Trip Report The "12 Disney World Resorts in exactly 9 hours", no parks trip report

I've been an annual passholder for almost 20 years now, and 2 years ago we finally became "locals", and now live just a few miles from WDW. We visit so frequently that I like to come up with "challenges" to make our visits more interesting.

Today's challenge was "visit all the resorts attached to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios by boat, monorail, or Skyliner in one day." I did not think it was actually possible to do this in the summertime when afternoon storms frequently shut down a lot of transportation options, but I decided to take the risk anyway. I spent the day yesterday coming up with a plan and had no idea if it would actually work. I decided to take my almost 23 year old son with me and left my husband home with our small kids to make it easier.

My son and I parked in the Hollywood Studios parking lot at about 12:15 and walked to the bus station from there. The bus we were after pulled up at precisely 12:24 p.m., which officially kicked off our adventure.

 

[Laura]

Our first resort of the day was the Polynesian.

We arrived at the main entrance at 12:41 p.m.

We visit this resort often, so didn’t feel the need to do too much exploring. We did a lap around the main areas, and were sitting on a monorail by 12:59.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
Total = 35 minutes

 

[Laura]

We arrived at our second resort, the Grand Floridian, at 1:03 p.m. This is another one that we visit often and didn’t need to explore too deeply, but we were hungry so we visited Gasparilla’s. The desserts were tempting, but we opted to split a turkey sandwich and fries instead, which I failed to photograph.

We were back on the monorail at 1:51 p.m.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
Total = 1 hour, 27 minutes

 

[Laura]

Our third resort was of course, the final monorail resort, the Contemporary, and we arrived at 1:59 p.m.

We were excited about this one because we have only ever explored about 2/3 of the main areas, and we’ve never been to Bay Lake Tower before.

After doing a routine tour of the main floor, we went out on the patio for the first time ever. No idea why it’s taken me over 40 years to finally do this, but neato!

Next we walked on the bridge between Contemporary and BLT for the first time ever which had very nice views.

Then finally, our first peek into the grounds of Bay Lake Tower.

We had some time to kill after this, so we decided to go back inside the main Contemporary and explore some areas we hadn’t seen before in there too. We have seen a lot of the convention space before, but somehow we ended up in this whole wing that we didn’t know existed. Not a soul was around. We figured this would be the perfect place to have a bathroom break, assuming that no one ever used the bathrooms in this space. We were correct. The bathrooms in this wing were the most immaculate public bathrooms we have ever seen. We weren’t even sure we were allowed in this area of the resort, but at one point I passed a security guard who said hello to me and kept on his way, so he didn’t seem to care.

We still had some time to kill until the boats started up at 3 p.m., so we sat at Outer Rim for a bit and rehydrated.

At just before 3, we returned to the “backyard” and we were the first people on the first boat of the day to Fort Wilderness. It’s been years since I’ve done this particular boat ride, and it was so nice.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
Total = 2 hours, 36 minutes

 

[Laura]

Next we visited Fort Wilderness. After a really awesome and relaxing boat ride, we arrived at 3:11 p.m.

We have explored some areas of Fort Wilderness in the past. We’ve stayed there before (it was the first place I ever stayed in 1982, and we did again in 2011), and we have eaten at Trail’s End many times and seen Hoop Dee Doo, but still, we found plenty of new things.

Mainly, we had never been inside the Settlement Trading Post before that we could recall, and we also had never been to the Tri-Circle-D Ranch. (It just occurred to me while typing that what Tri-Circle refers to lol)

Next we decided to have some dessert. It was at this time that we realized that Trail’s End buffet no longer exists. That shows how much I keep up with Disney news. RIP.

We grabbed a Strawberry Shortcake from the fridge at what used to be the buffet and sat at the same table we sat at when we ate at Trail’s End for Thanksgiving dinner 2011. Except it was actually a different table, just in the same place. Looks like the tables have been replaced.

We didn’t complain too much though because we deemed the Strawberry Shortcake one of our new favorite WDW desserts.

It was at this time that the afternoon lightning arrived. Just as we reached the boat dock, they cancelled all of the little boats between the resorts. However, we were told if we just hung tight for a minute a “big boat” would be along to take us to our next destination. Being unfamiliar with the boats, we didn’t know what a big boat was. Sure enough, a couple minutes later at 3:53, the big boat was there. The catch was, this boat would not go directly to Wilderness Lodge, but would have to stop at Magic Kingdom first. So it was going to be an extra scenic route. We didn’t mind because the storm had brought the temps way down and it was quite windy so it felt great outside.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
Total = 3 hours, 29 minutes

 

[Laura]

Some photos from our unplanned boat ride from FW to MK.

Anyway, we finally arrived at Wilderness Lodge at 4:28 p.m.

