Other things to do besides the park

[MattyFresh]

Going to the world in Oct. Staying 5 days but only getting 3 day park hopper passes. I think I wore out the girlfriend last time we went, but she wants to take the other days to just relax, shop (of course), and not feel rushed....I guess a vacation....:ROFLOL: But anyways...I was wondering if any one had some suggestions as to something fun the two of us could do on our free days. I had thought about the tour of the resorts for one of the days...any other suggestions that doesn't require alot of money??

 

[maggiegrace1]

Go and visit all the resorts for free.
Go to Downtown Disney and shop and eat.
Go to the campgrounds and walk around.
Catch a movie at Downtown Disney.
Take a boat ride from the resorts that have them and just enjoy.
There is lots to do..

 

[Nemo14]

Going to the world in Oct. Staying 5 days but only getting 3 day park hopper passes. I think I wore out the girlfriend last time we went, but she wants to take the other days to just relax, shop (of course), and not feel rushed....I guess a vacation....:ROFLOL: But anyways...I was wondering if any one had some suggestions as to something fun the two of us could do on our free days. I had thought about the tour of the resorts for one of the days...any other suggestions that doesn't require alot of money??

Relax at the pool, take a boatride from DTD to POR and back, go ride the monorail from TTC to Epcot and back, take a bus over to Fort Wilderness and explore the area, mini golf, there are so many things you could do that are pretty cheap.

 

[Vernonpush]

Fort Wilderness has alot of fun things to do: Horse riding, Campfires and sing-alongs, Nightly Movies. There are some things listed at the bottom of this page:
http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_fw.htm

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Backstage tours, parasailing and mini golf are on our itinery for August, as is P&PP.

Cant see the facination with (non Disney) shopping on holiday, you can do that at home

 

[xtimMOOthyx]

You could go to one of the water parks for the day, then spend the evening shopping and having dinner. Regardless, you're going to be rushed, trying to do all 4 parks in 3 days.

 

[slappy magoo]

I'm gonna go totally out on a limb on this one, but maybe you should ask the girlfriend what she'd like to do on those non-park days. Despite all the things you want to do that seem fun and vacation-like to you, she really might just want to rest poolside. Trust me, sometimes, experience IS the best teacher.

If you find yourself in the situation where you really want to do something, ANYTHING, but she wants to do nothing, my best advice is to suggest, for her, a spa day at Saratoga Springs. It's an excellent spa, and while she's there, you can maybe do one of the other suggestions people will offer. Just because you're on vacation together doesn't mean you have to do everything together, and she might appreciate a day of being pampered, and this gives you a chance to perhaps do things she's not as interested in as you are. Heck, you can always bump up YOUR ticket to a 4-day ticket, or add the water parks on there. Afterwards, get ADRs for one of the nicer resturants in a deluxe hotel so you can have a great, relaxing meal and talk about what you each did that day. I'd suggest Artist Point in WL (followed by viewing the Water Pageant and/or a jaunt to the movies at Fort Wilderness, or Jiko in AKL followed by some nighttime gazing at the savannah, and then a DVD back in the hotel that might barely be watched (mee-yow! Talk about wearing out your girlfriend! Hubbah hubbah! Aw no he Dih-in'!)

 

[Dayma]

Eat and Shop....The only way to go!

 

[EpcotGrl]

You might catch a show at Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk & hit the Atlantic Dance Hall...fun and fairly cheap, plus gives you an excuse for her to get prettied up and you to dote on her :animwink:

Have fun!! :wave:

 

[Horizons1]

Explore the resorts, then towards the evening, head over to FW. Go grab a pizza at Trails End and head over the to beach. Sit, talk, watch Wishes from the shore of Bay Lake...

 

[WDWFigment]

I'd recommend Typhoon Lagoon. It's more expensive than a day poolside, but unless you stay at a nice resort (which will cost more money overall), the pool may not be that impressive. Plus, at TL, it's not just a 'relaxed' day if you don't want it to be. She can lie in the sun, you can do the water slides and lazy river. Win-win.

