How do You View Holiday Decor at the Resorts?

NYCgrrl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Do you dedicate one day to seeing the sights?
Do you plan it to coincide with events or ADRs?
Or something else?

Please note what kind of transportation you use as well especially if you spend a day doing the tour: Disney public transport(monorail, boat, bus or a combo); Minnie Vans or Uber/Lyft or your car?

We'd like to view all the various resorts in the most time efficient manner sort of like strolling NYC's department store holiday windows with food stops along the way so please give of your pro tips :).
 
I have never thought to do that at all. With so much going on in the parks, the thought of resort hopping to see decorations has never crossed our mind.

Now with ADRs at different resorts we have seen different decorations and they were lovely.
 
We'd like to view all the various resorts in the most time efficient manner sort of like strolling NYC's department store holiday windows with food stops along the way so please give of your pro tips :).

If you are going from Thanksgiving week to very early January, the main resorts to visit would be GF, WL, AKL and the Epcot/Boardwalk resorts (mainly BC and BWI). Combining food/park visits with short stops to see the decorations is probably the best bet. Brief parking at the resorts is typically allowed but the lots may be closed to non-resort-guests if it is crowded.

If you are already at the MK, it's easy to take the boat over for a lunch break at WL or GF (the Cafe for table service or Gasparillas for quick service - the monorail is also an option for getting to the GF).

The Epcot resorts are a short walk or boat ride from the World Showcase exit of Epcot - I prefer combining resort vists with sushi dinner at Kimonos at the Swan followed by a funnel cake on the Boardwalk (hopefully) while watching a little entertainment from an amusing magician/juggler act.

I love the Boma buffet at AKL (Jiko is a nice table service and Mara is a quick service option near the pool) and try to get there a little early (before sunset) to see the animals on the savanna behind the lobby, as well as enjoy the big tree and decorations.

Moderates like Coronado Springs and POFQ have decent decorations but not as impressive as some of the deluxes.

But tastes and opinions vary...
 
We did a monorail tour last year, which was fun. If you want to add WL and Ft. W to that, you can catch a boat from CR that goes to those resorts. I would also consider taking a wagon or sleigh ride in the evening at Ft. W to see the campground decorations. You could definitely do all of that in an afternoon/evening. We start at Poly at 4 pm and get drinks at Trader Sams, head to GF for gingerbread, then go to CR. I would probably then take a boat to WL for dinner - we like Whispering Canyon and Artist Point, but all of the MK resorts have good restaurants. Then Ft. W for the sleigh ride.

You could tour all of the EP resorts in an evening which I would suggest as you'll then see the entertainment on the Boardwalk. You can walk there from EP or DHS if you are in those parks or bus to DHS from your resort and simply boat or walk over.
 


I'm planning it this year! We're staying at POFQ. On our AK day we're doing breakfast at Boma & checking out the AK resort. On our MVMCP day we're monorailing to GF, CR, & Polynesian. On our HS day we're boating/walking to BW, BC, & YC. On our departure day we're busing to MK & boating to WL for lunch at Geyser Point & checking out decor. I may switch this up based on, you know, life, but the idea is to cover things while in the area. There are holiday decor tour plans out there for hitting up most of the resorts in one day- check them out! That would just be too much for us. I'm really looking forward to it!
 
I'm planning a holiday resort tour in December. We're going for the weekend to celebrate my birthday, and my plan is to get our family's picture taken in front of each of the nine huge, iconic Disney Christmas trees.

We're driving to Disney on Friday and staying at the Swan, so Friday evening we'll see the Swan and Dolphin Christmas decorations (my kids love the train that goes around the Dolphin's tree) and the chocolate Santa display. Since Animal Kingdom Lodge is a little out of the way, we'll go there tonight as well. We'll probably walk or take the boat to HS and from there catch the bus to AK and get our picture taken with the first of the icon tress, and maybe get something to eat whilewe're there.

Then on Saturday we're going to all four parks, so we'll get our picture taken in front of each of those four icon trees. I hear that they're moving the one at HS inside the park this year?

Sunday is our holiday resort tour. We'll walk over to the Yacht & Beach clubs and see the decorations and the gingerbread displays there, and then we'll walk over and see the Boardwalk Inn. Then we'll catch a bus to MK but instead of entering the park we'll walk to the Contemporary and get our photo taken with the giant tree there. Then we'll take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. This is my favorite! We'll get our picture with the icon tree, get a chocolate-dipped gingerbread shingle from the gingerbread house shop, and probably sit and listen to the pianist and people watch for a while. Then we'll walk to the Poly because I like their decorations even though they don't have an icon tree. Then I guess we'll take the monorail back to MK and take the boat to Wilderness Lodge. Then we'll get a bus to Disney Springs to get our picture with the last icon tree and walk the Christmas Tree trail, then take the boat back to the Swan.

There is a LOT to see!
 
We always make time to resort hop during the holidays. In general we tend to plan additional time around any ADR's we have in the area of the resorts we want to visit, but we have blocked off an afternoon just to stroll through them.

There is a lot to see and we look at the decorations as part of our Disney Holiday festivities.
 


In December of 2015 we went to the GF one night after MK and then the Contemporary before MVMCP. It was also an excuse to ride the monorail :D
 
I have never thought to do that at all. With so much going on in the parks, the thought of resort hopping to see decorations has never crossed our mind.

Now with ADRs at different resorts we have seen different decorations and they were lovely.
At home it's a tradition for us so it would be sorta like a little bit of the known mixed with something different:). Although I will say we tend not to plan it much in NYC. Sitting around the couch and bored? Hey let's go look at the store displays in the middle of the night, LOL.
 
When we visit during the holidays we try to set aside some time to view all the decor at the deluxe resorts. We always have Ohana on the first night of our Disney trips, so for a holiday trip we tour all the decor on the monorail route before or after dinner that first night.

We usually try to stay at Wilderness Lodge for any holiday trips, but if not we always find time to visit. We either book an ADR there or take a MK break and boat over there for an hour or two.

We also book an ADR somewhere among the Epcot resorts and spend the evening touring those resorts and the Boardwalk entertainment after that dinner.

Other than those resorts the only other one we try to make a point to see is AKL.

We think they are definitely worth time away from the parks for a bit. It really puts you in the holiday spirit!
 
We definitely try to take breaks during the day to go to the resorts nearest whichever park we are at that day.
 

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