BEST "Extra"

[benseven]

Planning our August vacation and knowing we won't be able to get back for 2 years. I want to do something, as a surprise, that will be truly memorable to get us through our Disney-less time. What have you done that was superb? It can even be expensive, since I have time to save up for it. We are Me, DH & DS(10). Fireworks cruise, sunset safari, fishing trip, etc. Any and all ideas appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Robo]

Hoop De Doo Revue Dinner Show

La Nouba - Cirque du Soleil

IllumiNations Cruise

Wishes Cruise

 

[Pakey]

Some of our favorite extras (that would work with a 10 year old) have been:

1. In-park scavenger hunt arranged through Gifts of a Lifetime (we picked MK but it could have been one of the others). We did it as a surprise to welcome our new daughter in law to our family but everyone had a blast with it.

2. Parasailing at Contemporary with views of MK and even Epcot.

3. Fireworks cruise (we prefer Illuminations cruise).

4. La Nouba

 

[disneymurtagh]

fireworks cruise, do a Character meal every day either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Try a carriage ride in POR, for DS try the Pirate cruise

 

[princess lovers mom]

Family Magic Tour - really fun - not expensive, makes you feel special and silly - good Disney bonding as a family

 

[Perditamarie]

Whatever else you do, consider making a photo book momento of your trip. I made one on Snapfish, and we love to pull it out and remember that special trip.....especially when the next one is far away.

Happy planning!

 

[vicki_c]

In 15 trips, the best thing we've ever done was the Illuminations fireworks cruise. We've done it twice now - I highly recommend the Breathless (seats 6) if you can get it, but if not, the regular pontoon boat is really nice as well.

 

[bonybroad]

No one has tried it yet, but that hot air balloon at DTD looks to be so magical and special.
You could do that Welcome to Disney with the DisneyFlorist
The pirate cruise is so much fun for the boys, my boys talk about it all the time. They still have the doubloons.
Really, the special things come from YOU. The memories of family doing magical things...even if it is just eating a Mickey bar while you watch the parade. It can all be special and meaningful.
I know the most magical moment we had was when the first time we took the boys, the youngest (3yo) looked at the castle on Main Street and said "We're really here!" He was so in awe. It was so cute. I took his hand and we literally skipped down Main Street.

 

[DWFan4Life]

The best thing you can do is Illuminations Cruise. We really had a great time.

 

[All7OfUs]

Here's another vote for Hoop De Doo! Everyone LOVED it in our group of 11, from 3 yr. DNiece to 70 yr. old DDad! Just good old fashioned, corny good fun!

 

[LVSWL]

We loved parasailing! Be sure to take your camera! Your DS could go tandem with one of you. We left from the Contemporary and had a blast. Both DSs got a tee shirt. We also had fun riding the sea racers. That was great fun too!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I wanted to do something special for our Mom & Son trip last year. DS12 and I shared a Wishes Cruise with some other Diser's and had a blast! We also did the Family Magic Tour when DS was 9. That was great fun and it isn't really expensive so even if you chose to also do something else, you could possibly do the Tour as well.

We have not done the parasailing but I would definitely like to one of these days. Have you ever rented one of the SeaRacer boats?

I looked into the Gifts of a Lifetime scavenger hunt for DS last year & it was just a bit outside my budget. If you can do it, I would say to go that one as it really seems like it would be so much fun!

And I have to agree with the PP that suggested the photobook. I did the Disney photopass one and one of just 'fun' pics with Snapfish. We had deluxe dining for 11 days and really enjoyed the food. Took pics for a dining review & ended up making our "Mom & Son FoodFest" photobook. That is actually the one we pick up the most!

 

[JLC5266]

We loved parasailing! Be sure to take your camera! Your DS could go tandem with one of you. We left from the Contemporary and had a blast. Both DSs got a tee shirt. We also had fun riding the sea racers. That was great fun too!

My daughter loved this in the Free Trip Planning DVD...have a few questions...how much is the cost, for how long, what do you mean tandem? are the t-shirts included with the price.

She really wants to do this so I think it would be that "extra special" treat...she has made Honor Roll and High Honor Roll so far this year and I want to reward her in a special way...no better place than somewhere at Disney!

 

[Aliceacc]

Photopass.

Take a zillion pictures to tide you through the Disney-less years.

 

[snykymom]

How many are going? What are their ages? If it's just you and spouse/significant other, try Victoria & Albert's for an exceptional dinner & experience.

Take a look at the Ft. Wilderness Segway tour - my d and I had a blast!

 

[benseven]

Thank you all for the great ideas. Love sharing with you guys.

 

[Toluca Legs TurkeyCo]

hey benseven, last summer my gf and I went an extra day and did the seas aqua tour. It was expensive, I think $115/person, but it was definitely worth it. You get to tour the aquarium back stage and at the end you get to swim in the tank for 30 minutes. I can still remember the little sting ray that kept following me around the tank; the crazy little guy scared me. Being back stage with the cast members really makes you feel special. At the end you get a cool aqua seas tour t-shirt and a framed picture of yourself (both of us) in scuba gear right before going in the tank.

We also stayed at AKL that night (we stayed at CSR the rest of the week). There we walked the halls and looked out at the savannah for like 2 hours, and after that we had dinner at BOMA and headed down to DTD for a while, then went back to AKL and checked out the animals in night vision which was sick.

It was truly like a vacation within a vacation. I could have gone home that night fulfilled. But when I woke up the next morning and realized I had an entire Disney trip ahead of me...the feeling was undescribable. It was honestly one of the happiest moments of my life. I think what it all boils down to was that we didn't go to the parks (other than the tour) that day and therefore I got a full day to just soak in the Disney/Florida atmosphere at a leisurely pace. Usually when we go we hit the ground running and the trip is gone before we know it. This time we just got to really really relax and let it sink in before we took the trip head on.

In fact thanks for posting the question because now that I got to relive what that day was like in my mind, I remembered that I told myself I would do a day like this at the beginning of every trip, and Im planning this years trip right now.

Hope this helped. Good luck planning.