{"id":79195,"date":"2012-10-31T00:01:15","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T04:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_ms_news\/?p=4441"},"modified":"2022-05-04T20:58:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T00:58:52","slug":"a-trip-without-the-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/a-trip-without-the-parks\/","title":{"rendered":"A Trip Without The Parks?!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mitzi Hendrich<\/p>\n

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\u00a9Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our deep love for Walt Disney World began back in 2005 when we took our (then) 4-year-old triplets to celebrate their 5th<\/sup> birthday with Mickey Mouse.\u00a0 It was a fantastic vacation and the first of 10 more trips to the happiest place on earth over the next 7 years.\u00a0 Our first several accommodations were at Port Orleans Riverside, because, back then, it was the only resort that could house our family of 5, other than the $Deluxe$ resorts. Did I mention that we live 12 hours away and don\u2019t fly ?\u00a0 We ended up camping in our pop-up camper at the fabulous Fort Wilderness about every other trip.\u00a0 And, to accommodate my inner princess, we also tried some of the deluxe resorts such as Boardwalk, Yacht Club and Beach Club.\u00a0 All of which we adored.\u00a0 We even stayed on the concierge levels during the amazing \u201cbuy 4 get 3 free\u201d Disney promotions a couple of years ago.\u00a0 So, we\u2019ve done it all, from camping to living the high life on the deluxe concierge levels.\u00a0 With these economic times, however, it would be unlikely that we\u2019d be seeing anymore Deluxe resorts for quite a while.\u00a0 However, that didn\u2019t mean we had to give up our love for Disney, altogether!<\/p>\n

With the promise that our vacations would be done at campgrounds for the next many years, we purchased a 35ft. travel trailer that suits our family just perfectly.\u00a0\u00a0 Fort Wilderness, here we come!\u00a0 This past year, however, money was even tighter than we anticipated (triplets in braces!) and it looked as if a trip to see Mickey might not happen.\u00a0 However, it did! Sort of.\u00a0 We decided that we\u2019ve seen the parks over and over again these past 7 years.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go to Disney\u2019s Fort Wilderness and spend the week doing all the wonderful activities they offer and not even buy park tickets.\u00a0 Would that work?\u00a0 Would the now-12-year old kids be satisfied being able to look across the bay at Cindy\u2019s castle and yet not be able to visit ?\u00a0\u00a0 Not only were they OK with it, but we are all in agreement that our most recent vacation to the World (sans the parks) was one of the best vacations we\u2019ve ever had!\u00a0 With the reasons \u201cwhy\u201d we visited WDW without the parks fully explained, let me now tell you about all the wonderful experiences that await those that have some time to enjoy the often overlooked attractions at Walt Disney World.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First of all, our nightly Fort Wilderness rate was on average (with weekends being slightly higher) $55.\u00a0 Did you hear that?\u00a0 $55 a night for a beautiful piece of Mickey\u2019s backyard.
\nWe did use our AAA membership to receive a discount.\u00a0 I highly recommend you do the same.
\nThe best part of our camping trip was that our beloved Sheltie, Kenzi, was able to join us because we stayed in one of their pet loops.<\/p>\n

Our camper\u2019s pantry and fridge were fully stocked but we also had plans to visit some of Orlando\u2019s eateries along with some of our Disney favorites at the resorts.\u00a0 There was certainly not<\/em> a lack of that special Disney feeling by skipping the parks.\u00a0 We watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach at the campground (they pipe in the music like is done at the Poly and GF ) along with the Electrical Water Pageant.\u00a0 We swam every day at the resort\u2019s fabulous pool.\u00a0 Yes, this 40 something, mother of 3 raced to the slide with my kids over and over again.\u00a0 It was SO much fun!\u00a0 We played bingo at the pool side and Disney trivia (where we were only 1 question away from winning the grand prize!)\u00a0 Next to the main pool is the nightly campfire and movie.\u00a0 In the past, we\u2019ve gone to the campfire with Chip and Dale but this time we opted to watch DVDs and play games in the plush camper. \u00a0However, the Disney movies are free and one of the most fun things to do at Fort Wilderness.\u00a0 You don’t have to be a Fort Wilderness guest to partake in the campfire so it might be worth scheduling it into your next trip.<\/p>\n

