Our best WDW day did not involve any theme park.

[epcotisbest]

We enjoy the theme parks and used to spend our days from open to close at one or more of the parks. That rushing, trying to do as much as possible, changed over the years.
Some may think the only reason to go to WDW is the theme parks, and just need a place to sleep at night. I think there is so very much more.
One of our fondest memories is being flag family at Wilderness Lodge. Maybe one of the best days ever at WDW, and we did not even leave the resort grounds that day except for a bicycle ride. Oh, we could have if we had wanted to, but after raising the flags we had a nice breakfast, hung out at the quiet pool till lunch. Great lunch at Whispering Canyon, then back to the pool and a good book as the cares of the world simply did not exist for the rest of the day. Later, a bicycle ride from WL over to FW riding the bikes through every camping loop, then a nice dinner at Trail's End before riding back over to WL, quick evening dip in both pools then changing clothes and heading outside for the outdoor movie on the inflatable screen and watching the Electrical Water Pagent float by. To cap off the day, hanging out in the beautiful lobby just enjoying the blessing of being there.
Has your open-to-close theme park approach changed over the years, or have you perhaps always taken a slower pace?

 

[Herdman]

We always enjoy our mid week break day. Sleeping in a little, relaxing by the pool some, touring the resort more, then off to Disney Springs for dinner and some shopping. It definitely recharges our batteries for the rest of the trip.

 

[Tom]

My wife and I did this for a couple years/trips, in some fashion. We typically ended up at a park for dinner and/or EMH though.

We need to schedule a down day into future trips, for sure. It's nice when there's NOTHING on the agenda. And it helps, for me anyway, if we don't have a park ticket for that day. That way I can't convince myself that we have to go to a park, because we can't!

 

[MightyMouse]

Yup. This upcoming trip we are looking forward to an off-day of relaxing by the pool, touring the Boardwalk, hitting Beaches & Cream for a Kitchen Sink, a round or two of mini-put golf, and then dinner at the Hoop-Di-Doo. All I ask for is a nice warm sunny day with a clear blue sky.

 

[belledream]

We're taking a whole day off from the parks for the first time on our trip this year, but usually we take a park break or we resort hop after the park closes. Last year, after AK closed at 5, we went to Wilderness Lodge for dinner, boated to Fort Wilderness, and explored the area. We didn't really do anything but it was so relaxing, so peaceful, and we had a lot of fun seeing new sights. The boat ride during sunset...AH MAZING. One of my favorite Disney days ever!

 

[TXDisney]

We just recently started really enjoying Disney outside of the parks. I have to give credit to my wife for this. She did her internship at WDW in downtown Disney. So going there is a must for her every trip. We were just there in December and Disney Sorings wasn't done yet, but most of it was and it looked awesome. She also opened my eyes to the resorts. Mainly the restaurants and bars. We stayed at the Boardwalk a couple years ago and enjoyed at area too. There's plenty to do outside of the parks.

 

[KikoKea]

As we've gotten older, we've started to slow down. The days of power-walking the park to do as much as possible are over, although I do admit that we are at the parks opening to closing. (Our trips are not long, 4 park days and 1 free day only.)

Thing is, we enjoy the parks and the whole of WDW so much more now! At the parks, we never rush and we take many breaks, just enjoying the sights and sounds. On non-park days, we don't lounge by the pool but we do enjoy visiting the other resorts and just taking our time to look around at details in the decor, enjoy the special features in the landscaping (such as WL's waterfalls and fireplace or the AKL's viewing stations or fire pit), or have a soda while walking some of the quiet paths. It's a nice way to enjoy WDW.

 

[Phonedave]

When I was single, had an AP, and was in Florida a lot for business, I used to do something similar to this. If I got sent to FL for a business trip, I would tack a few vacation days on the end of the trip and stay at WDW. I would allways book a later flight (like 8:00 PM) back.

On my last day, I would get up early, check in for my flight (and check my luggage) and leave a bag with my swimsuit and a book with bell services. I would then go to a park for a few hours, but allways ended up back at the resort well before noon. I would then get my bag, change, and hang out at the pool, reading, swiming, and enjoying a few beverages until dinner time. I would then change (SSR was great for this when they used to let you have access to the Spa locker rooms) and then go have an early dinner before catching my DME bus to the airport. I would leave WDW feeling relaxed and unrushed.

-dave

 

[mergatroid]

We enjoy the theme parks and used to spend our days from open to close at one or more of the parks. That rushing, trying to do as much as possible, changed over the years.
Some may think the only reason to go to WDW is the theme parks, and just need a place to sleep at night. I think there is so very much more.
One of our fondest memories is being flag family at Wilderness Lodge. Maybe one of the best days ever at WDW, and we did not even leave the resort grounds that day except for a bicycle ride. Oh, we could have if we had wanted to, but after raising the flags we had a nice breakfast, hung out at the quiet pool till lunch. Great lunch at Whispering Canyon, then back to the pool and a good book as the cares of the world simply did not exist for the rest of the day. Later, a bicycle ride from WL over to FW riding the bikes through every camping loop, then a nice dinner at Trail's End before riding back over to WL, quick evening dip in both pools then changing clothes and heading outside for the outdoor movie on the inflatable screen and watching the Electrical Water Pagent float by. To cap off the day, hanging out in the beautiful lobby just enjoying the blessing of being there.
Has your open-to-close theme park approach changed over the years, or have you perhaps always taken a slower pace?

