Evening at Disney Resort, staying off site this time

[CountyMounty]

Ok down to the wire and looking for some last minute help, leaving today and run out of time for research plus it was a last minute decision to go so no where near as much planning this time. Have two open evenings Mon 21 and Tues 22 and looking for cheaper, easy things to do in Disney. Note we are not staying on site this time and only doing 2 days at Disney parks but would like to get in some more of the Disney Magic. I was thinking about eating a couple meals at Disney resorts just to take in the ambiance and this late in the game it will probably have to be quick service.

First question will I even be allowed to park at the resorts if not staying on site. I know you can if you have ADR's have done that several times.

Leaning toward maybe Poly or Grand Floridian as we have never really explored either of them much, and then staying to watch the fireworks.

Also I recall a few years back stumbling upon a moving showing outside at one of them, is this still done if so what time and where, and again will we be allowed to take it in since we are not Disney resort guest this time around.

Any other suggestions for evening activities that non resort guest can take part in? I'm sure one of the nights we will either walk around DTD or Boardwalk and also play a round of mini-golf.

Sorry for all the questions normally I would research it myself but just not enough time this time, stuck working overtime right now on the night before we leave, lol, hey now I have more money to spend on the trip right.

 

[Joy]

You can park at a resort even if you don't have an ADR. Tell them you are there to look around and eat at the quick service place. I have done that at BWI and AoA most recently.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I am not sure where they are with it, but GF has construction going on. You may want to check out the lobby, then head to the Poly for dinner, fireworks. Lots going on at the Boardwalk at night and lots of dining options.

 

[redrosesix]

most resorts have movies now -- not sure how they could keep you from watching it, but spaces/seats are limited so idk. It's not as popular as you would think -- there aren't that many disney movies other than the classics that can be watched by everybody. At ASMusic they start at 7 at this time of year so I'd expect the same elsewhere. But tbh, not sure I'd bother if I wasn't staying there -- it keeps my kid occupied while I take my time to eat supper or swim laps, so it's a huge bonus for fee.

Yes, you can park at a resort assuming they are not full -- they might turn you away for parking even if you have an adr if the resort is full but that is very rare. Just tell them you're going in to eat, or to shop or to look around. We eat and park at other resorts all the time. We usually go to CSR a couple of times to use the business centre.

 

[cvjw]

We ate at O'hana two weeks ago, and the guard at the gate had a list with names on it of people with reservations at their restaurants. Since our name was on the list, we were allowed in. The person in front of us was turned around and drove away. I don't know if that is just because it was a more crowded time of year, but just FYI.

 

[Itinkso]

We ate at O'hana two weeks ago, and the guard at the gate had a list with names on it of people with reservations at their restaurants. Since our name was on the list, we were allowed in. The person in front of us was turned around and drove away. I don't know if that is just because it was a more crowded time of year, but just FYI.

On New Year's Day, we were planning to park in self-park at GF to see the Gingerbread House and then eat at GF cafe. Because I hadn't made an ADR, we weren't allowed to park. The security guard was apologetic and explained because of crowd levels, all resort parking was limited to resort guests and ADRs only. Last Spring Break, we were able to park in self-park at GF a number of times to visit and eat at GF. It is really dependent upon crowd levels.