# Staying off site and visiting Disney resorts ?



## xzhan02 (Dec 17, 2009)

We'll be in orlando next week.  Only plan to go to the parks for  two days.  Would like to check out Disney resorts during Christmas on non-park days.   1)  Are you permitted to do so ? 2) If not, what if we have lunch there (dinner reservations are probably all gone) ?   3)  If yes, which one is good for family ?  4) Can you go to Fort Wilderness or Wilderness lodge and rent bike etc there as non-guest ?

Thanks.


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## Big Matt (Dec 17, 2009)

You can visit any of the resorts.  Just tell the guard you are doing so.  I would recommend that you try out some of the restaurants also.  Some are very good.


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## colamedia (Dec 18, 2009)

Make sure you get to Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can see a LOT of the African animals bertter there than at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. They also have quite a lot of activities/guided tours that can be found in the lobby about how Disney did the African theme in Disney style etc.

If you have any interest in ice-cream, visit Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and order the Kitchen Sink, enough for 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 people depending on level of excitement about ice-cream (I recommend ask for it without the cream, you don't need it).  The Chocolate Extinction at T-Rex in Downtown Disney gives it some solid competition.
If you do go to T-Rex, make sure you ask NOT to be seated in the Ice Cave - it's lit by blue light most of the time and it kills all the red and orange in your food, makes it difficult to know what you're eating.

An easy way to go visit a resort is park at Downtown Disney and get a bus or even the boats to the resort (Old Key West and Saratoga Springs you can get boats to Downtown Disney), makes the whole parking issue a non-issue, and it means if you go to Beach Club etc, you can walk around to the Boardwalk, go into the Swan and Dolphin etc, and just get the bus back to Downtown Disney from there, rather than go all the way back to your car.  (Parking in Downtown Disney to go to the parks is not a great idea - they have buses TO the parks, but they don't have buses FROM the parks to Downtown Disney)


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## amanven (Dec 18, 2009)

xzhan02 said:


> 4) Can you go to Fort Wilderness or Wilderness lodge and rent bike etc there as non-guest ?
> 
> Thanks.



Yes you can. Doesn't matter whether you are a guest or not.  You can also rent the watermouse boats at Wilderness lodge to zip around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.  You can get a good look at the new Bay Lake Tower near the Contemporary resort when you do that.  If you take the Backstage Magic tour at disney they stop at Wilderness Lodge for lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. You can also make reservations for Whispering Canyon through Disney dining.


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## grest (Dec 18, 2009)

What is a non-park day?
The best meal I ever had was at one of the Animal Kingdom restaurants.  Maybe someone will remember the name of the African restaurant on the premises...delicious.


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## xzhan02 (Dec 18, 2009)

That's great.  Already made a lunch reservation at Whispering Canyon, now we can do something after wards.  Definitely worth half a day.

Thanks. 




amanven said:


> Yes you can. Doesn't matter whether you are a guest or not.  You can also rent the watermouse boats at Wilderness lodge to zip around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.  You can get a good look at the new Bay Lake Tower near the Contemporary resort when you do that.  If you take the Backstage Magic tour at disney they stop at Wilderness Lodge for lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. You can also make reservations for Whispering Canyon through Disney dining.


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## xzhan02 (Dec 18, 2009)

Thank you all.  We always go to Beach club for dinner on a park day and then walk over to see Epcot illumination.  Never been to Yacht club.  Should be able to walk there from Beach club, correct ?

Dinner at Boma at Animal Kingdom lodge is another ritual for us.  We just want to visit more resort during the day this time.  

What's the easiest way to go to Wilderness lodge and perhaps Contemporary or Grand Floridian without paying Disney parking fee ?

Is Boardwalk worth it for an evening ?


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## timeos2 (Dec 18, 2009)

*The price is right and the views are great*



xzhan02 said:


> We'll be in orlando next week.  Only plan to go to the parks for  two days.  Would like to check out Disney resorts during Christmas on non-park days.   1)  Are you permitted to do so ? 2) If not, what if we have lunch there (dinner reservations are probably all gone) ?   3)  If yes, which one is good for family ?  4) Can you go to Fort Wilderness or Wilderness lodge and rent bike etc there as non-guest ?
> 
> Thanks.



As others mentioned you can, its done easily with the Disney transportation system and its free. You get 80% of the resort experience (the major themeing is in the public areas and all you can't do is use the pools or the units).  While we would never again stay on site we have enjoyed visiting the lobbies and grounds at various on site resorts as they are unique.  Why not take advantage of a true freebie that can make for a special day or two of your visit. You enjoy it far more when you're not paying twice the rate for less unit room and features than you can easily obtain outside the kingdom. Best of both!


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## Sea Six (Dec 18, 2009)

xzhan02 said:


> We always go to Beach club for dinner on a park day and then walk over to see Epcot illumination.  Never been to Yacht club.  Should be able to walk there from Beach club, correct ?
> 
> Is Boardwalk worth it for an evening ?



