Suggested activities (other than parks) for trip home in Aug.

[edk35]

Since this is our first trip home......staying at SSR (home resort) for 5 nights and then 3 at BWV.....I would love to hear what others do...instead of PARKS. I do know we are going to Typhoon Lagoon and Disney Quest....and right now I have park days in the schedule but I surely don't want this trip to be about GETTING UP EARLY AND STAYING UP LATE to do parks and the more I plan...the more park action I add. WE were there in Jan. and we are going back in Nov. so I want to really ENJOY the resorts this trip since usually we spend very little time when we stay at hotel type resorts. Thanks everyone.

 

[Granny]

We don't get up early or do commando touring at all any more. You will come away from this next trip amazingly refreshed if you dial back on your park activity.

I don't know about SSR amenities but we really enjoy renting bikes and boats when we are at VWL. BWV has surrey bikes and boat rentals so I know you can do those there.

And DW now considers Mall at Millenia to be the "5th Park".

 

[Stickytutu]

try the Grand Tea at the Floridian it is a great afternoon treat that many people don't know about, it is our favorite activity out side of the parks.

 

[bub]

We enjoy having a day that is left fairly open in our Disney vacations. We have had a late character breakfast at a hotel, gone to the movies at Downtown Disney, and just spent more time at the pool on these days. Also, an early buffet dinner at Boma and some time afterwards for watching animals at the AKL is fun. Last year we spent an evening visiting gift shops at the monorail hotels - it's nice to explore with no real agenda.

 

[castleri]

Rent a boat at WL and race around Bay Lake or take a slower one from SSR or OKW and pack a picnic to enjoy while cruising to DTD and up to POR before heading back to SSR. See how many different methods of Disney transportation you can take in a day while checking out some of the other resorts.

 

[MagikMom]

Relax at the pool. If you are staying at SSR, going to the spa is a MUST!! Pamper yourself a little!

 

[alldiz]

Was at SSR last month for a week....

Only went to the parks 3 days...it was awesome....

We really relaxed.....

We slept in every day....My DD 5 slept till after 9 every day....
it was heaven....
By the time we were done dilly dallying.....it was around 11...

We would go to community hall....do some craft with DD....
usually have lunch....at artist point...very good....or
to DTD...
We would then relax by the pool for a while...

By this time it is 4....go back to the room....
Time for Cocktails

We would then take a nice walk to DTD and go to dinner....nice to have all buses nearby...
Most nights DD went to the kids clubs....which she loves...
and we would then have a relaxing dinner.....

And then try to catch wishes or illum....MAYBE...

We rented Surrey bikes....

We didn't do much.....but we felt totally relaxed....

I don't think I will EVER set my alarm again at WDW
Enjoy
Kerri

 

[rinkwide]

You said August, right? Okay, suggested activities instead of the parks. Hmm...

I can only think of one - try bobbing for apples in a bucket of ice water.

 

[manning]

Stay in the shower. It's hooot out there.

We were there one summer and I ended up showering three times a day. Everytime I came back to the room I was soaking wet.

Disney got my money at the coin laundry.

 

[NYMomof4]

Get the activity list for sure at check in-the kids might find some fun ones to try. My boys also love the billiard room at SSR (near Turf Club) for a game of pool. I love the SSR spa too-had a pedicure in Dec. there.

I tend to overplan too and have found that underplanning can open you up to all sorts of spontaneous fun

Don't forget the Savanna party on Thursdays 3-5 pm.

 

[edk35]

WOW some great suggestions. Thanks so much. I think I will take a hard look at my plan of action for Aug. Since we are going back in Nov. and possibly Jan. there will always be times to do the parks. I guess since this is our first trip home......and we have always DONE NOTHING BUT PARKS ON EVERY OTHER TRIP......it is hard for me to plan because I just don't have anything to compare any other trip to. It has always been PARK PARK PARK. We love the parks but I know there is so much to do besides the parks too. I just have to get accustomed to that. LOL

 

[rbuzzotta]

We spend time at the water parks, most of our time at the pool, visit the Tampa Bay Bucs practice, shopping at the outlets with my 3 DD's!!, day trip to the west coast.

We have not stepped foot in a theme park for almost 3 years and we spend considerable amount of time at OKW. This year my youngest DD's want to do some parks but are leaning towards those other theme parks.

I find I am so relaxed with my almost 2 weeks at OKW in the summer when I don't visit the parks!!

 

[JimMIA]

Since this is your first trip as a DVC owner, you might want to play tourist for a bit and tour some of the other DVC resorts. That will give you a much better feel for where you might want to stay in the future than looking at pictures on the Internet.

 

[Ksp]

Everyone has already given you terrific ideas - the only ones that I could add are using Community Hall - we love going in for ping/pong, checkers, etc. So fun and relaxing. If you are staying or visiting VWL - take a walk around the resort or over to FW -- good stretch of the legs and usually very quiet. SSR has horseshoes next to the Grandstand bus stop - I love playing them at HHI, so I will probably try that out during our next SSR stay, too.

 

[mouseclick1]

We just returned from our 7th annual trip. While we were down there, we realized that we have never played miniature golf, even though we always stay in the Epcot area (usually BWV, but BCV last weekend). We still didn't go, but have that on our list of things to do next year when we visit over Easter. So...I can't really say if it is fun or not, but you'll be close by when you are at the BWV so you might want to give it a try!

 

[jdvm]

We've owned at Old Key West since 1992 and our four daughters have long thought of it as their second home. It wasn't long after we began staying there that we realized that it was a destination itself. The kids loved community hall and just being in the room. We also enjoy pool hopping and make a day of going to the Polynesian, swimming, going out on the water mice (or whatever they're called these days) and having lunch at Kona Café. My wife and I also like some chill out time in the jacuzzi with a bottle of champagne!
J