An entire Walt Disney World vacation without the parks

Welcome back for another Tip Tuesday!

This week, I want to expand upon a comment my good friend Lou Mongello made during a recent show we recorded in July about how you could have an entire Walt Disney World vacation and not even set foot in the theme parks.

Well, I thought I'd actually map out a four-day vacation and not have one minute in any of the four theme parks or the two water parks, so let's get started!!  First, we are staying at the Beach Club.

Day 1:
Our opening day begins with a drive to the Polynesian Resort for a nice breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants - 'Ohana.  Here we get to meet a few characters, so we do get to experience a little bit of the Disney characters (hey, you've got to meet the mouse while you're at WDW).  Since we're not in a hurry, we can take our time enjoying the Polynesian resort after breakfast and saunter along the Walkway around the World running along the western shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon, taking in the late morning sights of the Contemporary across the water.  As we enter the Grand Floridian, we will visit some of the shops in the main lobby building before we hop on the monorail to return to the Polynesian and to our car where we then drive to the Walt Disney World Speedway for a few laps at the Richard Petty Driving Experience!

Following our adventure on the track, we return to our resort for a relaxing afternoon at Stormalong Bay, enjoying the pool and/or a few chapters of a book before returning to our room to change for the evening's activities, which include dinner at Fulton's Crab House before heading over to catch a performance of La Nouba.  Following this outstanding show, we enjoy a few drinks (with a designated driver, of course) at the House of Blues before returning to the resort for the night.

Day 2:

Day 2 begins with a morning tee time at one of Disney's PGA quality golf courses for an 18-hole round of golf.  By the time we come off the course, it will be early afternoon, so we'll catch lunch at the ESPN Club at the Boardwalk.  After lunch, we'll return to the Beach Club for a couple hours of downtime and to change for the evening's activities including another round of golf, this time the ever-challenging Fairways course at Fantasia Gardens.  After a successful round of mini-golf, we'll hop over to dinner at BlueZoo at the Dolphin.  We'll wrap up the day watching Illuminations from the bridge between the Boardwalk and Yacht Club resorts.

Day 3:
It's an early rise for day 3 as we arrive at the Polynesian Resort before dawn for a half-day of fishing on the Seven Seas Lagoon.  By the time we return to the shore, we'll have enough time for a small lunch at Captain Cook's before returning to the Beach Club for a bit of pool time and clean up.  Then it's off to Fort Wilderness for an evening of fun at the Hoop-De-Do Revue (the 6pm show).  Depending on how long Hoop-De-Do runs, we might have time for a nighttime carriage ride before heading over to the Port Orleans Resort for an evening of hilarity with that ever-amazing entertainer Yee Haw Bob!

Day 4:

Our final day at Walt Disney World begins with a leisurely breakfast at the Cape May Cafe followed by a morning photo session at the Beach Club with a PhotoPass photographer.  Afterward, we'll return to Downtown Disney for some serious shopping at the World of Disney and many more stores before enjoying the almost obligatory lunch at Earl of Sandwich followed by a frozen drink from Goofy's Candy Company.  We'll return to the Beach Club for a brief bit before heading over to the Grand Floridian for a late afternoon spa session and then an early dinner at Narcoossee's.  After dinner, it's time for the grand finale as we board the Grand 1 yacht and spend a few hours motoring around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon, watching Wishes and enjoying a close-up view of the Electrical Water Pageant.  We'll wrap up our trip by returning to the Beach Club and then strolling over to JellyRolls for a few drinks and a bit of dueling pianos.

So there you go - an entire four-day trip to Walt Disney World and not one second in a theme park - and I didn't even get in all the other things to do!!

Proof positive that there really is so much more to Walt Disney World than just the parks.