Note:
The following activities are open to all guests, whether they
are staying on property or off.
• Ride in the nose of the monorail with the driver. When
you line up for the monorail, ask the gate attendant if you can
ride in the nose (usually a maximum of 4 riders). The attendant
will check with the next monorail driver to find out if the nose
seats are available.
• Explore the activities at Fort Wilderness. Rent a canoe
(about $6 per half hour). Go fishing (on your own or book a 2-hour
bass fishing excursion for about $150 to $200 for up to 5 people).
Enjoy the petting farm with your children. Visit the horse barn,
then meet the blacksmith who shoes the horses that pull the trolleys
on Main Street in Magic Kingdom. Go on a hayride (about $8 for
adults and $4 for children ages 3 to 9), carriage ride (prices
vary) or a tame horseback trail ride (about $23 per person for
45 minutes; minimum 9 years of age; maximum weight 250 pounds).
Have fun at the nightly (7:00 or 8:00 p.m.) outdoor campfire,
which includes live musical entertainment, a marshmallow roast,
meeting Chip and Dale, and a Disney movie. Call 407-939-7529 for
information and reservations; 407-824-2832 for trail rides.
• Enjoy music by a country band, line dancing with Disney
characters, and a barbecue picnic at Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue
at Fort Wilderness. It’s offered on certain days in the late
spring, summer, and early fall. Call 407-939-3463 for specifics.
The cost is about $38 for adults and $25 for children up to age
9.
• Get rustic! Spend a night in a tent at Fort Wilderness
(about $35 - $55 per night). The Disney folks will set up the
tent before you arrive. Call 407-934-7639 for reservations. Then
take a leisurely hike on the three-quarter-mile long Wilderness
Swamp Trail, which starts behind the Settlement Trading Post.
• Go fishing. Arrange an adult or kid excursion at any hotel
on a lake or lagoon. You can fish on your own or book a 2-hour
fishing excursion for about $150 to $200 for up to 5 people. Call
407-939-7529 for information and reservations.
• Play miniature golf at Fantasia Gardens across from the
Swan hotel or at Winter Summerland next to Blizzard Beach. Cost
is about $10 for adults and $8 for kids ages 3 to 9. Be aware
that Disney’s Fairways, one of the courses at Fantasia Gardens,
is one of the most difficult miniature golf courses on earth (no
kidding!).
• Ride in or drive a fast stock car along the 1-mile oval
WDW Speedway (near the Magic Kingdom) in the Richard Petty Driving
Experience. The “Riding Experience” (ride-along) costs
about $90; the 2-hour “Rookie Experience” costs about
$370 for instruction and driving 8 fast laps; the “King’s
Experience” will run you about $750 for an 8-lap and a 10-lap
session, and the “Experience of a Lifetime” costs around
$1,270, for which you get to drive 30 laps over 3 sessions. Call
800-237-3889 for information or reservations.
• Play volleyball or basketball. Many hotels have courts.
• Go waterskiing, wakeboarding or tubing at the Contemporary
Resort, or waterskiing at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Call 407-939-7529
for information and reservations. Cost is about $125 an hour for
1 to 5 guests.
• Learn to surf at Typhoon Lagoon. Craig Carroll’s Surfing
School offers lessons for ages 8 and over every Tuesday morning,
6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. The $125 fee covers the lesson, use of
equipment, and admission to the park for the lesson only (you
have to pay regular park admission if you want to spend the rest
of the day there). Call 407-939-7529 for information or to register.
• If you’re really brave, go parasailing over Bay Lake
from the Contemporary Resort marina. Call 407-939-7529; cost is
about $75 for 1 person and $115 for 2 to ride tandem. Solo flyers
must weigh 100 pounds or more.
• Test your football skills at the NFL Experience or watch
the Harlem Globetrotters basketball or the Atlanta Braves baseball
spring training at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.
Call 407-363-6600 or 407-939-4263 for information. Ticket cost,
including access to the NFL Experience and any amateur events
scheduled during your visit, runs about $9 for adults and $7 for
kids ages 3 to 9. When Globetrotters or Atlanta Braves games are
on, you can purchase a premium ticket, that includes general admission
(if seats are available) to the pro game. When available, you
can get these tickets on site or through TicketMaster (407-839-3900).
• Immerse yourself in virtual reality and other interactive
fare at DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney West Side. One-day tickets
are about $29 for adults and about $23 for children 3 to 9 years
of age. (Admission is included with Disney’s Ultimate Park
Hopper Pass and Premium Annual Pass.)
• Catch a Sunday Gospel Brunch buffet with live music entertainment
at the House of Blues at Disney’s West Side in Downtown Disney.
For information or reservations, call the House of Blues Box Office
(407-934-2583) or TicketMaster (407-839-3900). Brunch seatings
are available for 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., and tickets cost about
$30 for adults and $15 for children 3 to 9 years of age (children
under 3 are admitted free).
• Also at Downtown Disney West Side, see the amazing, 90-minute
acrobatic and dance show, Cirque du Soleil. Tickets cost about
$67 for adults and $39 for children. Children 5 years of age and
older enjoy it. Call 407-939-7600 or 407-939-6244 for information
or tickets.
Note: Make a bathroom stop before the show!
• Rent a boat (several types are available, including canopy
boats and the smaller Water Mouse speedboats) at the Downtown
Disney Marketplace marina. Rental rates depend on the size of
the boat and average about $20 to $30 per half hour.
• Watch the Electrical Water Pageant, which floats through
the waters of Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. A string of illuminated
creatures moves gently to music as it passes by the Polynesian
Resort at 9:00 p.m., the Grand Floridian at 9:15 p.m., the Wilderness
Lodge at 9:35 p.m., the Fort Wilderness beach at 9:45 p.m., the
Contemporary Resort at 10:05 p.m., and sometimes the Magic Kingdom
at 10:20 p.m. Times are approximate; check with Guest Services
at your hotel for current information.
Note: The Pageant may be delayed a short while if the Magic Kingdom
fireworks are scheduled for 9:00 p.m.
• Eat dinner at the California Grill. If the timing is right,
walk outside afterwards and watch the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks
over the Magic Kingdom. Then turn to your right from the rear
outside walkway and watch the Electrical Water Pageant on Bay
Lake.
• Consider visiting one of the WDW water parks in the evening.
They’re beautiful at night and usually less crowded.
• If you happen to get change in Disney Dollars (Goofy on
the $5 bill, Simba or Minnie Mouse on the $10, and Mickey Mouse
on the $20), you can keep them for souvenirs or exchange them
for U.S. currency at any of the WDW parks or hotels or at any
Disney Store.
• Take a VIP Tour of WDW with your own WDW tour guide. The
cost ranges from $75 to $95 per hour per group of 1 to 10 guests
(minimum of 5 hours) and does not include park admissions. The
guide tailors the tour to your group’s wishes and will take
you to any WDW attractions you want (so long as you are willing
to pay the admission). VIP Tour groups do not get front-of-the-line
privileges, which means they may have to wait in line (or use
a FASTPASS when available) like anyone else. Call 407-560-4033
or 407-560-6233 for information and reservations.
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