News The Gardens Course at Fantasia Miniature Golf closing for refurbishment during May 2022

[wdwmagic]

The Gardens Course at Fantasia Miniature Golf closing for refurbishment during May 2022

The Gardens Course will receive a new playing surface during the refurbishment.

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[UNCgolf]

I always wonder how much longer these will stay open. They don't seem to get much use -- we played both courses at Fantasia Gardens last time I was there (was included in the ticket package) and had fun, but I think we saw 4 other people total the entire time we were there. They can't cost much to run, so they're probably worth leaving open as another option, but always seems like they would be prime land for expansion.

With that said, I assumed Fantasia Gardens would be shut down when the Swan Reserve was built and the land would become part of that hotel, but since that didn't happen, they're probably safe for a while longer.

I've never been to Winter Summerland, but it's probably safe unless they ever decide to expand Blizzard Beach (or shut it down, I suppose). It'd be an easy place to expand the water park, but it's really not useable for anything else.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I always wonder how much longer these will stay open. They don't seem to get much use -- we played both courses at Fantasia Gardens last time I was there (was included in the ticket package) and had fun, but I think we saw 4 other people total the entire time we were there. They can't cost much to run, so they're probably worth leaving open as another option, but always seems like they would be prime land for expansion.

With that said, I assumed Fantasia Gardens would be shut down when the Swan Reserve was built and the land would become part of that hotel, but since that didn't happen, they're probably safe for a while longer.

I've never been to Winter Summerland, but it's probably safe unless they ever decide to expand Blizzard Beach (or shut it down, I suppose). It'd be an easy place to expand the water park, but it's really not useable for anything else.

FG has always been busy when I’ve gone. Plenty of people there last summer. At like $15 a person, it doesn’t take much to turn a profit. They are also necessary to sell park hopper plus and water park and more options.

 

[UNCgolf]

FG has always been busy when I’ve gone. Plenty of people there last summer. At like $15 a person, it doesn’t take much to turn a profit. They are also necessary to sell park hopper plus and water park and more options.

Yeah, that's why I said there's no reason to close them down as long as they don't want the land for something else. I'm still surprised Fantasia Gardens wasn't closed to be used as part of the Swan Reserve, though. Since they didn't, having the Swan Reserve right next door will probably increase play.

I don't know that they're necessary to sell those options -- my guess is a ton of people don't even realize they're included with the option, and almost no one is buying those options because of mini golf (i.e. they'd still buy it regardless because that's not what they're looking for). I could certainly be wrong about that, of course.

 

[peter11435]

I always wonder how much longer these will stay open. They don't seem to get much use -- we played both courses at Fantasia Gardens last time I was there (was included in the ticket package) and had fun, but I think we saw 4 other people total the entire time we were there. They can't cost much to run, so they're probably worth leaving open as another option, but always seems like they would be prime land for expansion.

With that said, I assumed Fantasia Gardens would be shut down when the Swan Reserve was built and the land would become part of that hotel, but since that didn't happen, they're probably safe for a while longer.

I've never been to Winter Summerland, but it's probably safe unless they ever decide to expand Blizzard Beach (or shut it down, I suppose). It'd be an easy place to expand the water park, but it's really not useable for anything else.

Weird. I can’t say I’ve ever had that experience. Everytime I’ve been to one in the last 10 years we have had to wait to golf and then had parties at nearly every hole.

 

[UNCgolf]

Weird. I can’t say I’ve ever had that experience. Everytime I’ve been to one in the last 10 years we have had to wait to golf and then had parties at nearly every hole.

I guess because we were there in January at a less busy time? The weather was perfect, though.

 

[celluloid]

Mini golf is low maintenance and large ROI.

 

[techgeek]

I would imagine the gardens course is easily the most popular / profitable of the 4 WDW mini golf courses.

Someone told me the other day that parking is no longer free for Fantasia Gardens since the opening of Swan Reserve?? If so, that’s going to kill off a lot of local traffic.

It was the favored course around town when my niece and nephew were younger… they would always request it over Congo River or Pirates Cove. But paying for parking would certainly give me pause in the future…

 

[ToTBellHop]

Weird. I can’t say I’ve ever had that experience. Everytime I’ve been to one in the last 10 years we have had to wait to golf and then had parties at nearly every hole.

That’s always been my experience, too. Never seen either course dead.

