Let's Hotel Hop at Disney!

I recently traveled with friends to Disney World in Orlando, Fl. We did not enter a theme park, but we did ride different modes of transportation and walk through hotels. The best part: we only spent money on lunch!

We parked at the Disney Springs Watermelon Parking Lot and before we entered, a security check was required. As we strolled around, we stopped by The Boathouse to hear a band perform songs from The Lion King. After the band, we headed to the Rainforest Cafe and embarked on the yellow-flagged boat to Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort (POR). With the weather being a 70-degree breezy day, the 15-minute river tour around the outskirts of Disney Springs and different hotels was restful.

Once we docked at POR, we took a brief look around and then caught a bus to Magic Kingdom. While we rode the bus there, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic about when I was a kid excited for the parks. Along with nostalgia, I recently watched Jane the Virgin where bus ads would speak to her, and I anticipated the same magic. After we arrived and admired the entrance of Magic Kingdom, we boarded the yellow monorail. We did not realize it only reached the Magic Kingdom Parking Lot, but we did get a beautiful view of the hotels and a glimpse of the Cinderella Castle. 

Once we re-arrived at Magic Kingdom, we boarded the orange monorail and went to The Contemporary Resort or as the cast members called it, The Grand Canyon Concourse. We ate lunch at their Contempo Cafe; I ordered the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, with crunchy, cajun seasoned, homemade chips. From our seats, we had views of the monorails that passed through the lobby, and of Mary Blair’s Mural which wrapped around the lobby walls.

The nine-story ceramic mural was brought to life by Blair in 1970 and has remained a representation of the beauty of life the Grand Canyon has offered since the start of America. Before we left, the member experience staff told us about a five-legged goat on Blair’s mural and before we boarded the monorail, we located it. 

Next stop, Polynesian hotel. With luscious greenery and an ocean breeze smell, I felt transported to Hawaii. The hotel had mementos of Lilo and Stitch, Moana, totem poles, bamboo railings, and oversized tiki-huts as its buildings. The grounds were surrounded by palm trees and tropical music. There also was a man-made beach with bungalows nearby. Before we left, we sat inside the lobby on comfy, vibrant chairs to take a brief break. 

With The Grand Floridian next, we hopped on the blue monorail. The Floridian had chandeliers, with white paint and gold trimmings. It was elegant. With items from each, three Disney movies were represented: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Mary Poppins. As we walked around, we noticed alongside one the staircases, a photo booth was set up where a family could choose to take a picture with a replica of Cinderella's glass slipper.

At this point in our hotel-hopping journey, we were onto our last stops, which were Kidani Village and Jambo House, the Animal Kingdom Lodges. With what we thought was enough time to spare before our dinner plans at Disney Springs, we boarded the bus to the lodges. After we got on, we realized those stops were on the other side of Disney, so the ride there took longer than anticipated. Worried we would not make it back in time, we distracted ourselves by singing along to the safari-themed Disney music the bus played. 

Once we arrived at Kidani, we raced out of the bus to see the Safari animals as well as examine the African artifacts in the lobby. To get to Jambo, we took a smaller shuttle that looped around the lodges’ premises. At Jambo, a bridge hung over its lobby and bongos were at the bottom stairwell for use. Both lodges had animals to view which I thought was cool. Because if someone’s on a time crunch, they would not miss out on the experience.

As we headed back to Disney Springs for dinner, exhaustion settled in as we rode our last bus of the day. While we ate at D-Luxe Burger, we reminisced about our day and glad we chose to do it. Hotel-hopping is a must! It’s a fun, mostly free, day of adventure.