Have Fun While You Exercise At A Disney Resort

We all dread it, those few extra pounds that we pack on during the holidays.  With the new year comes a renewed vow to lose that extra weight and exercise a little more.  Why get stuck in that boring exercise routine when you can have fun while you exercise at a Disney Resort.

Many of the resort hotels offer state-of-the-art fitness centers to help stay in your familiar exercise routine while traveling.  Throw in a little swimming at one of the many resort pools for a refreshing change of pace.

If swimming laps are not your thing, grab the kids and head down a water slide, like the one at Redwood Pool at Disney’s Grand Californian (map).  This Redwood tree themed water slide is so much fun, you won’t even think about all those calories you are burning climbing in and out of the pool.

While at Disney’s California Adventure Park (map), try out Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  This sneaky little attraction will have you climbing, stretching, sliding and scrambling through two acres of trees, hollow logs, caves and rock cliffs.  Need a little core workout?  Try the rope bridge to work on your balance and core strength. Sounds almost like a gym workout to me!

Jogging trails wind all throughout Walt Disney World Resort around the lakes and scenic wooded areas.  Maps of the trails are available at the front desk of most resort hotels, including Animal Kingdom Lodge,  Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Wilderness Lodge.  With scenery of the Seven Seas Lagoon, Magic Kingdom theme park  or Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds, who could get bored?

Want to stretch your legs but not up for a run?  How about visiting  Downtown Disney (map) or the Downtown Disney District at Disneyland (map)?  With free admission, free parking and loads of window shopping this might be a great way to walk off some extra calories.  Just avoid all the wonderful restaurants in these areas!!

You will do a lot of walking on your Disney vacation, in fact, you will burn off 350 calories each hour you walk from land to land of the theme parks.  Pushing a stroller adds resistance and you will burn even more.

If you are lucky enough to have an annual pass to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, then I say, skip the gym altogether and have some Disney fun while you work out!

Photo Selection: flickr