4th park day or do other activities?

[kohlby]

We will have four full days on our next trip in mid-April. We will be staying at Cabana Bay. We bought 3 day passes for two people in our group, the rest have AP's. We will figure it out as we go along somewhat, but I like to have a plan anyway, knowing it can change. The kids will be 7, 10, 12, 12, and 15. Two have never been to the Orlando area and likely will never come back for many years, if at all.

Any ideas for inexpensive things to do on that 4th day? Upgrading the tickets won't cost very much, but if the kids are done with the parks after 3 days or want to explore something else, then we would need to do something else. (We will base it on what the two kids who have never been want). The pools are on our list. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the three oldest kids end up at the pool almost every night. (The two younger kids don't love pools nearly as much and will go to bed earlier).

As for budget, about $100 total for the 7 of us if the activity takes a few hours. Bowling at CB looked too expensive for how fast the activity was.

 

[TommyJK]

Do you have a rental car/access to a car while there to go somewhere off site? If so, there are a bazillion mini-golf courses throughout the Greater Orlando area that you might enjoy as a group.

 

[macraven]

why venture offsite when you can have the fun of mini golf at city walk......
and do it with the package, meal/golf for the discount.

 

[TommyJK]

Their budget of $100 for the 7 of them wouldn't fit for the City Walk Mini-Golf.

Edit: Actually they might be able to make it fit depending on how many adults and kids are playing. Could squeek it in for under $100 possibly.

 

[wookiebeck]

That depends on how you define the cost. If they are all gonna spend $$ on a meal at CW anyway, the addition of mini-golf as a the package/discount might make that $100 budget.

 

[macraven]

Their budget of $100 for the 7 of them wouldn't fit for the City Walk Mini-Golf.

Edit: Actually they might be able to make it fit depending on how many adults and kids are playing. Could squeek it in for under $100 possibly.

i was thinking along the line that if they rented a vehicle to go off site, they would need a large car to carry all 7 people.
that would be an added expense onto the $100 budget for entertainment off site for mini golf.

the meal/golf package deal would be $169.55 includes tax
or $22.48 pp

the meal/movie package deal is $20.60 pp or $156.19 for 7 people

a decent price to feed and entertain 7 people at the same time.
the menus of the restaurants and choice of meals are listed on the UO site.
if you break it down, it is cheaper in the long run.
cheesburger in paradise with beverage would cost more if you ordered without a package deal.

figure the group would be eating somewhere that day when if they go to city walk for golf or movie


if a person wanted to add the other side of the mini golf, they can at a discounted price.
the duo ticket portion of the movie/meal or golf/meal can be used on separate days.


i used the price of adults as i did not see children prices.
they might be available but i was rushing to through that section of costs.

 

[dixonsontour]

Cabana bay had bowling for $9 each inc shoe rental weekdays 12-4pm. They had flyers advertising it when we checked in and we played one day for this price.

Mini golf is a good suggestion too if the budget allows it, golf and dine (eat at margaritaville) is a great deal.

Pool time in evening is a great plan, my DD loved watching the movies in the pool.

 

[kohlby]

We do have a car as we are driving down. (Well, 5 of us. Two of the kids are flying down but we have room for them in our car).

The bowling rates I found were $15 each plus $4 for shoes and you only got 1.5 hours of bowling. At about $20 - that's $140 for bowling. The $9 total rate would make it MUCH more reasonable.

If the entertainment includes the meal, then going over would be fine of course. Our regular meal prices will range from $30-$70 - two are small eaters so we're able to share usually. (The $30 is an off-site meal). I'll look up the meal and golf deal to see if it would make sense for our family. Do they make you buy the package for all in your party? Or could I buy 6 packages and have one person not play golf so that way we could just get 6 meals? (6 meals for the 7 of us is still likely way too much food).

 

[macraven]

Not everyone in the group has to buy tickets and play
Or the golf/meal deal

Some may just walk with you on the course and watch

Only those that have the golf coupon or pay the fee will get a golf club

You don't have to buy the meal plan

I was with others last October that had an evening meal together
One in our group used the meal coupon from the golf/meal deal to pay for their dinner

 

[schumigirl]

why venture offsite when you can have the fun of mini golf at city walk......
and do it with the package, meal/golf for the discount.

Definitely.........we've played many off site courses and much prefer the Citywalk one.........



The Citwalk mini-golf is so much fun........both sides are excellent, prefer the haunted side at night but equally fun during the day.........

Never done the meal deal but it sounds a good one.........and Margaritaville is a lively, fun place to eat in too........sounds like it could work for you.........

 

[dixonsontour]

The golf meal deal includes tax and tip too, it is a really good buy if you are doing the golf.

The menus are on the Universal website but at Margaritaville includes thing like cheeseburger in paradise, fish sandwich, chicken and rice. We've had all these and enjoyed. You can buy as many as you like and pay cash for the rest of the group.

What we do is buy enough golf and dine deals for us all to play but pay for a kids meal for DD cash about $8 then use her meal ticket for a meal for one of us another day. They also have a little card you fill in as you play golf with easy questions on turn it in at the end and they give you a prize, usually 50% off another game. They also offered us a cheap upgrade to play both courses when we played with the golf deal ticket, we didn't as 18 holes is enough for us in one go.

The bowling deal was called something like bowl for kid prices. If you call the resort they will know if it is still on. We did it October 15.

