Summer vacation without a park visit?

[PamNC]

I have actually thought about going without a Disney park visit and just enjoying the area and doing some day trips to the beaches that are within an hour or hour and 1/2. maybe just a florida exploration trip with the orlando area as a home base. Not sure if I'd stay at a Disney hotel unless the prices were dropped significantly. Have they been? I hadn't seen that yet but I read it on a previous post so now I'm curious. I would love to go for a week and maybe do universal two days... haven't been there in like 15 years... so that would be fun for me. I would miss Disney if the parks weren't open of course and I'd go to Disney Springs for a little touch of the magic. This is a great thread - keep the ideas rolling ya'll. maybe the DIS folks should do a show on this

 

[Lori Duck]

Hi TamaraQT,

There's no denying we love the Disney bubble. We've always had very pleasant experiences at POFQ which is a moderate. Right now rates for July are very low for Deluxe resorts and we've always wanted to experience Animal Kingdom Lodge. If we did stay there it would only be for a few nights. Depending on what happens in the next few weeks we may end up going back to POFQ and add a few park days. It's a bit frustrating right now with information filtering out slowly.

The plans for this vacation are constantly evolving right now. I appreciate the feedback and suggestions though. We've never rented or stayed off property. Plus I'm trying to find something nice for 2 adults and 3 kids.

Wyndham Bonnet Creek was one of the first places I reached out to, but they aren't taking any reservations until August.

Hi! Have you considered renting a DVC villa? If you don't belong to DVC, there are some rental sites like David's and DVC Store. From experience, one bedroom, Savannah view villas at AKL Kidani Village are HUGE..(.I can only imagine what a 2 or 3 bedroom would feel like! ) Lots of animals for kids to watch from balcony, INCREDIBLE dining options, two combined resorts (Jambo/Kidani).

 

[PamNC]

are we thinking the resorts will open before the parks?

 

[Sandiz08]

I think dvc will at least be open with parks.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We got a great time share rental in clearwater off skyauction.com.
I was planning central florida and driving to the beach only because the hotels are cheaper... just go check it out. I learned about it on this site
Resort vacations are a lot of fun if they have good amenities

 

[Toolulu22]

Anyone planning a non-park Orlando trip? We usually travel to the area each summer to visit Disney. We had not planned a trip this year. We had other things scheduled for the summer that have since been canceled, and now I am facing a full summer at home in the sweltering heat with 5 kids, no pool, no activities... just like everyone else!

We have been social distancing since mid-March & both work from home. But, we are thinking by August we will need a change of scenery for a couple weeks (or lose our minds...). I have been taking care of my elderly mother who lives with us and it’s been amazing to spend more time with her. We feel so thankful we have the space and means to care for her and that she is not in a nursing home right now. Many facilities in our area are very affected by covid.☹ But, this is still very challenging/exhausting with remote learning for 5 kids under 12, and working.

If my brother can help out with my mom for a couple weeks in August, we are thinking of driving kids down to FL to rent a house for 10-14 days with a private pool. Or, if it seems ok to use a communal pool, a condo at WBC or somewhere similar. Likely no park visits, and mostly just social distancing, but in a way that will give my kids tons of swimming time and the feel of a vacation. Maybe a visit to Disney Springs to bring a bit of the “magic”.

Just curious about what others with similar vacation plans are thinking of doing. I checked some rental sites and looks like nothing is open until at least July. I don’t want to book something that isn’t fully refundable, either, . Should we be considering other areas of FL? We know Orlando so well it seems the best option. And likely cheaper than beach rentals. But, any advice or feedback is appreciated!

Madeira Beach- St. Petersburg area. Affordable and things to do, if they are opened by then.
Edit to agree with what @Disneyfan754321 just posted. We often split time between visiting family, the theme parks and the West coast beaches that are less than 2 hours from Orlando. It’s a beautiful area to visit. If you haven’t ever been, I would recommend looking into it. Florida has so much to offer outside Disney and Orlando. If you aren’t planning to visit the parks, you might want to explore some of the other parts of the state. We just took our first trip up to Daytona, St. Augustine, and Ponte Verde in February and loved finding new things to do (after a short stop at Disney Springs).

