Disney’s Yacht & Seaside Membership Resorts are within the midst of multi-year building till 2027. Throughout this, one under-the-radar venture has been a room redo at Yacht Membership. These have been final refurbished in 2017, and though the tip outcome was controversial amongst Walt Disney World followers, we liked the brand new rooms. This evaluate includes a images tour of the refreshed visitor rooms, and our ideas on the great & unhealthy of the adjustments.

We usually love Yacht Membership and discover it to be an underrated lodge. 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 bolster the theme. As somebody who’s solely publicity to yachting comes from wealthy folks 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 lodge and never “simply” a Disney Deluxe Resort.

Lots of Walt Disney World followers dislike the lodge for exactly the identical cause. What we see as stately and complex, they name stuffy and snobby. Whereas we don’t agree, we will definitely see the premise for that perspective, and regardless of them being ‘sister’ resorts, Yacht Membership and Seaside Membership have very totally different vibes. The excellent news, when 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 ‘building bulletin’ concerning the lodge: Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort is present process routine exterior upkeep via late 2026. As a part of this work, the porte cochere shall be closed via late November 2025. This work might impression views from numerous areas all through the resort, and at occasions, alternate paths of journey could also be in place.

We beforehand mentioned this venture at size in Disney’s Yacht & Seaside Membership Refurbishments Prolonged to 2027, so if you would like extra details about the outside upkeep, discuss with that.

What I can add concerning the exterior work is that we didn’t discover it throughout our Christmas-time keep in any respect. I’m unsure 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 lodge, and didn’t as soon as see something.

With that stated, Yacht Membership is a really giant resort. If there’s one factor having a room on the very finish of the hallway strengthened, it’s this. There are a variety of tucked away areas, and even throughout my final time visiting Yacht & Seaside 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 isn’t within the behavior of wrapping up building initiatives a full yr upfront. Given how focused the work has been up to now, the probabilities that it’ll impression you might be low, however when you’re chronically unfortunate, you may 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 can be below refurbishment from this January via Could. That was later revised to take away the tip 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 building 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, Forged Members at Yacht Membership suggested us that this room refurbishment is now completed. It was a tender items refresh, following up on the final onerous items refurbishment that was accomplished in 2017. This implies the venture was largely iterative in nature, so we’d cease in need of calling these “new” or “reimagined” rooms. Walt Disney World took the inspiration 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 vivid and lightweight, with plenty of reds, whites and blues to being darker and extra subtle. Gone was the carpet, the playful headboards, mattress runners, and different Disney particulars, changed by a variety of wealthy woods and muted tones.

These adjustments 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 lodge for conventions, or at the very least it was till Gran Destino Tower opened. Now, I wouldn’t be stunned if many giant occasions favor Coronado Springs, even when it’s technically a Reasonable Resort.

One other view of the earlier “new” rooms at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort:

As you may most likely think about, enterprise vacationers have totally different tastes and preferences than households. We’ve seen this mirrored in Walt Disney World’s room refurbishments over the past 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 up to now, so I gained’t rehash all of it right here. Mainly, the extra ‘mainstream’ Walt Disney World makes a lodge 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 may (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 a variety of suggestions, notably from conventioneers, prior to creating the updates to the room. Supposedly, Disney created a number of totally different take a look at rooms to assist within the redesign.

Our ‘unpopular opinion’ for some time was that the brand new rooms at Yacht Membership have been truly 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 widespread notion that as we speak’s new rooms are “unhealthy” or “unthemed,” most of the redesigns that followers dislike have been truly executed from round 2015 to 2018. Admittedly, a few of the worst impulses are evident even in these Yacht Membership rooms.

We preferred 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 Seaside Membership and BoardWalk. The model 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 images just about converse for themselves, so we’ll share a batch right here after which provide critique on the great & unhealthy of the redesign:

As might be evident in evaluating the images, roughly three-quarters of the room is unchanged.

Once more, this was a tender items refurbishment. One of these refresh is completed between onerous items “guttings” to increase the lifetime of a specific room design, and to offer 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 adjustments to the room design.

The excellent news is that Walt Disney World took full benefit of these ~25% adjustments.

In the event that they beforehand polled solely conventioneers on the room redesign, this one was influenced solely by Walt Disney World followers. In reality, when you took reader complaints from DisneyTouristBlog.com and sought to deal with these, this could just about be the tip outcome.

The primary massive factor we seen is the rug below the beds. This model 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 appears nice, full with hidden Mickeys, nautical stylization, and pops of colour.

That is just about the trifecta of the Yacht Membership room refresh: extra colour, 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 may be robust to establish from the images. This seemed nice earlier than, however it additionally seemed 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 appears 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 night time right here (aggressive steak and Cake Bake consuming is an Olympics sport, proper?).

There are a variety of issues that I like concerning 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 images of boats. It was like what would come within the body at House Items; possibly that’s precisely what it was. I can’t think about that even conventioneers preferred that; it was simply odd and ugly, having nothing to do with Disney or subtle model.