 

[pacochran]

It's to bad your not going at Christmas because then exploring the resorts, you get to see all the different great Christmas decorations. I would say this is still a fun thing to do. If you do it plan it so that you can try out a restaurant that you haven't tried at a resort, for either lunch or dinner or both. Two years ago we were their during the Christmas Season and did the resort tour, and we made sure our last stop was WL so we could eat at Whispering Canyons Cafe, which we'd never tried before.

DTD is always nice, just walking around.

 

[3fordisney]

I highly suggest Whispering Canyon for lunch. If cost is an issue, the prices are cheaper at lunch than dinner. I would resort hop, visit Downtown Disney and ride the monorail. I would go to the Boardwalk. It is so nice. You can take a boat from MGM and it makes stops at Swan and Dolphin, Beach Club, the Boardwalk and then Epcot. It is a nice boat ride. Also, you can ride the boat from MK to Fort Wilderness/Wilderness Lodge. There is a lot to do there. You can also go to the Beach Club and sit on the beach. She can shop at the different hotel gift shops. There are things at each one that is unique to that resort.

Also, if you want to venture off property, there is an outlet mall not far from DTD. This is usually great for me, but when I am at WDW, I don't want to shop like that. I rather be on property, soaking up the Disney Magic!!

 

[cloudboy]

Do you have a car? If no, then I would spend time visiting the resorts, maybe play a round of miniature golf or two, Downtown Disney and West Side, and take the boats all over the place. Particularly between Port Orleans Riverside and Downtown Disney, and the small ferry that connects the 7 seas and bay lake resorts. These later are especially great at night, when there is a full moon going. At Fort Wilderness there used to be a long boardwalk east of the resort (walk along the beach away from the Magic Kingdom, it's back there) but I don't know how it faired there last couple of years. But as Slappy said (I couldn't resist!) maybe your girlfriend wants to just spend a day at the pool.

If you have a car, I might suggest getting away from the parks for a day. Drive to Downtown Orlando, and in particular Thorton Park by Lake Eola and stroll around. Hunt down Dickson Azalea park for a nice little stroll. Or, head up to Winter Park, stroll around, and take one of the boat rides through the lakes and the canals that connect them. For Dinner, head off to Press 101 up on Dr. Phillips Rd. (off of Sand Lake Road) which is a weird combination of pressed sandwiches and a wine bar, with excellent soups.

 

[jesserin]

Hmmmm this past monday we had just such a day. We woke up - went for a swim, drove over to the Beach Club for lunch at Beaches and Cream, shared a banana split... YUMMY, went back to the hotel, took a nap, jumped a bus to MK -took a spin around the monorail, walked around the GF, went back to our resort - ordered in a pizza, picked up a couple cocktails from the bar and spent a relaxing evening by the pool.

That's my favorite way to spend a down day. I actally planned on doing about 30 things that day... but it did feel wonderful to actually relax instead of rush around.

Just my .02. :wave:

 

[mickster]

I am a HUGE fan of doing a lot of the non-park stuff at WDW! To me, that's one thing that really sets WDW apart from other places. Every trip, we always make time to do some non-park stuff. Here are several highly recommended suggestions:

