Trip to Disney with no parks?? Have you done it?

[lillygator]

I definitley think it is doable and would probably be quite relaxing. If you stay at the Beach Club you can use Stormalong Bay - I bet the kids would love it!

 

[Shannon G]

With all of the great travel options our great country (and beyond) has to offer, why in the world would you travel to a Disney resort and NOT go to any of the parks??? I mean, I understand it if you are a 2-hour drive away and can go anytime you want and the Disney resorts are the best hotels near you, but if you're flying there, PLEASE reconsider for the sake of the kids.

I have to disagree with this - I have not yet done a trip without doing the parks, but that's exactly what we are doing for 4 days in May. When I ask my 4 year old where she wants to go on vacation, her answer is WDW, but when you ask her what she likes about WDW, her answers don't have a lot to do with the parks themselves. She wants to swim at the pool, and she wants to go to Chef Mickey's! My friend and I are taking my DD and her DD (age 6), and we are staying in a cabin at Ft. Wilderness, and we are choosing NOT to do the parks precisely because we are thinking about the kids and what they enjoy.

We go to WDW fairly often (DD has been 3 times so far) and we always talk about all the cool things to do outside of the parks. Yet we end being so focused on the parks that we never get around to doing all those other cool things. That is what this trip is about - relaxing, checking out all those other fun activities, having a character meal or two (at the resorts), and doing it all in the Disney atmosphere. To me, the magic of Disney extends beyond the parks, and they are not the only reason to take a trip there.

 

[sahwifeandmommy]

My family has been lucky in the past that my husband has had to go to Florida on business and we were able to travel with him. We stayed at the resorts at Disney while he went to meetings-the kids and I enjoyed the pools and DTD and at night when my dh meetings were over we went to FW to see the movies. We went a couple of times and I was able to squeeze money from the budget for a one day park ticket and other times we just enjoyed the other less expensive things that Disney has to offer. Our children were young and yet old enough to understand that we couldn't afford to do the parks all the time and they wouldn't have wanted to go without their daddy anyway. Even the times we went without the parks we were able to have a nice time.

 

[JoyG]

I couldn't do it.

I would be too jealous watching all the other resort guests coming back from the parks everyday!

Last year we went to Central Florida primarily to do Seaworld and Universal Studios. We stayed offsite. Even then I found that I couldn't be that close to WDW without going in.

We bought one day tickets at Downtown Disney and went to MK for one day.

I also scheduled a character breakfast on a different night at the Swan/Dolphin but that was planned before we got down there.

 

[CleveRocks]

It just doesn't seem right to me.

It's like going to Idaho and ordering a side of carrots with your steak.

It's like going to Maine and ordering crabs, or going to Maryland and ordering lobster.

It's like ordering jambalaya in Philadelphia and a cheesesteak in New Orleans.

 

[iheartdisney]

We've stayed on property twice, without going inside.
My family lives in Pensacola, and Orlando is the closest Southwest flies, other than New Orleans. After Katrina, my husband deployed to the aftermath, so I went home for a few months. Our plane landed pretty late, so if we had to stay in a hotel...we decided to finally check out Coronado Springs. Its too much for our normal park budget (we are repeat all-star customers!), but since it was only for one night, we took advantage! We walked around the property, had dinner at the pepper market, and checked out the Dig Site pool and playground (that kept the kids busy all day!)
For the return flight, we had a little more fun! Again, arrived late at night, and walked the grounds, and the next morning, we woke up, parked at the TTC, took the ferry over to the main gate, hopped the monorail over to Epcot and back, and then ferried back, and drove over to Downtown Disney, and let the kids ride the train and play at the "Lego McDonalds" before I strapped them into a plane all night.
We got a small taste of the Disney environment, without having to sell a kidney for a quick trip!

 

[Tink215]

I have done it a Couple of times.........Once on a long road trip I stayed overnite with my girls and just me, I got a great offer on a Moderate and I took it........I would have spent the same amount on a regular hotel but chose WDW instead, stayed at POFQ , thats my favorite resort and me and my girls had a blast, were as lazy as can be and even did a character dinning..enjoyed the pool and the park....My girls were small but did understand that we would plan a next time and go in the parks.......and at nite we went to the front of the parks and enjoyed the fireworks.......Next Visit we went for my DD's 2nd b-day weekend......and were joined by our good friends......and that was real nice as well.......We did another Character Dinning in the morning for the baby's B-day and just hubg by the pool for the rest of the day.......But I do have to point out that I do Live in South Florida and its easy for me to get there, I dont think it would be an option if I lived out of state just because of the distance and the price.....As a Fl resident you get deals all the time......super cheap too........My next trtip will be in 7 days we are only doing the Princess and Pirate party then enjoying the rest of our time.......we will only be there for 3 days tops......Its like getting a little Disney magic without all the expense and Stress that comes with the whole experience when traveling with young kids....

 

[lclark0621]

No way we could stay at Disney & not go to the parks. Whats the point?

There are SO many other places to vacation if you dont want to do the Disney parks. I dont get going all the way to Disney & not going to the parks.

If we weren't going to do the parks, we would go vacation somwhere else & save the Disney trip for when we could/would do the parks.

