Best tour which does not need a theme park ticket

[pooh2001]

If we go to WDW for 8 days - we can get a 7 day park ticket and have the 8th day free to plan what ever we want to do.

I found mini-golf for $14 a person
Fishing for Bass at the BW for $235 a person
Back Stage Magic for $249 a person - but it would be the whole day (7.5 hours)

Not sure if we want to do one of the EPCOT water tank tours, because I wear contact lenses - I am unsure if I can use a diving face mask with contact lenses and I hate to wear my glasses. I am "blind" (not really - but the world is fuzzy) without either one of them.

What other things could we do on a non-park day?
Any of the above sound OK?

What would you do with a free day - no park ticket day?

 

[caliope]

Personally, I'd just add a day to your tickets; it's only $10 a person to go from 7-day to 8-day which is cheaper than the mini-golf.

 

[Tomh]

We always have at least one non park day, and absolutely enjoy taking things at a slower pace on those days. When we are in the parks, we go from open to close, so having a non park day is essential for us.

Some things we have done on our non park days include swimming, a water park, Disney Springs, renting boats, renting a surrey bike, and fishing.

You didn't mention whether you will have a car or not, but if you do, there are some amazing things to do outside of Disney property. We have found a number of restaurants not too far from Disney property that were really good, and somewhat less expensive than eating on property. One of our favorites is Bahama Breeze. Congo River Golf is quite a bit of fun. In addition to the golf, they have a wacky basketball game, a small arcade, and baby alligators that you can feed, and even have an opportunity to hold and get pictures. The town of Celebration is wonderful to explore, dine, and shop in. Old Town has some fun shops, good food, and weekly car cruises.

 

[Disney_Alli]

The only thing I can offer is that is 100% possible to wear a diving mask with contacts - I don't think it's possible to wear one at all with glasses as the mask wouldn't seal.

However I'd just mini-golf and/or shop the outlets or for your cheapest option add a day to the tickets of those that want to hit the parks.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Laundry, mini-golf, and meal at Disney Springs.

 

[pattyw]

One of our most relaxing things to do on a day off from the parks is to visit Ft Wilderness. We sleep in, drive(or bus) over to FT Wilderness, rent a pontoon boat and take a cruise around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, spend some time at the beach by the boat dock, and have an early dinner at Trail's End(good buffet and a good price!). You can stay for the evening campfire with Chip & Dale.

 

[holden]

Archery or horseback riding at Ft Wilderness.

 

[peg2001]

There's also a Segway tour at Fort Wilderness.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

If we go to WDW for 8 days - we can get a 7 day park ticket and have the 8th day free to plan what ever we want to do.

I found mini-golf for $14 a person
Fishing for Bass at the BW for $235 a person
Back Stage Magic for $249 a person - but it would be the whole day (7.5 hours)

Not sure if we want to do one of the EPCOT water tank tours, because I wear contact lenses - I am unsure if I can use a diving face mask with contact lenses and I hate to wear my glasses. I am "blind" (not really - but the world is fuzzy) without either one of them.

What other things could we do on a non-park day?
Any of the above sound OK?

What would you do with a free day - no park ticket day?

If you have never been to the NASA tour over at Cape Kennedy/Cape Canaveral, it is well worth a day trip.

 

[Micca]

If I had an 8 day trip I'd take a day to do nothing midway through. Chill at the resort, pool time, get rejuvenated for the second half.

 

[rpcvpanama]

It is not cheap but Senses of Africa was a great tour. It is at AKL so no park ticket needed.

 

[KenHutch]

Do one of my favorite things resort hopping. When the girls go out in town to shop I ride and visit all of the deluxe resorts and check them out. Because of the way the AKL went out of their way and even showed me a room when I visited I have booked our next trip there and btw there is a ton of stuff to see and do at AKL.

 

[jaysmom4285]

We've done bass fishing a few times, and it's great fun for the fishermen (and women) in the family. We caught tons of fish. I think the price was about $270 for four people, and you had your choice of several bodies of water on the property. We always choose the Yacht Club because we like that area, and you can go into the World Showcase Lagoon if you book the 7 AM slot. If you do want to do the bass fishing excursion, buy the Birnbaum WDW tour guide book. There's a coupon in the back for 20% off.

 

[richkaryn]

If we go to WDW for 8 days - we can get a 7 day park ticket and have the 8th day free to plan what ever we want to do.

I found mini-golf for $14 a person
Fishing for Bass at the BW for $235 a person
Back Stage Magic for $249 a person - but it would be the whole day (7.5 hours)

Not sure if we want to do one of the EPCOT water tank tours, because I wear contact lenses - I am unsure if I can use a diving face mask with contact lenses and I hate to wear my glasses. I am "blind" (not really - but the world is fuzzy) without either one of them.

What other things could we do on a non-park day?
Any of the above sound OK?

What would you do with a free day - no park ticket day?

Just throwing this out there, but I felt this way too when the rest of my family was going to go snorkeling in Hawaii, as I live in a very fuzzy world when lens-free. Then I found out the place where they were renting the gear had prescription masks--though I still doubted they'd have that strong of a prescription. Well, they sure did and I had an amazing experience. I came home and decided to look for a prescription mask to buy so I could always have one when doing these things in the future. So if you're really wanting to do the water tank tour, you might call and inquire if they have prescription masks available, or even purchase one to bring with you.

 

[caribbeandream]

If I had an 8 day trip I'd take a day to do nothing midway through. Chill at the resort, pool time, get rejuvenated for the second half.

Another vote for a pool day in the middle of your Disney vacay. If you feel the need to "do" something there is always Disney Springs or resort hopping.

 

[kbmartin]

I personally like to take things a little easier and not visit the parks every day. Here are some things I have done on non-park days:

• Shop/eat at Disney Springs
• Went to a movie at Disney Springs
• Mini-golf (we enjoyed Fantasia Gardens at the Swan/Dolphin)
• Checked out the Boardwalk at night (Ample Hills Creamery is delish!)
• Swimming
• Hotel-hopping (one of the coolest resorts to check out was Animal Kingdom Lodge to view the animals on the savannah)

On our next trip, we are going to the Orlando outlets for some shopping. They have a great variety of stores.

 

[NH-to-FL]

Laundry, mini-golf, and meal at Disney Springs.

Or... a nice late breakfast, laundry, late lunch, nap, shop, dinner.

Notice how laundry is a repeating theme. We have trouble going 8 days without a laundry stop along the way. Of course we only travel with carry on bags.

I also agree that adding a day to your park ticket is a fairly inexpensive thing to do. Then you could spend the evening at Epcot with plenty of shopping and dining possibilities. Which is what we used to do on our "off day".

 

[Texans_loyal]

sleep.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'd spend the extra $10 per person and add the extra day to the tickets. Even if you just spend a couple of hours in the park on the last day, you're ahead of trying to do any of those other activities that cost extra ($10 in the park for all day is less than a $14 round of mini golf)

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

The diving and/or snorkeling at the Living Seas does not require a park ticket. I thought about booking the diving one seems really cool but Im the only certified diver in my party.