Your favorite free things to do in WDW?

[mjr0483]

We just planned a spur of the moment trip in April during Easter week for 5 nights. We will be driving from NJ and looking to stay off-site.
We will not be doing the theme parks, but we do have two character meals booked.

I am looking for your best free or cheap activities.
We will be doing Disney Springs and pool days with relaxing.

 

[hsmamato2]

Disney Springs is awesome.... so many restaurants and stops.... One fun game is to travel around Disney property in search of the 'specialty' treats they always offer,and change seasonally... there are food blogs devoted to disney dining that are always showing great new things to look for... It's fun to eat a meal in one place,and go find a dessert or snack ( or adult drink) in another while sightseeing.... I also like the various boat rides available (for free) around property...some right from the Springs to various resorts,which then have further food adventures (depending on interest) Example, a lovely boat ride from the Springs over to Port Orleans French Quarter and there are freshly made beignets! (along with beautiful walking paths thru the hotels)... hidden mickey hunts on various hotels.. watching (partial views) fireworks shows from outside the theme park somewhere....

 

[tlg588]

Fireworks would be one of my top picks. You can get some good views of the MK fireworks from outside the park. If they still do it, you could also watch the electric light water parade (not sure of the official name) on seven seas lagoon

 

[maryfurg]

Searching for hidden mickeys was my favorite!! You can even get a book that tells you where to look for some. Although, stumbling on them in the places you least expect is always the best!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

My kids really like feeding the gators at congo golf. Its like $5.00 for the bag of feed.
https://www.congoriver.com/m/Also we like city walk

 

[VicarJT]

We love riding all of the boats from the resorts, the Skyliner, and doing our own “progressive dinner” through the various options at the resorts. We are AP holders, and still spend many hours on these free activities.

 

[jvalic33]

The Boardwalk! So awesome, especially at night. Just walking the Boardwalk and watching the free acts that alternate throughout the day is awesome! Also, I have not been during Easter week, but what about the Easter Egg display at the GF. Also, during Halloween they have special characters in costume at some of the Deluxe resorts, I believe they do the same for Easter, I would research that and hop over to those that have characters. The specialty costumes are awesome and one of the reasons I personally no longer do MNSSHP on Halloween because when we did, we ended up feeling bad that we couldn't stay at the resort for all the fun activities.

 

[Nick6300]

A lot of great suggestions posted. We like going to Ft Wilderness too for the campfire singalong with chip and dale, visiting the general stores, reminiscing the old camping days where shuffleboard and arcade/pools dominated the days and not the parks. Hoop dee doo review, Visiting Wilderness Lodge. Taking the boat to MK.

Taking the monorail, resort hopping, such as AK lodge for the restaurants or animals.

We sometimes putt putt at winter summerland after a lazy day at TL, then head to Disney Springs for shopping/ a meal, to complete the non park day. We haven’t tried the NBA Experience. Have gone to Cirque and rode the hot air balloon; sometimes caught a movie at AMC.

 

[kylenne]

Fireworks would be one of my top picks. You can get some good views of the MK fireworks from outside the park. If they still do it, you could also watch the electric light water parade (not sure of the official name) on seven seas lagoon

They still have the Electrical Water Pageant! You can catch it from the Poly.

 

[Rob Huff]

We just planned a spur of the moment trip in April during Easter week for 5 nights. We will be driving from NJ and looking to stay off-site.
We will not be doing the theme parks, but we do have two character meals booked.

I am looking for your best free or cheap activities.
We will be doing Disney Springs and pool days with relaxing.

What is your traveling party and, if there are kids, how old are they? There are lots of great free things to do at all hours of the day, but if there's a baby in your party (for example), some of the nighttime options may not be quite as attractive.