Cool things to see at WDW resorts?

[alexiskimberly]

Hi everyone! I'm traveling to WDW in 9 days (ahhh!) and am staying at YC. Given the reports of how crowded things are, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for things off the beaten path to check out or try, either at a resort or in the park. Are there any especially cool or beautiful sights people have seen that they think are worth checking out at the different resorts?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!!

 

[EmilyGahr]

The Carolwood Pacific Railroad Room at Wilderness Lodge is worth checking out!

 

[Cabius]

You could easily spend a lot of time at Fort Wilderness. Go check out the new barn and admire the old circus calliope, bought by Walt himself and restored for use in Toby Tyler and at the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus parade and show at Disneyland! See the horses, and take little ones on a pony ride! Rent a gold cart and drive around the place -- see if you can spot any deer. It's a world away from the World, but still magical.

 

[WEDWDW]

Hop on the Skyliner at the IG and fly on over to Pop Century and check out the amazing Shadow Boxes in Classic Hall.

 

[e_yerger]

Riviera resort is stunning with their Tangled & Peter Pan murals. And Caribbean Beach has a fun playground area in the middle of the lake! It would be fun to do a skyliner tour of all those resorts.

 

[Marthasor]

The Carolwood Pacific Railroad Room at Wilderness Lodge is worth checking out!

I so agree! OP, if you go to WL, ask the front desk or concierge for a handout that describes all of the artifacts and totem poles in the WL lobby and then walk over to BRV (building next to the WL main building) to see Walt's railroad cars as EmilyGahr notes in her post.

You could easily spend a lot of time at Fort Wilderness. Go check out the new barn and admire the old circus calliope, bought by Walt himself and restored for use in Toby Tyler and at the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus parade and show at Disneyland! See the horses, and take little ones on a pony ride! Rent a gold cart and drive around the place -- see if you can spot any deer. It's a world away from the World, but still magical.

I agree with this as well. In fact, you could spend a good part of the day at Ft. W doing all sorts of activities for very little money. Definitely visit the barn and have a great (and affordable) QS lunch from P&J's, then take the internal bus or simply walk to the Meadows outpost area to do some gem mining, rent a canoe or kayak (VERY affordable - I think we paid about $8?!). You can even pre-book an archery experience or rent a bike. We rented a kayak and we were the only ones on the little river - I recall thinking this was the most UNcrowded place in all of WDW!

 

[chalee94]

Riviera resort is stunning with their Tangled & Peter Pan murals.

Yes. (Technically, they are mosaics.)

It's fun to ride the Skyliner on a non-park day and have lunch at RR overlooking the water...

 

[alexiskimberly]

I so agree! OP, if you go to WL, ask the front desk or concierge for a handout that describes all of the artifacts and totem poles in the WL lobby and then walk over to BRV (building next to the WL main building) to see Walt's railroad cars as EmilyGahr notes in her post.



I agree with this as well. In fact, you could spend a good part of the day at Ft. W doing all sorts of activities for very little money. Definitely visit the barn and have a great (and affordable) QS lunch from P&J's, then take the internal bus or simply walk to the Meadows outpost area to do some gem mining, rent a canoe or kayak (VERY affordable - I think we paid about $8?!). You can even pre-book an archery experience or rent a bike. We rented a kayak and we were the only ones on the little river - I recall thinking this was the most UNcrowded place in all of WDW!

All of these suggestions are so awesome!!! Thank you all!!

 

[jimmymc]

All of Wilderness Lodge! The main lobby, DVC building lobby, and outdoor areas are all very cool to see. Same goes for the Poly and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Nobody has mentioned the Geyser and lunch at Geyser point at WL relaxing in one of their soft chairs with low tables.

 

[PalmettoPath]

You could easily spend a lot of time at Fort Wilderness. Go check out the new barn and admire the old circus calliope, bought by Walt himself and restored for use in Toby Tyler and at the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus parade and show at Disneyland! See the horses, and take little ones on a pony ride! Rent a gold cart and drive around the place -- see if you can spot any deer. It's a world away from the World, but still magical.

While there, you can also go on a trail ride or take archery lessons. A couple of our favorite fun things to do.

 

[holden]

The animals at AK Jambo and Kidani!

 

[jcarwash]

These are the resort things we did on our trip last week:

On our Magic Kingdom day, took the boat to the Polynesian for lunch at Capt. Cook's, Dole whips at Pineapple Lanai, and shopping.

On an off day, visted Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village for lunch at Sanaa, then spent a while watching the animals on the savanna, from the resort viewing locations.

On another off day, visited Coronado Springs for an early dinner at Three Bridges.

We stayed at Pop Century, so we rode the Skyliner to Epcot and visited where you're staying. Had lunch from the Beach Club Marketplace, visited the Yacht Club and Boardwalk. Riding the Skyliner is fun all on its own.

 

[AllisonLB1994]

We love doing QS lunches at resorts as a break during our park days. It removes us from the huge crowds plus it's so fun to see the resorts. The last time on our trip we did:

• The Mara (AKL) during our AK day
• Geyser Point (WL) during our MK day
• Big River Grille when we split our HS and Epcot day
• Captain Cook's for breakfast before our MK day

We also did a monorail tour of the MK resorts one evening - stopping for QS dinner at Contemporary and then drinks at GF and Poly.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We had fun riding the Skyliner and exploring the resorts on the line. Art of Animation is a really cute resort and has a great gift shop

 

[Shellyred8]

If you go to the barn at Ft. Wilderness, make sure you check the operating hours ahead of time. When we were there it was only open from 10am to 3pm. We arrived at 3:20pm.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Another vote for the murals at Riviera! After that we took the skyliner to CBR and walked around as we’d never been to that resort.

 

[alexiskimberly]

Everyone has such great suggestions—thank you all so much!!! So appreciative and can't wait to check this all out.

 

[alexiskimberly]

All of Wilderness Lodge! The main lobby, DVC building lobby, and outdoor areas are all very cool to see. Same goes for the Poly and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Do you still need a reservation in order to visit? I'm mainly wondering about Wilderness Lodge...I want to check out Geyser Point, but I know you cant make a reservation there!

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

If you go to MK and want to take a short break of 30-45 minutes, walk or take the monorail to the CR. Go look at the Mary Blair mural. It is stunningly beautiful and perhaps the greatest piece of art at WDW. It is in the concourse. Depending when you go, you can get a CS meal or a drink in the concourse too.