 

[stephk1981]

If you are definitely doing a ' no parks' trip, I would rent a house near a beach rather than Orlando. The beach, private pool for everyday use. Then, maybe drive over to Disney springs for a day. Enjoy your holiday

 

[TamaraQT]

Hi! Have you considered renting a DVC villa? If you don't belong to DVC, there are some rental sites like David's and DVC Store. From experience, one bedroom, Savannah view villas at AKL Kidani Village are HUGE..(.I can only imagine what a 2 or 3 bedroom would feel like! ) Lots of animals for kids to watch from balcony, INCREDIBLE dining options, two combined resorts (Jambo/Kidani).

No I have not even considered renting a DVC villa. My family doesn't have a deep appreciation of Disney, so for us, its not worth the expense.I know someone who owns DVC and others who rent from owners of DVC. A one bedroom is not ideal for us. We could 'make do', but why pay premium prices for inadequate room space. For the total price of one DVC resort stay, I can rent a more roomier 2 bedroom timeshare condo for a few weeks and stay in Orlando twice as long. My kids are DS(37), DS(27) and DD(14). We stayed at Disney a few years back and DD enjoyed it, but was looking forward more to our check-out of Disney and check-in to our timeshare resort. She never really fell in love with Disney. I was a part-time Travel Agent for a few years, and that came with a few perks at Disney. I tried to get my family to give Disney a chance but they weren't that impressed. My DD was more in love with Dr Seuss land at Universal. Of course my sons also enjoyed Universal more than Disney.

My daughters favorite memories at Disney is having breakfast in Cinderella's castle, meeting Princess Tiana in the garden while being dressed just like her. She remembers Tiana telling her how much they looked alike. We went back the following year and made rope drop one morning and was in the front row.. Tiana was getting off the train. To our surprise, Tiana motioned for one of the cast members to get my DD attention and she was waving to my DD so enthusiastically. I still wonder if she remembered her from the year before or something? What are the chances? What are the chances it would be the same Tiana? That was GREAT but a little weird too. Another good memory was a little boy from Great Britain. He wanted my DD's autograph because he thought she was the character of "little girl Tiana". OMG...that was so comical because he thought we were teasing him when we said she wasn't Tiana. He wasn't convinced my daughter was a guest just like him. But he kept insisting she was Tiana and needed her to sign his autograph book. It was a GREAT experience. We hung out with him and his family for awhile. We rode small world together. He was only 8 years old, and SUCH A GENTLEMAN!!!! He brushed the seat off before she sat down so her dress wouldn't get dirty. They saw a parade together, we had lunch and parted ways. We made good memories in Disney. But now, she never seems interested enough to make it a big part of our vacation. The money saved allows us to stay in Orlando for 3 weeks instead of 5 days at Disney. Our last visit to Orlando was in 2018. We went to SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island. DD and my niece had a BLAST. We couldn't go back to Orlando last year, but returning to SW, AQ, BG and AI is all her and my niece talk about. Unfortunately this pandemic has caused us to rethink our plans and possibly postpone our vacation hopes for this year too. She has said she wants to do the unlimited SeaWorld parks package again. She is disappointed that things will not be back to normal. She does not want to visit with all these restrictions going on. Of course DH agrees with her. He says we should save the money into a vacation fund for next year. He wants me to start planning a FABULOUS vacation for next year. He has even suggested we stay for 4 weeks and kick off the vacation with a mini-cruise since we already have a jumpstart on vacation funds for 2021. No DVC for us.....there is so much more to do in Florida for the price of a short DVC stay.

 

[Mrs Daisy]

Yes-- I am! Kind of.

A few months ago, I began planning a no-Disney park trip to Orlando for August- half off property and half at DVC since we're DVC members. The good news for us was that we couldn't afford Disney park tickets to begin with, so the park changes don't directly affect us. The bad news is that I'm worried that the things we typically enjoy doing (hanging out at the resort, resort pools, etc) will be more busy since there are more people in our boat now.

