free at WDW

[SandrA9810]

The EWP makes it's round, from the Grand, Poly, Fort, Lodge, Contemp, in front of the MK before heading back in for the night.

As far as I knew, Trails End is still a buffet. Maybe check over on the Fort board to be sure. The food wasn't that great to turn it into an al carte. although, You've always been able to make orders to go.

 

[ChefChristopher]

What about the Petty Race car driving experience is it free to watch, or Celebration City don't know to much about it. Thanks for your help.

I was just in Celebration 2 weeks ago. It had been 3 years since I was there last, when I lived in Kissimmee and was part of the College Program at Disney. The town has way more shops and restaurants than I remember from last time.

It is a unique/interesting place to drive through. It has a very Disney feel to it. The houses are amazing and the architecture downtown is awesome. It almost has a Stepford Wives feeling to me - all the moms walking their strollers down the streets, dads playing catch in the park, friendly neighbors waving as you pass by.

If you have the time you should definitely pay it a visit, but don't plan on spending more than an hour or two there. There isn't much entertainment other than some small boutique type shops, a few restaurants, a starbucks, and a post office.

 

[LauraLouLovesPooh]

I like to ride around on the monorail from the MK to all the resorts and stop off and take pictures of the inside of them all (they are all far to expensive for me to ever stay in) but it's nice to see what they are like. Also another idea that isn't exactly free (but cheap) is to bring a fresh roll of quarters and pennies and collect as many of the pressed coins as you can at each resort. They all have a bunch of them around the premises and are fun to collect. 51cents for each pressed coin each! Also, we never did this but have been told that some of the bus drivers and monorail conductors have transportation cards that they carry. There are a bunch of them and you can try to collect as many as you can if you ride the monorail and use some of the other resort buses. Hope this helps! Have fun!

 

[jcemom]

There have been a lot of great suggestions given so far!

I just wanted to throw in my .02 -- ever since Disney changed to the MYW tickets, we rarely have a non-park day. It's less expensive to add an extra day or two to our tickets than it is to do anything else. We have "off" days where we sleep in, swim, and just go into a park to catch a show, a parade, maybe an attraction or two that doesn't have a line, character meets, a meal, Innoventions at Epcot, etc. We don't go early, and we don't stay late. It's a down day in that we don't do any serious park touring.

When the tickets weren't weighted towards the first few days as they are now, we'd plan a non-park day mid-trip, and possibly not go to a park on arrival and/or departure days. We don't do that any more. It costs me more to browse resorts (kids want something from the shop), go to Downtown Disney (kids want multiple things from multiple shops lol), rent bikes or boats, than it does to go to a park.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Call Port Orleans Riverside and ask what nights Bob The Entertainer will be there? It's free and a family show -- it's one of the most fun times we ever had at Disney. He plays the piano and gets the crowd involved -- he's hillarious.

 

[SandrA9810]

There have been a lot of great suggestions given so far!

I just wanted to throw in my .02 -- ever since Disney changed to the MYW tickets, we rarely have a non-park day. It's less expensive to add an extra day or two to our tickets than it is to do anything else. We have "off" days where we sleep in, swim, and just go into a park to catch a show, a parade, maybe an attraction or two that doesn't have a line, character meets, a meal, Innoventions at Epcot, etc. We don't go early, and we don't stay late. It's a down day in that we don't do any serious park touring.

When the tickets weren't weighted towards the first few days as they are now, we'd plan a non-park day mid-trip, and possibly not go to a park on arrival and/or departure days. We don't do that any more. It costs me more to browse resorts (kids want something from the shop), go to Downtown Disney (kids want multiple things from multiple shops lol), rent bikes or boats, than it does to go to a park.

There's just so much to see and do at the resorts, it's just as fun or more fun than being in a hot park, waiting in long lines, and eating the same ol same ol. Most resorts have a different variety of foods than just burgers like the parks. Like the Poly has self serve dole whip. Or the bakery at the Boardwalk. Sometimes it's nice just to not see a crowd of people.

I've gone for bike rides through Port Orleans, Fort Wilderness, and Wilderness Lodge. Love seeing the horses at stables, these are the horses that pull the trolley on Main Street, or the Headless Horseman that rides before the Halloween Parade, or the carriage rides at the Fort and POR.

I love how all the resorts have subtle hints of history in them. Like the Ol faithful geyser at the Lodge, or the main fireplace is sections of the Grand Canyon filled with fossils.

 

[buzz2400]

definitely check out http://www.mousesavers.com/freestuff.html. It has many free things to do, many of which we have done. This past may we went to the polynesian resort one night and saw a movie on the beach. While there we were able to see the MK fireworks. We have never done this before (we were staying at pop).

 

[gk90]

sorry double post!

 

[gk90]

The EWP makes it's round, from the Grand, Poly, Fort, Lodge, Contemp, in front of the MK before heading back in for the night.

As far as I knew, Trails End is still a buffet. Maybe check over on the Fort board to be sure. The food wasn't that great to turn it into an al carte. although, You've always been able to make orders to go.

