Tink's Tips: Top 5 Ways to Spend Your Evening OUTSIDE of the Parks

Good afternoon, Tinkers!

     Enjoying your weekend? I hope you're squeezing the heck out of these final hours of summer. I know we sure are around here!

     Now that we are headed into "off-season" here in theme park world, (HALLELUIAH!), one of the very few negatives is that parks generally start closing earlier. So if you are visiting in off-season, what should you plan on doing to occupy your evenings? Here are five of my favorite ways to spend an evening, outside of the parks!

1. Make Dining An Event

     With so many awesome restaurants on Disney property, you could easily make an evening out of enjoying your dinner reservations. In fact, there are already some meals that include entertainment, like Disney's three dinner shows, The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and Mickey's Backyard Barbecue at Fort Wilderness, and The Spirit of Aloha, (known to most Guests as "The Luau"), at The Polynesian Village. These three shows each include not just your meal, but a fantastic musical, interactive show. They are fun for all ages, but do be aware that the only one that features characters is Mickey's Backyard Barbecue.
     Speaking of characters, character dinners are available outside of the parks, in the following locations: 1900 Park Fare at The Grand Floridian, Chef Mickey's at The Contemporary, and Garden Grove at The Swan. Kids will love having the opportunity to interact with The Mouse OUTSIDE of "his house".
     Not into the character scene, but want some entertainment while you dine? Whispering Canyon Café at The Wilderness Lodge offers a goofy, interactive experience. The ESPN Club at The BoardWalk is the best place to catch a game. 'Ohana at The Polynesian has a strolling ukulele player, and hula lessons. Rainforest Café and T-Rex at Disney Springs have amazing scenes around you, with animatronics that come to life while you dine. Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village, offers some pretty unusual dinner companions... giraffes and zebras frolicking just outside of the windows.
     If live music is more your style, check out House of Blues, Bongos Cuban Cafe, Paradiso 37, and Raglan Road, all at Disney Springs, and all have live musicians onsite. Raglan Road even has Irish Step Dancers!
     And even if you aren't looking for "dinner and a show", there are so many fantastic restaurants to choose from, you are sure to find something you will love! Dining reservations can be booked at disneyworld.com/dining.

2. Everybody Do The Monorail Hop!

The Grand lobby

     I love visiting the resorts on the monorail line, (The Contemporary, The Polynesian Village and The Grand Floridian), especially at Christmastime when they are all decked out in their holiday finest. Even if it's not holiday season though, it's fun to see the resorts' different theming, shop in their gift shops, have a cocktail, or check out any live entertainment taking place, like the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra. In fact, many adult Guests have taken to doing a Monorail Pub Crawl, stopping off at the various bars in the monorail resorts.

Beautiful fixture at The BoardWalk

     Been there, done that? Check out some of the other resorts! The Swan and Dolphin, The BoardWalk, and The Yacht and Beach Clubs are all within walking distance of one another. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of my very favorite resorts to visit, since you can relax on one of the many balcony areas and gaze down at the gorgeous African animals on the savannah.
     Visiting Disney resorts can provide hours of fun for your family. Just keep in mind that some amenities are reserved solely for Guests staying at those resorts, especially the pool areas.

3.Carriage Rides, Mini-Golf and Campfires (and Movies), Oh My!

     Both Fort Wilderness and Port Orleans Riverside host carriage rides through some of their quieter and more scenic areas. It's a nice way to have a romantic date night, or to take the kiddos out to do something quiet and fun. Carriage rides are $45 and each carriage can hold up to 4 adults, or 2 adults and 3 small children. Reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling 407 WDW-PLAY.
     Disney has two awesomely fun places to mini-golf. Fantastia Gardens is located across the street from The Walt Disney World Swan Resort. There are two courses. One is a traditional mini-golf course, with the characters from Disney's Fantasia creating obstacles for your ball. The second course is called "The Fairways", and it is MUCH for challenging, (and not quite as fun for kids), since it has sand traps and water hazards, and no characters shooing your ball along. At the second mini-golf location, Winter-Summerland, it's Christmas all year round! One course shows off what it's like to celebrate Christmas in July and has sandmen instead of snowmen. The second course shows Christmastime in the snow, and each hole has a different wintery scene. Unlike Fantastia Gardens, both courses here are equally fun and family-friendly.

Photo credit: DisneyWorld.com

     Over at Fort Wilderness, you can sit around a campfire with those zany chipmunks, Chip and Dale, and sing-a-long to campfire songs, roast marshmallows, and then enjoy a movie under the stars! But that isn't the only place you can watch an outdoor movie. In fact, most Disney resorts offer "dive-in" movies, on a blow up screen, right next to the pool. It's a cool way to enjoy your favorite Disney films.

