Day off-parks - resort hopping

[valval]

Hello everyone! Finally heading back to WDW in April and this time for 9 days! My boyfriend and I will be spending 8 days in the parks + a rest day.
For the rest day, I'm thinking about resort hopping and I'm trying to come up with a smart plan to visit the most relevant resorts (and eating snacks in the meantime!).

We'll be staying at CBR. Our first resort should be Grand Floridian (for breakfast) and our final destination should be Disney Springs for dinner ( + Cirque).

This is my current plan:
(from CBR bus to MK, then boat) -> Grand Floridian (walk) -> Polynesian (monorail) -> Contemporary (boat) -> Ft. Wilderness Lodge (bus to Epcot - bus OR Uber) -> Port Orleans FQ (Sassagoula River Cruise) -> Disney Springs.

Any suggestion on how to enhance it? Any other must-visit resort?
Thank you in advance!

 

[starry_solo]

That looks like a good trip!

 

[valval]

Thank you! Do you think I'm missing out on other must-see resorts?

 

[Miffy]

Thank you! Do you think I'm missing out on other must-see resorts?

I love your itinerary, but it does miss my favorite WDW resort: AKL. You could start the day there and have breakfast at Boma or even the Mara (the QS place), then bus over to the MK resorts.

 

[valval]

I love your itinerary, but it does miss my favorite WDW resort: AKL. You could start the day there and have breakfast at Boma or even the Mara (the QS place), then bus over to the MK resorts.

I was actually looking into that, but AKL seems the most tricky resort to put on the schedule. It seems really far away from anything else! Good point, tho! I will consider, thanks!

 

[crazylady]

Sound like a good plan but there isn't alot of rest in your rest day if you're touring resorts all day. . I'd plan on your morning tour of the monorail resorts, skip the fort and Port Orleans and head back to your resort by noon for nap and/or pool time. I'd Uber to AKL for dinner and then bus to DS for Cirque.

9 days is a long time. You could always plan to go to other resorts on the other evenings. You could bus to Port Orleans after a park day for the evening show (Is that still a thing?) and then Uber home. Or you could hit the piano bar at Boardwalk after a HS day. You could go to AKL for lunch if dinner while you're at AK and then head back to the park. Lots of options!

 

[valval]

Sound like a good plan but there isn't alot of rest in your rest day if you're touring resorts all day. . I'd plan on your morning tour of the monorail resorts, skip the fort and Port Orleans and head back to your resort by noon for nap and/or pool time. I'd Uber to AKL for dinner and then bus to DS for Cirque.

9 days is a long time. You could always plan to go to other resorts on the other evenings. You could bus to Port Orleans after a park day for the evening show (Is that still a thing?) and then Uber home. Or you could hit the piano bar at Boardwalk after a HS day. You could go to AKL for lunch if dinner while you're at AK and then head back to the park. Lots of options!

Lot of great points! Thank you!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Any suggestion on how to enhance it? Any other must-visit resort?

I would start at the Polynesian before breakfast, then take the monorail to GF for breakfast, then CR, then boat to Wilderness Lodge. From there you can take the boat to Ft Wilderness then take one of the interior buses to the bus depot. Wilderness Lodge is definitely worth visiting.

If you take the bus to Hollywood Studios instead of bus to Epcot then you can walk or take the boat to the Epcot resorts - Boardwalk, Yacht Club and Beach Club. Then you can walk to the International Gateway to get the Skyliner to Riveria, CBR, AoA and Pop. From Pop you can catch the bus to Disney Springs. Or, if you really want to do the boat from POFQ, then go back to the DHS bus depot and catch it from there. Using the DHS bus depot will give you a lot more options than using the Epcot bus depot.

 

[crazylady]

Lot of great points! Thank you!!

Also, my partner would not be happy touring resorts all day! He can only handle so many gift shops

 

[valval]

Also, my partner would not be happy touring resorts all day! He can only handle so many gift shops

From that point of view I'm lucky: it was actually his idea!

 

[Miffy]

I was actually looking into that, but AKL seems the most tricky resort to put on the schedule. It seems really far away from anything else! Good point, tho! I will consider, thanks!

It takes almost the same amount of time to get from AKL to MK as from any other non-monorail resort. About 20 minutes, max. AKL has a secluded feel and people who are used to staying at resorts where you can walk to a park (Boardwalk area and/or monorail line) feel it's "far away." But if you're anywhere else on property, MK is a 15 to 20 minute bus ride, the same as from AKL.

Finishing your day at AKL is another possibility, however, if you start at AKL in the morning, you'll get to tour the lodge and check out all the savannas. At night, there is night-vision viewing, but the daytime is way better. Assuming you're interesting in seeing animals, which you may or may not be.

BTW, AKL doesn't have only savannas and animal viewing--the hallways are filled with African art, if that sort of thing interests you at all. Just to let you know. And there's a fun Hidden Mickey search at AKL as well.

 

[valval]

It takes almost the same amount of time to get from AKL to MK as from any other non-monorail resort. About 20 minutes, max. AKL has a secluded feel and people who are used to staying at resorts where you can walk to a park (Boardwalk area and/or monorail line) feel it's "far away." But if you're anywhere else on property, MK is a 15 to 20 minute bus ride, the same as from AKL.

