Would you go to Disney without going to the themeparks?

[CJK]

We've been to Disney way too many times (or so my husband tells me)! He said that he's tired of the rides and shows now since he can basically recite most of the dialogue!

However, I just love Disney and not just the themeparks. I love wandering around the boardwalk, the hotels, DTD and we still have pluses left on old parkhopper passes so we could go to Pleasure Island and the two waterparks. I've never been to Islands of Adventure either so maybe we could go there.

My question is, do you think this trip would be disappointing? Could you go to Disney but not set foot in the parks? Would you be bored?

 

[DisneyLisa]

If I wasn't doing the parks, I'd rather spend my money at a fancy resort on a beach somewhere (depending on the time of year...if it was summer, a Florida beach...if it was winter then farther south or Hawaii ). If I was planning to do non-Disney Parks/Attractions and just the Boardwalk, Pleasure Island, etc., then I'd consider a really nice resort/suite somewhere in Orlando and driving to Disney to do whatever (seeing as though getting to the Disney parks easily/early would not be an issue). Although I love the Magical Disney feeling when I'm there, I only pay Disney's Resort prices for the great access to the parks.

 

[FayeW]

I'm going for 9 days, and only going to one park for 1 day, does that count. Then again, I've never been to Disney, so I don't know what I am missing!

 

[blizzard]

In the past two Disney trips, we did the parks for only one day.

The last two trips have been primarily golf trips while staying at Old Key West. We had done enough of the parks for a few years, so we decided that we'd just spend the days golfing or relaxing, do Downtown Disney, Boardwalk, etc. This last trip, we did decide to do the parks for only one day. We visited 3 parks (EC, MK, and DS) and only saw the things that we really wanted to. Knowing where everything is, and knowing what you want to do makes it possible to accomplish what you want in one day.

So, to get back to your question... We have done 2 trips with minimal park action. We had a ball! The only thing to be aware of though - if you don't take advantage of some of the things that make Disney unique (Boardwalk, Downtown Disney, restaurants etc) then you might be better off at a less expensive vacation destination.

(You'll also be surprised at how much extra money you have to enjoy yourself when you don't have to lay out $50 pp/pd for tickets)

 

[NancyK]

Why not see if CAA is still offering the Universal/IOA three-day park hoppers at par? This way you could still do some theme parks, but have your Disney fix at the resorts and water parks. The unused days on the Universal pass don't expire.

 

[CJK]

Thanks everyone for your responses! We're still trying to figure out what we can afford to do this fall. Maybe we ought to move to Florida and solve the problem altogether.

 

[juniorbugman]

What about doing one of the 3 or 4 day Disney Cruises, Its still Disneyanna with a little exploration and adventure too boot??

 

[CathyCanada]

My husband and I did a couples only trip in January and since we've been to Disney 20 times, decided to do "other things". We stayed at the Celebration Hotel (FABULOUS place, great prices and only 10 minutes from the magic if you want to go) and there are great restaurants there. When you look at the prices, you think, wow, this is cheap and then you remember you are not in Disney!! LOL

Jim golfed, we shopped, we walked, we napped, we explored the area, spent time on the Boardwalk, had meals with friends (can you tell eating is important to me??) and only spent 2 days in the park.

Like Nancy suggested, check with CAA for great prices on Universal/IoA tickets, it is worth going!

Hope this helps!
CC

 

[TimNDansMom]

So far, I have not NOT gone into the parks at all, but I've been cutting back on the number days I spend in there, to 3 or 4 days. I also love to wander around the resorts, Boardwalk, go shopping, DTD etc. and that way I can stretch out my park hopper pass, too. I really enjoy my stays at Disney because Dh likes to go off golfing and there's lots there to keep me occupied while he's gone but I have given some thought to just going and spending one day in a park and doing a lot more off-site things.

Cathy, I keep saying to Dh that I want to check out Celebration.....one of these days! It sounds very nice!

 

[maryliz]

Nope ... we're "theme-park-aholics" ! We've gone for 13 days for several of our trips, and the most number of days we didn't go to the parks was 2 ! Now we don't go to the parks from open to close all of those days ... this is one of the reasons I love my AP.

If I'm not going to the parks, then I couldn't bring myself to go to Disney. Being that close and not going ... I would never survive

Mary Liz

 

[KLondon]

This is a tough one! Our last trip was in Feb 2003. We stayed on day at DW and only went to DTD (5 hours at Disney Quest!). Of course, we were just making a stop on our way to the Disney Cruise (7-night Western).

 

[DisFan2]

N-E-V-E-R!!!!

 

[MaMudduck]

I don't think I could do it.......but I know the rest of my family could! I tend to be intense about seeing & experiencing everything.....hmmmm maybe that's why DH won't come on this trip with me

 

[damo]

We go to Orlando at least once a year but for the last three we haven't gone to Disney at all. We're Universal converts, this past year we've gone twice, once just DS and I for three days and the last with DS, two other moms and their kids. I don't think I could bear to stand in line at Disney again.