Non Park Day Ideas for Adults

[MusicalAstronaut]

Especially in December I'd resort hop. Check out all of the Christmas decorations, as well as holiday themed food & drink! There's also stuff you can do at resorts like carriage rides at POR (assuming it's reopened).

 

[backformore]

My wife and I just returned from an April trip, we took a day off from the parks in the middle of the week.
We grabbed an ADR at Sanaa for around 2pm (they feed the animals in front of the restaurant at 3pm) had a great meal and watched all the animals while we were dinning. We then went outside and spent some leisurely time watching the animals outside as well. We then grabbed the bus over to HS and did a little resort hopping on the Skyliner, from HS to the resorts and over to EPCOT. We walked over to the Boardwalk, Y&BC and Swan and Dolphin, took the Friendship boats back over to EPCOT, rode the Skyline back to HS, caught a bus to the Poly had a Dole Whip. We then caught the boat over to MK where we grabbed another boat to WL. Did a quick tour of WL and then caught a bus to DS for our dinning reservations at Raglan Road. That pretty much took up the day and we checked out multiple resorts we had never seen before. The Skyliner was really enjoyable in the day time when it wasn't so busy.

This sounds like a great day!

 

[Cindra]

Just returned from a quick 2-day, no parks visit and my fitbit clocked in at 31 miles walked in those 2 days. Like others have noted there is so much to enjoy at the various resorts and DS. Let me see if I can recall what we covered:

*Generally a lot of walking back and forth between room and DS (room was in Congress Park section of Saratoga Springs)

*Uber drop off at DS - right to Chicken Guy at Disney Springs for lunch - for us it is a must do on all trips - comfort food at its best
*General walk around DS to visit shops and see what has changed, assuming you have been before (a lot of people had M&Ms merchandise bags from the new store); nice to do midday before it gets too busy. Sad to see Wolfgang Puck Express gone from the Marketplace area, and I'm guessing the reason that the entrance by the Christmas store is now closed is due to the Security/Dog presence at the other entrances
*90 minutes of pool time - heat of day at 97 degrees real feel - that FL sun is relentless this time of year
*From DS bus ride to Fort Wilderness Campground to see progress of the new Tri-Circle-D ranch. It wasn't ready for visitors yet but I cannot wait until it is - and am hoping the walking trail between the campground and Wilderness Lodge re-opens when all the construction is complete
*Bus from Campgrounds to WL - Geyser Point is one of our favorite beverage stops - nice outdoor atmosphere
*Bus from WL back to SSR to change clothes for evening
*From DS bus ride to Boardwalk Inn - surprised that ESPN was closed so headed to Dolphin for a "to-go" beverage (sad that Big River can't provide their micro brews in to-go cups"
*Walked from Dolphin to the back entrance of Epcot to watch fireworks and then back to Boardwalk Inn for bus to DS - made it back to DS before last call so a beverage and then back to room at SSR

Next day:

Bus from SSR to Hollywood Studios
Skyliner to Carribean Beach resort for quick visit and then Skyliner to Epcot. After departing walked to boat at Boardwalk and took boat back to Hollywood Studios (nice walking path is another option but we wanted to get all types of transportation in)
From HS took bus to Coronado Springs for lunch (we wanted Mexican food options but pick any resort that has a food option that you like)
From Coronado Springs bus back to DS and walk to SSR for an hour of pool time and to change
Then Bus from SSR to Magic Kingdom and used walkway to get to Contemporary. From Contemporary used monorail to Ticket and Transportation center to use walkway to Polynesian since monorail station is temporarily closed at Poly. Wanted to see the renovation progress but Disney is pretty good at hiding that stuff until they are ready to reveal

At this point all of the transportation methods had been used and all of the resorts that we wanted to cover this time were visited; so it was time to go back to DS and enjoy all it has to offer for the evening. There is always so much great entertainment. Saw the feature band in marketplace area for their first show, and then the one next to Boathouse for second show. Then grabbed a drink at City Works. A band was playing across from there at the outside of House of Blues and stayed the full time they played (over an hour - they were amazing - thought about staying for their next set after break). From there was thinking about calling it a day but then came across a 2 person Reggae band outside of Planet Hollywood and the atmosphere was electric. A bride to be and her party were center stage and there were over a 100 people swaying to the music at any point in time - the band was amazing. And - another must do every time we are there is a pretzel from Polite Pig - the IPA cheese sauce is the most amazing cheese sauce ever (if you like a Welsh Rarebit type of taste).

As you can probably tell from the summary we go for quick service food and micro brew beers so different food/beverage choices may make this a good/bad set of suggestions. But we often just let the day take us where it does. My favorite moments from this trip include the band outside of House of Blues and the Reggae band and we just happened upon both - no planning.

 

[starry_solo]

Sleep in and resort hop!

 

[Nelly Tsunami]

Ultimate non park to day to me to starts with the pool while its hot and then ends with resort hopping on the Skyliner in the evening.