We were planning on going to the Disney water parks since those are our favorites (not anymore-unless they decide to open), going to a character dining at one of the resorts (def not happening), having our kids pin trade (this would be their second year and it was my son's favorite activity at Disney other than pools-- also not happening now) and also going to legoland and gatorland (still happening-yay).

Others have mentioned going to the beach or elsewhere in Florida. I love the beach, but I'm one of those gals that I need to have all my "stuff" with me to have a good time (car load of chairs, canopy, towels, toys, etc that can't fly on a plane). Plus, beach hotels are still in demand and expensive. I am just going to set my expectations low. It will be a delight for me to not have to clean and cook after my family for the week, so that in itself is a vacation.

 

[patman]

Mountains are not out thing at all. We love Florida. That's why.

To me Florida is beaches in winter and disney, but it is certainly not -no disney/beaches in summer. Why subject yourself to that heat? I live in Mass and I am thinking about Quebec city/Ottawa in an attempt for better weather.

 

[Jennasis]

To me Florida is beaches in winter and disney, but it is certainly not -no disney/beaches in summer. Why subject yourself to that heat? I live in Mass and I am thinking about Quebec city/Ottawa in an attempt for better weather.

Everyone is different. We do not mind the heat. Mountains/woods just doesn't appeal to us. Possibly because we live in NC and have plenty of mountains and forests here.

 

[The Goof]

We've done "resort only" stays in the past and enjoyed them, but I'm not sure I'd travel to FL specifically for a resort stay. When we've done it in the past, it was more of a passing through to somewhere further south or on our way to a cruiseport.​

 

[Darcy03231]

We've done several Orlando vacations and not entered a Disney park and had a great time. We really enjoy the slower pace, hanging out at our villa's pool and eating a different places. If we feel we need a bit of a Disney fix we pop into Disney Springs.

 

[Justrose]

We are doing a short 3 night stay in Orlando at the end of August. We are staying at the Fairfield Inn and Suites and plan to do SW one day, Disney Springs one day, and the ICON area one day.

 

[sdoll]

Which beach does everyone recommend that is close to Orlando? We've been to Cocoa Beach which was nice. Thinking about Clearwater this time, but open to suggestions.

Clearwater is amazing. We were planning on a trip to Orlando in July, once we determined we wouldn't be making that trip we booked a week in Clearwater. The beach is amazing, calmer than the Atlantic side and simply perfect. the town is relaxing. We went for the first time last February and will be making our 3rd trip next month. Give it a try I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[travelplanningnerd]

Hi! Have you considered renting a DVC villa? If you don't belong to DVC, there are some rental sites like David's and DVC Store. From experience, one bedroom, Savannah view villas at AKL Kidani Village are HUGE..(.I can only imagine what a 2 or 3 bedroom would feel like! ) Lots of animals for kids to watch from balcony, INCREDIBLE dining options, two combined resorts (Jambo/Kidani).

I'd venture over to the DVC board and check out the 150+ page David's thread before considering giving them a penny. Their handling of this whole mess has not been good. I would be extremely careful about giving them any money in such an uncertain time. Also, I'd probably not advise Davids as a way for people to spend their money without also advising them to do their homework @Lori Duck. They may not realize how hard this entire thing has been for renters and how many people may end up out a lot of money.

 

[travelplanningnerd]

I'd venture over to the DVC board and check out the 150+ page David's thread before considering giving them a penny. Their handling of this whole mess has not been good. I would be extremely careful about giving them any money in such an uncertain time. Also, I'd probably not advise Davids as a way for people to spend their money without also advising them to do their homework @Lori Duck. They may not realize how hard this entire thing has been for renters and how many people may end up out a lot of money.

Here's some not-so-light reading material to give you an idea of what I am referring to regarding David's.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/davids-dvc-rental-reimbursement-or-rescheduling.3796922/

 

[Monykalyn]

Anyone planning a non-park Orlando trip? We usually travel to the area each summer to visit Disney. We had not planned a trip this year. We had other things scheduled for the summer that have since been canceled, and now I am facing a full summer at home in the sweltering heat with 5 kids, no pool, no activities... just like everyone else!