Our favorite activity we enjoyed throughout the week was taking the \u201cexercise\/bike trail\u201d from Fort Wilderness to the Wilderness Lodge.\u00a0 It\u2019s a beautiful, paved trail that is completely peaceful and deserted.\u00a0 We only passed 2 other people on the path the entire time we were there that week.\u00a0 We saw quite a bit of wildlife in the woods next to the trail.\u00a0 Deer, deer everywhere!\u00a0 They were SO tame that they hardly even twitched an ear when we rode up next to them.\u00a0 We saw them every single day.\u00a0 We also encountered a harmless snake crossing the path (no worries), rabbits, and a huge turtle.\u00a0 All in a tranquil, beautiful setting.\u00a0 Ahhhh.<\/p>\n

Our destination, the Wilderness Lodge, was always so lovely.\u00a0 One day, it was sprinkling rain but we rode our bikes, anyway.\u00a0 WL has a bike rack located on the path that leads to the boat dock.\u00a0 Upon arriving at the lobby of WL, we were delighted to see that they had placed all sorts of games and activities all about for everyone to use.\u00a0 My kids played giant checkers, giant connect four, colored with a Cast Member and even traded pins.\u00a0 DH and I simply sat in the plush, leather chairs and relaxed, sipping coffee and enjoying the surroundings.<\/p>\n

I mentioned pin trading.\u00a0 Our family began this Disney activity back in 2009 and have enjoyed it ever since.\u00a0 All the cast members throughout the resorts have lanyards so we were certainly given many opportunities to collect our favorites.\u00a0 There\u2019s even a pin station with a big \u2018ole pin book in the WL lobby, as well as their concierge desk.<\/p>\n

When our TMFL agent\/friend, Mic, reminded us that there was horseback riding at Fort Wilderness, I looked into it and booked our reservations before we left home.\u00a0 It was great fun!\u00a0 It\u2019s not very cheap but with all of the other $ we were saving by not going into the parks, we decided to do it.\u00a0 For younger children, they offer pony rides for a VERY reasonable (cheap!) price. Our kids did it years ago and LOVED it!<\/p>\n

On this particular trip to the World, we were fortunate enough to be there during a TMFL meet & greet at the new Art of Animation Resort.\u00a0 What fun we had meeting Rick, Steve and Deb from TMFL!\u00a0 They were so gracious and the perfect hosts when showing us around one of the suites. Seeing other resorts is a perfect way to absorb some of that Disney magic when not going to the parks.<\/p>\n

We also went off property and took a day trip to Clearwater and visited Winter, the dolphin, from the movie Dolphin Tale at the Clearwater Aquarium.\u00a0 It was definitely worthwhile.<\/p>\n

We ate at Ohana (Poly), Cape May Caf\u00e9 (Beach Club), Trail\u2019s End (Fort Wilderness) and Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) while at Disney.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t on the dining plan, of course, so these meals ran our family of 5 Disney \u2018adults\u2019 quite a bit of money, but\u2026 overall, with eating all the other meals at our campsite, it was still affordable and within our budget.\u00a0 Visiting these beautiful resorts was a great way to soak in some wonderful Disney atmosphere without being in a park.\u00a0 Some people might be saying, \u201cWell, why not go into the parks for just 1 day, at least\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, that<\/em><\/strong> would not be affordable because just one day at Disney for the 5 of us Disney \u201cadults\u201d would have been hundreds of dollars.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t justify it and besides\u2026we simply didn\u2019t want to because we were having so much fun doing all the other things Disney had to offer us!<\/p>\n

In conclusion, our most recent vacation to Disney was full of sleeping in, enjoying leisurely family breakfasts, biking, swimming, horseback riding, relaxing and\u2026 checkers!\u00a0 I encourage you and your fellow vacationers to see what other activities your resort offers and take full advantage of them.\u00a0 Although not everyone will choose to cut the parks entirely out of their visit to Walt Disney World, taking a couple of days off to enjoy other fun offerings is definitely something worth considering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mitzi Hendrich   Our deep love for Walt Disney World began back in 2005 when we took our (then) 4-year-old triplets to celebrate their 5th birthday with Mickey Mouse.\u00a0 It was a fantastic vacation and the first of 10 more trips to the happiest place on earth over the next 7 years.\u00a0 Our first…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84805,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79195\/revisions\/84805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}