Disney magic w/o the parks?

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bamatiger93

New Member
Hello! I will be in Orlando next week for a conference. Unfortunately, I'll be in meetings every day, and won't get to visit any of the Disney parks :( However, I should be finished by 4:00 or so each day. What are the best ways I can get my Disney "fix" and experience some of the magic w/o visiting the parks? My 1 year old will be with me, so we'll have to be in my 9. Any ideas???
 
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stitchlvr

stitchlvr

New Member
We spent an evening at Fort Wilderness. I'm not sure if you have to be a resort guest to go (we were staying at All Star Movies), but they have a movie and campfire every night at 8 (the movie starts at 8:40, so you might have to leave before the movie starts). Chip and Dale came for pictures, and we made smores on the campfire (they sell all the fixins for about $5). There was some singing too. It was a lot of fun!
 
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Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
Explore the resorts and the fun things they offer. Catch a meal at one of them on a night or two. Go to Downtown Disney and play at DisneyQuest, or just shop at the marketplace. Mini Golf is always fun, and doesn't cost a lot to play. Most of all though, just explore and have fun. There is a lot to see in Disney besides those 4 parks.
 
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DigitalDisney

DigitalDisney

New Member
I've made a couple trips to Orlando w/o going into the WDW parks. It's tough because you can almost touch the parks, but you can still have fun.

- Ride the bus to some of the park entrances. The MK entrance isn't too exciting, but the Epcot entrance has a gift shop plus the monorail. The MGM Entrance has a small gift shop plus great views of the tower. AK's entrance has a cool gift shop, plus the Rainforest Cafe
- Take the monorail to Epcot. You can kind of experience some of the park since the monorail cruises right over Future World
- If you can get to the International Gateway area, you can see some of Illuminations without even going into Epcot (I think the bridge that goes over the water would be a great place to watch from)
- Take a boat cruise from Downtown Disney to both Port Orleans resorts. The French Quarter is the easier of the two to explore, but the main area of Dixie Landings is more fun (the food court there is better, and the main island is fun to explore)
- Play mini golf at Fantasia Gardens
- Watch the Electrical Water Pageant from the beach of the Poly. Not only is the resort gorgeous at night, but that's the best place to watch it from.
- Resorts, Downtown Disney (you knew that)

Even though you can't go into the parks, there is still a lot you can do to experience some of the magic.
 
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rokcandy

rokcandy

New Member
There are a lot of good ones posted. One more I thought of is watching Wishes from the Contemporary front parking lot. It's so nice and quiet over there. :)
 
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ClemsonTigger

ClemsonTigger

Naturally Grumpy
A fun alternate

You didn't say where you were staying which can change things a little.

In any case I would suggest you park near Downtown Disney and take a bus over to one of the resorts...Poly, Wilderness Lodge, AKL or any others. At the Poly, you can take a monorail ride either past the MK or on the other line to Epcot.

Also at Poly you can sit on the beach and see the Water Parade and fireworks, at AKL you can walk around and see some of the animals, particularly in the evening.

At Boardwalk, you can walk over near the Epcot entrance and watch the fireworks, or take a boat ride. Boat rides also from Grand Floridian, Poly and WL.

There is also Downtown Disney which is fun for the Disney store and other sites. Fireworks are a bit late for your needs.

Sounds like a real interesting alternative.

Let is know how you make out. It would be a real interesting trip report.
 
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