While in Orlando last month, we wanted to experience a little of the Disney magic but without going to a park. With the new reservation system currently in place, we were not able to just pop on over. I get it, no worries… it gave us time to discover new areas of Disney that we don’t get to see.

Fantasia Gardens has been on my list for quite a while. It is on Disney property close to the Swan and Dolphin Hotels.

Some might say visiting a miniature golf course at noon on a summer day in Florida is not the best idea. I agree. Adding masks to the equation increased the heat… but yet there we were. Living our best life.

I’m not sure exactly what the temps were that day, but I was a bit concerned before we had our temperatures taken. Although it was hot, it didn’t make our body temperature rise above a restricted level.

Fantasia Gardens is themed after the movie Fantasia. My kids weren’t that familiar with it, so I recommend watching it before you go. It would probably make seeing some of the statues and characters a little more special.

There are two course there. One with thematic characters and the other side I believe was a bit more “normal”. This was not over the top Disney though. Most of the characters were muted, or blended in with the greenery. You could only find a Mickey statue as you walked in the ticket gate, and toward the end of the course. All of the others were hidden Mickeys. Although I did love that the start of every hole was a Mickey head.

As for cleaning and sanitizing. The putter handles were dipped in some sort of cleaning solution once we purchased our tickets. The balls though were in a bowl on the counter that only the employee could get to. I’m assuming they had already been cleaned, but a quick wipe down with a wipe isn’t a bad idea.

Although you aren’t really touching too many other things on the course, I would recommend taking hand sanitizer (if that’s your thing). On our course there was only one hand washing station to use.

I would also recommend taking water. There are drinks available at the concession stand – but when you are on some of the holes, it’s not the quickest place to get to. Also, think Disney water prices. Masks have to stay on the entire time of the course, but you can pause and drink. You will need it.

Although there were other people on the course, it was not rushed and we had the hole behind us empty and a few in front of us empty.

I did enjoy the shaded parts of the course. I swear my forehead got a sunburn though… I might be ready for parasols to make a comeback. Anyone else? 🙂

Clearly from this picture you can see I’m not the best miniature golfer, but that’s not the point. Even though it was hot, we had masks, we ran out of water and needed to apply more sunscreen… we were together, we were healthy, we were outside on a beautiful day and we were exploring a new place.

There are always multiple ways to look at a situation.

I’m not sure if Fantasia Gardens will soon get a refurbishment (it does need some Disney quality upgrades to be on par with the parks) or if it might not be there for much longer due to the new Cove Resort going in right next door… If you haven’t done it, I would say try it… if you have done it maybe try the Christmas themed mini golf course at Blizzard Beach. It was closed during this trip, but that is the next place to try.

We finished out our Disney day with a trip to Disney Springs for lunch….plenty of options for the entire family and a little more magic…