Things to do in WDW other than the parks

[Louise Potts]

Hello everyone!

For our upcoming trip I am planning a couple of non park days where we as a family (me, DH and 10 yr old step daughter) can do some exploring of the rest of Disneyworld.

I am looking for some top tips of activities/places to visit please....

This is what I have on the agenda so far....

- Surrey bike hire at Boardwalk
- Bike hire at Fort Wilderness
- Miniature golf
- Shopping at Disney Springs
- The Void at Disney Springs
- Hotel hopping - where we can look in different hotels and play in their arcades and have a look around the lobbies, pools and gift shops

Any other recommendations would be super, I am also curious as to whether we can park for free in other resort carparks (we are staying at All Star Sports and I think as we are from UK and booked early we are exempt from the new car parking charges?)

Thank you in advance everyone!

Lou

 

[Disneypeach]

Fort Wilderness also has horseback riding, rental canoes/kyacks, campfire/singalong/movie (free), fishing, wagon rides, Segway tours, and arts/crafts stuff. Lots to do there

 

[Louise Potts]

Thanks so much! Do you know if these activities at FW should be reserved in advance? Could you spend a few hours at FW with all the activities? I am excited to spend some time there seeing what it looks like

 

[Disneypeach]

The number of things to do would keep you busy for days! I know the Segway required reservations in advance but I’m not sure how far you’d need to make them. Due to the cost there weren’t many people on my tour.

the other things you could probably do day of. Most things have a small cost but there are lots of free stuff...visiting the draft horses and ponies, calliope (Walt bought It) and the campfire/movie. You can even buy s’mores fixings there!

 

[Louise Potts]

That's great thanks so much for your help!

 

[Disneypeach]

You’re welcome. Hope y’all have a great time!

 

[Micharlotte]

The campfire at Fort Wilderness is great! And the resort is huge, you couldn’t find lots to do there.

 

[dprincessmom]

Last vacation we had that had non park days - we did Characters in Flight (the hot air balloon ride) and bowling at Disney Springs. Both were great fun and something we don't usually do.

 

[Lesverts]

Monorail hop the magic kingdom resorts. All 3 have good dining, unique shops and impressive lobbies. The Mary Blair artwork in the contemporary is awesome. There are good resort bars. And in general it is a nice way to spend like 3 or 4 hours.

 

[Dave006]

I am also curious as to whether we can park for free in other resort carparks (we are staying at All Star Sports and I think as we are from UK and booked early we are exempt from the new car parking charges?)

Just take a look at your Disney World confirmation number, if the first five digits of the reservation number are 48079 or less, that's the magic number for free overnight parking at your resort. You are able to park for free during the day at other Disney World resorts, there may be limits to the number of hours that you can park at an individual resort but you also get free parking at the 4 Theme Parks as a Walt Disney World onsite guest.

The Magic starting sequence of the first 5 digits of a Disney World reservation: 48079, where 48 - 2018 and 079 - number of days into 2018 to reach March 20, the last date for a reservation could be made to include free overnight parking. The overnight parking fee stared as of March 21, 2018. The fee is $13 per night at Value resorts, $19 at Moderate resorts and $24 at Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts for any visit scheduled after March 20, 2018.


Dave

 

[Denise W]

Just take a look at your Disney World confirmation number, if the first five digits of the reservation number are 48079 or less, that's the magic number for free overnight parking at your resort. You are able to park for free during the day at other Disney World resorts, there may be limited to the number of hours that you can park at an individual resort but you also get free parking at the 4 Theme Parks as a Walt Disney World onsite guest.

The Magic starting sequence of the first 5 digits of a Disney World reservation: 48079, where 48 - 2018 and 079 - number of days into 2018 to reach March 20, the last date for a reservation could be made to include free overnight parking. The parking free stared as of March 21, 2018.

Dave

I thought people from the UK are exempt from parking charges for a certain amount of time?That is what has been reported on this forum.
Denise

 

[DaisyDuck001]

What I read about the overnight parking fee is that it depends on whether you booked your hotel before or after the cutoff date in March. I have not seen anything before stating that people from certain countries are exempt from the parking fee.

Regarding parking for a visit to another hotel where you are not staying, this is generally free if allowed at all, but the resorts nearest to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot regulate parking more tightly so that people won't park there and then enter a theme park, to circumvent the paid theme park parking lots. Usually you have to have a dining reservation at that hotel in order to park there for a visit, and you have to leave within three hours. Without these restrictions, there wouldn't be enough parking for the people staying at these hotels.