We have been social distancing since mid-March & both work from home. But, we are thinking by August we will need a change of scenery for a couple weeks (or lose our minds...). I have been taking care of my elderly mother who lives with us and it’s been amazing to spend more time with her. We feel so thankful we have the space and means to care for her and that she is not in a nursing home right now. Many facilities in our area are very affected by covid.☹ But, this is still very challenging/exhausting with remote learning for 5 kids under 12, and working.

If my brother can help out with my mom for a couple weeks in August, we are thinking of driving kids down to FL to rent a house for 10-14 days with a private pool. Or, if it seems ok to use a communal pool, a condo at WBC or somewhere similar. Likely no park visits, and mostly just social distancing, but in a way that will give my kids tons of swimming time and the feel of a vacation. Maybe a visit to Disney Springs to bring a bit of the “magic”.

Just curious about what others with similar vacation plans are thinking of doing. I checked some rental sites and looks like nothing is open until at least July. I don’t want to book something that isn’t fully refundable, either, . Should we be considering other areas of FL? We know Orlando so well it seems the best option. And likely cheaper than beach rentals. But, any advice or feedback is appreciated!

Wow it really sounds like you could use a nice break Florida is now in phase 2, so in restaurant dining with physical distance tables.
We are actually in Orlando right now for a resort stay. We decided a few days ago to use up our timeshare weeks and since I can WFH anywhere why not? At Marriott Harbor Lake-2 bed 2 bath condo. Both pools open, hot tubs open, BBQ grills, mini golf and sports courts open (basketball, pool, shuffle board, table tennis). They also resumed limited activities. It’s actually really nice to do a resort stay and slow pace! We did go to Universal yesterday (we have annual passes) and while I wasn’t wild about wearing a mask the absolute no wait times on anything was the trade off. Our resort is taking the cleaning seriously and the pool chairs are spaced out and cleaned between guests (witnessed by me). Low occupancy right now means lots of space and not tons of people. Staying for 2 weeks. My only issue is DH bought the refillable ice cream bowls for the daily ice cream social - omg I’m gonna gain 20# even with increasing activity! We’ve mostly eaten in. So glad we did this.

 

[BellaBaby]

Monykalyn, good for you! Sounds like Heaven!

We have our flights on SW still 7/20-7/31 (rebooked from 5/26-6/6), hotel res. on Dis property and tickets. I think we will skip Disney and save our tickets for when things aren't so scaled down. We will probably book a pool home in Windsor Hills which we are very familiar with and just enjoy the Orlando area. Maybe spend a few days at the beach. Enjoy your vacation!!

 

[TamaraQT]

Wow it really sounds like you could use a nice break Florida is now in phase 2, so in restaurant dining with physical distance tables.
We are actually in Orlando right now for a resort stay. We decided a few days ago to use up our timeshare weeks and since I can WFH anywhere why not? At Marriott Harbor Lake-2 bed 2 bath condo. Both pools open, hot tubs open, BBQ grills, mini golf and sports courts open (basketball, pool, shuffle board, table tennis). They also resumed limited activities. It’s actually really nice to do a resort stay and slow pace! We did go to Universal yesterday (we have annual passes) and while I wasn’t wild about wearing a mask the absolute no wait times on anything was the trade off. Our resort is taking the cleaning seriously and the pool chairs are spaced out and cleaned between guests (witnessed by me). Low occupancy right now means lots of space and not tons of people. Staying for 2 weeks. My only issue is DH bought the refillable ice cream bowls for the daily ice cream social - omg I’m gonna gain 20# even with increasing activity! We’ve mostly eaten in. So glad we did this.

I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I usually stay for 2 or 3 weeks now also. So to go to Orlando area and still Work from Home is such a FANTASTIC idea. Also sounds like you picked a good time to go while crowd level was low and just enough stuff open to enjoy. Staying at Marriott Harbor Lake is a HUGE PLUS also. Do you own at Harbor Lake? I have it on my bucket list to spend a week there at least once. Now that we go for 2 or 3 weeks(maybe 4 next year), I like to stay at different resorts each week of our stay. Anyway, it sounds like you had a FABULOUS time!!! I love the idea of an ice-cream social. A nice 'perk' to look forward to. Enjoy!!!!