Lesser Known Magical Experiences

[sarabi]

What are some of the magical experiences that you must do, or are unique to, each resort?

Whenever we stay at Coronado, I like to go for an early or night jog around the property...I find the grounds there just beautiful. I also have to get the gelato at the Rix Cafe.

What do you like to do at your favourite resort?

At the Animal Kingdom Lodge, there's the African storyteller in the evening. There's a firepit out back and you gather around and the storyteller tells a traditional african story.

At POFQ, I love to get a bowl of beignets and go exploring the courtyards. It's like walking through a public garden.

At POR, we tried a surrey (spelling?) last time. That was kinda fun too. Or we like to rent a bike and bike around the resort and stop and dip in all the pools. Unfortunately, you can no longer take the bike all the way down the Sassagoula river, but we used to do that and that was awesome.

The boat to downtown disney from POR, or POFQ is always nice too.

 

[CommandoDisney]

The boat to downtown disney from POR, or POFQ is always nice too.

this reminded me... the boats all over wdw are always a fun, relaxing excursion of mine. we stayed at the yacht club one time and i just rode the boat to epcot, then the boardwalk, then mgm and back again. when we stayed at OKW, we would take the boat to DTD. even SSR has a boat to dtd, which quite frankly could probably be faster if you just walked, but its such a nice ride. especially at around dusk, when its not very crowded. its a great way to enjoy wdw from an alternative point of view!

 

[FootballFigment]

walking along the dock like boardwalk thingy around the lake by Tom Sawyer Island.... very relaxing

 

[Joy Peace]

oh my goodness that thing is huge! redwingchik I cant believe you all ate that in 16 min without getting a brain freeze:lol: It must have been delicious:slurp:

 

[Joy Peace]

To Dreamscometrue

I was wondering if I could have a copy of your list when you finish putting it together. I am very interested in the slower pace and discovering new things that you normally wouldnt pay attention to. Un like my husband who is one of those go go go people. I am hoping to have a little of both. It is his first time and he wants to make sure we get it all in so he gets his moneys worth but for me it is in the exerience and taking in all the magic or as much of it as you can. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get him to see it both ways? I am so looking forward to out time together. We are celebrating our 15th Anniversary and I dont want to come home needing a vacation after my vacation if you know what I mean.:lol:

 

[DizneyPryncess]

omg that ice cream sundae is insane! :ROFLOL:

i would love to try one, but on a trip with a lot more people than my next one! Thanks for posting pics, I couldn't have imagined it w/out seeing it!

 

[tirian]

Hey dreamscometrue!

I think a lot of folks enjoy Deluxe resort surfing via the monorail. This is especially fun and convenient if you are staying at one of the three on the line (Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Polynesian). Let's also add Wilderness Lodge to this (hop off the Monorail at the Contemporary and take the boat from the dock out back to Wilderness Lodge.) Each resort offers it's own ambiance - shops, decor, resort area music, restaurants and lounges. Grab a Lapu Lapu at Tambu Lounge (Polynesian) - ride the monorail to Grand Floridian and get spoiled at the Spa (fiancee loves this!) - hop the monorail to Contemporary for another beverage and a walk around the marina - take a boat (the smaller, open one - not the big enclosed one!) to Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Artist Point. Oh, and stop at all resort gift shops enroute. Then backtrack to where you began. The monorail is an amazing, elegant transport that combines 3 fabulous resorts and 1 world-class park into an easily covered stretch of diverse food and fun offerings. Throw in the boat to Wilderness Lodge and you'll appreciate that Disney transportation is an attraction in itself!

My parents do this every time they come down. I "resort surfed" with them one afternoon, and I was surprised how much fun it was!

My favorite? Two Words: Mini Golf.

 

[dreamscometrue]

To Dreamscometrue, I was wondering if I could have a copy of your list when you finish putting it together. I am very interested in the slower pace and discovering new things that you normally wouldnt pay attention to.

I would be glad to send it to you, or I might just post it here. I won't even begin to think that the list is comprehensive, or that all of the activities are 'lesser known', but it will give people some ideas as to what else to do besides ToT, SM, EE, etc.

This forum has so many members who have been to WDW dozens (hundreds?) of times, I was just hoping to have some of them tell the rest of us what else is great to do there that we might not know about. I did realize, however, that veteran visitors might not be aware that some of the things they do are 'lesser known'. It is easy to assume that everyone knows what you know, but the vast majority of people only know what they read in park guidemaps or a WDW primer book.

I didn't know about the WL to FW path, the Port Orleans carriage rides or waking up Tinkerbell. The people who do these things likely believe that 'everyone' knows about them. It is for this reason that I encourage people on this forum to continue to share. There are 55,000 people on this forum. If only 1% read this thread and post an idea, and only 10% of those posted ideas are new to you, that's 55 new ideas for your next trip!! Post away my friends.

BTW, thanks to the people who posted cruise info.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Great job with the kitchen sink redwingchik! It took us 19 minutes the last time!

 

[LoriMistress]

Having a nice romantic dinner with just adults is always a nice experience. Visiting the deluxe resorts and just taking in the atmosphere is truly wonderful and laid back magical experience.

