A non-Disney trip?

[dizneyrules]

We are going to Orlando in early September. We were/are hoping for free dining but now are thinking about renting a 3 BR condo at Windsor Hills and getting the Orlando Flex passes that will include Universal, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Aqautica, Wet n Wild and Busch Gardens. The price is good and my kids are older now and love roller coasters. The part that is so hard for me is I cannot imagine going to Orlando and NOT doing Disney at all.

Can people who have done both Disney trips and then non-Disney trips tell me your thoughts and experiences? Did you feel like you were missing something not being at Disney at all? How did the other parks and the Orlando flex ticket work out for you?

Thanks!

Ann Marie

 

[sweetpeakaris]

We have been to Windsor Hills and didn't do Disney. It did feel odd since a lot of people at the Resort were doing Disney and Disney was the hot topic at the pools, and people were asking my children "how was Disney today"? When we responded, "we are not doing Disney this trip", people looked as if to wonder why we were even in Florida, lol! However, without doing Disney, it was a very nice relaxing vacation and the kids still had a blast not doing any parks. We live in Mi, it was freezing once we left, so I think we were just happy to be in beautiful weather. Have fun on your trip, you will not miss Disney. If you need a Disney fix, go to DTD or Boardwalk and ride the ferry.

 

[twinsplusone]

We're not doing an "official" Disney trip this year either. We were going to do the beach, Busch Gardens, Anna Maria Island, and DTD one day. But we volunteered and got a free Disney day so now we're doing just one day. Long story short, no it would be fine with us if we skipped Disney this year.

 

[vettechick99]

Last July we stayed at Bonnet Creek and only did the WDW water parks. To me that is not doing Disney so it was a different kind of trip for us. It ended up being one of our most enjoyable, relaxing trips ever. Have a great trip!

 

[Cdn Gal]

I couldn't do it. I'm too much of a Disney addict.

 

[Poohbeck]

We did our first non-Disney trip in 2006. I was worried that I would have Disney withdrawl and not enjoy our time because I would be wishing we were at Disney. Well, I did fine and we had an amazing trip.

We went to SeaWorld (multiple days), Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center and spent a day at the pool.

We are doing another non-Disney trip this April. This time we are doing DC, SW, US and IOA. We've never done the Universal parks before, so, this will be new. We are also going to try Aquatica, depending on the weather.

When we go to Disney, we stay on-site, DO NOT rent a car and never leave the World. Our non-Disney trips we rent a car, eat alot of meals at the condo, and go all over. I guess I think of Florida two ways:

1. Disney
2. Regular Vacation

Hope this helps.

 

[formill]

Florida is so much more than Disney!! We have LOVED our non-disney trips to Florida.

 

[RockinDisney]

I love my "non" Disney trips!! As a Roller Coaster fanatic- US and IOA have some of my favorites and by the time you go, I think the new Harry Potter world will be open. Although I do have to admit, I usually sneak over to DTD for an evening

Please if you have any questions about the other parks ask away, I freely admit to loving all the parks not just Disney

 

[skyman8963]

I am not sure if I could go all the way down there and not do disney at all.
We have a disney cruiese booked for sept 2, but are going to stay at AKL for 4 days before the cruise and if it wasnt for the give a day promotion we wouldnt hit a disney park this time. We are planning on going to discovery cove and seaworld this trip.
To be that close and not appreciate the wonders of Disney at all would be very hard to do

 

[kathy884]

We usually stay off site for week long stays (do the condo rental thing) // love the great resorts and space. We do, though, for a week stay do one Disney park or water park. Often too, we'll book one dinner at one of the Disney resorts (e.g. Boma at AKL or Ohana at the Polynesian), just to get over to the grounds, enjoy Disney theming, etc. Given that we are paying such a high price for one day at a Disney park, on that day we are there from rope drop to closing. For cost/value/ammenities, we think an offsite condo rental make the most sense for us for a week long trip.

 

[Darcy03231]

We did a non-Disney trip in August 2007 and bought the Flex Pass tickets. To date it is one of my family's favorite vacations. We were there for 16 days and did US/IOA, Seaworld, Busch Gardens, Wet n' Wild, Kennedy Space Center, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum and spent a day at the beach on each coast.

 

[Southerndisney]

I like the idea of doing Give a Day Get a Day, then you at least have a touch of Disney.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

We had a great trip last year, staying in a villa, and enjoying the other areas. We love Sea World, and my kids really liked Universal. We also took a trip over to Tarpon Springs for Greek food and shopping. It was a lot of fun.

