wow, awesome thread....thanks for passing along Granny!
Deb
Deb,
If you're looking for people just head over to Artist's Palette around 9am, and any mealtime hour. It gets positively jammed. The main pool, High Rock Springs, also can gather a crowd on Sundays, Fridays, evenings and any genuinely good pool weather day. (The only time no one's in it is maybe 7am.)
The resort is much quieter than the BWV/BCV area but that's in a good way. It's spread out nature and miles of scenic walking paths give people a chance to commune with nature without having to block out the sounds of other not-so peaceful-minded guests.
I highly recommend early morning walks for mug refills. At 7am, you get up with the birds and other wildlife. By 9am, the busses are rolling and people have emerged for their park days. Also, find those walking paths to DTD. Congress Park is the shorter one to shopping at Marketplace, but the golf course/West Side path (by the ferry dock) is the shortcut to Cirque et. al. During the daytime hours, West Side is pretty quiet, which makes it fun to browse.
As for distance to the parks, it's really not far. EPCOT is a mile away. We've gotten there within 5 minutes by car and bus. (Beat the bus one day by a minute.) Only one that seems truly far by car is Magic Kingdom. (Because you can't park outside it. Take the bus instead.) By bus, Animal Kingdom is the farthest (stops at Blizzard Beach first). Take the car instead there.
If you find yourself feeling lonely and want to trip over people, just head over to DTD. By noon, the place is packed. In the evenings, it spreads out to PI and West Side as well.
Don't forget to dine at Raglan Road! The Irish Dancer is there every day but Sunday. The one-man band takes over after that.