What are your "must do's" for a relaxing trip?

[Kairi_7378]

When we went on our Anniversary trip in March, DH and I did the parks from open to close. (Not even the mid day break!) Now that we are planning our October trip, we would like to take it a little easier. (We figure that we did all of the rides in March and don't feel as much pressure now.) What are your "must do's" for a relaxing vacation? We have 2 ADR's (AP and CA Grill) but don't have a schedule otherwise.

[TennesseeTink]

We usually plan one day to just hang out at the resort...swim, sleep, explore. On this day we may go to Downtown Disney to shop or play minigolf but we DO NOT go to a theme park. It's all about taking it easy.

[DestinationWDW]

I like to get a massage at one of the spas....very :cloud9:! Especially after a few days of exploring the World! :mickey:

[MinnieMommie]

October is a beautiful month to leisurely enjoy a trip to the World. Enjoy strolling around Epcot and sampling the goodies at the Food and Wine festival. Pick a night where you go to Mickey's Not So Scarey Halloween Party (that can be a day when you don't go to the parks and enjoy the pool or DD). You shoudl have so much fun! :mickey:

[DaisylovesDonald]

DH and I love minigolfing, and we also love to go hang out in DTD. Sometimes we even take in a movie. We never get to the movies as much as we would like at home, so we really enjoy it. :popcorn:

We've also rented the boats at the Poly. I can't think of the name of them, sea raycers? Very fun! If you happen to visit the Poly, it's also fun to just relax in the hammocks! :lei:

And if you have driven the boats at the Poly, snoozed in the hammocks, you've probably built up an appetite, might as well have a nice meal at either Ohanas or the Kona!:tikki:

After that very filling meal, you can take a romantic, moonlit walk along the beach and maybe catch Wishes! :fworks:

People think my DH and I are crazy going to WDW so much, but it's the types of things I just listed that people just don't associate with WDW. It can be so relaxing! :wave:

[JCDarzi]

We are believers in the mid-vacation non-Disney day. We are usually at the parks when they open and after a few days, we are exhausted. We take one day to sleep in and relax by the pool. We might go to DTD that evening or just hang around the hotel. It puts us all in a better mood.

Since we have toddlers, we also do the mid-day break as well. After lunch we head back to the hotel for naps and pool time. We go back into the parks for dinner.

[pogo]

Seeing we are a little :old: we like to have a very rough plan and then throw it out and do what ever we want to do. Well almost.:mickey:

We plan to go to one park per day (no hoppers..... we don't need them )and take our time. We are never at the park for the opening.... but we've talked about doing it some day. :blush:

We usually don't make ADR's and we've eaten just fine. By the way, we love the Garden Grill.:thumbsup:

If we miss something we feel it gives us a reason to return the next year. :yes:

We like things very relaxed too. Enjoy and happy planning. :D

[Brian]

Rent boats at one of the lakes. Bay Lake is our favorite one to rent boats at. (You can pick them up at any of the Magic Kingdom resorts on the lake.) We usually go for the pontoon boats, but they also have a variety of other choices.

[SurferStitch]

Unless I have an early character breakfast booked, DH and I sleep in a little. We always have at least one day where we don't get up before 9:00 am, but other non-breakfast days we sleep until 7:30-8:00 am, which is late for us.

We like to hit the Grand Flo spa one morning for a massage, facial, whatever.

We spend several nights just strolling around World Showcase, sampling goodies, and :beer: and :wine:.

When we stay at the GF, we love to walk over to the Poly. Since we're staying at the Poly this time, we'll take a stroll over to the GF. It's so nice to do that at sunset.

Last year we spent our first day taking our time at the resort, then heading to DTD for dinner, shopping and PI. It was nice to go to WDW and not rush out to a park. This year we're getting AP's, so I'm sure we'll hit the MK on our first day, but probably just for a couple of hours.

Dinner at V&A is very relaxing. Dinner usually takes 3-4 hours, so we can really settle in and enjoy an amazing evening.

Since we'll be there in December again, we like to explore the resorts when we have dinner there. This year our last dinner will be at the Flying Fish Cafe, so we'll head over to the Y&B Clubs to check out their displays (never saw theirs yet).

The best thing to remember is to just take your time, no matter what you're doing. Really soak up the atmosphere, stop and watch the street performers, watch the fountain at Epcot, smell the roses, whatever. Take time to do the things you may have never left time for before. And....have a magical trip!!!

[Jeri Lynn]

On our "girls" trip, my sister and I would get a frozen mudslide at the bar at the Beach Club and then go and sit out on the beach in lounge chairs in the evenings and look across at the boardwalk and just enjoy the atmosphere!

