Disney Magic Outside the Parks

[MagicalMonorail]

I am very excited! I found out that I will be going back to WDW on May 21. This year, my family will be playing tour guide to my uncle's family that includes him, his wife, and his two sons ages 9 and 11.

During our stay, we will be taking a break from the parks and taking a day to mainly relax. We have planned to visit Downtown Disney and several Disney resorts. I wanted to know if you all had any other ideas on a fun thing to do for the entire family. We want to stay away from the 4 main parks and the water parks. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks!

 

[tigsmom]

Try the Mini Golf courses they are good for a few hours fun, then make your way over to Boardwalk for lunch or dinner. There are quite a few nice restaurants to choose from. You could rent a surrey bike and make the circut around the lake a few times. Have fun! :wave:

 

[celestia]

the mini golf courses are tons of fun. make sure you also go and check out animal kingdom lodge at some point and walk around the grounds there (there are many viewing stations of animals inside and outside the hotel and behind the swimming pool and lobby.)

typhoon lagoon is also a favorite of mine.

 

[sliberatore]

If you want to stay with Disney-based activities, I agree with the others that the miniature gold is great, especially the fairway course. There's also DisneyQuest, Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk. (DisneyQuest is a 5-story arcade with some great inter-active, hands-on games, but has an admission fee, about $35 per adult, and it gets busy in the afternoon when the local school kids show up.) The town of Celebration, just a few miles to the east of WDW, is also a nice place to spend a couple hours walking the streets and visiting the shops.

If you're open to non-Disney activities, I highly recommend Cape Canaveral--about an hour's drive to the east. Plan for the whole day there--it has a wonderful tour that you can take at your own pace with well-done re-creations of mission control during a launch and the Eagle's landing on the moon, and a full-sized Saturn V rocket. It also has one of the best gift shops you'll find. Also, the astronaut Hall of Fame is right next door. Also about an hour away from Orlando is the NASCAR museum at the Daytona Speedway in Daytona; I took my son when he was 10 and I'm sure he thought that was what heaven should be like!

 

[NemoRocks78]

If you're looking for fun at other theme parks, try Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld Orlando, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

 

[brkgnews]

If you are open to non-Disney type stuff and are into Florida's natural beauty, there are several great places to ride airboats through the swamps. We rode at Boggy Creek (it's off Poinciana Blvd, which connects to Hwy 192). We had a great tour guide who really knew his stuff.

 

[MR. DISNEY]

On Property : Boardwalk, AKL, Wilderness Lodge
Off Property : one word GATORLAND

 

[DigitalDisney]

Resorts, resorts, resorts

There is a lot that you can do at the resorts. Take boat launches. Enjoy long, relaxing meals. Catch the Electrical Water Pageant. Rent a boat and take it for a spin. Go fishing. Ride the monorail. Take a guided tour (I think the resorts offer these). Enjoy live entertainment. Watch animals at AKL. I could go on and on.

Of course, there is always Downtown Disney, the mini golf courses, Wide World of Sports (depending on what's going on)

Besides doing the basic sight-seeing thing, you could also make a game out of it. Do some research ahead of time, and create a scavanger hunt that will take you all around WDW, and make the reward for finishing it a fun dinner somewhere.

 

[SpenceMan01]

Can't believe nobody's mentioned it yet:

Go to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue at the Fort Wilderness. It's a Western Themed all you can eat dinner show. They've got ribs, chicken, corn, salad, YUMMY bread, and for dessert....STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!! Show is funny and the whole experience rocks! Get your Priority Seating early though, it's how they base where you are seated!! We did it 4 months in advance for a Jan. PS and we got a table in the second row, right in the center. Best seat in the house IMO. We all had a great time!!

Linky linky: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...oopDeeDooMusicalRevueEntertainmentPage&bhcp=1
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningDetail?id=HoopDeeDooMusicalRevueDiningPage

 

[SpectroMan]

I agree with almost everything here!

Definitely try the Hoop-de-doo if you have not done that already. Or if your willing to pay the money and have not seen it yet, see La Nouba. It makes for a relaxing, magical night.

The small boats on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake are great too.

When seeing the resorts definitely stop by the Grand Floridian, Wildreness Lodge, and Animal Kingdom Lodge. They are just amazing!

Have fun.

 

[shoppingnut]

Cape Canavarel there is an 800 # you can call to see if they are going to have a launch while you are there. It's about a 45 min drive from WDW.

