We're planning our first week long stay on site for the first part of October with a 5yo and a 10yo. We will be flying in to Orlando and not planning on renting a car. Any suggestions of which resort to choose? My DH is pushing for Wilderness Lodge based on good childhood memories, but as i keep telling him things have changed inthe past 20-something years!
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Best resort for park hopping?
- Thread starter cateyes
- Start date
Nemo14
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what the resort has to do with park-hopping, since they all have decent transportation, but in any case, there are many testaments about WL on various threads here. Try doing a search and it should answer a lot of your questions.
Have a magical vacation!
Have a magical vacation!
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debpeduz
Active Member
You could choose any of them if park hopping is what you are looking for. All of the resorts have transportation to each of the four nmr theme parks and each park has transportation to the other parks.
If you stay at the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary or the Poly, then you have monorail access to Epcot and the MK. If you stay at the Boardwalk, the Beach or Yacht Club, you can walk to Epcot easily and for a longer walk, you can go to MGM. If not there are boats and buses.
If the Wilderness Lodge is the top of your list, then you can boat to the MK or Contempory (I think). From there, you can use the monorail.
If you stay at the moderate or value resports, the buses are your main mode of transportation.
It is very easy to move around the property if you are staying at a Disney Hotel and if you do not have a car.
If you stay at the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary or the Poly, then you have monorail access to Epcot and the MK. If you stay at the Boardwalk, the Beach or Yacht Club, you can walk to Epcot easily and for a longer walk, you can go to MGM. If not there are boats and buses.
If the Wilderness Lodge is the top of your list, then you can boat to the MK or Contempory (I think). From there, you can use the monorail.
If you stay at the moderate or value resports, the buses are your main mode of transportation.
It is very easy to move around the property if you are staying at a Disney Hotel and if you do not have a car.
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Wilderness Lodge is a good choice for a hotel if you are going to be spending the majority of your time in the Magic Kingdom.
If you are planning on going to all of the parks, the best ones to stay at as far as park hopping would be either the Yacht Club, The Beach Club or the Boardwalk as far as Disney owned properties go. You can walk to Epcot from there or take a boat to Disney MGM Studios.
You will not need a rental car for Disney. With their Magical express you have round trip transfers to and from the airport absolutely free of charge. And Disney has it's own on property transportation such as buses, boats and the monorail system which is free of charge to anyone staying on property.
If it is a deluxe resort that you want, then I would suggest Wilderness Lodge. It is one of the less expensive deluxe resorts. You can take the boat to the Magic Kingdom and then you have free bus transportation to the other parks. They have 2 sit down restaurants and a fast food/snack shop on the premises.
The geyser goes off every hour on the hour up until 10pm. It truly is a beautiful resort. Your husband has wonderful memories of this resort....I can see why.
If you need any help with your vacation arrangements, please feel free to contact me.
Pam
If you are planning on going to all of the parks, the best ones to stay at as far as park hopping would be either the Yacht Club, The Beach Club or the Boardwalk as far as Disney owned properties go. You can walk to Epcot from there or take a boat to Disney MGM Studios.
You will not need a rental car for Disney. With their Magical express you have round trip transfers to and from the airport absolutely free of charge. And Disney has it's own on property transportation such as buses, boats and the monorail system which is free of charge to anyone staying on property.
If it is a deluxe resort that you want, then I would suggest Wilderness Lodge. It is one of the less expensive deluxe resorts. You can take the boat to the Magic Kingdom and then you have free bus transportation to the other parks. They have 2 sit down restaurants and a fast food/snack shop on the premises.
The geyser goes off every hour on the hour up until 10pm. It truly is a beautiful resort. Your husband has wonderful memories of this resort....I can see why.
If you need any help with your vacation arrangements, please feel free to contact me.
