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. 

Tip Tuesday: Looking to get wet?

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Well the temperatures in Florida again are topping 90+ degrees each day, so I thought I'd take a moment to help you find ways to get wet order to cool off a bit (of course, being summer, mother nature might just help out with a few showers, but I'm going to focus on Disney-made splash-action.

Of course, the most obvious "get wet" places are the two water parks, Blizzard Beach and typhoon Lagoon. Being water parks, getting wet is the whole point, so I'm going to skip over these.

So let's start at the parks... I'll rank each opportunity into one of three categories: soaked, a bit wet and sprinkles.

Magic Kingdom:
At the Magic Kingdom, the #1 get-wet spot has to be Splash Mountain (wet to soaked). Depending on how your log takes the 40-foot drop and where you're sitting, you could get a good dousing of water. Actually, there are several mini-drops along the way which can get you fairly wet as well. Splash Mountain is a very popular attraction, especially in the warmer months, so you'll want to think about using FastPass.

In Adventureland, there are two opportunities to get wet. The first is the Magic Carpets of Aladdin (wet to sprinkles). As you fly around Agrabah, there is a gold camel facing into the attraction. At certain times, the camel will spit water at passing carpets. If you happen to be at the right height at the right time, you could get a good splash. There's another camel that spits at passers by near the sign to the attraction.

The other location is the tiki statues (wet to sprinkles) in between the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise. Like the spitting camels, the tiki statues occasionally spit water onto those standing nearby. This is a popular attraction with young children.

Speaking of the Jungle Cruise (sprinkles), there is a small opportunity to get a bit wet as you pass by the backside of water. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a cruise and you'll find out quickly.

Staying in Adventureland, Pirates of the Caribbean (sprinkles) features a short drop in pitch blackness where some guests sitting on the sides might get a bit splashed.

(Note: with the demise of Mickey's Toontown Fair, the Magic Kingdom lost a kids water play zone at Donald's Boat (wet to soaked), where kids could play in water fountains.)

Epcot
There aren't many get-wet opportunities in Epcot, and only one is associated with an attraction. The attraction with the greatest possibility is Malestrom (wet to sprinkles) in the Norway pavilion. This attraction features a decent flume-style drop with a splash at the end. Some guests, mostly on the sides, might get somewhat splashed.

The other get-wet spot is across from the Kim Possible sign up location along the walkway between Future World and World Showcase (wet to soaked). This is a typical water spot where kids can jump and run through spraying water, similar to what was at Donald's Boat at the Magic Kingdom. Depending on how much you play in the water, you can get a good soaking here.

A third get-wet spot is at the upper level outside of the Imagination pavilion (wet to sprinkles). The location features a series of dancing waters. Depending on where you stand, you can get fairly wet, if you want to.

Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios probably is the park that's hardest to get wet in as there are very few opportunities to do so. About the only option is the Backlot Tour (wet to sprinkles), and it really depends on where you end up standing or sitting.

In the opening portion of the Backlot Tour, Disney recreates a scene from the movie Pearl Harbor, in which a few selected guests don waterproof outfits and are subsequently drenched in a torrent of water. While the selected guests stay dry, you might not. During the scene, there are a few water explosions. Depending on where you're standing, you might just get a pretty decent splash.

Later on, you'll enter Catastrophe Canyon to witness a disaster scene. As part of the action, another torrent of water comes raging in front of your tram. While you won't really get all that wet, those sitting on the left side might get a few good splashes.

That's about it for Hollywood Studios when it comes to getting wet. But I've saved the biggest for last...

Animal Kingdom
When it comes to getting wet at the theme parks, there's one attraction that soaks them all: Kali River Rapids (soaked to flat-out drenched). If there's one place where you're pretty much guaranteed to get wet, it's here. It's also the only get-wet location in Animal Kingdom.

At Kali River Rapids, guests are launched on 12-person rafts into the turbulent Chakarandi River for a wild, wet ride through a jungle habitat jeopardized by illegal logging. Along the way, the waters get wilder and wilder, culminating in a brief, but drenching drop. Depending on where you are when you go down that drop, you could literally get soaked through to your underwear. If you're facing backwards when you go down, get ready because you're in trouble. Don't worry, everyone else will still get pretty wet.

But wait, there's more... the parks aren't the only place to get wet.

Each Disney resort has an outstanding pool (some have more than one) which offer lots of opportunities to take a dip and cool off. My personal favorite is Stormalong Bay at the Beach/Yacht Club (see photo at the top of this post). Another great pool is at the Polynesian Resort.

There's even an opportunity to get a little wet at Downtown Disney. Keep an eye on the huge Stitch statue at the East end of the World of Disney Store. At times, he will spit water on passers by.

So there you go. If you're in the mood to get a little wet, here are some great options to do so!

Stay cool out there and don't forget the sunscreen and water!!