What do you do on your non-park days?

[RedK]

Hey there
I'm doing 8 days in September, staying at BC. I've planned one day mid-week as a non-park day. I figure my feet will need a recovery day!

What do you like to do on your non-park days? I plan to spend part of the morning at the pool, but not sure how else I want to spend the day. I'd love some suggestions!

 

[Brenda Kim]

I am with you, I always go to the Pool. Then go to a movie at Disney's Springs, sometimes dinner and a movie if the movie I want to see is at the dine in side of the theater.

 

[Dumbo7]

I love Disney Springs!!

 

[flyslyw]

As others have said, Disney Springs is a great place to stroll around and do some shopping, go bowling, see a movie and have some GREAT food! But, if that doesn't tickle your fancy you might be interested in visiting some of the resorts you haven't been to. That's what I did on my solo trip in 2011. Most of the deluxe resorts have really great lounges to visit, my personal fav being Victoria Falls Lounge in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I also recommend Trader Sam's Grog Grotto inside the Poly!

 

[janicept]

We go to the flea markets then eat at Sweet Tomatoes or Golden Corral since after we eat there we can't be walking around too much. We went to Daytona Beach one morning a couple weeks ago. My husband loved the flea market there.

 

[brad813]

For me, assume parks to be the four main parks, I would do a water park, go play mini golf(in the evening), head out to the Space Center, beach, or up to St. Augustine(I have a lifetime National Parks Pass, and there are a lot of options in that area). The key is really to figure out where your interests lie and match them up to that. I am a water, space, and history junkie, so my suggestions reflect that.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Laundry! Mini-golf is also good.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We love going to see other hotels. Sit in the lobby of the GF; go to eat at the Poly or other hotels; go see the geyser at the WL.

 

[ludari]

I'm really not a pool person, so on my non-park days I like to explore the other deluxe resorts, walk around Downtown Disney, maybe catch a movie or relax in the room.

 

[adamreisinger]

Since I like to use my non-park days to recharge, I try to stay off my feet as much as possible. I like to spend most of the day catching up on TV I've missed during my park days or watching Disney movies, hooking up my iPad to the TV in the room. At night I usually schedule an ADR at a resort I'm not staying at -- and try to make it one I haven't been to before -- and then depending on what's playing, I might hop over to Disney Springs to see a movie in the theater.

 

[com_op_2000]

It depends on what you are into:
sports: golf, mini-golf, fishing, marathon, bowling, ESPN Club, WWS/ESPN Zone, etc
shopping: DTD, area outlet malls, large scale malls
drinking: Jellyrolls, Raglan Road, monorail tour of resorts, walking tour of resorts in the Boardwalk area
movies: DTD 24 screen theater some with meals served by waiters
night clubbing: Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance, Raglan Road, Citywalk
resort tours: monorail tour of resorts, Boardwalk around the lake tour of resorts, horse drawn tour of FWC, AKL/AKV
offsite: Gaylord Palms Resort, Citywalk, swamp tour
eating: Formal GF 5* Chef's Table @ V&As

 

[rangerxenos]

If you're willing to drive a bit, there are lots of beautiful state parks you can visit. Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is about 1 1/2 away, and fabulous. Bok Sanctuary is much closer, but is beautiful. There are also formal gardens in downtown Orlando, Harry P. Leu Gardens, that are spectacular.

 

[goofy kc]

Non-park day?!? I head to the airport.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Non-park day?!? I head to the airport.

I was gonna say the same. For me there's no such thing as a "rest day" or "resort day". Thats the day I leave. If i feel the need to rest, i'll take a midday break for a few hours. It really helps. But an entire day to rest??? Thats just not me. But if I were to chill all day i'd definitely be at the pool. If i get antsy and bored (which is likely) i'd probably hop over to Dis. Springs for dinner and a movie. But if you're going to walk around and shop at dis.springs, you might as well just head to a park.

 

[jmenjes]

My arrival day is my non-park day (I reach my resort around 2:30-3:00 pm), so after check in I head over to Disney Springs for a while.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I love to just go to the bus stop and get on the first bus that comes along. I really enjoy sitting on the bus and listening to first-timers discuss what they're going to do, usually while they're pouring over a Birnbaum or UOG book. OK, call me an eavesdropper! When I get hungry, I get off at the next park-stop and head to a resort (most likely one I haven't stayed at) for lunch. When I'm done, I sit on the bus a while again, and eventually work my way back to my starting resort. But mostly I just enjoy sitting on the bus and eavesdropping on first-timers.

 

[loves to dive]

I never have a full non-park day. I may only spend a hour or two in a park but I always go to one. If I'm not in the park, I go to the pool or sit out on my balcony with a glass of wine and a good book. I like to relax in the parks, find those out of the way places and sit and watch people or look at the details.

 

[bluezy]

I was gonna say the same. For me there's no such thing as a "rest day" or "resort day". Thats the day I leave. If i feel the need to rest, i'll take a midday break for a few hours. It really helps. But an entire day to rest??? Thats just not me. But if I were to chill all day i'd definitely be at the pool. If i get antsy and bored (which is likely) i'd probably hop over to Dis. Springs for dinner and a movie. But if you're going to walk around and shop at dis.springs, you might as well just head to a park.

I was thinking the same thing! We don't have any "no park" days (including arrival day). We usually stay for 7 days and those days are divided up into full park days and short park days. On the full park days we hit a park at rope drop, take an afternoon break at the resort, and then return to a park in the evening. On short park days we sleep in, head to a resort we'd like to visit and have lunch there, then head to a park until after dinner or we go to Disney Springs for a few hours and then head to a park after dinner. We never have more than 2 long park days in a row and that keeps us from getting overly tired and our feet appreciate it. Our usual pattern is: Short day (arrival day), long day, long day, short day, long day, long day, short day (depart at 6:00 a.m. the next morning)

And I completely agree with the bolded statement -- walking around DS isn't really giving yourself a break..especially if you're staying at AoA or Pop and have to walk to the farthest point of the bus stops to get back to your resort after you're finished at DS. We always spend a few hours at DS, but I don't consider it to be a break or rest.

 

[Semperfi1972]

I scheduled a full spa day for DW for our non park day.

 

[Sheldonman14]

Are you alone or with company? I would say a movie at DS is great when you're alone or mini golf if you are with someone else. Seems like shopping is counter-productive to the notion of resting your feet and taking a break (I'm not a shopper, so I have my biases).