Disney Resort Hopping 101
In my searching around YouTube one day I came across a very interesting video, well 3 actually. It was a video of a couple and they were resort hopping around Disney. I honestly had never heard about this and I was super excited to do it myself. I will leave a link to their video so you can see for yourself here.
I am a photographer and architecture is my favorite to photograph. Throw Disney in the mix and I am one happy girl!
I decided to go one day and I was blown away by how much there is to see and do at these resorts. For free! I always assumed that you had to be staying at the resort to be able to go. That is not the case.
To start off, it is very important to know where to park but It is pretty simple, you just have to park on the right part of the right garage otherwise you will be walking around wondering where to go. If you do get lost you can always ask a Disney Springs worker and they will point you in the right direction. So you will need to park in the Orange Garage. This is the easiest way to find the buses. It is free to park all day.
If you want to take a ferry you can do that but you need to park in the grapefruit garage to do that to save yourself some walking because it’s a trek.
The map is on the Disney website, so you can zoom in to see where I am talking about if it is still confusing.
Depending on where you come into the Orange Garage, you will want to make sure you get over to the end away from AMC. The farther the better. You want to come out by the Coca Cola store. I usually take the exit off I-4 that leads me directly into the Orange Garage. Then I just follow the garage to the bottom floor and park close to the entrance. If you have the My Disney Experience app you can save where you are parked so you can easily find your car when leaving. The app can be found at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/my-disney-experience/mobile-apps/ Fun fact, you can order food, make reservations and see show times on the app as well for Disney Springs, and the resorts.
When you enter Disney Springs you will be going through a metal detector and security so make sure you don’t bring anything that will make you have to walk back to your car. The same for entering any resort and back into Disney Springs to retrieve your car. FYI, no selfie sticks or tripods are allowed. No drones as well. For all of the rules visit https://www.disneysprings.com
When you get to the bus area there will be a board with all of the resort destinations and what bus lane you need to be in to get there.
The wait can vary depending on what resort you choose. The buses are free, you just stand in line with everyone else and hop on. They are usually empty in the morning while everyone is at the parks but come afternoon, you might be standing!
Sometimes if I am planning to go to a resort and its hot and I have been waiting long, I will hop on one that pulls up and just go to that resort. I never have a set plan. A few weeks ago I was going to go to Art of Animation but the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus pulled up so we just got on there. I am so glad we did because we got to see Chip, Dale, and Daisy. That’s another perk. You don’t have to pay when that happens. There is also a photographer there that will take your picture and will give you a card to download your pictures later if you want to purchase them.
You are not allowed in guest areas such as pools, gyms, and rooms so please be respectful of the guests that are paying to be there. You can however roam around the enormous lobbies and eat and shop wherever you please. They actually have s’mores at most resorts in the evening and you can do that if you stay later into the evening. You just have to buy the kit like everyone else. I always let cast members know I am not a guest if an event is going on and I am not sure if I can attend. I haven’t been turned away yet. There is also moonlight movies offered at every resort I have been to so far and those are open areas so you can just walk up and grab your spot in the grass. If you stay really late, you can go to Polynesian resort, get a dole whip and sit on the beach and watch the Happily Ever After fireworks show across the lake at Magic Kingdom. I have done this and it was amazing. Polynesian is my favorite and I go there every time I am resort hopping but that’s another blog. I can go on for days about it. If interested, I will link the fireworks video here that I made on one visit.
When you want to hop to another resort you just go to where the buses are or you can take a different mode of transportation if offered. Just know that depending on where you are and where you want to go, you might need to take a few ways to get there. Also a side note, if you are scared of heights like me, don’t take the gondolas!
Resort transportation begins 45 minutes before theme park opening and they operate until 11pm for Disney Springs so make sure you are back there in time. I would make sure to leave any resort by 10pm just to be safe and not miss the bus. There you have it. I hope this helps. So go and enjoy some free Disney!