Prior to a recent vacation, the Disney World website was having difficulty processing my reservation and recommended I call their reservation line, (407) W-Disney. Once my reservation was booked over the phone, I looked at it online and found, to my surprise, it was a vacation package!
Not only that, but the vacation package was cheaper than what I was going to pay, had a better room (water view!), and came with Magical Extras. One of the Magical Extras was a voucher for a free round of mini golf at either Fantasia Gardens or Winter Summerland.
I’ve always wanted to try one of the mini golf courses at Disney! Thankfully I found myself with a few hours in the late afternoon and decided to use my free voucher at the nearby Fantasia Gardens. Since I was staying at Yacht Club, the course wasn’t too too far away.
It’s themed after Fantasia!
There are two courses at Fantasia Gardens: the Gardens course, themed after Fantasia, and the Woods course themed after a regular size 18-hole golf course. Naturally, I chose the Gardens course.
For the sake of length and quantity of pictures, I’m going to make this a 2-part article. Today I’ll show you the first half of the course, and the follow-up article I’ll show you the second half of the course.
Sound the trumpets!
The course starts easy enough. Just give the ball a good hit, send it up the incline and let gravity do the rest. But don’t worry if you don’t: there’s a second ramp the ball will fall into, landing it a little further away from the hole.
Never mind the notes.
The second hole is a very simple, straightforward U-shaped design. Remember what you learned in Geometry with angles and this hole shouldn’t give you any headaches. Remember to ignore the musical notes, as they are simply a distraction.
Play yourself a tune.
This hole is another easy U-shaped hole with the added challenge of a steep incline. However, once you crest the hill, the ball bounces down the stairs to the left playing a note as it bounces off a step. Fun!
Queue line rule applies here.
One of the secret tricks for visiting Disney World is knowing which way to go when the queue line splits. The trick is to go left, since many people tend to naturally go to the right. This hole is no different. The hole itself is in the left-hand lilypad, so remember to aim to the left on this one.
That thing ate my ball!
I was warned about this hole. The cast member behind the counter suggested I take a second ball in case the little mushroom guy eats the first one. Luckily, he did no such thing. Timing is important on this hole because you want to aim for the little mushroom guy when he’s peeking out, so your ball comes out on the side closest to the hole.
I had to play through a little.
I wasn’t able to photograph a few of the holes in this course because the group ahead of me wanted me to play through and go ahead of them. My apologies because I wanted this to be a complete walk through but that wasn’t the case this time.
Deceptively easy.
Well this looks easy enough! Just is a simple, straight shot through the center of the cavern to the hole on the other end. Yep! There’s nothing else to be concerned about. No surprise audio or visual effects waiting on the other side as you walk around. Nope, not at all.
I have no idea what’s happening.
I’m not exactly sure what’s happening here. It’s a simple M layout up an incline. Give the ball enough momentum up the hill to fall down the center and you should be in a good position for the hole.
Join us for the next article where we visit the back half of the course, complete with dancing hippos and bucket-toting brooms!
Fantasia Gardens is open 7 days a week from 10a-10p. Walk-ups are welcome and subject to wait times depending on crowds. Advance reservations can only be made via phone at (407) WDW-PLAY. Cost for adults is $19 per person, children 3-9 are $12 per person. Please allow 45 minutes – 1 hour to play the Fantasia course, and 1.5 – 2 hours for the Fairways course.
Disney Rover 