Ever Stay Without Play???

[oldshovelhead]

I'm just curious if any of my fellow DVC members have ever stayed at your home resort without spending time in the parks? Have you ever gone for the pure relaxation of enjoying a stay at the resort, rather than ending your vacation feeling like you need to take another one to recuperate? Have you ever thought about taking advantage of the spa, a day at the pool, a stroll through DTD, visiting the other resorts, or maybe (should I even say this?), a drive off property, all without spending any money on tickets to enter the parks? While I realize this concept is a crazy one for anyone with a family like mine, on our last trip, my DW and I made the trip without the kids and actually briefly entertained the idea. As recent "empty nesters", with both kids off in college, I can see this happening for us occasionally... Can you make the trip without visiting the MK, AK, EPCOT, or the Studios? :shrug:

I'm just curious...

 

[brent2124]

While I am not a DVC member I could not even fathom the idea. Even if I went with those intentions I would crack and end up at the MK in a heartbeat.

 

[Phonedave]

Since we have AP's we end up at the parks anyway.

But there have been times, especialy when I am there by myself if I am extending a business trip, where I only go into the park for an hour or two, maybe to catch fireworks, or maybe for dinner.

I have golfed off site, relaxed at the pool, gone to DTD, and then hit the parks late at nite.

I could see not entering the parks if you were there on ticketed media, where entering for an hour is a "waste" of a ticket.

-dave

 

[CatsMeow]

Yes, we have done that - almost. We did a 3-parks-in-one-day in the middle of a stay and relaxed during the beginning and end of our stay. Very relaxing and invigorating. We have visited WDW for many years, so there is not much we have not already seen. We do like to re-visit our favorites. But it was nice to laze by the pool, shop, golf, etc. and just enjoy the ambience of our resort which worrying about reservations or whether it would rain and ruin our plans, which we could easily change.

 

[djpoore94]

DH and I fully intended to do this in May for our anniversary trip, but then we found out that we'll be there during the first Star Wars Weekend so we are going to brave the crowds at least once to go to DHS! Oh well, maybe next year

 

[hibbsofep]

We have acquaintences who do just that. Since they've become empty nesters, they bank their points until they can get a 2 bedroom place at OKW (their home resort) and take along another couple. They don't usually hit the parks at all but love to golf and hang around the pool instead.

 

[oldshovelhead]

Yep...

We have acquaintences who do just that. Since they've become empty nesters, they bank their points until they can get a 2 bedroom place at OKW (their home resort) and take along another couple. They don't usually hit the parks at all but love to golf and hang around the pool instead.

I’m thinking that with this sub-zero snowy weather here this morning in PA, the thought of doing that sounds just fine with me!!! Ahhh, warm sunshine under a palm tree by the pool...:king:

 

[palmage]

We aren't DVC but have gone a few times without seeing a park.

The last time was for DTD closing.
We stay at AKL, played golf one day, pool potato one day, outlet malling one day.

Boardwalk one night, DTD two nights.

Had a great time, but i couldn't do that for more than a long weekend.

 

[dukehoopsfan]

I’m thinking that with this sub-zero snowy weather here this morning in PA, the thought of doing that sounds just fine with me!!! Ahhh, warm sunshine under a palm tree by the pool...:king:

Right there with you on the sub-zero snowy weather - in Saratoga Springs (NY) this morning at 7 a.m. it was -1! So I recovered from the chill by booking our week at the Beach Club Villas for the end of July! It didn't make me warmer - but happier!

Our family of four has been to Disney enough times over the last 20 years, that this year we were thinking of not getting length of stay tickets, but instead enjoy the resort, play mini-golf, go horseback riding etc. and maybe only get tickets for a couple of days and go to our "favorites" in the parks.

 

[mags11]

As DVC members, we do an extended stay of between 9 and 14 days each summer at BCV. We're also AP holders and as such we plan our trips so that one summer we go in late July and the next summer we go in early July or late June. This way we can enjoy 2 years on an annual pass. When you figure in the DVC discount, it's the best deal by far for us. Not having to worry about getting our money's worth with APs, there have been times on our trips where we avoided the parks for two or three days and just enjoyed the pool, went for a boat ride, did some resort hopping and sometimes just stayed in and napped :snore:. Our trips are very relaxing because of this. We've even conditioned our DD to enjoy the parks in this way. It's quite nice. I can't imagine avoiding the parks all together, as there are plenty of relaxing things to do there as well: enjoy a drink at any one of the countries at Epcot, catch one of the musical groups performing on site, enjoy a Mickey Bar and people watch on any given bench of any park.

I also don't enjoy leaving Disney property. It's just my opinion, but we go to WDW for the magic, and I feel that the magic just isn't there once you exit beyond the WDW borders.

 

[SMRT-1Michael]

Absolutely! We are DVC members and local to Florida so drive there isnt a problem. When we dont go to a park and plan on just hanging out at the resort, we usually stay at the Beach Club for the fantastic pool. We usually "stay without play" during the summer when the parks are crowed anyway. We usually stay for 3 or 4 nights and utilize the dining at Beach/Yacht Club, BoardWalk, Downtown Disney, and other Disney resorts. We also like to minigolf there and spend time at DTD. We even go to a waterpark if we can. Staying here and not going to a park takes a lot of stress away and you dont feel like you have to get up early to make it to park opening. We enjoy it, but i'll always love the parks!

 

[dvcnut39]

A few years ago, we stayed in Florida with my in-laws. To "reward" them for their generosity, we took them to Disney's Vero Beach for three nights and then to Beach Club Villas for two more nights. Due to my father in law's bad knees and back, we couldn't take him to the parks. So instead, we took him on EPCOT's fireworks cruise. We had a great time. He loved Stormalong Bay.