I’ve worked at DFB for a while now, and I’ve had some absolutely wild days at my job.

Lydia in EPCOT’s Tiny Train Town

From the kickoff of holiday parties and festivals to super fun media events or interviews with important people in the Disney sphere, this has definitely been my dream job! And getting to visit the parks as often as I do is a huge blessing. But today, I’m here to tell you about a day of work that was shockingly fun, even though I had to ride Disney transportation TWELVE times.

Back in November 2024, I kicked off a day of work by parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center, where I first hopped on the tram from the parking lot to get to security (transportation offering numero uno!). My checklist for the day included a stop at Magic Kingdom and a visit to the Grand Floridian to capture the newly installed holiday decorations.

Magic Kingdom tram

Well, with the decor up at Grand Floridian, why not check to see if the Polynesian Village Resort was decorated for Christmas as well? And wouldn’t ya know it, my hunch was right! For my first stop, I covered the holiday decor at the tropical resort, but then had to leave pretty quickly when something important came up to cover at Magic Kingdom.

The tree was up!

After my Magic Kingdom stop, I ended up traveling to the Contemporary Resort and Wilderness Lodge to check out their holiday decorations (Wilderness Lodge was my first strikeout of the day), and then finally made my way back to the Grand Floridian to take in its glorious 12 Days of Christmas-themed tree. By that point, I’d used Disney transportation 7 times, including rides on Friendship Boats, the Monorail, and the parking lot tram.

Tree at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

My last stop for the day was a visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge, so I took the Monorail BACK to Magic Kingdom, then rode the bus back and forth from the hotel. A ride on the Express Monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center, followed by another jaunt on the tram brought my total transportation rides up to 12 for the day. Good grief! (And we didn’t even touch the Ferryboat or the Disney Skyliner!)

Magic Kingdom Express Monorail

But with all that traveling back and forth, what actually made this “one of my best days of work ever?” Well, it ended up reminding me how much I love exploring the Disney Resorts! I most often get to spend my work days in the parks, sometimes visiting one or two hotels in a day, but during this particular work day, I got to spend a few hours wandering the grounds of some stunning hotels and enjoying relaxing rides on resort transportation (I particularly love a good boat ride). It also helped that I got to capture several Christmas trees and enjoy some stunning decor — I’m a big Christmas girlie!

Disney’s Contemporary Hotel

So what can this mean for your vacation? Well, don’t write off the resorts when you’re coming to stay in Disney World! You could spend an entire day just hotel hopping and have an absolutely lovely time, especially during the holiday season. Each resort has its own unique theme, offerings, dining, and atmosphere to enjoy, and after a few long days in the parks, doing something low-key can be SO relaxing. If I’d had extra time in my day, I might’ve booked a dining reservation at a hotel restaurant or attempted to use the other forms of transportation that I didn’t get to try.

Wilderness Lodge

Ultimately, it’s the under-the-radar things that often make a Disney World visit extra special! For me, that was taking hundreds of pictures of Christmas trees and being tempted to change my permanent address to the Resort Monorail. Even on a day by myself, I got to enjoy some underappreciated Disney magic!

Riviera Resort

So there you have it — a way that you can have an absolutely amazing day in Disney World, and you can even do it for FREE. (If you’re not an Annual Passholder and you want to resort hop, I recommend parking at Disney Springs and taking a bus to your hotel of choice.)

We’ll keep you updated with more tips and tricks for your next Disney vacation!

Click Here to Read About More of My Adventures as a Disney World Reporter!

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WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.

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