Monorail Hotel Tour.....

[momonlongisland]

Hi all....Happy New Year......Hope someone on here can help/advise. Kinda budget related cause we're hoping to not do parks admission prices every day! I'll be in the World in April....staying at POP and would like a suggestion from anyone on where to start, etc to monorail hotel hop. Grab a drink/see some shops/lobbies, etc......We're traveling with adults only this time and thought this would be a fun thing to do late pm/evening! TIA

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

At Ft Wilderness there is a free campfire sing along and marshmellow roast (you pay for the marshmellows or bring your own). Then they show a movie on the outdoor screen. You do not have to be staying there for it. From there you can take a water taxi to the Contemporary or the Wilderness Lodge and hop on the monorail

 

[SandrA9810]

Wilderness Lodge is not on the monorail loop, but one of my favorites. With 7 fireplaces throughout. The lodge and the fort do have quite a bit of merchandise specific to the resort, I love the moose spit and dog drool soaps they sell.
Both offer bike rentals for very cheap, those 4 seaters they use elsewhere are expensive. There's plenty of biking path to go around.

You can watch the fireworks from any of the monorail resorts, I usually go to the contemp. The poly sells the dole whip in self serve cups... I love watching every one's eyes get bigger as I swirl mine around, plenty to share with two.

The Grand has a very nice lobby to check out with the ochestra playing or the piano man. They have a really nice lunch offering at the Cafe table service. Or go for a tea party (there's a kid and adult version).

The fort itself can be an entire day outing, just head to the fort board, listed a few down from the budget board. To see the amazing things you can do there.

 

[horseshowmom]

We did this at Christmas a couple of years ago and had a great time. We started off with breakfast at Kona and then got on the monorail from there. We took the ferry over to Wilderness Lodge. We enjoyed looking through the shops and touring the properties.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Best is to take a bus to MK and then walk over to the Contemporary; it is about the same distance from the bus stop there as from the bus stop to the monorail platform. Then take the monorail to the Polynesian, and then to the GF. Finally return to the MK and walk to the bus station.

 

[hsmamato2]

If it were me, I'd take a bus from POP to MK- then head over to the contemperary(walk) check it all out,maybe eat at the fast food cafe there-see the views of MK from the 4th floor....hop the monorail and do the other 2 hotels on the loop,sightsee,shop,eat etc.... 1st the Poly then the GF, then take boat from the GF back to the MK boat dock, and head to the FT wilderness boat,over there for more sightseeing,plus there's horseback riding archery,etc over there,and lots of walking trails- Not sure if a boat runs from MK to wilderness lodge, but I'd go on the boat to there if I could....then final run from wherever is your last place to visit....bus back to Downtown disney,and catch a bus to POP
can you tell this is one way our family just hangs out,chills and sees the sights? I love visiting all the resorts and the theming...restaurants.....

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Definitely check out Tambu lounge at the Polynesian for drinks. Mizners lounge at the GF is also nice. If you're around during that time, the marina area right in front of Gasparilla's Grill and Games gives a great view of the castle and the fireworks at night.

 

[disneybirds]

We did this at Christmas to see the decorations. We started at Wilderness Lodge, took the boat to MK, then the monorail to Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian and the boat back to Wilderness. We had a great time. We ate at the Grand Floridian counter service - quite a walk from the monorail stop.

 

[MNTwinsMom]

If you can work it out to be at the Poly during the MK fireworks you can't beat the view from the Poly Beach. Grab a dole whip from Captain Cook's or a tropical drink in a pineapple from the bar and it's just a short walk to a waiting lounge chair on the beach.

 

[momof5boys]

Not to steal the thread but my mom and I are going to Orlando for a convention and we have a day free. I don't want to spend a ton of money so I would like to check out the resorts too, except we are not staying at a Disney resort. How can we get into the resorts without a room key or dining reservation? Would love to wander around Poly!

 

[SandrA9810]

Just tell the guard you're here to visit. And even if you're saying you're eating there, they normally don't check reservations. The only time is like during the holidays when the parking is already overflowing.

You can start at the Wilderness Lodge, take the boat to the Contemporary, Monorail to the Poly and the Grand, then to MK. From MK at the base of the monorail station is the boat dock for the Fort and the Lodge, take the boat back to the Lodge (less walking and more scenic than taking the bus back to the Lodge). Well it's really half and half, if you go to the bus stop at MK, the bus stop at the Lodge is by the parking lot. The boat dock is closer at MK, but in the back at the Lodge, so about the same amount of time.

