Our family love mini-golf and have visited most of the “courses” in Orlando but our favourite is Winter Summerland. It is located next door to Blizzard Beach, so you can park for free! It is not too expensive at about $10 for adults and a little less for under 9s – as with all Disney, 3 and under are free (you can get in for a second round on the same day for half price but you have to keep your original receipt as proof). It is open until 11pm so we often stay for a game after a day at the water park – you don’t have to have water park admission, it is treated as a completely different entity. If you have an annual pass, you may be able to get a “buy one, get one free” offer, depending of the time of year.
There are two courses - the snow-clad Florida one and another that has a tropical theme with lots of bits and pieces hanging from palm trees.
The story behind the golf course is that Santa was flying over Florida one Christmas Eve on his way back home to the North Pole and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw snow is such a hot place so he decided to build a holiday place for his off-duty elves! But there wasn’t a golf course so he built one – one for the elves that liked snow and the other for the elves who liked the heat! Hence a sand course and a snow course! Only in Disney!!
I think the snow course is a little easier – with more slopes, it helps the little ones and our girls loved the squirting snowman! He gets you as your ball passes underneath him! Both courses are good fun – you have to putt over a sleepy Santa in the sand course –as you go round there are little interactive things for everyone to enjoy.
At the end of both of the courses, they end up back together and there is a hole between model trains underneath a pine tree but it is very hard! At the end you get a special computer generated message from Santa and you can have drink and snack.
The kids get their photos taken all over the place here – great fun pictures. If you get a hole in one, take your score card to the gift shop and you should get a large soda free if you putted into the “hole of the day”.
Takes about an hour but you have to be patient as others in front of you may take longer, but it’s a great way for me to get a suntan whilst keeping the kids happy too!!