WDW Hotels Question

[valmont]

Im going to WDW in a week :sohappy: Im staying offsite cuz I dont have the money to stay in a hotel in WDW (at least this year). I was wondering can I go to the hotels and like look around and see the facilites? and also can I go to any of the hotels and watch Wishes from there even if im not staying there? Your answers are really appreciated :wave:

 

[tigsmom]

I have never had any problems wandering around from hotel to hotel. We have used the bus service, monorail, boat and our own car. :wave:

 

[surfsupdon]

Exploration of the World Resorts are super fun, especially when you are not staying at that specific place!

 

[roysta123]

Have you looked into the All Star Resorts? They are a great value especially in the off season.

 

[valmont]

Yup I looked at the All Star hotels but I dont have enough money for that. This trip was an unplanned thing because my best friend wants to see a concert at the house of blues and I kinda convinced him in going the whole week before instead of just the weekend.

 

[thedisneyfan]

You can maximize your resort trips depending upon the area. Take the monorail loop to see Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian all at once. You can also catch boat service from the MK or Contemporary to see Wilderness Lodge and then walk over to Ft. Wilderness! Go to the Boardwalk and walk around to Yacht Club & Beach Club. Resort tripping is an absolute blast! I love seeing all the different themes/shops/restaurants.

 

[ilovejennyOC]

Hotel-hopping is one of my favorite activities at WDW, usually my family try to check out a few new 1's every year. Last year when we stayed at the Dolphin, we snuck over to the Yacht Club to use their pool... thats also another thing to keep in mind if ur pool isnt that good!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

You can see wishes from some of the Hotels. At some places in the Polynesian and Contemporary they pipe in the music. Probably the GF too, but they didn't on the dock we were on.
The top floor of the Contemporary is a beautiful place to watch the fireworks. There's a viewing platform outside the California Grill. The view is incredible and they pipe the music outside!

 

[mrtoad]

Originally posted by valmont
Im going to WDW in a week :sohappy: Im staying offsite cuz I dont have the money to stay in a hotel in WDW (at least this year). I was wondering can I go to the hotels and like look around and see the facilites? and also can I go to any of the hotels and watch Wishes from there even if im not staying there? Your answers are really appreciated :wave:

As others have stated, it is nice to check out the other resorts. It gives you nice options for meals plus might give you a resort idea for your next trip. One you might want to try is taking the Sassagoula (spell?) boat trip to Downtown Disney from Port Orelans Riverside. It could be a nice relaxing trip.

 

[PalmTree7998]

We had no problem visiting the Disney resorts during our Universal trip this past June. We even used the monorail and bus system. It was a lot of fun, and helped to convince my boyfriend that we should stay onsite during our trip in December '04. :sohappy:

 

[DouglasE]

Just a correction to an earlier comment that someone made. In the past, they have piped in the music to fireworks at the monorail resorts and their restaurants, like the California Grill. This is NO LONGER the case with the new show, Wishes. Wishes incorporates more narration from Jiminy Cricket than ever before. Both the narration and music can only be heard in the Magic Kingdom.

Personally, I think it's a mistake. Having the music piped in to other places alleviates the crowds in the MK.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Just a correction to an earlier comment that someone made. In the past, they have piped in the music to fireworks at the monorail resorts and their restaurants, like the California Grill. This is NO LONGER the case with the new show, Wishes. Wishes incorporates more narration from Jiminy Cricket than ever before. Both the narration and music can only be heard in the Magic Kingdom.

Are you sure? I was there Oct 9 the night Wishes premiered and they were definitely piping the music outside to the platform and inside the California Grill. I heard it in both places.

 

[3halls]

Ok this is probably one of the most dumb questions ever asked BUT we've never been to WDW before so here I go! If you are staying off site and want to visit some of the resorts like say the Polynesian or the Contemporary do you have to have a park admission ticket? What if you want to make a Priority Seating at one of the resorts for dinner on a day that you aren't planning on going to a park? Also, I've heard that walking around in the Boardwalk area is a neat thing to do, but wouldn't you need park admission to do that? I'm confused!

 

[Moustronaut]

Originally posted by 3halls
Ok this is probably one of the most dumb questions ever asked BUT we've never been to WDW before so here I go! If you are staying off site and want to visit some of the resorts like say the Polynesian or the Contemporary do you have to have a park admission ticket? What if you want to make a Priority Seating at one of the resorts for dinner on a day that you aren't planning on going to a park? Also, I've heard that walking around in the Boardwalk area is a neat thing to do, but wouldn't you need park admission to do that? I'm confused!

You do not need a park admission ticket to visit any of the resort hotels at WDW. You might have to pay to park or at least tell the parking attendant you are their to eat at a restaurant in the resort.

You do not neet a park admission ticket to visit the shops, clubs, and restaurants at Disney's Boardwalk. You MAY get hassled about parking there because aparently some people have been using Boardwalk Inn parking as free parking for Epcot and MGM. But maybe not.

And yes, you can make a priority seating at a resort restaurant request by calling 407 WDW DINE without a park ticket. But restaurants INSIDE the parks will require you to have admission.

 

[Marijil]

Is this really true that the sound is no longer piped into the restaurants, that would stink....