How to Resort Hop -Transportation
There are so many things to do at Disney OTHER than the parks! Many people have no idea that you can actually visit the many Disney Resorts, even if you are not staying there!
Learn More About Disney Transportation in This Video:
What is Resort Hopping?
Of course when you go to Disney World, you know that the attractions and entertainment are in the parks. What you may not know is that the Disney resorts can often be attractions and entertainment themselves!
Each resort has unique theming, dining, shopping, and other activities available for guests to enjoy, and you don’t have to be staying there to do it. Many Disney goers have started doing this thing called ‘resort hopping’ where they take a day or part of a day visiting a number of Disney resorts to enjoy the various offerings they have.
O’hana Breakfast - Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Some resort groups are even great to do a bar or food crawl with and even will have special displays and offerings during the holidays. But more on that in a later blog.
The only thing you cannot do while resort hopping is use the pool or go into the rooms (unless you are staying at that resort of course). That doesn’t mean that there isn’t still tons to do! Plus, you don’t even have to have a park ticket to enjoy!
Sounds fun, right!? Well getting there can be a little bit of a trick, so I hope to help clear some of that up for you!
Transportation - What are the options?
There are four major FREE transportation options that come complimentary with visiting Disney World: Buses, Monorails, Boats, and the new Skyliner. You can learn a little more about each one HERE.
Where it gets a little bit tricky is that you will NOT find a bus from resort to resort, which means you sometimes have to get a little creative. You can always take a bus to a park or Disney Springs and then hop on another to get to your final destination, but this method can take quite awhile depending on how frequently the buses are picking up at the time.
Luckily there are a few different resort ‘loops’ with alternate means of transportation that make them perfect for hopping!
The Monorail Loop
The most popular group of resorts to hop are the Monorail Loop Resorts. This includes the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, and the Contemporary Resorts.
The monorail is a train type system that loops all around the 7 Seas Lagoon. It can sometimes even be considered the favorite ride in all of Disney for some guests! You can read our full guide to the monorail HERE.
These are all deluxe resorts featuring various dining locations, lounges, and plenty of shopping! These are always a great group of resorts to hop on your Magic Kingdom day when you need to get out of the heat of the afternoon, but don’t want to go all the way back to your room.
Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Along with the monorail, you can also take boats to the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian resorts. You could even add Wilderness Lodge to this as well!
Something to be aware of is that certain times of the day can get especially crowded at the monorail and boat stations. (ex. right before a Halloween or Christmas party allows guests into the park). Luckily, the entrances to both the Monorail and the Boats are right next to each other, so it’s easy to see if the line for one is long. The biggest tip is to allow plenty of time for travel because it very well may take a little longer than you think!
New Year’s Eve Fireworks View at California Grill - Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Epcot Resorts
The next group of resorts that are super easy to visit are the Epcot resorts! Now a fun trick with this one if you have a Epcot Park Ticket is that you can take the monorail from the Magic Kingdom or any of the monorail resorts to Epcot and then walk through the park to the International Gateway entrance and then simply walk to any of these next resorts!
The resorts included in this are the Yacht & Beach Club Resort, The Boardwalk, and even the Swan and Dolphin Resorts!
Disney’s Boardwalk Resort
These are all circled around Crescent Lake and have boat options to travel between them as well! However, if you are just visiting these resorts, I would recommend walking, it’s much faster and you can take in the beautiful scenery of these resorts!
Speaking of boats, you can also take a boat from Hollywood Studios or Epcot to get to any of these resorts, but be aware that they stop at each resort along the way, so this can also take a bit of time.
The Skyliner Resorts
These resorts are also included in a new favorite resort hopping group! The Skyliner is Disney’s newest form of transportation and included 6 resorts along its line: Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, Riviera, The Boardwalk, and Yacht & Beach Club resorts.
I have a full guide to resort hopping on the Skyliner that you can read HERE.
What makes this group so unique is that is features resorts from all 4 tiers of Disney Resorts: Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villas.
Disney’s Riviera Resort
This is the perfect group to do a bar crawl because you can begin at HollyWood Studios and visit all the resorts in between, then finish off your night with drinks and fireworks at Epcot!
What About Resorts that Only Use Buses?
Don’t worry! You can still visit these other resorts, and you totally should! Animal Kingdom Lodge has tons of animals that you can check out all without having to purchase a theme park ticket!
Coronado Springs has some amazing Dining and Lounge options, and of course you HAVE to try the Beignets at Port Orleans!
Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter
You can always try the bus trick that I mentioned earlier if you are looking for a free option. But if time is not on your side and you need to get there a little faster, you can always get an Uber or Lyft. You can typically get anywhere you need to get to at Disney for between $15-30.
You can also consider giving Minnie Vans a try! This is Disney’s version of a ride share program that is hosted through Lyft. You get to take a ride in a red and white polka dot SUV driving by a cast member! It’s a super fun and memorable experience and perfect to add on if you want that extra Disney Touch.
Be sure to give yourself a little time in your vacation to do some exploring! No matter which resorts you visit, it’s sure to give you some extra magical memories! Don’t miss the next post where I give you tips on what to do while park hopping.
