Is Disney’s Vero Beach Resort Worth It?

On a recent trip to Walt Disney World with our kids, we decided it might be nice to end our vacation a little more lowkey. I mean, going to Disney with our kids is a TON of fun. But relaxing with a tropical drink in my hand while the boys play? That also sounded pretty nice!

So, we thought having some beach time would help everyone wind down a bit before heading home. The question was: Is Disney’s Vero Beach Resort worth it? Here’s everything you need to know!

 _{Disclosure: You may see affiliate links throughout this post, which means these are the products I handpicked! If you purchase something through these links, I will get a small commission at absolutely no extra charge to you. And that sure means a lot to me, so thank you in advance!}

A Quick Overview

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is located on Florida’s Treasure Coast. In fact, when we first arrived, our boys turned into pirates! Yes, you read that right! Upon check-in, the cast member gave our boys pirate hats and a bag of (chocolate) gold coins. Needless to say, they got a huge kick out of that.

The resort is truly an appreciation for the Sunshine State. The entire resort is a tribute to Florida, from the building architecture to the sea turtle conservation effort the cast members actively participate in. You’ll also see some nods to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who once hosted Spring Training camps nearby.

Of course, this is a Disney resort, so don’t be surprised if you find some hidden Mickeys, too. Plus you might even run into one of the Disney characters!

The resort is RIGHT on the beach. As a guest of the resort, you will be able to walk out onto the beach through a private entrance and splash around in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean without ever leaving the property. It makes for a perfect beach vacation! If you don’t want to spend all your time at the beach, the resort offers more amenities and activities than you can count, which I promise I will get into!

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a Disney Vacation Club member to stay there. It does mean, however, that the resort often has low availability. If you can score a reservation, get excited!

Getting from Walt Disney World to Vero Beach

If you’re like us and want to add a beach vacation on to your Disney World vacation, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is just a short road trip away from the theme parks. In less than 2 hours, you can go from the hustle and bustle of Walt Disney World in Orlando to Vero Beach, where you’ll be relaxing with your toes in the sand! Unfortunately, even though Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is relatively close to Walt Disney World, Disney does not provide transportation.

Although there are private car service options, we found it easiest to rent a car. There are car rental services on Disney property (that even offer complimentary shuttles to and from your resort!), but we found it cheaper for my husband to pick up our rental car from the Orlando International Airport since that’s where we ended up returning the car. It was an added bonus that Disney’s Vero Beach Resort has complimentary parking.

In addition to being on our own schedule (we actually did a character breakfast at Chef Mickey’s right before heading to Vero Beach!), it was nice having a rental car during our trip because it gave us some freedom to get around the area once we were there. Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is somewhat secluded and only has a couple of restaurants, so we ventured out for a few meals. It took about 20 minutes to get from the resort to the city of Vero Beach.

Accommodations

At the resort, you’ll find accommodations ranging from studio rooms to three-bedroom cottages. The Inn (the main building) houses the deluxe inn rooms along with the restaurants, lounge, gift shop, and spa. There are also studios, one-bedroom villas, and two-bedroom villas located in three separate buildings on the Disney Vacation Club property. Plus six free-standing three-bedroom beach cottages.

We chose to stay in a Deluxe Inn Room. And we splurged a bit for one of the ocean-view rooms, which was completely worth it for the sunrises alone! Yes, my boys are up THAT early…and yes, the sunrises were that pretty!

We were very happy to be in The Inn since we could get to all the main amenities without having to go outside. During our trip, the weather was perfect during the day, but it just so happened to rain almost every night (we somehow lucked out with the weather on the night of the campfire)! We were glad that we were able to participate in the fun, indoor activities without having to walk in the rain to get there.

Just like the Walt Disney World Resort hotels, you can request a pack n’ play for your little one so you don’t have to bring your own travel crib. You can also choose to use your magic band to unlock the doors or request a keycard.

Restaurants at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort offers one sit-down restaurant, one quick-service restaurant, and two bars.

Wind & Waves Grill

Wind & Waves Grill is the resort’s sole sit-down restaurant, and it’s open for breakfast and dinner. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made on Open Table.

The dinner menu focuses on fresh Florida seafood and locally sourced produce but also has plenty of other options if you’re not a seafood lover. For breakfast, you’ll find a twist on the classic Mickey waffle! You can also enjoy other breakfast options like their signature eggs benedict or French toast. Unfortunately, the character breakfast has not yet returned to this location as of the writing of this article.

Wind & Waves Market

This quick-service restaurant is located by the pool and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was nice to be able to grab a quick lunch to enjoy by the pool before heading back to our room for our boys to nap.

They offer everything from salads to burgers to sweet treats. There are also some grab-and-go snacks available. Don’t forget to try a Mickey Whoopie Pie!

Island Grove Packing Company

Although this isn’t a restaurant or bar, it IS an area where you can find groceries and essentials during your time at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort if needed. If you’re looking to do a bigger grocery trip, though, you might want to consider heading over to the nearby Publix if you have a car or set up a grocery delivery.

Wind & Waves Bar

This is a quintessential pool bar, offering tropical drinks and cold beers to enjoy while you’re getting some sun.

The Green Cabin Room

The Green Cabin Room is a whole vibe! This lounge is open in the mornings and evenings for drinks and light bites. The atmosphere is dim and moody, providing a perfect place to unwind. It also has a deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Our room just so happened to be right down the hall from the Green Cabin Room…which we totally took advantage of! It was nice to be able to grab a drink from the lounge and relax on the balcony off our room while the boys napped.

