Non-Park Activities for Kids

[ryansall]

We've got a 7 year old boy and 2 year old girl that we're taking down for the week of Memorial Day at POFQ (Yay! 4 for 3).

We went to WDW 6 times last year because we managed to get an annual pass for Christmas. So we've done all the big rides many times with both of them. This time, we're looking to do the parks in the morning, but then try to relax a little and do some of the overlooked outside the park stuff at night.

Any suggestions for kids that age?

 

[ScotsMinnie]

I have 2 girls - 7 and 2. My DD7 did the Pirate Cruise from the Grand Floridian last year and it was a highlight of her trip. It was really good value for money and lasts 2 hours. They get to be real pirates looking for treasure. there were a good mix of girls and boys on it.

2 year old is harder isn't it and I don't think there are any bookable activites like this for their age.

Both my girls loved the dance party at DownTown Disney. I don't know what nights it is on but there is a little area where a DJ comes on and the kids can dance away - copying the moves. We sat on a bench and watched them. Even DD2 threw a few shapes!!!

If you have annual passes you get half price on Fantasia mini golf which was great fun.

You could also hire a little speedboat from the marina at the Floridian or other places and go for a zip round the Seven Seas Lagoon. We have never done this yet but this might be on our plan for this year.

I'm sure you will get loads of ideas on here. Good luck!

 

[encinc]

What about the campfire singalong and movies at Fort Wilderness? We're hoping to do that on our upcoming trip. I believe there are also wagon rides out at Fort Wilderness in the evenings.

Riding the monorail is always fun - especially in the front car.

You might also spend part of a day at Animal Kingdom Lodge. They have kids activities in the afternoons, and it's always fun to watch the animals.

My kids loved the Lego Store in DTD the last time we were there. They spent lots of time building, and we actually managed to get out of there without any new purchases, though I'm not sure how!

Just a few ideas. There are lots of things to do outside the parks!

 

[TheLittleRoo]

Your 7 y/o may love pin trading. I was not expecting my kids to flip over it like they did. Honestly, I think they would rather spend half a day chasing down CM's to pin trade than ride the rides! You can do that free at the DTD World of Disney store or in your resort's gift shop. Seriously, if my kids could add anything to their trip time, it would be time dedicated to interacting with CM's for pin trading. And it's free, other than your initial investment in 25 or so pins (I get mine on Ebay before we go, doesn't matter what's in the lot, in fact, the more boring the better, b/c then the kids don't feel compelled to hang onto any at first).

Have fun!

 

[Heatherhy01]

We are going in March and I have booked a horse & carriage ride for the four of us at the POR. They run up until 9 PM. It is 25 minutes for $35. I have two DD, 5 & 10. I'm sure they will enjoy this.

 

[Kimmumum]

One thing I would recommend is to get a Disney Book (any of them will do) and read it front to back. We go every year and we always try to find new things to see and do. I'm sure you will probably know most of what is recommended but there are always things I've never heard of.

We have gone to Fort Wilderness and seen the lawn mower tree. We went to FW to see the horses in the corral.

The kids love to play in the jumping water fountains at downtonw Disney.

Miniature golfing. DisneyQuest. Playing with the Legos at Downtown Disney. Walk on the many beaches. See the movie (with S'mores) at the Yacht and Beach club. Walk around the Boardwalk and see the "street acts". Eat at ESPN Zone and play Playstation (the 7 year old would like this). Eat at the Whispering Canyon restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge where it is crazy, the kids get up and dance around etc. There is a place at Epcot for kids to make cookies (I think it is in the building with Soarin')

There are tons of things that you probably never even thought of to do there. One thing I have done is ask my friends (or anyone I hear talking about Disney) what are the top 3-5 things they HAVE to do/or go when they are at Disney. You might be surprised what you hear.

 

[ryansall]

All great suggestions. I like the pirate cruise idea for my son. He's definitely an adventure lover, as he's into Star Wars, Indy, etc.

I think we'll schedule the carriage ride at POR as well, that should be easy since we'll be staying at FQ.

I'd love to do the movies at Ft. Wilderness or Beach Club, but don't they start after about 9 p.m.? The kids tend to wear down around that time, as it's when they normally go to bed. Might be worth a shot one night, though.

Keep the suggestions coming.

