Orlando but no parks?

[Bethmsu]

Has anyone gone or is going to Orlando but skipped Disney? Or Due to budget can only afford one day at the parks? I was thinking about this but not sure if I would just be wishing I was at Disney the whole time! What else would you do?

 

[HunnyPots]

If I couldn't go to the parks, I would not go to Orlando, unless there was some other reason for me to be there. Orlando, as a city, is just not all that interesting.

 

[Bethmsu]

I have an oppertunity to go there for work, its optional but a park may or may not be on the table!

 

[wtpfan]

We did a budget trip this past March....stayed at a home in Windsor Palms...spent a lot of time by the pool and visited Downtown Disney twice, once in the afternoon and once in the evening.
We also tried to plan some inexpensive outings...we drove to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and climbed to the top...amazing view of the ocean! We vistited the marine centre there and saw sea turtles being nursed back to health and touched stingrays (I wanted no part of that but my kids, 16 and 13 absolutely loved it).

We also went to Crystal River and swam with manatees...not the best time of year...water was still very cold but it was a great experience.

We also had dinner at the Polynesian and stayed for the boat parade and wishes from the beach.

It was kind of nice just hanging out and doing some shopping...The only thing that saved me was going to Downtown Disney and seeing wishes from the Poly.

You could still do those things even if you don't do parks. I still prefered to go to Orlando and not do parks than not go at all. Hope that helps!

 

[HunnyPots]

I have an oppertunity to go there for work, its optional but a park may or may not be on the table!

Ok - that makes more sense. I was pictuing you flying the family to Orlando for a vacation with no parks. I'm sure you can still enjoy your trip, especially if you can manage to work in one park day or some shopping maybe.

 

[swilshire]

We drove over from the beach in October 2010 because we had the Give a Day passes. We actually did more than I expected in one day, hitting our favorite things in three of the parks. We converted the one day tickets to 10 day no expiry park hoppers and used part of them this year. Will still get at least one more trip out of them.

We'll be back in Orlando in December, but this time will be visiting Sea World and driving over to Busch Gardens because we bought 2 year all parks passes in July.

Sheila

 

[RitaE]

I wouldn't be thrilled about Orlando with no parks. I'd be more inclined to hit one of the beach areas and rent a house.

 

[Andrea from PA]

We did Orlando without WDW, albeit we had Sesame Place passes that got us into SeaWorld for free. So, we did do the SW parks.

We also did Downtown Disney & splurged to go to Disney Quest.
We visited Animal Kingdom Lodge. We visited the Polynesian to see the evening "lighting" ceremony. We got a good deal ahead of time on Medieval Times gift certificates and used them while in Orlando (i think it was BOGO adult). We considered hanging out at the Boardwalk between Epcot & Studios, but did not have the time. A separate trip, we also did not do Disney and found another family to share an Illuminations cruise with.

It was a very good trip for us. Relaxing. We did not wish we were in the parks. It really gave us time to appreciated things that we either hadn't seen before or rushed thru in the past.

We planned to go Orlando only this upcoming trip (12/2-12/10), but just last week added WDW tickets. The resorts are so decorated at Christmas that visiting them are a trip in itself.

 

[rvchat]

I wouldn't be thrilled about Orlando with no parks. I'd be more inclined to hit one of the beach areas and rent a house.

While I'm a DISNEY fanatic, we had to do this a few times as there was no time to visit parks.

It was great. Orlando is great , in any case. Lots of good dining, great weather, great shopping. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[SyracuseOrange44]

Aside from DTD and Boardwalk, you can just pay for parking and then hop on a monorail and tour the deluxe resorts. That could easily be a day or two of activities.

 

[akcire]

We just did this.........

It wasn't a budget issue, but an experiment to see how our daughter would travel. We had some airline vouchers that were going to expire, so we flew to Orlando. We used hotel points to stay off site, and got a super cheap rental car.

We did take her to the Magic Kingdom one day, but only to the Christmas party. It was actually just the right amount of time. We could enter at 4, she fell asleep at 9--we took turns going on rides for another hour and left.

One really good day we had, we did some swimming in the late morning. Then after lunch we drove to the Port Orleans Riverside. We walked around the resort, and then took a boat ride to the French Quarter. There we ordered some dessert. We then took the boat back to Riverside--enough for her to see and have a boat ride.

Another day we went to the Grand to have her picture taken in front of the tree/gingerbread house. I then took her on the resort launch to the MK and then on the Monorail back to the Grand. In fact the only type of transportation that my daugther did not ride on was a bus.

We made a couple visits to DTD, once to eat at the Earl of Sandwich and another time to look at the lights at night (I ordered a Christmas ornament for her and had to pick it up) and get some ice cream.

All in we had a good time. My husband has a work conference in February and my daughter and I will be going back and staying at the Boardwalk. I am hoping to take her to the parks each day for a couple of hours.

My husband travels to Orlando every once and a while for work and the only Disney fix he gets is the store at the airport.

 

[fakereadhed]

We are doing 10 days with 4 days in the park. Not because we're cheap, but because we miss some of our favorite stuff while we're at the parks.

1)Resort meals(you can park there without a problem)
My favorites- Chef Mickey's, Narcoosee's for fireworks, Whispering Canyon

2)HDDR, Spirit of Aloha

3)Afternoon tea at GF

This trip we are doing Character's in Flight, Wintersummerland, Archery at FW, canoeing at FW, pirate cruise for DS, resort hopping so DS can trade pins and I can shop, FW campfire, Yeeha Bob. We are staying at CBR and POFQ for the first time so we will spend time doing some resort activities there.

 

[englishteacha]

On our last trip, we did Orlando but didn't do any Disney parks. Honestly, it was our best vacation yet (except for maybe hour honeymoon.). We did Universal, Busch Gardens, and SeaWorld, and had an amazing, relaxing time.

 

[bradleysnana]

We are going for 5 days at Christmas. My son lives in Fort Lauderdale, my daughter lives in Jacksonville. We are DVC members so decided it was a central location. We have a character meal reservation and Whispering Canyon for Christmas day. We are going to Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk. the rest of the time will be spent with family.

 

[TravelholicBR]

I think you could find plenty of things to do. Even if you're not in the parks, being on property will give you that "it's Disney" feeling. My husband and I went to the Boardwalk for the first time on our last trip and absolutely loved it, Jellyrolls is a blast and we went twice in a week. DTD is another great place where you could easily sped 1 or 2 days.
Hope this helps, have fun !!

 

[jpeppers]

We are doing it this year. We are going for a week and won't set foot in a Disney park (unless it is a waterpark) but we are going to spend 2 days off site and 4 nights at the Beach Club. My daughter and I both love the water so we are fine just hanging at Stormalong Bay. We might do Seaworld but that would be it. I love the parks but just not in the budget this year and last year we were in the Magic Kingdom for about 2 hours before my daughter asked if we could go back to the Beach Club. Can't wait for our relaxing trip.