Trip with no theme parks--what to do?!

[tessieg]

We'll be going on a 2 day/2 night trip, staying at POP, and will not be doing theme parks this time(just did all the parks a few months ago). What would you do to fill your days? We will be in FL and on a tight budget but still want to visit the World.
Ideas we have so far are: campfire singalong at Ft. Wilderness, pool and arcade at POP, lunch and browsing at DTD, and maybe fireworks viewing from Poly's beach. Have I missed anything?
Thanks!
Tessie

 

[beansmom]

swim...resort hop...downtown disney...hammocks on the beach with a book. I think resort hopping would be my first choice.

 

[jmartinez1895]

We enjoy going to the different resorts ( esp. the value) and checking out the decor. Also we like to window shop at DTD.

 

[WizardLarz]

During the day, searching for the next resort where you'll stay next trip!

During the evening a Monorail Bar crawl!

 

[Justsyd2]

Don't forget about mini-golf, and the Boardwalk.

 

[MarilIncredible]

Honestly, I don't think I'd stay at a Disney hotel if I wasn't going to the parks. I'd probably go somewhere else for a couple of days. I mean, I like to have an extra day or so built in to my Disney vacations for swimming, relaxing, etc., but I wouldn't go there specifically to not go to a park. YMMV, of course.

 

[prncess674]

Honestly, I don't think I'd stay at a Disney hotel if I wasn't going to the parks. I'd probably go somewhere else for a couple of days. I mean, I like to have an extra day or so built in to my Disney vacations for swimming, relaxing, etc., but I wouldn't go there specifically to not go to a park. YMMV, of course.

Agree, just seem kinda like torture on the kids. Also for the price of a value you could stay at an offsite hotel with much nicer pool amentities.

 

[FINFAN]

we did this at the Dolphin for 3 days once with 2 kids! Before I get flamed, they had been to WDW 3 times already and we were taking a driving break from Chicago to Naples , Fl to visit family for Christmas...so no $$$ for theme parks. Anyway,
We SLEPT IN, swam,played basketball and on the beach, hit the viewing areas at AKL, checked out resorts, watched fireworks from CR and then ran over to their dock to see the ELP, did the petting zoo at Ft Wilderness, rented mouseboats, hit both sides of DTD, rode the monorail loops,hit the boardwalk and watched most of Illuminations from teh bridge by the S/D, at the time the Dolphin had a pool table, did that...and it was time to leave! Never did get to mini golf or POR to take the boat to DTD...that was a resort I really wanted see. I would head to CR and rent the mouseboats if you have kids...you can rent for an hour and share the ride. It is a lot of fun.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

Not knowing whether you have been to the parks before, or stayed at POP before, or how old your kids are....

At first I was excited to see your post, as we are doing Orlando without Disney this summer....AHHH! A budget challenge! But, I do kind of agree....if you are saving money by skipping the parks this year, then you might want to make yourself more comfortable by getting a larger room off-site. I love POP to death- we stay there each time- but for the dining plan and transportation benefits. They have double beds and the rooms are the smallest of any hotel we have ever visited.

I would price compare. Many of the off-site resorts are gorgeous, have beautiful pool areas, nearby to other budget activities. Try www.mousesavers.com. They have specials over in the box on the right side.

 

[Promomx2]

You can rent a small watercraft from Poly and then have lunch there or at the GF, ride the monorail, enjoy the pools during the day while everyone else is at the parks, check out jambo resort. You can see the animals from the hallways and they have a lookout right off the lobby and the store has some interesting items.

 

[sherabby]

Did you do the Give A Day Get A Day promotion to get a free ticket? If you have time check it out and you can get into a park free for a day!

 

[kalliyan1]

Did you do the Give A Day Get A Day promotion to get a free ticket? If you have time check it out and you can get into a park free for a day!

That program is now closed...if your not already registered to volunteer, your out of luck

 

[mousetravel]

I agree with the offsite advice. The money you would save by staying offsite, you could spend on at least one day in a park. Or instead of a Disney Park, you could go to Sea World, and for the cost of a one day ticket, you can go for 2 days!
That's what we're planning to do on our upcoming "budget" trip!

 

[Promomx2]

OMG, I can't believe I forgot we did this. We went to sea world last year and ds got to go in the cage with the sharks. He loved it.

 

[sherabby]

That program is now closed...if your not already registered to volunteer, your out of luck

I saw where they had their 1,000,000 so I guess that was when they closed it. I'm glad we did ours in January!

 

[D&DDisney]

Try Mini golf either at Disney propery or off-site at Pirates Cove in the Crossroads shopping center. It costs a little to do this but no where near park costs.

Don't underestimate how much time can be spent at the POP pools or in the game room. My kids spent the entire day doing this.

DTD is great for spending the day too.

 

[pyrxtc]

My DH and I are going to try para-sailing and I really want to check out some different resorts since I haven't seen a lot of them in person.

 

[disney1990]

In addition to all the great ideas already listed:

You can go to the beach area at one of the Monorail hotels and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks and the nightly Water parade.

Go to Downtown Disney.

Go to Ghiradelli or to Beaches and Cream and share a giant ice cream creation.

 

[driftwood]

Is there still a boat ride from MGM to Epcot/Boardwalk area passing by the Swan and the Dolphin? We mistakenly rode a bus to MGM instead of Epcot from our on-site hotel, but there was a boat dock next to the parking lot where we found we could get to Epcot near the Britain entrance. It was nice to see the the hotels on the way from a different viewpoint.

 

[tessieg]

Op here:
We just went on a family vacation to WDW in January at POR and spent 7 days doing the parks! So the kids know we can't do theme parks again but are excited to see POP again--it will have been almost 2 years by the time we return in July. They love the atmosphere and the pool and the pop jets.

As far as staying off site...our rate is $89 a night so even if we moved off site we may be able to save half that if we find a deal but $90 will not buy 4 theme park tickets! And still that would only be 1 day of tickets--we'd still have another day to fill. We did try to do GAD, but our project was canceled and then the whole promotion ended too!

Anyway, we are excited to stay in the magic and will enjoy doing the things we usually can't fit in when we are rushing to the theme parks--we tend to go from open to close. Plus my best friend and her kids are joining us, so we'll be happy to just be with them. After reading all your posts, here's what I think we'll do:

1st Day-
arrive in Orlando around noon and check-in, go swimming, etc
late afternoon-head over to FT Wilderness, do pony rides, play on the playground, get takeout fried chicken fromTrail's To Go and eat on a picnic table or out on the beach, and then go to the campfire sing-a-long at night

2nd day- spend the morning at DTD browsing and playing and then have lunch at T-Rex
afternoon- resort hop via monorail
Have dinner at one of the resort cs restaurants and watch Wishes from the beach at Poly

Last Day-visit the boardwalk, have lunch at Beaches and Cream before heading back home

Now doesn't that sound fun?! It will be nice to go at a slower pace knowing we can sleep in and not have to rush out the door.

Thanks for all the ideas. Let me know if you have anymore!