What's your favorite" free" thing to do at WDW?

[eeyoresmom]

Any favorites on what to do on your "off" day? Besides the resort pools of course! We sometimes go over to Fort Wilderness and visit the animals or walk around the Boardwalk,.Looking for some new ideas. Thanks.

 

[Mom2tayler]

We like to do the out door movie and toast marshmellow!!

christina

 

[jgates]

I didn't get to do it this trip, but I intend to Ride the Monorail and tour the Contemporary, GF & the Poly.

 

[schwobe]

I might sound foolish, but where do you do the outdoor movie?

 

[melk]

schwobe,
The outdoor movie is a campfire/singalong/movie over at Fort Wilderness every evening. you can find out more info and the monthly schedule of movies over on the camping board. It is a lot of fun--the kids love it. Oh, Chip and Dale are there every night also!

 

[schwobe]

do you have to stay at fort wilderness or onsite to do this? It sounds too good to be true

 

[patsal]

You need to be an onsite guest, but not just at the campground.When I stayed at WLV in July there was info. in my wlecome packet encouraging us to take part in the activity.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Watching the kids in the fountains at DD!

 

[antnee]

I like to resort hop

 

[girlsx2]

One question about resort hopping...I would like to do this as well. What parts of the hotel are you limited to? I don't expect to wander around the rooms, but will all I be able to see is the lobby? Sorry for the dumb question, but this will be my first time at Disney for more than one day and with the kids. I like see what the other hotels offer so I can get a good idea of where to stay next time.


We leave for the WL in 31 days!!!

 

[rla5d]

Once you get to a resort you can go anywhere you want. There's no one checking to see if you're staying there. You may be asked to show a resort ID to use the pool, but if you just want to wander around the common public areas, you'll be fine.

 

[kjs1976]

1. Sit and rock in the rocking chairs around the big fire place at WL.
2. Sit and rock in the big rocking chairs at the BW along the main porch outside.
3. Swim in Dolphin/Swan pool....shhhhhhhhh!
4. When staying at AS, just walking from resort to resort, listening to the kids having fun around the pool and running around, listening to the different accents, and enjoying just being there.
5. Resort gift shops...enough said!

KJS

 

[jxh1]

Here's another vote for resort hopping, especially if you haven't been to them before. It's so much fun seeing all the different themes and checking out where you may want to stay on your next visit. It may be a little more difficult now with all the increased security (I was last at WDW in 2000 and they let us in an out of the resorts pretty freely), but I'm sure it can still be done with little fuss.

 

[Snow Brite]

We really enjoyed it. You can purchase smores kits for like $2.50 that had enough for all of us (chocolate, sticks and marshamallows.) There was a grandma and grandpa with kids that cooked hotdogs as well. Kinda cute! Then a singalong and Chip and dale then a Disney movie. Bring your beach towels to sit on.

Also the boardwalk is free to enjoy at night. We had fun wandering up and down and watching the performers. We could see the Epcot fireworks and popped in to the BW, Swan and Dolphin and YC/BC to look around. Combined with a voucher at Beaches and Cream this was an enjoyable and cheap evening.

DTD is also a fun place to wander. You can of course (and are encouraged to) spend money at the shops but its not neccessary. The Lego shop and displays were fascinating to my 6 year old DS. And I loved poking around in the different themed Disney Shops. We had a GC earned through rewards programs for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and a treat at Ghiradelli, so again a cheap and fun afternoon.

Jennifer

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We love the boat ride from MK to FW. Try to sit out front and just relax!! We check out FW once we get there, but the ride is the best part.

Next trip is Christmas2003 and we plan to do a whole day of resort hopping to view the christmas lights.

Jordan's mom

 

[4407mark]

I can't add much to what has already been posted other than to say that we also enjoy the Boardwalk, Downtown Disney, and the monrail "tour" (GF, Contemporary, and Poly). One discovery we made on our last trip was the Hidden Mickey Safari at Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you go to the front desk and ask for the Hidden Mickey list, they will give you a sheet of paper with clues on it and you have to find the hidden Mickeys. Some were obvious, others were not (one hint-look at the carpet as you walk down the hallway). When we finished, we turned the boys sheets in where a great CM "graded" them and gave them each a special Mickey collectors card as their reward. It was a great way to spend a "free day" (raining like all get out) and to explore the lodge! There was also a Hidden Mickey search at the Wilderness Lodge but it hardly compared to the AKL. Enjoy!

 

[SeaWitch]

Just another thing to add:
If you are traveling around the Christmas holidays, spending an afternoon (or several) checking out each of the resorts decorations is time well spent. It's amazing to see the theme of the resort carried throughout the decorations and each resort has it's own version of a 'Gingerbread house'... massive creations of chocolate & candies! If you've been there you know what I'm talking about!

This past year at the Boardwalk they had a mini Coney-island inspired theme park! Plus it's a choco-holics dream (or maybe nightmare ) - You can smell the chocolate wafting throughout the lobbies!

 

[RustManFan]

We have several free things we like to do each trip:

1. On day of arrival we don't waste a passport day by going for only a partial day. We ride the monorail loops and get our first look at most of the parks for that trip.

2. We usually head in the early evening to Disney Marketplace. Because we almost always stay at Dixie Landings (ok ok, Port Orleans Riverside), we take the boat. This is our FAVORITE free thing and we usually do more than once.

3. We usually have at least one meal at Trails End at Fort Wilderness and have free time wandering around and often enjoying a boat ride (also free) over to the Magic Kingdom docking.

4. We sometimes take a bus to another resort for a meal or just to check it out.

 

[pbandjotter]

Sit on the benches after riding the monorail just outside the park and watch the fireworks.

 

[Kallison]

Watch the British Invasion with a pint.