Disney Mini Golf?

[isla bonita]

Every time we have been down to Florida we say we are going to do the mini golf and haven't. We are heading down to go swimminf and that is it so I thought a round of golf would do it one of the nights. What do you think? Which one is for what? I have children 15, 9, and 4. I want something fun we are not golfers. Meaning relatively easy.

 

[dkostel]

I went to the one by the Swan & Dolphin (Fantasia Gardens). They have 2 courses, definitely take the one to the right, with decorations, etc. The other one is a series of impossible putting greens which I chose because there was no line. I threw in the towel after 6 holes. It was too hard for me!!!
The other one looked like fun (standard mini-golf course).

 

[iLoveEeyore2]

We like WinterSummerland. (DD is almost 16). You can play either side or both. One side is set up like winter (Christmas time) and the other side is summer (Santa relaxing.) They are both fun.

We only did Fantasia Gardens one time. There were so many little nats that we never went back again. I don't know if this was a one time thing or not.

 

[patsal]

We've done the Summerland side of Winter/Summerland as well as the "fun" side fo Fantasia Gardens. Both were fun, but we liked Summerland better. It is a great way to spend time on a non-park day or just in the evening after a waterpark or DTD day. The price for mini golf is high here though so see if you can score a discount--we have AP's so it is half price--$10.00 is a little steep if you have a large family.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

The best mini golf is outside of disney.

 

[Eeyore2003]

We've done them all and enjoy Winter/Summerland the best. We've done both. I guess I like Winterland because of the Christmasy atmosphere, but they're both cute.

 

[doodlebug]

About how long would it take a family of 4 to do a round???? Thinking maybe we should do this on our first day which is a non park day....

 

[puffkin]

We have done both courses at Fantasia Gardens. We found the "fun" course to be VERY easy, to the point that it wasn't fun. I think I had 3 hole in ones and mostly 2's on the other holes. By the way, we are not accomplished golfers at all. We never go real golfing and probably go miniature golfing 2-3 times a summer.

I did enjoy the other course at Fantasia Gardens. It was challenging, but much nicer and less busy. I also felt like I got a better bang for the buck. It did take a long time though, so I wouldn't do this course with younger children.

 

[isla bonita]

Thanks all,
It is so noce to get a heads up. What golfing courses do you think are better outside of Disney? What have you all done and enjoyed? Like I said we are just going down to swim it is pure relax for a long weekend.

 

[LindaR]

DD16 and I were just at WDW (26 Mar - 1 Apr). We played at Fantasia Gardens one morning (they open at 10 am and our tee time was 10:04). It took us 55 minutes to play all 18 holes. Your timing depends a great deal on the folks in front of you! We are never in a hurry and end up chatting with the family in front and the family behind us.

WARNING!!!!!! There was a snake in the water (sunbathing on the rocks) on the 16th hole. We told the attendant when we turned in our clubs and he already knew about it. It "lives" there. The family in front of us had small kids and they were totally freaked.

 

[ceburto2]

I would also check that all the holes (or at least most of them) are Playable before you pay. My wife and I started a round at Fantasia Gardens only to find that 4 out of the 18 holes were undergoing refurb. By my calculation, that's at least 22.2% of the fun taken out of the course. They could have added some supplemental fun back in to make up for the closed holes, maybe some of those trick golf balls that explode into a cloud of white powder. But no.

Anyway, I complained and they offered a rain check, but no refund.

-ceburto2

 

[mmccoy]

Our DS6 loves mini-golf, so we play on just about every vacation, no matter where. We played both Fantasia Gardens and Winter/Summerland on our trip in May. Both offer two courses.

Fantasia Gardens has a traditional putt-putt course, themed around the movie Fantasia. Its very nicely done. Some of the holes are kinda hard, but, if you like Fantasia, you'll really enjoy it. The second course at Fantasia Gardens is like a scale model of a regular golf course, with fairways, bunkers, and undulating greens. To be successful, you have to lay up, putt to certain areas, etc. Its like regular golf, with a putter. If you're a golfer, its pretty cool. Otherwise, its hard.

Summer/Winterland is more of a traditional course, where you have to putt over bridges, etc, but all themed to Christmas themes. Christmas lights are strung throughout the course. Its probably more fun for people who just want a relaxing game of mini-golf. Summer/Winterland is next door to Blizzard Beach.

Both courses offer a "second game at half price" deal for the truly obsessed - which, of course, we were.

To puffkin's point about the course being too easy, on several of the holes on both sets of courses, the area immediately surrounding the hole (say, a six inch radius) slopes toward the hole. If your putt gets close to the hole it will often go in. That's probably a real plus for younger kids. My wife jokingly bragged the rest of the day about her expertise.

 

[svltvl]

we were planning on heading over to Fantasia (which ever is the one near the Swan) the day we arrive. We figure it would be something to do if our room wasn't ready. Do I need to call WDW-PLAY to reserve a play time?

 

[digskat]

Is there any site showing pictures of the Fantasia Gardens and Winter/Summerland? Also how far are these from A/S movies?
Nevermind I found it on allearsnet thanks anyways Kat

 

[doodlebug]

Oh yes do you need a PS for mini golf?????

 

[sixcats]

We've never needed a ps. Our longest wait to start has been <10 minutes. We've done Fantasia and Winter/Summerland. You can walk to Fantasia from the Epcot area resorts. The two courses are quite different. W/S courses are both similar but the theming is very cute.

 

[areno79]

How much is it for mini golf? Dh is begging to do this on our trip in May, so I'm hoping maybe he'll take the kids and I'll rest at the pool