>As I alluded to in the last post, one of the greatest things about Walt Disney World is their Resorts. But for first timers and even for people who have been to Disney a few times, there are Unknown Magics that can be missed when staying at a Disney Resort. They are actually the other Walt Disney World Resorts! No matter where you are staying on Disney Property, you are allowed to visit the other Resorts, or as my family calls it, Hotel Hopping. So I offer for you today the Unknown Magic of Hotel Hopping.

If you drive to Disney World, you get a parking pass for the Resort where you are staying. This parking pass, allows you to park at all the Theme Parks and also at all the Resorts for Free. And if you didn’t drive to Disney World, You can still Hotel Hop by using Disney transportation. The buses run from every Resort to every Theme Park, and Water Park, as well as Downtown Disney. If you catch a bus from your resort to any park, you can get on a bus to any other Resort. The buses are your main mode of transportation to The Animal Kingdom Lodge, The All Star Movie, All Star Music, All Star Sports, and Pop Century Resorts. They are also the Main way to get to the Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs Resorts. If you are in the Magic Kingdom, you can take the Monorail to The
 Contemporary, The Polynesian or The Grand Floridian Resorts. You can also take a boat from the Magic Kingdom and these Resorts to The Wilderness Lodge Resort and Fort Wilderness Campground. Boats are also available from Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios to The Dolphin and Swan Resorts, Beach and Yacht Club Resort and Boardwalk Resort. A different set of boats run between Downtown Disney, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs and the Port Orleans Resorts.

This is a great thing! It means that if you are staying at any resort, you can visit all the other Walt Disney World Resorts. This means that if you are staying in one of the All Star resorts, you can still go to any of the other resorts to hang out, or get a meal. We absolutely Love this. Whenever My Family is in Disney World we Hotel Hop almost every day; that’s not to say we don’t enjoy where we are staying, it’s just that we enjoy taking our afternoon break from the parks, at different Resorts, because if you take the time to look, you will find Magical experiences at all of them.

Most of the time we go to the other Resorts for Food; we really enjoy the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs, and it seems that we always eat at least one meal of our trip at the Kona Café in the Polynesian Resort. Sometimes, we just go to the Polynesian Resort and sit by the indoor waterfall or better yet, we go out back and walk on the white sand beach, with its wonderful view of the Magic Kingdom. As stated in the post from 8/9 (See Something Grand) I love going to the Contemporary
 Resort and hanging out in the Grand Canyon Concourse. Our Favorite though (as stated many times in past posts) is the Boardwalk, both at night and during the day we will go there for good food and some Magical Family Experiences.

Another really great place you can go for a Magical Family Experience, is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. You can go to the viewing area above the Savannah and watch the animals roam and eat. If you have kids, especially ones between 3-12 years old, this is a great place to take an afternoon break. They will
spend a good amount of time standing and watching and even trying to find as many animals as they can. And while they are doing that, you can sit inside the lobby watching them from an air conditioned seat.

But the more expensive Resorts aren’t the only ones to visit. The All-Star Movies, Music and Sports are very cool Resorts to go and check out. The Themes in these resorts is awesome. From the Giant Bowling Pins to the pool shaped like a guitar, they are fun to go and see, as are the Moderate Resorts on Disney Property. The French Quarter looking rooms in Port Orleans or the Colors of the Resort and the layout of the Coronado Springs Resort are really cool.

All of these Disney Resorts have something special to offer. At many of them you can also “Pool Hop”, meaning that if you aren’t staying there, you can still go there to use the pool. All of the Pools are amazing. There are some restrictions for Pool Hopping at different times of the year, so check with the concierge at your Resort or with a Cast member at the front desk to find out about these restrictions.  Another good reason to Hotel Hop is to check out the other Resorts to see if you might want to stay there on your next Disney Trip.
So, now you know, no matter what Resort you are staying in you can go to another and look around, have a meal or even spend the day. Doing this may create a Magical Experience for your Family, or it may just help you decide where to stay on your next Walt Disney World Vacation. So, during your visit, take some time at the other Resorts, I promise it’ll be worth the hop.