We will be in the WDW area soon and would like to see the Gingerbread houses and resort decorations. We also enjoy eating and shopping at resorts to get a taste of the magic since we will not be going to any parks during this trip. During our last non-park visit, we paid to park at MGM to do a Skyliner Tour, and at TTC to do a monorail tour, so I’m familiar with how that works. My question involves parking at Boardwalk, Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, AK Lodge and Coronado Springs. We will be going in the middle of the week, mid December. My specific questions are 1) Is your parking time monitored if we want to walk the lake and hit Beach, Yacht and Boardwalk all in one afternoon or do we need to drive to each resort? 2) I read somewhere that Coronado is difficult to park at unless you’re a guest or with a convention. If that’s the case, what’s the best way to get there? 3) How is parking at WL or do I need to plan to visit while doing a monorail tour and take a boat from MK–(I don’t really like boats)? Thanks!
Not possible without a dining reservation. This time of year they get super strict about it, too.
Your parking time is not monitored, but again you’ll not be able to park at any of these locations without a dining reservation.
If you’re not having a dining reservation at one of these resorts (or multiple, if you want to park at each resort) then you’ll need to park at TTC or a park and use Disney transportation to get around.
You could park at DHS and do the Epcot resorts from there. Walk, boat or Skyline to the resorts.
Or you can pay to park at the Swan / Dolphin.
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Not possible without a dining reservation.
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So true. FWIW, the last 2 times we we stayed at WDW and drove our car to another resort for a dining reservation, the guard at the resort’s parking lot entrance actually looked up the reservation on some sort of hand-held thingamajig after asking for my name.
Thank you!
Bus from DHS, AK, or Disney Springs - all are pretty close. For direct parking, you could consider an ADR for apps at Toledo if you’re visiting on Weds or Thurs? (You could also consider an ADR for apps at Jiko for AKL - wild boar tenderloin highly recommended. 
)
You’re probably stuck with a bus from a non-MK park or Disney Springs if you don’t want to boat or eat a full meal (too bad Geyser Point won’t count for an ADR).
ETA: I forgot that Whispering Canyon has things other than the skillets! Nachos or a slice of cake? 
Would a Minnie van be able to take you to resorts without an ADR? Internet suggests yes… It’s pricey, but it could allow you to hop from CSR / AKL to WL without needing to hit a park in between.
Yeah, WL can be tricky for parking. But there is a bus from MK and also FW. I think outside of the really busy weeks, you could park at FW and take the bus to WL. But you might want to check - I know they “locked down” FW to non resort-guests at Halloween.
I like thinking through how to do this since I loooooove resort hopping. Disney transportation conundrums are something I like to solve. I have a version that I’ve done, but it uses my AP to walk from back of Epcot to the front. I think this would work thought to cover a lot of them.
I haven’t had issues parking at Coronado. My husband and I really like eating at Three Bridges. So, telling the guard that seems to work for us, but as per usual w/ parking at resorts, YMMV without a reservation.
- Park at TTC
- Monorail to Poly, GF, and then Contemporary
- Boat from Contemporary to WL
- Bus from WL To Hollywood Studios
- Boat to Boardwalk area to visit Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Yacht
- Skyliner (stop at resorts as you like) and go back to Hollywood Studios
- Bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Bus back to MK
- Monorail or Ferry back to TTC
I would also consider going from AKL to DS. You could visit some decorations there and get some holiday treats. That would then give you easy access to a bus to Coronado. Then take the bus from Coronado back to MK.
Depending on when you want to start your day, you could also, in theory, park at DS and then start w/ a bus to the Poly from there, ending back at DS.
Hehe I did’t realize the question was about how to navigate around. I only answered the “can I park in these places” question
Personally I would start at TTC, make my way wherever I wanted to be around 7Seas and then take a bus to HS and skyliner to the Epcot area resorts (and Riv, CBR, Pop/Aoa if desired), and then hitting a bus to the rest (CSR was mentioned I think)
Ha, I just ran with “what’s the best way to get there?” (for Coronado) and went off the rails after that. 
Love it!!
Headed to WDW area next week so I will be sure to check back in and share my experience and the answers to my own questions for future reference to anyone wondering the same. Thanks y’all!
@amvanhoose_701479 - this was the similar topic in case it helps. 