Explore some of the resorts

[xgao]

I am relatively new to this board and to WDW. We are planning a trip to WDW in early December. We will be staying offsite for now. Can someone suggest a few Disney resorts for us to visit on this trip? What would be the best way to access these resorts if we are not staying onsite? Can we hop on the monorail or boat from the parks? Thanks.

 

[Greg K.]

Your best bet would be to use Disney transit - bus, boat or monorail - to visit the resorts.

The resorts are very leery of letting just anyone come in and snoop around, and security is especially tight. If you drive up in a car, it's likely you'll be turned away at the gate if you don't have a parking permit, room key or a reservation for a meal. (Yes, they check these things!)

A trip around the monorail, to visit the Contemporary, Poly and Grand Floridian, should whet your appetite and let you see what the hotels have to offer. You can hop off, explore, shop, eat, then hop back on and continue your trip, no problem.

If you prefer, you could also take the boat from the MK to visit the Wilderness Lodge, the Poly or the GF. But the monorail is a little more fun.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

We thought the Animal Kingdom Lodge decorations were very beautiful and unusual. We are going to check out the Grand Floridian and Fort Wilderness Lodge decorations on our Christmas trip this year. I have heard they are great.

We will be staying at the Dolphin this Christmas, which has great decorations. We thought the Yatch Club decorations were kind of run of the mill when we stayed at the YC last time. Wasn't impressed with the Polynesian's decorations, but many people love them.

You may use the monorail to go to any of the resorts it visits. You may use the boat to go from the MK to the Fort Wilderness Lodge and the boat at Epcot/MGM, or walk, from the International Gateway to the resorts located at Epcot/MGM. The other resorts can be reached via the resort buses from any of the parks. They are intended for use by the WDW Resort guest, but no one checks for room keys or proof of where you are staying. The AKL is kind of remote so you may want to visit it from the AK park using its bus. We thought the Christmas decorations were nice but fairly normal at the Port Orleans Riverside when we dined at Boatwrights last Christmas. Where ever you visit, the decorations are themed and very extensive.

All of the resorts have security guards posted at the gates to the resort. For this reason, you may want to stick to Disney transportation when visiting. They check to see if you are on their Dining PS list (they will give you a 2-3 hour temporary permit) or guest list (they issue a length of stay parking permit if you are staying at the resort). I think they would turn you away if you said you were there just to look around. I'm sure they get a lot of that at Christmas.

 

[Penny12]

Security IS tighter at the resorts, but you will NOT be turned away at the resorts if you arrive by car. Simply tell the Security Guard at the gate that you'd like to look around at the restaurants and shops and they will issue you a temporary parking permit (you get a few hours) - the only except to this is the Boardwalk which is advertised as an attraction in it's own right and parking time is unlimited. Note: You will be asked for ID by security before they let you in.

However, as mentioned, if you use Disney transport, you can resort hop to your hearts content without being stopped.

Resorts worth checking are the Boardwalk (a few shops, restaurants, street entertainment in the evening - a wonderful atmosphere and worth visiting), Animal Kingdom Lodge - check out the animals at the Savannah's, Wilderness Lodge - very quiet, pretty and check out the Geyser 'going off', and all the MK monorail resorts are worth a wander around IMO