10 Things To Do at Disney World Outside of the 4 Main Theme Parks

Most people only think of the theme parks when they think of Walt Disney World, but there is plenty to do outside of the parks, as well. Afterall, Disney World does cover more than 40 square miles of land, there must be more to it! Here are some ideas if you want to spend some “rest days” outside of the parks, but you don’t want to just sit in the hotel room.

1) Disney Springs

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way first. Disney Springs is a great big shopping and entertainment center located right on Disney property. It is divided into 4 sections (kind of like “lands” at the theme parks). These sections are: Marketplace, The Landing. Town Center, and West Side. Each section is a little bit unique, so there is a lot to explore. You’ll find plenty of unique shops. From The world’s largest Disney store and a Lego store, to a Coca-Cola store (one of only 3 in the U.S.) and an M&M store. You’ll also find plenty of live entertainment, from concerts to street performers. You can go up high in a hot air balloon, ride the carousel, catch a movie at the AMC, or eat at one (or several) of the MANY restaurants. There is a ton to do and see, but you likely won’t feel as rushed as you do at the parks.

2) Water Parks

Okay, this isn’t exactly a restful activity to do on a day off, but it is worth mentioning as an alternative. Disney has 2 themed water parks on top of their 4 main theme parks. One (Typhoon Lagoon) is themed like beach paradise, but one that a typhoon wreaked havoc on. Then, Blizzard Beach is almost the exact opposite. It is themed like a ski resort, complete with chair lifts! You can either buy a water park ticket separately, or you can just add it on to your regular tickets. If you add it on to your regular tickets, the amount of entries you get depends on the amount of days your ticket is good for. For example, if you have a 4 day ticket, you get up to 4 entries. These entries do not have to be on the same day you go to the park. Technically, you can spend 8 days at a park with a 4 day ticket if you want to spend 4 days at a water park! Not many people will do that, but everyone vacations differently.

Blizzard Beach – Photo by Ivan Curra

3) Golf

Disney has 4 main golf courses and 2 miniature golf courses on property as well. Most families will opt for the miniature golfing, so let’s start there. Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland Miniature Golf are the two mini golf courses. Disney transportation doesn’t technically go directly to either one, but it is within walking distance from some landmarks. Fantasia Gardens is within walking distance from the Swan & Dolphin Resorts and Winter Summerland is located near the entrance to Blizzard Beach. Many people don’t take advantage of this, but, if you purchase a resort package (which most people staying on property or at a good neighbor resort do), then it comes with a free round of mini golf. That could make it a good activity to do on an off day without spending a lot of extra money. The other option to play mini golf, if you don’t want to pay for it outright, is to add it onto your theme park tickets. It is actually the same add on as the water parks. It is called the “water parks and more” option. Instead of using it for the water parks, you can use it for a round of mini golf (since you will likely have multiple entries, you can even do both!).

Photo by Joe Shlabotnik

The four “grownup” golf courses are Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course, Disney’s Palm Golf Course, Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, and Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course. Disney’s Magnolia, Palm, and Oak Trail Golf Courses are located at the Shades of Green Resort across from the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, while Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course is located at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort.

4) Resort Hop

Resort hopping, and exploring different Disney resorts, is a great thing to do on off time. The most popular way to resort hop is to do the monorail loop. The monorail goes through Contemporary, Grand Florida, and Polynesian Resorts. These are all beautiful resorts, and some of the oldest on property. There are plenty of restaurants at each one, and several gift shops. More than you would find at most other resorts. If you want to take your resort hopping a step further, you can take a boat from Magic Kingdom to Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness.

A close 2nd to doing the monorail loop is to explore the Epcot strip of resorts. This includes Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club, and Swan & Dolphin. You can walk to these resorts from Epcot and Hollywood Studios (the walk from Hollywood Studios is quite a bit longer though, but you could take the skyliner if you have some time to burn anyway).

A newer way to resort hop is to explore the different resorts on the skyliner. The resorts on the skyliner include Riviera, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and Art of Animation.

Then there’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. There aren’t any other resorts around it, but it is worth going to on it’s own. The resort, itself, is beautiful, and you also get to see all the live animals.

Inside Disney’s Contemporary Resort

5) Boardwalk

Speaking of resort hopping, the Boardwalk Resort has it’s own little shopping and entertainment district next to it. Some of the shops are open in the morning, and during the day, but it really comes alive at night. There is a bakery, restaurants, bars, shops. and live street entertainment.

6) Cirque Du Soleil

You could go see Cirque du Soleil at Disney Springs for a fun night out, or maybe a date night. It is highly recommended that you have tickets for this in advance. The show at Disney Springs is unique to Disney Springs (it can’t be seen anywhere else). They actually just changed the show, so it is still brand new! The new show is a collaboration between Cirque du Soeil, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Walt Disney Imagineering.

7) Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue

You can eat and watch a show at the same time at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground. Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue is a dinner show. The food is all you can eat and the high energy show includes frontier style singing and dancing. You will definitely need to have reservations in advance for this dinner show!

8) Watch Fireworks from outside the Park

There are some great places to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from outside the park. You won’t see much of the projections from the castle, but the audio is piped in at several places. Some of the best free places to watch the fireworks are from the beach at the Polynesian Resort and the back dock at Grand Floridian. You can also pay to see the fireworks from the top of the Contemporary Resort if you time it with a meal at California Grill. You can also pay for a “fireworks cruise” if you would like to watch the fireworks from the lake.

If you would like to venture over to the Yacht & Beach Club/Boardwalk area, you can see the Epcot fireworks from those resorts.

9) Character Meals

If you don’t want to waste time at a park doing a character meal, you can find one at a resort. At this time, character meals are still limited. You will only find them at Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, and Riviera, but, hopefully, more will be starting back up soon!

10) Resort Pool

Lastly, and perhaps the most obvious, spend some time at the pool. The pools at each resort have a lot to offer, and most of them have more than one. If you are staying at a moderate or deluxe resort, you will even have a waterslide to add to the fun!

This list doesn’t cover near everything when you consider all of the different activities at different resorts, but I hope it gives you some ideas to add more variety to your vacation than just the theme parks.