POLL: Staying Offsite, but want to check out resorts, which is best to eat at and check out?

[Momtoapug]

Hello,
We are staying offsite, but want to check out resorts.

Dining:
How does that work?
Do we drive ourselves over, self-park? Does it cost money to park?

Does visiting a resort "use" our base park ticket? IN other words, can I eat at Beach Club resort but still spend the day at Hollywood studios?

Leisure at the resort:
can non-guests, with a ticket, use any of the facilities like a pool or game room, etc. at a resort? I would assume not?

I want to visit a few resorts to check them out to see where we might want to stay onsite next time, and am trying to understand how this might work out!

Thanks! I also created a poll below, asking, which is the best resort to eat at and also check out? I listed the few places we could afford in the future Contemporary and GF and Poly are out of our price range

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hello,
We are staying offsite, but want to check out resorts.

Dining:
How does that work?
Do we drive ourselves over, self-park? Does it cost money to park?

Does visiting a resort "use" our base park ticket? IN other words, can I eat at Beach Club resort but still spend the day at Hollywood studios?

Leisure at the resort:
can non-guests, with a ticket, use any of the facilities like a pool or game room, etc. at a resort? I would assume not?

I want to visit a few resorts to check them out to see where we might want to stay onsite next time, and am trying to understand how this might work out!

Thanks! I also created a poll below, asking, which is the best resort to eat at and also check out? I listed the few places we could afford in the future Contemporary and GF and Poly are out of our price range

It does not cost money to park at a resort, however, you can only leave your car there while you are dining. You cannot park there and then go to Hollywood Studios. If you plan on going to Hollywood Studios, your best bet is to either park at the resort, eat and then move your car to DHS (where you will pay the parking fee) or simply park at Hollywood Studios (pay the parking fee) and go to the resort from there.

You will not use park admission to go to a resort. Park admission is only used when entering a park.

You could purchase an arcade card and go to the arcade or rent a boat at the YC dock, but you cannot use the pools or other resort guest facilities. Having a theme park ticket has nothing to do with visiting or staying at a WDW resort.

Both Bon Voyage at BWI and Cape May breakfast at BC are highly rated and well-reviewed meals. It depends on if you would rather have a sit-down meal and meet princesses and their respective beaus or have a buffet and meet Minnie and friends.

 

[Lynne M]

Dining:
How does that work?
Do we drive ourselves over, self-park? Does it cost money to park?

None of the Disney-owned resorts change for self-parking. The Swan does have a parking fee. During busy times, self-parking can be problematic at Beach Club, though you'll have a better chance of getting in if you have a dining reservation for one of their restaurants. There is a parking lot for visitors at Boardwalk. If you're spending the day at Epcot or HS, you can park in their lots (there's a charge, of course) and walk or take the boat up to the Swan/Dolphin, YC/BC and Boardwalk.

Does visiting a resort "use" our base park ticket? IN other words, can I eat at Beach Club resort but still spend the day at Hollywood studios?

None of the resorts at WDW are within a theme park, so no park tickets are required for access to any of the resorts.

Leisure at the resort:
can non-guests, with a ticket, use any of the facilities like a pool or game room, etc. at a resort? I would assume not?

The pools and gyms are off-limits to visitors at all resorts, but you're welcome to shop, dine, wander around, and use recreational facilities like the arcade, boat/bike rentals, etc.

I want to visit a few resorts to check them out to see where we might want to stay onsite next time, and am trying to understand how this might work out!

Thanks! I also created a poll below, asking, which is the best resort to eat at and also check out? I listed the few places we could afford in the future Contemporary and GF and Poly are out of our price range

Whoops, I chose "other" because I was going to recommend the monorail area. It's classic WDW and the theming of the resorts is fabulous. There are often discounts available that may make those resorts more budget-friendly for you, so keep an eye out for those. It's worth taking a ride on the monorail loop if you're visiting MK, at least.

 

[Amanda999]

The arcade rooms at the resorts are truly not worth checking out. (DS is a huge fan, so I've spent plenty of time in them at POR, Pop, BC, probably others and none are much better than a good highway rest stop arcade room. And they aren't inexpensive to play.)

I don't think any of the resorts you listed are worth visiting, except to walk around to just see if you like them for future visit. To spend time - like dining - I'd absolutely choose a monorail resort, Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness instead. FW has horses! You can't use the pool at any resort that you aren't a guest at. WL is less expensive than BC or BWI (to stay at).

Suggestion: on your Epcot day, if you want to take a break from the park then take the friendship boat to HS: you'll stop at Boardwalk, then YC/BC, then between Dolphin/Swan, then HS. Its scenic, and the CM often is great - describing the area, new building plans, disney trivia, etc. Its a nice little trip. And you can see the BC pool complex from the boat FWIW.

 

[Momtoapug]

None of the Disney-owned resorts change for self-parking. The Swan does have a parking fee. During busy times, self-parking can be problematic at Beach Club, though you'll have a better chance of getting in if you have a dining reservation for one of their restaurants. There is a parking lot for visitors at Boardwalk. If you're spending the day at Epcot or HS, you can park in their lots (there's a charge, of course) and walk or take the boat up to the Swan/Dolphin, YC/BC and Boardwalk.



None of the resorts at WDW are within a theme park, so no park tickets are required for access to any of the resorts.


The pools and gyms are off-limits to visitors at all resorts, but you're welcome to shop, dine, wander around, and use recreational facilities like the arcade, boat/bike rentals, etc.



Whoops, I chose "other" because I was going to recommend the monorail area. It's classic WDW and the theming of the resorts is fabulous. There are often discounts available that may make those resorts more budget-friendly for you, so keep an eye out for those. It's worth taking a ride on the monorail loop if you're visiting MK, at least.

I think this is the best and most helpful reply I have ever received on a post Thank you!!!

 

[Momtoapug]

The arcade rooms at the resorts are truly not worth checking out. (DS is a huge fan, so I've spent plenty of time in them at POR, Pop, BC, probably others and none are much better than a good highway rest stop arcade room. And they aren't inexpensive to play.)

I don't think any of the resorts you listed are worth visiting, except to walk around to just see if you like them for future visit. To spend time - like dining - I'd absolutely choose a monorail resort, Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness instead. FW has horses! You can't use the pool at any resort that you aren't a guest at. WL is less expensive than BC or BWI (to stay at).

Suggestion: on your Epcot day, if you want to take a break from the park then take the friendship boat to HS: you'll stop at Boardwalk, then YC/BC, then between Dolphin/Swan, then HS. Its scenic, and the CM often is great - describing the area, new building plans, disney trivia, etc. Its a nice little trip. And you can see the BC pool complex from the boat FWIW.

I love your suggestion for the Epcot day!!! Love it! Thank you!

 

[eric1985]

I have to agree with Amanda. That would be the cheapest and most efficient. I've stayed at all of the Epcot resorts at some point and it is by far my favorite area. The first time I brought my wife (who wasn't my wife at the time) we stayed at the Boardwalk. I wanted to show her the pool at the Beach and Yacht Club and just asked the cast member guarding the pool and they had no problem letting us in to take a look. The Swan and Dolphin are also nice options and while they have less Disney theming, they're location is nice as are the rooms.