Doing things that can be done at home?

[Accident]

Wow! This changes things a bit. I thought we had a 10day ticket and theme parks/water parks split within that 10days. And we can use the water park the same day as a theme park or no?

Yes, hoppers are not required to hop between a park and waterpark, just the waterpark addon is required.

 

[ELSA711]

Yes, hoppers are not required to hop between a park and waterpark, just the waterpark addon is required.

May have to extend the vacation a bit more so we have down days at the beginning and end !!!

We just have to make sure we use all within 14 days! Thanks.

 

[Marlyn]

I have a question that is a spin to this thread.

We are planning a 15-16 day trip to WDW, if we purchase the 10day park hopper and water park option, then we still only get 10 days in the park correct? Whether it be theme park or water park
So the in between days we could do resort pool time, DS, Mini golf, etc. Are they closing Disney quest?
I'm just really confused about the waterpark and more option. If we are purchasing 10 day tickets, that seems like a waste to use it on a waterpark, no?! Thoughts?

I only ever purchased that option once and we went with a 3 year old, it felt like a waste to me.

We always go for 2 weeks. Sometimes we get annual passes, sometimes the 10 day with water parks and more. With the 10 day pass you get 10 days to go in the 4 main theme parks (park hop all you want for those 10 park days) and an additional 10 "visits" to water parks, Mini golf and disneyquest if it's open still. It's "visits" not days as and it's totally separate from the 4 main theme parks.

So on one day, if you wanted, you could go to magic kingdom in the morning, then hop over to blizzard beach to swim, then have a round of mini golf at winter-summerland, then pop over to Epcot for dinner. You will have used only 1 days admission to the theme parks due to park hopper...but you will have used 2 of your 10 visits to water parks or more places. All 10 theme park days and all 10 water parks and more visits must be used within 14 days.

We loved having the water parks option. With the summer heat it was awesome to go to a water park for a couple hours to cool off before heading to dinner and evening park activity.

 

[ELSA711]

We always go for 2 weeks. Sometimes we get annual passes, sometimes the 10 day with water parks and more. With the 10 day pass you get 10 days to go in the 4 main theme parks (park hop all you want for those 10 park days) and an additional 10 "visits" to water parks, Mini golf and disneyquest if it's open still. It's "visits" not days as and it's totally separate from the 4 main theme parks.

So on one day, if you wanted, you could go to magic kingdom in the morning, then hop over to blizzard beach to swim, then have a round of mini golf at winter-summerland, then pop over to Epcot for dinner. You will have used only 1 days admission to the theme parks due to park hopper...but you will have used 2 of your 10 visits to water parks or more places. All 10 theme park days and all 10 water parks and more visits must be used within 14 days.

We loved having the water parks option. With the summer heat it was awesome to go to a water park for a couple hours to cool off before heading to dinner and evening park activity.

Yep! That's what I'm thinking. We have never gone in the summer before and with my kids being all 7+ next year we would love to utilize the waterparks. Very excited to already be planning my 2017 trip!!!

 

[katt789]

It partially depends on how much time we have and what our priorities are!
Last week for example, we had a reunion trip of a group of us who all worked there in 2014/15 we spent a few hours in epcot, a few hours in dhs, an afternoon in dak, and like 4 days in MK including a couple trips off site for food and such.

I've also flown in a day earlier than planned and gone to a movie with that extra day, but if I'm there with someone who hasn't been before or often, we'll do things "by the book" and not waste time with mini golf, movies, etc.

 

[joe1946]

Yep - because you have hoppers AND water parks, you can do main 4 park + water or any combination of parks on the same day OR spread them out. Only one I'm not sure about is whether you can go to both water parks on the same day

Yes, you can go to both water parks on the same day, but it will use up two of your 10 WPF&M admissions. Or, you can go to a waterpark in the morning, leave, and then return to the same waterpark later in the day and that will only use one WPF&M admissions.

 

[ELSA711]

So technically you have 10 visits to the theme parks and 10 visits to the water parks that all have to be used in the same 14day window. And what about mini golf?
How is that charged against you? We definitely want to do as much as we can and want to extend our visit. Would love to incorporate Disney Springs, Mini Golf, the water parks.
Sadly I guess Disney Quest will be closed but I think we'll need some resort rest time too.

