Must See/Do at Disney World NOT in Theme parks?

[cy1229]

Six words:

Snorkeling with sharks at Typhoon Lagoon

This time around we're going to Blizzard Beach. But that might be an option when we go again in October. I think I'll suggest it to my husband. I have a fear of that kind of thing , but he'd do it.

They're little sharks. It's very, very cool. The rays are cool, too.

[xtremenm]

How about going to see Cirque de Soleil?

[Amy]

How about going to see Cirque de Soleil?

I think tickets for that cost as much as a day ticket to the parks ~ much as it might be nice to see the show, I know where I would rather spend my day and money

[theBIGyowski]

How about going to see Cirque de Soleil?

I think tickets for that cost as much as a day ticket to the parks ~ much as it might be nice to see the show, I know where I would rather spend my day and money

plus you can purchase the show on DVD/Blu-Ray

not that it can actually compare to being there in person...but it's much more cost efficient if you have a family of 4+

[WVParkfan]

So my question....what can YOU recommend that we have to try that doesn't involve going into a theme park???

- Dinner at a restaurant on the Boardwalk (Cheap to expensive. Hot Dog Cart or Pizza Window to Fly Fish or Kouzzina. Lots of choices)
- Arcade at ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk.
- Fireworks (Illuminations in Epcot) on the Boardwalk with an ice cream cone from Beaches & Creme.
- Ride the Friendship boat from Epcot to DHS (and back)
- Miniature Golf at Fantasia Gardens next to the Boardwalk.
- Miniature Golf at Winter Summerland at Blizzard Beach
- Horseback Riding at Fort Wilderness: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recre ... e-d-ranch/
- Bowling at Downtown Disney: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dinin ... litsville/
- Lunch at Animal Kingdom Lodge, followed by the Savannah Viewing Areas in the Lodge (free to do).
- Electrical Water Pageant (Boat Parade on 7 Seas Lagoon), also free: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/enter ... r-pageant/
- Hot Air Balloon Ride: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/event ... in-flight/
- Rent Bikes and explore: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recre ... e-rentals/

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

[Monakie78]

How about going to see Cirque de Soleil?

I think tickets for that cost as much as a day ticket to the parks ~ much as it might be nice to see the show, I know where I would rather spend my day and money

plus you can purchase the show on DVD/Blu-Ray

not that it can actually compare to being there in person...but it's much more cost efficient if you have a family of 4+

That might not work for us this time around. My boys 3 & 7 would probably get antsy. My 9 year old daughter would enjoy it. Thanks for the suggestion though, I'll bank it.

[Wizzard419]

I always wondered, how do you get to the Fantasia Gardens mini-golf course? Do you take transport to the Swan/Dolphin (whatever way you choose) and then walk from there?

[Monakie78]

So my question....what can YOU recommend that we have to try that doesn't involve going into a theme park???

- Dinner at a restaurant on the Boardwalk (Cheap to expensive. Hot Dog Cart or Pizza Window to Fly Fish or Kouzzina. Lots of choices)
- Arcade at ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk.
- Fireworks (Illuminations in Epcot) on the Boardwalk with an ice cream cone from Beaches & Creme.
- Ride the Friendship boat from Epcot to DHS (and back)
- Miniature Golf at Fantasia Gardens next to the Boardwalk.
- Miniature Golf at Winter Summerland at Blizzard Beach
- Horseback Riding at Fort Wilderness: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recre ... e-d-ranch/
- Bowling at Downtown Disney: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dinin ... litsville/
- Lunch at Animal Kingdom Lodge, followed by the Savannah Viewing Areas in the Lodge (free to do).
- Electrical Water Pageant (Boat Parade on 7 Seas Lagoon), also free: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/enter ... r-pageant/
- Hot Air Balloon Ride: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/event ... in-flight/
- Rent Bikes and explore: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recre ... e-rentals/

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

Lots of good ideas! We're going to do a bunch of those you listed I'd love to see the water pageant. Getting ice cream at Beaches & Creme can be a challenge. We've been there before & had no issues getting a table. Then the next time we went back, the wait time was crazy! You can only do advance reservations for 5 people or less at a table. We have 6. High peak season is just rough. We booked a few places with definite reservations. We'd totally hang out at the Animal Kingdom Lodge all day. Pool hopping too, but the vacation club changed their rules so you can NOT pool hop there at all....there used to be limitations only at peak seasons, but now it's all the time. Boooooo! We probably won't go there since we've done it all at the lodge. The pools are so cool there, our kids were bummed when they found out we can't swim at them this time. I guess the exclusions just force us to try new things! Thanks for all the ideas, I love them all.

[Monakie78]

So my question....what can YOU recommend that we have to try that doesn't involve going into a theme park???