 

[tired_photog]

I would imagine the gardens course is easily the most popular / profitable of the 4 WDW mini golf courses.

Someone told me the other day that parking is no longer free for Fantasia Gardens since the opening of Swan Reserve?? If so, that’s going to kill off a lot of local traffic.

It was the favored course around town when my niece and nephew were younger… they would always request it over Congo River or Pirates Cove. But paying for parking would certainly give me pause in the future…

You have to grab a ticket when you pass thru the gate to park. Fantasia Gardens will then validate it for you so parking is still free.

We went on 3/30 and while the Fairway Course was a walk-on the Gardens Course had a 1-hour wait so it’s still quite popular.

 

[UNCgolf]

Well now I feel like we were lucky that the place was abandoned and we could just leisurely take our time without having to wait on anyone or feel rushed that people were waiting on us! Since that's apparently very unusual.

 

[techgeek]

You have to grab a ticket when you pass thru the gate to park. Fantasia Gardens will then validate it for you so parking is still free.

We went on 3/30 and while the Fairway Course was a walk-on the Gardens Course had a 1-hour wait so it’s still quite popular.

Glad to hear that. The source I heard it from probably saw the gate and didn’t look into it any further.

 

[JAB]

I'm still surprised Fantasia Gardens wasn't closed to be used as part of the Swan Reserve,

That would have required Disney being willing to lease the land to Tishman (in addition to the added expense and hassle of a new lease). Much simpler for them to just bulldoze the Swan tennis courts and build it on land they're already leasing from Disney.

 

[castlecake2.0]

We decided to do winter summerland randomly last week, we were just driving by and were like LETS GO, it was probably 7 or so. Maybe two other parties there when we arrived, by the time we left the lot was full. Definitely still a popular option.

 

[UNCgolf]

We decided to do winter summerland randomly last week, we were just driving by and were like LETS GO, it was probably 7 or so. Maybe two other parties there when we arrived, by the time we left the lot was full. Definitely still a popular option.

Makes sense that they would get busier at night -- we were there are like 11 AM or something after having breakfast at Boma.

 

[jasminethecat]

How long is everyone's trip to WDW that they spend hours playing mini-golf? I can see playing if you get a beach house in myrtle beach for a week, or in any other area that's not WDW. Maybe if I lived in Orlando I'd give it a shot, or if i was staying for a fortnight and only had 10-day park tickets. But is the mini golf at WDW really good or is this something people just don't have near their homes?

I can understand the dads and grandpas who hate their family and play actual golf on their vacation, they probably only pack golf shirts and khaki pants and say "I will meet you in the park for fireworks at 11 pm!" Then they stand their families up because they got drunk at the hotel bar and blame the disney bus system for their absence. At the end of the trip they make everyone take a group photo even though everyone else was already in 1000 photos together and they only have mismatched shirts for this last day because *someone* got BBQ sauce on all of their clothes on day 2. Like how did they get it on the clothes they weren't even wearing?!? And they're happy to have this one photo to put in their office at work, so they can show their employees the great time they had taking their family to Disney World. It doesn't matter that they cannot name one ride or even one park's name, they feel good because they have a photo to prove they followed through for once in their lives. Follow through...oh yeah I just remembered I have a private golf lesson tomorrow during little Suzie's class play. She probably won't even notice.

 

[ToTBellHop]

How long is everyone's trip to WDW that they spend hours playing mini-golf? I can see playing if you get a beach house in myrtle beach for a week, or in any other area that's not WDW. Maybe if I lived in Orlando I'd give it a shot, or if i was staying for a fortnight and only had 10-day park tickets. But is the mini golf at WDW really good or is this something people just don't have near their homes?

I can understand the dads and grandpas who hate their family and play actual golf on their vacation, they probably only pack golf shirts and khaki pants and say "I will meet you in the park for fireworks at 11 pm!" Then they stand their families up because they got drunk at the hotel bar and blame the disney bus system for their absence. At the end of the trip they make everyone take a group photo even though everyone else was already in 1000 photos together and they only have mismatched shirts for this last day because *someone* got BBQ sauce on all of their clothes on day 2. Like how did they get it on the clothes they weren't even wearing?!? And they're happy to have this one photo to put in their office at work, so they can show their employees the great time they had taking their family to Disney World. It doesn't matter that they cannot name one ride or even one park's name, they feel good because they have a photo to prove they followed through for once in their lives. Follow through...oh yeah I just remembered I have a private golf lesson tomorrow during little Suzie's class play. She probably won't even notice.