It was raining pretty decently by this point, so we couldn’t explore outdoors by the pool and geyser and stuff too much. And we have stayed at WL before and dined there several times, so we weren’t super interested in the main building. But we had never seen any of the DVC stuff here before. So we walked down a long hallway and found a “secret door” which led us directly to Geyser Point. What an awesome little restaurant! We definitely wanna go back sometime. We weren’t hungry though, so we decided to play ping pong in the pouring rain instead.

We still had some time left after this, so we decided to see what the inside of Boulder Ridge Villas and the pool next to it looked like.

This is the part where we thought all our plans might become unhinged. We were getting back on a bus to Hollywood Studios to start part 2 of this challenge, and we had no idea what transportation options would be running in the bad weather once we got there. The bus to DHS arrived at 5:07 p.m.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
9. Boat from FW (to MK) to WL = 35 minutes
10. Time exploring WL = 39 minutes
Total = 4 hours, 43 mins

 

[Laura]

When we arrived at Hollywood Studios, we were relieved to see both the Skyliner and Friendship boats were still going in the rain. So we hopped on a Friendship boat to the Boardwalk at 5:38 p.m.

I’ve seen bits and pieces of Boardwalk before, but not all of it. We started off with some pizza for dinner from the pizza window, which we ate indoors next to the Belle Vue Lounge since it was raining outside.

We then walked through the lobby, took a peek outside at the pool, which I’d never seen in person before, walked through the shops, and also briefly checked out the AbracadaBar which I forgot to photograph.

Our feet were definitely getting tired at this point, but we were only halfway finished with our challenge. We set off on the path to Beach Club and Yacht Club in the rain At 6:33.

Here’s a couple pics from the rainy walk around the Boardwalk/YC/BC area.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
9. Boat from FW (to MK) to WL = 35 minutes
10. Time exploring WL = 39 minutes
11. Bus from WL (to Contemp) to DHS = 31 minutes
12. Boat from DHS to Boardwalk = 25 minutes
13. Time exploring Boardwalk = 30 minutes
Total = 6 hours, 9 minutes

 

[Laura]

We were pretty unenthusiastic about the Beach Club / Yacht Club portion of our tour. There really isn‘t much to see in these resorts as the common areas are mainly just full service restaurants. The lobbies are cramped and crowded. The stores / grab and go areas are mediocre and the one at Yacht Club was *filthy*. We decided what makes these 2 resorts worth going to is the proximity to DHS/Epcot, the full service meal options, and the incredible pool area. Not great “exploring” resorts though. We breezed through both in 35 minutes.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
9. Boat from FW (to MK) to WL = 35 minutes
10. Time exploring WL = 39 minutes
11. Bus from WL (to Contemp) to DHS = 31 minutes
12. Boat from DHS to Boardwalk = 25 minutes
13. Time exploring Boardwalk = 30 minutes
14. Walk to Beach Club / Yacht Club = 6 minutes
15. Time exploring Beach Club / Yacht Club = 35 minutes
Total = 6 hours, 50 minutes

 

[Laura]

We dreaded the walk to the Skyliner from the Yacht Club because we were pretty tired, but we were looking forward to reaching the Skyliner portion of our tour.

We got the Skyliner station at 7:14 p.m. and headed to the Riviera Resort.

I was most excited about this because I’ve never been inside the Riviera before. I’ve only quickly walked past it one time. So just about all of it was new to me.

I *loved* this resort. It was immaculate. Beautiful. I loved the vibe. They had good food options. Tons of nice little spots to sit and relax. The pool looked awesome too.

We went up to the top floor to see the view and it did not disappoint.

After this we got a snack of chocolate chip banana bread (so good), and then rested our feet in some comfy chairs in the lobby for a bit before heading outside.

The rain had stopped by this point, but everything was wet and the humidity was gross, so it wasn’t a good time to hang out outdoors. We just wanted more air conditioning, so onto the next resort we went at 7:59 p.m.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
9. Boat from FW (to MK) to WL = 35 minutes
10. Time exploring WL = 39 minutes
11. Bus from WL (to Contemp) to DHS = 31 minutes
12. Boat from DHS to Boardwalk = 25 minutes
13. Time exploring Boardwalk = 30 minutes
14. Walk to Beach Club / Yacht Club = 6 minutes
15. Time exploring Beach Club / Yacht Club = 35 minutes
16. Skyliner to Rivera = 9 minutes
17. Time exploring Riviera = 36 minutes
Total = 7 hours, 35 minutes

 

[Laura]

We walked over to Caribbean Beach next, which I usually love, but after having just visited the fancy pants Riviera Resort, Caribbean Beach felt pretty Walmart at first. And the pool area was kind of busy and loud which I did not like.

However, once we got to wandering, I remembered why I like CB so much. It’s really one of the best “exploring resorts” at Disney World. There‘s so many neat little areas, with my favorite being the Caribbean Cay island in the middle of it. The sunset views were awesome too. They’ve got some unique food offerings as well, but we weren’t hungry at all after that banana bread at Riviera. There’s only a couple non-DVC resorts I have never stayed at before and this is one of them, but I do enjoy visiting.

