If you’re anything like the typical family visiting Walt Disney World, at some point you’ll have to split up and half the family will be waiting. What are the best ways for non-riders to experience and enjoy the parks? Can you still experience the magic of Disney World without riding attractions? We take a look in this week’s episode of Disney Deciphered.
Inevitably, there are times you will be waiting around for members of your party to ride attractions that you can’t or won’t ride. Here are some of our favorite ideas for what to do if you’re not riding attractions at Walt Disney World
1. Eat, eat, eat!
There are a lot of great things to munch on at Walt Disney World and waiting for others is a perfect time to sample what the parks have to offer. From seasonal offerings like the booths at the Epcot festivals to old favorites like Dole Whips, why not snack instead of just waiting around? You can also grab a table at the nearest indoor quick service restaurant to beat the heat.
2. Explore the Disney shops
If there’s one thing most guests love to do, it’s shop. When you have an hour to kill waiting around for your friends to finish up on Space Mountain, you can take your time to really peruse the stores and see what they have to offer. We love examining the merchandise in detail and dreaming about buying things – just make sure you’re careful about not spending too much!
3. Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure
If you’re in Epcot and killing time with a child (or yourself!), stop by the Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure booth between Future World and World Showcase. You will be given missions that you can play on your smartphone that encourage you to explore World Showcase more deeply. Not only will the adventure take you to spaces you might not have otherwise happened upon, your kids will have a lot of fun in the process.
4. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
In a similar vein, drop by the Main Street Firehouse and take on Hades in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. You’ll get to choose from eight unique missions and be given cards that interact with special items in the park that often go unnoticed (like paintings). Not only do you get to explore the Magic Kingdom in a different light, you get to keep the collectable spell cards – great for trading or making a collection.
5. Take in a show or parade
All of the theme parks at Disney World have great entertainment. From parades, to mini-parades, to shows at the castle like Mickey and Minnie’s Royal Faire, there’s plenty to do if you’re not riding attractions. There are long form shows like Carousel of Progress or American Adventure in Epcot, or you could take in a short show like Country Bear Jamboree.
All the parks also feature live music or short “streetmosphere” type shows that warrant a stop and look. When you’re rushing from ride to ride you often have to skip these – take advantage of the fact that you’re waiting to slow down and enjoy what Disney has to offer.
6. Greet characters
To be quite honest, many people will just take an entire day in the parks greeting characters. If you’re going to be waiting around for members of your party, it’s a great time to get those autographs that you might not otherwise have time for.
So those are some of our favorite things to do when not riding attractions in the parks! But we’ll add one more thing. When in doubt, rest! You can never get too much of that at Walt Disney World :).
Do you have any favorite things to do while not riding attractions in the Disney parks? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.
Featured image courtesy of wdwnews.com
Episode Description
If you’re traveling in a group, chances are you’ll often have some “non-riders”: members of your party who aren’t interested in riding all the attractions. In today’s episode we give our favorite things to do when not riding attractions. Don’t just sit around in boredom waiting, try some of these things so you can keep enjoying the magic of the Disney parks while you wait!
What does your family like to do while not riding? We’d love to hear your experiences and tips, please share them by e-mailing us at disneydeciphered AT gmail DOT com.
If you like what you hear, please share the podcast with others you think might enjoy it. Also, we’d appreciate if you subscribed on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, PlayerFM, iHeartRadio, or Google Play (please leave a positive review if you’re enjoying the show), liked our Facebook page, or followed us on Twitter!
Connect with Leslie @TripswithTykes on social media and Joe @asthejoeflies.
Episode Notes
3:54 – Non-rider? Eat!
5:34 – Non-rider? Shop!
7:35 – Non-rider? Become a sorcerer!
9:55 – Non-rider? Play!
11:29 – Non-rider? Take in a show!
13:49 – Non-rider? Meet some characters!
15:13 – Non-rider? Find a playground!
16:47 – Disney dos and don’ts
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