Visiting Disney Resorts and everything associated with them???

[3boysluvndisney]

We are visiting WDW (11 of us total) and due to the size of our party rented a house offsite. We were wondering if you can visit the Disney resorts, Downtown Disney, etc. without being a guest at any of them? If so, do you drive to all of them and park anywhere or how does this work? TIA for any help. I have never stayed onsite before and I would love to visit some of the resorts as I hope to stay onsite in the future and I have also heard that they are great to look at (the themes and such).

LESS THAN THREE WEEKS!!!!!

 

[all4fun]

We were wondering if you can visit the Disney resorts, Downtown Disney, etc. without being a guest at any of them?

Yes. Downtown Disney (DTD) is open to the general public. Pleasure Island (PI) is as well, except at night you have to pay an admission fee because that's when the nightclubs are open. The resort hotels are open to visitors as well. You can check out the resort restaurant menus at www.allearsnet.com (aka Deb's site) and get a bite to eat while you're there.

If so, do you drive to all of them and park anywhere or how does this work?

You can drive to any of the resort's main gates. I'm not sure about all the other resorts but I believe that the luxury resorts all have security gates that are manned. Just tell the cm that you are visiting and you can drive right in and park your car. You may have to show ID. If you want, you can also go the slow route and use Disney transportation (which is free) to get around. They go to all the resorts and you can bypass security and parking issues this way. We did this one year on our last day when we were just passing time until we had to go to the airport. Downtown Disney also has a parking lot that is free to use. They also have valet parking, which of course you have to pay for.

HTH! and have a magical vacation

 

[TerriBelle]

I would try and get a PS at one of the restaurants at the resorts. We have gone to Chef Mickey's at Cont and Cape May at BC with large groups.

To see Poly, Cont, and GF it is easy to take the monorail and get off at each stop.

To see YC, BC, Swan, Dolphin, and BW - you can walk to the back of Epcot and exit the park between England & France. You can then walk to these resorts or you can take a boat ride. The boat stops at each resort and then ends at MGM.

 

[stacy6552]

We often dine at resorts, so that we can take a look. You will get a three hour parking pass.

Make PS's at Whispering Canyon (we like breakfast better, but all meals are good and fun) and take a loof at the WL.

We like Cape May for dinner over at the BC, but there are charactures there for breakfast.

We try to make it to Spoodles for breakfast ever at the boardwalk.

Narccoosses is fantastic over at the GF, but pricy. You can dine with charactures at 1900 Park Fare at the GF too (buffet) if thats more to your liking.

 

[Big V]

We always visit the different resorts and we don't stay onsite. We just tell the guards that we're going to check out the gift shops. The gift shop at AKL is really nice! Don't forget to check out Fort Wilderness too. We went there and ate at the TrailsEnd Buffeteria for lunch and it was great! Very affordable too!