe to them. Fortunately, the 2025 room refresh at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort fixes just about all of that.
The photographs just about converse for themselves, so we’ll share a batch right here after which provide critique on the nice & dangerous of the redesign:
As might be evident in evaluating the photographs, roughly three-quarters of the room is unchanged.
Once more, this was a gentle items refurbishment. This kind of refresh is finished between onerous items “guttings” to increase the lifetime of a selected room design, and to provide them a contemporary look that takes benefit of business tendencies and improvements in design.
Comfortable items refurbishments sometimes contain updating furnishings, together with however not restricted to wall coverings, flooring, linens, decor, and a few furnishings. And that’s exactly what we see right here with the one-quarter modifications to the room design.
The excellent news is that Walt Disney World took full benefit of these ~25% modifications.
In the event that they beforehand polled solely conventioneers on the room redesign, this one was influenced solely by Walt Disney World followers. Actually, in case you took reader complaints from DisneyTouristBlog.com and sought to handle these, this might just about be the top outcome.
The primary massive factor we observed is the rug below the beds. This type was first launched on the Grand Floridian and strikes us as a compromise between fully-carpeted rooms and the easier-to-clean wooden or laminate flooring. The rug seems to be nice, full with hidden Mickeys, nautical stylization, and pops of shade.
That is just about the trifecta of the Yacht Membership room refresh: extra shade, extra Disney, extra element.
It’s an enormous success. There’s nonetheless the in depth use of darkish woods, which actually give the room an air of sophistication. There’s additionally quite a lot of textures, the extent of which could be robust to determine from the photographs. This regarded nice earlier than, nevertheless it additionally regarded a bit one-note and drab.
With the refresh, Walt Disney World has infused these rooms with glorious makes use of of navy blue, reds, and whites to distinction with the beiges. It seems to be actually sharp in individual, and the colour palette alone reinforces the nautical theme. That is mainly Brooks Brothers or Ralph Lauren: The Room. I felt able to go carry out within the Olympics after spending the evening right here (aggressive steak and Cake Bake consuming is an Olympics sport, proper?).
There are lots of issues that I like in regards to the refreshed Yacht Membership rooms, however the massive one is the added Disney artwork.
Beforehand, the art work on the partitions was bizarre summary(ish) inventory photographs of boats. It was like what would come within the body at Dwelling Items; perhaps that’s precisely what it was. I can’t think about that even conventioneers favored that; it was simply odd and ugly, having nothing to do with Disney or refined type.
That artwork is, mercifully, gone. This isn’t an enormous shock, as the identical occurred at Seashore Membership, BoardWalk, and all over the place else that used off-putting inventory artwork. As a replacement, now we have enjoyable and on-theme Disney art work that ought to fulfill followers wanting a bit extra whimsy and characters.
One other massive change is that the couch was swapped out. This was beforehand beige and is now navy blue, however is in any other case considerably comparable.
I don’t have a powerful opinion on the previous shade versus the brand new one, though I do desire the brand new barely. The principle motive I’m calling this out is as a result of, throughout our more moderen stays previous to this refresh, the sofa at all times had the worst put on and tear. This alteration was in all probability made on that foundation alone.
Additionally, I completely love the crimson piping on the navy sofa. One other little contact that reinforces that nautical theme.
Though there are extra blues within the new rooms, the massive addition is the reds. These actually make the Yacht Membership rooms pop and, within the phrases of Sam Eagle, make them Distinctly Patriotic.
There are examples of this all through, however my favourite is the throw pillows. These test so many bins for me–colourful, on-theme, whimsical Mickey Mouse. They actually tie the room collectively and forestall the all-white bedding from trying overly sterile.
Actually, the rise in throw pillows like this make me really feel vindicated in my multi-year rants about Disney eradicating mattress runners. Whereas these are clearly not the identical factor, they appear like an olive department prolonged to followers who complained in regards to the bland bedding. I’ll take this as a win!
One other change is the brand new nautical impressed chair, additionally with extra crimson in it.
Above that, you may see that the desk is identical. I consider they swapped out the charging stations right here, as there’s now USB-A along with USB-C. A lot of the different shops across the room are nonetheless USB-A.
I didn’t check out any of those to see whether or not they work or how shortly they cost. I’ve learn too many horror tales about “juice jacking,” making public ports like this a no-go for me. The principle level, although, is that the shops are largely the identical as earlier than–besides on this desk.
One other main change is the curtain.
