A Day off of Disney?

[Frozen2014]

Hi,

As part of agreement with DH for staying onsite, I promised him a 'day off' of Disney. We are coming Sunday - Saturday and our break day is Wednesday (i.e. no park, no ADRs booked). We are planning on renting a car.

Personally I would still love to stay on Disney site...maybe check out the pool and go to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk area, but think we'll probably go offsite.

Do any of you do this? And if so, what do you do?

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

We always do the day off the day after our 1st MK day. We're generally wiped so we'll do a late breakfast (Non-Character) and head back to the resort for pool time. If the weather is not great we'll head to DTD and catch a movie.

 

[kerplop]

We usually do a day right smack dab in the middle and we sleep a lot, rest our feet, swim, maybe go visiting a resort if we haven't seen it. Last time we went for Mexican in Orlando!

 

[JimmyV]

I once did a "commando" schedule that was so severe that my wife almost tossed me off our theme park view balcony! After that trip, we made a pact. Under no circumstances will we ever tour parks four days in a row. For every three days of RD-Closing touring, we have to take a day off. We visit resorts, rent boats, swim, play golf, go to DTD. Usually stay on site. So yes, we definitely take days off. (Truth be told, sometimes our "off" day is a late entry to World Showcase for a stroll through the countries.

 

[Frozen2014]

I once did a "commando" schedule that was so severe that my wife almost tossed me off our theme park view balcony!

So looks like all of your 'day offs' are basically non-park days but still Disney.

 

[grimley1968]

We normally have an "off day" somewhere in our vacations onsite at WDW. We either rent a car or have our own, and normally choose Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral as our destination. The Space Center is there, but that involves more walking around, which we're usually pretty tired of by then. We normally just go to the beach. The beach access areas on the south side of Cocoa Beach (away from Ron Jon, etc.) are pretty nice. Just park, put a few bucks in the meter and enjoy the beach. 4th Street South is about where it gets "quiet" compared to the more developed area to the north.

 

[shyjade]

Truth be told, sometimes our "off" day is a late entry to World Showcase for a stroll through the countries.

This sounds like our "off" day last year. We spent the day at DTD, sleeping in, etc. We had 8pm dinner plans in "Italy" with friends from out of town so we booked FP+ for Soarin' & TT back to back, strolled around the WS a bit, rode Malestrom (this was in October, pre-tiering days) had an awesome dinner then took our time leaving the WS (it was an EMH evening). I still considered that a "day off" because it didn't feel like a park day.

 

[minnie mum]

So looks like all of your 'day offs' are basically non-park days but still Disney.

At least for our family, our days off are still on property. DH usually has a golf morning. That's usually when I will do laundry and hang by the pool with a good book and listen to some tunes. Or we sleep late (what a luxury), have a nice late breakfast/brunch, then pool time. Maaaybe go to DTD for browsing.
We usually save our dinner shows or signature dinners for our days off as well. Note I've been saying days off. Plural. Now that we usually stay 10-12 days, one day off is definitely not enough.

Our next (and possibly last) visit, though, will be shorter with only one day off in the middle. And then we'll move over to one of the Universal resorts.

 

[ArwenMarie]

How about Universal!

Kidding.

Well, maybe he would like that? Is it Disney he wants a break from, or touring parks? You could go eat somewhere at CityWalk and catch a movie, walk around a bit, see something different.

 

[B.B. Sots]

We always have a day off in the middle. It is our designated pool/resort day.

The next time we go will be horseback riding and a fireworks cruise... with swimming in between.

There are tons to do on property (including putt putt and carriage rides), just explore the websites and see what you would like to do and set it up.

 

[jeffbear]

I've got some family in the Orlando area and in the past we've taken a break day to leave property to go do some normal stuff (somebody always seems to be short on socks or something) and go visit them for dinner and maybe a movie.

This year we switched it up and scheduled two half days in the parks and took the afternoons to hang by the pool and otherwise screw around at the resort.

Either of those seems to work right about the middle of a WDW week

 

[BMC423]

Our arrival day is usually our Downtown Disney Day. For us it's a nice way to start our vacation. I usually try to plan an off day during the middle of our stay similar to what you're doing. We wake up late and take our time with breakfast. We spend the day by the pool and only have an ADR scheduled for dinner at our resort. We have found that off days are great to just enjoy the resort activities. That off day is also laundry day for me.