4. Stroll the Showplace of the Shore, The Vacation Sensation, Where There's Timeless Fun for Everyone!

     The BoardWalk doesn't get nearly the attention that it deserves, in my opinion. If you've never been, it's a gorgeous resort, themed to a 1920's Atlantic City-esque beach hotel. It's nestled along Crescent Lake, right behind Epcot, and directly across from The Yacht and Beach Clubs. It's SO much more than just a resort, though! The property has four great restaurants, Flying Fish Cafe (fine dining), Trattoria al Forno (moderate Italian), The ESPN Club (casual sports bar), and Big River Brewing Works (casual micro-brewery). There are also great grab and go spots, including a pizza window, a fantastic bakery, (the Peanut Butter, Banana and Candied Bacon Pie is a must!), and outdoor carts with hot dogs, funnel cakes and more. If you have a sweet tooth that needs a fix, there's also Seashore Sweets, where you can get ice cream and candies, including saltwater taffy.


 
     Once you are well-fed, you can be sporty, and take a run around the almost mile long loop surrounding the lake, (or stroll at a leisurely pace, like I do), or even rent a surrey bike for 2, 4 or 6 Guests. Trust me, they are WAY more challenging than they look, but a whole lot of fun! You'll crack up for years, thinking of Auntie Susan getting out and trying to push your bike up the hill.
     Want to have a drink and enjoy some adult-only fun? Jellyrolls is a dueling piano bar that gets Guests raising their glasses and singing along to their favorite tunes. Atlantic Dance Hall hosts a DJ dance party every night, though it's usually not a very busy place. The building is beautiful though, and the balconies have a great view of Illuminations at Epcot. Atlantic Dance holds a special place in my heart, since I used to frequent this location in the early 2000's during the swing music revival. They used to host nightly dance lessons and then live swing bands. It was the perfect use of that space. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that swing music will come back around again and revive Atlantic Dance. Anyway, if you live to support your favorite team, you'll love catching a game at The ESPN Club, where there are screens everywhere, including in the bathroom stalls. They even host live radio sports shows on some days!
     If you're looking for something more family friendly, you can stroll the BoardWalk in the hours leading up to Illuminations, (7-9pm), and catch one of the live performances of magicians and dare devil acts. Then, at 9pm, when it's time for Illuminations, head down toward Atlantic Dance and stand just outside, to get the best view of the high fireworks from the show.
     The BoardWalk is a really fun way to spend a night, and not nearly as busy as Disney Springs.

5. Discover the NEW Disney Springs!

     Disney Springs, (formerly known as Downtown Disney), has over 80 different venues onsite of shopping, dining and entertainment for the whole family.
     Unique shopping experiences are all over, including The LEGO Store, Disney Design-A-Tee, Orlando Harley Davidson and United World Soccer. If you need to do some last minute gift shopping, World of Disney is the largest of all of the Disney gift shops, and there isn't much that you can't find there!

     Dining options include some of the best restaurants in all of Orlando, like The Boathouse, Wolfgang Puck Café, Fulton's Crab House and Raglan Road. There's all different styles of cuisine and all different types of restaurants to choose from!

     If you are looking for something fun to do while you eat, check out Splitsville, where you can bowl or play pool, as well as catch a tasty bite. Enjoy dinner and a movie at AMC's Fork and Screen Dine-In Movies. Or if you already ate, you can still catch a flick on one of the 24 screens. For the next few months, you can still visit DisneyQuest, Disney's indoor, interactive theme park. There are games here ranging from old school Pac-Man and Ski Ball machines, to Virtual Space Mountain, where you can create and ride your own virtual coaster. DisneyQuest is a lot of fun, but it will be closing it's doors in 2016, to make way for the all new NBA Experience, so enjoy it while you still can!
     See one of the very best shows I have ever experienced, Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba, in their permanent location at Disney Springs. This show is an Orlando exclusive and is loved by Cirque and Disney fans alike. Don't assume you're going to see Disney characters, or hear Disney music, though. The show has no tie in to Disney at all, but it is mesmerizingly beautiful and the music will be stuck in your head for weeks later. I should know. I have seen it 14 times, and would go again tonight if some one gave me a ticket.
     Get one of the best views of Disney property money can buy, at a relatively low cost, when you board Characters in Flight... if you can stomach the height, and the swaying. If you've been to Disney at all in the past 6 years, you have seen the huge red and yellow balloon floating above Disney Springs. A ride in the balloon will give you the chance to view miles and miles in every direction and you can take some really fantastic pictures. If you time it right, you may even catch a view of some fireworks! Flights are, of course, subject to weather conditions.
     As I have warned you in the past, there is currently major construction going on, as they are almost doubling the number of shops and restaurants over the next few years. It's going to be incredible when it's all done, but in the meantime, parking, and even driving in the area, can be challenging. If you want to visit, your best bet for getting there is using Disney busses or boats, (Boat service is available from Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Port Orleans French Quarter, and Port Orleans Riverside.), but if you have to drive, leave yourself plenty of time to get there and get parked.



     Of course, these are only 5 of the many, MANY things you could do. There's always evening spa or salon appointments, resort arcades, swimming in your resort's pool, working out in one of the fitness centers, or just plain hittin' the hay early, so that you can get a nice head start into the parks the next day. (Or to then sleep in late the next morning too. I won't judge.) The point is, parks closing early doesn't mean less fun for you as a Guest. It means a wider array of things to choose from and hopefully getting to experience something new to you. I, for one, am THRILLED that we are about to start the least busy month of the year. To us locals and Guests that are lucky enough to visit this month,  It's the mooost wonderful tiiiime of the yeeeeaaarrrr!