A few questions regarding family members (not staying in hotel) babysitting at resort + Skyliner access

[2019TripIdeas]

Hello-
We'll be at Boardwalk for a few days where my husband and I have plans elsewhere. Our 3 kids (5, 3, 2) will be watched by their grandparents for the bulk of two days, who are staying over at Dolphin. We will be back to sleep in hotel room with the kids.

As of now, the grandparents aren't super interested in taking the kids into a park, which is fine! That said, we'd love to have a few fun ideas for them. I'm curious about the Skyliner situation- i.e. could the grandparents walk over with the kids, board at Epcot or Hollywood Studios and take the kids over to Art of Animation to look at all the fun theming?

I know they'd love to take the kids for a character meal so I'm assuming we'll try to do one in the Epcot area. I think they'll probably also want to take them somewhere close by for some souvenir shopping- any ideas?

Also in terms of access to areas on property (I feel like if I'm remember correctly, I saw a youtube video that showed a community room the kids could play in at Boardwalk?) would the kids magic bands be sufficient for getting into those areas/in and out of our hotel room?

 

[only hope]

Anyone can ride the Skyliner, so that won't be an issue. Be sure everyone visits the bathroom before boarding in case it stops for an extended period of time (which is good advice for all public transportation really). There's a ton of souvenirs at Disney Springs of course. There's also a Lego store at DS that has several play stations for the kids to build at. Off-property, there is an official Disney discount store at the mall on Vineland (called Character Warehouse I think), and the Wal-Mart on Vineland should have a large Disney section. They did several years ago anyways. The quality of their items is not as good as on property, but for kids that doesn't really matter seeing how quickly they grow and how rough they can be with their stuff.

The All-Star Resorts Movies, Music, and Sports, also have interesting theming. Animal Kingdom Lodge is fun too, if the kids like animals. The kids might enjoy eating at Rainforest Cafe or T-rex Cafe at Disney Springs. I think all the resorts also screen a movie in the evening. Resort activity schedules are posted at the resort. There's usually poolside activities throughout the day.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

Thanks for advice on skyliner! So, if I'm understanding it right the Skyliner stop is outside of the entrance to Epcot (so we wouldn't run into an issue of them needing a park ticket in order to board?). Do you know if they'll need to go thru security or bag check prior to getting on Skyliner as well?

I think we'll for sure do the Lego Store at Disney Springs too. Thanks!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hello-
We'll be at Boardwalk for a few days where my husband and I have plans elsewhere. Our 3 kids (5, 3, 2) will be watched by their grandparents for the bulk of two days, who are staying over at Dolphin. We will be back to sleep in hotel room with the kids.

As of now, the grandparents aren't super interested in taking the kids into a park, which is fine! That said, we'd love to have a few fun ideas for them. I'm curious about the Skyliner situation- i.e. could the grandparents walk over with the kids, board at Epcot or Hollywood Studios and take the kids over to Art of Animation to look at all the fun theming?

I know they'd love to take the kids for a character meal so I'm assuming we'll try to do one in the Epcot area. I think they'll probably also want to take them somewhere close by for some souvenir shopping- any ideas?

Also in terms of access to areas on property (I feel like if I'm remember correctly, I saw a youtube video that showed a community room the kids could play in at Boardwalk?) would the kids magic bands be sufficient for getting into those areas/in and out of our hotel room?

If they want to stay in the Boardwalk area, the shop on the Boardwalk is quite big and has a nice selection of souvenir items. Both the Swan and Dolphin have nice Disney shops as well (YC/BC have shops, too, they just aren't as big) There is also entertainment and carnival games on the Boardwalk in the evenings and both BWI and BC/YC usually have movie showings in the evenings. There is a playground at Swan/Dolphin and the grandparents should get a daily s'mores kit with their Dolphin stay, so they could do that in the afternoons as well. They should also have one Swan boat ride included with their stay. They shouldn't have trouble accessing the community room at the Boardwalk. The grandparents should check the Swan/Dolphin activity schedule when they arrive because the resort typically has a lot of activities going on during the day that they could take advantage of. They will be able to access the Skyliner without having park tickets. A visit to AoA would be fun! There are four character meal options at the EP resorts - Trattoria al Forno and Cape May breakfast plus Garden Grove weekend breakfast and Garden Grove dinner each evening.