Hurricane Hanna’s Review
Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill is a counter service restaurant at Beach Club Resort in Walt Disney World. Located next to Stormalong Bay pool (outside of the gate, though), this dining spot features a sit-down bar, as well as a quick-service order window, and a refillable mug station. In this review, we’ll offer some food photos and thoughts on the pool bar.
If you ask me, Hurricane Hanna’s is the main counter service restaurant at Beach Club. There’s also Beach Club Marketplace, but that’s tucked into a corner of the gift shop/store, and it has always felt like a makeshift option to me. Both accept the Disney Dining Plan as counter service restaurants, even though neither really “feel” like fully-fledged restaurants.
In any case, Beach Club (and Yacht Club, for that matter) is one of the weakest resorts at Walt Disney World in terms of counter service dining (here’s hoping the new restaurant coming this summer to Yacht Club is better) so calling Hurricane Hanna’s the “main” counter service restaurant is not exactly high praise…
Hurricane Hanna’s could have a lot going for it in terms of ambiance. It could be a cool swim-up bar and grill incorporated into part of Stormalong Bay, with an additional walk-up area.
Integrating it into the pool would definitely up the cool-factor, but would pose a challenge since Stormalong Bay is fenced-off.
With so few counter service options at Yacht and Beach Club, restricted access to guests already in the pool area might not be the best idea. On the other hand, isolating it from the pool, as is currently the case, makes it less-convenient for guests lounging at Stormalong Bay.
In a way, Hurricane Hanna’s feels more like it’s serving the Crescent Lake promenade than it does Yacht and Beach Club. (Pictured above is the view standing right at the fence adjacent to Hurricane Hanna’s; hardly a poor view, but the tables at Hurricane Hanna’s do not have this view.)
Ultimately, the best option if you’re staying at Yacht or Beach Club is to send a runner to grab food while lounging at Stormalong Bay, and bring it back to everyone else at the pool…
For our meal at Hurricane Hanna’s, I had the Seafood Roll. I’m pretty sure this used to be a lobster roll (or maybe lobster and scallops?), but now it’s just mystery meat, without explanation from the menu as to what’s in it. I believe it’s shrimp, scallops, and lobster, but there might also be a bit of krab in there, too.
I must have been the winner of that day’s mystery meat contest, as I found this to be shockingly delicious. There was a mild tang from the dressing, and it had an overall refreshing taste, with an ample amount of seafood. The lobster was a bit scant, but it was still inexplicably good.
Now, you probably shouldn’t order this if you’re someone who loves “lobstah rolls,” and claims moral authority about them, requiring strict purity.
However, as someone who believes variations on popular regional dishes are not tantamount to treason, I found it to be a good spin (albeit admittedly lower quality) on a familiar favorite. Given the cost difference between this and the lobster roll at Contempo Cafe (and other Walt Disney World counter service restaurants), I’m fine with it.
Sarah’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Arugula and Sun-dried Tomato Goat Cheese, on the other hand, did not impress. This was like a generic Walt Disney World counter service item, and the toppings couldn’t save this incredibly dry sandwich on a plain bun.
Aside from the Vegetarian Falafel Flatbread (which they were out of when we visited), that’s probably what you’re going to find with the rest of the menu. They have the generic cardboard burger, a pulled pork sandwich, and a couple of ordinary salads.
These housemade chips are pretty common around Walt Disney World, and they’re usually a winner. Sometimes, they can be a bit over-seasoned, but they’re usually good.
Overall, I cannot say we were impressed by Hurricane Hanna’s. As a pool bar, it’s disappointing to have it a bit isolated from the actual pool. As a counter service restaurant, the menu is weak and limited. I liked the seafood roll, but it’s not something I’d go out of my way to get, and the rest of the offerings could use a boost. Sadly, this is about par for the course with Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts when it comes to the counter service restaurants.
You can cobble together an okay dining experience by cherrypicking certain items from each menu (literally, I think each spot has 1-2 good menu items), but the lineups are very limited, and very weak. When you can choose from 15+ different entrees at one of the All Star food courts, it’s a bit insulting that two of Walt Disney World’s most expensive Deluxe Resorts are so limited in counter service choices. Yes, you could “just” go into World Showcase, but that requires a park ticket and 30 minutes of time. Disney should do better given what these resorts cost.
