What are your top 10 things to do at WDW?

[mrtoad]

A lot of people just focus on the parks but there is so much more to do. When you do your planning what are things you add to your list as a must do for each trip? You don’t necessarily have to succeed in doing them all because plans don’t always work out, but things you pencil in each time anyway.

The only stipulations are the things on your list can’t be in the parks and they must be on WDW property.


Mr. Toad’s top 10 things to do in Walt Disney World outside of the parks (in no particular order)

1 – Eat dinner at the California Grill during the fireworks
2 – Take either water mice or a pontoon boat out on the 7 Seas Lagoon from the Polynesian
3 – Take the launch from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney
4 – Take a ride in the nose of the Monorail
5 – Walk into the Great Ceremonial House at the Polynesian to soak it in (even though I am not staying there) for old time’s sake
6 – Buy a new watch at Downtown Disney
7 – Call my father to reminisce over vacations past
8 – Visit at least one new resort to see if I would want to stay there in the future
9 – Sit and have some Cajun Bloody Marys at the outside bar on Old Man Island at Port Orleans Riverside
10 – Go into the resort store everyday and look at all they have to offer like a little kid and wish that I could buy it all

What is your top 10 list?

 

[SpongeScott]

1. ride in front of monorail
2. eat at Wolfgang Puck's Express in DD
3. walk through DD to digest the above mentioned meal
4. dessert at Ghiradelli's after burning off above mentioned meal
5. boat ride from Port Orleans to DD
6. visit other resorts

other "must dos" are in the parks

 

[tigsmom]

1. Have dinner at Concourse Steakhouse the night before we leave.
2. Breakfast in the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the WL (as many times as we
can)
3. Take the boat ride from the WL to MK at sunset (very romantic)
4. Eat weight in chicken strips (thats for the kids)
5. Play mini golf
6. Ride the monorail (in front if possible...only done twice)
7. Blizzard Beach
8. SHOP!
9. Take some great photos.
10. none of your business.

 

[rosebud's mom]

1. Ride in the front of the monorail.
2. Chef Mickey's for breakfast.
3. Downtown Disney - look for the specialty photo places.
( My 16 yr old daughter has a portrait we had taken of her 14 years ago sitting on a red velvet chair while Prince Charming's assistant tries the glass slipper on her foot !
4. Marshmallow roast at Fort Wilderness.
5. Petting zoo at Fort Wilderness.
6. Breakfast at the Polynesian.
7. House of Blues for late-night wind-down.
8. Plan on exploring Celebration this time around.
9. Also, this is a 1st Port Orleans Riverside trip, so the bakery will be a must !
10. This is new too, but we have PS for My Disney Girl's Tea with Aurora at
The Grand Floridian !!

 

[DisneySaint]

In no particular order...

1) Eat at Pinnochio's Village Haus at the window that looks into It's a Small World (currently boarded up).
2) Eat at the Electric Umbrella in Epcot.
3) Ride the TTA over and over to relax and enjoy the sights.
4) Find the ring outside the Haunted Mansion.
5) Ride Spaceship Earth at least 3 times.
6) Eat in one of the countries of the World Showcase.
7) Go to Downtown Disney.
8) Take a picture of Spaceship Earth at night.
9) Go to Magic Kingdom last - to savor it!
10) Do something fun the day we arrive like put-put or go ride the monorail.

 

[Steamboat_Kevin]

Let's see here...
1. Walking down Main Street USA and catching my first glimpse of the castle
2. Eating at the California Grill during Wishes
3. Watching Illuminations
4. Rock n' Roller Coaster
5. Riding all of the mountains
6. Taking the monorail anywhere
7. Just walking around the Boardwalk
8. Test Track, then Spaceship Earth, then Ellen
9. Watching fish while waiting for food at the Coral Reef Restaurant
10. Breakfast at Spoodles

 

[Computer Magic]

1. Visit POR where we honeymooned (Dixie Landings back then) and take boat ride to DD.
   [*]DD shopping afternoon. must visit World of Disney, Art of Disney, and Team Mickey Athletic Club and collect souvenirs.
   [*]DisneyQuest Emporium: The ride with the cannon that shots balls at other Disney Guest is a must.
   [*]Goodies from Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop
   [*]Dinner at Fultion’s Crab House
   [*]Late night swim at the resort.
   [*]Visit resort arcade and play air hockey against wife.
   [*]Upon arrival visit resort Counter Service to eat after long day then walk through and become familiar with resort.
   [*]Next trip planning on eating at different resorts.
   [*]Cirque du Soleil
   

 

[DDuckFan130]

:lol: It's really hard to do this without including the parks, but let's see:

1)Go to Ghirardelli's and get a chocolate milkshake.
2)Go into the World of Disney and spend at least half an hour in there browsing and/or shopping.
3)Swim in the pool at the resort.
4)Play in the arcade at the resort for a while and kick some butt in skee ball .
5)Take pictures.
6)Eat Mickey waffles for breakfast at least once :slurp:.
7)If we're at one of the All Stars, we like to order their large 4-topping pizzas for dinner. They are so good!