 

[encinc]

I'd love to do the movies at Ft. Wilderness or Beach Club, but don't they start after about 9 p.m.? The kids tend to wear down around that time, as it's when they normally go to bed. Might be worth a shot one night, though.

I don't know about the Beach Club, but the ones at FW start around 7:40 pm right now, but will change to around 8:40 pm after the time changes in March.

 

[FLChick]

I took a group of kids to Disney not too long ago (and by a group I mean 25 one time and 10 the other). We went to the resorts, got the schedule of activities for each one, and took full advantage of all they had to offer. We still haven't done it all. They offer free arts and crafts for kids each day at FW, WL, AKL, and several others. Most of the reort activities are FREE! (Well, most of the activities at most of the resorts - some activities cost a couple dollars for supplies i.e. the T-shirt decorating charged for the shirt). FW has resort games each day like bingo, toug-war, dodgeball, capture the flag, tag, and others, They also have pool parties daily. Don't forget the pony rides, cane pole fishing (the main thing we usually go for), campfire sing-a-long, and numerous playgrounds. Kids also love taking the boat between FW and WL. It's a smaller boat and they think it's exciting. At WL you can decorate cookies (free food at Disney? Yep!), open house at the Cub's Den (I think that's what it's called, it's the kid's clubhouse thing - basically they get to make a craft and play there for free), and scavenger hunt (ask at the conceriege desk). At AKL they also have specific african cultural experiences such as safaris, african games and crafts, culinary tours, african instrument demonstrations, wildlife games, storytellers, etc. They also have a nightly cultural representative that speaks about their country. You would think kids wouldn't be interested in this too much but the 7 and 8 year olds girls I had with me were totally into it and asking legitimate questions, especially about school and other childhood-related things from that country. The cast member seemed to love talking about things from his childhood. Don't miss the night vision goggles on the savanna. You could easily spend a day each at FW/WL and AKL. These are the only resorts I have explored so far with the kids. There are tons of other things to do at the other resorts as well. We even considered renting a small boat at a marina (we had an adventurous father with us).

 

[PollyannaMom]

When we were at POR, we rented a surrey bike around the grounds. You could take the boat (same as the one to DTD, but on its the return trip) over from POFQ to POR, and the rental place is right there by the boat dock.

 

[owensamo]

We just spent basically 3 days at WDW, and the closest we went to a park was a trip around the Resort monorail line! We were there for 2 nights before our 7-night cruise, and 1 night after (with a late flight home on Sunday), and had no tickets. Here's what we did - and they were full days:

Friday before cruise - Downtown Disney! We shopped, had lunch at T-Rex (and built a Dino).
Saturday after Cruise - Mini golf at Winter Summerland - it was a blast! The course isn't difficult, but it can be challenging even for the adults. There are 2 courses here as well, and after the first game, your second game (same day or next day) is 50% off. Went back to the resort (VWL) and swam in the quiet pool (*much* warmer than the feature pool!).
Sunday after Cruise - Bay Lake boat tour & Monorail tour of resorts. We were at VWL, so we took the boat first to Fort Wilderness and wandered around the Settlement a bit. our DD6 played on the playground there (it's *really* nice), and she had a pony ride (best $5 we spent all trip!). Then we boated to the Contemporary and took pictures of BLT, had lunch at the Contempo Cafe and hopped the monorail for a trip around the line. Then boated back to the resort to pick up ME home.

We had a lot of fun, and never stepped foot in a park. Did I miss them? Yes, but we haven't had an opportunity to hit more than a couple of parks per trip for the last couple years. We plan to rectify that later this year.

There were a lot of other things we could have done that we didn't - I couldn't find our old tickets with the Plus parks still on them, or we would have gone to DisneyQuest. If you have boys or kids into sports, WWoS might be an option. But we really enjoyed the laid-back feeling of not having to worry about getting your money's worth out of your park ticket, and just going and doing whatever we felt like. It was relaxing - and I wouldn't ever imagine a WDW vacation to be relaxing!

Amanda

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

Hop over to the big pool at POR one day!!!! We stayed there in Sept. and had a no-park day and this is what we did. My kids loved the pool and if you ask them what their favorite day at disney was, they'll tell you it was they day we played at the pool DH jokes and says next time we are going to rent a room at the local Holiday Inn and save a lot of money! LOL!

 

[LittleDickensDesigns]

This is a great post. I can't wait to read more!