What to do during our off days

[2busy4life]

We are newbies to the whole Florida/Disney thing and we are staying offsite....so my question is....What do you do when you are not at Disney or US/IOA? We are looking for some inexpensive things to do (you can only shop so much ). I have heard that you can tour the resorts? Is this true?

 

[amw]

I like to book a "down day" for sleeping in, swimming at the hotel, visiting Downtown Disney, and if I book any character meals, I tend to book it on a non-park day too just so you don't feel rushed or drained.

When my DDs were little, their highlight of the trip was the day we did Chef Mickey's followed by the monorail circuit.

You can stroll the Boardwalk area too.

 

[bankr63]

First up, I hope you mean touring the WDW resorts. I would avoid tours of any other resorts offered. It is not a tour, it is a timeshare presentation, and it is not a way to waste precious vacation time. If you do a timeshare presentation, just remember that most locations in Orlando (except DVC) resale for about $1 per week right now (not near the thousands they want to extract from you).

Our #1 favorite cheap day is to go the Blue Spring State Park to see the manatee (winter months). About 45 minutes North of Orlando. Park entrance is about $7 per car. The boat tour of the St John River is fascinating as well, and reasonable $ for a family. Go to the Florida State Parks web site for details.

Gatorland is a good "half-day" attraction; DS loves it, DD not so much (nothing with scaly skin interests her). DS and I also love go-karting at Funland while the girls get their shoppin' on.

We always do a day at a waterpark (usually BB or TL), and at least one visit to DisneyQuest is mandatory. Neither of these is particularly inexpensive however.

Have a great trip!

 

[encinc]

We went orange picking at Showcase of Citrus one year. We did it early in our trip and enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice in our condo. It was a nice change of pace and something we can't do at home!

 

[2busy4life]

First up, I hope you mean touring the WDW resorts. I would avoid tours of any other resorts offered. It is not a tour, it is a timeshare presentation, and it is not a way to waste precious vacation time. If you do a timeshare presentation, just remember that most locations in Orlando (except DVC) resale for about $1 per week right now (not near the thousands they want to extract from you).

Our #1 favorite cheap day is to go the Blue Spring State Park to see the manatee (winter months). About 45 minutes North of Orlando. Park entrance is about $7 per car. The boat tour of the St John River is fascinating as well, and reasonable $ for a family. Go to the Florida State Parks web site for details.

Gatorland is a good "half-day" attraction; DS loves it, DD not so much (nothing with scaly skin interests her). DS and I also love go-karting at Funland while the girls get their shoppin' on.

We always do a day at a waterpark (usually BB or TL), and at least one visit to DisneyQuest is mandatory. Neither of these is particularly inexpensive however.

Have a great trip!

Yes I meant touring the WDW resorts not the timeshare presentations. Thanks

 

[Sue M]

Yes you can certainly tour the WDW resorts. It's easy to tour the MK resorts, just hop on and off the monorail. The Christmas decorations I hear are beautiful, esp at Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. So You can start at The Poly, then hop on the monorail, 1 stop to GF, after, re-board the monorail to The CR (Contemporary Resort). After looking around CR, at the back of the resort there is a boat launch that will take you to Wilderness Lodge. After WL, just take the boat back to CR, and get on the monorail back to the Polynesian where you started!

You can also drive to The Epcot Resort area, and see the Beach Club and Boardwalk Inn. And stroll around the Boardwalk area. Most resorts will let you park for up to 3 hrs in guest parking. Just tell the guard at the gate you want to go look at the Christmas Decorations. They will issue you a 3 hr parking pass.

Have fun!

 

[ChisJo]

We went to an aviation museum once - its about 45 minutes away from Orlando. My hubby LOVED it. We got to take a flight on an old open airplane (we paid for this, but one of the best memories of any of our trips!). Afterwards, since it was so close to the orange groves, we went and picked oranges.

We've also gone to the beach a couple of times. Both the Gulf side and the Ocean side. Both great!

 

[squirrel]

On our non-park days we try to sleep in, do laundry, go swimming at our resort and go to DTD or play mini golf.

 

[yxe dad]

Who takes a day off?

 

[Cdn Gal]

We go to the Flea Markets, check out Orange World, do DTD, BW, etc. My DH this year played gold while I swam in the pool! Somehow we can always fill it up!

 

[tgropp]

We did Kennedy Space Center in 1981 and again in 1994. Its been a long time since we have been there but if you were at all interested in the moon landings and space shuttle, it is a fantastic day away from the parks.

 

[irisesareblue]

I second the motion of going for a character meal on a down-day. It can help add pixie-dust on a non-park day. We also love to go to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club and walk around the Boardwalk (free parking for 3 hours if you're staying off-site). You can also take the boats from there to Epcot / Hollywood Studios and back (do a full circuit.)

Not sure if you would like this but if you're interested in Christian themed park with lots of plays, skits, and music, we did Holy Land Experience this time in Orlando (just last Friday - seems so long ago). It was about $35.00 per person - I wouldn't recommend it for little kids but for us (DH and myself) it was a good morning outing. The cafe onsite has a great chicken salad sandwich.

If you have a car, you could go to the beach on either coast.

Personally, I just love sitting by the pool relaxing and reading. Soaking up the Florida atmosphere has become my all-time new favorite thing to do.

 

[Fundytrail]

Even though we stayed on site last trip we took an off day, met up with some friends wintering in Florida, done some shopping with them and returned for a late reservation at La Cellier.

 

[mtmbyck]

THere have been trips to Orlando where we took a Disney park break but always do the resorts to get our Disney fix.

We spent one evening with a dinner at 1900 Park Fare (Cinderella and her stepmom and sisters are a riot and food is awesome) and then take the monorail around the 3 resorts, getting out at each one to browse the gift shops and check out the pool areas (no we don't swim). If you end up at Polynesian, you can sit on the beach and take in the fireworks and water parade then go to Grand Floridian for Ice Cream.

Another regular for us is an evening at Boardwalk. THey have those fun family bikes and we rent those for an hour and then do some shopping and desserts. Then watch EPCOT's fireworks from the Boardwalk. The evening entertainment is wonderful. THere are magician's and musicians strolling the boardwalk all evening. If you are having an adult night, make sure to pop into Jellyrolls for a great evening of music and fun!

We also have goen over to Animal Kingdom both during the day and night to view the Savanna (they have night vision goggles). Almsot all of the deluxe resorts have movie nights - the Beach Club's is on the beach and I am sure you could pull up a chair wothout anyone caring if you are a guest or not as it is right on the beach.

Lastly, we have gone to the deluxe resorts to rent water sprites and family boats - the waterways are more interesting. And don't underestimate how enjoyable it is to sit in the lobby of the Grand Floridian listening to the piano player taking in the Disney magic without dropping the $400/nt.

Resort Security is happy to let you in in the evening - more strict during the day (3 hour max) to ensure guests don't avoid parking fees at parks by parking at resorts. We have always said we were shoopping or dining and they often ask to see a drivers licence and away you go.

Have Fun!