Need ideas for an off day

[Bamagal]

We are staying at POP December 8-15 but will not be entering the parks until Dec 10. We will fly in around 6pm on the 8th but I need ideas for things to do on the 9th. Of course checking out AOA will be one of them and DTD. We never have off days so I need fun ideas to entertain my 3 year old. TIA!

 

[rentayenta]

Depending on the weather, you can swim. My crazy kids will swim in any weather but we live in Utah so they don't chill easily. Is there a theater in DTD? You could do a movie? You could go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and check out the animals and have lunch if your child likes animals. There will be a ton of holiday decor up so maybe the GF to check out the gingerbread houses? A character meal at one of the resorts? We didn't care for Chef Mickey's but most people do and if your child likes the characters, that would be fun.

 

[BDL]

Like previous poster said, I'd resort hop and check out all of the decorations. In fact, I have 1/2-2/3 of 1 day in our Dec trip dedicated to just that.

 

[tinka-belle]

The deluxe resorts have awesome Christmas decorations, all different and themed to that resort. Pick a few to go look at, and stop in the resort shops or grab a snack.

For BC/YC/BW, take the bus from Pop to DHS, then get on the boat (nice ride) to those Epcot resorts. For GF/Poly/CR take the bus from Pop to MK, then jump on the resort monrail. No need to enter any park to do these, all transportation is outside the turnstyles. The massive trees in the lobbies all have decorations with the resort's theme, and the lifesize gingerbread house (GF), carousel (BC), old stlye Atlantic City boardwalk in miniature complete with rides (BW) are fascinating. Disney does over-the-top holiday decorating!

If you think mini-golf will interest your 3 year old, Winter-Summer Land is a short walk from the Blizzard Beach bus stop, a quick bus ride from the Pop.

You already mentioned DTD and a stop at AoA too. The OPers have good suggestions too. Pick a few of these activities and you have more than enough to fill your day.

 

[believinthemagic]

All great ideas so far! Another idea is to take a bus to MK and then a boat to fort wilderness. The boat ride alone is very fun for a 3 yr old, then ft wilderness has great playgrounds and pony rides. You could grab a meal there too! The name of the restaurant there escapes me at the moment. But it is a buffet.

 

[amberpi]

Check out the Boardwalk area at night (mini golf at Fantasia is a short walk away from the Swan too and one of the neatest "putt putt" golf courses ever). There are numerous restaurants, tons of free entertainers, the ESPN Zone (I don't know what happens there except DH watches football there) and then seeing all the decorations at the BW/BC/YC/Swan and Dolphin. I think that would be a pretty awesome evening and would give you tons of time to resort hop the monorail resorts during the day.

 

[wdwrich]

Check out the Boardwalk area at night (mini golf at Fantasia is a short walk away from the Swan too and one of the neatest "putt putt" golf courses ever). There are numerous restaurants, tons of free entertainers, the ESPN Zone (I don't know what happens there except DH watches football there) and then seeing all the decorations at the BW/BC/YC/Swan and Dolphin. I think that would be a pretty awesome evening and would give you tons of time to resort hop the monorail resorts during the day.

All good suggestions, but note that it is ESPN Club at WDW (vs. Zone). There is a difference in that the "Zone" version has games and activities which I believe the "Club" version does not have.

OP- Have you considered upgrading your park tickets to give you park access that first full day? It may not cost much $. For example, to upgrade a 6-day hopper to 7 days is only about $10.50 (including tax).

 

[ppony]

All great suggestions so far for the OP. I was wondering, OP, will you have a car? If so, do you currently live near the ocean or where there are beaches like you'd have on the ocean? And have you ever been? That's another option. Lots of stuff to do on property of course, mini golf being one of my faves...but a trip down to Clearwater's beach is a phenomenal day 'waster" too. Just another idea. We live in MN so we LOVE the chance to visit the ocean, or gulf as Clearwater is.

 

[dzorn]

We are staying at POP December 8-15 but will not be entering the parks until Dec 10. We will fly in around 6pm on the 8th but I need ideas for things to do on the 9th. Of course checking out AOA will be one of them and DTD. We never have off days so I need fun ideas to entertain my 3 year old. TIA!