[Momof2boys]

We always plan for a day (or 2) with no parks. We have 2 boys so we let them swim. Then we always pick a new resort to go and explore. This trip we're planning on playing some mini golf.

[Wolf]

I gota say if your going in Oct even though you want relaxation (I can see everyone here knows bout how to do that right) I gota suggest even though you wana relax you should try the Halloween party one night, its so worth seeing and tons of fun!

[Jodi]

I absolutely love our WDW vacation, however, the one thing we don't get to do is relax. What is that word?? I would lke to sleep in, once, but, DH insists on being to the parks at Opening time. We pretty much stay the entire day and night, then start all over again the next day. By the last day, my feel feel like 20 pound pancakes. The only relaxation we get is pretty much sitting down to a nice dinner at one of the nicer restaurants. DD's love it too. I'm not complaining.....:cool:

[PetefromRI]

DaisylovesDonald has it just right.I know that alot of people don't understand why my wife and I love Disney so much.Most people think that it's all about theme parks and crowds,what they don't understand is that Disney can be the most relaxing place in the world if you just slow down and smell the roses.Granted we love the parks and we go to one everyday, but what I like most is the option to do everything or do nothing at all.Usually at night we really enjoy strolling through Epcot in the World Showcase and sometimes we actually leave before the fireworks.DownTown Disney is also a relaxing place to go in the evening,but there's nothing like watching wishes from the Poly and then going up to the Tambu lounge for drinks and to just people watch.

[mttafire]

We usually plan one day to just hang out at the resort...swim, sleep, explore. On this day we may go to Downtown Disney to shop or play minigolf but we DO NOT go to a theme park. It's all about taking it easy.
You got that right! :thumbsup:

[tinksmom02]

[QUOTE=Jodi;1397512]I absolutely love our WDW vacation, however, the one thing we don't get to do is relax. What is that word??/QUOTE]

I'm glad someone else feels the same as me! LOL Although, I'm the one who wants to gogogo, and DH would rather sleep in (funny, because at home it's exactly opposite LOL)!

BUT, since we were just there in January, I am trying to take things a little slower this time. I have our days planned out, and I do want to hit the parks early a couple days, but...I have a tentative schedule for MK, for example. I want to be there for magical beginnings at 8am, and then we have ADR's for breakfast at the Crystal Palace, but that's it for the day. If it turns out we're tired, hot and cranky, we can leave and head to the resort pool, no biggie. Our schedule is structured, but I've left plenty of wiggle room.

We also have a no-parks day planned, the plan is to head to DTD so DD can get done up at BBB, and then dinner at 1900 (in GFCafe). If we're feeling up to it, we can hit Epcot that night for Illuminations; if not, no biggie...

[January-2007]

We like going to the Comedy Club at Pleasure Island. We get the 5 day passes and go a few times. It's definately more relaxing than standing in line for a ride. It's fun.

Just walking around a themepark with no real agenda can be fun. Taking pictures and only getting on rides with little to no wait. That's the life.

Visiting different resorts is fun. And swimming and exploring your own resort.

So much to do so little time....

[wdwfansince75]

Please respect my privacy...My family doesn't know that I do relax at WDW!

Strolling the Showcase....an Ice Cream here, a Tangerine slush there, catch a show of so....every trip
Any Character Buffet...
Slow cruise to Ft Wilderness...window shopping at store, then relaxing meal at Trails End
Boat Ride between MGM and EPCOT....either way
And monorail rides....just for the relaxation.

[dolphinmickey9170]

We do some really weird stuff to "Relax"!! Anything away from our jobs is relaxing. I am in the ER and my DH is a firefighter. Talk about stress.

Anyway, we played this game--you get on the monorail from TTC to Epcot or the other way--your car is empty except for you. You stay on until someone gets on your car--see how many trips back and forth you can make. We made three.

Another is we resort hop. As DVC owners we stay at the DVC resorts, so we don't stay at GF, Contemporary, Poly. We love to go to the resorts and check everything out. We walk around the pool and restaurants, we walked the halls of the different floors. You get to see some great views that you normally wouldn't.

Have dinner in one of the resorts. This is extremely relaxing. No park worries.

Watch wishes from the beach at Poly. It is spectacular. Also, watch wishes from Cali out on the terrace. The view is awesome (http://travel.webshots.com/album/560331789VnKtcn?start=96). Start on this page and view wishes through my camera atop the contemporary.

Have a great time!!