has anyone tried an "afternoon break" in a resort lobby???

[pktbMouse]

Well... since I don't know the people who are paying all that money to stay in the posh hotels, I really don't care what they think, as long as my family gets to enjoy their break & recharge...

love considerate people like you , you make my vacation..

 

[deannaf87]

I would not think twice about seeing a family sitting in a lobby even if an 8 year old was stretched out sleeping. Disney is exhausting for little legs. What I would do is schedule a late lunch at a monorail resort, fill your bellies, and then take a bit to relax in the lobby. If your kid needs a quick nap, let her(him? sorry didn't catch that)lay down if there is room.

As for that being disturbing to the guests of the resort, can't they just go to their rooms? They are paying top dollar for them after all.

 

[disneyworldaddict]

I love taking park breaks at the resorts, of course this is why I stay on property. But when I don't want to go all the way back to my resort I walk from World Showcase to Beach Club. I get a delicious seafood soup which is a snack option on the DDP and relax, shop etc. Or I hop a monorail and go over to Poly for piña colada or a stroll around Contempory or take a boat to Wilderness Lodge. That's an amazing lobby, a great place to sit in front of the fireplace and dry off after it rains.

 

[AnOtHeRdIsNeYfReAk]

I take breaks at the resorts all the time, but I usually coincide the break with a lunch/early dinner at whatever resort. Usually we limit it to the monorail resorts and also ride the monorail a few times, do a bit of shopping, and sometimes just sit and appreciate the atmosphere. Napping however is not something anyone in my family will ever do in a resort, but the monorail is a whole 'nother story. I can't count how many times one of us has unintentionally fallen asleep!! Now we just go with it.

 

[MrsHull]

This whole thing is actually a question that is easily answered. Many times we have driven up to the gate at a Deluxe and said, "We're not staying here, but we'd like to take a look around the hotel and do some shopping." As long as there are free spots in the parking lot we are always waved right in.

We just need someone to drive up to a Deluxe hotel and say, "We're not staying here, but we'd like to let our 8-year-old stretch out on one of the couches in the lobby and take a nap."

I'm totally not being snarky...I wonder what they would say? Disney is pretty accommodating...part of me thinks they would wave you right in.

(Even so, I still think it's not cool to nap in the lobby unless you're a baby in a stroller or in a parent's arms)

So much, this. Drive up and tell them you're there to nap in the lobby and you would sound like a homeless person. I am one of those folks who is paying for the perk of staying in a monorail resort. If I get there and find squatters, I'd be likely to make such a ruckus that they couldn't sleep anyway.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

So much, this. Drive up and tell them you're there to nap in the lobby and you would sound like a homeless person. I am one of those folks who is paying for the perk of staying in a monorail resort. If I get there and find squatters, I'd be likely to make such a ruckus that they couldn't sleep anyway.

Nobody is squatting.

 

[MrsHull]

Nobody is squatting.

Definition of a squatter:

1. Squatting is an action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building – usually residential – that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use.
   
   If you are purposefully seeking out a quiet spot to sleep in a hotel that rents rooms at a nightly rate that you are not paying, you are a squatter by definition.

 

[nanalisa]

While I might worry about a few things during my Disney vacation, who is resting in the lobby is not one of them. I can't imagine walking into our lobby and seeing someone with their eyes closed and giving two hoots about it.

 

[Grandma G]

In 1989, our nephew and granddaughter (then seven and four) slept blissfully away through all of the courses of a wonderful late-evening dinner while snuggled - under sparkling white Victoria and Albert's linens - in impromptu beds fashioned for them by two members of the restaurant's amazing (and not-at-all-challenged-by-tired-and-sleepy-children) staff. And if there was a frown among all of the smiles in the dining room that night, I didn't see it.

So, I tend to think that what passes muster upstairs at The Grand Floridian shouldn't cause too much concern ... in the lobby.

ETA: My husband and I certainly didn't intend for the children to nap through that evening. We were, however, guilty (as are many of WDW's grown-up visitors) of planning too much, too late, for them to manage that day. And I do believe that there is a distinct difference between an inappropriate adult plan to use a hotel's public spaces as they would a bedroom (for themselves and/or for their child) and the spontaneous response of an exhausted little girl or boy to a comfy sofa within those public spaces. Only the second, I think, deserves a smile ...

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Definition of a squatter:

1. Squatting is an action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building – usually residential – that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use.
   
   If you are purposefully seeking out a quiet spot to sleep in a hotel that rents rooms at a nightly rate that you are not paying, you are a squatter by definition.

Disney hotel lobbies aren't abandoned. Strike one. Disney hotel lobbies aren't unoccupied. Strike two. And people are not barred by Disney from taking a short nap in them so they indeed are allowed by Disney to use them. Strike three. You're out. Nobody taking a short break from the parks in Disney hotel lobbies, and other public sitting areas which is the subject of this thread, meets the definition of squatting by any reasonable standard.

