For the most part, my writing revolves around the things that you can see and do and experience at Walt Disney World. It has only been recently that I realized that I really don’t write a whole lot about some of the best aspects of the Walt Disney World resort – the resorts themselves! So for today, I’m going to give you my top five things to do at the Disney resorts!
One thing that I find interesting is that even though we have stayed on property at Walt Disney World for five years in a row, we have only stayed at three different resorts. So, this may not include some of the great things that you think of when you think of the great things to do at the Disney resorts.
- Walking the grounds over at Coronado Springs Resort and Spa. My friend Chris will definitely disagree with me on this, because she just doesn’t like Coronado Springs very much, but in my
opinion, Coronado Springs is one of the best moderates in the Disney arsenal. Like many of the moderates, how much you think of the resort depends on where you end up, for our first stay there, we were just a hop, skip, and a jump from the main building and the big pool, and the décor at that part of the resort was incredible! I loved it. For the second year, though, we were further out, and truth be told, that part of the resort felt much more like a hotel, although I think that was because we were further away from the bus stops. However, take a look at the picture and imagine yourself there right now. - The resorts over at Port Orleans are perhaps some of Disney’s best-kept secrets (even more so than the DVC!) Port Orleans French Quarter is one of my favorite resorts on property, and there are several reasons for that, but the one that I’m referring to here is taking the Water Taxi down the Sassagoula River to Downtown Disney. This scenic trip down that lazy, man-made waterway is a relaxing trip from one of the quietest resorts on property to the hustle and bustle of the Disney Shopping experience. On your way there, or back if you are coming from Downtown Disney, you will see the Treehouse Villas and other Disney properties. If you don’t want to go to DTD, you can also take the water taxies upriver to POFQ’s sister resort, Port Orleans Riverside.
- At all three resorts that we have stayed at, we have enjoyed the pools that they have on property. The pool at Port Orleans French Quarter is named Doubloon Lagoon, and features a waterslide out of a sea serpent’s mouth! At Coronado Springs it is named the Dig Site, and features distinct Mayan theming. At Bay Lake Tower, the pool looks like a giant hidden Mickey, and while it doesn’t have any really impressive theming associated with it, it does have a kicken’ water slide that is really a lot of fun! We always seem to find some time to enjoy the pools at our resorts, and I don’t think that will change anytime soon!
- The next thing on my list is something that I have done, even though I have never stayed at this resort – yet, that is! When we ate at Boma this past June, after we were done eating we went out and explored the pool area over at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. While we were checking it all out, we came upon the part of AKL where you could look through the night-vision glasses to see the animals on the savannah! I had never looked through those glasses before, and while I didn’t see anything that I could actually identify, it was really cool to be able to experience that! The Cast Members loan out the glasses for people to use, and it is a free experience, so if you are interested, I suggest that you check it out! Our plan is to stay at the Animal Kingdom Villas next year, so we will show our friends this hidden treasure so that they can enjoy it as well!
- For my final activity, one of the things that I really enjoyed doing was to take in the Boardwalk over by Epcot’s International Gateway. Last year, when we took my niece Stephanie to Disney with us, one of the things that we did was to eat at the Captain’s Grille for dinner, and afterwards we went walking on the boardwalk. It was the first time that I had been there, and we had such a good time there, it is really something that we should do more often. Walking the boardwalk, watching the sun go down and the buildings light up, catching some of the street performer acts, it is really an incredible thing to do on a mild summer’s evening.
So that wraps up my top five things to do at the Disney resorts. I hope that you have enjoyed reading my take on the resorts, and if you have been inspired to try some things out that you might not have done yet, then go for it, and discover the great things that the Disney resorts have to offer! What things would you recommend that we do during our next trip?
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