Week Four of Destination Disney has come and gone, but as I will often have to say when blogging “better late than never :-)” The topic was our seven favorite things to do outside of the Disney parks. I had to get a little creative with this one because, quite frankly, when we visit Disney World we tend to not stray too far away from it:-) However, I did come up with my list and I would love to have you read it and share your thoughts on it. As always, please share your favorites with me in the comments and I will be sure to check them out 
1) Downtown Disney
It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I enjoy shopping and Downtown Disney is the best place for a Disney fan to shop til they drop! There are tons of interesting stores and great places to eat. There is always some sort of entertainment going on at different times of the year. You can spend several days in DTD and still need to return to finish your shopping
2) Swimming at a Disney Resort
Our family has two favorite pools we like to swim in and the first is found at our favorite resort. This would be Port Orleans French Quarter and the Doubloon Lagoon 225,000 gallon swimming pool which has a sea-serpent themed water slide named Scales that is ridden by King Neptune. It is a pretty darn cool slide! My daughter loves the Keister Coaster found at the pool at the Boardwalk Inn. This has an incredible slide that ultimately shoots you out of the mouth of a clown. It is a hoot!
3) Dining at the Resorts
When you spend all day in a park it is nice to hit up a resort and check out the various sit down restaurants. And let me tell you the selection is huge! You can choose from a wide array of menus and get the opportunity to visit a resort you might not otherwise have the chance to see. My favorite is Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Zebra Domes equal yummy!!
4) Boating on the Sassagoula River
When you stay at the French Quarter or Riverside, one of the cool perks is taking the boat to Downtown Disney on the Sassagoula River. We do this every chance we get. It is a peaceful ride, even in bad weather and you get to see a different side of Disney property. I love it when we are approaching DTD at night and everything is lit up. It is a pretty amazing site to see
5) Resort Hopping at Christmas
I love to visit Disney World in December and one of the reasons is the decorations. The parks look amazing,but the resorts take the cake or gingerbread for that matter I always make it a point to stop in at the Grand Floridian to see the life size gingerbread house that is actually a store! It smells incredible and everyone is so festive. The trees in the various resorts are all huge and superbly decorated. You can spend more than just one day checking out the resorts at Christmas and never see it all.
I always make it a point to stop in at the Grand Floridian to see the life size gingerbread house that is actually a store! It smells incredible and everyone is so festive. The trees in the various resorts are all huge and superbly decorated. You can spend more than just one day checking out the resorts at Christmas and never see it all.
6) Outlet Shopping
This goes back to my love of shopping, plain and simple. Who doesn’t love a bargain? The outlet malls in the surrounding area are a wealth of stores carrying everything you could possibly want from a Coach clutch to a wash and wear wedding dress! And if you are patient you will find something just for you and get a decent deal on it at the same time.
7) SeaWorld
I will admit that I have not been to SeaWorld in quite some time, but I have fond memories of it The sweet dolphins swimming around and the beautiful whales showing off to the crowd. It is a lovely park that I understand has grown quite a bit. I hope to return there someday soon.
The sweet dolphins swimming around and the beautiful whales showing off to the crowd. It is a lovely park that I understand has grown quite a bit. I hope to return there someday soon.So there you have it folks; my list of things we enjoy outside of the parks. Don’t forget to share your comments with me and share your favorites. Then click on the link to Heidi’s Head and check out her list and those of other Disney fans.
FT&PD
Suz
I think your list is a great one. I was going to include outlet shopping on mine – but I ran out of numbers on my list!
Thanks Heidi
Shopping had to be on my list in some capacity. Now, if only I had more money…
Suz
Suzanne I love all your choices and agree that Boma and visiting Disney at Christmas time are some of my favorites too! On our last trip we decided to save some money and only visit one park before going on a Disney Cruise. This was a hard decision but we knew that one park was better than none and since we stayed onsite for 3 days we enjoyed so many things outside of the parks that we often miss or don’t spend enough time enjoying.
I normally wouldn’t take the time to write a long reply but I really enjoyed reading yours and would like to share my families top 7 favorites also:
1. Swimming at the resort pool (with slide or without my boys love the pools)
2. Riding the monorail (on our last trip we finally went on the Epcot loop for the first time and had a great view of the Epcot Flower & Gardent Festival from above. We liked it so much we went around a few times!
3. Ridemakerz at Downtown Disney. My boys really enjoyed customizing their own remote controlled cars. It was a major highlight of the trip for them.
4. Visiting the Polynesian Resort and having a Dole Whip. It’s great knowing we can find a Dole Whip outside of MK. The next time I hope to watch the Electrical Water Pageant on the Seven Seas Lagoon. Four visits and we still haven’t seen it.
5. Race Rock Restaurant on International Drive.This motosports themed restaurant that we visited on our first trip to Disney World was a great choice for my cars and truck loving husband and boys. There was so much to see inside that this restaurant is more than just a place to eat. One of our favorite pictures was taken beside the Big Foot Monster Truck that is parked outside. I also remember noticing that on the menu the appetizer section was creatively called “Start your engines”. How cute?!
6. Disney Cruise Line – This will have to be my families top favorite thing to do outside of the parks.Waking up to a different view outside your stateroom window each morning, character greetings and surprise apperances, award winning shows, wonderful restaurants and Disney’s private island “Castaway Cay” is what makes my family want to return again and again.
7. This one is going to sound a bit strange but here goes. The two Disney stores at the Orlando Airport. After the cruise we took Disney Cruise transportation to the airport and since our flight was only later that evening we had some time to look around and pick up some last minute gifts for those that we may have forgotten or that souvenir that never got purchased in the park. I also had the opportunity to chat with a friendly cast member because the store was not very busy at that time. Most of all just spending some time looking around made it a little easier to accept that our vacation was over.
It’s no wonder that 7 days vacation is never enough and that I want to go back again and again!
Nelly, thank you for your comment! I love that you added in your list and they are all wonderful and unique! You know the Dole Whip thing is always on my mind, but when we are in Adventureland it is usually not a good time to have one so we let it go. I knew it was at the Poly, but again I always forget. Next time I am getting one at the Poly and will raise my cup to you
Your list was full of things that make you and your families trips so amazing and I really appreciate you sharing it with me. I can’t wait to take William to Ridezmakerz on our next trip, or at the very least do it here at the Disney Store in Square One 
And I am with you about the Disney Store in the airport. No matter what we have already purchased I always find something at the airport store that has to come home with us. It makes the magic last that much longer..
Suz
My favorite thing to do in and out of Disney was shopping. I went when it was Disney World’s 20 anniversary so its been 26 years but I still have this awesome jacket that has a beautiful scenery and 20th anniversary written on it. It was my favorite purchase !