4yo Birthday not at a Disney park

[gouldmanj1]

Hi Everyone - My son (who turns 4 on November 12) and I will be flying down to Orlando from Massachusetts late on November 11th. Late on the 12th we will be meeting up with my friend and her son that will be coming in from Michigan.
I was thinking of "saving" our days in the park until my friend and her son get there with us. (As with most people - money is a concern, but I still want to give my son a GREAT birthday)

Can you give me some great "non-park" ideas that I can do with my son for his 4th birthday?
I was already thinking about:
a character meal at Chef Mickey's
I heard about a campfire at Camp Wilderness (but not sure about the timing of this and if it would be better to watch fireworks instead)
renting a paddle boat somewhere
anything else you could suggest.......

Thanks!

Julie

PS - he is a GREAT pirate fan at the moment
(I have checked out the Disney's Pirate Adventure as an option, but they are sold out the days that we are visiting)

 

[Scoootch]

We just did the Hoop-De-Do dinner show at Pioneer hall at FW and my 4yr old loved it! They announce b-days at the show btw. Anyway, would make for a fun evening activity w/dinner.

Which resort will you be staying at ? If it's pool weather you could spend time at the pool if he's into that with the waterslides and maybe go over to DTD and check out Disney quest?

You could rent mouseboats and take him out on those at many of the resorts or at DTD marketplace. There's the pirate adventure thing at GF.

Just some ideas off the top of my head.

HTH's

 

[dis-happy]

I second the mouseboats. You could go to DTD and easily spend half the day there with a 4 year old, especially if he likes Legos. Get a big sundae at Ghiradellis. Take the mouseboats out.

Also, most kids LOVE their hotel pool....

 

[gouldmanj]

We are staying off property on Thursday night - so we won't offically be WDW guests until check in on Friday. What are mouseboats?

 

[Scoootch]

Originally posted by gouldmanj
What are mouseboats?

Mouseboats are little mini-speed boats that hold only 2 people. They're really alot of fun to take out. Perfect for just the 2 of you

 

[dis-happy]

More on the mouseboats---

you can rent them at DTD and drive them to Key West and even farther (can't remember the farthest point out). You could also go to the Wilderness Lodge Inn/Villas and rent them there. Those boats are supposed to be faster, plus the lake is huge---you can go all the way to MK. Definitely, check it out.

Also, are you staying on Disney property after the first night? You can check in as early as you want, even though the room probably won't be ready. But once you're checked in, you can go ahead and use the pool.

 

[FOV]

How funny!

We will be in WDW (from Massachusetts) for my ds's 4th birthday, which is November 12th!!!

We will be having dinner at Chef Mickey's for my sons birthday. We love it there! It will be fun for your son to see Mickey even before you get to the parks. After dinner at Chef Mickeys you could take a really long monorail ride. Take the Epcot rail and you will go right through the park. You can also ask to sit up front with the driver. My kids love this. The best part is this will all be free with the exception of the dinner. Kids (especially younger ones) consider the monorail to be a big attraction.

The ideas others have mentioned are also great (water mice $20.75 for 30 minutes - swimming at the hotel pool, ghiradellis etc...)

Other ideas: Beaches and Cream for ice cream at the Beach Club and then rent a bike (with passenger seat) at the boardwalk.

Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf ($9.50 for adults; $7.50 for kids)

Whatever you do have a great time!