Restaurants Near Disney’s Vero Beach Resort

Our rental car really came in handy to be able to enjoy some other restaurants in the area since the resort only has a couple of options. A few of our favorites included:

• Casey’s Place: A Vero Beach classic! This window-service restaurant has been open since 1981 and offers burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and salads. Outside the restaurant is a covered patio with plenty of seating. The staff was SO nice and even brought our boys popsicles at the end of their meal.
• The Crab Stop of Vero Beach: Even though this restaurant is in an unassuming strip mall, the food is great! I’m a sucker for crab legs, so this was the perfect lunch.
• Francesca’s Italian Kitchen: One rainy night, we decided to order takeout from this restaurant, and it was delicious! We found a table near the lobby of the resort hotel, so we didn’t have to eat in our room.

Activities to Do at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort with Kids

Beach

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort has private access right onto Atlantic Beach. The beach was the very first place we went to each morning, where we played in the waves and built sandcastles.

We brought along some cheap beach toys that we later gave to a family that was arriving when we were leaving. But there is also a small rental shop at the entrance of the beach, where you can rent beach chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards, sailboats, jet skis, kayaks, banana boats, and more. If you forgot beach toys, check to see if any guests had donated any here! If we hadn’t found the family we gave our beach toys to, we were told we could drop off the toys at the rental shop on the beach.

Swimming Pool

Looking for a hidden Mickey? Check out the shape of the pool! We spent plenty of time splashing around during our visit. And my boys went down the 2-story, 163-foot Pirate’s Plunge Pool Slide more times than I can count. The cast members kept things fun by the pool, like usual when you visit a Disney resort, by hosting trivia and water slide races.

No need to worry about pool towels. Just grab a stack from Eb & Flo’s right outside the fence next to the pool.

Splash Pad

Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for future visitors!), the Tiger Lily Wet Play Area was under construction while we were there! That didn’t keep my boys from noticing how fun it looked though. This pirate ship splash pad is located right next to the pool and is perfect for the little ones in your party.

Mini Golf

Port Holes Miniature Golf is a 9-hole Peter Pan-themed mini golf course right by the pool area. Visit Eb & Flo’s Rentals to purchase a round of golf. When we were visiting, mini golf ended up being free! I think that may have been because the splash pad was under construction, but even when it’s not free, it’s a very low cost.

Eb & Flo’s Rentals

Eb & Flo’s Rentals is the hub for all the fun! It’s located right outside the pool area, and it’s where you’ll find information on pretty much any activity you can think of! As I mentioned earlier, this is where you’ll get your pool towels and purchase a round of mini golf. This is also where you’ll find all sorts of activity rentals, such as bicycles and sports equipment.

Near Eb & Flo’s, there’s a walkway that leads to an underground tunnel. Follow that and you’ll end up on the other side of the road, where you can put all those rentals to use! You’ll find tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, a soccer field, nature trails, and a picnic area next to a lake. The amount of sports and activities you can participate in during your stay seems endless! You can even take tennis and fishing lessons.

Finally, Eb & Flo’s Rentals is also where you will sign up for evening activities. My boys had a blast making paper airplanes one night…then launching them from the balcony into the lobby (with encouragement from the cast members!). This is my warning to you: if you’re a guest at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and you’re wandering through the lobby in the evenings, watch out for paper airplanes flying around! All the kids that participated got a good laugh during this activity.

Community Hall

Community Hall is also located near the pool area. Although we didn’t utilize this area during our stay, we peeked inside to see a large activity room. Community Hall offers arts & crafts and other daily programming.

Movie Rentals

At the general store, Island Grove Packing Company, you can choose from a huge list of movies to rent. Rentals are free, and we visited the general store each night to rent a new movie. It was the perfect way to wind down at the end of a fun day.

On top of that, we made friends with the cast members who worked in the general store. The boys were happy to say hi to them each night. And just a heads up, the store has plenty of souvenirs for sale…so, be warned if your kids are anything like ours and want to buy every fun thing they see! Ha! It was also a nice surprise to see that they had the Walt Disney World theme park maps (I had forgotten to grab one at the parks for our scrapbook!).

Campfire

Check out the activities schedule to see when the cast members will host a campfire at the resort…complete with singing silly songs and eating s’mores! This is something you won’t want to miss if you’re visiting Disney’s Vero Beach Resort with kids! It was one of our favorite activities during our stay.

Sea Turtle Nesting

Fun Fact: Since the beach at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is an important nesting habitat for leatherback, green, and loggerhead sea turtles, the resort was specifically designed to create minimal impact on their nesting patterns.

The sea turtle hatchlings use the moonlight to guide themselves safely to the ocean, so the resort’s windows are tinted and there are no exterior lights facing the ocean. That way there is no other light that may confuse them. There was also a note in our room that encouraged us to close our shades once it was dark to diminish the light even further.

The prime sea turtle nesting season usually runs from late spring through fall. The resort offers informational sessions on sea turtle nesting, and Disney has a conservation team to protect the sea turtles’ habitat. During your stay, you might get to see a turtle nest or hatchling turtles!

So, is Disney’s Vero Beach Resort worth it?

I can absolutely say, YES!

Even though you’re not at the Walt Disney World theme parks, you can still find that Disney magic at this beach resort. And my husband and I both agreed that our new favorite way to do a Walt Disney World vacation is to end it with a beach vacation. We all felt relaxed and rejuvenated at the end of our trip…and that’s how you’re supposed to feel after a vacation, right?!

Looking for another option to add on a beach vacation to your next Disney World vacation? Check out this post about Anna Maria Island.