Disney World Mini Golf and Massive Cupcakes
I recently returned from another magical trip to Disney World. After spending several nights in the theme parks, my family and I decided to shake things up and try something different. We headed out for an evening of Disney World mini golf and massive cupcakes. Here’s everything you need to know if you want to relax with a unique outing of Disney World mini golf at Fantasia Gardens and some massive BoardWalk Bakery cupcakes!
Getting There
On this particular vacation we had rented a minivan so transportation for us was a no-brainer. We were starting our evening with a round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens which is located right next to the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel. We just followed the trusty red and purple signs as if we were headed to that hotel and as soon as we arrived, we saw the large parking lot for Fantasia Gardens right off Epcot Resorts Boulevard. If you are using Disney transportation, your best bet is going to be taking a bus to Hollywood Studios and making your way from there. Once you arrive at Hollywood Studios, you have a couple of options. If your feet are up for it, your fastest way to get there is to take the short walk (about 10 minutes) along the path that runs between that park and Epcot. If your feet are too tired, your other alternative is to take a relaxing ride aboard one of the boats that runs among Hollywood Studios, Epcot and the surrounding hotels. If you choose option two, you will want to exit the boat at the stop for the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel. From there, Fantasia Gardens is located right by the tennis courts.
Fantasia Gardens
Hours
- Fantasia Gardens is open every day from 10:00am – 11:00pm.
Cost
- The cost is $14 per adult and $12 per child (ages 3 to 9) for 18 holes of mini golf.
Discounts
- There is currently a 15% discount for Annual Passholders and DVC members.
- At this time, if you buy one regular price round, you get 25% off all additional rounds through the next day with your receipt.
- Discounts vary by season. Be sure to ask what is available during your stay.
- Some ticket and package options include free rounds of mini golf.
Our Experience
Once we arrived at Fantasia Gardens, we had to decide which course to play. They have two very distinct mini golf courses. The first is called The Gardens course which is more of your typical mini golf course. There are cute obstacles to putt through and it is themed like the animated movie classic, Fantasia. The second course is called The Fairways and actually resembles a real golf course. Each green is longer with roughs, traps and hazards. My boys, considering themselves mini golf pros (they have been playing been playing since they were three after all), decided to choose the more difficult Fairways course. So we grabbed our scorecard, clubs and balls and off we went!
The rules are the same as your basic mini golf course anywhere. You have a maximum six strokes per hole, and you get a one stroke penalty each time your ball goes out of bounds. This penalty stroke came into play several times during our game, because The Fairways course does not have standard railings around each hole. It truly looks like a tiny golf course!
At the beginning of each hole, there is a sign that gives you hints for getting the best possible score on the hole, the distance and par. These signs proved to be extremely helpful once I stopped to read them!
Just like with their theme parks, Disney World mini golf is filled with lots of little details and surprises along the way. Be sure to enjoy the spectacular views and the enchanting musical score from Fantasia while you make your way through the course. 
Don’t forget to watch out for the hazards! We saw several lost balls and even a couple clubs in the water. We managed to hang onto our putters, but we did lose one ball. We were almost finished, so we just played the rest of the way sharing our other golf balls.
Things To Consider
- Both of these courses are fairly difficult especially The Fairways. If you are playing with rookie mini golfers, you may want to consider not keeping score at all or having everyone play from the point of the best putt. When my boys were very young, we always had them compete against par rather than each other to avoid battles on the course.
- Weather can be a factor when playing these courses. They are in the direct sunlight with little-to-no shade, so be prepared for brutally hot conditions during the warm summer months. Also, cast members monitor the surrounding weather and they will call you in off the courses when lightning is in the area.
BoardWalk Bakery
Once we had finished our challenging round of mini golf, we had worked up quite an appetite. We decided to head over to BoardWalk Bakery for a cupcake pick-me-up. It is a short walk from Fantasia Gardens to Disney’s BoardWalk Inn where the bakery is located. When we arrived, there were important decisions to be made.
