We stopped and took pictures from the outside and checked out the souvenir shops. It was fun - our kids are young and wouldn't have done well on the tour. I read this review from trip advisor to figure out if we could take pictures from the outside: There's a free, small curbside parking area right in front of the mansion where you can pull over and take a few pictures over the stone wall. The gates are only closed in the evening and at night as shuttle buses go through them all day. The mansion sits a fair ways off of the road and you can only get a peek at it over the wall. Anything else requires a ticket.
There's a shopping strip next to the Graceland plaza area (the plaza is directly across the street from the mansion) where you can park for free, get out walk around the gift shops, cross the street to the stone wall area, etc. There's several attractions in the plaza area as well, but you'd need tickets to see them.
We had a great stay. The rooms were lovely, lobby great for a cocktail or dessert, nice breakfast. We had our two toddlers and dog with us. The kids loved the ducks and our dog was happy resting in the room. Not an inexpensive stay but worth it.
Fun stop and a cute cafe. The world's largest rocking chair is being installed across the street and the golf tee is close by.