There’s so much to love about Disney resorts, right?

Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort

Staying at a Disney hotel gives you special perks like Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours, not to mention the theming can also be an extra dose of magic. However, Disney resort stays are EXPENSIVE and can rack up the cost of your vacation quickly. Resort hopping is a great way to visit each resort and see their offerings without paying to stay there, but how can you see all of them during your trip and still experience all you want to in the park? Here’s Your Ultimate One-Day Plan for Resort Hopping in Disney World.

As a quick reminder, while visiting these hotels you CAN eat at their restaurants (be sure to grab reservations for the ones that require them!), walk around and see what additional activities are offered, but you CANNOT go swimming in the pools (we know, big bummer) or see inside any rooms. Seeing all you want to in one day will take some planning, so let’s get to it!

Have Your List Ready

Before your day begins, make a list of all the Disney World hotels you want to visit. We recommend ranking them in order of the ones you want to see the most to which ones you’d like to see if there’s time.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

Look on Disney World Maps Ahead of Time

Group the resorts you want to visit based on which area of the resort you will be in. If you want to visit all the Magic Kingdom resorts, do them all one after the other so you’re not going back and forth! Starting at the resort you want to see the most and moving outwards from there is what we recommend.

Disney’s Polynesian Resort

Buses aren’t the only way to get around to each resort. You can see three hotels on the Magic Kingdom Resort Monorail, and the Disney Skyliner can take you to multiple resorts as well. Both methods of transportation are usually faster than Disney buses, but some resorts can only be reached by car or bus. This is why planning is so important!

Where to Park

We recommend parking in Disney Springs (since it’s free) and heading to your first Disney resort by bus OR making a dining reservation at your #1 hotel and parking there before using Disney transportation to hop to the others. Keep in mind that you generally CANNOT park at a Disney resort without having a hotel or dining reservation at that resort. 

We love that Disney Springs parking is free!

With DOZENS of places to eat at Disney World, we know it can be tough to plan your meals. That’s why we wrote the DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World. We have reviews, pictures and details about every restaurant all in one digital download – along with ALL of our best tips and strategies from decades of Disney World trips. We’ve got a special discount code for DFB readers, too! Use WDW2022 at checkout for 25% off!

Know What You Want To See & Once Again, Look At Maps

Know what you want to see in each resort! Is it the Big Blue Pool at Art of Animation? Maybe it’s the lobby of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, or Chef Mickey’s at The Contemporary Resort. Whatever it may be, make sure you know where you want to go when you arrive at a resort. Keep in mind as well that some resorts have internal bus systems, so take a look at the map to know what stop is closest to what you want to see.

Big Blue Pool

Factor in Meals

If you’ve got specific restaurants or treats you want to try, plan to hit those around the times you normally want to eat so you’re accomplishing multiple things in one trip! Or, as we mentioned earlier, you can make a dining reservation at your first hotel, park there, and then continue on your merry way.

‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Keep an Eye on Those Bus Times!

Disney Springs is open quite late, but the buses from each resort don’t always run as late as it’s open. So keep an eye on the bus times so you’re not stranded at a hotel longer than you were planning and can make it back to your car with ease. If you parked at a hotel, keep an eye on what time the modes of transportation back to the hotel run as well.

Caribbean Beach Skyliner Station

However, if you do find yourself somewhere with no transportation running, don’t panic! Uber and Lyft both pick up and drop off guests all around Disney World, so just call for a ride on your phone to get yourself back to your car.

Rideshare pick-up zone

Need help deciding what hotels you should visit? We’ve made plenty of videos and posts ranking all the Disney World hotels and their restaurants to help you decide. Disney hotels are pretty amazing, so if you’ve got extra time during your vacation, we highly recommend some resort hopping. And as always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney hotel news.

These 31 things you can ONLY get at Disney World hotels!

Which hotel is number 1 on your list to visit? Let us know below!