Tips for no-theme park days?

[allykat44]

We’re staying at Animal Kingdom Jambo and plan to have a couple of days with no theme park tickets.

Any tips on fun family things to do when not visiting the parks?

 

[tinkerjo]

We really just enjoy some nice resort days. There are plenty of activities at each resort daily and your feet will enjoy some easy days laying around the pool/hot tub.

 

[PadawanGirl]

Time in the pool or exploring your resort would be a great idea, and maybe check out Disney Springs, or one of Disney's mini golf courses. Also, a day in the middle of your vacation to just sleep in can be nice, especially if you're planning to go rope-drop-to-close on your park days. You'll enjoy it more if you allow yourself time to rest!

 

[erinlynn2020]

We’re staying at Animal Kingdom Jambo and plan to have a couple of days with no theme park tickets.

Any tips on fun family things to do when not visiting the parks?

we have a lazy day planned after a late arrival night & after breakfast and swimming I thought we’d do an hour or so at Disney Springs then Beaches &. Cream for the. Kitchen Sink then walk to Boardwalk

 

[voxparse]

There are a series of activities throughout Jambo and Kidani all day long where once you complete the activity you get a special bead. The activities are fun and when you are done you have a cool necklace/bracelet of beads. Check with the front desk for the schedule as it changes on occassion.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Yes, I was just thinking about what a great resort you're at to have a non-park day. Besides what's been suggested, go to community hall (first floor past Mara-at least that's where it used to be) Sometimes they have special activities only available on certain days (jewelry making for example) or maybe every day (like ceramics painting).

 

[Brian Noble]

Some things I've enjoyed on non-theme-park days:

• Sleep in! (Honestly, this is my favorite)
• Pool days
• Visit one of the water parks (darn cheap if you already have hopper tickets)
• Golf lessons (surprisingly fun, even though I am not a golfer!)
• Dinner at Disney springs
• A concert at House of Blues
• An early dinner at Ohana followed by a round trip on the Epcot monorail.
• Lunch at a resort restaurant (Olivia's is a favorite)
• Boat trip between one of the Sassagoula resorts and Springs (often combined with Olivia's lunch)
• Walking the paths in Fort Wilderness
• Lunch at Cowfish @ CityWalk/Universal (yes, even when I am staying at Disney)

Other things I haven't done but are On The List:

• Catch a movie at Disney Springs or CityWalk
• Play one of the mini golf courses at Crescent Lake or CityWalk
• Fishing trip on Bay Lake

 

[bluezy]

We've given up on having "no park" days. We always found ourselves wishing we could be at a park on those days. and since we go for 7 or 8 days and would have a minimum of 5-day tickets anyway, adding 2 or 3 more days to a 5-day tickets is a very minimal cost in the scheme of things). Now we have a few sleep in days but still go to a park for a few hours in the afternoon/evening.

Things we do on our sleep-in days:

Hang out at the pool (the kids do this more than I do)
Explore other resorts and have lunch or dinner at one of those resorts
Wander around Disney Springs
Ride the different types of transportation at Disney (last trip we took a bus to DS; boat to POR for exploring and lunch; bus to MK, resort monorail loop and then took the monorail to EP; walked around EP for an hour or so; took Skyliner back to AoA. And went to EP later that evening for fireworks.)

 

[DisneyConvert]

Yes, yes! It's been a while, but we loved No-Park days, mostly if/when we were staying on-property or had the parking privileges that A.P.'s (used to?) offer. Yes, we almost always rented a vehicle for the duration as time was precious.

Pool and lunch at a different resort . . .
Walking around Ft Wilderness or a leisurely day at Disney Springs.
Shopping and supper along US-192 SWest of the the Resort
(or when our son was younger, Hoop-De-Doo!)

It's been a while. We transitioned to cruises and now our son is >21, we don't do DCL either. Sad.

 

[NickC]

HDDR and DS!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It's been a while. We transitioned to cruises and now our son is >21, we don't do DCL either. Sad.

That is sad! Why is having older kids not a reason to sail DCL? Our kids are 27 and 24 and I still love DCL. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. We have tried other cruise lines and they're ok but just don't have the same vibe as DCL.

 

[mommycrawford]

The pool at Kidani village is super fun, and they have an animal viewing area behind the pool bar that has wild pigs, if I recall correctly....There is mini golf close to the Boardwalk, so you could

 

[jtopp]

Touring the resorts is a fun thing to do, getting to sample restaurants you normally wouldn't go to. If you have transportation, consider a beach day. Both coasts are easy to get to, and gets you out of the Disney bubble (unless you visit Disneys Vero Beach resort). Enjoy!

 

[DisneyConvert]

That is sad! Why is having older kids not a reason to sail DCL? Our kids are 27 and 24 and I still love DCL. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. We have tried other cruise lines and they're ok but just don't have the same vibe as DCL.

Still going thru this decision. NCL was ok, but also open to Virgin or smaller ships.

Very hard to point out anything bad w. DCL except itineraries are limited and prices tend to be higher (albeit much fewer upcharges and come-ons).

 

[PollyannaMom]

You're at the perfect resort for non-park days! (And we always found we definitely needed them on long trips.)

You could:

Watch the animals, of course!
Swim
Check out the daily activities (search online for the current schedules or call Simba’s Activity Center at: 407-938-4785)
Explore the restaurants (Sanaa, esp. the bread service, is our fav)
Take your time in the gift shop

Take the bus to Disney Springs (and the river boat from there up to the Port Orleans resorts if you want)
Tour the monorail resorts
Play mini-golf
Visit the Ranch at Fort Wilderness (link)

 

[bakerworld]

At this point we enjoy the water views, the food and the entertainment at Disney Springs. When our kids were little all they wanted to do was use the pool and enjoy the room. Seriously.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Like a PP we’ve also learned that full rest days aren’t our thing. We get length of stay tickets and mix up our days. Last trip we had 9 day hoppers. This trip we are going to skip going to a park on arrival and departure days so we are doing 7 day hoppers. We are staying at AKL so we want to take advantage of the resort on those days so that’s why we’re switching it up.

We do each park once for rope drop (with midday breaks) and then the rest of the days we sleep in and hit a park later. On the late days we basically just sleep in, hit the pool, do an activity at the resort if available and go to the park. We aren’t resort hopper people just to look around. We hit different resorts if we have a reservation or something specific to do there and will look around then. For example DD specifically asked for beignets at POFQ so we will go there for that. We will do Disney springs on arrival or departure day as I’m not into shopping and feel the only thing to do their is to spend money especially with a teenage daughter.