Want to add new experiences this trip

[ilovedisneymm]

This will be our 4th trip in 4 years (coming in January) and wanting to spice up the trip a little with some new experiences.

Trip will be hubby & I plus our three kids and her boyfriend (20,18,7,5).

We will be doing 10 day park tickets with four weeks total staying at Fort Wilderness. We plan to do every park with hoppers and also looking to do things outside of Disney. The last trip we visited Cocoa Beach.

We are basic in our prior trips hitting all the major rides a few times over and basic restaurants.

It would be long winded to list everything we have done in the past trips but would like to do new things most tourist overlook.

For example, we have never done the Hoop De Doo Review so we are doing that! Exciting!

New dining for us...
Earl of Sanwich, Beast Castle for breakfast, Liberty Tree Tavern...

New attractions for us...
Flights of Wonder, Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress..

I know there is probably just as many things we haven't done that we have. Any help to add some new excitement to the trip would be appreciated.

 

[kathy884]

Major theme parks outside of Disney that are excellent are
(1) SeaWorld -- They have a great deal where if you go to the customer service desk you can get the second day for $10 -- This is a park well worth doing
(2) The Universal parks are very good too. The new Harry Potter areas have great theming. I still prefer Disney over Universal for sure, but Universal parks are soooo improved.

More minor attractions that you might enjoy
(3) Gatorland -- more an ole time Florida attraction vs. world class theme park and a great 1/2 day. They offer a zip lining package too if you have any interest
(4) Look online for great deals, but the new Orlando Eye and the Wax Museum are great fun. My mom found an unbelievable deal online for two attractions for $22 when one is usually about $24 pp and four in our party went on Thanksgiving day.
(5) If you haven't been to a Titanic museum, the Titanic attraction on I-drive is great (a two hour attraction)
(6) There is indoor sky diving in a wind tunnel on I-drive that we have enjoyed too.

Resort fun at Disney
(7) We like visiting the monorail resorts and walking around their grounds and thru the lobbies
(8) We like going over to Animal Kingdom Lodge -- looking at the animals from the grounds, looking in the lobby, if at night you can look around with night goggles and listen to the story tellers
(9) Disney mini golf I hear is lots of fun. Haven't personally done this.
(10) We sometimes rent the little speed boats and go around the lagoon. I believe you can get these right at the Fort.
(11) Disney Springs -- They have redone the downtown Disney area

Day trips -- rental car recommended for an easy economical day
(11) Kennedy Space Center is an hour away and very well done. The basic bus tour with stops is excellent.
(12) The beach. Coco beach is the closest. I'm, though, a big fan of the gulf beaches and like to head out to Clearwater. It's almost two hours, but I do it as a day trip anyway. Also, if kids have seen the Dolphin Tale movie, you can go to the little rescue facility and see Winter there.

Anyway these are my favorites.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

If anyone in your party has an interest in the subject matter, I second the suggestion of Kennedy Space Center. I absolutely love it - I went for one day and ended up getting their annual pass because I wanted to go back. The space shuttle simulator is fun and there's lots of cool stuff to see. Definitely take the included bus tour if you go!

Busch Gardens makes for a good day trip as well - the trip distance is similar to KSC, just in the other direction.

Your littler ones might like Legoland, and I think there are combo tickets that include it and the other Merlin attractions (Orlando Eye, Madam Tussaud's wax museum, SeaLife aquarium).

 

[ilovedisneymm]

@kathy884 thank you!

We will be driving and hubby is good at the long haul drive and getting us to new places with no problems.

You listed some great ideas!!

Gatorland is something we have discussed in the past and something I will check into.

Universal is something we will hold off on until the younger kids are older. Our teen and her boyfriend will only be joining us for a small part of the trip.

I always get sooo close to buying Sea World tickets and then don't and the last minute. Would love to see the Orcas in nature but......(not wanting to turn this into something else).

The Titanic museum sounds perfect and a little history for the kids!

Sounds like a trip to the movie store for Dolphin Tale is in order.

 

[tmoo]

I was dreading the Frozen Sing Along for obvious reasons, but it actually was great. It was hilarious. Very well done so the adults will enjoy it as well.

 

[ilovedisneymm]

@ravenclawtrekkie thank you.

I have heard homeschoolers can get a discount at Lego Land. I should follow up on that.

The Kennedy space center is a good idea. We sent our oldest to Space Camp when she was in 4th grade and still to this day talks about it.

 

[lorenae]

We went on an airboat tour today. There are several of them around, and the one we went on was about an hour away from Disney. It was called Kissimeeswamptours.com or something like that.