Want more dining tips? Check out our 101 Delicious Walt Disney World Dining Tips. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Hurricane Hanna’s? Anything on the menu that you recommend? Do you find the counter service options at Yacht and Beach Club disappointing, or does this not matter to you? Any questions? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share your thoughts in the comments below!
Just leaving after 6 nights at Beach Club. Probably our 8th stay at a Crescent Lake resort . I could not agree more with this review! Quick service options at resorts all around crescent lake are dismal compared to, say, food court at Riverside. I did not eat lobster roll so can’t comment. That said, we had 3 meals at HH b/c of limited options. We stay there for the pool, proximity to Epcot/HWS, Cape May Cafe & overall higher class crowd.
This is fine away from the pool since there are waiters who work the pool deck. I had that same chicken sandwich as Sarah last summer and loved it. Also one of the best (i.e. Fresh) margaritas I’ve had from a Disney bar. The real winner is the kids meals. Those chicken strips were magic! And you get the sand bucket of course.
They should make the Beach Club Marketplace like the Gasparilla Island Grill. Salad station, hot sandwich/pizza station, cold sandwich station. Keep the DVC food items, wine and make the upstairs section like basic souveniers, sun lotions, sundries, key chains, mugs etc….
Move bigger souveniers and clothes over to Yacht club store. Make to go options and coffee house/mug refill at Ale and Compass. Love BCV, but all the Epcot resorts lack in quick service and World Showcase being close by is a perk, not an excuse to have poor QS!
Love your blog!
For the price point of these hotels, they shouldn’t be just now figuring it out. Love the location of these hotels, hate the fact that they flub the basics so hard.
The benefit that our family had from Hurricane Hanna’s is its proximity to the pool. Our son loves sports, and the location allowed him to watch NFL games while at the pool with the rest of us. I agree that it’s location makes it hard to call it a viable quick service option to BC/YC guests, though.
It’s a shame they ran out of the falafel flatbread. I had that the last time we were there and thought it was pretty good.
I have to disagree with you not the statement that the rest of the menu was fairly ordinary. We ate at Hurricane Hanna’s about two weeks ago while staying at BCV. I had the buffalo chicken wrap and that thing was packed full of spicy chicken and lots of fresh vegetables. It ranks up there as one of the best and freshest quick service meals I have ever had. Equally, my husband had the turkey cobb salad and his salad had a substantial amount of avocado and fresh cut tomatoes on it in addition to a heaping pile of turkey. He was very impressed with the quality of the salad as well, on par with the made to order salad options we have enjoyed at the Grand Floridian. Overall, our meal was anything but ordinary and felt that the options may have been limited but were high quality and worth eating.
Another downside to this place is that they stop serving food relatively early, like at 8 PM or so.
It’s a shame, I feel like the counter service game is pretty weak around Crescent Lake, which is kind of bizarre considering the way the whole EPCOT Resort Area is set up as something of a dining/entertainment district. Even the new thing they just opened in Yacht Club seems kind of bland and uninspired.
On your “lobstah roll” comment – as a life-long resident of a Boston suburb, I am definitely a lobster roll purist. I believe you should be getting big chunks of fresh lobster with mayo in a roll – nothing else, not even lettuce. I probably won’t try that seafood roll, but I have tried a few other lobster rolls around WDW. The one at Columbia Harbor House is an utter disaster, I’m honestly not sure there was even any lobster in it. I had one at Food and Wine that was teeny tiny for $9 and tasted fishy. However, I’ve had the one at the Captain’s Grill at the Yacht Club twice and both times it was fairly good! Not the best I’ve ever had (it did have lettuce, I picked it out), but I had a 40% cast member discount at the time so it was actually a pretty good value at about $15 for the roll, fries, and a soda with tax and tip included. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it at full price, though. Basically what I’m saying is, Disney World might not be the best place to get a lobster roll lol
Even though Tom tried to head this off in the review, I knew some New Englander wouldn’t be able to resist crowing about how knowledgeable they are about “lobstah rolls”.
Almost every single dish has some city/region that thinks it’s “theirs”, and can’t be equaled anywhere else.
That’s fine, but it gets old constantly hearing about it.
Is it so hard to just keep it to yourself.
Ha!!! Amen, brother!! Preach to the congregation!!! Now if we just get rest of the country to stop calling my hometown pride and joy “Buffalo Wings”… just leave chicken wings to us pros. What a bunch of rookies!
CRABCAKES AMD FOOTBALL! THAT’S WHAT MARYLAND DOES!