Pam
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ClemsonTigger
Naturally Grumpy
Not sure what exactly you mean by park hopping, but the Polynesian is a central site with the monorail to MK and either monorail connection or walk to TTA for the Epcot Monorail. When travelling with younger folks, we found that easiest for mid day naps.
Any of the Epcot hotels Beach Club/Yacht/Boardwalk give you walk to Epcot, bus or boat to MGM and short bus ride to AK.
If you will be spending most of your time at MK, Contemporary allows you to walk there, and monorail to Epcot.
I have always been pleased with transport at any resorts, so with a little planning, you should do well.
Any of the Epcot hotels Beach Club/Yacht/Boardwalk give you walk to Epcot, bus or boat to MGM and short bus ride to AK.
If you will be spending most of your time at MK, Contemporary allows you to walk there, and monorail to Epcot.
I have always been pleased with transport at any resorts, so with a little planning, you should do well.
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Moustronaut
New Member
To echo what some of the others have said, Poly is great if you gravitate towards MK and Epcot. You can quickly get to MK via boat or monorail and the Epcot monorail is a short walk away (so you don't need to take a monorail to the TTC first like you do at GF or Contemporary)
Beach Club and Boardwalk are good choices if you gravitate to Epcot (especially world showcase side) and MGM. Epcot's back door is a very short walk away and MGM can easily be reached by boat, bus or a bit of a hike.
Beach Club and Boardwalk are good choices if you gravitate to Epcot (especially world showcase side) and MGM. Epcot's back door is a very short walk away and MGM can easily be reached by boat, bus or a bit of a hike.
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DisneyGrandma
Member
I have stayed at most of the resorts and I agree with your husband. I love Wilderness Lodge. You can boat to Magic Kingdom and to the Contemporary. You can catch the Monorail at the Contemporary and go to EPCOT or even to Magic Kingdom. You can bus to MGM and Animal Kingdom. The only thing I would check out is - I know that the snack bar at the Wilderness Lodge is going to be out of commission sometime in February - that makes getting a fast breakfast or quick snack a little harder.
One of the other things we like about the Wilderness Lodge is the walking trails all around. The Poly and Contempary are okay, but the Wilderness Lodge just seems more quite, private and out of the way, but close enough to get to most places very quickly. The pool is great and this whole resort is a favorite for my Grandsons. The Wispering Canyon Cafe is great fun - be sure to have someone ask for a large glass of water and ketchup.
One of the other things we like about the Wilderness Lodge is the walking trails all around. The Poly and Contempary are okay, but the Wilderness Lodge just seems more quite, private and out of the way, but close enough to get to most places very quickly. The pool is great and this whole resort is a favorite for my Grandsons. The Wispering Canyon Cafe is great fun - be sure to have someone ask for a large glass of water and ketchup.
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crazydaveh
Active Member
I think Coronado Springs or any of the resorts in the Boardwalk area are great for hopping! You're just a skip and hop away from MGM and EPCOT from the Boardwalk area and a bus trip from CS.
I think it took us an average of 7 minutes to get to MK, EPCOT, and MGM from Coronado last year, and about 18 minutes to get to AK.
Remember, as others have stated, once you're at a park you can take the bus to another every few minutes!!!
I'd also try the monorail resorts as others have stated for obvious reasons!
Have fun!
I think it took us an average of 7 minutes to get to MK, EPCOT, and MGM from Coronado last year, and about 18 minutes to get to AK.
Remember, as others have stated, once you're at a park you can take the bus to another every few minutes!!!
I'd also try the monorail resorts as others have stated for obvious reasons!
Have fun!
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Computer Magic
Well-Known Member
I would say for park hopping, the best resort area is Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk. We stayed at the Boardwalk in May and park hopping was easy, although I really didn't like the resort. Beach/Yacht would have been better for us.
On our last day we went to AK, MGM and Epcot in one day to hit a few of our favorite rides:sohappy:
On our last day we went to AK, MGM and Epcot in one day to hit a few of our favorite rides:sohappy:
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