Touring Resorts at Christmas

[LeilaKens]

We are heading for a very short trip during the Christmas holidays. The first night we arrive, hopefully around 5:00pm, I've planned for us to tour the resorts to look at the decorations. Since we'll be getting a late start, I don't think we'll be able to see all of them.

- How long does each resort take? I’ve seen most of the resorts already so we’ll really only be there to focus on the decorations, snap a couple of pictures, and be on the way to the next one.

- Is 15 minutes at each resort reasonable?

- Also, can you walk between the Epcot resorts?

- How late do the decorations stay lit up?

- And is there anything special worth seeing at the Boardwalk during the holidays?

- Carriage ride at Port Orleans – is this worth it?

Thanks for your help!

 

[goofy4tink]

The decorations at the resorts are lit 24/7, at least that's my experience.
This is how I would tour the resorts....get to MK, then take the monorail to the CR, and then to the GF. You could stop at the Polynesian but it just hasn't been all that great in the past few years. You can also take the boat from the CR over to the WL for a quick visit.
When you get back to MK, take a bus to BW. Then check it out, and walk over to the S/D. Then on to the YC, then BC. Yes, you can walk between all of them. It should take you about an hour to see all of the Epcot resorts. If you can squeeze in AKL, I would try. It's something really different.

I don't really think there is anything 'special' at BW for the holidays. They do sometimes have a choral group out on the Village Green singing.
As for the carriage rides, I can't say for sure since I've never done one.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We also did a very quick trip at Christmas time last year. On our MK day, we took an afternoon break & did the monorail resorts. The Contemporary had a Pinnochio themed display; the Poly was a real disappointment; the GF was beautiful! We had dinner that night at the WL - it was amazing. They had a handbell choir playing in the lobby. That's the only resort where we saw a Photopass photographer taking pics for anyone. We'd pre-purchased the CD, so we took advantage of that!

On our last day, we toured the Epcot area resorts. We did not do the S/D. We saw the tree & the mini train/village at YC; the gingerbread carousel at the BC (amazing!). We then walked across to the BW. They have a large tree outside in the courtyard area. Inside the resort is beautiful! They have tons of garland dripping with ornaments. They had a gingerbread and chocolate display of Donald & Daisy Duck. Next to the GF, I thought the BW was the most elaborately decorated.

Hope this helps & hope you have a fabulous trip!

 

[Dolce27]

It doesn't take long in each resort; it's really just the lobbies that you'll want to see. I stayed at the Boardwalk last Christmas and you can easily walk all three EPCOT resorts plus the Swan and Dolphin. I never stopped off at the Swan but the Dolphin has my favorite Christmas tree on property.

If you want to do a carriage ride, I recommend the Fort Wilderness campground. I did this last Christmas. The campers try to out do each other with the Christmas decorations and it was a great carriage ride to go around the campground and see all of the lights and decoration.

 

[BradyBz12]

FW at night is really fantastic. Lots of campers there are "regulars" every year, and the displays at the campsites seem to grow every year. The closer you get to Christmas the more awesome it gets.

If you're going to plan a trip over there, you might want to squeeze in WL too. If you get yourself to the Contemporary, you can catch the resort boat that goes between there, WL and FW.