That's all I can think of. If I think of anything else, I'll add it on here :lol:.

 

[Goofy23]

In no particular order:

1. Ride Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and PoC at least 3 times in one day.
2. Find the ring outside Haunted Mansion.
3. Spend a full day at MK to feel like a kid again.
4. Go "Hidden Mickey" hunting.
5. Go to the Adventurer's Club.
6. Eat at Germany in Epcot.
7. Take pictures of the Grand Floridian.
8. Sit on a bench and enjoy the Fantasyland scenery.
9. Ride the MK RR all the way around the park.
10. Take picture with Goofy.

 

[mrtoad]

I just highlighted it in red as some of you have missed it. This is for things on WDW property but are not in the 4 parks.

 

[raven]

1. Go to a park the day I arrive.
2. Ride the Monorail.
3. See Illuminations at least 3 times.
4. Ride Spaceship Earth whenever I want to relax.
5. Magic Kingdom for the first full day.
6. Cruise a new resort I havent seen yet.
7. Haunted Mansion!!!!! (many times of corse)
8. Meet new people by being overly friendly in lines.
9. Eat at Cosmic Rays at least once per trip.
10. Stay up all night watching Resort TV because I still can't get enough during the day. :wave:

 

[mrtoad]

1. Ride in the front of the monorail.
2. Chef Mickey's for breakfast.
3. Downtown Disney - look for the specialty photo places.
( My 16 yr old daughter has a portrait we had taken of her 14 years ago sitting on a red velvet chair while Prince Charming's assistant tries the glass slipper on her foot !
4. Marshmallow roast at Fort Wilderness.
5. Petting zoo at Fort Wilderness.
6. Breakfast at the Polynesian.
7. House of Blues for late-night wind-down.
8. Plan on exploring Celebration this time around.
9. Also, this is a 1st Port Orleans Riverside trip, so the bakery will be a must !
10. This is new too, but we have PS for My Disney Girl's Tea with Aurora at
The Grand Floridian !!

Can you fill me in more on number 4 and 10. As to what times and prices, etc. Thanks!

 

[his_girl96]

1) Take boat from Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kigngdom
2) Eat breakfast at Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge, hoping someone asks for ketcup :animwink:
3) Watch Water Pagent from the dock at Wilderness Lodge (ok, can we see a pattern here? )
4) Eat at Cape May Buffet for diner at the Beach Club. Best clams ever!
5) Watch the Cubs win the division at ESPN Sports Club on the Boardwalk (We were there last year when it happened and the place was crazy. Go Cubs Go!)
6) Take the pathway along the canal from MGM to Epcot (It is technically outside the parks, so it counts )
7) Shop like a maniac at Downtown Disney
8) Play Air Hockey at Rock N Roll Beach Club in Pleasure Island
9) Ride on the monorail
10) Last, but not least...Stay at Wilderness Lodge!

 

[MKCP 1985]

10 Walk the Boardwalk;
9 Stop by the Firehouse at LBV and buy a shirt;
8 Ride the boat from the Wilderness Lodge, to the Contemporary;
7 Check out the die cast vehicle toys at Downtown Disney;
6 Swim at the Polynesian Pool;
5 Say “Kungaloosh” at the Adventurer’s Club;
4 Get a book of matches from the House of Blues ( I don’t smoke);
3 Play golf on the Magnolia Course and put a golf ball in Mickey’s Ear;;
2 Ride the Monorail through the Contemporary Hotel; and

my number one favorite thing to do at Walt Disney World outside a park but on the property:

*1 drink a bourbon on the rocks in the lobby at the Grand Floridian while sporting a moustache and wearing a white linen suit, white bucs, string tie and straw hat.

*That last one is only aspirational, since I don’t own any linen suit, tie or hat, don’t have a moustache, and my wife would kill me if I went into any of that! I have had the bourbon on the rocks, though. Very relaxing, and highly recommended!

 

[Atta83]

Hmmm where to start....In particular order...
1. Get a pretzel with the spicy mustard.
2. Get a Blue Paradise Beach Bucket.
3. Ride the monorail around the park.
4. Shop.
5. Ride the mouseboats.
6. Get churro at DTD.
7. Eat at Gharadelis.
8. Watch people over at DTD.
9. Watch Fire works by baylake.
10. Visit Virgin Megastore.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Well, let's give it a shot...