Me I would try to add a day on to my tickets. Otherwise

Sleep in
Late character breakfast at Cape May
Walk around the board walk and see the decorations
Go for a surry bike ride around Board walk.
Swim
Check out DTD
Ride the monorail to MK resorts and see decorations
boat to WL bike to FW

Swim and watch movie by the pool

Denise in MI

 

[FantasiaMagic]

DTD - Shopping, Movie, Cirque du Soleil, Eat
Swim - It can be really nice in the winter
Animals - AKL --- really fun experience!
Exploring other resorts - go look at something you might want to stay at one day!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I agree with the PP about Fort Wilderness. The boat between there, WL, and MK is fun and free, and at FW there are the stables, pony rides, bicycle rentals and paths, a playground, and even campfire activities in the evening. Trail's End is the restaurant there, which has a great dinner buffet with home style comfort food. You could even take a quiet walk through the woods to WL where you can explore that resort. You have all kinds of transportation options, since you can take a bus from either FW or WL to DTD or any park, or you could take boats to WL or the Contemporary.

We will have park tickets but I think our almost 3 year old will still enjoy a lot of those things. Have Fun!

 

[mickeynut1]

I agree that resort hopping is fun and you can check out all the different Christmas decorations. As a pp suggested, AKL is beautiful and your little one can watch the animals .

 

[librarymouse]

Great suggestions so far!

If you do Downtown Disney, the lego store has a great play area outside where kids can build. I think they have Duplos as well as legos. The stuff to purchase is expensive but the play area looked fun!

Also, you could go to Once Upon a Toy and fill a box with Mr. Potato head parts!

Rainforest Cafe at DTD is a fun place to eat as well.

 

[Bamagal]

If I have a room only reservation and a package reservation the next day, can I add an extra day to my ticket and pick it up a day early?

 

[mickeynut1]

If I have a room only reservation and a package reservation the next day, can I add an extra day to my ticket and pick it up a day early?

Yes, you can . You can pick up park tickets up to 3 days prior to the start of a package. Just go to Guest Relations at any park and request early ticket pick up. When we did this in December 2010, all I needed was a picture ID, but others have reported needing their package confirmation number, so have that with you just in case .

 

[believinthemagic]

I agree with the PP about Fort Wilderness. The boat between there, WL, and MK is fun and free, and at FW there are the stables, pony rides, bicycle rentals and paths, a playground, and even campfire activities in the evening. Trail's End is the restaurant there, which has a great dinner buffet with home style comfort food. You could even take a quiet walk through the woods to WL where you can explore that resort. You have all kinds of transportation options, since you can take a bus from either FW or WL to DTD or any park, or you could take boats to WL or the Contemporary.

We will have park tickets but I think our almost 3 year old will still enjoy a lot of those things. Have Fun!

Thanks!! Could not remember Trails End to save my life !!!!

 

[TheRatPack]

We use our off day to do laundry (yea....exciting LOL) and the kids can swim. We resort hop, or add another day to our tickets and visit a park that we want to redo.

We have an 'off' day for Downtown Disney too, and we resort hop sometimes for meals or just to check out the different resorts.

There is a lot around Orlando too.....if you have a car. We have visited the beach, Old Town (it's really kind of run down...but on the weekend they have a car show). My husband and oldest went to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights one year and there is the new Lego Land...etc.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Thanks!! Could not remember Trails End to save my life !!!!

Ahh, no problem, I only happened to have it because I just looked at our ADR list. To us it is always "The Good Buffet at Fort Wilderness."

 

[lylone]

The theater down at DTD is awesome!! We saw Thor while we were at the world and it was great. We were able to get movie tickets the day before using a Blackberry. Perfect time to go right during a thunderstorm!

 

[candielips]

Wow, lots of great ideas!!!

Here is what I would do:

Sleep in
Check out AoA
head to DTD for lunch, most like Earl Of Sandwich, but so many great choices
From there I would head to one of the monorail resorts and take the monorail to each one, chek out the decorations, and grab dinner at one of the resorts.
Lastly I would catch the ferry to Fort Wilderness for the campfire evening activities or a sleigh ride.