Resort Touring/Hopping in December -- Where to go?

[JustMe+Three]

So for the first time ever, my family and I (4 adults, 3 kids) will be going to WDW for a short pre-weekend (Thursday/Friday) get away so that we can attend MVMCP . We will be staying at one of the Disney properties (most likely AoA), but I have heard that other resorts are decorated for Christmas. We will have the day that we are going to MVMCP free until we leave for that (so 4ish I think?) so I was wondering what resort you would recommend touring prior to the party? (We can tour other resorts since we are staying at a resort, right? I know that we cannot pool hop -- not opening that can of worms!! )

If there is already a thread for this please feel free to point me in that direction. I tried searching, but didn't see anything overly recent and wasn't sure if things had changed any.

Thanks!!



eta: Can you resort hop using your car, or do you have to take Disney transportation?

 

[mickeynut1]

So for the first time ever, my family and I (4 adults, 3 kids) will be going to WDW for a short pre-weekend (Thursday/Friday) get away so that we can attend MVMCP . We will be staying at one of the Disney properties (most likely AoA), but I have heard that other resorts are decorated for Christmas. We will have the day that we are going to MVMCP free until we leave for that (so 4ish I think?) so I was wondering what resort you would recommend touring prior to the party? (We can tour other resorts since we are staying at a resort, right? I know that we cannot pool hop -- not opening that can of worms!! )

If there is already a thread for this please feel free to point me in that direction. I tried searching, but didn't see anything overly recent and wasn't sure if things had changed any.

Thanks!!

All of the resorts are decorated nicely for the holidays, but the WL is definitely one to see. Not sure how much time you plan on taking for touring, but I would maybe head to WL first, then take the boat to the CR to check out those decorations and then hop on the monorail and stop at the Poly then GF and then to MK for the party. That will take some time, but if you were going to plan a few hours for touring, that would be a great way to visit 4 resorts without much difficulty getting from one to the other. Have a great trip. Disney in December is amazing and the party is a lot of fun.

 

[jaceraden]

I would not miss GF, BC and AKL. BC and AKL are my faves but most people rave about GF.

 

[abdgeek]

I would suggest doing the resorts in groups. You may not be able to see all of the decorations, but you'll get a good idea. I would take the bus to Hollywood Studios and then take the boat to the Yacht Club. From there, you can walk to YC, BC, and BW to see the decorations. I would then take the bus to the MK and get on the monorail. You can then go to the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian to see the decorations. Get back on the monorail and then you're at MK for the party. Most of the decorations you willl want to see are in the lobby area of the resort.

 

[siskaren]

I would suggest doing the resorts in groups. You may not be able to see all of the decorations, but you'll get a good idea. I would take the bus to Hollywood Studios and then take the boat to the Yacht Club. From there, you can walk to YC, BC, and BW to see the decorations. I would then take the bus to the MK and get on the monorail. You can then go to the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian to see the decorations. Get back on the monorail and then you're at MK for the party. Most of the decorations you willl want to see are in the lobby area of the resort.

This is exactly what I do on the day I do the MVMCP, with one addition. I take the bus to DTD from the BW and have lunch there, then take the bus to WL to check out their decorations. From there, I take the bus to CR, and then do the monorail resorts. (Unless things have changed though, I would skip Poly because they just don't seem to do as much as the other deluxes.)

 

[sharadoc]

You can drive to any resort, but some have less parking than others. You should have your resort ID ready for the guard.

GF has the awesome tree and gingerbread house, so you'll spend some time there, Poly only seemed to have small trees and wreaths, etc. so no big deal, but they did have photo ops with chairs next to the trees. Contemporary has a giant Mickey head wreath on the end that looks really cool at night.

On your MVMCP night, I like the idea of bus to MK, boat to WL, boat to Contemporary and hop on the monorail. Kona Cafe at the Poly would be a nice spot to have a meal if you want to do that as well. Then GF and back to MK

Both WL and AKL have giant lobby trees themed to the resort. Beach Club has a carousel and BW has a small character-size gingerbread house and a big tree out on the front lawn. You can check out the BC and BW lobbies on an Epcot or DHS day.

Fort Wilderness is decorated by the campers and is awesome, but you need to go through there in the dark to get the full effect.

Definitely worth it to see everything, but you may want to do it in chunks rather than trying to do it all in one day.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I would take the bus to HS then the boat to Yacht Club. Get off, tour the YC, BC and walk over to BW and get a snack at the Boardwalk Bakery. Then I would hop the bus to AKL and eat lunch there. Then I would get the bus to MK and take the boat to WL. After checking that out I would take the boat to CR, check it out and then grab the monorail for a stop at the GF. Then you would be able to go to MK via the monorail for the party.

 

[siskaren]

I would take the bus to HS then the boat to Yacht Club. Get off, tour the YC, BC and walk over to BW and get a snack at the Boardwalk Bakery. Then I would hop the bus to AKL and eat lunch there. Then I would get the bus to MK and take the boat to WL. After checking that out I would take the boat to CR, check it out and then grab the monorail for a stop at the GF. Then you would be able to go to MK via the monorail for the party.

There's no direct bus from Boardwalk to AKL though.

 

[Wood Nymph]

There's no direct bus from Boardwalk to AKL though.

Right I should have suggested the boat or walk back to HS for the bus to AKL or bus to AK them bus to AKL.

 

[Missytara]

I have done it a few times on solo trips; interspersing the day with shopping and stopping at lounges for a quick snack and glass of wine.

It is always a nice day to snag an entire day at the resorts if you can swing it. I am lucky, since I stay at POR and you can always end your day at a resort, take the DTD bus to the bus hub, and then get on the water taxi back to POR. The water taxis run every 10 minutes after 4 pm, so you are never waiting very long.