[CraigSca]

My family and I live in the area and are annual passholders, so I'll give my 2 cents regarding the resorts.

Magic Kingdom, when originally designed, was meant to be separate from society. To reinforce that intent, you therefore have to travel either by monorail or boat to actually get into the park.

There are a few resorts that reside directly on that monorail system that will therefore give you direct access to the parks (Grand Floridian, Polynesian and the Contemporary). Mind you, these monorail rides are also the main avenue for the masses (people who drove there for the day) to get to the park as well. We just stayed at the Wilderness Lodge this past weekend, and they have a small boat that goes directly to the Magic Kingdom. The only hotel that has a walking path from Magic Kingdom is the Contemporary.

Now, the monorail is a great mode of travel (and should be part of the "must-dos"), but when the parks close, all of humanity are trying to get on the monorail at the same time (as well as leave the park - they will actually open up a separate exit that runs parallel to Main street solely to get out of the park). The best thing to do is not leave right after the fireworks show (which is incredible). Either leave before, or leave an hour or two after (if the park is still open). Most people leave right after the fireworks but if you stay, you may find yourself in a nearly empty park with every ride open to you.

To get to Epcot, the monorail has a connection from the Magic Kingdom side to the Epcot side. This is the same junction where the Magic Kingdom parking lot resides. So, if you're at a Magic Kingdom resort (Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian) you take the monorail to Epcot via this junction by leaving the Magic Kingdom line and getting on the Epcot one (yes, you can take buses too, but the most "fun" route is the monorail).

There are also Epcot resorts - namely, The Boardwalk (excellent boardwalk on a lake with restaurants, magicians, ESPN the Zone, etc), The Beach Club (opposite side of the lake) and the Yacht Club (right next to the Beach Club). The Dolphin and the Swan also reside here (not Disney resorts, but they do have a lot of the same perks including magic hours). The cool thing about the Epcot resorts is that they are a short walk away from Epcot's International Gateway entrance (located between the UK and France in the back of the park). Why is this great - well, once done with Epcot, you don't have to face the huge groundswell of people leaving the park at the entrance, you literally can just walk back to your bedroom through the International Gateway (it's also a much shorter line to get into the park). Also note that any of the resorts in the Epcot area are easy access to the Boardwalk, so you may not necessarily stay there, but you can still have fun on the Boardwalk. Hollywood Studios also is a short boat ride from these resorts, or you can actually walk the route if you want to.

So, I've probably bored the heck out of you and given you lots of irrelevant info. I will say that we have only stayed on-site since we moved here over 6 years ago (mind you, we don't stay a week, usually 2 or 3 nights stays). Staying as a resident is a little different - we have never taken advantage of free dining (when available), but I do highly recommend the Tables in Wonderland card for frequent goers, as it gives you 20% off all meals and drinks at sit-down restaurants on Disney properties. If you come often throughout the year, it pays for itself.

My family loves Epcot, especially the Food and Wine Festival (in the fall), the Flower and Garden Festival (in the spring) and even now the Festival of the Arts in Jan/Feb. In November you also can't go wrong in general as they decorate the heck out of all the resorts and parks for Christmas - it's beautiful. In fact, the only time Epcot does NOT have extra pavilions up with different food/drink items is the busy period during the summer.

A couple last things, someone mentioned spending a day at Disney Springs. Could not agree more - it's changed a LOT the past couple years, especially from a food perspective. Incredible restaurants as well as food stands (highly recommend the poutine stand). It's like the Epcot Food and Wine Festival found a permanent home. Finally, there ARE a lot of great bars at Disney, especially themed ones. Trader Sams at Grog's Grotto (at the Polynesian) is a blast, the Geyser Point Bar and Grill at the Wilderness Lodge is an outdoor spot with really good food, Cava del Tequila has a huge tequila selection located in the Mexico pavilion of Epcot and there are some great new ones at the Springs (Enzo's Hideaway, which is made to look like a '20's speakeasy).