I checked on wdwinfo menus and Trails End is now a la carte for lunch but still has a buffet dinner. It was the lunch buffet we had on our last visit to FW--that was a great value.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=37

 

[rvchat]

I checked on wdwinfo menus and Trails End is now a la carte for lunch but still has a buffet dinner. It was the lunch buffet we had on our last visit to FW--that was a great value.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=37

YES AND WE LOVED IT. wdw: please put back the trails end BUFFET LUNCH! pleaseeeeeeeeee

 

[rusty4]

Love this thread!

 

[lukenick1]

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great place to spend a day. They have free tours where the guide tells you about the African art on display around the lobby and in some of the viewing areas. They also offer a free tour of the restaurants (Boma and Jiko) including free samples of the food!! There are crafts activities for the kids, and story-telling sessions (although I haven't yet made it to one of those), and often educational programs as well. You can go out and see the animals and the very knowledgeable cast members will answer all your questions; at night they have special night-vision binoculars you can use.

Can you tell it's my favourite resort? But you don't have to be staying there to enjoy all the activities.

Teresa

How do I find out about the free restaurant tour with samples? Staying at The AKV in January and would love to check out the restaurants there.

 

[gk90]

Here are a couple of links for the AKL culinary tours
http://www.disneydispatch.com/conte...-discourse/2011/boma-and-jiko-culinary-tours/
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/05/27/culinary-tour-boma-and-jiko/

Another nice little freebie: the "Wild About Safety" cards. We first saw these 4 years ago in AK when a CM at the Conservation station train handed us a couple of them. Then last month at Guest Services at the gate of AK I saw they had complete packs of them--16 cute cards with Timon and Pumbaa giving ride and park safety tips.

 

[cajunbaby1]

I'm going in Dec when all the Christmas decorations are up. On one of my down days I'm planning on having lunch at the Grand floridian cafe and see their xmas things; then hop on the monorail and go to the other resorts on the monorail line. Maybe those with kids would like to try this too. Even if you only had time for lunch (or dessert ) and 1 resort it would give you a nice break from the parks.

 

[pampam]

Call Port Orleans Riverside and ask what nights Bob The Entertainer will be there? It's free and a family show -- it's one of the most fun times we ever had at Disney. He plays the piano and gets the crowd involved -- he's hillarious.

I second this. Bob Jackson is one of our favourite must dos. He is such a clown, and the River Roost Lounge is not at all pushy for ordering drinks, although you can certainly drink if that is your thing. However, the drinks are not free.

 

[girli565]

Call Port Orleans Riverside and ask what nights Bob The Entertainer will be there? It's free and a family show -- it's one of the most fun times we ever had at Disney. He plays the piano and gets the crowd involved -- he's hillarious.

Yes this!! He is amazing. We were having dinner at Boatwright's and could hear him from the bar next door. Everyone was singing and laughing and having a great time. We finished dinner, and sat down at the bar to stay and listen. Drinks are pricey but very good if you want to splurge a bit.

 

[lukenick1]

Here are a couple of links for the AKL culinary tours
http://www.disneydispatch.com/conte...-discourse/2011/boma-and-jiko-culinary-tours/
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/05/27/culinary-tour-boma-and-jiko/

Another nice little freebie: the "Wild About Safety" cards. We first saw these 4 years ago in AK when a CM at the Conservation station train handed us a couple of them. Then last month at Guest Services at the gate of AK I saw they had complete packs of them--16 cute cards with Timon and Pumbaa giving ride and park safety tips.

Thanks I would love to check this out!

 

[roumic]

You can also watch Wishes from the Poly Beach and the music is piped in.

 

[Evi]

How about some outside of Disney things. I know this is the dis but there are some great things to do outside of the parks. We usually go in the winter and go pick some limes and other citrus. Not a ton but its a nice change of pace. I was refered years ago to showcase of citrus and organic citrus farm not far from the world. If you watch groupon and living social I've seen some great deals for mini golf and alligator watching, maniti swims most for very little money. If I were going for a longer trip I would look into these options. The maniti swim seems to come up often and would be alot of fun for a family. I would also spend time at the resort soak up the pool on your off days.

I did notice some people pointing out resort activities. From experience last year with DN after having lunch at Sanaa we were lounging in the resort just soaking up the attmosphere and they noticed a Cast memeber doing a craft activity. When I asked the Cast member invited the girls to partake but also stated that normaly these activities are for resort guests only and if they have availability they will sometimes invite others to participate. Mind you we were staying onsite but not at AKL and thats what they told us. I know some things are open to everyone but we were told the childrens activities are for the guests staying onsite and that if we wanted to participate in a particular activity at another resort we should call to be placed on the list. Considering I don't usually travel with little ones I don't worry about such things but I would hate to see someones little one turned away. I know DNieces got turned away at GF for an activity but then we were asked to stay for the holiday video taping because they were all dressed up they wanted the girls right in front but the girls didn't want to stay so we left.

 

[disney1990]

How about visiting Animal Kingdom Lodge and seeing the animals. There is also a story time out back of the Lodge at various times.