That artwork is, mercifully, gone. This isn’t an enormous shock, as the identical occurred at Seaside Membership, BoardWalk, and in every single place else that used off-putting inventory artwork. Instead, we now 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 outdated colour versus the brand new one, though I do want the brand new barely. The primary cause I’m calling this out is as a result of, throughout our more moderen stays previous to this refresh, the sofa all the time had the worst put on and tear. This alteration was most likely 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 large 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 examine so many packing containers for me–colourful, on-theme, whimsical Mickey Mouse. They actually tie the room collectively and stop the all-white bedding from trying overly sterile.

Truthfully, 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 concerning 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 imagine they swapped out the charging stations right here, as there’s now USB-A along with USB-C. Many of the different retailers across the room are nonetheless USB-A.

I didn’t take a look at 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 primary level, although, is that the retailers 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 preferred the constellation curtains! However, they have been darker and maybe too refined, so Walt Disney World swapped them out.

I don’t have any situation with the brand new curtains, per se. They’re on theme and add extra colour to the room, in order that’s good. The constellation curtains have been simply so intelligent; one of many really underappreciated particulars of those (and maybe all) visitor rooms at Walt Disney World.

One other change is the knot-ical wallpaper within the lavatory.

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 appears a bit extra “busy.” Design tendencies are cyclical, and I’m joyful 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 so forth. All of that plus the dresser and some other furnishings not particularly talked about above is identical as earlier than.

I’m superb with the dearth of adjustments elsewhere.

There are small rivets or different ship fastenings all through, together with on the dresser and different furnishings. This appears subtle and on-theme, simply because it did earlier than. Different options of the room now embody a built-in ironing board, wooden flooring, 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 unimaginable, and all of it really works to cement the theme.

The up to date rooms at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort aren’t probably the most dramatic adjustments we’ve seen from tender items refurbishments lately. Nonetheless, they’re arguably among the many most consequential. 

Except for the constellation curtain’s substitute (which is debatable), each change right here was an iterative enchancment. Not solely are the adjustments themselves (nearly) all constructive, however they elevate what was executed over the past room overhaul. The design is now punctuated with colour and characters and extra thematic thrives.

Wins, throughout. The crew behind this room refresh really understood the task, and made each single change depend. It’s frankly outstanding how a lot better the room appears regardless of solely ~25% of it being up to date.

I truly do see these adjustments 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 assume that may be stated about these.

They is probably not as loud as some followers may like, however they actually thread the needle. I extremely doubt anybody will have a look at the speedy earlier than vs. after and contend the 2025 room refresh is a downgrade. That’s a very robust–not possible, when you ask me–case to make.

Past the room adjustments, the hallways and a few widespread 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 adjustments are new as of this yr, however right here’s a glance simply in case it’s been a couple of years because you’ve stayed at Disney’s Yacht Membership Resort:

General, the Yacht Membership room refurbishment is a kind of uncommon occasions a change has been made in a Walt Disney World lodge that may please each the fan and non-fan constituencies. With the latest adjustments, that is directly a luxurious lodge and a Disney Deluxe Resort. Subtle, stately, well-themed, and distinctly Disney.

Conventioneers preferred what was already right here; the fashionable and fresh-looking rooms which might be well-appointed and fashionable. Nothing that was executed right here undermines that, not even swapping out the “artsy” House Items inventory images for character artwork. You’re at Walt Disney World, a bit of caprice comes with the territory.

Alternatively, true Walt Disney World followers will admire all the adjustments that reinforce the themed design. The added particulars, characters, and colour are all incredible (nicely, minus the curtain–minor element). I’m certain there are nonetheless respectable quibbles to be made with these new rooms, however frankly, I didn’t spot something that I’d think about even remotely main.

From my perspective, it is a job exceptionally nicely executed by Imagineering and the opposite groups tasked with the refresh–they actually made it depend and the tip result’s virtually excellent. Yacht Membership as soon as once more has top-tier rooms; arguably the most effective steadiness of themed design and fashionable luxurious in all of Walt Disney World.

In case you’re debating different choices within the Crescent Lake space–or past–we’d suggest studying our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Accommodations from Worst to Finest. You may be stunned by how ‘low’ Yacht Membership ranks on that record, 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!

In case you’re nonetheless unsure which Walt Disney World lodge is true otherwise you merely need another person to do the work in planning your journey, let knowledgeable assist you without spending a dime: Click on right here to get a quote from a really useful, no-fee Approved Disney Trip Planner (Disney’s time period for journey agent). They’ll e-book your journey, help with reservations and add-ons, and get you the most effective reductions. Utilizing an Approved Disney Trip Planner is the win-win choice when you’re overwhelmed by the complexities of Walt Disney World and don’t need to do all the “homework” your self.

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 as a result of refurbishment? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!