I dont think my DS would understand either. "Yes honey we are in Disney World. No honey, we will not be going to the parks or doing any of the rides. But here is a really great pool."

Yeah, I dont think that would work here. We would rather go somewhere else & enjoy the vacation there & then go to Disney another time.

 

[KirstenB]

As others have pointed out WDW hotels are more expensive than other destinations. If you want warm weather/swimming, why not a beach town that has lots of little kid activities, like mini golf, maybe a children's museum etc. I don't understand the allure of staying at a WDW hotel without the parks? Kids that age usually want a pool and fun foods to eat. I could think of some great ways to spend the $$ saved by going somewhere else...

 

[Shannon G]

As others have pointed out WDW hotels are more expensive than other destinations. If you want warm weather/swimming, why not a beach town that has lots of little kid activities, like mini golf, maybe a children's museum etc. I don't understand the allure of staying at a WDW hotel without the parks? Kids that age usually want a pool and fun foods to eat. I could think of some great ways to spend the $$ saved by going somewhere else...

But I think it can be worth it, especially if you get a good discount on the room. We got a good discount on a cabin at Ft. Wilderness - it's not costing us any more than a comparable hotel room in many other destinations - and we have a full kitchen. And there are a ton of activities at FW that I think my DD will love - the campfire and sing-along with Chip & Dale, the outdoor movies, being able to sit on the beach and watch the fireworks at MK, and the Electrical Water Parade. And, as I mentioned in a previous post, we plan on doing 1 or 2 character meals. We will most likely also spend a day at a water park.

But I do think a lot of it depends on your particular child. My DD is not into the rides - she is scared of many of them, even the rides in Fantasyland, since so many of them are dark and loud. So, for her, the attractions in the parks themselves are not a big deal. But, she LOVES seeing characters - talks about Chef Mickey's all the time. So, to go along with all the arguments being made about cost savings (i.e. why not go elsewhere for less $) - why spend money on the parks when all she really cares about is seeing some characters and we can do that at resort restaurants?

 

[KirstenB]

Shannon G, if it's truly not costing any more, then I have no beef with it. As a disclaimer, we're DVC members and always factor in a couple of pool days (we have young kids one of whom still needs a nap, etc). I was trying to put myself in the place of someone who might only go to WDW every few years, and have to pay rack rate at the Poly or GF. For that person, I would be doing them a disservice to say "go for it" when they could do Hilton Head (or any beach destination) for cheaper.

BTW, we've never stayed at Fort Wilderness, but I've heard great things about it. Glad you guys had fun there!

 

[Shannon G]

Shannon G, if it's truly not costing any more, then I have no beef with it. As a disclaimer, we're DVC members and always factor in a couple of pool days (we have young kids one of whom still needs a nap, etc). I was trying to put myself in the place of someone who might only go to WDW every few years, and have to pay rack rate at the Poly or GF. For that person, I would be doing them a disservice to say "go for it" when they could do Hilton Head (or any beach destination) for cheaper.

BTW, we've never stayed at Fort Wilderness, but I've heard great things about it. Glad you guys had fun there!

I agree - I wouldn't pay rack rate at one of the deluxe hotels for a non-park vacation. Then again, I don't think I could EVER bring myself to pay rack rates for a deluxe resort!!! The only way we stay at the deluxes is by renting points from DVC members.

 

[Bibbidi]

With all of the great travel options our great country (and beyond) has to offer, why in the world would you travel to a Disney resort and NOT go to any of the parks??? I mean, I understand it if you are a 2-hour drive away and can go anytime you want and the Disney resorts are the best hotels near you, but if you're flying there, PLEASE reconsider for the sake of the kids.

Ask yourself this question: Would you go to Friendly's for dinner but plan in advance that your kids will NOT be allowed any ice cream?

If you are flying to Orlando anyway, we are blessed with SO MANY great options, why limit yourself to Orlando??? Show your kids some other great things.

There are wonderful (and fun!) spa resorts outside Phoenix, and your kids can learn the wonder and beauty of the American southwest.

We have many beach towns on both coasts that have excellent, fun-and-pampering resorts with a lot of great activities.

Philadelphia and Boston have many great hotel properties with any and every amenity you can imagine, plus a lot of FREE history to see and explore.

San Antonio has wonderful resorts, and the Alamo, the River Walk, and Sea World, too!

The Pacific Northwest. Mount Rushmore. Cleveland (yes, Cleveland.). Anywhere where there's a Great Wolf Lodge. Don't limit your imagination to Walter Elias Disney's imagination!

Thank you for the suggestions of other places to visit. We have done lots of other trips with our kids--drove to Colorado last summer from Ohio--spent days in the Rockies and down in the Sand Dunes in Southern CO, spend time each year in New England with family, day trips to parks/museums, hiking places all around the northeast and midwest. The idea of a week at Disney without the parks would be a compromise for our family. I would get to be at Disney, my husband would get to relax at the resort. No pressure to go to the parks, just enjoy everything else that we don't do when we're on a commando trip there. It would also save us around $800 to skip the parks (no park tickets to buy). I was wondering if other disney fanatics have tried this with their families and how it went over.