Things to do after the park closes for the day?

[hertamaniac]

From Disney's website:

"Planning to dine at a table-service restaurant in a Disney Resort hotel? A confirmed dining reservation is required for day Guests (those not staying overnight) and is highly recommended for Guests staying overnight at a Disney Resort hotel "

But I thought someone just said you can take a bus from DS and walk up to a TS restaurant at a resort and get a table. Is that not correct?

 

[crazymomof4]

But I thought someone just said you can take a bus from DS and walk up to a TS restaurant at a resort and get a table. Is that not correct?

I posted what's on the Disney site under "know before you go". What's actually going on down there, how strictly they are enforcing their own policies...... I can't speak to that.

 

[Stefne]

Right now they are being very restrictive about making dinner plans. They are not allowing you to make dinning plans at other resorts that you are not stay at. For example if you are staying at the Poly you can not make reservations to eat at BLT. They are limiting the reservation to those staying at that specific resort. That is why the DS reservations are the only ones you can make at this time.

This is not true. Our own moderator @yulilin3 has a reservation at Beaches & Cream and if I am not mistaken, she is staying at Contemporary.

 

[yulilin3]

Right now they are being very restrictive about making dinner plans. They are not allowing you to make dinning plans at other resorts that you are not stay at. For example if you are staying at the Poly you can not make reservations to eat at BLT. They are limiting the reservation to those staying at that specific resort. That is why the DS reservations are the only ones you can make at this time.

This is not true. Our own moderator @yulilin3 has a reservation at Beaches & Cream and if I am not mistaken, she is staying at Contemporary.

@Stefne is correct, Not true
I am staying at the Poly on July 1-2 and I made reservations for Beaches and Cream at BC . For now you can only make reservations for the dates you are staying on property but you are able to make them for other resorts
Now, I was just talking to a CM that works at BC, and she said they have already started taking walk ups, so you can park at Disney Springs hop on a bus and go to a table service and see if they have availability. The resorts are dead, no one is there and they are losing so much money, I bet reservations for everyone will open soon to be able to dine at the resorts
I was walking around BW and BC yesterday, Abracadabar, Trattoria Al Forno and Bakery were all open, and no one was eating

 

[yulilin3]

But I thought someone just said you can take a bus from DS and walk up to a TS restaurant at a resort and get a table. Is that not correct?

yes, this is correct

 

[hertamaniac]

yes, this is correct

Great...because we are planning either a trip to Sanaa, The Wave or Aunt Catfish's (I know it's outside of Orlando, but has now reopened).

 

[yulilin3]

Great...because we are planning either a trip to Sanaa, The Wave or Aunt Catfish's (I know it's outside of Orlando, but has now reopened).

I cannot wait to go to Sanaa

 

[kniquy]

I am assuming I will not be able to explore resorts I am not a guest of, so other than Disney Springs what else might there be to do in the evenings after the parks close?

We are planning Disney springs (for our November trip) as it will hopefully be open later and an easy boat ride from OKW. Other than that dining reservations at other hotels will give you access to those resorts. As of right now it sounds like no reservation- no access to the resort.

In reality we are looking forward to some of the earlier nights so that we can relax and enjoy the resort. We find ourselves running all day, getting to bed late and early mornings. With that we need a vacation after our WDW vacation. It will force us to slow down.

 

[nkereina]

Eeks! We have a day without park tickets and our plan (if we can’t get tickets) was to visit hotels we’ve never seen. I didn’t think we wouldn’t be able to stop in lobby. I guess I’ll have to wait and see. I think Disney Springs and Boardwalk area at night are nice. My son and I love just riding the skyliner. Can you make dinner reservations at other hotel properties?? So many unknowns.

That's a good point, I didn't really think about just going to the lobby.. I would be happy to see at least a small part of other hotels if possible. The boardwalk is part of a hotel right? I hope I can explore that.

As has been mentioned, the guidance on the WDW web site says you can only enter other hotels if you have an ADR. I've been waiting to see about the Boardwalk as well, but I imagine it will be accessible and you just would not be able to enter BWI.

Is there even going to be much to see/do if you visit the boardwalk? I saw a few restaurants were going to be open, but I wonder if it would be worth visiting.

No telling what they'll be offering at the Boardwalk, its not usually much. Its a nice area to stroll because you can walk around all the way over to Swan/Dolphin or stop for an ice cream at Ample Hills. I imagine this will still be permitted, as long as you're not entering the hotels.

Now, I was just talking to a CM that works at BC, and she said they have already started taking walk ups, so you can park at Disney Springs hop on a bus and go to a table service and see if they have availability.

Just curious on the logistics of this, since the WDW web site says you need an ADR to enter the resort. Does anyone stop you at the entrance to the resort? Do you simply tell them you're wanting to see if such-and-such TS restaurant has availability?

