Best family friendly beach near Disney?

[jaz0308]

Bonus points for hotel recommendations!

 

[pooh4evr]

Depends on if you want the Atlantic or the Gulf-
Atlantic side Coco or Daytona
Gulf side St Pete or Clearwater

 

[monkeymom1210]

ok well we have not done it as I have been researching this for weeks now and asked friends that live in Florida this same question. We were told Siesta Key was the best beach it is calm and soft white sand. its gulf side. I was told on the Atlantic side got to Coco beach lots of waves and more sea shells than gulf side. If you have watched the movie Dolphin Tale you can go to Clear water that is were the dolphins Winter and Hope live.
All of this being said we decided the hotels were expensive for what I am doing. 1 night tricking my kids into think we are going on a beach vacation instead of Disney. We decided to stay our first night in Ocala its only an hour away from the Atlantic side and find a beach there. the hotels are cheap. we are going to play for the afternoon at the beach then go check into disney. ok so Hotels well clear water its a lot mom and pop. little harder to get info on them. Siesta key is expensive resorts mostly. Sarasota has La Quinta and Best western for about 120 a night and its right by siesta key. Now I did find a Disney Vacation CLub resort on the Atlantic side called Vero Beach the rooms ar around 200 a night. I hope all this helps a little.

 

[jaz0308]

ok well we have not done it as I have been researching this for weeks now and asked friends that live in Florida this same question. We were told Siesta Key was the best beach it is calm and soft white sand. its gulf side. I was told on the Atlantic side got to Coco beach lots of waves and more sea shells than gulf side. If you have watched the movie Dolphin Tale you can go to Clear water that is were the dolphins Winter and Hope live.
All of this being said we decided the hotels were expensive for what I am doing. 1 night tricking my kids into think we are going on a beach vacation instead of Disney. We decided to stay our first night in Ocala its only an hour away from the Atlantic side and find a beach there. the hotels are cheap. we are going to play for the afternoon at the beach then go check into disney. ok so Hotels well clear water its a lot mom and pop. little harder to get info on them. Siesta key is expensive resorts mostly. Sarasota has La Quinta and Best western for about 120 a night and its right by siesta key. Now I did find a Disney Vacation CLub resort on the Atlantic side called Vero Beach the rooms ar around 200 a night. I hope all this helps a little.

Wow thanks for all the great info! I look forward to choosing one! Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[jaz0308]

Depends on if you want the Atlantic or the Gulf-
Atlantic side Coco or Daytona
Gulf side St Pete or Clearwater

Thanks for the tips. Going to look at all of these!

 

[stevil73]

We have been to Pelican Beach Park (in Satellite Beach, FL) a bunch of times with our 3 kids. There are covered picnic areas, a good size playground, clean bathrooms/changing rooms and the beach was never crowded. Its on the Atlantic side, a little over an hour from WDW.

http://www.satellitebeachrecreation.org/Pages/PelicanBeachPark.aspx

 

[jtopp]

We enjoy Cocoa Beach. Inexpensive hotels, nice beach, and a lot of fun. Plus, you may be lucky enough to be there and see a launch from nearby Cape Canaveral

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

We absolutely adore St. Augustine and it's our little respite after a Disney trip that we hit up for a few days after spending 12+ days in WDW. We do it every trip and it's a welcome relaxation spot. We have stayed all up and down the beach and have never had a bad hotel stay, we do stay on the island though and only within walking distance to the beach. I have never ever been convinced to retire to Florida, until we found St. Augustine and now I could be convinced . We have 3 kids and they absolutely love it there too, they wanted to cut short our trip last year and head to the beach early?!?!

 

[got15]

We love going to St. Pete/Clearwater! The Gulf beaches are so beautiful and there is no undertow and the water is clear and calm. This works out great for our family! We prefer St. Pete- and there are tons of stuff to explore and do in the Tampa/St. Pete area with kids. The drive is around 90 min- totally doable.