Things Disney Offers But Doesn't Advertise (New)

[minnie1012]

These are fun but I'd love to hear more that anyone can do, not just get chosen for specially.

There are free animation classes at Art of Animation. My husband really wants to do these; they had them on the Disney Fantasy, too,

Wow I had no idea they offered those! My daughter loves to draw and was really upset they don't have them at HS anymore. Now I wish we were staying there, I was considering it but chose Port Orleans. Thanks for mentioning. I'll have to look into staying there next time.

 

[BadRomance]

The first things that come to my mind are the marshmallow roastings at the fire pits (this was one of my kids favorite things to do). Also, Hula dancing lessons at the poly.... and the Grand Floridian magic moment where Cinderella and Prince Charming come down the stairs and dance in the GF lobby and all the kids are invited to walk with them.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Wow I had no idea they offered those! My daughter loves to draw and was really upset they don't have them at HS anymore. Now I wish we were staying there, I was considering it but chose Port Orleans. Thanks for mentioning. I'll have to look into staying there next time.

The Drawing Classes at AoA are open to all guests visiting the resort. You don't have to have reservations at AoA to take part in these classes.

Moving this thread to the Tips Board.

 

[MaximumEd]

We got to ride up top with the captain on the steamboat in March 2015 because our then 7 year old daughter asked the CM at the loading platform if she could.

 

[jlsmith376]

.... and the Grand Floridian magic moment where Cinderella and Prince Charming come down the stairs and dance in the GF lobby and all the kids are invited to walk with them.

What time of day does this occur?

 

[Simba's Mom]

That sounds interesting. Is it a guided tour?

I've been lucky enough to do that tour of Boma and Jiko twice. The first time, there were just two of us on the tour, both solos, and they let us pick what wanted to sample at Boma. The other person didn't have a preference, so I voted for the butternut squash soup. And we got a free appetizer of the breads and dip at Jiko. The second time I did the tour, there were about 20 of us, that time the guide gave us each a zebra dome at Boma, but again we got the bread appetizer (I think they put out about 3) at Jiko.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

One time I arrived for lunch at Le Cellier as they were getting ready to open for the day. It was a nice surprise that the Le Cellier cast members all sang the Canadian national anthem as an opening ceremony for the restaurant!

 

[glassslippergirl]

There's wagon rides nightly a Fort Wilderness. I've never been but have always wanted to. It's very reasonably priced, too-- $8 for a 45 minute ride.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

There's wagon rides nightly a Fort Wilderness. I've never been but have always wanted to. It's very reasonably priced, too-- $8 for a 45 minute ride.

I would have enjoyed the haywagon ride except for the stench from the horses' diapers.

 

[BadRomance]

What time of day does this occur?

They had a sign posted in the lobby telling the time it would happen. I'm not sure if it changes from day to day but I think it was like 3:30 in the late afternoon on that particular day.

 

[Sparkly]

A reminder- Don't demand a CM to do these things just because you read them online, I would hate to see these cool little details disappear because people keep demanding them to happen.

 

[cwis]

A reminder- Don't demand a CM to do these things just because you read them online, I would hate to see these cool little details disappear because people keep demanding them to happen.

I cannot agree more. Knowing all these things increase the odds of being at the right place at the right time, but should not constitute a guarantee that pixie dust is about to be spread!

This is especially true as some of the tips mentioned here may have been decided at a CM's discretion by an unmentioned event.

 

[roxymama]

It's honestly more fun when they are surprises too!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

It's honestly more fun when they are surprises too!

True, I really liked the "O Canada" surprise.

But sometimes we miss out on surprises because we don't know when and where they will be...

 

[gcmeyer2]

I know it's lightly advertised but the smores at Port Orleans are very fun and free for everyone. It's a nice way to meet other guests, find out where they are from and meet some of the cast members in a way that is kind of off stage.

 

[loves to dive]

That sounds interesting. Is it a guided tour?

I believe so

 

[ZoZo]

A reminder- Don't demand a CM to do these things just because you read them online, I would hate to see these cool little details disappear because people keep demanding them to happen.

This reminds me of something that I hear used to happen at MK. (This is something I heard about on the DIS.) When the Toy Story characters were out, if you yelled, "Andy's coming!" the characters would drop to the ground. What a cute idea! But so many people found out about it, they had to stop doing it. Bummer!

 

[Uncranky Donald]

You can learn about all the train memorabilia that's in the lobby of the VWL I believe every other week? (I'm sure someone will correct me) As Walt was an insane train enthusiast and some of his own collection is there, they have someone come in and give a little talk/tour about the pieces and steam trains/locomotives in general...at least they still did as of 2 years ago. The collection is worth a look without the speaker

 

[JodyLynC]

This reminds me of something that I hear used to happen at MK. (This is something I heard about on the DIS.) When the Toy Story characters were out, if you yelled, "Andy's coming!" the characters would drop to the ground. What a cute idea! But so many people found out about it, they had to stop doing it. Bummer!

I will definitely try that one.

 

[carlbarry]

That sounds interesting. Is it a guided tour?

I took the tour. I was the only one on it. It goes through the building, explaining pictures on the wall, the carousel, architectural details, etc. We then left the building to go to the boardwalk. We finished in what I believe is the now closed ice cream shop, and I was given a free cup of ice cream. Very interesting--for example, resorts were built before boardwalks; the boardwalks were built to prevent people from tracking in sand to the lobby.