3. Walk Around Every Resort
- alyssahering10
- Apr 4, 2016
- 4 min read
There are 29 resorts on Walt Disney World property, so I decided that it would be fun to resort hop. Each resort is so unique and interesting, I thought it might be possible to do in one day, but we had to split it into two. I spent a really long time coming up with a plan for taking the buses in between resorts, a lot of which included cast buses and buses to and from parks, since there aren't buses that go from one resort to another.
The first day, we only made it to a couple of resorts, because the ones we went to had so many things to look at. That day had so many pictures it filled up my phone. It was also insanely hot out and Paul and I both got sunburns. The day ended at the Grand Floridian Cafe with our first date.
The second day we did a few months later, and the resorts we did that day were a lot less interesting, so it didn't take as long at each resort. It was less productive because there weren't easy ways to get between each resort, so we had to keep taking buses to and from Disney Springs. A few of the resorts we skipped on our designated resort hopping days, since we've spent so much time there already.
Here are my experiences resort hopping:
- Caribbean Beach - Pretty much where I got sunburnt, by laying on a hammock. One of the most beautiful resorts, with a lot of outside water activities to do. We ate breakfast there and the quick service place had such a cool aesthetic.
- Pop Century - Looked so cool, each building area had a different decade for a theme. There was one path that had a sign for each year from 1950-2015 with two or three fun facts about the year on it (I was born in the year of the beanie babies and the internet). They had awesome giant statues of things like Rubik's Cubes and Potato Heads.
- Art of Animation - Similar to Pop Century except Disney animated movie themed. Sets of buildings were themed like the movies The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and Cars. There were giant statues and a path with fun facts about the movies featured at the resort.
- Port Orleans (French Quarter) - Super cool, themed like a New Orleans city, complete with cobblestone streets. There was kind of a Mardi Gras theme, which made it pretty neat. It was a really pretty resort.
- Port Orleans (Riverside) - The other side of the Port Orleans resort was really confusing. There weren't any maps so we got horribly lost. There were confusingly beautiful buildings that looked like giant houses, but also a woodsy type area with the pool and recreation areas.
- Saratoga Springs - Right next to Disney Springs, but it's a huge resort that was impossible to walk around. Lots of pools and patches of grass that looked way too easy to sleep on.
- Old Key West - By far the most boring resort. On the bus they said it was gingerbread style houses, which was confusing, and we spent about five minutes walking around the resort (mostly the pier/pool area) before we left.
- Coronado Springs - A lot like Caribbean Beach, very pretty. My friend Meagan works there so we got to talk to her, and she told us more about the resort. If I were to stay at Disney while planning a resort day, I think I would choose this one.
- Yacht & Beach Club Resort - Very nice, but not a Disney-like resort. Super cool pool, so only resort guests can get in. We stopped a while here to play pool. I think technically it's two resorts but they were virtually identical so I'm not sure if there was actually a difference.
- Dolphin Resort/Swan Resort - Probably the biggest eyesores on Disney property, the Dolphin Hotel has giant fish on top, not even dolphins. They're very dull resorts, the only plus I could see would be showing your kids their hotel from all over the property.
- Fort Wilderness - Pretty cool for a camping location, but I definitely wouldn't want to spend my Disney vacation there. It's so big you have to take buses to get from one side to another, but you can also rent golf carts which is pretty awesome. We ate dinner at a quick service place here and it was so worth it and delicious.
- Wilderness Lodge - Pretty much the same aesthetic as Fort Wilderness, except it's a hotel instead of camping. Pretty much the same layout and feeling as Animal Kingdom Lodge as well.
- Contemporary - There's two parts of this one, the regular one and Bay Lake (for Disney Vacation Club members only). It's a pretty cool looking hotel, with a nice walkway to Magic Kingdom, and a cool restaurant, shops, and monorail station inside the hotel.
- Polynesian Resort - A Hawaiian themed resort that's really pretty and probably the most atmospheric of the resorts. It has a Lilo & Stitch themed restaurant and a luau that are both pretty cool.
- Grand Floridian - The fanciest, most expensive resort, the whole building is just beautiful, and they have really good restaurants inside as well. During Christmas time, they had a giant Christmas tree, a big gingerbread house, and Mickey and Minnie in caroling outfits.
- Animal Kingdom Lodge - This is the one I stayed the night at, and I'm really glad I made that choice. Definitely the coolest one, since you could see the animals not only from the balcony but also from viewing points around the resort.
- All-Star Resorts (Sports, Music, and Movies) - This is where I worked, so I didn't really need to walk around, since I already did that during training. They're the cheapest resorts, so they're not really nice, but worth it if you're visiting only for the parks.
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