Planning where to stay in relation to where you will be spending the most time is one of the keys to planning a super successful Walt Disney World vacation. We are not saying that you can't stay anywhere on property and still have a good time, but these relationships will save you vast amounts of time if you plan on using the resort transportation systems. We will continue to drill down to more detail within the parks, but you are going to start to see a lot more information concerning rides and restaurants as we continue our posts.
In this set of blog posts we are going to outline the available Disney resort hotels in the area, transportation between the hotels and the highlighted park, and a quick breakdown of the areas of the highlighted park.
EPCOT has seen quite a few changes outside the park with the addition of the Skyliner and the newest DVC property, but what is going on inside the park has us really excited. As you will see, the future of EPCOT is bright and the changes will elevate this park back to one of the must do destinations at Walt Disney World for all ages.
Transportation
In this area, we thought it would be beneficial to start with the unique transportation offerings. As you will see, it will let us group the resorts and hotels in a more organized fashion for this area.
Skyliner - This is the newest mode of transportation at Walt Disney World. This gondola system connects 4 of the resort complexes with both Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. It is a continuously moving system and does offer handicap and mobility needs access to the system through a split line in each station. There is a hub station at Caribbean Beach and lines that originate there to Hollywood Studios, EPCOT through Riviera Resort, and the Hourglass Lake Station between Art of Animation and Pop Century resorts. For some of the routes, you may need to change lines at the hub station. It is also important to point out the the EPCOT station is in the World Showcase area and not at the front of the park.
Boats - World Showcase Lake in EPCOT turns into a pretty large waterway system once it exits the park between the France and United Kingdom pavilions. This is where you will find the boarding points for both the Skyliner and boat system for this area. The boats will run a continuous route between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios with stops at Yacht Club, Boardwalk, and the Swan and Dolphin Complex. This is a fun way to travel between the parks, but can get pretty congested and is the most vehicle limited transport system in this area.
Walking - The same resorts serviced by the boat system also offer the ability to walk to both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. The farthest walk to EPCOT is from the Dolphin hotel, but it is still only in the 10-15 minute area depending on your pace. The path from Beach Club is actually right outside the back entrance to EPCOT.
Buses - Although all of the resorts listed have bus service, only Caribbean Beach and Rivera have bus access to EPCOT, and it has been cut back to once per hour to encourage use of the Skyliner system. There is access to all other parks and Disney Springs at the normal intervals from these resort hotels.
EPCOT Resort Hotels
The EPCOT area is currently home to 1 Disney Vacation Club property, 3 Deluxe Resort Hotels, including their DVC properties, 1 Moderate Resort, and the Swan and Dolphin Hotels.
Riviera Resort - The newest of the Disney Vacation Club properties sits to the south of EPCOT and is on the Skyliner route between the Caribbean Beach station and the park. This property is home to 4 dining options including Topolino's Terrace, that offers a fantastic new character breakfast. Rooms will vary from Studios with pull down queen beds to 3 bedroom villas.
Boardwalk Inn and Villas - This resort and Vacation Club complex is nestled in between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. It offers a fantastic boardwalk area with multiple dining options including the higher end Flying Fish and Trattoria al Forno that offers one of the more unique character meals in Walt Disney World.
Beach And Yacht Club - These resorts are connected across the water from the Boardwalk complex. They offer one of the best pool areas in all of Walt Disney World. These are actually the first hotels you get to when you exit out the back gate of Epcot. Dining options in this complex are plentiful and include the high end Yachtsman Steakhouse and Cape May Cafe that host Minnie's Beach Bash Breakfast.
Caribbean Beach Resort - This hotel falls in the moderate category and is the location of the Skyliner hub. What this means, is that all 3 of the lines that currently make up the routes have a platform at this hub. This is also a pretty spread out resort with multiple Disney bus stations. So if you have any mobility issues, make sure that you request a building close to one of these stations. There are a few dining options on site, but nothing to the scale of the other hotels in this area.
Swan and Dolphin Hotels - These are unique properties as they are on WDW property, but they are run by Starwood Properties (Marriott). They do offer many of the benefits of staying onsite Disney, such as Disney transportation and 60 day FastPass booking window, but do not offer the ability to add a dining plan. Additionally, the restaurants at these properties do not accept the dining plans as payment.
As we go through the park, we are going to highlight each section of the park along with a couple of the rides and maybe an eatery. Be on the lookout for our full park episodes where we will break down each park in great detail and follow it up with ride by ride and restaurant by restaurant overviews and reviews.
EPCOT
At the time of writing this blog, EPCOT is in the middle of a huge renovation to the front area of the park. As they complete the new items, we will be updating this post.
Entrance Area (World Celebration) - As you enter the park through the front gates, you will notice 2 things, there is a ton of construction going on around you and the park icon, Spaceship Earth, is right there. It greets you and pulls your eyes up away from the normal park entrance buildings housing gift shops, stroller rental, and other similar locations. Similar to Magic Kingdom, this acts as the wheel and spoke area for the rest of the park.
Future World East (World Discovery) - To the left side behind Spaceship Earth you will find a path that takes you back into this area that currently houses 2 of the thrill rides at this park, Test Track and Mission Space. This will also be the future home of Space 220, an intriguing dining option that will blast you through the atmosphere to dine with a major view, and the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction.
Future World West (World Nature) - This is the current home to 3 of the non nation pavilions, Land, Sea, and Imagination. Each offers multiple learning experiences and at least 1 attraction. The Land and Sea pavilion also house sit down restaurants that can be a welcome option outside of the World Showcase. The future brings a Moana inspired attraction to this area in the "Journey of Water".
World Showcase - Nestled around the creatively named World Showcase Lagoon, 11 nations have pavilions highlighting that nations culture as it pertains to food and wares. Nations that are represented include Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Morocco, Italy, USA, Japan, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As far as rides go back here, Norway is home to Frozen Ever After, the ride that replaced Malestrom, and France will be home to the Remy attraction. All of the pavilions have dining options and this area, as well as most of the rest of the park, will explode with additional buildings during some of the festivals such as food and Wine.
Are you ready to take the next step? Fill out our information form on the Booking Your Trip page and let's talk about your Disney adventure. If you are looking for more information, the Disney Planning Insights Podcasts and Princesses and the Mouse Blogs provide more information to help you plan your next Disney vacation.
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