Not Doing the Parks?

[edk35]

We are adding more and more days without parks in our vacations too. These are great ideas. I personally love being at the resorts we stay in...and skipping park days don't seem to bother our family one bit. I am soooo glad commando park days are over. I think as our kids get older.....they start to enjoy the resorts more. My kids love the parks but they also love SLEEP.

 

[kikiq]

Any of you made the trip to Kennedy Space Center?

We rent a car for a day and pack the family in the car and drive to the coast. It takes my DH 90 minutes to get there, he is a very conservative driver.
There's something for everyone.

How old is your son? My 7 yr old niece could have spent hours at the Lego store in DTD. My brother finally bribed her out of there with a Lego set You can rent boats at DTD. They go a little slower than the ones on Bay Lake, but nevertheless just as much fun.

 

[Sheribo]

Any of you made the trip to Kennedy Space Center?

We do a no-park trip every March break. We drove to Titusville to watch the Space Shuttle go up. Just pulled over on the side of the water to watch. Bring binoculars and a scanner type radio to hear the control tower count down. It was all over very quickly but amazing. First the lights, then a wave of sound and then the rolling smoke over the water. Sadly, the drive back to SSR took over 3 hours since traffic gets so snarled.

There is a little observation deck at the Contemporary to watch Wishes at Magic Kingdom. We grab a coffee/hot chocolate and watch the show. The torch ceremony at the Poly is nice and the electric light water parade is cheesy but we love it anyway. Street performers on the Boardwalk are pretty neat and we watch movies at the pool at our resort SSR.

We also walk around Old Town to see the shops and ride the go carts.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

We haven't been to the parks in the last three trips! We will be going again in March but there are a ton of fun things to do with paying park admission.

Our kids are teenagers now but loved the kids activities when they were younger. They still get into the poolside dancing and games if they are in a silly mood. Resort exploring is fun. We always try to catch Wishes from the Poly and from the Contemporary viewing area. We rent regular bikes (the surrey ones are just too much like work for me!) Sleeping in and cooking a big breakfast is also great. Just relaxing by the pool...shopping at the Outlet malls...taking in a movie at DTD....mini golf...the week is over before you know it and you are relaxed and refreshed !!

 

[Sheribo]

We haven't been to the parks in the last three trips! We will be going again in March but there are a ton of fun things to do with paying park admission.

Our kids are teenagers now but loved the kids activities when they were younger. They still get into the poolside dancing and games if they are in a silly mood. Resort exploring is fun. We always try to catch Wishes from the Poly and from the Contemporary viewing area. We rent regular bikes (the surrey ones are just too much like work for me!) Sleeping in and cooking a big breakfast is also great. Just relaxing by the pool...shopping at the Outlet malls...taking in a movie at DTD....mini golf...the week is over before you know it and you are relaxed and refreshed !!

And don't forget Disney Quest for teens! My DS19, DS16 & DD14 love to spend a day there. We buy them annual passes to DQ since we visit Florida 2x a year. Now that they're old enough to go off on their own, it is a favourite way to pass a couple of hours every few days.

 

[ILuvMulan]

There are so many great suggestions that I am beginning to think that this trip will be just a hectic as our trips when we go to the parks Guess it is a good thing we have the next 49 years to see and do everything.

Is Vero Beach too far to "pool hop" for a day?

 

[Sheribo]

There are so many great suggestions that I am beginning to think that this trip will be just a hectic as our trips when we go to the parks Guess it is a good thing we have the next 49 years to see and do everything.

Is Vero Beach too far to "pool hop" for a day?

It's about 1.5 hours away. We have friends that stay there March Break so we do spend a day there while we're at SSR. It's beautiful and playing in the ocean is awesome.

 

[ILuvMulan]

It's about 1.5 hours away. We have friends that stay there March Break so we do spend a day there while we're at SSR. It's beautiful and playing in the ocean is awesome.

Ooh, that sounds great I think we may just take a day and do that. BTW, my DH is coming around, he has concurred that we might have enough to do that we don't need to by park tickets. Thanks to all of you for the great input!! Keep it coming if you have any more ideas.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

Can you go to the movie at Fort Wilderness or Beach Club if you are at another DVC resort?

 

[5forDiz]

Can you go to the movie at Fort Wilderness or Beach Club if you are at another DVC resort?

Any onsite resort guest at WDW can go to the campfire/movie at Fort Wilderness.

For Beach Club campfire/movie I believe 'technically' it is for DVC members/guests at either BCV or staying at another DVC resort. I don't know the answer regarding non-DVC resort guests attending.

 

[LIFERBABE]

My kids love the parks but they also love SLEEP.

Yes, my boys love sleep too!

We can go at Christmas for 2 weeks and we may hit the parks one day out of 14. We do tours, like the FW Segway and play mini golf. Love the resorts and keep the activities on the fridge. Enjoy the Spa at SSR. Oh, we love shuffleboard!! DS(9) is a pro from all the times we play at SSR. We were on DCL and he was winning against grown men!

We go for morning walks.

