Fifteen weeks is a long time for a signature restaurant to sit dark.
Yachtsman Steakhouse closed May 10 for refurbishment, and guests around Crescent Lake spent the summer without one of the better dinner options in that corner of Walt Disney World. The area is packed with dining between the BoardWalk, Beach Club, and the walk to EPCOT’s International Gateway. But Yachtsman fills a slot that nothing else nearby does.
It is the steakhouse. Has been for a long time.
Beef aged in-house. Steaks are hand-cut in a dry-aging room, so guests can actually see the process. Signature Dining with a dress code, which makes it the anniversary dinner, the celebration meal, the one nice night on an otherwise casual trip.
It reopened on Friday, August 28. With two new dishes.
What’s New at Yachtsman Steakhouse
10-oz American Wagyu New York Strip Steak, loaded baked potato, brandy-peppercorn sauce, $83
Black Garlic Fettuccine, house-made fettuccine, seared baby squash, heirloom cherry tomatoes, mushroom conserva, creamy black garlic sauce, $38
The Wagyu is the headline. Yachtsman already serves a 12-oz Prime New York Strip with peppercorn-brandy sauce, so this adds American Wagyu in a smaller cut at a much higher price.
Worth noticing: the new Wagyu uses essentially the same preparation as the existing Prime strip. Same sauce. Rather than build a new dish around it, Yachtsman is letting the beef itself be the entire difference. For a place that markets its own aging and butchery, that is a flex.
The fettuccine is quieter and probably more useful. At $38, it is among the more approachable entrées on a beef-heavy menu, and it gives non-steak diners an actual reason to be at the table instead of an afterthought.
House-made pasta with mushroom conserva and black garlic cream is also more modern than Yachtsman usually goes. Black garlic has been popping up across Disney signature menus lately, and this is a clean version of it.
What Changed Inside
Refresh, not reinvention.
Guests noted the accessible ramp outside has been carpeted, which matters more than it sounds for anyone using a wheelchair or scooter, or navigating a ramp in Florida rain.
The furniture is back too, including the blue benches and burgundy chairs regulars will recognize.
The dining room identity has not shifted. Still a New England-style steakhouse with knotty-pine beams, nautical detailing, and the open kitchen and dry-aging room front and center.
Before You Book Yachtsman Steakhouse
- Located at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort in the EPCOT Resort Area
- Dinner only, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Disney lists it at $35 to $59.99 per adult for dinner entrées, notably below the $83 Wagyu
- Signature Dining dress code applies. Clean, neat, good condition. No swimwear.
- Advance reservations strongly recommended. Same-day is limited and not something to count on during a reopening weekend.
- Standard cancellation policy, with a per-person fee for no-shows or late cancellations
- On the Disney Dining Plan, dinner here costs two Table-Service credits per person
That last one matters if you are budgeting credits across a week.
Why It Is Worth Noting
Walt Disney World has been quietly working through a run of restaurant and resort refreshes.
Yachtsman is one of several projects around Crescent Lake and the monorail loop, arriving as the BoardWalk finally fills venues that sat empty for years.
Bringing a signature steakhouse back with two new menu items instead of a straight reopening suggests the closure was treated as an opportunity rather than just deferred maintenance.
For anyone staying at Yacht Club, Beach Club, BoardWalk Inn, or within walking distance, the takeaway is simple. The steakhouse is open, there is something new at both the top and the middle of the menu, and reservations will be tight for a few weeks.
