Hey there, Ken! Welcome to planDisney; I am so glad you found us to ask your Walt Disney World questions.
On a recent visit to The Most Magical Place on Earth, I had friends at many of the resorts around the WDW property. I had rented a car, and many mornings found myself at the gate of a different resort to pick up one or more of my friends.
The short answer is YES, you can absolutely visit each other at the other resort, BUT…it could also depend on the resort. At each resort guard house, be prepared to show a valid photo ID. You might also be asked for the lead guest’s name on the reservation in order to gain access into the resort. This is because some of the resorts that are closer to the theme parks sometimes have “visitors” who stay longer than their 3-hour window and walk to the parks, leaving their vehicle parked at the resort.
I definitely had to give my friends’ names at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Resort. I fully understood this and happily gave the guests’ name, along with my ID.
Keep in mind that parking at the theme parks is included with your resort stay. I highly recommend upgrading to the
preferred parking lots at the theme parks as well. You will find that they are almost always much closer of a walk, and with the parking lot trams still not running, I like to save myself some steps.
I hope your large group has a fabulous time visiting Walt Disney World for The Most Magical Celebration on Earth in January!
The Fab 50 Character Collection was one of my favorite things about the celebration.
Happy Traveling,
Tracy