Finishing your day at AKL is another possibility, however, if you start at AKL in the morning, you'll get to tour the lodge and check out all the savannas. At night, there is night-vision viewing, but the daytime is way better. Assuming you're interesting in seeing animals, which you may or may not be.

BTW, AKL doesn't have only savannas and animal viewing--the hallways are filled with African art, if that sort of thing interests you at all. Just to let you know. And there's a fun Hidden Mickey search at AKL as well.

Wow! I didn't even know there was a chance to see the animals! I will research further on this and definitely put this resort on my list! Thank you!

 

[Miffy]

Wow! I didn't even know there was a chance to see the animals! I will research further on this and definitely put this resort on my list! Thank you!

You are welcome.

There's the main savanna, Arusha, in the center of the lodge--you can see it from the lobby and you can walk out onto a viewing path from there as well. But there are also two other savannas, which you can view from various viewing areas around the lodge, down the hallways, and, in the case of the savanna on the pool-side of the lodge, you can stand by a fence outside and watch the animals from there. Flamingo viewing is near there as well and lots of fun.

If you ask at the front desk, someone will be more than happy to help you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Are you taking a boat from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness or Wilderness Lodge ? They are two different resorts and very different from each other. They are kind of close to each other, but not close enough to walk now that the path between them is closed.

 

[valval]

Are you taking a boat from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness or Wilderness Lodge ? They are two different resorts and very different from each other. They are kind of close to each other, but not close enough to walk now that the path between them is closed.

You are right about it: I'm referring to fort wilderness and I keep forgetting the right name!

 

[Sue M]

Hello everyone! Finally heading back to WDW in April and this time for 9 days! My boyfriend and I will be spending 8 days in the parks + a rest day.
For the rest day, I'm thinking about resort hopping and I'm trying to come up with a smart plan to visit the most relevant resorts (and eating snacks in the meantime!).

We'll be staying at CBR. Our first resort should be Grand Floridian (for breakfast) and our final destination should be Disney Springs for dinner ( + Cirque).

This is my current plan:
(from CBR bus to MK, then boat) -> Grand Floridian (walk) -> Polynesian (monorail) -> Contemporary (boat) -> Ft. Wilderness Lodge (bus to Epcot - bus OR Uber) -> Port Orleans FQ (Sassagoula River Cruise) -> Disney Springs.

Any suggestion on how to enhance it? Any other must-visit resort?
Thank you in advance!

Are you boating from CR to Ft Wilderness or Wilderness Lodge? At any rate if your destination after (I’ll assume WL) is POFQ, I’d take the WL boat back to MK and hop on the POFQ bus there. Love the boat from there to Disney Springs. So pretty.

I notice some mention AKL. On one of your AK park days you could make a dinner ADR at AKL. It’s a 5 min bus ride. We’ve done that. Make a 6pm Boma dinner adr and leave AK park around 3:30ish you’ll want to have daylight to enjoy AKL and Kidani. There are savana viewing areas at both resorts off the lobby. And you’ll want to spend time looking at all the displays in the AKL lobby, and gift shop.

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you! Do you think I'm missing out on other must-see resorts?

We resort hopped one day during out honeymoon and honestly, our favorite stop was at Fort Wilderness. We rented a golf cart and drove around and checked out the beautiful grounds. Went to the HDDR and joined the campfire singalong afterwards. It was one of our favorite parts of our trip!

 

[Orionreplay]

We do similar things on our mandatory rest day we always plan. Except in our case, I feel like we always try to do too much with our "rest day" and not really rest at all. This past trip I had planned for mini golf and was super psyched to get the free passes in our magic band package. I lined up various resorts to visit too and try to take in some early Christmas at these lodges. Yet typically, on the day in question, we had no time for mini golf and ultimately no one wanted Disney Springs as well. Plus our multiple bus rides just seemed plagued with traffic, so I kept watching the clock for the ADRs I had made. No rest at all!

 

[tobikaye]

I agree that AKL is a great place to see. If you do switch breakfast to AKL, I would suggest Boma @ Jambo or Sanaa @ Kidani. Sanaa is a QS at breakfast with a chance to see some animals. The WDW site does not list breakfast times, but if you click the menus, you will see a breakfast listing. You could also just see about a lunch reservation at AKL or go to Mara and then look for animals. There are usually some hanging about throughout the day, just maybe a bit farther off.

So, here is my suggesting starting with GF and ending wth DS, including AKL:

• CBR bus to MK
• Boat to GF
• Walk to Poly
• Monorail to CR
• boat to WL
  • If you wanted to also see FW, separate from WL, bus to FW and the boat to MK
• boat to MK, bus to AKL
• Uber to POFQ
• Boat to DS

If you start at AKL:

• CBR Lyft/Uber to AKL
• Bus to MK, walk to CR
• Monorail to Poly
• Walk to GF
• Boat to GF
• Monorail or boat to MK, boat to WL
  • If you wanted to also see FW, separate from WL, bus to FW and the boat to MK
• Bus to POFQ
• Boat to DS

Note that it is either Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness, not Fort Wilderness Lodge. I want to make sure you get on the correct transportation or you will end up at the wrong place. Both places are amazing, but totally different experiences.

Also, I did not add them in, but you can easily do a loop of the Epcot resorts by using DHS as a hub since you can catch the boat from DHS to loop these resorts.