The Yacht Club and the Beach Club are right next to each other. You can take the water taxi to Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Swan/Dolphin, or The Boardwalk from their dock (the Yacht Club and Beach Club are so close, they share the same boat dock). The Boardwalk just never seems too exciting to us, but we do visit the Wyland Gallery when we're there. Our favorite way to see resorts is to ride the monorail from the Polynesian to the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary.  Lots of really nice Christmas decorations to see this time of year! We usually catch a ride on the monorail from EPCOT, then transfer to the local at the transportation center to visit these resorts.


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## xzhan02 (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks for all the great ideas.  We'll have more resort days than park days this time.  Hopefully more relaxing.


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## Carl D (Dec 18, 2009)

grest said:


> What is a non-park day?
> The best meal I ever had was at one of the Animal Kingdom restaurants.  Maybe someone will remember the name of the African restaurant on the premises...delicious.


Mara - Counter service at Jambo House. 
Jiko - More formal restaurant at Jambo House. 
Boma - Less formal, buffet style at Jambo House.  
Sanaa - More formal restaurant at Kidani Village.


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## Idahodude (Dec 19, 2009)

Personally, we love the Boardwalk.  ESPN Club has great food (sports bar, casual).  Recommend avoiding high sports days unless you like crowds.  I've heard The Flying Fish cafe is great, but it's a bit above our budget currently.  I enjoy just walking along the Boardwalk, sitting on the deck outside the 2nd floor.  The Wyland gallery is also nice.  The proximity to Yacht/Beach and Swan/Dolphin is also nice.


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## grest (Dec 19, 2009)

Carl D said:


> Mara - Counter service at Jambo House.
> Jiko - More formal restaurant at Jambo House.
> Boma - Less formal, buffet style at Jambo House.
> Sanaa - More formal restaurant at Kidani Village.



I think it was Jiko...mmm..yummy.


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## colamedia (Dec 20, 2009)

Re Boardwalk there is also the relatively new restaurant Kouzzina by Iron Chef Cat Cora at Disney's BoardWalk (it's replaced Spoodles if that means anything)  It's Greek food.  Open for Breakfast and dinner, I think the weekend breakfasts go very close to lunchtime. It's VERY popular, walk-ins for a couple are possible, but larger tables seemed very limited.

5 years ago I found the Boardwalk pretty unexciting, but last month when I was there it was really lively.


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## Twinkstarr (Dec 21, 2009)

Idahodude said:


> Personally, we love the Boardwalk.  ESPN Club has great food (sports bar, casual).  Recommend avoiding high sports days unless you like crowds.  I've heard The Flying Fish cafe is great, but it's a bit above our budget currently.  I enjoy just walking along the Boardwalk, sitting on the deck outside the 2nd floor.  The Wyland gallery is also nice.  The proximity to Yacht/Beach and Swan/Dolphin is also nice.





You forgot Beaches and Cream over at the Beach Club, good burgers and great ice cream!


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## bnoble (Dec 21, 2009)

I found Beaches and Cream to be a little _anticipointing_. It didn't live up to the hype for us.  We might visit again if we're staying in the Epcot area, but we wouldn't  make a special trip for it.


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## littlestar (Dec 21, 2009)

If you check out the Beach Club with the gingerbread carousel in the lobby, be sure to visit Beaches and Cream (soda shop). 

My personal favorite at Beaches and Cream is the No Way Jose ice cream sundae - it's got hot fudge and peanut butter sauce (super rich but man is it good). My husband and I usually share it. 

If we have our daughters and their spouses with us, we go for the "Kitchen Sink" - it's a massive ice cream dish served in a (you guessed it) kitchen sink bowl. Whenever anyone orders the Kitchen Sink, Beaches and Cream has flashing lights that go off and on in the restaurant and everyone claps.


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## xzhan02 (Dec 27, 2009)

We are back from our trip.  We spent one day "resort hopping".  Parked at down disney (great suggestion from this thread), bus to Fort Wilderness, boat to Wilderness lodge (we loved it, will try to stay here), spent time on beach, a little boating, and admiring the lobby.  Then we took boat to Contemporary.  Had late lunch/snack at Chef Micky, watching monrail.  Also walked to the Bay lake Tower.  Was planning to take monrail to other resorts, but the kids got tired so we took bus back to downtown.   It was a relaxing day that everyone enjoyed.  We also had dinner at Beach club (too full to try the ice cream place), again loved the ginger bread carousel (and again found all the hidden mickey).   

Disney seems much quieter this year.  We have only been there at peak time (Christmas and Easter), but this is the first time when we found plenty of great spots to view Epcot Illumination right before it started, and the late Fantasmic show was only less than half full.


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