Hi Adrian! Welcome to planDisney! Thank you for trusting us with your first question. I love discussing Disney Resort Hotels and all they have to offer, so I think we'll have lots of fun today.
To answer your question: yes, you can visit any
Disney Resort Hotel, whether you're staying there or not.
Disney's Art of Animation is such a cool place to explore, grab a bite to eat, and do some shopping, even if you're not staying there. If you're staying at another Disney Resort Hotel, you can take advantage of the complimentary transportation, like the
Disney Skyliner, which is super convenient for getting around.
Just a couple of things to keep in mind: if you're staying off-site and need parking, you can only do so if you have dining reservations at table service restaurants, and this Resort doesn't have one. But no worries, you can always head to a theme park and then take a bus to get to the Resort. Also, remember that you can't use or enter the pool area for any of the Resorts, as they are exclusively for Guests.
I love Resort-hopping, and a great tip I want to share is to take advantage of the monorail Resorts:
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa,
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and
Disney's Contemporary Resort. You can hop on the monorail from Magic Kingdom and explore all they have to offer, from unique bars like
Enchanted Rose to the beach with Cinderella Castle views at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. All Deluxe Resorts like those three have multiple fantastic dining options to choose from if you want to extend your temporary stay.
I highly recommend
'Ohana,
Narcoossee's and
California Grill. They are definitely my favorite restaurants at the moment, each with their own specialties, but sharing the same passion for great food, brilliant wine, and the great service that we are used to at all Disney World locations.
I hope this info is helpful, Adrian. Feel free
to drop by anytime with more questions. It's always a pleasure to help a friend like you out.
Cheers
Nilson