We saw some birds, rode around on an air boat and saw tons of gators. It was really nice, being out in the natural environment and away from Disney for a couple hours

 

[garneska]

Melissa, my hubby is a space nut and went to space camp as well. He loved Kennedy space center. We went quite a few years ago but the tours were good and fairly reasonable price wise (could have changed). I think your family would enjoy it.

 

[KimWDW]

I think the 5yo might be too young, but part of your group could do the Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom. My husband and son did that last year and loved it. I would not be comfortable going over the rope bridges so I stayed behind at the resort pool. They had a blast, though.

 

[Canuck16]

I vote for Kennedy Space Center as well.

DS and I went and did the bus tour as well and it was a great experience for sure.

 

[ForeverAlice]

I am sure you already know this and may have done it but the bass fishing excursion at fw is awesome! I booked it for my husband and son this past spring and they loved it!! The archery was fun for them as well!
I have also head from a few people that Legoland was really fun and I always see a buy one get one coupon in the club Lego magazine my son gets in the mail. It's a free magazine too. I want to do hoop dee do on our next trip so I will await your trip report to see your thoughts on it.

 

[nilla]

La Nouba.

 

[Mama Lo]

For an off site excursion I'd go to Blue Spring State Park to see the manatees. This is a natural wintering ground for manatees and it was amazing! There are boardwalks along the river, the water is shallow so you get a great view.

There is a historic building you can go in that is also in the park. Also, plenty of areas to have a picnic.

We went last January when we were in Florida and were amazing to see more then 50 manatee including some tiny calves.

Whatever you do have a great time!

 

[larryz]

Have you gotten soaked on PotC yet? I hear that's fairly easy to do -- just ask to sit in front and make sure you're wedged in 3 across...

 

[G719]

Have you done the Agent P adventure in Epcot? Or played the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom game? Both are fun and free!

 

[msmama]

I see that you're getting 10 day tickets, but have you looked into getting an annual pass? If you adjusted date a bit you oh could get two years of trips out of it, plus you wouldn't be limited to 10 park days. I feel like if I were going to be there that long, I would want to do many more half days than full days.

Legoland is a fun day for little ones into that sort of thing. We spent 2 days there recently and it was overkill (don't get me wrong, we had fun, but we didn't need a second day) unless you want to stay what the hotel, then it was great! You can also get discount tix that include the Orlando eye and The was museum and...maybe an aquarium (could be making that up) that go along with legoland.

 

[amcc]

For the two youngest kids, look into the Pirates cruises that leave from several resorts. We did one that left from the Beach Club (or Yacht) early in the morning. It took the kids on a treasure hunt in the World Showcase lagoon and they had a great time. It gave us time for leisurely adult strolling around the Boardwalk.

We camp at Blue Spring State Park every summer and it is a true representation of the natural beauty of this state. For non-natural, Legoland was a very fun day for all ages.

We also love mini-golf at Disney although the last time we did it, it was in the evening and it was so cold for these South Floridians that all we adults could do was huddle together while the kids kept playing. The themeing of Winter-Summerland is just adorable.

 

[disnut8]

I second Gatorland as a nice off site place for a half day. We got discounted tickets from that place that also sells discounted Disney tickets and the name escapes me at the moment but someone will pop in with the site.

At Animal Kingdom - if you've never done it and since you have time, go out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Take your time, see the exhibits, look at the fantastic mural, pet the animals (see if the fuzzy pig is out) and relax while enjoying nature.

Make an evening of World Showcase entertainment at Epcot. The nice thing is you don't have to stay if you don't want to so you can get a sampling and if it's not to your liking, move on. If you like it, stay. Very casual and, along the way, you can pick up dinner at whatever country whatever person wants. No one has to eat at the same place at the same time.

While at Epcot, exit via the International Gateway and walk around Crescent Lake. If you have time, follow the signs to Fantasia miniature golf and play a round. Have the pizza (opinions will vary) at the Boardwalk or other offerings at the To Go place across from it and sit and enjoy watching people and the Friendship boats going to and from the Studios.

 

[MommaBerd]

Check to see if your younger kids can participate as an individual in the Youth Education program. My kids have done several classes with a homeschool group and they really enjoyed them!

Here's the link:
http://www.disneyyouth.com/our-prog...-enrollment/#categories-individual-enrollment

 

[G719]

Oh I forgot about the Wilderness Explorers at animal kingdom. The kids get a book and collect badges (stickers) for visiting different exhibits. Fun and educational. And FREE!