Suggestions on what to do if not going into parks

[RobinVanellope]

Howdy~

After our cruise in July, my parents, DS (21 & 23yo), DH and I will be staying at POR for a couple of days.
We are not going into the parks. Any suggestions on must-dos, must-sees, or what to experience on property?

Thanks and cheers!

 

[KenHutch]

Well for one Disney Springs is just a boat ride away and you can easily spend a day there. Another idea go to Animal Kingdom Lodge and do all the free stuff there and check out the animals.

 

[Sue M]

We love POR. As mentioned there is the boat to Disney Springs, pools are nice, Bob Jackson puts on a great evening show in the lounge.
I don’t know the reason why you want to stay in WDW but no park, so here’s another suggestion. Stay in Coco Beach. It’s near Cruise port, and have a beach vacay. Sometimes we’ve tacked on a beach stay here pre WDW for a couple of days. My daughters loved getting surf lessons at Ron Jon’s. The last time they had the same instructor that gives the lessons at Typhoon Lagoon. At half the price lol. It’s also near the Space Centre that your sons will prob enjoy as well.

 

[Owl X]

You may like a dinner show like the Hoop De Doo Musical Revue or Spirit of Aloha luau.

 

[Beachmom0317]

You could visit FW and rent a boat there, ride horses, walk some of the trails, see a show or eat at Trail’s End.

 

[loves to dive]

Monorail resort and WL hop, checking out the lounges and QS or even booking an ADR at one. Ride the bus to MK, hop on the boat to WL walk around through the lobby and the grounds. Hop on the boat to CR, rinse repeat, hop on the monorail to Poly (yes you will have to go through security at CR monorail) grab lunch or visit the lounge, walk from Poly to GF and tour there, hop on the boat or monorail to MK (yes, security again) and get the bus back to POR. As others have mentioned, you can catch the boat to DS, we are not fans of DS but to each his own. Play resort roulette - hop on the first park bus to come if it's HS you can walk over to the Epcot resorts and Swan/Dolphin and visit them. If it's AK, hop on the bus to AKL and visit it. If it's to Epcot hop on the first moderate or value resort and visit it.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I like to do mini golf. And I'm also wondering about maybe going horseback riding at Ft. Wilderness. Plus I like to shop at Disney Springs and maybe you could go bowling there or if there's a movie you want to see do that.

If you have folks who like to fish, you could do that or just rent a boat. There is also a morning fishing area (catch and release only) at POR. Rent a bike at POR and ride all around there and down to POFQ and back.

Or check into Parasailing if you have a few daredevils in your group - I can't remember which resort that is out of.

 

[cedricandsophie]

The pools, Disney springs including shopping, movies and bowling.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Splitsville for bowling at DS, shopping at the same if you have shoppers in the group. Excellent food and also live entertainment choices there too. I'd also recommend Boardwalk - there are some shopping opportunities here too but there is also ESPN to catch a game and Jellyrolls ( dueling pianos ). We're also big fans of mini-golf so we'd do Fantasia or Winter-Summerland.

 

[amym2]

We just spent three nights post-cruise with my parents and our two teens at the Poly. We did go to MK for the Christmas party but otherwise didn't do the parks. We love to play mini-golf, resort hop, eat at resort restaurants, and just lounge at the pool (kids like to swim at night). We have absolutely no trouble filling our time! We like to take the bus to Hollywood Studios then the boat to the Boardwalk (you can walk to Fantasia Mini-Golf from there), take the monorail to various resorts, and take the boat from MK to the Wilderness Lodge. The new Geyser Springs quick-service with a sit-down option there is great! We also rented a pontoon boat for an hour, and I think it was the highlight of the trip for my parents!

 

[RobinVanellope]

Well for one Disney Springs is just a boat ride away and you can easily spend a day there. Another idea go to Animal Kingdom Lodge and do all the free stuff there and check out the animals.

Oh, this sounds like a good idea. What type of free stuff is there at AKL?

 

[RobinVanellope]

We love POR. As mentioned there is the boat to Disney Springs, pools are nice, Bob Jackson puts on a great evening show in the lounge.
I don’t know the reason why you want to stay in WDW but no park, so here’s another suggestion. Stay in Coco Beach. It’s near Cruise port, and have a beach vacay. Sometimes we’ve tacked on a beach stay here pre WDW for a couple of days. My daughters loved getting surf lessons at Ron Jon’s. The last time they had the same instructor that gives the lessons at Typhoon Lagoon. At half the price lol. It’s also near the Space Centre that your sons will prob enjoy as well.

Thanks for the tips

 

[RobinVanellope]

You may like a dinner show like the Hoop De Doo Musical Revue or Spirit of Aloha luau.

Thanks ! Yes, as a matter of fact, we just made HDDR reservations.

 

[RobinVanellope]

You could visit FW and rent a boat there, ride horses, walk some of the trails, see a show or eat at Trail’s End.

Oh, wow! I would love to rent a boat or horses. What a great idea. Thank you.

 

[AnnaS]

I have done two stays no parks. (one with my dd - dd and friend went to the parks/I stayed behind/did not want to activate my AP/last minute trip) - (one was also last minute trip with DH).