 

[StuckInKS]

I try not to do anything on ANY vacation that I can do at home. If a restaurant is within a 50 mile radius of where I live, I won't go there in another state.

This is why we don't eat at TRex in DTD, even though my kids always beg to. We have a TRex literally 5 minutes up the highway and we go there for nearly every birthday (which in this family is A LOT). I guess it's a different experience for them because it's in WDW, but I want to spent my vacation dollars on places I can't eat at when home. Since we sometimes stay well past our 10 day tickets, then I don't mind doing cheap or free activities on our off days that we can do at home (going to the mall, playing tennis or ping pong at the resort, going to Dave & Busters, etc.), but I wouldn't on a shorter trip.

 

[Marlyn]

So technically you have 10 visits to the theme parks and 10 visits to the water parks that all have to be used in the same 14day window. And what about mini golf?
How is that charged against you? We definitely want to do as much as we can and want to extend our visit. Would love to incorporate Disney Springs, Mini Golf, the water parks.
Sadly I guess Disney Quest will be closed but I think we'll need some resort rest time too.

Not 10 visits to theme parks...10 days. If you have park hopper you can spend 10 days hopping all over the theme parks. You have 10 visits to water parks, mini golf and disneyquest above and beyond that. Visits...if you golf and water park in Same day that's 2 visits!

 

[Minniemoo15]

It depends... Swimming we do lots of because we live in Canada so it's so nice to be outdoors in the winter in Fl!

I wouldn't spend time doing bowling, movies, or mini putt though.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm slightly split of the topic of Disney food we have been willing to eat.

On the one hand, I also have said, "I don't travel long distance just to eat at national chains that we have at home." Periodically though, we make an exception out of convenience, like when we're at MCO.

We don't do mini golf or movies at WDW, but we do vary our trips. We have explored most of the rest of WDW at least once.

If it is nice, we do go to the resort pools. IMO, the creative feature pools are part of the fun theming of each resort. I've been to WDW in all seasons. I'm not sure how we'd survive our summer visits without a little swimming! We also find the hot tubs therapeutic if our legs are sore.

 

[niffer5150]

we don't really go swimming at wdw unless it's maybe at typhoon lagoon(we live somewhere with multiple pools you can use year round) but only because of the wave pool and sharks... we don't do mini golf. we don't bowl. we certainly don't go see movies. we don't do rainforest cafe and try to avoid restaurants and shops we have at home. granted, some stuff is more special, like a build a bear you got on vacation, but otherwise there's no real draw for us because at wdw we are all about what's different and exotic to us. we kinda don't even do plain dole whips because we can get those at menchies down the street.

 

[focusondisney]

We don't have rules about what we do or don't do on vacation. If we want to go to a movie, we will. If we want to go for a ride around the area, we will. We'll eat in chain restaurants if we want. Prepared properly...a burger is a burger, a steak is a steak. Sometimes we don't want to pay for the Disney theming or just need to get outside the bubble. Our only rule is to have fun, relax and enjoy being away together.

Exactly!! We love going to the movies. Yes, we go often at home. We like mini golf, but only go once every year or 2 at home. Vacation for us is about doing things we enjoy & enjoying every minute away from work & the stress it brings. Doesn't matter where we are vacationing. We do what makes us happy. Even if it is something we can also go at home.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Sitting in a chair is NOT swimming. Swimming is getting into the pool and moving around, playing, etc. We usually try to swim if it is not too cold. We don't have the opportunity to swim in pools like those at home. I love the waterparks too, but I am using the slides and pools, not sitting around much. We don't get to waterparks at home either.

Someone mentioned not eating food they can get at home. I can get anything near home that I would eat at Disney, so I don't understand that.

I agree about the pool thing. We have a neighborhood pool and a pool at our gym, but going to them just isn't the same experience as going to a Disney pool. They are a completely different experience for us- from the gorgeous and elaborate theming to the pool games and fun music they play. Especially when we pay a lot of money to stay in a moderate or deluxe, we are definitely going to use those pools.