 

[happiestpoe]

We like our rest days to be properly resty... sleep in, spend hours by the pool (with a few cocktails), and dinner at the resort. Our home resort is POR, so we'll sometimes catch a ride on the boat to DS in the evening too, if we feel like a walk.

 

[Dvc1996RI]

I'm planning 3 rest days in our next trip in December and we won't have park passes those days. What do y'all typically do on your non-park days?

Prior to the pandemic, pool hopping was a great way to spend a non park day and get to see other resorts.

 

[helenm29]

I'm not too sure about what I'd be doing because of that Delta Variant and the way Florida is handling it. I have lots of plans for off days....Sea World, Kennedy Space Center and a few others. I hope you have a FANTASTIC trip....there's lots to do!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

I think that visiting the deluxe resorts to see their Christmas decorations is a great way to spend non-park days. The Grand Floridian has the big gingerbread house.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

mini golf, resort hop to check out decorations, sit in lobby of Grand floridian and hope they have the orchestra back, play a round of mini golf, head to disney springs, if you have a car check out local farmers markets, if not use the monorail to resort hop and the the same for the gondola. head to AoA for their drawing instructions in lobby (if that has started up yet)

 

[Miffy]

Definitely resort hop, as many others have suggested.

Also, in December, it's fun to go over to Fort Wilderness at night and check out all the Christmas decorations. These aren't Disney-done decorations--these are decorations done by the campers and they range from fun and adorable to knock-you-over amazing.

 

[Blondie58]

We are definitely drinkers! I like the resort bar crawl idea, that sounds so fun. Adding that to the list of things to do on our off days!! And, we loved Ale & Compass when we last went.

1. The monorail cocktail crawl is also a fun way to spend a day. The Wave at CR is a great place to start and then on to the Poly for some time at the Grog and then to the GF for a visit to Enchanted. We have ended up at the Top of the World but it is currently closed. I know the Wave was closed too but they were seating people at California Grill. 2. We have also done Dine Around in the Sky which was fantastic. I do not think they have reinstated these extra tours but for sure you could do on your own. We started with predinner cocktails at the Wave and then went to the Poly for appetizers, then to the Grand for the main course at Citricos and then back to CR for desserts and fireworks. 3. If now in progress, Mickey's Backyard Bar-b-que and Hoop te do Musical Review. 4. DVC tours: Currenlty you can take a tour of the rooms at each DVC property without setting up reservations. We own at GF but on a July trip we visited WL cabins, Poly cabanas, Riviera, AK, OKW, Beach Club and Boardwalk DVC properties. We hoped to get to Saratoga TreeHouses but ran out of time. We very much enjoyed seeing all the different accomodations. Considering price and a differnt venue than GF we fell in love with OKW. 5. We also love walking a lot. Great walk along the water from HS to the Boardwalk area. Also from the transportation center to Contemporary. For me a great way to get sun as I do not like to sit. I also enjoy walking to the resort that is across the road from the Poly and GF on the golf course. 6. A day over at the WL campgorunds for horse back riding is fun too. Don't know if segway tour is up and running. 7. We do enjoy time at DS too but that is usually DH and cocktails and me window shopping and touching base to eat at Boathouse.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Disney Springs. Hang out at the pool at your resort. Ride the Skyliner in every possible direction; combine that with a meal or stop at a bar at some of the resorts on the line (don't forget you can walk over to Boardwalk too). Same thing but on the monorail line (love Trader Sam's at Poly, the Oasis Pool Bar at Poly (they have always let me in even though it's inside the pool area), The Enchanted Rose at Grand Floridian, haven't been to the new Citrico's but maybe they have a lounge area? Go to Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge in the evening. Beautiful sunset views, and you can eat and drink there.

 

[Doc Disney Magic]

My husband and I love to hang around Disney springs. It's a nice atmosphere with lots of shops and activities.

 

[drwadadli]

Spa day is always a great idea for us.

Also, if we really want to a kid, we head to one of the miniature golfs and play a round or two

 

[Suzabella]

If you find something you want to do off site, don't hesitate to rent a car there on property. They picked us up at our resort and took us to the Car Care Center. We went to the Dali Museum in St. Pete and had dinner in Celebration. We dropped the car off and they took us back to our resort.

I have no idea what it would cost now but at the time, it was about $50.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

If you are outdoorsy, Fort Wilderness has a lot to do. As others said, resort hopping and Disney Springs. I just love walking around the Disney resorts because of their attention to detail with theming.

 

[Suzabella]

If you are outdoorsy, Fort Wilderness has a lot to do. As others said, resort hopping and Disney Springs. I just love walking around the Disney resorts because of their attention to detail with theming.

Especially at Christmas.

 

[Simba's Mom]

If you find something you want to do off site, don't hesitate to rent a car there on property. They picked us up at our resort and took us to the Car Care Center. We went to the Dali Museum in St. Pete and had dinner in Celebration. We dropped the car off and they took us back to our resort.

I have no idea what it would cost now but at the time, it was about $50.

Thanks! I forgot we can reserve a car right on property. I was thinking that we'd have to reserve one for the whole week, even if we were only using it for a day or two.