Hours playing mini golf? You must not be very good.

Fantasia Gardens is a lovely diversion if you’re staying at BoardWalk, Yacht, Beach, or Swolphin. A game takes my family of four ~1 hour. Some of our favorite times at WDW occur outside the parks altogether, at the pool, enjoying our resort, or, yes, playing mini golf. In particular, around 2 pm when ride lines are outrageous, why on earth do people stay in the parks?

For the record, I spend the entire vacation with my family. It’s a family vacation.

 

[No Name]

I can understand the dads and grandpas who hate their family and play actual golf on their vacation, they probably only pack golf shirts and khaki pants and say "I will meet you in the park for fireworks at 11 pm!" Then they stand their families up because they got drunk at the hotel bar and blame the disney bus system for their absence. At the end of the trip they make everyone take a group photo even though everyone else was already in 1000 photos together and they only have mismatched shirts for this last day because *someone* got BBQ sauce on all of their clothes on day 2. Like how did they get it on the clothes they weren't even wearing?!? And they're happy to have this one photo to put in their office at work, so they can show their employees the great time they had taking their family to Disney World. It doesn't matter that they cannot name one ride or even one park's name, they feel good because they have a photo to prove they followed through for once in their lives. Follow through...oh yeah I just remembered I have a private golf lesson tomorrow during little Suzie's class play. She probably won't even notice.

You’ve been around some… unusual… dads and grandpas.

 

[tired_photog]

How long is everyone's trip to WDW that they spend hours playing mini-golf? I can see playing if you get a beach house in myrtle beach for a week, or in any other area that's not WDW. Maybe if I lived in Orlando I'd give it a shot, or if i was staying for a fortnight and only had 10-day park tickets. But is the mini golf at WDW really good or is this something people just don't have near their homes?

I can understand the dads and grandpas who hate their family and play actual golf on their vacation, they probably only pack golf shirts and khaki pants and say "I will meet you in the park for fireworks at 11 pm!" Then they stand their families up because they got drunk at the hotel bar and blame the disney bus system for their absence. At the end of the trip they make everyone take a group photo even though everyone else was already in 1000 photos together and they only have mismatched shirts for this last day because *someone* got BBQ sauce on all of their clothes on day 2. Like how did they get it on the clothes they weren't even wearing?!? And they're happy to have this one photo to put in their office at work, so they can show their employees the great time they had taking their family to Disney World. It doesn't matter that they cannot name one ride or even one park's name, they feel good because they have a photo to prove they followed through for once in their lives. Follow through...oh yeah I just remembered I have a private golf lesson tomorrow during little Suzie's class play. She probably won't even notice.

For us we usually play on our arrival day if we get in town before check-in time and we’ve had our fill of Disney Springs. Or like we did this past trip we went after checkout from our WDW hotel and before check-in at Universal.

I really like the Fairways Course because although it’s putt-putt, it’s laid out like a real course. Pretty challenging.

 

[castlecake2.0]

How long is everyone's trip to WDW that they spend hours playing mini-golf? I can see playing if you get a beach house in myrtle beach for a week, or in any other area that's not WDW. Maybe if I lived in Orlando I'd give it a shot, or if i was staying for a fortnight and only had 10-day park tickets. But is the mini golf at WDW really good or is this something people just don't have near their homes?

I can understand the dads and grandpas who hate their family and play actual golf on their vacation, they probably only pack golf shirts and khaki pants and say "I will meet you in the park for fireworks at 11 pm!" Then they stand their families up because they got drunk at the hotel bar and blame the disney bus system for their absence. At the end of the trip they make everyone take a group photo even though everyone else was already in 1000 photos together and they only have mismatched shirts for this last day because *someone* got BBQ sauce on all of their clothes on day 2. Like how did they get it on the clothes they weren't even wearing?!? And they're happy to have this one photo to put in their office at work, so they can show their employees the great time they had taking their family to Disney World. It doesn't matter that they cannot name one ride or even one park's name, they feel good because they have a photo to prove they followed through for once in their lives. Follow through...oh yeah I just remembered I have a private golf lesson tomorrow during little Suzie's class play. She probably won't even notice.