Resorts only?

[Annainohio]

I'm planning a trip for my husband and me, and I'm looking at resorts. Has anyone ever only stayed at the resorts in Orlando and not gone to the park? I was thinking it might be nice to have access to the pools, etc, and resort restaurants without actually going to the parks. Thanks!

 

[JIMINYCR]

Acceptable thing to do. I have friends who have done that. Theres a lot of things available to do outside of the parks... but I couldnt personally go and not do the parks. If you do find the lure of the parks is too strong you could always pick up a day ticket. And you would only have access to your resort pool. Lots of great restaurants to choose from in the resorts.

 

[bethymouse]

Sure. You can book a "room only" package. It's pretty easy!

 

[Unomas]

You could...but I'd have to step into Magic Kingdom, personally

 

[RedDad]

We have done this at the end of one of our trips to the World. We checked into a new resort just to hang out and rest after our week in the parks. It was great - lots to do just around the resorts.

 

[princessmommy]

I love this idea and plan on doing it

 

[fosse76]

I would never do that. There are much nicer AND cheaper hotels off property. Unless you have DVC points, I don't see why anyone would want to stay at a Disney resort without visiting the parks.

 

[SecondStarTilMorning]

You could get a room at the waldrof, hilton, or wyndham in the bonnet creek area. It's inside disney property and they are VERY nice resorts. From there you could visit restaurants, the boardwalk, golf, putt-putt, have tea at the grand floridian, watch wishes at the poly beach, visit downtown disney and see cirque, relax by the fire at wilderness lodge, have ice cream at beaches and cream, visit one of the many spas on property for a massage... just listing these off makes me realize I enjoy visiting WDW as much for the non-park stuff as for the stuff in the parks.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Although I greatly enjoy the WDW resorts, they are perhaps the most overpriced in the area. There are several lovely non-WDW properties that cost less. As @SecondStarTilMorning suggests, several are "on property" without being a WDW hotel.

Consider the Swan and the Dolphin, located next to the Epcot Resorts. They are great hotels for adults and a short walk to Disney's Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Yacht Club resorts. It's a beautiful area at night.

Also consider the Waldorf Astoria which is effectively on WDW property and extremely luxurious.

Disney's resorts offer advantages such as Disney Magic Express, Extra Magic Hours, package delivery, and onsite (mostly bus) transportation. These perks are the main reasons to pay extra for a WDW resort. Since most of these perks are associated with the theme parks, WDW's onsite resorts make less financial sense if you are not visiting the theme parks.

 

[ShookieJones]

This:

I would never do that. There are much nicer AND cheaper hotels off property. Unless you have DVC points, I don't see why anyone would want to stay at a Disney resort without visiting the parks.

And This:

Although I greatly enjoy the WDW resorts, they are perhaps the most overpriced in the area. There are several lovely non-WDW properties that cost less. As @SecondStarTilMorning suggests, several are "on property" without being a WDW hotel.

Consider the Swan and the Dolphin, located next to the Epcot Resorts. They are great hotels for adults and a short walk to Disney's Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Yacht Club resorts. It's a beautiful area at night.

Also consider the Waldorf Astoria which is effectively on WDW property and extremely luxurious.

Disney's resorts offer advantages such as Disney Magic Express, Extra Magic Hours, package delivery, and onsite (mostly bus) transportation. These perks are the main reasons to pay extra for a WDW resort. Since most of these perks are associated with the theme parks, WDW's onsite resorts make less financial sense if you are not visiting the theme parks.

 

[Genie of the Lamp]

As parents said, the Swan and Dolphin would be great choices for you. They are great hotels for a good value and they are close to the Boardwalk area and other EPCOT Resort hotels that have really great, world class pools. And they're some good restaurants in that area as well and is just really great in general to walk around in and what not.

 

[mcurtiss]

You could...but I'd have to step into Magic Kingdom, personally

this + 1

 

[disneyfan1995]

That sounds like it would be a lot of fun and relaxing, but I would never be able to do that! I have to go the parks when I am down at WDW.

 

[disneygirl76]

I'm planning a trip for my husband and me, and I'm looking at resorts. Has anyone ever only stayed at the resorts in Orlando and not gone to the park? I was thinking it might be nice to have access to the pools, etc, and resort restaurants without actually going to the parks. Thanks!

Yep. Well, no. But the intention was there! I started this same thread awhile back. And we actually booked a night at the Beach Club just to enjoy the pool and the Boardwalk and the resort. My DH ended up surprising me with a day in MK for Valentine's Day. And then we ended up going in to Epcot that night on an amazing magical moment from the resort - comped tickets for a mix up on their end. So...the intention was there to yes, only go to the resort and only do resort stuff. But we didn't actually do it. You can see the trip report in the link below.