As far as the food goes, I know what you mean about getting most of the food at home. However, for me, I always try to order food at Disney that is too elaborate for me to make at home. Love the bread service at Sanaa and the Stew Crew at Skipper Canteen and the Ratatouille and the shrimp and scallop dish at BOG. Not going to make those at home. Love getting them at Disney.

We can also ride bikes at home, but riding bikes at FW or the Boardwalk or POR is an entirely different experience than riding bikes on a trail near home. We don't have those nice, flat, long, scenic, safe trails in North Georgia, and more importantly, we can't just step outside our home and get on our bikes and go (to the pool, to the lake, etc.). I love that about FW.

We would not play mini-golf if it were a once in a lifetime trip, but on a package where it is complimentary and where we have been to WDW several times, it makes for a new and different mini-golf experience.

 

[Aunt Dani]

We're going for 7 nights and planning on an afternoon playing mini-golf...but there's no mini-golf at home, so that's a vacation thing for us. We don't eat at chain restaurants at home, so we're certainly not going to do it at Disney.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

If you live in an area with interesting mini-golf courses, I can see maybe not wanting to use Disney time on mini-golf, but if your area has only more basic mini-golf, it might be more fun to play mini-golf at Disney. When on vacation anywhere, I also prefer restaurants we don't have in my area. I don't understand going to Starbucks at Disney, since it's something so many people can do near home. I enjoyed the independent coffee places Disney used to have, much more, because it was something more unique to being at Disney. Was disappointed to see the independent ones get replaced. In general at Disney I tend to seek out things not available near home.

 

[Parker Clan]

We are fortunate to visit Disney every summer, in the past we've avoided things we do at home like mini golf or movies but last year had opportunities to mini golf and it was fun! It didn't get in the way of any of our park time, it was our "rest" day in between Universal and Disney. We stay for about ten days each summer so we don't spend every day in the parks. The movies we went to one year because we had to kill a few hours.. Our cars' transmission blew the first day of our Disney trip and wasn't ready til long after we checked out.
But like a lot of people said if you can't make it there often or only for a short period of time I personally wouldn't do activities I could do at home

 

[scrhsa]

As my Dad used to say "We're burning daylight". If I'm awake, I'm in the parks!! Of course, I am usually only there 4/5 days so I have to make the most of it. I wouldn't know what to do if I had any extra time to spend elsewhere

 

[loves to dive]

The one activity I will go out of my way to avoid is arcade games. Thankfully, they're becoming easier to avoid at WDW, but I just cringe at the idea of spending time in an arcade when there's a perfectly good one (with better games) near our home. DS is drawn like a magnet to them, and I just run interference every time I see one.

(I also hate running into places where they've got video games to play in the parks. We ran past those Infinity 3.0 consoles in Launch Bay so fast that my son didn't even see them. I'm sure they're great if you don't have the game at home or want to try it out. But we play plenty at home, so I hate the thought of using valuable time playing a game we have at home!)

I agree with you on this one. When my son was little if he saw an arcade machine he was there. It was fine for a short while in the resort, I could do some adult thing like have tea and the GF while he was at the arcade (he was around 8 or 9 so leaving him alone was not a problem) while he played for awhile. But him seeing one in the parks or at a movie theater was like death to me. I had to just sort of stand around and twiddle my thumbs while he played, I would go out of my way to avoid anywhere I knew they might be located. There was a dump store at MK (can't remember which one now) that had them all over the place. No way could I steer the kid around them, so Mom had to wander around the store looking, all the while also keeping an eye on him (yes mom's have eyes in the back of our head). Hated it.

 

[redsbe]

Unless part of free dining, we do not book the expensive end WDW restaurants. Part of the reason is budget when looking at meals for 4 people, plus we are fortunate to live in town with many high end restaurants, not all chains, where we can pay same or less than WDW for high quality meal. But also due to time and need to lock in ADR so far in advance, frankly we do not see the value in many of the WDW restaurants, many of which we have tried in the past, yes had some great meals but really nothing that added to our WDW vacation experience. And I say this knowing many WDW regulars rave about the high end food at WDW as a highlight of their trips, not for us.