by Beth Keating
Lifestyle
DisneyBizJournal.com
April 11, 2024
Sure, The Masters golf tournament tees off today in Augusta, Georgia, but my thoughts on golf – specifically, mini-golf – are focused elsewhere.
While you might find yourself challenging family and friends to a mini-golf game on a Friday night at home, you typically don’t think of mini-golfing during your very expensive Disney vacation. After all, for the price you are paying for your park tickets, you are probably going to want to squeeze every last moment out of the parks that you can.
You might be missing out, though. Many people don’t realize that a trip to the miniature golf courses at Disney World is often included as an enchanting free “extra” with some of the room packages you’ve booked. In fact, the perk was included with two of the rooms we reserved this past year. When the parks get uber-crowded, the relatively quiet atmosphere of the golf courses might be a welcome change.
There is some very entertaining and Disney-centric theming on these courses. Disney hosts four delightful 18-hole miniature golf courses at two different locations. You might even consider it for your arrival or departure day, when you don’t have park tickets on tap.
At Fantasia Gardens and Fairways Miniature Golf, located near the Swan and Dolphin Resorts, there are two courses based on Disney's classic animated film Fantasia: Fantasia Fairways, and Fantasia Gardens. Some guests consider the Fantasia courses the more challenging of Disney’s putt-putt offerings The Fairways course is thought to be the more difficult, with the Gardens course being a bit more traditional.
If you didn’t get the free perk in your room package, the cost of playing either of these courses is $19 per adult and $12 per child, ages 3–9 (tax not included). Moving obstacles, whimsical fountains, hippos in tutus, and even musical surprises await, and Disney’s version of “water hazards” might surprise you – quite literally. Watch out for dancing broomsticks!
Fantasia Gardens has par-3 and par-5 holes, ranging in length from 63 to 109 feet long, with typical sand traps and bunkers, and even some rolling “hills” to navigate. You’ll be golfing with the backdrop of the Swan and Dolphin hotels, but on some holes, you’ll also get a glimpse of nearby Hollywood Studios attractions, such as the Tower of Terror.
The drawback to the Fantasia Gardens site is that the parking area is part of the Swan and Dolphin properties, which will charge you a parking fee. (Tough call when you are trying to use a potentially free perk!)
If you are staying on Walt Disney World property, though, you can walk over from one of the BoardWalk or Yacht and Beach Club Resorts; use a Disney bus to get to the complex from Disney Springs or one of the parks; or even use the Friendship boats to float down from EPCOT. The free Friendship boats ply the waters of Crescent Lake, and make stops including EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, BoardWalk, Yacht and Beach, and Swan and Dolphin. When you dock at Swan and Dolphin, you’ll get off and take a short stroll to the golf course, which is adjacent to the new Swan Reserve building.
The second mini-golf complex on Disney World property is our favorite of the two, and is built on a very unique concept. At Winter Summerland Miniature Golf, Santa and his elves are enjoying some exercise and some well-deserved downtime at their off-season retreat. Here, there are two 18-hole adventures, also available with your free room perk if you got one, or at a cost of $19 per adult or $12 per child (tax not included) for those that didn’t (or those staying off property).
Disney Imagineers have admitted that they did not design this fanciful course -- Santa Claus himself designed it! The tale is told that late one Christmas Eve, Santa was flying back to the North Pole when he spotted an unexpected patch of snow in Florida. It was that oddity known as “Blizzard Beach,” a former ski resort that was created when a freak snowstorm hit the Florida peninsula. When the snow began melting in the Florida heat, the enterprising owners turned the now-defunct ski facilities into a water park. Knowing how much rest his elves would need after their busy season, Santa decided to build a vacation retreat for his off-duty elves, adjacent to the unexpected snowfall. Thus, Winter Summerland was created.
Unfortunately, Santa and his elves couldn’t come to an agreement as to whether the new facility would cater to the elves looking for a warm and sunny trip, or to those wanting to stick with their preferred cold weather. Divided into two camps, the elves then “built 2 distinctly different 18-hole golf experiences: a sand course named ‘Summer’ and a snow course named ‘Winter.’”
The two par-56 courses have equally fun theming, and you may find your family, like Santa’s elves, evenly divided over which one is better. The airstream campers scattered throughout the course are elf-sized and festively decorated, and you’ll be entertained trying to dodge a pair of dancing red-garbed legs beneath a fireplace. Wonder who it could be? Elsewhere on the courses, you’ll be timing your tee-shots through pop-ups on top of gifts, snapping clamshells, tiny Ferris wheels, ice fishing holes, and rising drawbridges.
The Summer Course is surrounded by surfboards, sandcastles, peppermint-striped swim tubes, and even a melting snowman (no worries, it’s not Olaf). If you pay attention, you may spot a few elves taking a nap, buried in the sand. The music here has a distinctly “beachy” vibe… including some Beach Boys’ Christmas tunes!
On the adjoining Winter Course, the water hazard will take you off-guard - Squirty the Snowman might just try to grab your attention in an unexpected way. You’ll cross over the drawbridge of an icy castle, dodge hockey sticks, and if you are successful, you’ll get a special “Winternet” message from Santa Claus on the last hole. The music here leans toward more traditionally-paced Christmas songs, rather than beach beats.
Winter Summerland shares a parking lot with Blizzard Beach, so you do not need to separately pay to park there, as you do at Fantasia Gardens.
Most of the time, walk-up service is available at the courses, but if you want to be sure you fit your recreational golf into the day on your time schedule, you can also call (407) WDW-PLAY to reserve tee-times. The operational hours of the mini-golf courses will vary slightly by season, but right now, they are 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., but your vacation days may vary.
Got that free perk in your room package? Don’t let it go to waste…The freebies don’t come along all that often, and this is a great one!
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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.
Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at
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