 

[Dave006]

I thought people from the UK are exempt from parking charges for a certain amount of time?That is what has been reported on this forum.
Denise

No, no one is exempt from this new fee unless you don't have a vehicle during your resort stay. Again for any reservation made after March 20, 2018 is impacted by this fee. Since you reference guests in the UK, many of them will be exempt from this fee for trips that they may take this year but only because they originally scheduled back in 2017 or as recently as March 20, 2018. The fee affects any reservations made as of March 21, 2018.

This is a misunderstanding that comes up often since the new overnight resort parking fees started on any Disney World Resort stay booked after March 20, 2018. So it will take a period of time until everyone is impacted by the overnight resort parking fee, if you have a vehicle.

You can also modify any reservation made before March 21 and continue to not be impacted by the parking fee unless your change results in a new reservation number being generated that has a number greater than 48079 as the first 5 digits of the Disney confirmation number.

Dave

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Hello everyone!

For our upcoming trip I am planning a couple of non park days where we as a family (me, DH and 10 yr old step daughter) can do some exploring of the rest of Disneyworld.

I am looking for some top tips of activities/places to visit please....

This is what I have on the agenda so far....

- Surrey bike hire at Boardwalk
- Bike hire at Fort Wilderness
- Miniature golf
- Shopping at Disney Springs
- The Void at Disney Springs
- Hotel hopping - where we can look in different hotels and play in their arcades and have a look around the lobbies, pools and gift shops

Any other recommendations would be super, I am also curious as to whether we can park for free in other resort carparks (we are staying at All Star Sports and I think as we are from UK and booked early we are exempt from the new car parking charges?)

Thank you in advance everyone!

Lou

All of the Deluxe and DVC resorts have resort specific activities going on each day. Ask at your resort for a schedule. Don't know if they do this at moderates and values too. You can also rent the bikes and surreys at OKW. Most of them also do movies. The Chip and Dale singalong is specific to the Fort though. There are night time activities at the Boardwalk. AKL also has a resteraunt Dessert tour. There is cake decorating at one of the bakeries at DS. There is plenty to do.

 

[Denise W]

No, no one is exempt from this new fee unless you don't have a vehicle during your resort stay. Again for any reservation made after March 20, 2018 is impacted by this fee. Since you reference guests in the UK, many of them will be exempt from this fee for trips that they may take this year but only because they originally scheduled back in 2017 or as recently as March 20, 2018. The fee affects any reservations made as of March 21, 2018.

This is a misunderstanding that comes up often since the new overnight resort parking fees started on any Disney World Resort stay booked after March 20, 2018. So it will take a period of time until everyone is impacted by the overnight resort parking fee, if you have a vehicle.

You can also modify any reservation made before March 21 and continue to not be impacted by the parking fee unless your change results in a new reservation number being generated that has a number greater than 48079 as the first 5 digits of the Disney confirmation number.

Dave

Actually, I have read several threads where a guest from the UK booked through a UK travel agent and were told that they would not have to pay parking fees until after a certain amount of time (end of the year maybe? I can't remember what they said). It had to do with the special deals they receive there that US residents don't. Do you work for Disney or a travel agency?
Denise

 

[Dave006]

Hey @Denise W, you are absolutely correct about something be different for UK Guests, and you can add guests from Ireland to the favored guest list! I dug a little further and contacted a source in the UK for more details, she shared the following:

Guests staying at Walt Disney World resorts, while residents of the UK or Ireland, will not be charged for Walt Disney World resorts overnight parking until 31 December 2019.

Dave

 

[Louise Potts]

Hey @Denise W, you are absolutely correct about something be different for UK Guests, and you can add guests from Ireland to the favored guest list! I dug a little further and contacted a source in the UK for more details, she shared the following:

Guests staying at Walt Disney World resorts, while residents of the UK or Ireland, will not be charged for Walt Disney World resorts overnight parking until 31 December 2019.

Dave

I thought I had seen this somewhere too! Yay thats great news

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Hey @Denise W, you are absolutely correct about something be different for UK Guests, and you can add guests from Ireland to the favored guest list! I dug a little further and contacted a source in the UK for more details, she shared the following:

Guests staying at Walt Disney World resorts, while residents of the UK or Ireland, will not be charged for Walt Disney World resorts overnight parking until 31 December 2019.

Dave

Oh, I hadn't heard of that before. I can see why it would be left unpublicized in other countries, as it could lead to resentment.

 

[KevM]

Art of Animation has a daily class where you’re taught how to draw a character.

 

[Dave006]

Oh, I hadn't heard of that before. I can see why it would be left unpublicized in other countries, as it could lead to resentment.

While I can't speak to Walt Disney policy, and I am that it is published somewhere. My personal view is the delayed implementation for UK and Ireland guests is due to the extended length of stays these guests tend to book with Disney Travel. Most stays start at 14 days and many hit 30 days. That's a lot of overnight parking to add to a vacation budget.

Dave