- Dinner at a restaurant on the Boardwalk (Cheap to expensive. Hot Dog Cart or Pizza Window to Fly Fish or Kouzzina. Lots of choices)
- Arcade at ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk.
- Fireworks (Illuminations in Epcot) on the Boardwalk with an ice cream cone from Beaches & Creme.
- Ride the Friendship boat from Epcot to DHS (and back)
- Miniature Golf at Fantasia Gardens next to the Boardwalk.
- Miniature Golf at Winter Summerland at Blizzard Beach
- Horseback Riding at Fort Wilderness: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recre ... e-d-ranch/
- Bowling at Downtown Disney: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dinin ... litsville/
- Lunch at Animal Kingdom Lodge, followed by the Savannah Viewing Areas in the Lodge (free to do).
- Electrical Water Pageant (Boat Parade on 7 Seas Lagoon), also free: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/enter ... r-pageant/
- Hot Air Balloon Ride: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/event ... in-flight/
- Rent Bikes and explore: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recre ... e-rentals/

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

Lots of good ideas! We're going to do a bunch of those you listed I'd love to see the water pageant. Getting ice cream at Beaches & Creme can be a challenge. We've been there before & had no issues getting a table. Then the next time we went back, the wait time was crazy! You can only do advance reservations for 5 people or less at a table. We have 6. High peak season is just rough. We booked a few places with definite reservations. We'd totally hang out at the Animal Kingdom Lodge all day. Pool hopping too, but the vacation club changed their rules so you can NOT pool hop there at all....there used to be limitations only at peak seasons, but now it's all the time. Boooooo! We probably won't go there since we've done it all at the lodge. The pools are so cool there, our kids were bummed when they found out we can't swim at them this time. I guess the exclusions just force us to try new things! Thanks for all the ideas, I love them all.

I just read Beaches & Cream has a to go menu for the ice cream. We did dine in one time, I didn't know there was to go. We were going to go for the kitchen sink this time. I can't tell from their website if that's included on the to go menu. Hmmmm......

[kelpseaweedkelp]

This is a great thread!

To put in your pocket in case of rain: I spent many hours at DisneyQuest on a free pass waiting for my family's arrival this spring and if you have free tickets anyways and are in that area....there is this thing called Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters. It is bumper cars, but you shoot rubber cannon balls at the other drivers and if you hit them they spin out of control. Its a BLAST. I rode it like 300 times. It takes a driver and a passenger to load and fire the cannon. Also, they have that same animation class that they have at MGM, which is highly enjoyable and all the kids doing it loved it. I and 5 small children also liked all the games in the kids section - a lot of movement games and one where you had to balance block faces in a pile that drove me nuts. Finally, there is virtual Space Mountain where you design a rollercoaster and then RIDE IT in a flight simulator thing that goes upside down if you program it for that - super great. But yeah, the big problem with DQ is that all that technology just moves too fast to of built such a huge place around it.

One little and awesome thing - at the Boardwalk in the evenings in the Lobby and the bar/snack area and kind of meandering around the walk there is this street magician. Young guy. He is AWESOME. He's awesome. The whole family couldn't get enough. Maybe if you called the hotel they could tell you when he will be around. He solves a Rubix Cube blindfolded.

[Monakie78]

This is a great thread!

To put in your pocket in case of rain: I spent many hours at DisneyQuest on a free pass waiting for my family's arrival this spring and if you have free tickets anyways and are in that area....there is this thing called Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters. It is bumper cars, but you shoot rubber cannon balls at the other drivers and if you hit them they spin out of control. Its a BLAST. I rode it like 300 times. It takes a driver and a passenger to load and fire the cannon. Also, they have that same animation class that they have at MGM, which is highly enjoyable and all the kids doing it loved it. I and 5 small children also liked all the games in the kids section - a lot of movement games and one where you had to balance block faces in a pile that drove me nuts. Finally, there is virtual Space Mountain where you design a rollercoaster and then RIDE IT in a flight simulator thing that goes upside down if you program it for that - super great. But yeah, the big problem with DQ is that all that technology just moves too fast to of built such a huge place around it.

One little and awesome thing - at the Boardwalk in the evenings in the Lobby and the bar/snack area and kind of meandering around the walk there is this street magician. Young guy. He is AWESOME. He's awesome. The whole family couldn't get enough. Maybe if you called the hotel they could tell you when he will be around. He solves a Rubix Cube blindfolded.

Awesome! Thanks for the real insider info on Disney Quest. I read a lot of poor reviews, so I was very hesitant. Plus, I didn't mention that I get motion sickness from video games/movies. I can tolerate low level games (arcade, regular nintendo/sega....as soon as it becomes 3D like, I get real queasy. Are most of the games more 3D like? I would probably end up spending most of my time with my 3 year old. Is there enough for a 3 year old to do & enough things that wouldn't cause motion sickness in the small kids area?

Just added the Boardwalk magician to my list

[Monakie78]

I always wondered, how do you get to the Fantasia Gardens mini-golf course? Do you take transport to the Swan/Dolphin (whatever way you choose) and then walk from there?