 

[acresse]

There is a woman that sits daily in the GF lobby. She comes there with a suitcase covered in stuffed animals. We have seen her so many times, we thought she lived there like Eloise at the plaza. Finally curiosity got the better of us and we asked her. She is not a guest, she used to come there with her now deceased husband, and she visits daily to remember him and enjoy the atmosphere. The Gf staff is aware of her, and as of June 2015 she was not asked to leave.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

My personal opinion.. It crosses a line when people are sleeping in the lobbies. Call me heartless or elitist but, I'm just being honest.

I think we all agree everyone should enjoy all the resorts.. Check them out, relax, have a drink, shop in their stores. All good... Just please don't use a resort like a camping spot. Lol

I think you nailed it Kristine. For the people who thinks its okay to sleep in the lobby of the Beach Club or the Grand Floridian, where do you draw the line? You can only sleep in the lobby during park hours? Why not just sleep at the Beach Club all night if Epcot is having EMH the next morning? Then you can just pop right over.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

So much, this. Drive up and tell them you're there to nap in the lobby and you would sound like a homeless person. I am one of those folks who is paying for the perk of staying in a monorail resort. If I get there and find squatters, I'd be likely to make such a ruckus that they couldn't sleep anyway.

if you see a person sleeping in a chair in the lobby, how do you tell if they are "squatters" or simply someone with reservations at that hotel waiting for their room to be cleaned, waiting for their family at the snack bar, killing time between checkout and DME pickup, or any other number of things that could cause them to be cat-napping in a spot somewhere?

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

if you see a person sleeping in a chair in the lobby, how do you tell if they are "squatters" or simply someone with reservations at that hotel waiting for their room to be cleaned, waiting for their family at the snack bar, killing time between checkout and DME pickup, or any other number of things that could cause them to be cat-napping in a spot somewhere?

I suppose you could temporarily give them the benefit of the doubt and then check back in 3 hours. And if they're still sound asleep, "Houston we've got a problem."

 

[andiraye]

How far away is your hotel? Will you have a car? We typically stay "offsite," although WBC is right next to the CBR so it's really "onsite," but I digress! As long as you're driving, I think it's worth going back to the hotel. I don't think it's nearly as bad as many people make it out to be! Plus, it's so much more relaxing to take a quick dip and nap in your own space.

This is just my personal opinion but we planned mid day breaks at our resort last year and scrapped them halfway through our trip because the kids weren't tired yet and the bus just took too long. Our best breaks were the days we rode the monorail and chilled at the resorts. We felt like the break had started as soon as we got on the monorail, as opposed to as soo. As we got off the bus. That being said, we have done only a few days in the park at a clip so we wanted to make use of some afternoon park time. I think if you are doing a longer trip and ares therefore taking a much longer break it's a different story.

 

[Jennasis]

This is part of why we love owning BLT DVC. It's just so easy to walk home for a rest/shower/pool etc if we find we need a break.

 

[Pigletpal40]

My wife and I had a late flight and no more days on our tickets so we rode the monorail to all the resorts, had lunch at Poly and shopped in the gift shops. I don't see why you couldn't just take a break away from the heat and do the same on a MK day.

 

[ArwenMarie]

if you see a person sleeping in a chair in the lobby, how do you tell if they are "squatters" or simply someone with reservations at that hotel waiting for their room to be cleaned, waiting for their family at the snack bar, killing time between checkout and DME pickup, or any other number of things that could cause them to be cat-napping in a spot somewhere?

Good point. On the first floor of the CR, there are a bunch of couches, and sometimes it does looks like a airport gate where a plane got delayed, with people all over the couches (not sleeping, but just sort of sprawled all around with a bunch of bags). But I think it's people waiting for their rooms to be done. Or waiting to leave.

 

[Randy Miller]

Last week at POR, when we were headed to get drinks after bus dropped off at South depot, I noticed that the couches in the lounge were PACKED with people. Sitting, laying, backpacks and disney bags everywhere...I wondered what they were doing. Thought maybe taking a "break" but that seemed like an out of the way spot for a break?? To ride a Bus that far? It was a little annoying when we wanted to grab a drink there ourselves and relax. But we just let it slide, cause we really had no idea what they were all doing!

 

[Marionnette]

I'm usually an uptight rule follower and even I have no problem with a family of exhausted people taking a break in the hotel lobby for an hour or so. And if their child happened to fall asleep while they take in the cool atmosphere, I would not hold it against them. I consider the lobbies to be open to the public and therefore free for anyone to enjoy. However, if you cross the line into using the pool and sneaking into the club level area to grab free beverages and snacks, then I have a problem with your behavior.