I/we enjoyed the pool and resort/s during the day and the evenings resort hopped for dinner/browsed the shops/animals at AKL/took the free Boma/Jiko tour. Disney Springs also for the day and evening is great for dinner and entertainment. BW is also nice to spend an evening. Stroll, entertainment, ice cream, meal, etc. For us DVC - TOWL one evening for drinks and viewing fireworks.

The trip with DH, we took a day trip to Vero to visit friends too.

Some can do it, some can't. Some can do it for a short stay and some for a long stay. With kids/without kids? You know your habits and your kids. Some can stay put and some can't. Good luck/let us know how you make out

 

[RobinVanellope]

Monorail resort and WL hop, checking out the lounges and QS or even booking an ADR at one. Ride the bus to MK, hop on the boat to WL walk around through the lobby and the grounds. Hop on the boat to CR, rinse repeat, hop on the monorail to Poly (yes you will have to go through security at CR monorail) grab lunch or visit the lounge, walk from Poly to GF and tour there, hop on the boat or monorail to MK (yes, security again) and get the bus back to POR. As others have mentioned, you can catch the boat to DS, we are not fans of DS but to each his own. Play resort roulette - hop on the first park bus to come if it's HS you can walk over to the Epcot resorts and Swan/Dolphin and visit them. If it's AK, hop on the bus to AKL and visit it. If it's to Epcot hop on the first moderate or value resort and visit it.

OH MY GOSH - these ideas are great. Sounds like you are the master. The rinse, repeat had me chortling ! Love the roulette idea, too. THANK YOU!

I like to do mini golf. And I'm also wondering about maybe going horseback riding at Ft. Wilderness. Plus I like to shop at Disney Springs and maybe you could go bowling there or if there's a movie you want to see do that.

If you have folks who like to fish, you could do that or just rent a boat. There is also a morning fishing area (catch and release only) at POR. Rent a bike at POR and ride all around there and down to POFQ and back.

Or check into Parasailing if you have a few daredevils in your group - I can't remember which resort that is out of.[/

I like to do mini golf. And I'm also wondering about maybe going horseback riding at Ft. Wilderness. Plus I like to shop at Disney Springs and maybe you could go bowling there or if there's a movie you want to see do that.

If you have folks who like to fish, you could do that or just rent a boat. There is also a morning fishing area (catch and release only) at POR. Rent a bike at POR and ride all around there and down to POFQ and back.

Or check into Parasailing if you have a few daredevils in your group - I can't remember which resort that is out of.

Thanks for the ideas. No fishers, however, boat ride and mini golf sound great. THANK YOU!

The pools, Disney springs including shopping, movies and bowling.

Yes, pools are a must. Thanks for your feeback.

 

[RobinVanellope]

Splitsville for bowling at DS, shopping at the same if you have shoppers in the group. Excellent food and also live entertainment choices there too. I'd also recommend Boardwalk - there are some shopping opportunities here too but there is also ESPN to catch a game and Jellyrolls ( dueling pianos ). We're also big fans of mini-golf so we'd do Fantasia or Winter-Summerland.

Sounds like winners. Thank you for your advice

 

[RobinVanellope]

We just spent three nights post-cruise with my parents and our two teens at the Poly. We did go to MK for the Christmas party but otherwise didn't do the parks. We love to play mini-golf, resort hop, eat at resort restaurants, and just lounge at the pool (kids like to swim at night). We have absolutely no trouble filling our time! We like to take the bus to Hollywood Studios then the boat to the Boardwalk (you can walk to Fantasia Mini-Golf from there), take the monorail to various resorts, and take the boat from MK to the Wilderness Lodge. The new Geyser Springs quick-service with a sit-down option there is great! We also rented a pontoon boat for an hour, and I think it was the highlight of the trip for my parents!

Wow! Great thoughts. Night swimming would be fun. Do you happen to know approximately how late pools are open? Thank you.

 

[RobinVanellope]

I have done two stays no parks. (one with my dd - dd and friend went to the parks/I stayed behind/did not want to activate my AP/last minute trip) - (one was also last minute trip with DH).

I/we enjoyed the pool and resort/s during the day and the evenings resort hopped for dinner/browsed the shops/animals at AKL/took the free Boma/Jiko tour. Disney Springs also for the day and evening is great for dinner and entertainment. BW is also nice to spend an evening. Stroll, entertainment, ice cream, meal, etc. For us DVC - TOWL one evening for drinks and viewing fireworks.

The trip with DH, we took a day trip to Vero to visit friends too.

Some can do it, some can't. Some can do it for a short stay and some for a long stay. With kids/without kids? You know your habits and your kids. Some can stay put and some can't. Good luck/let us know how you make out

This sounds great. I like the resort hopping and BW ideas, too. Thank you for helping out

 

[amym2]

Wow! Great thoughts. Night swimming would be fun. Do you happen to know approximately how late pools are open? Thank you.

Pool hours seem to depend on resort and actual pool. On our recent stay, I seem to recall some pools closing at 9pm and some at 11pm. Someone else might be able to give more specifics!