Nice thread my friend. We don't stay in Disney but rather about 40 minutes away but still enjoy none park activities within Disney at times. Last year we rented a large water craft from the GF marina instead of the smaller 'water sprites'. Mrs Merg doesn't swim so she feels unsafe in a 'water sprite' so doesn't really enjoy them. However when we took the larger craft out she absolutely loved it. I captained the boat (obviously, duh) whilst she sipped her drink whilst sitting under the canopy. I remember watching her leaning back into the comfy seat with a huge smile on her face and saying "Ah, now this is the life". Just pootling about for an hour or so was great and quite romantic too (always good brownie points for me) and she's already talking about doing it again this September when we return

 

[Nick Wilde]

I live an hour away, and we sometimes just head up there for the day for Disney Springs or the Boardwalk, maybe mini-golf. There's plenty more to do than just the parks.

 

[NiarrNDisney]

Honestly I have always found a day or two of relaxing at the hotel or resort hopping to be some of the best days of my trip! The hustle and bustle of the parks can be a bit overwhelming day after day so the off days including a trip or two to Disney Springs is a nice and much needed respite.

 

[danyoung56]

It's been many years since I've had the energy to do a park from opening till closing. I still like to do rope drop, as you can get so much more done in those first few hours. But after lunch I always head back to my room for what I call an old guy nap. And then I'm back in the park for dinner, a few rides, and nightly entertainment. Works really well for me!

 

[JIMINYCR]

Glad epcotisbest found a way to make your time away fit your style and keep it enjoyable. I still hit the parks running early & stay late. But DW because of health issues has slowed it down from past years. We always take time to do some things off property during our time in FL. Theres sooooo much to do in the Orlando area that its crazy to not see and experience other things outside of the parks. I always encourage friends to search for other things if they have the time & money available. A great way to keep that vacation from becoming stale and ordinary.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Some of my favorite times from our trip last year were at the resort (AKL). My husband took a long nap with my daughter and I used that time to roam all over the resort and make it a game to sit in as many rocking chair's as I could. It was so relaxing.

 

[MouseDreaming]

Hello, @epcotisbest , hope you are well.

We love hitting the parks, taking a midday break and going back, but I will admit, one of the best days, we hung out at the resort before a late departure. We still talk about riding that surrey bike around Port Orleans. Great fun!

 

[MissingDisney]

Very rarely are we ever in a park or the parks all day. There's just too many other things to do. A Disney vacation is more than rides and shows for us, it's visiting lots of resorts, browsing the shops, snacking, seeing the fireworks from outside the parks and crazy crowds, campfires, resort and DS entertainment, etc. We no longer come home drained and exhausted, barely remembering anything. Instead, we have a bunch of great family memories. We do try to do/book an entirely new experience each trip for something fun and that's what our trip gets 'named' by.

 

[mousehockey37]

As I work on my photo skills, I'm looking for more and more intricate opportunities. DGF and I get done the rides we want to do, but we're budgeting more and more time each trip to slowing down. There are so many little things at all the resorts. Taking fireworks photos from outside the parks is a different perspective. Sure, the first time we went as a couple, it was a short trip and we tried to do as much as possible. Our last trip, most nights we wound up at Epcot strolling through the countries taking everything in. So yeah, as time goes on, our strategy is changing.

 

[Raineman]

Our last trip a month ago, we didn't take a break from the parks-7 straight days from open to close. We definitely learned our lesson, and will be scheduling a break day next time. Having said that, we do go to WDW for the experiences in the parks-the resort does not really play into our planning that much, and neither does Disney Springs. I understand why people love to spend time at the resorts, but, for us, if we want a great resort experience, we will head to the Caribbean and completely immerse ourselves in the resort experience. Now, having said that, I think we are done with value resorts, and will probably move up to a moderate next time, mainly for the bigger room and better beds-those Pop rooms tend to get a bit claustrophobic after a while, and the beds killed my back.

 

[UpAllNight]

Didn't really do a none park day at all in Orlando, but our favourite Disney day was our 3rd trip to MK when we were in no rush at all, and just took it in and casually strolled around doing the occasional ride here and there.

Next year Pool days and a day just doing Disney Springs are on the agenda

 

[epcotisbest]

Didn't really do a none park day at all in Orlando, but our favourite Disney day was our 3rd trip to MK when we were in no rush at all, and just took it in and casually strolled around doing the occasional ride here and there.

Next year Pool days and a day just doing Disney Springs are on the agenda

The first time we slowed down and made ourselves go at a different pace and start enjoying the little things forever changed things for us, and has vastly improved our overall enjoyment ever since. With the ever increasing prices, doing less while enjoying it more is saving us a lot of money too.