Disney Without the Parks?

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Hi there everyone! we are headed to WDW this November and were wondering if anyone has done WDW without going to the parks? we will be travelling with a 2 year old and a 11month old and just wanted to know what else we could do?

We are going to do MK and Epcot but not sure what else we want to do on our 5 day vacation.

Which resort would you reccomend? we will also have a car so no need to worry about transportation! thanks a bunch!

 

[ChristmasElf]

The French Quarter would be a nice place to stay. They have a great pool which your oldest would love love love the slide! They provide vests for the little ones pool side if you need them.
They also have a great selection in the walk up food areas there.
You can spend many of hours just at the pool!

If you don't want to do any other parks other than Magic Kingdom and EPCOT you can spend the day over at Downtown Disney. The kids could play with the Mr Potato heads at Once Upon a Toy, play with the lego displays over near the Legoland store and have lunch at McDonalds and an ice cream at Giordellis.

There are so many things to do offsite as well. If you have a car and want any more ideas, I will list more things for you!

 

[Towncrier]

We did a WDW trip in 1998 that combined 5 days in the parks followed by 4 days with no parks. We spent the 4 parkless days at the Wilderness Lodge and had a great time. We did both WL tours that were offered and we even managed to be selected at the flag family (where we got up early and went onto the roof of the lodge and raised the flag). We took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom dock and then rode the resort monorail loop and stopped at each resort to look around. We spent a lot of time at the Wilderness Lodge pool and basically had the most relaxing WDW vacation that I can remember.

 

[CathrynRose]

Hi there everyone! we are headed to WDW this November and were wondering if anyone has done WDW without going to the parks? we will be travelling with a 2 year old and a 11month old and just wanted to know what else we could do?

We are going to do MK and Epcot but not sure what else we want to do on our 5 day vacation.

Which resort would you reccomend? we will also have a car so no need to worry about transportation! thanks a bunch!

I have never done it - but Im sure I'd enjoy myself, if I did.

I say, go for Yacht or Beach Club - their pool is a park in itself. And being so close to Boardwalk would be nice, too.

And have you ever done the Disney Waterparks? Or Mini Golf? I love both of them, tremendously!

 

[VAN]

We usually stay at Ft. Wilderness for 10-14 days and rarely go into the parks more than 3 of those days. If/when you want to do something, there is always something to see.

Like another poster said, just ride the watercraft/monorail and check out the various other resorts. Downtown Disney is a great place to go for an off-day.

Because we are down there for two weeks, we treat this as a real vacation and take it slow on the days we are not at the parks. Sleep in, lounge by the pool, etc. Even after two weeks, we are not ready to leave.

 

[Tina]

There are so many options. I second the suggestion for the Yacht/Beach Club if you are into swimming. You could have so much fun there.

If you'd rather go with something a little closer to nature, try Wilderness Lodge. You can visit the Fort Wilderness Campground for activities and the WL has a great pool as well.

With Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can enjoy watching the animals and the various activities around the resort.

Away from the resorts, you can enjoy Downtown Disney or play mini-golf.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Thanks for the great ideas! now we have to narrow down our resort choices we are looking forward to this very much! we learned from last years trip that a 9 month old just can't handle 4 parks. She had a blast at MK and we love epcot as she slept in her stroller. But by far she had the most fun in the resort at the pool!! go figure huh?! so we decided to just take it easy and have some fun in a different kind of way!! thanks again!!

 

[Planogirl]

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for three nights and only visited MK during one recent visit. It was strange but nice. There's plenty to do all around the central Florida area.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

planogirl: that's what i'm afraid of that it will seem strange and the lo and behold there we are at the front desk buying more park tickets! haha....i am really interested in seeing the 'other' side of Disney. we always do the parks..

 

[imsorry]

We've done Disney without the parks - but we don't have kids! We stay at the Beach Club (usually in May or October). We spend the day at Stormalong Bay and go out for a nice dinner at night.

 

[scarlett873]

I have told DH that I would love to do the same thing...go to WDW without going into the parks. It would be hard for me initially, but I think that I would truly enjoy it! Our last trip started out that way...but by the time we got there, we had 2 days worth of park hoppers for a 3 day vacation. Go figure...lol.

When we do finally get down there to NOT do the parks, I would do water parks...resort hop (just to check them all out)...maybe mini-golf...Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island (LOVE the Adventurer's Club!!).

We did take the time to see a few of the resorts that we had never been to before. AKL, WL, and Coronado Springs. I've seen parts of the Yacht/Beach Clubs and the Boardwalk. I would love to just go from resort to resort to see what they all have to offer.