For some people, Thanksgiving means turkey and cold weather. For me, it means walking the beach and dipping my feet into the (freezing!) ocean. We’ve been going to a beach over Thanksgiving for several years now, with Hilton Head being the beach of choice for the past few years. Disney’s Hilton Head Island resort is an amazing resort on the sound side of the island and also has access to a private Beach House oceanfront, a short shuttle or bike ride away. Hilton Head Island is located in South Carolina, just north of the Georgia border. It is a very busy island but the appearance of commercialism is kept to a minimum with restrictions on signage and resulting in many businesses peeking out from behind the moss covered trees.

Disney’s resort is super difficult to get into unless you are a Disney Vacation Club (timeshare) member and ‘own’ at the resort itself. I’ve tried on numerous occasions for myself and clients to book rooms for visits throughout the year with no success. The resort is small and availability is slim. With under 125 total rooms, including three-bedroom villas (5), two-bedroom villas (76), one-bedroom villas (21), and studio rooms (21), it is no wonder that availability is hard to come by. We are Vacation Club owners and recently bought into this particular resort because we love to visit there and have such difficulty in getting reservations. We’ll finally be able to do a week next summer and we can’t wait!

This resort has the most friendly staff of any Disney property I’ve ever been too. They go out of their way to make sure you have the best time possible and that your stay is truly magical. The resort and area managers were both on-site during our visit and checked in with us to ensure we were having a great vacation. Pin trading is a big thing at Hilton Head, just as it is at other Disney destinations. The kid came home with tons of new treasures. I found some treasures of my own while walking on the beach…

The family events there are so much fun too, some with a fee and some for free. We participated in the annual Golden Turkey scavenger hunt, Mickey tie-dye, making vacation pillows, finding a hidden plush Mickey each day, ping pong, shuffleboard, and even swimming. While it was a little chilly at times, we had a couple of great days and took advantage of the heated pools when possible. They really make the resort feel holiday-homey everywhere from the main lodge to the gift shop.

After a few lovely days, it was time to head home to chilly Virginia and get moving on Christmas prep. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Until next time,

Amber