 

[tobikaye]

I may have missed some posts, but from what I have seen on various YouTube videos from the opening days of the resort, as long as you are arriving by bus at that resort via DS, they are not asking if you have reservation of any kind. If you drive up, then they are likely to restrict entry if you do not have a reservation of some sort. If the resorts are connected, you can basically walk amongst them for the most part. It looked like the Swan and Dolphin link between YC and BW was blocked off since it is closed to the public. You can still get between YC/BC and BW by using the bridge near the Epcot entry.

 

[yulilin3]

As has been mentioned, the guidance on the WDW web site says you can only enter other hotels if you have an ADR. I've been waiting to see about the Boardwalk as well, but I imagine it will be accessible and you just would not be able to enter BWI.


No telling what they'll be offering at the Boardwalk, its not usually much. Its a nice area to stroll because you can walk around all the way over to Swan/Dolphin or stop for an ice cream at Ample Hills. I imagine this will still be permitted, as long as you're not entering the hotels.


Just curious on the logistics of this, since the WDW web site says you need an ADR to enter the resort. Does anyone stop you at the entrance to the resort? Do you simply tell them you're wanting to see if such-and-such TS restaurant has availability?

So far I've only heard of one person being stopped at a lobby, that was the BW lobby. Other than that I walked through CR, BW (not lobby) and BC and no one stopped to check if I was staying there,, and plenty of CM saw me walking around, filming.
No one is checking MB at the DS bus stops either.
A friend that works at BC told me that they are now just taking walk ups if the restaurant has availability

 

[yulilin3]

I may have missed some posts, but from what I have seen on various YouTube videos from the opening days of the resort, as long as you are arriving by bus at that resort via DS, they are not asking if you have reservation of any kind. If you drive up, then they are likely to restrict entry if you do not have a reservation of some sort. If the resorts are connected, you can basically walk amongst them for the most part. It looked like the Swan and Dolphin link between YC and BW was blocked off since it is closed to the public. You can still get between YC/BC and BW by using the bridge near the Epcot entry.

correct. You cannot walk past the entrance to BC (they have signs that say YC is closed so the walkway from where SAB starts is closed)

 

[yorkieteacher]

The AMC movie theater was not open when we were there Monday night.

 

[crazymomof4]

We are looking forward to some of the earlier nights so that we can relax and enjoy the resort. We find ourselves running all day, getting to bed late and early mornings. With that we need a vacation after our WDW vacation. It will force us to slow down.

. Same for us. My young adult kids are always go go go and I want to be with them so I go to. I'm looking fwd to being "forced" to.slow down and hang at our resorts for some mornings and some evenings!! Pool, drinks on the balcony, a leisurely breakfast, watching the animals in AKV, watching the people at BWV (LOL).

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

We drive, so we’ll explore Orlando, but you could also use Uber if you are flying. The night we go to AK, we plan to go to Medival Times after the 6pm park close. There’s also some great outlet malls in the area where you can get park merchandise. There is all kinds of dining options. And we like to go to Walmart because they have a HUGE Disney souvineer section. Tshirts, cups, magnets, sometimes plush.

 

[slothlord]

We drive, so we’ll explore Orlando, but you could also use Uber if you are flying. The night we go to AK, we plan to go to Medival Times after the 6pm park close. There’s also some great outlet malls in the area where you can get park merchandise. There is all kinds of dining options. And we like to go to Walmart because they have a HUGE Disney souvineer section. Tshirts, cups, magnets, sometimes plush.

Medieval Times is an interesting idea! I've never been to one. I'll look into that for my Animal Kingdom day as well.

 

[ClapYourHands]

. Same for us. My young adult kids are always go go go and I want to be with them so I go to. I'm looking fwd to being "forced" to.slow down and hang at our resorts for some mornings and some evenings!! Pool, drinks on the balcony, a leisurely breakfast, watching the animals in AKV, watching the people at BWV (LOL).

Going solo with a 5-year-old. Shortened hours mean we might be powering through rather than going back to the resort for a break. But it also means it will be easier to keep her on a good bedtime routine, and hopefully heading off the overtired meltdowns.

I’ve literally never been to WDW for a full week before. We’ve always done 4 or 5 days of commando style park touring. I booked 7 days this time so we could explore more at our leisure and I wouldn’t feel as pressured to get “everything” done. Now, there’s even less pressure to do it all.

 

[gharter]

On early park nights I anticipate we'll hit the pool or just hang and everyone will do what they want. It will be a little more laid back than usual...read a good book, explore the resort just to stretch your legs, watch a movie or some nighttime sports (if there is any). We'll find things to do. When the parks are open and everything is happening you feel guilty not taking advantage. But now that our choices are limited I say relax a little bit.

It will be an entirely different experience. Not necessarily a bad one. It will be strange to have the parks open later and close earlier (but my wife will appreciate sleeping in).
But, we will have more time to explore and enjoy the resort. Maybe mini-golf, etc.

 

[tinkerhon]

The AMC movie theater was not open when we were there Monday night.

Scheduled AMC theatres reopening date is July 15, I believe

 

[EsmeCullen]

If it closes early evening, I like to go to Disney springs and hang out or see a movie. I’m actually looking into the Cirque de Soleil show if it is open when I go in December.