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Guests can walk or go by tram from the resorts to Epcot International Gateway, or travel by water taxi to the Disney-MGM Studios.

The luxury club hotels on the shores of 25-acre Crescent Lake are designed by noted architect Robert A.M. Stern, best known for his East Coast seaside homes. The resorts take guests back to the 1890s with fancy-cut shingles, French doors and other post-modern embellishments that are the trademark of Stern’s work.

The imagery follows through in Stormalong Bay, a 2 1/2-acre water recreation area reminiscent of a Nantucket beach with a life-size shipwreck with water slides, snorkeling in a sandy lagoon and a meandering swimming area that seemingly flows into the surrounding lake.

The rambling, 1,215-room resort -- 630 rooms in the Yacht, 583 in the Beach -- also has a 73,000-square-foot convention center adjacent to the Yacht Club Resort that includes a 36,000-square-foot ballroom capable of seating up to 2,800 for dinner.

Complementing each other, the three-, four- and five-story club hotels nonetheless have distinctive architectural styles. Each hotel has its own entrance motif, main lobby, restaurants and retail shops.

New England Echoes in Yacht Club
Oak floors, antique chandeliers and rich millwork and brass evoke memories of New England summer days in Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. Cast members in navy blue blazers greet guests as they check into the silvery-gray clapboard hotel.

The nautical theme carries through in the hotel’s restaurants. With porthole windows and a picturesque wall of moving sailboats, the 224-seat Yacht Club Galley features regional New England foods like chowder, fresh fish and home-baked breads along with sandwiches, steaks and chicken specialties.

The 194-seat Yachtsman’s Steakhouse is inspired by Northeastern eateries with a glassed beef-aging room, open-air kitchen and hardwood-fired grills for meats and vegetables. The dining area features a spacious rotunda room as well as a private room with seating for 12.

For hors d’oeuvres and drinks, the rustic Crew’s Cup Lounge offers beers from around the world in frosted mugs. The room is designed in reclaimed southern pine with copper accents, and the walls are lined with art and memorabilia of Ivy League rowing teams.

The 630-room hotel has 30 suites, including presidential and vice-presidential suites. Spacious rooms decorated in blues and whites carry through the nautical theme. All have French doors that open onto porches or balconies.

Interior furnishings for both hotels are by Design Continuum of Atlanta consulting with Stern.

Landscaping, as well, helps set the stage, with deciduous trees like Japanese elm, Bradford pear trees, magnolias and crepe myrtle. Gardenias and roses bloom in intimate brick courtyards.

An expansive croquet lawn at the Yacht Club Resort goes with the relaxed, leisure spirit of the 1870s, and the resort’s marina lighthouse welcomes guests home after a day in the Disney theme parks.

Beach Club More Whimsical
The pale-blue-and-white "stick-style" Beach Club is "a little bit of this, a little bit of that," said Stern with a smile. Stick style, he explained, was the prevalent architecture for seaside wooden cottages in the 1860s and 1870s, "like grandmother’s fabulous beach house -- ceiling fans, chintz, gingham."

The crisp colors open up the hotel’s lobby with white wicker furniture, 24-foot-high ceilings, natural French limestone floors and a seashell motif. Cast members are dressed in more casual pastel knickers or dresses.

Restaurants range from an authentic clambake with a rockweed steamer in the 218-seat Cape May Cafe to Martha’s Vineyard, a cozy 59-seat lounge featuring a wide variety of wines.

The hotel has 29 suites and four hospitality suites, and all of the 583 rooms continue the "summer cottage" ambiance with cool colors, a scattering of seashells and French doors to outdoor porches and a white-sand beach.

Both hotels offer child-care facilities and are accessible to handicapped guests.

Stormalong Bay Highlight of Resort
Guests can splash through three lagoon areas -- including one specifically designed for younger water-lovers, with a depth of 2 to 3 feet.

A spiral stair on board the life-sized shipwreck ascends to a 150-foot mast, broken and askew to serve as a flume plummeting toward a rocky outcropping where 150 more feet of spins complete a fast-moving thrill slide.

Each hotel also features a "quiet pool" in alcoves far removed from Stormalong Bay. There also are motorized watercraft at the resort marina.

A tile-lined, 12-person Jacuzzi, reminiscent of the famous old health spas, is the centerpiece of the resorts’ 4,750-square-foot Ship Shape Health Club. A steam bath, sauna and massage rooms also are included. A weight room and aerobics room both have staff trained to assist guests.

The centrally located Beaches & Cream old-fashioned ice cream parlour is the place to head after a swim or workout, where guests can order burgers and decadent desserts like banana splits, frozen hot cocoa, floats, shakes and malts.

Meeting Space Themed to Yacht Club Resort
A 73,000-square-foot convention center carries through the oyster-gray color and architecture of the Yacht Club Resort, with elegant, "patriotic" red, white and blue interiors. Largest space is the 36,000-square-foot Grand Harbor Ballroom, with seating for 2,800 for dinner. The remaining space may be divided into more than a dozen meeting rooms.

The convention center is joined to Disney’s Yacht Club Resort by a covered walkway.