By You’ll never lack for entertainment options at Walt Disney World. That’s a statement of the obvious, if ever there were one, but we feel the need to reiterate it here.
In the next sections, we’ll discuss plenty of entertainment activities that you wouldn’t even know were possible if not for this guide. Even many frequent Disney vacationers haven’t heard of some of them, while others belong on any Mickey Mouse fan’s bucket list.
Behind the Seeds
Throughout this book, we rave about The Land pavilion, a full agricultural complex that happens to host a couple of theme park rides.
Disney offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the agricultural facility called Behind the Seeds and costs $39-$49 per person plus tax. It is a startlingly enlightening experience.
You’ll learn an extensive amount about fruit and vegetable crops, hydroponics, and the art of fish farming.
This tour is admittedly quite niche, but it underscores just how impressive the Walt Disney World campus is.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Do your children love to play dress-up? If so, they can participate in the ultimate Disney makeover, as Cast Members will transform them into princesses and knights.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique combines fantasy with reality as your child receives the ultimate glow-up.
Kids can either add makeup and dresses or they can be presented like members of the Knights of the Round Table.
This service is on the pricey side, but when parents are willing to spend the money, their child will float on cloud nine for the rest of the park visit.
You can spot someone who has visited Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique from a mile away. They’re dressed like they’re going to Disney Spring Formal.
One of our favorite recent memories at Disney involved a little girl in a Belle dress dribbling chocolate all over her golden dress while her frustrated parents could do nothing but shake their heads and smile.
That’s part of the fun, too. How long can your child stay clean when dressed fancy?
We’re ardent proponents of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Budget conscious parents may decide it’s not the best use of funds, though. Prices range from $99 without a dress all the way up to $450 for the Princess Signature Dress Package.
Capture Your Moment
Do you have something big planned during your Disney visit?
Are you celebrating graduation or a birthday?
Are you considering popping the question to your significant other?
Disney wants to commemorate your celebration forever.
You can purchase a personalized 20-minute photo session at one of the four parks.
A Cast Member who is a highly trained photographer will wait wherever you want and snap photographs when you’re ready.
These photo sessions cost $99 for 20 minutes, and you can book longer when necessary.
Please understand that unless you purchase Memory Maker/PhotoPass, you’ll need to pay extra to download the photographs.
The $99 fee is for the photographer’s time, but you do get the pictures if you’ve already purchased PhotoPass.
Disney Keys to the Kingdom Tour
Magic Kingdom fans should consider the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, which we consider to be perfectly named.
The park’s Utilidoors have obtained mythic status over the years, as they’re the underground tunnels that Cast Members use to move between the themed lands.
You may not realize this, but Magic Kingdom sits on the second floor, while cast members work underneath them on the ground floor.
During this five-hour tour, guests gain access to the mysterious Utilidoors and so much more.
For Magic Kingdom fanatics, this tour is one of the most fascinating things you can do on your vacation.
At a price of $169-$189 per person plus tax, it’s also a great deal!
EPCOT Seas Adventures – DiveQuest
Perhaps best known for a Boy Meets World episode, DiveQuest allows park guests to don SCUBA gear and enter the giant vat that is The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
You’re doing a dive in a 5.7 million gallon saltwater aquarium at EPCOT. How great is that?
Note that you must show you open water SCUBA certification, and guests must be 10 or older.
This tour costs $229 plus tax per person and lasts about two hours; however, you will only spend about 40 minutes of that time diving.
Fireworks Cruises
These are exactly what the name implies. You can “charter a private watercraft and set sail on a relaxing specialty cruise.”
From the water you’ll enjoy an inimitable view of either Magic Kingdom or EPCOT’s fireworks presentations.
You’ll leave from either the Boat Nook Marina at Disney’s Contemporary Resort or the Bayside Marina at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort.
These sailings cost $499 plus tax and require reservations up to 60 days prior to your visit. Up to 10 guests can ride in the boat to share costs. Please note that there is a 24-hour cancellation policy.
Senses Spa
Even when you’re at Disney World, you may be in the mood for a spa day.
Sometimes it’s lovely to just sit back, relax, and allow someone to pamper you.
Disney cast members will happily do that at Senses Spa, which you’ll find at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
This spa offers massages with pricing that starts at $110, but some cost $250 plus. Similarly, you can do aromatherapy, shiatsu, and a manicure or pedicure.
VIP Tours
We’ll discuss these in detail in a later section, but these are Disney’s most expensive offerings.
Guests pay $450 to $900 per hour for a minimum of seven hours and a maximum of ten hours.
Throughout this tour, you get the run of Walt Disney World, with a personal Cast Member chauffeuring you wherever you want at the four theme parks.
You’ll enter the Lightning Lane queue or possibly even skip the line in some instances, so this is a situation where you definitely get what you pay for.
Wild Africa Trek
Are you fascinated by Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Would you like to learn more about how Disney hosts countless animal habitats?
Cast Members will take you on a privately guided VIP expedition through the heart of Animal Kingdom.
This journey is a bit hardcore, as you’ll cross rickety rope bridges. It’s completely safe, but it will feel dangerous, and that’s the key.
Cast Members will strap you into a harness and everything.
This tour even includes some gourmet eats. There’s just nothing like snacking and getting your photo taken near an Animal Kingdom savanna. The experience is amazing for everyone, but it’s that much better for outdoor enthusiasts.
We deem it to be a bucket list experience and fairly priced at $229-$239 plus tax per person.
Wild Africa Trek does have a height and age requirement. Guests must be at least eight-years-old and 48 inches tall to participate.
Wilderness Back Trail Adventure
Believe it or not, at one point, Segways were legal at Disney theme parks.
As usually happens with these things, a few people ruined it for everyone, forcing Disney to ban the transportation devices in 2004.
You may remember this story, as a few lawsuits arose.
Still, the Segway has remained a banned device at Disney for more than 20 years now… with one exception.
Guests can visit Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground to take the Wilderness Back Trail Adventure.
You’ll hop on a Segway X2, an all-terrain vehicle, and explore the outskirts of the dude ranch here.
Disney will train you on the Segway for 30 minutes, hand you a safety helmet and an electronic earpiece, and then send you into the wilderness.
As you would expect, there are caveats aplenty for this one. You must be at least 16-years-old and have a valid photo ID before Disney will allow you to drive a Segway.
You also must wear a helmet and weigh between 100 and 250 pounds to participate.
Additionally, you will sign a waiver, since Disney doesn’t want to be sued by reckless Segway drivers.
The tour lasts two hours and costs $99 plus tax per person.
We also want to alert you to the inclement weather policy.
Since the first half of the tour occurs indoors, Disney will only refund half the price in the event of rain.
We hope this goes without saying, but you should wear comfortable shoes for this tour. Flip-flops and sandals are every bit as banned as Segway is in the parks themselves.
Feature Image: Matt Stroshane, photographer