Walt Disney World Experiences That Don’t Require a Theme Park Ticket

Monorail Black

As we all know, Annual Passes are still being held hostage by Disney, and buying day tickets can get pretty expensive. If you want to experience Disney but can’t buy a theme park ticket, that’s okay! There’s plenty to do at Walt Disney World without a ticket.



Resort Hopping

Resort Hopping is one of my favorite things to do at Walt Disney World. It’s also a great way to explore all of Disney. The best advice I could give you with Resort Hopping is to pick resorts that have others nearby. For example, grab a bus from Disney Springs to Disney’s Riviera Resort, and after exploring that resort, hop on the Skyliner to the next. The same thing goes for the resorts on the monorail. Grab the bus to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort from Disney Springs and hop on a monorail. If you like to walk, you can grab a bus to Disney’s Boardwalk Inn and walk to Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort. The possibilities are endless.



One of the best parts of Resort Hopping is that the food options are endless. Some of the best food at Walt Disney World lives at the resorts. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ve got to grab the boat at Disney Springs to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter to grab beignets. If you love New York-style delis, then you have to go to the Boardwalk Deli and grab a sandwich.

@wdwinfo Have you ever been resort hopping before? 🙋🏻‍♀️ #disney #disneysprings #disneyresort #fyp #disneytransportation ♬ Sunny Day – Ted Fresco

Explore Disney Springs

As a local, Disney Springs has become my favorite place. I love to eat and shop, so it’s the perfect place for me. Disney Springs is a great place to stock up on all your favorite Disney merchandise without going into the parks. Almost all of the restaurants at Disney Springs are top-tier, but I always recommend everyone to go to Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin. Best food at Disney Springs. Not only can you shop and eat, but you can also go bowling! Over at Splitville in Disney Springs, they have bowling lanes throughout the restaurant. You can order food while playing if you aren’t into bowling but like live entertainment; well, you are in luck because Disney Springs has live entertainment everywhere.



Golf, Horseback Riding, and more

If those options above don’t seem appealing, that’s fine because there are more things to do on the property. One of those is golf. There are two mini golf courses on Disney property, which are highly themed. The best part is that it’s $14 per adult and $12 per kid ages, super affordable.



Over at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds, you can go horseback riding! If you don’t want to ride the horses, that’s fine too because there’s the Tri-Circle-D Rach where you can visit the horses that make appearances in the parks.

Last but not least, you can rent boats that allow you to explore the Seven Sea Lagoon and Bay Lake. My family used to do this at the end of each trip. We’d head over to Fort Wilderness and rent the small, fast boats, the sprites are what my dad would call them, and it was always super fun. Fun fact, you have to be 5 feet tall to drive those boats, which means I’ll never be able to drive one of those because I’m 4’11 and a half.



Tri-Circle-D Ranch

These are just some fun things you can do without buying a theme park ticket that can still give you that Disney magic. What are your favorite things to do at Disney outside the theme parks? Let us know in the comments.

Hi, I'm Erica, and I write about all things Disney. Before working for The DIS, I was a theme park performer at SeaWorld, but I also performed at Disney. I have such an immense love for theme parks to the point I studied them in college.














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