Thanksgiving at Disney – Resort Hopping

Exhausted, but excited, we were ready to check in to our Disney resort and do a little resort hopping.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is my favorite value resort at Disney. It features “storybook landscapes seen in such classics as Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid.” The traditional character themes synonymous with Disney are very subtle in the moderate and deluxe categories, but at Art of Animation Resort, they are in your face and larger than life!

We stayed in a standard Little Mermaid room. While furthest from Animation Hall and the Big Blue Pool, Blinky was absolutely delighted with our choice. Even Stinky warmed up to it when he saw the mural tile in the shower.

Animation Classes

Every day at 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 5:00 pm, art classes with a Disney Imagineer, are offered in Animation Hall. We made the 11:00 am class and learned to draw Tigger. This was a super fun activity!

Swan and Dolphin Hotels

Next, we headed out to do a little resort hopping. First up were the Swan and Dolphin hotels. Located in the Epcot Resorts Area, these deluxe, sister hotels are elegantly appointed. Stinky and Blinky maintained they should be called the Swan and Fish hotels.

Yacht Club Resort

Then we hopped over to the Yacht Club Resort. I love the way the Christmas trees tied in the theme of the resort.

Beach Club Resort

A hop, skip, and a jump away is the Beach Club Resort. The DH and I marked this for our next adult-only visit. Ssshhh… don’t tell the kids!

The Boardwalk

We hit The Boardwalk for lunch at ESPN Club, then rode the water taxi to Epcot and back. I expected The Boardwalk to be a lot more active during Thanksgiving week. Instead, many of the kiosks were closed and there was hardly any foot traffic. Still, lovely location to visit. I can just imagine this being an idea spot for family photos.

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The Grand Floridian

The last resort on our list was The Grand Floridian…to see the Gingerbread House of course. Though Stinky lost his brand new Mickey ears hat on the monorail on the way there, we scored our Christmas card photo. #balance

Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds and Chip and Dale Sing-A-Long

Next, we made the trek over to Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds for the Chip and Dale Sing-A-Long. Stinky literally caught on fire roasting marshmallows…not really, but he did swing a burnt marshmallow around wildly and it landed on his sweater. A gentleman nearby swatted it off of him. But when he came back to where we were sitting, he described it as having caught on fire. Oy!

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Disney Springs

To cap off the evening, we headed over to Disney Springs for dinner at Planet Hollywood. Can you believe I remembered to take food pics?!? So good!!

We dragged ourselves back to our resort. As we walked the 25 miles (jk) to The Little Mermaid building, I momentarily wished I’d booked a closer room, but seeing Blinky’s face as we re-entered our room, made the trek worth it. The cherry on top of the sundae was being pixie dusted with all of this waiting in our room. #DisneyMagic #BestDayEver