Disney's Vero Beach Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is just 2 hours away from Walt Disney World Resort, but offers a whole different kind of vacation. My two sisters and brother-in-law drove from Toronto to Disney’s Vero Beach to celebrate my sister’s birthdays. I was meeting them later for a week at Walt Disney World, but they wanted a few days by the beach first.

My brother-in-law captured his thoughts in a daily journal that he sent to me so that I could get a glimpse of their time there. Now I’m sharing this journal with you, with his permission of course!

The Room

Day 1 – First Full Day and the Crab Stop

First full day at Disney’s Vero Beach and it is an amazing place. Spent an hour walking the near white sands of the beach, listening to the rhythm of the waves hitting the shore is so relaxing. We also spent time at the poolside watching the young guests enjoying themselves, the sight of the young guests having fun in the pool or playing along with “Brandon” the activity representative is proof that Disney has succeeded in creating another location for children and their families to enjoy. There is no shortage of eating establishments at the hotel, however because we had to get some groceries we decided to eat lunch outside of the hotel. We decided on a seafood restaurant called the “Crab Stop” which is located about 13 km away in Sebastian. We were greeted warmly by Diane (hostess) and the table service was provided by Tammy. This is a great restaurant located on the water that offers a wide variety and high quality of seafood. The Lobster snack pack, the Shrimp, and lobster bites are definitely recommended. Given the opportunity we would go back.

The food at the Crab Stop was delicious!

Day 2 – Loggerhead Turtles and Insect Repellant

Witnessed the information session on Loggerhead turtles just outside our balcony held every day at 7:00am. Went for a leisurely walk on the beach, there is definitely a therapeutic feeling seeing and hearing the rhythm of the wave thrash against the shore, it is medicine to ease a stressful mind. Decided to have a freshly made sandwich at the Wind & Waves Market for breakfast (delicious and made to perfection). We relaxed again by the pool, at first it wasn’t as busy as it was yesterday, however as the time went on it began to fill up with a good balance of kids and adults. Found other guests to be very friendly and cordial, always greeting you and initiating conversations and showing a genuine interest on where we came from and what is it like. We had dinner at the Wind & Wave Grill, there is a substantial variety of appetizers and entrees. I would recommend the Conch chowder and the short rib pot roast, other items our table had that were delicious are crab cakes, calamari and the shrimp boil. Words of advice if someone in your party is celebrating a birthday, inform the staff and you will be pleasantly surprised. A couple of things that we have noticed today is that there is complimentary laundry facilities (6 dryers and 3 washing machines) should you run out of clean clothes, there is also a soap powder vending machine which when purchased is charged to your room and finally if you happen to be one of the few who get bitten by local insects (sand flies a.k.a. no see um ) they will provided insect repellent free at the front desk

Day 3 – Name That Tune and Bobby’s

Walked the beach again after the breakfast we had at Wind & Waves market (bacon & eggs on an all grain bagel), lots of activity at the pool today “Name that tune” and the slide challenge. Also have to give credit to life guards who were quick to respond to 2 kids who swallowed some water. Went to “Bobby’s” in Vero Beach ( about 15 minutes south of hotel) had a great dinner. Our party had calamari, grilled chicken breast, hamburger and beef dip sandwich all were excellent and reasonably priced. Tonight we took part in the “Majority Rules” game held in the “Green Cabin Room” hosted by Cameron.

Day 4 – Surfers and Relaxation

Did a walkabout the property and have to admit that the grounds are amazing, just like the other Disney properties, today there was an abundance of surfers out and many sunbathers on the beach. The activity today at the pool was a scavenger hunt (which I am sure was meant for the kids, however there were a lot of adults participating) the prizes like the other days were little packets of candies. You can’t help but notice that Walt achieved his ultimate goal of releasing the kid in all of us. This is certainly a place where you can let go of all your stress and worries while here. The activity in the Green Cabin Room was trivia hosted by Gary (obviously all Disney related questions) the room was relatively packed with most people participating, a good time was had by one and all.

A relaxing and enjoyable time at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort

On Day 5 the group were coming to pick me up at the airport, but managed to have enough time for a character meal before leaving Vero Beach. My sister is a huge Donald Duck fan – so she wasn’t leaving until she saw him.