Even though I have been to Disney World in Florida many times. There is always something I miss or something new I want to try. Even some offering or another that I want to add on to my vacation that I have never done before! Some of the things on my list are simple, some are FREE, some are tours or events, a lot of food too! Come along with me on the first step of my Disney Planning! (I have included links to the appropriate Disney website pages if you are interested in more information on any of the things I have listed 🙂 )
First things first, I want to enjoy my resort more. We have experienced the parks so many times you may think we would grow tired of them but it seems as though we still can’t get enough. The Disney resorts, from value to deluxe, have so many amenities and activities to enjoy but, we don’t ever seem to ever make the time to take advantage of them. On our trip in February 2020, I really wanted to spend more time at our resort and enjoy it but we still seemed to limit that time more than I wanted. We enjoyed the Hot tub and pool (it was cold so we didn’t swim much), and we watched the fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian, but that was all. On our next trip to Disney World, I would like to schedule in ‘Resort Days’ where we do not go to a park and relax and enjoy our resort. Most recent trips we have taken included random afternoon breaks at the resort, but that isn’t enough for me. I want to be able to take it all in and participate in some activities that are offered. Even if it is not at the resort we are staying.
Some activities at the resorts are free and others have a fee. Top of my list is renting a Sea Raycer boat at the marina. These are little two seat ‘mouse boats’ that you can tool around on Seven Seas Lagoon (if you rent from a resort on that lagoon – other resorts on a waterway rent boats as well) These rentals run about $45 per hour. This activity is definitly on my list for our next visit. In the future, I would like to do one of the Specialty Cruises where you charter a private pontoon to cruise you and your guests around one of the waterways. You can even add on some private dining as well (which I plan to do). I think this may be how I celebrate my 50th birthday… gives me time to save the money.
One free activity at the Wilderness campground that I would like to attend is the Chip and Dales Campfire Sing along. You do not have to be staying at the campground to experience this fun free activity and it definitely is making my list for our next trip. They also roast marshmallows around the campfire. You can purchase s’mores fixins’ as well. – note that they roast marshmallows at most resorts that have a fire pit which is also a fun thing to do.
Poolside activities are also a very fun thing to do at the resort and most are free. This is something we have done in the past on an afternoon break at our resort, but the fun usually lasts all day and I think it would be fun to spend an entire day poolside! Maybe rent a cabana or just take up camp at a few lounge chairs. Grab some food from the pool bar along with a couple of drinks throughout the day. Participate in the fun activities including trivia, tie die shirt making ($), crafts ($), games, and dance parties.
While at the parks, I would like to add to my itinerary a guided backstage tour. I have not done any tours and they all look interesting and fun. Two of the tours that are top on my list are Backstage Magic – an 8 hour exploration of the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot including lunch and seeing the utilidores, and the other is Dolphins in Depth – a 3 hr program that takes you in the water with dolphins and teaches you about the beautiful animal. Second on my list is the Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour, Wild Africa Trek, and the Keys to the Kingdom tour! Some tours are quite expensive but worth it! Other than private tours, the prices range from about $20 to upwards of $250 per person. There are age limits on some tours as to not take away the magic for the kiddos.
The next things on my list to add to my next vacation have to do with food. We definitely have our favorite places to eat, but there are so many options that we haven’t yet tried. Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom, The Garden Grill at Epcot, Teppan Edo in World Showcase in Epcot, Space 220 in Epcot, Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios, and Tusker House at Animal Kingdom are on our Table Service to-do list. The other food related thing I want to do is to Eat Around the World at Epcot’s World Showcase. While we have claimed to have done this before, we never did it in one day and we haven’t really eaten in EVERY pavilion.
As far as shopping goes, I have never been to the Disney Outlet stores. I am planning to make this a priority on our next trip. I have told my kids on our last two trips to Disney, that we would go there and have a little shopping spree, but it never happened. Again the affects of feeling like we need to go to the parks every day, all day.
I think that in order to make most of this happen, I may have to do one of two things. One- plan a resort only trip. As in, stay at a Disney resort and do not buy park tickets. This would be really hard for us, though, since we live in Michigan and usually get to Florida only once a year. Two- plan a 7 night hotel stay with a 4 or 5 day park ticket. This too is hard because the price difference for a 7 day ticket vs. a 4 or 5 day ticket is only around $30 per person. I tried to do last time, but I gave into the value of the extra days, saying “Well, we can go for just a few hours in the morning or evening, then spend most of the time at the resort. It’ll be worth it for the price” Then once we got there, we couldn’t help ourselves and we ended up spending a substantial amount of time in the parks every single day!
What are some things you want to do on your next trip to Disney World? Leave your ideas in the comments below! Thanks for reading!
The Mouse Traveler 