Beforehand, this was darker however had constellations of Disney characters–the one little bit of mental property and whimsy in these rooms. I actually favored the constellation curtains! However, they have been darker and maybe too refined, so Walt Disney World swapped them out.
I don’t have any difficulty with the brand new curtains, per se. They’re on theme and add extra shade to the room, in order that’s good. The constellation curtains have been simply so intelligent; one of many actually underappreciated particulars of those (and maybe all) visitor rooms at Walt Disney World.
One other change is the knot-ical wallpaper within the rest room.
I love this. It jogs my memory of one thing straight out of the Nineteen Nineties, each by way of the playful Mickeys within the design and the way it seems to be a bit extra “busy.” Design tendencies are cyclical, and I’m pleased to see highly-themed on the upswing.
In any other case, these and different surfaces are largely unchanged. This wasn’t a tough items refurbishment, so we didn’t anticipate to see the room gutted and totally up to date with new sinks, headboards, and many others. All of that plus the dresser and another furnishings not particularly talked about above is identical as earlier than.
I’m superb with the shortage of modifications elsewhere.
There are small rivets or different ship fastenings all through, together with on the dresser and different furnishings. This seems to be refined and on-theme, simply because it did earlier than. Different options of the room now embody a built-in ironing board, wooden floors, abundance of storage (together with under-the-bed room for baggage), and Keurig espresso makers.
The eye to element within the refreshed Yacht Membership rooms is unbelievable, and all of it really works to cement the theme.
The up to date rooms at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort will not be essentially the most dramatic modifications we’ve seen from gentle items refurbishments in recent times. Nevertheless, they’re arguably among the many most consequential.
Apart from the constellation curtain’s substitute (which is debatable), each change right here was an iterative enchancment. Not solely are the modifications themselves (virtually) all optimistic, however they elevate what was achieved over the last room overhaul. The design is now punctuated with shade and characters and extra thematic prospers.
Wins, throughout. The crew behind this room refresh actually understood the task, and made each single change rely. It’s frankly exceptional how significantly better the room seems to be regardless of solely ~25% of it being up to date.
I really do see these modifications making a significant distinction for households contemplating a keep at Walt Disney World. Whereas many followers criticized the earlier rooms as boring, bland and beige, I don’t suppose that may be mentioned about these.
They might not be as loud as some followers would possibly like, however they actually thread the needle. I extremely doubt anybody will take a look at the quick earlier than vs. after and contend the 2025 room refresh is a downgrade. That’s a very robust–unimaginable, in case you ask me–case to make.
Past the room modifications, the hallways and a few frequent areas have additionally been refurbished and look nice. Some areas of Yacht Membership have been trying a bit worse for put on, so these refurbishments are very welcome. Not all of those modifications are new as of this 12 months, however right here’s a glance simply in case it’s been a number of years because you’ve stayed at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort:
General, the Yacht Membership room refurbishment is a type of uncommon occasions a change has been made in a Walt Disney World resort that can please each the fan and non-fan constituencies. With the latest modifications, that is directly a luxurious resort and a Disney Deluxe Resort. Refined, stately, well-themed, and distinctly Disney.
Conventioneers favored what was already right here; the fashionable and fresh-looking rooms which can be well-appointed and stylish. Nothing that was achieved right here undermines that, not even swapping out the “artsy” Dwelling Items inventory photographs for character artwork. You’re at Walt Disney World, a bit of caprice comes with the territory.
Alternatively, true Walt Disney World followers will recognize the entire modifications that reinforce the themed design. The added particulars, characters, and shade are all incredible (properly, minus the curtain–minor element). I’m certain there are nonetheless professional quibbles to be made with these new rooms, however frankly, I didn’t spot something that I’d contemplate even remotely main.
From my perspective, this can be a job exceptionally properly achieved by Imagineering and the opposite groups tasked with the refresh–they actually made it rely and the top result’s virtually excellent. Yacht Membership as soon as once more has top-tier rooms; arguably the most effective stability of themed design and trendy luxurious in all of Walt Disney World.
In the event you’re debating different choices within the Crescent Lake space–or past–we’d advocate studying our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Motels from Worst to Greatest. You could be stunned by how ‘low’ Yacht Membership ranks on that checklist, however the competitors is fierce and that was final up to date earlier than this room redo. Relaxation assured that YC is transferring up our rankings!
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Your Ideas
Do you agree or disagree with our tackle the brand new Yacht Membership rooms? Would you keep right here, or is that this resort off of your radar because of the refurbishment? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