We have DisneyQuest /Waterpark AP's so Dh/boys will hit DQ almost nightly. We will hit a waterpark a couple of days just to relax and low crowds in December!

We have picnics and BBQ's.

I love the Prime Outlet and they have such great deals there, I have stopped shopping at home (well almost!)

Mostly we like to stay onsite and relax and enjoy our surroundings and being together.

We hit the parks in the summer.

 

[MrsCopper]

We are new to DVC as well. We have only been members for a year with SSR as our home. DTD has a movie theater, many shops, shows that are put on nightly, a marina for water sports, and just a chance to people watch. There are two mini golf courses - one by Blizzard beach and the other is by the Swan & Dolphin Resorts. There are the pools at all of the resorts that you can "hop". Just make sure you check out the restriction dates if you go during the summer. Resort hopping itself is fun to check out all of the different themes, decorations, and shops. There is Tri Circle D Range in Fort Wilderness to see and ride horses. Plus carriage rides in Fort Wilderness. There are more things to see and do in Fort Wilderness, even is you just wander around in the woods or rent poles to fish from the banks. Take a walk from SSR to DTD. There's path from EPCOT to Beach/Yacht Clubs and Boardwalk. There is also a walkway from The STudios to Boardwalk Hotel. The Boardwalk Hotel has a great boardwalk with shops and even nightly entertainment. Ride the monorail. Ride all of the ferry boats.

 

[jazzmanmgt]

We live on the West Coast and come to WDW every other year usually for 10-12 days. We typicaly do some WDW and some non-park / Non-Disney days. A 10 day trip might look like this... Days 1-4 parks and tons of Disney. Days 5-8 rest, relaxation, non-parks and non-Disney activities. Days 9-10 very light disney and parks. Some of the Non-Disney activities we've done includes Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona Beach and The Daytona 500 Experience, Vero Beach, even Gatorland...lol. Most of these are within 2 hours of WDW and day-trips. As much as we love Disney, we have discovered a whole other Florida world out there. We also use our non-Disney days to do what many others have already mentioned...Pool time, movies (theater and DVD's), sleeping in late, mini-golf, eating and shopping at DTD etc. Non Disney and non-park days can be fun.

 

[dudelydude]

This is an interesting thread. Subbing.

 

[ILuvMulan]

We live on the West Coast and come to WDW every other year usually for 10-12 days. We typicaly do some WDW and some non-park / Non-Disney days. A 10 day trip might look like this... Days 1-4 parks and tons of Disney. Days 5-8 rest, relaxation, non-parks and non-Disney activities. Days 9-10 very light disney and parks. Some of the Non-Disney activities we've done includes Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona Beach and The Daytona 500 Experience, Vero Beach, even Gatorland...lol. Most of these are within 2 hours of WDW and day-trips. As much as we love Disney, we have discovered a whole other Florida world out there. We also use our non-Disney days to do what many others have already mentioned...Pool time, movies (theater and DVD's), sleeping in late, mini-golf, eating and shopping at DTD etc. Non Disney and non-park days can be fun.

Where is Gatorland? My boys would love that... not sure that "sister" would be too thrilled but there is always the Prime Outlets for her.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Where is Gatorland? My boys would love that... not sure that "sister" would be too thrilled but there is always the Prime Outlets for her.

http://www.gatorland.com/

Not far from Disney. Our family enjoyed the shows.

Bobbi

 

[RumpleMom]

The Orlando Science Center is very nice. We are members at our local Carnegie Science Center and our membership was honored at the Orlando Science Center.

 

[edk35]

Yes, my boys love sleep too!

We can go at Christmas for 2 weeks and we may hit the parks one day out of 14. We do tours, like the FW Segway and play mini golf. Love the resorts and keep the activities on the fridge. Enjoy the Spa at SSR. Oh, we love shuffleboard!! DS(9) is a pro from all the times we play at SSR. We were on DCL and he was winning against grown men!

We go for morning walks.

We have DisneyQuest /Waterpark AP's so Dh/boys will hit DQ almost nightly. We will hit a waterpark a couple of days just to relax and low crowds in December!

We have picnics and BBQ's.

I love the Prime Outlet and they have such great deals there, I have stopped shopping at home (well almost!)

Mostly we like to stay onsite and relax and enjoy our surroundings and being together.

We hit the parks in the summer.

You know what...your VACATIONS SOUND HEAVENLY. I think this Nov. trip of ours will be pretty low key too. I want to slow down and enjoy the parks. My son actually said to my dd about a week ago "I can't wait til Thanksgiving so we can sleep in" (they are both up around 5:30 for high school) and as soon as he said that..... he said "oh forget that...I forgot...we are doing Disney that week and that means up early you know mom." LOL So I think it is important for them to slow down too now.

 

[dolfinjuls]

Great thread! Love all of the ideas! We're thinking of keeping our next trip pretty low key. Although I'm still a bit hesitant because I want to do the parks...we'll see!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I love the ideas here. Are the pools heated to a comforable temp in the winter. Do the movies run year round?