Disney World last week of Jan

[OK_Golf]

Proxmity to Disney & good afternoon deal

Hello All,

I'll be at the Disney World Resort (the Polynesian to be exact) and might try and play once, maybe twice, while I'm there for family vacation. Would love suggestions, keeping the following in mind

1. Proximity to Disney (don't want to be driving far)
2. Quality of conditions and design
3. Good deal for afternoon play (not necessarily cheap, but good value, still with time to play 18)
4. Pace of play ... will be playing while my wife "holds down the fort" with the kids
4. Availability of decent rental clubs ... if I'm only playing once I don't want to pay the airlines to lug my clubs

Based on some other threads my tops so far are:

Orange County National (either course, give me some intelligence if one is superior to another)
Grand Cypress - New Course
Disney Magnolia

Any thoughts on current conditions and your personal ranking of the above would be great. Input on any others is fine too.

Thanks Wrxers.

[w8liftr]

My family and I stayed at the Polynesian a couple weeks ago. If you haven't stayed there, it is nice. Make sure you make reservations to eat at Ohana, the Kona Cafe is very good, too. Unfortunately this trip I wasn't able to squeeze in any golf. One of the courses is just across the street, didn't check to see which one, man that is depressing

 

Have a great trip.

[OK_Golf]

w8lifter,

Was trying to figure out how to PM, but gave it up. My trip will definitely be focused on the kids and the parks with golf only as a possible bonus. How were the crowds and lines at the parks when you were there? What age kids do you have (mine are 5 and 3)? Any thing a "must do" or "must avoid" from experience?

We're excited for trip.

[sompin2do]

Haven't played there in a couple of years but I always try to get a round in at Magnolia. Didn't rent clubs so I can't help there, but one time they let me play alone even though there were groups I could have joined. The first time I played it was when our sons were just 9 & 7. They let me and my wife each have a cart so we were able to bring our boys with us.

[osu67]

The mag or palm are great. Last time i played there we brought our clubs but I think I remember seeing they had your choice of either titleist or cobra depending on what you want to pay. The mag is the tougher of the 2 but a fun course to play with a Mickey mouse bunker on I think the 6th hole if I remember right. And being PGA tour courses they should be in pretty good shape.

[w8liftr]

w8lifter,

 

Was trying to figure out how to PM, but gave it up. My trip will definitely be focused on the kids and the parks with golf only as a possible bonus. How were the crowds and lines at the parks when you were there? What age kids do you have (mine are 5 and 3)? Any thing a "must do" or "must avoid" from experience?

 

We're excited for trip.

 

The lines were crazy for us, but we were there for New Years and it was NCAA football bowl week. I would bet it should be very good for your family.

 

My boys are 4 & 7. I wouldn't say there are "must avoids", but there are many "must do's"

 

Magic Kingdom: The classic rides Tea Cups, Dumbo etc. The nightly fireworks and parades are great. There is so much to do and see there.

 

EPCOT: Turtle Talk with Crush is funny and the kids will love it. Soarin and Test Track are good, but too big for the kids.

 

Hollywood: Toy Story Mania was a repeat request from the boys, it is fun.

 

Animal Kingdom: Tree of Life is amazing, you'll make a ton of pictures. The kids will like the safari ride and animal trails.

 

 

It really is a great experience, your family will have a blast!

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

 

 

[sabram]

I've taken many family trips to WDW. We try to do one theme park each day. We arrive about 15 minutes before they open. Usually one park each day opens early just for people who are staying at WDW. So, if you are staying at Polynesian, take advantage of that and plan to visit the park that opens early that day. The kids get tired around lunch time, so we have lunch then go back to the hotel where wife and kids get to nap, watch a video or go to pool. That's when I get in my round of golf. The WDW courses are expensive unless you play a twilight round. I think the rate is $59 in Jan. They will provide a cab for free from a WDW hotel to any of their courses. Osprey Ridge is my favorite. It is secluded and has a lot of wild life in addition to being a very good layout. My order of preference on the others is Magnolia, Lake Buena Vista and Palm. There is a new Waldorf Asoria course on Bonnett Creek Blvd in WDW, although not operated by Disney. It is nice but more expensive ($90 after noon.) Grand Cypress is within 1 mile of WDW and has some excellent rates on Golf Hub. Championsgate is about ten minutes Southwest on I-4 and also has some great afternoon rates. I played Championsgate last month for $45 and Grand Cypress for $59. Those are the best choices when you are at WDW with the family and want to get back quickly.

Best things to do depends mostly on age/maturity of the kids. We like Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom the best. But for 3 and 5 years Magic Kingdom may be best. Even the "big" rides there are pretty mild such as spalsh mountain. The new Buzz Lightyear is fun. At Hollywood studios the new Toy Story ride is very good. The shows are all good for kids that age. Little Mermaid, Muppets 3-D etc. The live "Disney Channel Rocks" show is good and the kids can join in the show. In Animal Kingdom the Safari is a "must do". A Bugs Life is fun. The Finding Nemo show is good and the live bird show is fantastic if your kids like live animal shows. For Dinner try the "Hoop-De-Do- Review" near Ft Wilderness. There are videos of all these things on YouTube if you want to check them out before the trip. Make sure to use "Fast pass" to avoid lines on the most popular things.

Here are links to photos the golf courses I mentioned.

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/561881172RMtVHF"]Disney Golf Course photos[/url]

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/579345623XLMssH"]Championsgate and Waldorf[/url]

[url="http://sports.webshots.com/album/571957361SHtpyS"]Grand Cypress[/url]

[OK_Golf]

thanks for the tips all.

If we don't have a car what's the best way to get to a course "off-property" ... grandy cypress or Orange County National?

Sabram, thanks for reviews of the Disney courses. I was onlly considering Magnolia and Palm (aren't those the Tour tournament courses?). Why is Palm so low on your list?

[italianstallion]

I played Orange County National (Panther) two weeks ago. By far its among the top 5 courses I've ever played. I only played it once and I can remember every single hole on the course. Conditions were excellent, and I think its because they use a different type of grass than most Florida courses (Orlando had a hard freeze shortly before Christmas so most courses down there are brown). Greens weren't quick but they sure were smooth! Great bunkers, great views, great value in my opinion. I payed $80 with cart on a weekend, carts have GPS so that was a real help getting around. I'm gonna do a full review with pictures