10. Victoria and Albert's
9. Watching the water parade from the Poly beach, relaxing beverage in hand.
8. Interacting with (or witnessing) a special cast member who demonstrates what Walt wished for and what still is possible.
7.Hoop de do review
6. People watching (also included in the 10 worst list )
5. Cirque du Soleil
4. Driving on to the site and particularly up to the hotel
3. Street performers, music in the parks
2. Just ride the monorail, once around please.
1. Listening to the music that surrounds you everywhere in the parks and resorts.

 

[that_L_do_pig]

1. Stand at my resort door at the Polynesian and yell "Please stand clear of the doors - Por favor, manténganse alejado de las puertas" as my daughters walk through to leave for the day.

2. Sit on the platform with my 3 and 6 year old daughters to wait on the 'Pink' (to her) Coral Monorail and realize I will think of this moment when they get married in 100 years right after their first date.

3. Ask to ride the front of the monorail up front and say you have 5 people and look really dissappointed then say 'Nah, jk FOUR'.

4. Scout for future resorts that will never live up to the polynesian experience. O'hana is family.

5. 'Visualise' no crowds at the parks from the air conditioned comfort of the monorail, but encourage children to NOT lick the seats or the poles based on the vast knowledge I have gained from this forum.

6. Scout for any little 'gee whiz behind the scenes' visual you can find like the water parade barges lined up between GF and MK.

7. Look at the Seven Seas Lagoon and think about what it looked like when there really were waves crashing on the beaches of the polynesian (http://www.wdwmagic.com/wdwhistory.htm find 'wave' on page)

8. Get off the monorail and wait in line at the security checkpoint and realize that your children will never understand that one day we never had checkpoints and, even stranger, it was not necessary.

9. Mentally hone my master plan for 'ending up at WDW one day' (recommendations and suggestions always welcome).

10. Sleep standing up for 10-20 minutes on a WDW bus at the end of a long hot crowded day.

 

[Dwarful]

No particular order here, but here goes my list with strict adherence to the "rules in red"

10). Let my girls pick out a bunch of postcards in the resort gift shop so we can mail notes home to gramma and poppy, friends and other family

9). Make sure my girls get the hair wraps before I am sick and tired of hearing "Can we get hairwraps TODAY??"

8). See if we can devour the "kitchen sink" at Beaches N Cream


7). Take tons of photos but also allow the girls to take photos with their own desposable cameras, some of the best photos come from the childs view!

6). Make sure we have some swim time in the resort pool and capture those moments on film too!

5). Ride the monorail around the grounds one full time, and wait our turn so the girls can be "co-pilots"

4). Visit Downtown Disney while trying not to go broke (is that possible?)

3). Catch a round of minigolf with the family.

2). go for a "walk by" of our honeymoon room door and see whats new at that resort.

*1). Wake up PRIOR to the "wakeup" call so that I can wake up our daughters so that they are awake and can answer and hear the "wake up" call daily.

* I do this daily because the girls love to hear the wake up call. Thank goodness for speaker phone!

 

[bayoutiger]

Top 10 Things

8. Get off the monorail and wait in line at the security checkpoint and realize that your children will never understand that one day we never had checkpoints and, even stranger, it was not necessary.
.

Unfortunately, this is too true. Our kids live a completely different world now.

Anyway, back to happier times, my top 10:

10. Ride the monorail around parks the night before your first day at the parks
9. Absorbing the atmosphere of Downtown Disney
8. Arriving the airport knowing that you are on your way to a wonderful vacation
7. Sitting in the lobby watching people check in and how excited their children are
6. Coming back to your room and finding the packages that were sent back from your shopping
5. Character dinners for my 7 and 3 yr old daughters (Chef Mickey for dinner or 1900 Park Fare esp)
4. Watching the monorail pull up at the resort
3. Planning your next trip while still on property
2. Having a portrait done of my daughters at Grand Floridian
1. Having a guest take a picture of the entire travel family on the way to the park for the first time on the trip (first trip for my 3 yr old in 21 days)

 

[dandaman]

In no particular order:

10. Ride Disney Cruise Line buses when they operate at peak season so I can laugh at the other Disney buses.:lol:
9. Walk around Seven Seas Lagoon.
8. Get refill from souvenir cup at WL.
7. Eat at Steak & Shake after Fantasmic (if only it was on Disney property...)
6. Eat at Trail's End Buffeteria.:slurp:
5. Watching storms roll over downtown Orlando from Hotel Royal Plaza.
4. Walking to closest hotel after park closing, get on bus to DD there, and walk back to Royal Plaza.
3. Relax on evening cruise from DD to Port Orleans.
2. Finding dollars worth of pennies. (It's a running joke. We found $9.22 worth of pennies in a 2-week vacation at WDW!:lol:
1. Finding Hidden Mickeys!!!!!