Beaches??

[lawgirl]

Im not too sure where to post this one, and there may be info about this somewhere on the site, but can anyone tell me about the different beaches around WDW?

If we wanted to spend one of our non-park days at a beach, what would our best bet be? The Poly? Can anyone use the beach and are there towels, places to swim, etc...?

Also, I thought I had read something about cabanas for rent at one of the resorts. What is the deal with those? Are they only for resort guests to rent?

As always, thanks!

[spoiledraf]

The beach at the Poly is beautiful along with the beach at the Beach Club. The GF has a nice beach as well unless the construction has affected the access there.

There is no swimming at any of the "beaches" at any of the resorts. The lake water is off limits. And the pools are for resort guest only. No pool hopping except the All Stars pools I believe. I don't know of any cabannas but if there are, you are probably right in that they would be for resort guests only.

[LynneM]

I doubt very much if you'd be able to rent a cabana at a resort other than your own, since you wouldn't be permitted to use the pool unless you were a guest of that resort.

As for the beaches....it depends. I've been asked for resort ID a couple of times on the WL beach, I don't know if they check on the other resort beaches. You'd only be able to sit, anyway, the water at all WDW beaches is off limits; it's not fit for swimming. Aside from having high bacterial counts and the possibility of snakes and gators, there are other dangerous organisms in the water that you don't want to be in contact with.

[dnickels]

As mentioned, there's nowhere you can swim at a beach on property and each resort will have their own rules (usually depending on how busy they are) about who can be on their respective beaches.

Of course we always see the risk of brain eating amoebas and alligators brought up whenever swimming at WDW comes up, so just a few things to keep in mind

-While the amoeba is most prevalent in warmer bodies of water, such as those in Florida, it has killed people swimming in bodies of water as far north as Minnesota. The four 2011 amoeba deaths included one in Florida, one in Virginia, one in Kansas and of course the person who died after using a Neti Pot.

-The risk of contracting the amoeba is so infinitesimally small that it's not worth worrying about unless you make it a habit to wallow around in the muck and mud of a stagnant pond, making sure to get some of the water and mud into your ears and way up in your sinuses. Keep in mind that River Country was open for years and hosted tens or hundreds of thousands of swimmers during its lifespan. No one ever caught the amoeba during that time.

-People DO swim in area lakes. There's a daily swim at Lake Cane that attracts dozens of people every morning and hundreds on the weekends. This has been going on daily since 1995 and no one has ever contracted the amoeba or been attacked by an alligator. Lake Minneola up near Clermont has a swimming area and beach, but it's currently closed because the water level of the lake has gone down, resulting in the marked off swimming area being high and dry and the state not allowing the permitted swimming area to be expanded. Water quality and safety is not an issue.

-Alligator attacks usually involve two things. Night swimming and alcohol. In addition, Disney traps and removes alligators spotted in guest areas including the Seven Seas Lagoon. It's possible for a larger alligator that could cause an injury to get into the lagoon, but it won't be there long before it's spotted and removed.

Just keep those things in mind, I see a lot of "OMG brain eating amoeba!" and "OMG alligators might grab you!" responses whenever swimming gets brought up so I think it's important to keep things in perspective.

[Disney Doll]

It sounds like you already got the low down on Disney beaches. Mainly, they are there just for a pretty view. If you have a free day then I'd recommend taking a short drive to one of Florida's actual beaches. We did that last year and it was great. We took a 45 minute drive for a day trip to Clearwater Beach. We enjoyed it so much that we are planning to do that again next year.

[lawgirl]

Yikes! Glad I asked! I guess we won't be swimming in the WDW lakes any time...ever! The resort pool is sounding better and better (and safer and safer)!

[Imalismom]

Cocoa Beach and the Melbourne beach is also about an hour away and both are a very nice beach also.

[Simbajr4ever]

DRAT!!! I accidently hit edit and not QUOTE and with Mod privs it will let me do that.
I am SO sorry! but at least I did save a portion of your response before I added my answer - again, my apologies!!! (Ali's Mom)

Any info on location (not how to get to these areas, but once I am there) in these areas, directions, or parking etc... To either of these areas. We have driven to both coast but never found a nice area where you could park and have beach acess / facilities available.
Thanks for your help.

Here are direction from Disney's Animal Kingdom
2901 West Osceola Parkway, Orlando, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830‎ - (407) 824-4321‎

1.
Head south on W Access Rd
Partial restricted usage road
About 3 mins
go 0.9 mi
total 0.9 mi

2.
Continue onto Osceola Pkwy
About 7 mins
go 3.9 mi
total 4.7 mi

3.
Merge onto I-4 E via the ramp on the left to Orlando
About 8 mins
go 6.5 mi
total 11.2 mi

4.
Take exit 72 to merge onto FL-528 E toward International Airport/Cape Canaveral
Partial toll road
About 43 mins
go 46.3 mi
total 57.5 mi

5.
Continue onto N SR-A1A S
About 20 mins
go 14.0 mi
total 71.5 mi

6.
Turn left onto N 1st St
About 1 min
go 0.1 mi
total 71.6 mi

Cocoa Beach, FL‎

[renecat]

Clearwater Beach has public parking. There is also a nice beach across the causeway from Clearwater called Sand Key. They have public parking there also and it seem like it is not as crowded as Clearwater. It is also maybe a little closer then Coco Beach.

[spinnerf]

I agree I would NEVER swim in any of the lakes at Disney, gross. Cabanas for rent at Contemporary but for guests only. As for resort ID, I can tell you we stay on property 2 or 3 times per year, have stayed at nearly every resort, and I have NEVER EVER been asked specifically for a resort ID by any cast member or employee. (I will except the pool at Yacht club and Kidani Village, both of these did ask for ID occasionally but they are also well fenced off from the wandering public). If you really want a beach, drive to the coast.

[Simbajr4ever]

alismom, thank you for trying and I forgive you for erasing my question.

But, in my post I stated, I have been to both coast. clearwater / st. pete and cocoa beach / melbourne > needed directions in those cities to get to the public beach, parking, with facilities available. Seems we drive over there but never find somewhere to park and get onto the beach. Or, have not been satisified with where we tried.

simba

[dnickels]

alismom, thank you for trying and I forgive you for erasing my question.

But, in my post I stated, I have been to both coast. clearwater / st. pete and cocoa beach / melbourne > needed directions in those cities to get to the public beach, parking, with facilities available. Seems we drive over there but never find somewhere to park and get onto the beach. Or, have not been satisified with where we tried.

simba

I think you're the one asking for a location right Simba? Try putting 'Lori Wilson Park' in cocoa beach into your favorite search engine. Plenty of parking (I think there is a small fee now), easy access to the beach, bathroom / changing facilities.

P.S. -Disney Doll, it's ~90 miles from Disney property to Clearwater Beach. If you did that in 45 minutes whoa!!!!

[ThanxForNoticin]

Given the choice of one of the "coasts" to do a beach (if that's even an option you might be considering), we find the Gulf coast to be so much nicer. However, "dnickels" is correct. It's 75--90 minutes to get to Clearwater Beach from Disney (depending you your starting point). We've driven it several times. It's probably a bit closer to Cocoa Beach. But the beaches, the public access, and the cleanliness of Clearwater Beach make it a great place to spend a day.

Have a great trip!

[Simbajr4ever]

Thanks everyone for the info,

Now, which side has a "wilder" surf. [better waves]?

Thanks again!