Let’s Talk about the EPCOT Areas Resorts

When you book a Disney Vacation Club vacation, you want to stay as close to the theme parks as possible. After all, the parks are the reason many of us bought into the program. Lately, one park has risen above the others with a massive attendance surge. It’s become the de facto hangout park at Walt Disney World. So, let’s talk about the EPCOT area resorts that will put you close to the action.

The Rise of EPCOT 

You may not have realized it, but EPCOT is currently Disney’s hottest park. The Themed Entertainment Association recently posted its 2024 theme park attendance data. You can read the full thing here, but here’s what matters for the sake of our discussion. EPCOT has risen to the number eight theme park in the world, with an estimated attendance of 12.113 million last year. 

EPCOT recently surpassed Disney’s Hollywood Studios to become the second-most popular theme park at Walt Disney World and also in Orlando, Florida, as a whole. What is driving this increased popularity?

Imagineers reinvented EPCOT on the fly, splitting the former Future World into three distinct themed lands: World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature. I’d argue that the bigger change is a more philosophical one, though.

Disney stopped trying to push guests to move quickly from attraction to attraction, which isn’t what the average consumer wants at EPCOT. As part of the theme park overhaul, Disney added ample seating and destination locations like World Celebration Gardens. 

In combination with the addition of some dazzling new lighting effects, the focus on a more relaxed experience has fundamentally changed the vibe at EPCOT. Now, the front of the park mirrors the back, the World Showcase. 

Park guests can sit around, relax, and savor their vacations. It’s kind of like a Disney cruise, only you’re at Walt Disney World. Not coincidentally, EPCOT attendance is surging almost as much as Disney’s cruise business. 

DVC members have always wanted to stay near EPCOT, especially during festival season. More recently, the park’s popularity surge has created even more demand. So, let’s quickly discuss the options. 

The Disney Springs Area Resorts 

Disney’s Old Key West Resort

Let’s start with the two resorts that are a bit farther away from EPCOT yet still in the area. One of them is the DVC resort that started it all, the former Disney’s Vacation Club Resort. 

Since its opening in 1991, Disney’s Old Key West Resort has offered tremendous appeal to those of us who favor EPCOT. It’s always been my favorite theme park, which explains why I purchased my first contract at Old Key West. 

Anyone who has stayed at this resort knows that it’s only 2.6 miles away from EPCOT, which makes the bus ride a breeze. That’s the one catch about the Disney Springs area resorts. When we discussed the Magic Kingdom area properties, three of them offered monorail access to the park. Others provide boat transportation, which is almost as good. 

When staying at Old Key West, guests are reliant on buses to get us to and from the parks. That statement applies to the resort’s younger sibling as well. Like Old Key West, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa proves ideal when you want to spend plenty of time at Disney Springs. 

At Saratoga Springs, you’ll take a bus 3.4 miles to EPCOT, which is still a very short trip. Typically, you should arrive at the park in under ten minutes, presuming you’re not driving your own car. So, both these parks provide ideal proximity to Walt Disney World’s most thriving theme park, EPCOT. Still, you may prefer something even closer…

The Resorts Right by the Back Door 

Disney’s BoardWalk Resort

I’m a huge fan of the International Gateway, the rear entrance to EPCOT. I love that when you’re at the World Showcase, you can duck out the back and be on Disney’s BoardWalk in five minutes. Similarly, the arrival of the Disney Skyliner in 2019 afforded EPCOT guests with even more opportunities. Now, we can conveniently explore several other resorts. Plus, we’re just a quick gondola ride from Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 

The opposite is true as well. When you’re hanging around the BoardWalk, the International Gateway provides quick access to the World Showcase. And we should be honest that the pavilions here are the best part of the EPCOT experience. 

Owners at Disney’s BoardWalk Villas have always known this. It’s why these contracts sell so quickly. Everyone knows the hack by now. DVC members can book ultra-cheap rooms at the BoardWalk during EPCOT festivals. Should we *ahem* overindulge, we appreciate the quick walk back to this resort. 

Plus, the nighttime walks on the BoardWalk are absolutely magical, doubly so if street performers are entertaining the crowd. The BoardWalk is such a beautiful hotel, and many DVC members believe it offers some of the best bang for the buck in the entire DVC program. 

Why, then, is Disney’s BoardWalk Villas so cheap? I suspect it has something to do with what’s across the street. Disney’s Beach Club Villas is one of my favorite vacation spots at Disney World. People who stay here frequently know why. 

While the walk from BoardWalk to the International Gateway only takes seven or eight minutes, Beach Club is somehow even shorter, especially when you win the hotel villa lottery. 

Some of the DVC rooms are right down the street from the Disney Skyliner and the International Gateway. I’ve got a bad back, yet I can walk from these rooms to EPCOT’s rear entrance in less than five minutes. That sort of convenient park access is worth everything to DVC members. 

That’s not the only benefit of staying at Beach Club, though. Members also gain access to Stormalong Bay, which Disney refurbished in 2025. Honestly, calling that project a refurbishment undersells it. Disney even removed the sand from the pool flooring. Stormalong Bay is basically a brand-new pool as of this year. 

The Newest Option for EPCOT…and Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

Since EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios share resorts, we’re really discussing the best options for DVC members who plan to visit both parks. While I personally spend more time at EPCOT, Hollywood Studios fundamentally changed its reputation in 2018 and 2019. Those were the years when Disney added Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. 

Since then, the park has continually improved, adding Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and, more recently, two new shows. Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After and The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure have provided fans with new reasons to visit the park. 

In 2026, we’ll get even more with the introduction of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and The Walt Disney Studios, the replacement for Animation Courtyard. So, this is a great time to visit Hollywood Studios.

When guests want to do so, Beach Club and especially BoardWalk are great options. You can take the Disney Skyliner from either one and arrive right by the front gate at Hollywood Studios. At BoardWalk, you can also take a relatively short walk to reach the park. Beach Club guests can do the same, although you’ll add about five minutes to your trip.

Of course, the best place to stay is undeniably Disney’s Riviera Resort, which opened alongside the Disney Skyliner in 2019. This luxury hotel hearkens back to a different era in Disney history. It was the time when Walt and Roy Disney gallivanted around Europe in between making movies and building theme park attractions. 

Disney’s Riviera Resort—View From the Skyliner

Guests staying at the Riviera can actually look at family photographs that Walt and Lillian Disney took during their European vacations. This one touch will connect Disney fans even more with the resort. 

Best of all, the Disney Skyliner can transport guests to Hollywood Studios or EPCOT in less than ten minutes. Note that you will need to make a gondola change at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort for the Hollywood Studios ride, but that’s a trivial concern. 

Overall, booking a DVC visit at any of these five resorts will keep you in the heart of the action. These are definitely the places to target when you plan to spend a great deal of your Disney vacation at either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. 

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