 

[Joy Peace]

So the waking up Tinkerbell thing, it is only for kids right? Tinkerbell is my ultimate favorite and I think that would be an awesome thing to do on my trip. My husband might think I am crazy though:hammer::lol:

 

[dreamscometrue]

So the waking up Tinkerbell thing, it is only for kids right? Tinkerbell is my ultimate favorite and I think that would be an awesome thing to do on my trip. My husband might think I am crazy though:hammer::lol:

Nothing at WDW is only for kids. (Well, maybe the kid's menus, but even the hot dogs and mac & cheese look really good sometimes too!)

 

[RachelP6877]

I Did the tinkerbell wake up (and im 30) every 1 min at the dresser you hear a jingle and you look in the key hole and for a half sec a flash of light and you can kinda see her shadow...its cute

 

[Tinkerbella16]

One of my favorite things to do is get a hot fudge brownie sundae from Ghirardelli's at DTD, sit outside near the water, and listen to the background music. It's the best at night! Afterwards, DH and I walk down toward the West Side.

We do the same exact thing everytime we visit.

We also love going to the Poly to just eat, relax, and walk around the resort.

 

[sarabi]

I love this thread so much and keep coming back to check responses, and then I remember another thing I love to do...

I can't believe I forgot this one because it's filed in my mind as a "nonactivity", but whenever I picture myself at Disneyworld, I picture doing this:

Walking down the Tree of Life paths near sunset, when the sun hits those waterfalls so nicely and lights up the tree. The exit to "It's Tough to be a Bug" is particulary nice (when the crowd is not exiting... if they do start to dump out of the theater, step aside and let them pass). Most times it's the quietest place on all of Disney property with so many beautiful hidden treasures and vistas. It's a shame more people don't appreciate it.

 

[Captain Hank]

A few other unique, overlooked experiences:

--Morocco offers a free guided tour of the pavilion, which highlights the architecture and significance of the structures represented. You can sign up in the building across the courtyard from the Tangerine Cafe.

--If you want to learn more about the growing techniques in the Living with the Land greenhouses, you can take the one-hour, guided Behind the Seeds tour for a small fee.

--Innoventions West has an area where you can try a Segway free of charge.

--The Harambe School, a small open-air theater near the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris, hosts various short programs hosted by the cultural ambassadors from Africa.

--Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge offers nocturnal viewing of its animals most nights. There will usually be an Animal Programs Cast Member available oustside in the savannah area with night vision goggles.

--WDW boasts two extraordinarily good a capallea groups; The Voices of Liberty in Epcot's American Adventure pavilion and 4 for a Dollar, which performs as the pre-show to Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage.

 

[Einselen]

--Innoventions West has an area where you can try a Segway free of charge.


--WDW boasts two extraordinarily good a capallea groups; The Voices of Liberty in Epcot's American Adventure pavilion and 4 for a Dollar, which performs as the pre-show to Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage.

Segway at innoventions is cool to do just to say you have done a segway, I think you have to be over 16 and have parent/guardian signature or over 18 to sign for yourself (not so sure about 16 but I think that is the age). It is nothing to spectacular, you get to get on the thing, move forward, do a 180, move back to the start and 180 again (at least for me) but it is a cool experience to at least do.

I love Voices of Liberty. I never knew about 4 for a Dollar, I will have to check them out this next trip (which is this weekend BTW!)

 

[dreamscometrue]

Walking down the Tree of Life paths near sunset, when the sun hits those waterfalls so nicely and lights up the tree. Most times it's the quietest place on all of Disney property with so many beautiful hidden treasures and vistas. It's a shame more people don't appreciate it.

We 'discovered' these trails (and the Kid's Discovery Clubs) only during our last trip. We had previously been to AK about 10 times. Why did it take us so long to discover the trails? We were always in a hurry to get to Africa, or from Africa to Festival of the Lion King, etc.

During the last trip, we were talking just before the bridge to Africa, and I said "Hey, I wonder where this little path goes?" We took a half hour to stroll and even stopped at the Kids Discovery Club to talk about, and look at, some wonderful insects. It was a nice trek on our way to Flights of Wonder (which we finally stopped to see for the first time also). After that show, we saw 'The Village Beatniks' (who were awesome!!) for the first time, as we made our way to get these gigantic ice cream/chocolate chip sandwich things at Dino Bites (which we also just discovered that day!!). You get the idea...new experiences are fun.

It was thoughts of that wonderful afternoon experience that led to the idea for this thread. All of those new experiences that were always right there, but we never slowed down enough to appreciate that fact.

Great recent additions to this thread. Thanks guys!

 

[eroyee]

Sitting in the rocking chairs in front of LTT in MK is fun. and above the train station sitting and watching people while eating. POR is so fun listening to Piano Bob. POP is really neat at nite with all the lights on. Just strolling around the buildings and on to the bridge leading to the part that wasnt ever opened.

 

[whizGoofy]

My favorite overlooked thing is Miyuki, the candy maker in Japan. In about a minute, using only scissors, a paint brush and food coloring, she transforms a golf ball-sized lump of molten candy into any number of animals--from hummingbirds to dragons. Best of all, she gives them away for free.

This is awesome. My Friends & I always wait around to see her. We call her Candy in a minute lady. I never really knew her name until know. This is a MUST see.