Resorts Question from Someone Staying Off Property

[toystoryduo]

Hello everyone!
My family and I went to WDW in May of this year. At the time, we thought that it would be quite awhile before our next trip. Well, we were blessed with some great deals and a little bit of extra money and so my DH said, "Let's go back to Disney!" So, we are going at the end of September, and we are all very excited!

Because we are on a budget, we could not afford to stay on property even with the FTP packages that were available. (We got the $20.03 rate at the Courtyard by Marriot in DtD.) However, while we are down there, we would like to take one day to look at the resorts which leads me to a few questions for my fellow DISers..

1. Do the Disney resorts frown upon off property guests visiting the hotels?
2. Will they show you what a room looks like?
3. Which hotels do you recommend we look at? (We have two children, ages 1 and 2.)
4. Are any of the Disney resorts in the RCI network? We own a timeshare in Orlando and wonder if we can trade for a Disney resort.

Thank you in advance for your help and advice. One day, we would like to be able to stay onsite when we can afford it. Being able to tour the resorts will helps us decide which one to save for!

Have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

 

[ripleysmom]

"1. Do the Disney resorts frown upon off property guests visiting the hotels?"

Pretty much the only property that this is not a problem for is the Boardwalk. The other resorts really want you to have a PS for a meal at their hotel before going there.


"2. Will they show you what a room looks like?"

Yes I think they will if you go at the right time of the day but I think others can speak to this better than I can.


"3. Which hotels do you recommend we look at? (We have two children, ages 1 and 2.)"

If you are normally on a tight budget I would recommend any of the value hotels. Pop Century is about to open and sounds like a great hotel.


"4. Are any of the Disney resorts in the RCI network? We own a timeshare in Orlando and wonder if we can trade for a Disney resort."

RCI does not have any affiliation with Disney. II does but you cannot trade an Orlando resort for that.

 

[billybaruch1]

Originally posted by ripleysmom
"1. Do the Disney resorts frown upon off property guests visiting the hotels?"

Pretty much the only property that this is not a problem for is the Boardwalk. The other resorts really want you to have a PS for a meal at their hotel before going there.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the prior answer sounds completely wacko. I believe there are no Disney resorts that put restrictions on their visitors. I also believe there is no hotel (open for business) in the known universe that would "frown upon" visitors.

toystoryduo, I'm sorry I can't answer your other questions, but I wish you and yours a nice holiday weekend.

 

[bluebell]

I have stopped on and off property and have had no problems visiting Disney hotels,The easiest ones to get to are the monorail ones ,You just get the rsort monorail and get off at whichever you fancy having a look at.Or if you are visiting Epcot you can go out the exit between the UK and France and visit the Boardwalk and the YC and BC resorts,Plus the Swan and Dolphin.If you have a hopper pass you are also entitled to use Disney transport giving you access to CBR,CS, POR, And the All stars,As long as you dont go into the swimming pools you have no problem checking the facilities at these properties. Bluebell.

 

[uncle al]

Billy's right! There's not a hotel in this universe that would discourage people from visiting - they want you there! This is particularly true with WDW resorts.

I would recommend that on your MK day you take the monorail and visit Poly, Contemporary & GF. You might also want to boat on over to Wilderness Lodge. I would suggest that you schedule your visits around having lunch or dinner, here are some suggestions: Maybe you leave the park for lunch & head over to the Contemporary - I recommend the Concourse Steakhouse, but there is also a fast food cafeteria. After lunch, monorail on over to the Poly or schedule the Luau or Ohanaha's for dinner. The GF is very nice and 1900 Park Fare has a pretty good character buffet dinner. At the WL you could have lunch or dinner at Whispering Canyon.

On your Epcot day, use the International Gateway exit (as the previous post suggested between England & France) and visit YC, BC, BWI, Swan & Dolphin. There are a ton of places to visit, have a meal, etc. On the Boardwalk there is ESPN Club, Spoodles, Flying Fish, and Big River Brewing. I can't offer Swan/Dolphin suggestions. At YC/BC there is Beaches & Cream and the Yachtsman Steakhouse. I would suggest ESPN and/or Beaches & Cream for lunch & Spoodles or Yachtsman for dinner.

On your Animal Kingdom day - walk or take the bus over to AKL. Have lunch at Mara and/or dinner at Boma.

As for the moderates & value resorts I suppose you could bus (WDW transportation, which would probably be the simpliest method) over or drive your own car. I don't imagine you would have too much trouble at the security gate - just tell them what you are doing. Of course you also have the option of visiting any of the resrts I mentioned earlier by just driving your car or taking WDW transportation.

I'm not suer about seeing a room, but I would imagine if they aren't too busy at the front desk, they would be happy to show you a room. I dont know about RCI network. Enjoy yourself!!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thank you all for your replies!

Uncle Al~ Those are great ideas on visiting the resorts! Thank you!

