By Ann Dunnington<\/p>\n
The holidays are upon us!\u00a0\u00a0 Family parties, holiday shopping, crowds, baking, rushing around\u2026 it all comes with the season, I guess!\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019re one of the many families going to the Walt Disney World resort over the holidays, there is almost a guarantee that the parks are going to be crowded.\u00a0\u00a0 If you are worried that you\u2019re going to need a \u2018vacation from your vacation\u2019, never fear!\u00a0 There are some wonderfully \u2018Zen\u2019 places at Walt Disney World to enjoy!\u00a0 Here are a few of my favorites:<\/p>\n
The Beach at the Polynesian Resort \u2013 Wishes!<\/strong><\/p>\n We love to watch the nighttime fireworks show \u201cWishes\u201d that takes place at the Magic Kingdom from the beach at the Polynesian Resort.\u00a0 Pull up a lawn chair, or just stick your toes in the sand and enjoy the fireworks.\u00a0 The Poly also plays the firework soundtrack over the speaker system at the beach, too, so you can really enjoy the full experience.\u00a0 Be sure to bring a jacket- it can get quite breezy by the Seven Seas Lagoon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Poolside Movie \u2013 Any Resort<\/strong><\/p>\n All of the resorts offer evening movies.\u00a0 Even if you\u2019re not staying at that resort, you\u2019re welcome to enjoy them!\u00a0\u00a0 Most of the time the movies are shown close to the resort pools, but our favorite movie viewing location is on the beach of the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.\u00a0 I must have a thing for sand\u2026<\/p>\n Evening Stroll at the Boardwalk<\/strong><\/p>\n To us, nothing ends a day like taking a walk around the Boardwalk (at Disney\u2019s Boardwalk Resort).\u00a0 There are some out of the way rocking chairs on the back side of the green space at the entrance of the Boardwalk that are wonderful to sit in and people watch.\u00a0 During December, there are often times some choral groups that sing in this area, too!<\/p>\n Mandara Spa at The Dolphin<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a number of spas on the Walt Disney World property, but the Mandara Spa at the Dolphin is my favorite.\u00a0 They offer everything from manicures to haircuts to massage\u2026 you name it!<\/p>\n The Magic Kingdom Rose Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n Talk about a beautiful spot to get away from the crowds!\u00a0 I like to wander and smell the roses, hot tea in hand.\u00a0 Ahhh, the castle, beautiful flowers, beautiful music\u2026 there are even some benches in the area to sit on as well.<\/p>\n The Magic Kingdom Hall of Presidents \u2013 Rocking Chairs<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a little porch to the right side of the Hall of Presidents with a few rocking chairs, set back off of the main pathway.\u00a0 This is a fantastic little spot to get out of the crowds without going too far.\u00a0 Grab a snack from Sleepy Hollow and rock the day away.<\/p>\n Morocco<\/strong> \u2013 Epcot<\/strong><\/p>\n One of my favorite spots at Epcot is way back in Morocco.\u00a0 If you exit the \u201cMoroccan Style\u201d Arts and History exhibit out of the side door, you will enter into a courtyard with a water fountain, a high roof and beautiful mosaic tiles that visitors rarely ever encounter.\u00a0 Seek this out–the water fountain drowns out a little of the \u201chustle and bustle\u201d for a nice little refuge.<\/p>\n Animal Kingdom \u2013 Behind the Tree of Life<\/strong><\/p>\n There are some wonderful little pathways behind the Tree of Life that get you out of the main walkway and wind you past water falls and shaded areas that few guests know about.<\/p>\n Magic of Disney Animation \u2013 Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios<\/strong><\/p>\n A nice place to relax and slow down a bit is the Magic of Disney Animation at Hollywood Studios.\u00a0 After you get through the theater show at the beginning, in-between the character meet and greet area and the gift shop, there is a series of rooms with original concept drawings and artwork for Snow White.\u00a0 This area is almost always quiet and rarely ever crowded.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a Snow White fan, you\u2019ll really enjoy looking at this artwork.\u00a0 Also displayed are Walt Disney\u2019s Academy Awards.<\/p>\n Have an Early Dinner \u2013 Anywhere!<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to avoid crowds, consider doing an off-hour dinner.\u00a0 We like to dine at 4:00pm because it\u2019s early enough to beat the crowds, but late enough that we don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re missing out on park touring time.\u00a0 A few of our favorite \u201ccalm\u201d restaurants are by the water at the San Angel Inn (Mexico, Epcot), Tokyo Dining (Japan, Epcot), Coral Reef (Future World, Epcot), Hollywood Brown Derby (Hollywood Studios), and Sci-Fi Dine In (Hollywood Studios).<\/p>\n There are a few attractions that I feel are also very relaxing, and rarely ever crowded.\u00a0 They are:<\/p>\n Magic<\/strong> Kingdom<\/strong><\/p>\n Tomorrowland Transit Authority<\/p>\n Hall of Presidents<\/p>\n Liberty Square River Boat<\/p>\n Epcot<\/strong><\/p>\n Living with the Land<\/p>\n Spaceship Earth<\/p>\n Impressions de France<\/p>\n Hollywood<\/strong> Studios<\/strong><\/p>\n One Man\u2019s Dream<\/p>\n Magic of Disney Animation<\/p>\n Great Movie Ride<\/p>\n Animal Kingdom<\/strong><\/p>\n Kilimanjaro Safaris<\/p>\n Maharaja Jungle Trek<\/p>\n The Oasis<\/p>\n So just remember, use your Fastpasses, breathe, and take time to stop and smell the roses!\u00a0\u00a0 There are many more \u201chidden gems\u201d that I didn\u2019t have time to mention that are just waiting to be discovered.\u00a0 What are your favorite places to \u201cget away\u201d while at Walt Disney World?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Ann Dunnington The holidays are upon us!\u00a0\u00a0 Family parties, holiday shopping, crowds, baking, rushing around\u2026 it all comes with the season, I guess!\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019re one of the many families going to the Walt Disney World resort over the holidays, there is almost a guarantee that the parks are going to be crowded.\u00a0\u00a0 If…<\/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-79196","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\/79196","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=79196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84813,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79196\/revisions\/84813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}