Most memorable out of parks experience while at WDW

[Disfor3]

What are your most memorable or fun out of parks experience while staying at WDW? We are looking for some new unique experiences to do for our next trip and who knows better than Disers!

 

[ObiWan]

What are your most memorable or fun out of parks experience while staying at WDW? We are looking for some new unique experiences to do for our next trip and who knows better than Disers!

Hoop-Dee-Doo Review: My son was picked to go up on stage.
Golf: Immaculate courses.
Fishing and canoeing with the kids at Ft. Wilderness
Boat rentals at the Contemporary Resort
Spa day for the girls

 

[tkd27]

It's not exactly an "unknown" thing, but my favorite out of the park experience was on the Disney Boardwalk at night, as all the street performers came out. I'm really in to that kind of thing, though. That is no doubt a must-do for me going forward, for every Disney trip

 

[Disfor3]

It's not exactly an "unknown" thing, but my favorite out of the park experience was on the Disney Boardwalk at night, as all the street performers came out. I'm really in to that kind of thing, though. That is no doubt a must-do for me going forward, for every Disney trip

We have never been to the boardwalk in all of our trips! That is one to add to the list for sure!

 

[Disfor3]

No other awesome experiences outside of the parks?!? I thought fellow Disers would have so many fun times to share!

 

[Barbydoll8]

A day at Fort Wilderness camp ground.

We stayed at the lodge and walked over to the camp ground. We walked the trails. Saw the horses and stables. Went speed boating and canoeing. We tried to get into an archery session but it was sold out (get there early for this).
Ate at Trails End (more like pigged out really) and then in the evening we strolled the winding side walks and spotted deer right next to us. We took a wagon ride (not a carriage ride but wagon) around the camp ground in the evening. It was a perfect relaxed day. The only other thing that would have made it more fun was if we did the camp fire sing a long with Chip & Dale at night.

 

[scubadiver]

I took the family on a fireworks cruise. We met at the Grand Floridian, took an hour cruise across Seven Seas, over to Discovery Island. then returned to Seven Seas and anchored in the middle of the Lagoon to watch the fireworks. The boats have the music piped on board. Everyone loved it. Well worth the $.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The backwoods Segway tour at FW was awesome.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My teens enjoyed Gatorland surprisingly.

And we did mini golf in Disney in 2013 and had fun with it. We did both the winterland/summerland courses.

 

[luvformickey]

I agree the Boardwalk is really fun at night and the walk from Hollywood Studios there is really nice (it's a long walk, but so nice next to the water).

The Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge offers a free scavenger hunt that my kids (and my DH and I) really enjoyed. The sheets are at Guest Services. They also have nightly animal viewing that's fun too.

 

[Disfor3]

I agree the Boardwalk is really fun at night and the walk from Hollywood Studios there is really nice (it's a long walk, but so nice next to the water). The Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge offers a free scavenger hunt that my kids (and my DH and I) really enjoyed. The sheets are at Guest Services. They also have nightly animal viewing that's fun too.

Oh wow I didn't know about the scavenger hunts! Have you done them? Are they appropriate for all ages? How long do they take to complete? Would you suggest one over the other? Thanks so much for this tip I'm excited about making a prize for the ending of the hunt!

 

[msb578]

Resort hopping. It may sound incredibly dull on paper, but in reality every resort is pretty amazing when you take the time to explore.

On our most recent trip, we had four full days. We only had a park ticket for one day- the last day. The other days we explored Fort Wilderness/Lodge; the Monorail resorts; The Epcot resorts (don't skip the Swan and Dolphin!). And we enjoyed our own resort (Sports).

We had some good meals, the kids rode ponies, we watched fireworks, and we got to notice things most people don't. Great trip.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Gatorland!

http://www.gatorland.com

 

[DonnaL]

Wilderness Lodge has a lodge tour offered several times a week (not sure if you need to be staying there) and I believe AKL also offers something similiar. WL also used to have a "Flag Family" program....don't know if they still do it. Upon check-in you could ask about being the Flag Family one morning during your stay. Every morning (early) a CM at WL is responsible (used to be Ranger Stan) for raising all the flags on top of the WL building. They used to allow a family staying at the Lodge or VWL to accompany the CM to the roof and raise the flags. Our family was able to do it about 11 years ago....it was a great experience. We asked again a few years later while staying at VWL (it's our home DVC resort) but all mornings of our stay were already booked by other families.

 

[Beep]

Safari Wilderness in Lakeland is one of ours. You can do a camel safari, truck safari, hand feed lemurs and there is a animal petting area.

Mucky Ducks driving at Revolution which is just off the US27 at Clermont.

Big Cat Rescue at Tampa.

Airboat ride at Sprit of the Swamp.

Classic car cruise at Old Town Kissimmee.

Horse riding at Eco Florida.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

visiting Showcase of Citrus. Its only 20 minutes from Disney. Love picking oranges and bringing the home.

 

[jessic2422]

Cocco beach and NASA are pretty cool.

 

[fireflyer]

We stayed at Caribe Royale towers last year and wished we'd reserved more than just the 1 night. Gorgeous, bustling lobby filled with shops and eateries, and a fabulous pool area in the middle of the 3 towers, with a slide & hottub & tiki bar. Had a easter egg hunt in the morning too! Room had a microwave & frig & separate living area. MUCH nicer & more modern room than even Disney's Polynesian. And much cleaner, too.

 

[Disfor3]

All of these ideas sound awesome! But I think I should have been more specific in the original post... What I'm looking for are ideas inside WDW just not inside the actual parks. Please keep the ideas coming!

 

[tcherjen]

We love to resort hop!!! We love the BW, but haven't visited it in the evening. The pizza was great. We have stayed at FW and love the feel of the place.