All of them have really good dining options depending on your budget.
I love Whispering Canyon Cafe, Roaring Forks, the Kona Cafe, the Grand Floridian Cafe for lunch, and the Contemporary counter service. And of course the fine dining options are always yummy and expensive.

 

[mousiemom]

I couldn't imagine going to disney and not doing this. we always tour the resorts around the monorail and take the boat taxi from HS and go to the beach club/boardwalk. Like everyone has mentioned the restaurants are the best in the deluxe resorts. I have to say as many trips we've taken we've never toured the campgrounds, we need to do this. we are hopefully planning our trip for october this year so we will have to go there. have fun planning!

 

[horseshowmom]

Not to steal the thread but my mom and I are going to Orlando for a convention and we have a day free. I don't want to spend a ton of money so I would like to check out the resorts too, except we are not staying at a Disney resort. How can we get into the resorts without a room key or dining reservation? Would love to wander around Poly!

I would suggest doing what we did (see post #4). We also used a free day for this. I made an ADR for Kona, told the guard we had breakfast reservations, ate, toured, and then went back to Bonnet Creek. We had a great time.

 

[csharpwv]

Something else I would suggest doing is taking a bus to Old Key West and then taking a boat to Downtown Disney - it's anice ride - it takes a while - and when you get to DTD you can always shop around - or take a boat to Saratoga Spring Resort. SSR is a HUGE resort and one of the most beautiful in terms of the grounds, the fountains, and the things to see and do.

OR you could always take a DVC Tour and see what's up and coming with the Disney Vacation Club! If you've never heard of DVC or don't know much about it - it's worth it to see the sights - especially the 3BR Grand Villa at Saratoga Spring - it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! OR you could go to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals in the evening. They are especially active around feeding time! Plus you could go to the area by the pool wher they have the night vision binoculars at night!

OR you could go to the Boardwalk - that would be fun with the entertainers that are out in the evenings - then you can walk over to the Beach Club - the Yacht Club - and even the Swan and Dolphin! While you're there you can also plan a game of mini-golf at the Fantasia minigolf course!

There are tons of things to do all around the property without going into the parks!

 

[SandrA9810]

I love the piano guy at Port Orleans Riverside. He's there Thurs-Sun nights, and very entertaining. Really good drinks too. It's a great resort for taking a bike ride through. And I love the boat ride to DTD from there.

The campgrounds can be a whole day's tour. Especially during the holidays. July 4th offers up tons of festivities, Halloween through Christmas is fun to go "looping" to see every one's decorations. There's canoing, fishing, biking, boat rentals on the lake, the campfire sing a long and movie with Chip and Dale. A biking/walking trail between the Fort and the Lodge. The Lodge is worth a look over too. They offer small talks throughout the month, like on Saturday mornings they have a railroad talk in the Spike Iron Room in the DVC lobby, or in the morning Ranger Stan will tell you a history of how the resort came to be and some of the artifacts in the lobby.

At the Fort, You can order food to go at Trail's End Buffet (I love the pizza there), or there's a counter service option at the Pool in the middle of the campgrounds. Trail's End is really good country cookin, all you can eat, and the cheapest on property. The Meadow's has this new chili dog, with all the fixings and probably enough to give any one heartburn for a week as you think about how many arteries are being clogged.
The Lodge has three dining options, Roaring Forks is the counter service. They have some really big sandwiches that are pretty good, along with soups, burgers, mini pizzas, and chicken tenders. Whispering Canyon Cafe is amazingly fun, with horse races every hour. Each kid gets a pony stick to race around the dining room. And if you're celebrating your birthday... beware of the chocolate desert. They also offer an all you can eat platter with ribs, chicken, and sides. It's about 22$ or so, per person and no sharing. Of course the al carte menu is yummy too. The final place is Artist Point which overlooks the back of the Lodge, pool area and Bay Lake. They do have a basic dress code, no jeans, t-shirts or sandals. And down the entrance from that is the Bar. But the menu is to die for, and absolutely mouth watering. The bill was a pretty penny, but I loved every bite of it.