Are the mini-golf parks worth a visit?

[klepton]

I was originally going to get 10-day park hopper passes with the WPAM option for our 11 day visit this summer. Since we aren't going to the water parks every day, this would have given us the opportunity to use those extra passes for disneyquest and the mini-golf places (Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland). I was thinking that might be a good afternoon trip.

However, I've decided instead to get premium annual passes instead and visit WDW 2-3 more times in the following 12 months. While this covers the parks, water parks, and Disneyquest; it does not allow free play at the mini-golf places. From what I can tell annual pass holders receive a 50% discount.

So, are the mini-golf places worth the price of admission, even with 50% off? Is there anything that sets the experience apart from any other mini-golf course?

FWIW - We're staying at the SWAN for part of our trip, so wouldn't need to travel far to Fantasia Gardens.

 

[Robo]

The short answer is that if Mini-golf is something you like to do, then the courses at WDW are very nicely maintained (unique icons, of course) and offer courses for a wide range of skill levels.

For sure, I'd take the short stroll over to Fantasia Gardens and take a look.

 

[bookwormde]

Have you called WDW to confirm that the premium annual passes do not include the 1 round a day that the WP&more tickets do, since in that past premium annual passed had all the benefits of the WP&M and a few extras.

We always have fun with the miniature golf, but ended up only doing it when we were staying at an EPCOT resort.

 

[Laura's Dad]

We have always included Fantasia Gardens on our trip. We usually go on arrival or departure day. One thing that will always stay with me is my 8 year old daughter pleading to do Fantasia Gardens one more time on our way out of WDW on her first family trip. This is after experiencing 5 days of what Disney had to offer.

 

[Itinkso]

What if you go ahead and get the 10-day Parkhoppers, go to Fantasia Gardens, and then upgrade to the AP before your Parkhopper expires?

At DL, we would always begin with a multi-day ticket then upgrade to the lowest AP. From there, we'd get block out tickets and then apply to an upgrade, so, well before the year was up, we'd be up to Deluxe or Premium passports. This probably works the same at WDW?

 

[klepton]

Have you called WDW to confirm that the premium annual passes do not include the 1 round a day that the WP&more tickets do, since in that past premium annual passed had all the benefits of the WP&M and a few extras.

I haven't, but I saw the thread here yesterday stating that someone else had been told by a phone CM that it was now included. Everyone else in the thread indicated that this was not the case, and all the "official" info I see on the websites also indicates it's not included. Maybe they are starting to include it now though, it would make sense.

What if you go ahead and get the 10-day Parkhoppers, go to Fantasia Gardens, and then upgrade to the AP before your Parkhopper expires?

That's an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of. I don't know if that will work for us though with the other things I was planning. For example, I was going to get Tables in Wonderland, which I can only get with an annual pass. Also, staying at the Swan I'm not sure how Magic Bands and FP+ would work if I didn't get the annual pass. I'll look into this though, thanks for the idea.

 

[Itinkso]

That's an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of. I don't know if that will work for us though with the other things I was planning. For example, I was going to get Tables in Wonderland, which I can only get with an annual pass. Also, staying at the Swan I'm not sure how Magic Bands and FP+ would work if I didn't get the annual pass. I'll look into this though, thanks for the idea.

You still won't have MagicBands by staying at the Swan so you will only be able to do "day of" Fp+ even with APs. Hopefully, that may change before your visit.

You can always get one AP to be able to get TiW. But, if you only have a small number in your party, the cost difference for mini-golf won't be that great unless you are planning to do Fantasia and Winter Summerland.