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by ripleysmom
"
"4. Are any of the Disney resorts in the RCI network? We own a timeshare in Orlando and wonder if we can trade for a Disney resort."

If Disney had an RCI affiliation, in January I'd be staying at whatever Disney resort they managed. But, as they don't, I'll be staying at the bestest and nicest RCI-affiliated off-site property I could find with a two-week open slot that matched my requirements...The Sheraton Vistana Resort.

 

[LadyLt]

Originally posted by ripleysmom
"1. Do the Disney resorts frown upon off property guests visiting the hotels?"

"2. Will they show you what a room looks like?"

Yes I think they will if you go at the right time of the day but I think others can speak to this better than I can.

In answer to the two questions above, you may certainly visit the Disney resorts to eat meals, shop in the gift shops, and look around. You cannot park your car and leave it at a resort if you are not a guest there. But you can take Disney transportation to a resort to check it out. You cannot use the resort swimming pool or other amenities meant only for their guests. But you are free to look around all public areas.


No, most resorts will NOT show you a room. Disney schedules just enough cast members to take care of business on any given day. To show rooms takes away from the manpower at the front desk. If they showed rooms to anyone who was just "curious" and not serious about staying there, they would be doing it all day long. Can you imagine how many people would try this? I have shown rooms to people who were planning conventions, corporate get togethers, etc. But we knew that if those persons selected our resort, it would result in quite a few rooms being reserved. There is no way that it could be done just for someone's fun. Most resorts have a photo album at the front desk that shows the interior of their rooms. They will show you that upon request.

 

[momm2four]

We went in October and stayed off-site, but our very first night (my first time in Disney), we drove to the Contemp. (I wanted to ride the monorail) and told the guard at the gate that we just wanted to look around and take the monorail around the loop. He let us in with no problems.

Any other time that I parked at a resort, it was because we had a PS or some other business there.

I would just tell the guards that you are looking for a resort to stay in on your next visit. Doesn't hurt to ask.

Lori P.

 

[sherry8253]

It is my understanding that anyone can park his or her car for 3 hours to go into a resort to look around, shop, etc. whether or not they have a PS. In fact, when we were staying at the AKL last year, we did just that at the CR and CS. We told the guard that we just wanted to walk around to see the Christmas decorations and look at the shops and we were given a 3 hour parking permit with NO problem. Toystoryduo you should have no problem at all getting a 3 hour parking permit to look around a resort. You do not have to have PS to eat there. Have fun exploring!

 

[CdnDisneyFan]

When my mom and I were there in November, we took the monorail loop (and rode buses), and checked out most of the resorts, other than AKL, some of the DVC and moderates, but next visit whenever THAT may be, I would like to see what I missed. We had no problem whatsoever looking around either.

Jules

 

[dimimi]

When we were there in April we looked at several resorts. It was fun, but very time consuming. We did in on a day we were not going to the parks. We looked at AKL while we were at Animal Kingdom and we looked at a couple on our way out on our way to the airport. This did help us decide where to stay next time. This time we stayed at the Poly and in April when we return we will be at the Dolphin and BC. We found with 2 young boys that Early Entry was worth the extra money. However, I have friends that refuse to get up early! Have a great trip, your little ones WILL LOVE DISNEY and you'll love their expression!

 

[Deb & Bill]

You could park at the Disney Studios and take a boat or walk to the Epcot resorts. You can park at the TTC and take the resort monorail to the MK resorts.

You can take the DVC presentation and see the new Saratoga Springs Resort rooms at the BW (until they move the sales office over to SSR).

 

[Grumpy92]

As a former resort cm I can tell you we did show guest rooms at various resorts. I worked at FW, GF, WL, Village & YC. Take into consideration that if it is a holiday weekend or a sold out resort this will not be possible. In that case wonder the resort you can peak in open windows or talk to the housekeeping staff who might know about an empty room you can look at.
I would call the front desk and ask first. They can have a bellman take you down to look at a room, but be kind and tip him for his time. I would suggest visiting the value and moderate resorts since you are on a budget. If you are thinking about a deluxe then visit WL or YC/BC.
Take a look at mousesavers.com and see what type of special rates are offered so you can plan for your next trip. Think about visiting in Sept, Oct, first part of Dec, late Jan and early Feb, these are the slowest times and best rates. I would suggest not purchasing a package this will save you a lot of money. As a resort cm I can tell you there are many ways you can save $$ if you book individually as well as meals. Think about a FW cabin, they have kitchens and you can do some cooking. This is a wonderful resort for children too many things for them to do to list.
Hope this helps.

 

[sardan]

I too have been shown rooms at the resorts. Both the GF and the WL have let us look at rooms. I asked at the front desk of the GF and they had a bellman take me to a room. At the WL, I spoke with a housekeeping supervisor and he took me right to a room and let me look around. Never hurts to ask.