 

[TwoMisfits]

As a kid, it was a day we played games/cards as a family all morning, hit the pool all afternoon, and hit a family style dinner and/or a movie at night (throw in some arcade games and it was heaven - in fact, we'd go 2 weeks offsite and spend 7 days on and 7 days off property - 1 day of dawn to 11pm touring and someone always needed a break!)...

Now, as a grownup, I usually have family I haven't seen for a while with me, so we spend the day having a nice lunch, swimming at an offsite resort pool with waterslides, hot tubs, and spray parks, and chatting (either in an air conditioned suite with some alcohol or over games of friendly mini golf). If there's no family (and we're down at the right time), we go for a REALLy fancy meal during the Magical Month (ie. when we can afford those places to end the day...no Disney, no need - down days are meant for enjoying what Orlando has to offer (I mean, go crazy and get some Groupons/Living Socials to some of the whackier sites/attractions and have a fun time - we've done that, too...

I ALWAYS have at least 2 down days in a 7 day week (3 is my preference)...

 

[Frozen2014]

Thank you for all the replies. Personally I would love to have a day off of parks, but enjoy the resort and Downtown Disney (the rest of our schedule is pretty much on the go, so not even sure when else we would explore the resort). Sounds like there is still lots to do.

What about around Orlando. Not sure if stupid question or not, but are there malls near by? Or definitely the beach is an option that someone mentioned.

 

[tinkerbella16]

I once did a "commando" schedule that was so severe that my wife almost tossed me off our theme park view balcony

this cracked me up! But a great pact was made.. that rest and relaxation is much needed and so worth it!

At least for our family, our days off are still on property. DH usually has a golf morning. That's usually when I will do laundry and hang by the pool with a good book and listen to some tunes. Or we sleep late (what a luxury), have a nice late breakfast/brunch, then pool time. Maaaybe go to DTD for browsing.
We usually save our dinner shows or signature dinners for our days off as well. Note I've been saying days off. Plural. Now that we usually stay 10-12 days, one day off is definitely not enough.

We don't go longer than 8 days usually but this is what we do also! And our off day is typically whichever day is our MVMCP night, since we'll be up late.

 

[illinidp]

We like to go to a beach for a day such as Jetty Park Beach at Port Canaveral, Vero Beach, or Clearwater Beach.

 

[MAD on Disney]

We do not always do a day off, but we have occasionally done so. If you like a beach with waves, there is Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic Coast. If you like a beach with calm waters, there is Clearwater Beach on the Gulf Coast. If you are interested in Space stuff, there is the Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic Coast. Kennedy and Cocoa are closer, and both can be done in one day if you keep them short (but it is hard to keep Kennedy short, at least it was for me). The drive to Clearwater is a little longer, but still doable, and a little more relaxing (once you are there - the traffic isn't always relaxing).

 

[bigbabyblues]

We took a full day off from the parks last year for the first time (9th trip). We were there for 10 days, and somewhere around day 4 or 5, we spent a full day at Blizzard Beach. It was a great day! We went to TL two other days, but during the afternoon only, with a park in the morning and evening.

Downtown Disney is a lot of fun (my boys still love the Lego store), you could play mini golf, visit and tour other resorts, have a character breakfast at a resort and then go swim in your pool, there is a lot to do. If your trip is after mid November, it is fun to go to other resorts and see the Christmas decorations, too.

We drive to WDW, but we don't go off property until time to go home.

 

[wendybeth75]

If you like Shopping there is a great outlet mall nearby. Premier outlets on Vineland avenue. There is even a discount Disney store there. Sometimes we shop a bit or take a drive down I-drive. Something fun to do(if you aren't staying there) is to go over to AKL for the afternoon or evening. You can view the animals, have dinner at one of the great TS restaurants and roam the grounds.

 

[EvilQueenLiz]

I take a day (or 2) as "Rest Days". We sleep late, hang out at the pool and if we're feeling up to it we'll pop down to DTD and do some shopping or stroll around.
I learned the hard way that the family (and myself) can't commando park tour for 7-10 days straight without seriously considering performing violent acts upon one another. It's kinda how I got my "Evil Queen" nickname!