I asked my husband about this. He went 7 years ago with my brother & sister-in-law. I stayed back at the resort with the baby. He's not 100% sure what resort they took a bus to. He hasn't been to Disney enough times as the rest of us fanatics to recall enough . He said the Swan/Dolphin sounds familiar and then they walked quite a distance. Like at least 1/4 mile and there wasn't a sidewalk. My sister-in-law was the most nervous with the cars coming, no shoulder, and no sidewalk. We're doing the mini golf this trip and my husband said it's best/safer to drive there.

[Wizzard419]

Yeah, outside of a few exceptions, there are no sidewalks between the resorts so you are not advised to go strolling.

It looks like they may have realized that the course was inaccessible on foot, I just pulled up a map, if you now get off at the boat dock for Swan/Dolphin, walk towards the swan, then towards the beach, cross 4 lanes of traffic in a crosswalk that doesn't have a signal (not sure how busy the road is or that I would want to take that risk with the way tourists might drive) and you are there. It's about a quarter mile as well.

Might be safer to go to winter summerland.

[kelpseaweedkelp]

This is a great thread!

To put in your pocket in case of rain: I spent many hours at DisneyQuest on a free pass waiting for my family's arrival this spring and if you have free tickets anyways and are in that area....there is this thing called Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlasters. It is bumper cars, but you shoot rubber cannon balls at the other drivers and if you hit them they spin out of control. Its a BLAST. I rode it like 300 times. It takes a driver and a passenger to load and fire the cannon. Also, they have that same animation class that they have at MGM, which is highly enjoyable and all the kids doing it loved it. I and 5 small children also liked all the games in the kids section - a lot of movement games and one where you had to balance block faces in a pile that drove me nuts. Finally, there is virtual Space Mountain where you design a rollercoaster and then RIDE IT in a flight simulator thing that goes upside down if you program it for that - super great. But yeah, the big problem with DQ is that all that technology just moves too fast to of built such a huge place around it.

One little and awesome thing - at the Boardwalk in the evenings in the Lobby and the bar/snack area and kind of meandering around the walk there is this street magician. Young guy. He is AWESOME. He's awesome. The whole family couldn't get enough. Maybe if you called the hotel they could tell you when he will be around. He solves a Rubix Cube blindfolded.

Awesome! Thanks for the real insider info on Disney Quest. I read a lot of poor reviews, so I was very hesitant. Plus, I didn't mention that I get motion sickness from video games/movies. I can tolerate low level games (arcade, regular nintendo/sega....as soon as it becomes 3D like, I get real queasy. Are most of the games more 3D like? I would probably end up spending most of my time with my 3 year old. Is there enough for a 3 year old to do & enough things that wouldn't cause motion sickness in the small kids area?

Just added the Boardwalk magician to my list

So, the thing I actually really liked about DQ is that they have tons and tons of arcade games from all different eras and you just walk up and play them. They have every 80s game, 90s game and all the new ones. I think I remember even playing Joust. A whole room of multi-player car racing games where you each get a car and race each other - I think I remember one set that was geared towards younger riders. Also a whole room of pinball which I liked a lot. A large bank of Guitar Hero - they had to secure the guitars though so I think they are a tad heavy for kids. Some other room of stuff that I can't remember now but I remember enjoying. The layout of the place is very casino-like in that its hard to find your way around, but its fine.
They kind of tried to make the main attractions motion and 3D games and for me, they were the lowest part of everything. They are pretty easy to avoid - your kids will see the signs for them and there aren't lines at all, so you can just let them go on them (there are cast members closely supervising) and sit it out or try to hustle them by. They might think they are kind of neat or they might think after the first one that they are lame bc they aged so fast. I tried them all and the only one I thought was enjoyable was the Pirates of the Caribbean - I think on the first floor. Your whole family gets on this boat that rocks around a bit (you might want to avoid - it feels like a boat), one person steers and everyone has a cannon - the same one in Toy Story - and you just shoot the heck out of boats. Actually, that one is fun - I smiled a lot and I think the kids would dig it. I'm not sure if it would be a little scary for the 3yo or not.
I think in general its like being in a REALLY high end Chuck E. Cheese - has that same noise factor and everyone happily scampering around. I think like 2-3 hours and everyone will be fulfilled and ready to go.
The small kids area doesn't have any 3D games - lots of whap the button or pop-up things, basketball hoops, skeeball, test your luck, giant slice the fruit screens and some very nice younger kid games that I found totally addictive. I have no idea what a 3yo's tolerance is - maybe an hour? There is a food court! I think you two could ride those bumper cars all day though - I don't know what the height limit was so maybe not Oh yeah, you could do that animation thing too - my nephew really dug it and he was 5.
Well, let me know if you have anymore questions. If you do go, its nice and dark inside and then when you go back outside, everyone is all <blink blink blink> for twenty minutes or so.

[Amy]

Are there games that give out tickets for kids to collect and turn in for "prizes" at a counter?
The Pirates of the Caribbean sounds fun I wonder if they put the animation part in to help round out people's experience so they don't pay too close attention to the aging video games and entire experience? Is that area set up like the Animation Academy in DHS with CMs teaching you to draw various characters throughout the day?