They also have the freestyle soda machine in the bowling alley so if you have bought a resort mug no need to buy drinks whilst you bowl.

There are photos of the golf and dine and bowling in my 2015 trip report on the universal trip reports section on here.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

If you were looking for a few offsite attraction ideas within your budget, there are a nice selection of offers on Groupon right now for some great attractions.

Skeletons: Animals Unveiled is in the I-Drive complex, and is well worth the time and money (plan for at least an hour or two inside....the exhibits are fabulously done). You can get passes for 4 for $35 today on Groupon (there is an additional $10 off today, normally the Groupon price is $45 for 4 admissions), so enough left over in your $100 budget for a treat afterward.

Another one on Groupon that is worth a look is Lost Caverns Mini Golf. Its very close to Universal property, and the deal includes 36 rounds of golf for six people (two 18 hole courses each) plus 3 bags of gator food for $58. All you would need to buy is the 7th golf pass. Again, well within the budget with money left over. Feeding the alligators is a fun and very "Florida" thing to do, too.

Other Groupon offers that would fit your group well....The Orlando Eye, Sea Life Aquarium, or Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (each $20 per adult, $15 per child). Combine a discount code with those rates (they offer those almost all the time, certainly one before your travel date) and again you should have no problems staying within or very close to that $100 budget. If you are a new Groupon user, you can get $10 off your purchase today by following the link on the website.

We have been to Skeletons, Sea Life, The Eye and Madame Tussauds....all are excellent attractions and well suited for families. Lost Caverns is one we haven't been to, so I can comment on the quality of that golf experience. I have a ton of photos of each of the first 4 in my past trip reports (Skeletons and the Eye both in May 2015, the Eye/Sea Life/Tussauds in December 2015) if you want to follow the links in my signature and check them out.

Just a reminder as well....order your tickets through Ebates and you will earn cash back on those Groupon purchases, too.

 

[dixonsontour]

I've gone for the Orlando eye groupon (TAKE25 discount today for 25% off) Bit trickier for me as we are in UK and it seems to want only a US or Canada state in my billing address but got it to work in the end.

It says you can upgrade at time of redemption for $14 each to include madame tussauds and sealife.

 

[kohlby]

Though those Groupon offers look good, I want to stay away from something we have to plan that far in advance - as there's still a chance we might do 4 days in the parks instead of 3. I'll look up Lost Caverns though to see if there are other discounts. I live on the SC/GA border so we've seen our fair share of alligators, but the other two kids with us have not.

Thanks for the reminder about the Orlando Eye, as it prompted me to look up the homeschool deal to see if that was during the time we're going as it was a great deal. It was $20 to do all three attractions using that deal for students, but it's only on Tuesdays and that will be our first park day. (I'm mentioning it in case other homeschoolers are reading this thread though!)

 

[dsdeleon]

Checking to see if you are a member of the ATSC passport program through your local Museum or Science Center? Orlando Science Center is an excellent way to spend the day for your group since you have a car and if you are in the program, admission is free.

 

[dja14]

Since you have a car you could go to the beach. It is a distance away but you'd be driving through Florida. Picnic or something similar for lunch. The big plus is you wouldn't have to do any pre-paying for activity. On the fourth day if you guys are tired of parks you could go to the beach, whichever side you like, if the kids are still loving the parks, you can just go there.

 

[pepperandchips]

Keep in mind you can also pool hop at the Universal resorts! I personally think there is plenty to do and with the kids at that tween/teen age group they will want to repeat the rides lots of times, so if it's in the budget I would just add an extra park day. But the resorts at Universal are absolutely amazing - you can easily spend a day doing water taxis to check out the different resorts and resort pools.

A perfect no-cost (well okay food costs money) extra day for me would be waking up late, walking to CityWalk for a Cinnabon, sitting out at City Walk watching the boats go and come for a while, go back to the room and change into swimsuit, take water taxi or walk to whichever resort pool appeals to me most, swim for a couple of hours, walk/boat to Sal's at Portofino for pizza or go back to City Walk to a more casual lunch option (I probably wouldn't want to be in my swimsuit at Cowfish or the like but I'm sure they've seen it all...) hop to another pool for the late afternoon hours and take a snooze poolside. Go back to the room and get showers, then go offsite to one of the many amazing restaurants nearby. In true @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina fashion, come back and hit the hot tub for maximum relaxation. If you HAVE to have something to do that night you could see about groupon/living social deals for mini golf.

I would also make this "extra" day somewhere in the middle of your park days. You don't want to be at City Walk watching the Rip Ride Rocket make loops nearby and know you can't go back in tomorrow It also lets your crew rest up those tired feet!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

In true @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina fashion, come back and hit the hot tub for maximum relaxation.

Guilty as charged!

 

[onenursebrandy]

Its definitely not as glamorous as some of the other ideas but you may want to check out Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake. (I haven't personally been there yet, but we have reservations for their campground in May, and it has excellent reviews) Its just a couple miles from Universal. They have fishing, boating, playground, petting zoo, swimming pool, and a good disk golf course (like golf but with Frisbee's). It definitely fits in your budget, and can be a last minute decision.

 

[wookiebeck]

Its definitely not as glamorous as some of the other ideas but you may want to check out Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake. They have fishing, boating, playground, petting zoo, swimming pool, and a good disk golf course (like golf but with Frisbee's).

Done this! That was the haziest, hottest and humid-est round of disc golf I ever played. And I got out there at sunrise to beat the heat, lol.