 

[longfamily]

Here is a list of things to do outside of the parks, it is incomplete as there are so many options...

1.)Cirque Du Soliel (check ticket pricing on-line) :this is a jaw dropping show for all ages.
2.)Hoop De Doo Revue: Dinner Show at Fort Wilderness
3.) luau show at Polynesian featuring Stitch
4.) Pony rides at Fort Wilderness
5.) Petting Zoo at Fort Wilderness
6.) Hay Ride then storytime at dusk...Fort Wilderness
7.) Storytime at Polynesian
8.) Surrey Bikes: Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Boardwalk
9.) boat rides (2 seaters): Polynesian, Fort wilderness, Contemperary, Grand Floridian, Yacht Club, boardwalk
10.) Fireworks Cruise : Available for MK "Wishes" and Epcot "illuminations"
11.) Parasailing from Contemporary
12.) Fishing excursions: you let fish go after you catch them
13.) Water Magic Parade: Watch from beaches of Poly, GF, and Cont.
14.) Miniture Golf: two courses walking distance from Swan and Dolphin
15.) Disney Quest: Downtown Disney

For the kids:
1.) Pirate Cruise: 2 hours, leaves from GF, lunch included
2.) Tea PArty: also at GF, tea time with mad hatter, alice, and mary poppins
3.) Cooking Adventure: GF, kids make cup cakes ect.
4.) Kids Clubs: located at most deluxe resorts for an hourly fee, includes dinner
These are good activities if the adults want to get away, maybe to go to the spa at the GF while the kids are off having an adventure

 

[polynesiangirl]

Highly, highly recommend renting a pontoon boat (we usually do so at the Contemporary.) The marina's open to all paying customers and we have always found the price for the pontoons to be pretty reasonable (at least for the shortest amount of time, which I think is either 30 min or 1 hour, and trust me that's plenty of time.)

What's extremely nice about the pontoons is that you can fit your whole group on board and you can get *great* pictures of the scenery (MK, hotels, monorails.) I think we have rented one the last 3 or 4 times we have gone, and it always adds a nice relaxed tone to our "non-Theme Park" day.

If not everyone in your group is a "boat person" then you can always split off into the two-seater little zippy watercraft that they have - but I emphasize that if you want to do that, do it from one of the marinas by the MK hotels - one of our group members rented one at the Beach Club last year and they go substantially slower on that particular body of water.

Hope this helps!

 

[Laura]

Here is a list of things to do outside of the parks, it is incomplete as there are so many options...

1.)Cirque Du Soliel (check ticket pricing on-line) :this is a jaw dropping show for all ages.
2.)Hoop De Doo Revue: Dinner Show at Fort Wilderness
3.) luau show at Polynesian featuring Stitch
4.) Pony rides at Fort Wilderness
5.) Petting Zoo at Fort Wilderness
6.) Hay Ride then storytime at dusk...Fort Wilderness
7.) Storytime at Polynesian
8.) Surrey Bikes: Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Boardwalk
9.) boat rides (2 seaters): Polynesian, Fort wilderness, Contemperary, Grand Floridian, Yacht Club, boardwalk
10.) Fireworks Cruise : Available for MK "Wishes" and Epcot "illuminations"
11.) Parasailing from Contemporary
12.) Fishing excursions: you let fish go after you catch them
13.) Water Magic Parade: Watch from beaches of Poly, GF, and Cont.
14.) Miniture Golf: two courses walking distance from Swan and Dolphin
15.) Disney Quest: Downtown Disney

For the kids:
1.) Pirate Cruise: 2 hours, leaves from GF, lunch included
2.) Tea PArty: also at GF, tea time with mad hatter, alice, and mary poppins
3.) Cooking Adventure: GF, kids make cup cakes ect.
4.) Kids Clubs: located at most deluxe resorts for an hourly fee, includes dinner
These are good activities if the adults want to get away, maybe to go to the spa at the GF while the kids are off having an adventure

Wow, did you just do that off the top of your head? I've been looking for a list like this. THANK YOU!

 

[longfamily]

Wow, did you just do that off the top of your head? I've been looking for a list like this. THANK YOU!

LOL:lol:
Shamefully yes. when we go to Disney we usually take advantage of alot of this stuff because it has always been included in our package. There is so much to do at Disney that this doesn't even make a dent. Have a great time whatever you decide to do on your next trip!