That said, we did go to DTD a couple of evenings, and took the monorail/busses around to a bunch of the resorts one day.

 

[disgirl4life]

I know my opinion may not mean the same as the others since I have lived in Fl all my life, but Florida does have a lot of other things to offer other than Disney. I LOVE Disney, but I did have US/IOA passes before, and BG/SW passes and they are still fun. Especially if they are teenagers and like roller coasters! If your family takes like yearly trips to WDW, maybe one year doing another park or beaches, or something like that would be a good idea. I like the idea for the Give-a-Day Get-a-day and do just one day and the rest with whatever else your family wants.

 

[MinnieGi]

I didn't think I'd be able to go to Orlando and not go to Disney, but my kids and I did just that last June and had a blast! My DD's dance team had a scheduled cruise to the Bahamas out of Port Canaveral for four days. I thought we'd spend several days at Disney afterward, but Sea World was offering great packages with hotel, park passes to SW and Aquatica so we did that instead and had a wonderful time.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We're doing a non-Disney Orlando trip in two weeks. I'll definitely get back to you.

Here's how it came about: We went to WDW last summer, then extended our trip by adding the week before at a Windsor Hills house. We also added Universal, and rented a car for the first time. Well, my family ended up loving the house, loving Windsor Hills, and so forth. They just kept talking about it. The kids were saying that they wished they had more time just chilling at the resort, enjoying the amenities.

Fast forward to a few months ago--Dh is asking if we can do something nice for Feb. break--nothing fancy or expensive. He says, "Can we just rent house, you know, like the one in Florida that we all loved so much, and hang out?" So I checked on-line--the house was available. Everyone is excited about going there again. What's not to love--private pool and jacuzzi, videogames and movies, tons to do in the community.

All that said, we're planning on doing a few non-Disney things. Seaworld, Medieval Times, and Gatorland, definitely. We were considering Wonderworks, but their laser tag thing is under refurbishment. We also might do u-pick oranges (nice counterpoint to the u-pick strawberries and blueberries we get at home), maybe Busch Gardens--I'm looking at options. But, since everyone wants mellow, I don't know what we'll actually do.

I personally can get Disney-ed out. We'll go for 2 weeks in 2011. I think we'll be looking forward to it by then. Oh, but I might do DTD with DD14, she does love to shop. Although I've got her hooked on flea markets, but still, it's tough to compete with Ghiradelli and Basin.

 

[jusero]

What exactly is an Orlando Flex Pass? How much does it usually cost? We do a week or more at WDW each year and I am thinking it might be fun to take a two-week vacation in 2011 and do one week at Disney and one week non-Disney. Reading your posts here, I think it would be fun.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Okay, we're back from our Orlando trip. We had a really good time, tragedy at Sea World notwithstanding. Yes, we were there that day, but didn't actually see the death.

This is going to sound like DIS heresy, but we didn't even miss WDW. We had a really great time. Everyone was very relaxed. The kids enjoyed the pool the most, despite it being a comparatively cold week in FL.

I should also note, my kids really don't care for eating in restaurants. We did, of course, a couple times, and also ate CS-type meals when we were in parks. But, my kids would rather hang out at home, snacking when they want to on chips or fruit or whatever, and then having a simple, home-cooked meal. I mention this only because (a) I'm still a bit surprised that they don't like eating out more (we rarely do at home, I thought it would be a treat!), and (b) someone else might have kids who love to eat out, for whom WDW and one of the dining plans might be a great choice. So, it's important to look at your own family when making these decisions.

 

[kcc]

If your kids love roller coasters - than US and IOA is the place to go!!! And Sea World also has a great one too. We've done the Disney vacation and the non-Disney vacation and to be honest, liked the non-Disney better. The lines were not as long, and it was great to have a little diversity. And my husband liked the price tag a lot better too - more parks for less $$ (plus US and IOA give great AAA discounts). Now, if your kids were still little and loved Mickey, it may be a different story.

 

[shalom]

So, it's important to look at your own family when making these decisions.

So true. We planned the trip to Orlando this April without Disney, because initially none of my kids were interested. They want to hit the beach, go to Sea World, and hang out at the resort pool. Middle daughter's friends were horrified she was going to Orlando without doing Disney, so she and I are going for one day, but I couldn't talk anyone else into it.

I homeschool, and I swear I'm going to assign them Epcot next time.