My son and I are both obsessed with any kind of “wild” animals, so we were very excited to find widdle baby bunnies in 2 different places.

At 8:28 we made it to the next Skyliner station.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
9. Boat from FW (to MK) to WL = 35 minutes
10. Time exploring WL = 39 minutes
11. Bus from WL (to Contemp) to DHS = 31 minutes
12. Boat from DHS to Boardwalk = 25 minutes
13. Time exploring Boardwalk = 30 minutes
14. Walk to Beach Club / Yacht Club = 6 minutes
15. Time exploring Beach Club / Yacht Club = 35 minutes
16. Skyliner to Rivera = 9 minutes
17. Time exploring Riviera = 36 minutes
18. Time exploring Caribbean Beach = 29 minutes
Total = 8 hours, 4 minutes

 

[Laura]

As much as we would have loved to *fully* explore Art of Animation and Pop Century, we have done so many times in the past and our feet were exhausted by this point in the tour. So we kept our exploring limited to the main/central areas of each.

Art of Animation:

Pop Century:

We had planned to get one final dessert at Pop Century, but we still weren’t all that hungry. I ended up getting a non-alcoholic Lava Smoothie from the pool bar, which was incredible and barely cost more than a soda. (It was also available at the Art of Animation pool bar FYI). The description is “Raspberry Purée blended with flavors of Coconut and Pineapple”. Nom Nom.

I asked the bartender if there was a good spot to watch fireworks from Pop Century. She said no, you could not see any fireworks from Pop Century. We then proceeded back to the Skyliner station and found a good place to watch (Epcot’s) fireworks.

We boarded our final Skyliner at 9:13 p.m., had a great view of the Epcot fireworks finale (which deemed to be impossible to photograph through the highly reflective and fingerprint-laden windows), and landed back at the Hollywood Studios parking lot at 9:24 p.m. Exactly 9 hours to the minute after we started our adventure.

Elapsed time so far:
1. Bus from DHS to Poly = 17 minutes
2. Time exploring Poly = 18 minutes
3. Monorail from Poly to GF = 4 minutes
4. Time exploring GF = 48 minutes
5. Monorail from GF to Contemporary = 8 minutes
6. Time exploring Contemporary = 1 hour, 1 minute
7. Boat from Contemporary to FW = 11 minutes
8. Time exploring FW = 42 minutes
9. Boat from FW (to MK) to WL = 35 minutes
10. Time exploring WL = 39 minutes
11. Bus from WL (to Contemp) to DHS = 31 minutes
12. Boat from DHS to Boardwalk = 25 minutes
13. Time exploring Boardwalk = 30 minutes
14. Walk to Beach Club / Yacht Club = 6 minutes
15. Time exploring Beach Club / Yacht Club = 35 minutes
16. Skyliner to Rivera = 9 minutes
17. Time exploring Riviera = 36 minutes
18. Time exploring Caribbean Beach = 29 minutes
19. Skyliner to Art of Animation / Pop Century = 6 minutes
20. Time exploring Art of Animation & Pop Century = 39 minutes
21. Skyliner to Hollywood Studios = 11 minutes
Total = 9 hours, 0 minutes

And this is how much my feet hurt

 

[Laura]

Summary…

I came up with this idea, and then immediately regretted it and dreaded it thinking it was going to be nothing but an exhausting transportation headache. I was wrong. It was so fun! We both had a great time and learned so much about each of the 12 resorts we visited. We had zero transportation headaches other than the minor inconvenience of stopping at MK on the way from FW to WL due to lightning canceling the direct boats (which wasn’t really an inconvenience, it was nice!).

We wanted to collect pictures of *something* at each resort, but didn’t know what to collect.

We settled on trash cans.

Yacht Club & Beach Club had the same “logo-free” trash cans.

Art of Animation and Pop Century’s trash cans also had no logos. Lame.

 

[Laura]

We also *tried* to photograph the ears from each resort, but failed. I totally forgot about it at both Contemporary and Grand Floridian, and we also couldn’t find any at Art of Animation, but here’s the other 9.

 

[MinnieM123]

Well, that was a fun and unique TR! I admire your stamina, to get through the fast-paced, 9 hours.

By the way, I really liked your photos as well.

 

[mpaulam]

Cool idea!

 

[littleroo]

What a great idea! I especially, loved the trash can idea! Definite proof you were really there.

 

[pkkurz]

Great observations and appreciate the timeline. Thanks for taking us on your “adventure“

 

[fractal]

Awesome!

 

[k8einwdw]

We do something similar to this during the holidays to see all of the themed holiday decorations and Christmas trees. It’s a long day, but a lot of fun!

 

[Laura]

We do something similar to this during the holidays to see all of the themed holiday decorations and Christmas trees. It’s a long day, but a lot of fun!

Which resorts do you visit? We usually check out GF, Contemporary, sometimes yacht club, and sometimes WL. Are there more that are worth seeing?