You don’t need park admission to dine at the Disney World resorts! You can let the hotel parking attendant know that you’re there to dine, and they’ll let you in. Parking was free, and once you’re in, you can wander!

This is the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It’s modeled on a few Victorian-era seaside resorts, including the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.
Opened in 1988, the Grand Floridian is Disney World’s flagship resort. It’s also thought to be their most luxurious resort.
They have their tree up.
And a life-sized gingerbread house that serves as a sweet shop. They sell cookies, lollipops, peppermint bark, a hot cocoa bomb gift set, and a red velvet holiday Yule log. You can even get a gingerbread shingle with dark chocolate.
From the resort, you can ride all the Disney transportation (monorail, bus, boat, and gondola) for free to visit other resorts or the parks. You still need admission to get into the parks, but you can get a good view sometimes, like when the monorail does a loop through Epcot (on the way in, not when leaving Epcot). This is the Skyliner gondola in front of Hollywood Studios.
You can even get Dole Whip without tickets to the Magic Kingdom! The Polynesian Village Resort has all the Dole Whip options at their Pineapple Lanai stand.
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