There are almost two dozen different pastries, cupcakes and cookies to choose from on any given day at BoardWalk Bakery. The desserts range in price from about $3 to $5 and each count as one snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan. That evening we were all in the mood for cupcakes, but it was too difficult to pick, so of course we got them all! It was for the sake of research, right? We split each of the cupcakes into six pieces so that all of us could try them. They were deliciously sweet, just as we expected. The strawberry cupcake was by far our favorite.
In a state of cupcake-induced sugar coma, we all went to bed early that night to prepare for our next big day of touring. All-in-all, the evening was a huge success. Everyone had enjoyed the slower pace of Disney World mini golf and massive cupcakes and was up early the next day, touring plan in hand, feeling refreshed and ready to go!
Do you have a favorite unique way to spend a relaxing evening at Disney World? Please leave a comment!
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Thanks for the post… Taking the fam to The Yacht Club in early December for 10 days. We will add Fantasia Gardens (my boys will love the longer course as well) and Boardwalk Bakery to our must do’s. Thanks for improving our trip before it even happens…
Thanks so much and I hope you have a wonderful time! 🙂
My kids loved the Fairways course – like yours they are big mini-golf fans. Not sure if this is still true, but last year when my son got the low score of the day he received a spcial certificate and a souvenir golf ball with Micky’s picture on it – his favorite souvenir from our Disney vaca!
My (adult) son was lucky, or skillful, enough to have the low round of the day once. In addition to the certificate and golf ball, he also got to put his name and home state and score on a blackboard by the desk. He still has a picture of that. And you’re right, it is a favorite souvenir.
That’s a great story! I’m definitely going to have to check into that the next time we play, but I’m going to need a lot more practice to have a chance at lowest score! 🙂
Wow! That’s a great souvenir! They may still be doing that, but no one asked us our scores when we were finished with our game. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have been the lowest of the day anyway, but we sure had fun. 🙂
Thanks for the info. I would just add that I think the Annual Passholder discount is 50%, not 15%, and covers the passholder and three guests. At least, that’s what it has been as recently as March when we were there with an AP. And I think there may be a discount of 50% on the second round played on the same day, with receipt.
Thanks for the discount information. We played in June of this year with our Annual Passes and they were only offering a 15% discount. There was also a 25% discount on all additional games that day and the next with receipt. I’m now wondering if the discounts change with the seasons. A 50% discount is amazing! 🙂
Interesting that the discounts seem to be variable. I hadn’t considered that. We travel to WDW at “off” times and never in the summer, so we’ve always gotten the 50% off with the AP. You could very well be right that the larger discounts are only offered at slower times. It might be safer to say that discounts are offered for AP and DVC and for a second round on the same day and that people should check to see what the discounts are.
I did love your blog post. We’re big fans of Fantasia mini-golf, especially the Fairways course, which we find a bit more challenging for adults but still fun. I think Fantasia is an often overlooked opportunity for some pretty inexpensive (for Disney, at least) entertainment for a family or group of any age distribution.
Just made the changes. I love Fantasia gardens and specifically the Fairways course, too. I would love to try the Winter Summerland courses sometime to compare. Have you tried them? 🙂
Very nice review. We really enjoy this golf course, but had not played since our retirement. The landscaping is nicely done and the game is challenging and fun for every age. Be sure to allow a little more time as this course is not like the normal mini-golf, at least it took us a little longer to play. Those cupcakes look tasty and will definitely be part of our future trips.
You’re right, The Fairways course definitely takes longer to play than a regular mini golf course. Enjoy the cupcakes on your next trip! I could go for one right now, they are delicious! 🙂
If you get a vacation package through Disney, you’ll receive coupons for free mini golf. My coupons just arrived in the mail today.
I love that addition to the packages! Mini golf is one of my favorite “outside the Parks” activities and you just can’t beat FREE! 🙂
Hub and I love to play mini golf at Disney. We take lots of mulligans and laugh ourselves silly.
It is a fun way to just slow down a bit from the hustle and bustle of the parks, but still be in the “Disney bubble!” We always enjoy playing mini golf at Disney World! 🙂