Ideas for a no park trip

[quandrea]

You've gotten a ton of great suggestions of things to do outside the park. But I think they're more for days off from the park, not a whole trip! I can't imagine being that close for a whole week and never setting foot in a park. I just wouldn't even go there. Why did you decide to stay at Disney instead of somewhere completely different? Especially if you were just there! Aren't the kids going to be like, "Oh, remember this? Oh, we had so much fun there. Can we do this ride again?" And I think you'll end up spending a small fortune on non-park activities---Disney Quest, mini-golf, balloon ride, shopping, character meals---it's all going to add up...and fast!

We are dvc so we always say wdw is like our cottage.

 

[Princess Melody]

You could do a day trip to Gatorland. It's only $9.99/Florida resident and plenty to fill up at least a half day with. They have a nice pool and splash pad if it is warm enough for that plus unlimited train rides for $2/person. My 3 year old asks to go all the time just to do those things! They don't check bags so we usually bring sandwiches in with us but their food prices are actually pretty reasonable.
I would also check groupon and living social for deals on other family friendly activities in the area. The Downtown Disney balloon ride was on one of them very recently and might still be. As long as you go to the parks pretty regularly I think a trip with no parks is completely doable but you also have to be prepared with stuff to do if the weather is bad and you can't swim/bike ride/explore the hotel grounds.
Another thing we like to do is go to one of the hotels that offers boat service to Downtown Disney like Port Orleans, ride the boat over to Downtown Disney to explore a bit, and then come back and eat lunch at the quick service and play on the hotel playground.

 

[quandrea]

Well we are here. Got our room at about four thirty. While waiting we had lunch at McDonalds and headed to dtd. Found a great parking spot even at two pm. The kids had a blast building at the lego store. We browsed the shops a bit.

Once in our room we ordered Flippers pizza and watched Frozen. We are staying at Kidani Village. Scored a designated standard view so we have a fairly decent view of the pembe savannah. Great first day.

Today we are going to fort wilderness to check out the stables, ride ponies and shop at the gift shop. I want fort wilderness tee.

Living the slow pace. Enjoying coffee on the balcony this morning. Made fresh blueberry muffins. Reading the news on my kindle. Who says no park trips can't be fun.

 

[Marsheliz]

I'm so glad you are enjoying, sounds lovely!! ! I would love to do that for an entire week!! We are looking for some ideas as well. We just went in October & are going back in June for only a weekend and just doing MK.. That Friday- we will take advantage of the pool, maybe do some watercraft activities at CBR, ride the monorail and explore resorts, pony ride at FW, fireworks from the Poly or maybe movie under stars.. Who knows? I'll be at Disney with my family and that's what matters.. Any other suggestions?

 

[mm1971]

Well we are here. Got our room at about four thirty. While waiting we had lunch at McDonalds and headed to dtd. Found a great parking spot even at two pm. The kids had a blast building at the lego store. We browsed the shops a bit.

Once in our room we ordered Flippers pizza and watched Frozen. We are staying at Kidani Village. Scored a designated standard view so we have a fairly decent view of the pembe savannah. Great first day.

Today we are going to fort wilderness to check out the stables, ride ponies and shop at the gift shop. I want fort wilderness tee.

Living the slow pace. Enjoying coffee on the balcony this morning. Made fresh blueberry muffins. Reading the news on my kindle. Who says no park trips can't be fun.

No one saids it wouldn't be fun.:good vibes Glad you are enjoying the trip. Having DVC makes the discussion completely different in my opinion. If we had DVC, going without the parks would make a lot of sense since we have the resort paid already. Like most, I think the big thought is if I could actually be 3 minutes from the parks, hear the fireworks and such and not just want to sneak in for a few rides. We always do a lot of non park activities like the monorail loop, fishing excursions, DTD and shopping, pool and water parks, mini golf and such. Almost always have at least one non park day in the middle.

If we had DVC (and wish we did), we would look at it differently like any condo or time share. The vacation becomes the resort, not necessarily the location. Enjoy your time and relaxation.

 

[yaddakal]

Just found this thread.. How did it work out? We are trying to decide similar.