Non-park days?

[EmmaCate]

We're staying at POR at the end of Feb. with our two girls (4 and 7) and both sets of grandparents. We are taking a rest day mid-week which we've never done before. What activities do you like to do on a non-park day?

 

[Harambe]

Sleep in and have a great breakfast. You have a really nice pool complex at POR, so you can do that. Since you have the boat to DTD handy, make dinner reservations there. You're girls might like that T-Rex restaurant (too loud for me!), or you can take them to Raglan Road to watch the Irish step dancers - and the adults will all like Raglan Road, too!

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We don't usually have a full non-park day, but we do have times where we take breaks or make shorter days in the parks. Some ideas:

Downtown Disney -- Lego store is great! Wandering around some of the shops, having lunch. Take the boat back and forth.
Mini golf -- We really enjoyed the Winter Summerland courses
Hang out at the resort -- sleep in, eat at the food court, swim, stroll along the water. In the evening there's campfires with marshmallows followed by movies outside. They also have all sorts of activities throughout the day, so check the activities calendar at the resort. Play in the arcade.
Ride the monorail and explore other resorts. If they're into trading pins, this is great! Hit the pin walls at each resort!

 

[anniemae]

We usually go to DTD for an early dinner on non-park days. Also, some pool time/arcade time at the hotel. Mini golf is also an option.

 

[tsme]

We relax, or swim, or make plans to eat at another resort & tour it while we're there, or go to DTD. There are lots of things to do around Disney that doesn't include the parks. You can go on Disney's website to look for different ideas.

 

[momof2n2]

Gatorland. Oldest theme park in Orlando & never disappoints!!

 

[EmmaCate]

Sounds like we're on the right track so far. We're having breakfast at Kona Cafe and planned to spend extra time at the pool. Then we have an ADR at Ragland Road that night. I was thinking of mini-golf too, but wondered if there was anything else I'm missing. I think we want to stay on property since there are 8 of us and only one of us will have a car.

Is one mini-golf course better than the other?

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Pool, mini golf (when we were younger we'd have a family team competition - so fun). Always looked forward to the great family mini golf showdown. Downtown Disney in the evening followed by a late night swim. Can you still swim at your own risk at night? I haven't tried for years and years but as a kid those were some of my best memories, staying up late to swim with my sister and dad.

 

[Canuck16]

We stayed at POR and loved the resort! The grounds are simply amazing!

We played Mini golf at the summer/winter one at BB and really enjoyed the theming. You could maybe play mini golf and hit the water park on your non-park day if you have enough time.

 

[Hootch]

We usually go to a water park until one or two in the afternoon. It's somewhat restful since they don't open until 10 AM most days.

In the evening we often go to DTD via the boat. It's a nice relaxing ride. Lines do get backed up around dinner time, but they have boats that can cover any locations that have long lines. There's shopping and dinner and maybe Ghiradelli's for dessert.

If you decide to go to Rain Forest cafe or T-Rex, call the restaurant directly and you can get more options for seating times.

 

[kitkat4622]

We usually go to a water park until one or two in the afternoon. It's somewhat restful since they don't open until 10 AM most days.

this is what I am planning on our "down" day

 

[Hootch]

The last time we bought non expiring tickets, we added the water park option. The kids will have entries well after they leave home.

 

[Harambe]

Isn't there a fishing hole at POR? I seem to remember my sister and her kids doing that, but it was ages ago. Might not be available now.

 

[GreatLakes]

This year on our non park day I got up early and did a 5K in Orlando and my wife got up early to use the lap pool to get in an hour swim workout.
We then showered and headed over to AKL to spend some time looking at the savannas before doing Lunch with an Animal Specialist at Sanaa.
We went from there over to Fort Wilderness to check out the horses and spend a little time exploring there.
After Fort Wilderness we went to Celebration to walk around for a little bit, grab something from a pet bakery there to bring home to our dog, and have dinner.
We stopped at Publix on the way back to the resort to grab some food for the next morning and a few beers to have in the room.
We went back to the resort, hooked the laptop up to the TV, and streamed a few episodes of a show we were catching up on for the rest of the night.

It was a fun way to spend a Saturday while avoiding the crowds in the park.

 

[Catvondita]

For non park days we tend to sleep in, maybe go to the pool, visit one of the other fancier hotels and either go to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk.

 

[Jimsig]

Pony rides at FW for the girls could be fun

 

[tabrizia]

My kids love the arcade, or did last time we went. We tend to visit downtown Disney and jus generally take it slow and relax on our down days.

 

[morgy827]

Last trip we had a great day spending time at fort wilderness. Did the Segway tour, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing and stayed for the campfire with smores and the late night movie. Definitely one of my favorite days at WDW.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

The Wonderland Tea Party at the Grand Floridian and Pirate Adventures at several locations are very fun activities for children and give a wonderful time for parents to relax.

Here are the links:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/1900-park-fare/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/pirate-adventure-cruises/

 

[acc82]

The pools at disney are so awesome, you can spend all day there!! That's what we do! Also, look at Typhoon Lagoon for your 'off day' - it's so relaxing that I consider it an 'off day' myself!