What do you do away from the parks?

[A State Of Autumn]

Hey Everyone,

What would you recommend away from the Parks?

I'll be running the Princess Half in February and we're staying for two weeks with 5 disney park days and two or three Universal park days. I don't want to start our Disney park days until after the Half Marathon so I'm planning on things to do while we're staying at a Disney resort but not actually at the parks - I'm keen on some resort hopping and Disney springs at the moment but I'd really like to know what everyone else does.

 

[Tomh]

A few years back, we discovered the car cruises at Old Town USA, and really enjoyed spending an evening there.

 

[pa. dad]

There's water parks and mini golf and real golfing. Going to a ball game. St Augustine to the east is a beautiful town rich in history and you have Clearwater and Tampa to the west. Lots of dinner theatres in the area with different themes also.

 

[A State Of Autumn]

There's water parks and mini golf and real golfing. Going to a ball game. St Augustine to the east is a beautiful town rich in history and you have Clearwater and Tampa to the west. Lots of dinner theatres in the area with different themes also.

I like the idea of water parks but I'm a bit concerned about being too taxing on my body before the races, that's why we're not doing the parks until after. Are the water parks and pools open in February?

 

[YawningDodo]

I like the idea of water parks but I'm a bit concerned about being too taxing on my body before the races, that's why we're not doing the parks until after. Are the water parks and pools open in February?

Both water parks get closed down for at least a month each winter for refurbishment, but unless things have changed in recent years they should be staggered so at least one is open. Having tried the water parks in winter, too, I can tell you that even Florida gets chilly enough that it may not be worth it. Depends on what kind of weather you're used to and whether you get lucky for warmer days. Speaking for myself water parks usually knock all the energy out of me even though they don't leave me sore like a day of walking does.

There's shopping and dining at Disney Springs, nightlife at the Boardwalk, and all kinds of things to see at the various resorts (the Polynesian, for instance, has its torch-lighting ceremony, though I've never seen it myself). I'm a big fan of Trader Sam's at the Poly (it's a tiny tiki bar crammed full of special effects that go off whenever people order certain drinks). One thing I did years ago was rent one of the tiny speedboats you can take out on the Seven Seas Lagoon; you'll want to watch your time because the hourly rental will rack up, but you can toodle around all the way through the lagoon and Bay Lake. They have larger boats to rent, too, but the little racers are the most fun, in my opinion.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

GATORLAND. We sometimes go to Gatorland. It's right there in the area, so it's not far at all to drive. It's pretty neat. We enjoy seeing the gators up close. There is a Gatorland website if you are interested in checking it out.

 

[jvattes]

Hey Everyone,

What would you recommend away from the Parks?

I'll be running the Princess Half in February and we're staying for two weeks with 5 disney park days and two or three Universal park days. I don't want to start our Disney park days until after the Half Marathon so I'm planning on things to do while we're staying at a Disney resort but not actually at the parks - I'm keen on some resort hopping and Disney springs at the moment but I'd really like to know what everyone else does.

One could spend quite a nice bit of time at Fort Wilderness. Visit the paddocks, take a carriage ride, enjoy a meal. It's so peaceful and relaxing there.

 

[Amunet]

Thank you for the thread!
I'm teetering between using our park tickets or not for a stay after our cruise.
I've taken a look at the special fireworks cruises and Surrey bike rentals. I really hope club villain becomes a normal event, I want to go so bad! (we are going in September).

I'm also going to take a look at la nouba and the characters in flight

One thing I did years ago was rent one of the tiny speedboats you can take out on the Seven Seas Lagoon; you'll want to watch your time because the hourly rental will rack up, but you can toodle around all the way through the lagoon and Bay Lake. They have larger boats to rent, too, but the little racers are the most fun, in my opinion.

Do you recall the price or could direct us to the link with pricing info?
Thank you for the poly ideas! I forgot traders Sam. Do they require reservations?

 

[Parker Clan]

We enjoy resort hopping as well. We explored GF & also AK Lodge. We watched the animals for a while. That was awesome!
We have also done mini golf and of course love shopping at Disney Springs! You could really spend a lot of time there, esp at the World Of Disney!
If you have time and don't mind spending the $, Hoop Dee Doo Revue is our absolute favorite non-park activity!

 

[swim mom 29]

There's water parks and mini golf and real golfing. Going to a ball game. St Augustine to the east is a beautiful town rich in history and you have Clearwater and Tampa to the west. Lots of dinner theatres in the area with different themes also.

We love St. Augustine too. Cool places to eat and neat history stops if you have someone in your family who is into history.

 

[a742246]

This site will give you a lot of fun and cheap things to do on your off days at WDW.

http://www.mousesavers.com/free-and-cheap-stuff-to-do-at-walt-disney-world/

 

[SFMommy]

We are planning a day at the Kennedy Space Center.

 

[a742246]

Try an airboat ride! http://www.kissimmeeswamptours.com/

 

[cdnjason]

If you don't wish to venture off property:

Resort hopping
Disney Springs
Golf
Mini golf
Rent a boat/jetski
Dining
Archery lessons at Fort Wilderness
Take a carriage ride at Port Orleans Riverside
Movie theater at Disney Springs
Movie under the stars (at many resorts)
La Nouba
Hunt for hidden Mickeys
Wishes from the resorts
Electric Water Parade
Chip & Dale's Campfire Singalong
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue
Spirit of Aloha dinner show
Mickey's Backyard BBQ
Stroll along the boardwalk
Light jog (before race day)
Book a spa day

And, my number one favorite...

Enjoy the pool at your resort

 

[tripletmomsrock]

There is an AMAZING restaurant we eat at every time off property called Cafe Tu Tu Tango. It's on International and not far from property. It's a tapas with belly dancers and local artists working while you eat. It's a great funky little place!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Quiet pools. Pestering other people's kids.

There are a ton of things to do outside of the parks. Start with DS.

 

[Dreamport]

Thirding the advice of St. Augustine!

Check out Bok Tower Gardens if you like nature. We always stopped by for a calm afternoon when staying with family as a kid on Disney trips. It's a beautiful park with a carillon clock tower which plays in the afternoon? Or at least it did about a decade ago. Been a while. We also could feed peanuts to the squirrels back then but I'm not sure that would be allowed. There also used to be an outdoor park with go-carts but I can't remember what it was named or if it's even still there. You could also see if visiting Celebration, Disney's village just across the highway, has anything worth seeing?

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Hey Everyone,

What would you recommend away from the Parks?

I'll be running the Princess Half in February and we're staying for two weeks with 5 disney park days and two or three Universal park days. I don't want to start our Disney park days until after the Half Marathon so I'm planning on things to do while we're staying at a Disney resort but not actually at the parks - I'm keen on some resort hopping and Disney springs at the moment but I'd really like to know what everyone else does.

YeeHa Bob at POR!!! He's a HOOT, free, and probably one of the best entertainers ever! He's really awesome!

 

[11290]

Short drive from WDW:

http://yellowdogeats.com/

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We took our boys to Kennedy Space Center last summer and they pouted b/c we didn't get tickets to go back the next day! Really, we could have spent two days there very easily. Our boys were 14 and 16 at the time.

We also like to do a funky mini-golf course when we're on vacation. It's just kind of fun to see the strange courses out there and see who does best and worst (we are NOT golfers at all, so it can get downright funny).