Going for 2.5 days without park time daily-- recs?

[julesthecircusfreak]

Hi all,

For awhile now we've been saying we want to do a Disney trip without visiting the parks daily. The time is finally here. We're going end of October, staying at BCV (1st time!) for 2 nights after coming off the Disney Wish. We plan on going to Epcot for 1 day, but otherwise no parks. For reference, we are two adults. Any suggestions for things we should do outside going to the pool? I was thinking maybe Cirque de Soleil? TIA!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Perhaps a Luminous fireworks cruise on Crescent Lake that leaves from the BC/YC marina. We do that now and then and it's really a nice couple hours. You could walk to Fantasia Golf. The Cirque show would be fun, perhaps combined with a nice dinner at Disney Springs. Many ways to relax and have fun without a park! Enjoy.

 

[RickNJane]

Your question really brings back fond memories. Disney magic is immersive, especially in December.

Our first WDW trip was actually for a conference at BWV. My wife came along and we made a vacation of it. While I was in meetings, she did resort hopping. The goal was coffee at every resort. I joined her after the meetings. It was great and relaxing. This was during December so all the lobbies were decorated. The lobby decorations are amazing! We took photos in front of every tree in every lobby. Very great memories. We did not miss the parks (ok maybe a little)

Disney transportation makes resort hopping very easy. You can take a boat to Wilderness Lodge, OKW, Monorail to Contemporary, Poly, and Grand Floridian.
We have a summer trip planned and will repeat the experience during the heat of the day.

 

[Best Aunt]

Hi all,

For awhile now we've been saying we want to do a Disney trip without visiting the parks daily. The time is finally here. We're going end of October, staying at BCV (1st time!) for 2 nights after coming off the Disney Wish.

If "end of October" includes Halloween, there will be Halloween activities at Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk on 10/31. Also at Swan and Dolphin, but I didn't get that far last year so I don't know if a BCV person would feel awkward at the Swan/Dolphin activities. (A Swan/Dolphin person would not feel awkward at the YC/BC/BW activities because you don't have to go into or through the hotels to do them.)

I like to go over to Animal Kingdom Lodge-Jambo House to see the animals.

I'm not into the Cirque shows. That doesn't feel like a "Disney" thing to me. But obviously many people disagree.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'm not into the Cirque shows. That doesn't feel like a "Disney" thing to me. But obviously many people disagree.

We're huge Cirque fans, but ironically not as big a fan of Drawn To Life. However, it is a Cirque show that is very Disney. This show has more of a Disney feel than La Nouba, the original show.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Any suggestions for things we should do outside going to the pool? I was thinking maybe Cirque de Soleil

I think the Cirque du Soleil discounted ticket sale has started. It’ll continue until at least the end of November.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I haven’t done this yet but Starlight Safari at AKL looks fun! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/night-safari/

 

[zackiedawg]

Lots of boat transportation to tour various resorts, stopping off to wander the grounds, grab drinks or snacks, listen to some music, etc. I can easily make a day out of that. While you can get to all resorts via busses or monorails, I'm particularly fond of boats as the most relaxing and enjoyable way to get around. So I'd do some visits to Grand Floridian and Polynesian via the boats between them, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, and Contemporary via their boats, and Disney Springs boats to Old Key West, and the Port Orleans resorts. French Quarter grounds are lovely to walk, and in the evenings there's entertainment at Scat Cat's, plus a lovely outside table to enjoy coffee & beignets. Riverside has the always entertaining Yeehah Bob. Wilderness Lodge is always beautiful to wander, and you've got the lovely outdoor seating at Geyser Point, where you can catch the electric water parade right in front of the restaurant. Skyliner over to Riviera to wander the beautiful grounds, drinks at Bar Riva, or head upstairs for Topolino's Bar, where you can eat or just grab drinks, and maybe stay for fireworks from the rooftop deck.

If you're DVC, you can also hit BLT's TOTW lounge for drinks & view plus fireworks over MK.

And Disney Springs has plenty of bars, musical entertainment, etc that make it enjoyable to spend an evening.

 

[mort1331]

dont forget about HDDMR,,,fun night out

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I love watching Molly and Allen in their Mammoth Club YouTube channel. One of my favorites is their "Winner Picks Dinner" series. They recently posted one for the Skyliner resorts and it looked like a lot of fun. It's something I would like to try when we're traveling child-free.

 

[julesthecircusfreak]

dont forget about HDDMR,,,fun night out

Sorry, what is this?

 

[CarolynFH]

Sorry, what is this?

Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue.

 

[kristenrice]

DH and I are doing a "no-parks" trip for the first time next month. We are going to MNSSHP so there is technically a park that we will be visiting. We are going to eat dinner at Topolino's and then take a skyliner "tour" on our arrival day. Perhaps we will also stop in at TOTWL that evening. I have us booked at HDDR (hubby has never seen it!) and after that, we are doing the DVC Member fireworks cruise at the MK. On our departure day (our flight doesn't leave until almost 8pm), we are going on the DVC Member bass fishing trip on Bay Lake. I've done this several time (again...hubby has not) and we both love to fish. We are booked in a studio at CCV so I also plan on visiting Geyser Point at least once. We may also head over to Ft. Wilderness and ride the bus around to see all of the Halloween decorations. If we get bored, we might consider a round of mini golf or perhaps a horseback ride if it's still available. There is so much to do outside of the parks and I can't wait to see how this trip goes. I'm OK with skipping the parks this trip because I am going back in December with my BFF and we have 7 days in the parks!

 

[jennypenny]

night swim at SAB, Jellyrolls, mini golf across from Dolphin, skyliner bar hopping, movies on the beach, karaoke at Kimonos ... all without leaving the Crescent Lake area

 

[starry_solo]

Our group did it for 3 nights while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.
Those first 3 nights were spent at AKV - Club Level, so we had breakfast, snacks, and "dinner" there.
After breakfast, we resort hopped.
We went to SSR, Port Orleans, and a few other resorts to check out their trading pins (boards with cast members and lanyards and the like), had lunch at those resorts, and then hopped on back to AKV for after-lunch snack, rest, and then dinner.

 

[Shellyred8]

Mini golf would be on my list. Also a trip over to Tri-Circle D ranch to see the horses. Probably a trip over to AKL for lunch and to visit the animals.

 

[VGCgroupie]

If you're DVC, you can also hit BLT's TOTW lounge for drinks & view plus fireworks over MK.

You dont have to be staying there? Amazing!! New to DVC and learning all the ins and outs.

 

[Sandisw]

You dont have to be staying there? Amazing!! New to DVC and learning all the ins and outs.

You need to be eligible for membership extras in order to go, DVC Y, but that is it! Can be staying anywhere.

 

[VGCgroupie]

You need to be eligible for membership extras in order to go, DVC Y, but that is it! Can be staying anywhere.

Thanks! This makes me super happy. I may just not stay in the BLT theme park view room and save some points on an upcoming trip.

 

[julesthecircusfreak]

I haven’t done this yet but Starlight Safari at AKL looks fun! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom/night-safari/

For those that have done this, how did you book? There are literally no dates listed for the next 2 months online.