One evening in Orlando spent leisurely strolling along the Disney Boardwalk introduced us to the jaw-dropping beauty and nostalgia of the Disney Boardwalk Inn. This piqued my interest in how the other countless Disney resort hotels might be decorated and soon we were planning to spend our last bit of time in Orlando touring various Disney World resorts. Here is our half-day itinerary of resort hopping, Walt Disney World style! Pro-tip: take advantage of the free transportation within the Walt Disney World system, from buses on land to water taxis (in water…) to the Skyliner gondolas up above to take you along your Disney resort hopping adventure!

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

As stated above, the Disney’s BoardWalk Inn was the first Disney Resort we visited, as part of our visit to the Disney Boardwalk. Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is supremely cute and nostalgic. It follows the theme of an old-school Boardwalk complete with arcade lights and a wonderful part-chandelier, part-carousel. The back of the Inn opens up to a lawn featuring Disney movies under the stars on an outdoor projector, adjacent to the actual Disney Boardwalk. Everything is quite literally picturesque and very iconically Disney. The Boardwalk encircles a lake and is home to many Disney resort favorites like Jellyrolls dueling piano bar, shops, and restaurants.

Disney’s Boardwalk Resort is a convenient walking distance (or a fun and free ride on the Disney Skyliner) away from Epcot, and a short water taxi ride away from Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

I loved our stroll along the boardwalk, gazing out at the water reflecting the building lights, seeing the water taxis roam back and forth, and joining the small crowds gathering around street performers. It was so peaceful and plain old fashioned fun.

How To See Disney Fireworks Without A Theme Park Ticket

One of the main reasons we visited the Disney Boardwalk at night was to catch a glimpse of the Disney World nightly fireworks shows. Magic Kingdom’s firework show, Disney Enchantment, was scheduled for 8:00pm (show times change seasonally, please see website for confirmed time) and Epcot’s firework show, Harmonious, was scheduled for 9:00pm when we were there in February. There are a few places you can watch these nighttime Disney firework shows from outside the parks (and thus, without a park admission ticket):

• At the top of the Orange Garage at Disney Springs
• Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, near Jellyrolls
• Stand on the bridge connecting the Disney Boardwalk and the Beach Club resorts, nearest Atlantic Dance Hall (this gives a very good view of the Epcot fireworks, but the view of Magic Kingdom’s show is obstructed by trees)
• 4th floor observation deck at Disney’s Contemporary Resort (reportedly free for non-resort guests as well)
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort beach: the nighttime show music is also piped in so you can get the maximal experience!

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort brings sketches to life in your favorite animated characters. The lobby is somehow both minimalistic and stunningly decorated with blown up sketches and draft drawings from Disney films, in a timeline from earliest by the front door to most recent animation technology deeper inside the hotel lobby. Even the chandelier outside the gift shop/cafeteria area maintained the whimsical sketchbook theme.

Choose from sections of the resort designed to immerse you in the storylines of Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King, or The Little Mermaid!

The Art of Animation Resort is home to the largest resort pool in all of the Walt Disney Resort Pools. It is also on the Skyliner route, making it an easy pick for a resort hopping adventure!

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort was a short walk away from our next stop on the Disney resort hopping adventure:

Disney’s POP Century Resort

This resort felt a bit older (but not run down, by any means) and somehow even a bit of aging is something Disney manages to pull off in this themed resort. Disney’s POP Century Resort takes you back down memory lane with each building’s decor centering around the fads of the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s. Wandering around a gigantic Rubik’s Cube, a tub of Play-Doh, a Walkman, a team of 12-foot tall Foosball men, and even a stack of floppy disks is just something you can only do at Disney.

After exploring Disney’s POP Century Resort, you’ll be on your way via a fun ride on the Disney Skyliner to…

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Okay I’ll just go ahead and say it: I found this one a bit boring, especially coming straight from the Art of Animation Resort and POP Century Resort. But maybe… Disney wanted it that way? Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is supposed to feel laid back and serene, with palm leaf fan blades rotating languidly above and a relaxation area fit with seating nooks to watch the sunset/sunrise over the bay.

This resort is split up into 5 little villages meant to embody the spirit of the islands of Barbados, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, and Aruba. As we were non-guests simply resort-hopping our way through, we only saw the outside of these buildings but it felt a bit like walking around a cutely decorated…apartment complex. I’d say it’s okay to skip the Caribbean Beach Resort on your Disney resort hopping tour if you’re short on time.

We finished with the Caribbean Beach Resort rather quickly and walked down the water toward:

Disney’s Riviera Resort

Alright, so this one is a fancy one. Disney’s Riviera Resort is Europe-themed. A sweeping outdoor courtyard is home to bocce ball, giant chess, and a bar restaurant in Grecian décor. You’ll also find a rooftop restaurant serving French and Italian fare (complete with a triple “$$$” price tag designation). Disney’s Riviera Resort is also along the Disney Skyliner route, so it’s easy to get to and from on your Disney resort hopping day.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Oh, this resort isn’t on the Skyliner route? No fear! We simply rode the Disney Skyliner from the Riviera Resort to Disney’s Hollywood Studios park, from which a (free) shuttle bus picked us up and brought us to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The bus is no-questions-asked, so don’t feel nervous about getting on. It’s part of the intra-Disney transportation system and is quite convenient!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is…in a word, stunning. It is split into Jambo House (the main lodge) and Kidani Village (a smaller section for the Disney Vacation Club), both of which have semicircular configurations of rooms and viewing areas overlooking safaris. Completely separate from the Disney Animal Kingdom Theme Park, the Animal Kingdom Lodge has its own set of over 30 species of resident animals living in 4 savannas on the resort property. Hotel guests can be delighted by animals right outside their balconies, but you do not have to be a guest to enjoy the views!

Upon entering Jambo House, you will find yourself standing in a 6-story lobby, ending posteriorly with a gigantic window overlooking one of the safaris. We visited in mid-day, but I wish we had time to see the lobby at sunrise and sunset— the rich warm tones would absolutely glow with the right lighting. Fun fact: outside of Africa, the largest collection of African art is actually in the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Animals in the safaris can be viewed 24 hours per day, however the animals tend to be most active early in the morning and around 5pm during feeding time. As non-resort guests just doing our Disney Resort Hopping on our own, we found spots to view animals at the outdoor viewing areas immediately outside the back of the lobby, as well as along the corridors of the second floor fitted with large viewing windows. Some sections of the second floor (closer to the lobby area) also had outdoor public balconies with rocking chairs that would be the perfect place to relax with a cup of coffee while gazing out at the gazelle and wildebeest!