More Resort Hopping Ideas
- I spent an evening stopping first at the Contemporary. Ate dinner there, walked around, explored their shops, then took the monorail to the Polynesian, walked around there, got a Dole whip, sat on the beach and watched the lighted boat parade. Then I got back on the monorail and went to the Grand Floridian and walked around, went to the gift shops, got a drink and listened to the piano music and ended up at their boat dock, just in time to watch the fireworks across the lake at Magic Kingdom. The sound is even piped in to the grand Floridian dock and there are benches to sit on. Then a boat came when the fireworks were over and took me back to Magic Kingdom, where you can take a bus back to your car, it was a wonderful evening!
- Park at Disney springs. Take the boat to French Quarter and enjoy some beignets. From there take the Disney bus to HS. I would take the boat to YC/BC or Boardwalk. Ask at front desk for the Skyliner scavenger hunt book. Get the Skyliner at Epcot and do the Skyliner challenge. Get pastries and coffee at Riviera. Check out the decor at AOA. Go back to BC and get ice cream from Beaches and Cream walk up window From there take resort bus back to Disney springs to get your car. [NOTE: Caution as the boats may or may not require you to show ID to prove you are staying at the resort]
- At Riviera, we had to go to the DVC community room to get the Skyliner scavenger hunt.
- My husband and I did this a few weeks ago. We had a breakfast reservation at Kona Cafe. When we finished eating and shopping we took the monorail to the Contemporary and Grand Floridian where we walked around and did more shopping. We went to Disney Springs and had a sundae at Ghirardelli, walked around the shops. Finally, we went to the Patisserie to pick up dessert to have in our hotel later that night. We experienced so much Disney without stepping into a park!
- Breakfast at Polynesian (Ohana or Kona Cafe). Visit the other resorts around the lagoon via the monorail. Switch to the other monorail at Transportation Station for a spin through the monorail view of EPCOT. Take the monorail back to Magic Kingdom to catch a bus to Disney Springs. Meander through Disney Springs to the other end where the boats to Port Orleans are. Take the PO French Quarter boat to POFQ for beignets to enjoy either at a table in the courtyard or by the pool. Can stroll over to PO Riverside if you like and take the boat back to DS from there or take a boat back from POFQ. Meander through DS some more and grab a meal at your favorite spot. That would be water view from The Boathouse for me, but if you’re trying to be less expensive, The Polite Pig or The Smokehouse at House of Blues. Stroll and shop DS some more, potentially grabbing dessert or coffee somewhere to take to Waterside Stage and enjoy the entertainment (if it’s available). Pose for pics with Lego sculptures before leaving. Go get some rest so we could head to Jellyrolls and Atlantic Dance Hall at the Boardwalk later (I have yet to do this one, but want to!) Could catch a DS bus to The Swan & Dolphin or to Boardwalk resort to get there. Could also get dinner somewhere along the Boardwalk beforehand (I want to try Trattoria) and see how much of the EPCOT fireworks we could see from Boardwalk before heading to Atlantic Dance Hall and Jellyroll’s.
- Monorail crawling to different hotels that have holiday displays is fun. My friends and I ate lunch at GF cafe, then enjoyed the Easter egg display in the lobby, hopped onto the monorail to Contemporary to see their Easter egg display, then took monorail to Polynesian for a drink. We decided to take boat back to GF where we parked.
- This is my list for seeing most of the Christmas display
- Start at the Contemporary Contempo cafe
- Monorail to Grand Floridian
- Walk to MK take boat to Wilderness Lodge
- From there, walk to Boulder Ridge Villas, Fort Wilderness
- Boat to Swan & Dolphin
- Walk to Boardwalk Inn, then cross Crescent Lake and walk to Beach Club and through to Yacht Club
- Watch the Electrical Water Pageant. This floating parade is visible nightly, usually starting at 9:00, from Disney’s Magic Kingdom-area resort hotel docks and beaches. The pageant takes about an hour to move slowly around the lake, stopping at each resort in order: Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Ft. Wilderness and Contemporary. Cost: FREE.
