Eric,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
Visiting all the resorts? What a fun way to experience everything Walt Disney World has to offer! We love to resort hop too, but how do you see them all? Here is a suggested route, all done in stages, using the different
Disney Resort Transportation options.
Stage 1: Go on a WalkaboutFrom Disney's Beach Club Resort, you can walk to Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Disney's BoardWalk Inn, and both the Walt Disney World Dolphin and Swan Hotels.
Stage 2: Time to go on a river cruiseAfter your walking tour, grab a bus headed to
Disney Springs and then catch one of the boats that will sail you to Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Disney's Old Key West Resort, Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter, and Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside.
Stage 3: Bus like an All-StarTo visit the three All-Star Resorts, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, you simply have to ride buses. The catch is, however, after visiting any of these three destinations (the All-Stars are all together, so you can consider them like one resort), you have to bus back to a station to transfer to another bus to then visit the other resorts. My suggestion would be not to bus back to Disney Springs for a transfer, but instead use the bus station at the nearby Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Stage 4: Now you must ride the rails (and sail the seas again!)From wherever you find yourself, it is time to catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Once there, you have two excursions. One if by land, as you monorail around to visit Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Then, two if by sea, as you catch the boats in front of the Magic Kingdom to sail over to see Fort Wilderness and Disney's Wilderness Lodge. You can then bus back to the Magic Kingdom for your final stage.
Stage 5: Flying to the grand finale!After concluding your Magic Kingdom stage, simply bus over to either Disney's Art of Animation Resort or Disney's Pop Century Resort. After exploring these two connected resorts, your route has you soaring on the
Disney Skyliner to visit both Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and finally Disney's Riviera Resort!
With these 5 stages, you can hit all the official Disney Resort hotels. While it is technically possible to do this in one day, you might have to replace your shoes after all that travel! I broke it out into stages so you could either skip a given stage or do them in blocks separately during your vacation.
RECOMMENDATIONOf these stages, 4 and 5 are my favorites. The Art of Animation grounds offer so many great photo opportunities, and the monorail resorts are both easy to visit all at once and really showcase some of the best of Disney. Stage 1 is something you will do, simply by staying at the Beach Club. Where you could save some time is in stages 2 and 4, where you could cut a lot out and just bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is worth the trip, and an amazing destination.
Please feel free to
write me back directly if you have any follow-up questions, or if you want to refine this itinerary.
Have a Magical Vacation!Doug