Wander a Resort
During your Walt Disney World vacation you may be planning one day where you will not be going to any of the theme parks. On those days there are so many things to see and do. One of those things can be resort hopping. Resort hopping is when you leave your Disney resort to find and discover the many other resorts on Walt Disney World property.
When you take time to resort hop, you’ll see more of the Walt Disney World property. Each of these resorts is unique, designed specifically to put you in the theme of the resort. At the Art of Animation, guests are put in the middle of some of Disney greatest’s films, such as Cars, Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo. At the Animal Kingdom Lodge, you get to gaze at giraffes and zebras grazing their lands. Every element of the resort property works together to put guests in the space and time the resort represents. No detail goes untouched. When you’re wandering around Wilderness Lodge, it’s as though you are in the great forests of Washington State, when you’re at the Boardwalk you can picture what Atlantic City would have been like when it was first created. Walking around these resorts is an experience in and of itself.
Spending time wandering around other resorts you may find the resort you want to stay at next time. On our Goofy vacation, we went and ate at Wilderness Lodge’s Whispering Canyon Cafe. After dining here we walked around the resort and knew we would have to stay here someday. We’ve now stayed there twice. On our daughter’s first vacation, we spent a morning at Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village and Animal Kingdom Lodge-Jambo House. We realized it was a great place for preschoolers because of their amazing water play area and zero-depth pools. If we hadn’t wandered around a little we may have never realized these great resorts were ideal for our family.
When you explore a resort you can spend time lounging around in their lobby, shopping in their gift shops, dining at their restaurants, swimming in their pools, playing at their playgrounds. On our last vacation we spent a whole morning wandering around the Art of Animation resort: taking pictures with all the different statues from all the different films represented. It was the perfect way to pass a morning. You also don’t get a lot of crowds when you resort hop. Everyone’s heading to the theme parks, water parks or to Disney Springs. All great places, but resort hopping has little to no cost. The only additional cost is if you make a purchase or dine somewhere.
Now how can you resort hop? If you’re exploring resorts within your resort area you may be able to grab a boat, a monorail or even walk. If you want to check out another resort in another area then you can either take a cab, an uber or use bus transportation. Take bus transportation to the closest theme park, water park or Disney Springs. Then grab the bus to the resort you want to spend time at. The easiest resorts to visit all at once are the Magic Kingdom resorts because they are very easily connected. You can make your way to the Magic Kingdom and then grab the resort monorail or the boat. Then they are all interconnected either by boat, pathway or monorail.
We love doing this on our vacations. It’s a fun and relaxing thing to do. There’s no where you have to be, there are really no crowds. You are just enjoying the company of those around you and your surroundings. Try it! You’ll love it. Happy Planning, Friends.
