The Closest Beach to Disney World

I’m a huge of Disney World.  But every time my family takes a Disney trip to Florida, we also have to include some beach time! If you’re planning a vacation there, here’s the scoop on the closest beach to Disney World.  You can easily do this as a day trip adventure.

We’ve explored both coasts. Sometimes we head west from Orlando towards the Gulf, and stay at Clearwater or St. Pete’s Beach.  But most often we head east from Orlando to the absolute closest beach from Disney World – Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Closest Beach to Disney World

Cocoa Beach is no more than a 90 minute drive, and can even just be a day trip adventure to take a break from the park crowds.  When we used to take longer Disney World vacations (6 or 7 days), this is the option we’d often choose.  It’s a nice, mid-week reprieve to add to your schedule.

We select a day right in the middle of our trip.  If you can be flexible, it’s nice to also let the weather and park crowds help decide which day to have as your “beach day”.  In December through February there are obviously a little cooler temperatures.  It seems to average around high 60’s.  That’s kindof a deal breaker for ME to actually get in those waves, but my kids still swim no matter what time of year we go to Cocoa Beach.

Ahhh… a peaceful visit to the ocean serves as an excellent no-standing-in-lines day to recharge your batteries.

How to Get There

Because we fly to Orlando, and enjoy utilizing the free Disney World Magical Express transportation to the resort, we typically don’t have a car.  And now that even Disney Resort guests have to pay for parking (boo!), we plan to keep it this way.

The good news is, renting a car in Orlando is generally pretty affordable.  I believe the average I’ve paid is $32-46 per day, for an economy size.  You can do so for just a 1-day trip to to the ocean, or for the beginning or ending non-Disney portions of your trip.  Here’s the scoop on how to do it.

If we are going to Cocoa Beach for just a day trip, then returning to Disney World, we use the car rental agencies right on the Disney World property.  Check out the helpful Disney planning site Mousesavers for more info and tips on Renting a Car at Disney World.   Your Disney resort will shuttle you to and from the car rental place.

If we plan to go to Cocoa Beach for 1 or more nights, we rent a car from the Orlando International Airport [MCO] for just the beach dates.  Then we return the car to the airport… and walk to the Magical Express buses (also in the MCO airport)!  More recently, we’ve shortened our Disney stay slightly, and increased our length of stay at Cocoa Beach.  We typically plan 1-3 nights either before or after the Disney World portion of our trip (I prefer before, then we still have Disney to look forward to!)

The road directly to Cocoa Beach is a toll road, so have some change handy.  Total fare ends up being less than $5 total, one way.

Cocoa Beach Florida’s Charm

To be honest, Cocoa Beach isn’t as glitzy as the gulf coast beaches.  You won’t find the same a 4-star caliber resorts as Clearwater Beach offers.  But I feel that’s part of the charm.  Plus the prices are cheaper for hotels and airbnb rentals, which is always an incentive.  Cocoa Beach itself is a small beach town, with locally owned restaurants and an iconic Ron Jon’s surf shop.

We’ve had decent stays at Hampton Inn, DoubleTree, and Hilton, all of which offer rooms with a ocean view balcony, and access to walk out onto the beach.  A requirement in my book!

And the last time we were there, we actually rented an Airbnb condo for 3-nights.  This was a wonderful way to go!  Having a washer and dryer to clean sandy clothes and dry out towels was fantastic.  The owner also provided surfboards and sand toys, which is ideal for flying guests who don’t want to purchase and then abandon fun beach gear.

The water is slighter cooler than gulf side, and the sand isn’t that powdery white.  But there are typically much lower crowds, and BIGGER WAVES!  This is enough to win us over more often than not.

And it often boils down to location.  It truly is the closest beach to Disney World, and most time efficient way to build some nature into your chaotic and fun Disney trip!  Again, we’ve done Cocoa Beach as just a roundtrip day adventure before – right in the middle of our Disney stay.

I think you’ll love it!

Read my popular post: Must-Dos at Cocoa Beach Florida for more photos, food recommendations, and know before your go tips.  And if you’ve got time to also visit Kennedy Space Center, I’d recommend that too.

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