• Fort Wilderness: There is SO much to do here, and it's actually a very cool break from the sometimes busy pace at the parks. If your budget allows, I'd recommend taking a half hour or more and going out on the Sea Raycers. They are tons of fun! The best place to rent them, in my opinion, is from the Wilderness Lodge. Another fun thing to do at Fort Wilderness is to rent bicycles and ride along the bike trails. Again, Wilderness Lodge is the best place to rent them because you're right there by some great trails. They'll give you a map so you know where you're going. We also love going to the Bike Barn and renting either a canoe or kayaks and then going along the canals. There is also the Wilderness Swamp Trail, which seems to be in a state of disrepair at last visit (about a week and a half ago), but is still a fun little hike. Also, you can go horseback riding here, which is a lot of fun!
• Resort hopping: WDW has the coolest collection of themed hotels anywhere (Las Vegas is a distant second). It is fun just to go around and explore them all. Many of them have some great restaurants and food courts, and all of them are great photo spots. Some people consider it unethical to swim at the various pools at the resorts, but I personally don't feel you're hurting anyone if you do that. Certainly up to what you feel comfortable doing though. If you decide to do this, I personally recommend Coronado Springs as the best hotel pool. I also really like their food court for lunch.
• Water park: You mentioned that you'd prefer things that don't cost too much money, so again it depends on your budget. But Disney has absolutely the two best water parks anywhere...Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. I prefer Typhoon Lagoon of the two, however each has it's strong points. The reason I like Typhoon Lagoon better is because it is a much prettier, more lush and green park. It has some very outstanding, exciting water slides, but is also quite relaxing at the same time (the Lazy River is great!). Blizzard Beach, on the other hand, has superior water slides, but it is not nearly as pretty, nor as relaxing. My two complaints about Blizzard Beach were that it seemed to lack shade, due to considerably fewer trees, and also it is sometimes very "blinding" to be there, due to the fact that everything is blinding white. This is because the theme of the place is a ski resort, so they have several parts of it looking like snow. Artistically, that's a very creative idea, but when you're in the hot, bright Florida sun, that can be a problem.
• Downtown Disney for shopping and restaurants. I recommend Bongo's for dinner. Or, to save a few bucks, you can order from the walk up window as opposed to a sit down meal. If you do that, get the Cuban sandwich. It's great!

If you have a car, here are some additional options I'd recommend:

• Kennedy Space Center: It's less than an hour away and is relatively inexpensive. There is also the Astronaut Hall of Fame nearby.
• Universal City Walk: This is the best spot in Orlando for nightlife in my opinion. This place used to be a joke compared to Pleasure Island, but in the last couple of years, that has completely flip flopped. Where Pleasure Island has pretty much taken a nosedive in quality and service, City Walk has just gotten better and better. Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville has some great drinks and food, and it's fun to sit outside on the "Porch of Indecision" and listen to the live music (usually one guy playing a guitar and singing). Or you can eat inside and listen to a full band. On Friday and Saturday nights, there are usually a couple of live bands at various places in City Walk, and the whole place is just really lively and fun.
• A very fun, lively restaurant is Bahama Breeze. If you like mojitos, this place makes the best ones I've ever had. There is one on International Drive not far from Universal.

 

[mickster]

Oops! Double post.

 

[Tenny317]

mickster....I'm in LOVE with Bahama Breeze!!!! I'm from New York and we dont have any up here and my family lives in Orlando so EVERY time i go down to florida we MUST go to bahama breeze, it's become a big joke in my family actually! The best ribs i've ever had in my life and the planatation nachos are fantastic!!! I highly recommend it for an off property resturant!!!

 

[mickster]

mickster....I'm in LOVE with Bahama Breeze!!!! I'm from New York and we dont have any up here and my family lives in Orlando so EVERY time i go down to florida we MUST go to bahama breeze, it's become a big joke in my family actually! The best ribs i've ever had in my life and the planatation nachos are fantastic!!! I highly recommend it for an off property resturant!!!

Yep, I've had both of those menu items. They're awesome!! Of course the Key Lime Pie is great too, as is the banana supreme!!

 

[cloudboy]

The Wilderness Swamp Trail is the one I was talking about, I think. But where are the canals - they sound interesting to explore.

Again, if you have a car, the Orlando area has a bunch of parks to check out. But even if you don't, many of the resorts have nice grounds to wander around. There's a pretty long trail between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness which runs through the woods, you can also walk along the Sassagoula river between Riverside and the French Quarter at Port Dixie.