Richard Petty Driving Experience

Are you looking for the ultimate thrill ride during your next trip to Walt Disney World®? Complete your next Orlando vacation by driving or riding in a 600HP NASCAR race car. A racing experience with Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World® Speedway is where grown-up dreams come true. There is no better memory of Orlando than roaring around the track at speeds of up to 120 MPH while your friends and family cheer you on from pit road.

Walt Disney World Speedway, located in Orlando, FL, is a 1 mile tri-oval. It was built in 1995 as a venue for the Izod IndyCar Series and is now the exclusive home to Richard Petty Driving Experience year-round.

Get behind the wheel and feel your adrenaline pumping as you race around the mile-long, tri-oval racetrack! Experience the thrill of a lifetime as you go for 8, 18 or even 30 laps. You can also ride-along in the passenger seat for 3 heart-pounding laps with one of our professional instructors.

All participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.


Choose from the following experiences:

Ride-Along Experience

•Experience real life racing thrills by riding shotgun in a 2-seat stock car driven by one of our professional instructors for a 3-lap NASCAR qualifying run at speeds up to 145 MPH. Ride-Along participants must be at least 16 years old.
Driving Experiences
•Rookie Experience (8 laps over 1 session)

Your hands are on the wheel, your foot is on the gas and you are in the driver's seat for 8 laps around the track.

•King's Experience (18 laps over 2 sessions)

Satisfy your need for speed while trying to tame the speedway in this high-thrill, 18-lap program.
•Experience of a Lifetime (30 laps over 3 sessions)

Think you can handle 30 laps of white-knuckled, heart-pounding acceleration? Improve your driving line, increase your speed and consider a career change.
Participants must be at least 18 years old with a valid driver's license and be able to drive a standard transmission. Driving experiences require reservations.

Each program lasts approximately three hours, but the memories last a lifetime!

Grand Gatherings

A Grand Gathering is defined as a party of eight or more guests (ages 3 and up*) staying at a Walt Disney World® Resort hotel.

Take advantage of exclusive itinerary planning assistance and add special functions designed for groups. A dedicated team of Grand Gatherings Travel Planners at the Disney Reservation Center will assist in booking resort hotel rooms and packages, arranging special Grand Gathering Experiences, dining, golf, and spa reservations, as well as pre-order merchandise.


Grand Gathering Experiences
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International Dinner & Illuminations Dessert Reception

This event is hosted by "Auntie Roz" at Epcot's Odyssey Restaurant. Served buffet style, this International dinner features the cuisine from five different nations.

While enjoying your meal, storytelling and live musical entertainment is provided. This event features some of your favorite Disney Characters who join the guests on the dance floor.
If you're celebrating a special occasion, just let Auntie Roz know and she'll take it from there.

Once you've enjoyed your evening of food and fun, you're escorted to a reserved viewing area for the nightly "Illuminations: Reflections of Earth" where a delicious dessert buffet is served.

Disney Dining Plan: 2 Table Service credits
Meeting location: Odyssey Restaurant
Valid theme park admission is required

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Safari Celebration Dinner

This special event begins with an end of day Kilimanjaro Safari ride. You'll meet your guide in Disney's Animal Kingdom's Asia section and be taken on your tour.

Following your Safari is dinner in the Tusker House Restaurant. Featuring African inspired cuisine, your all you care to eat dinner is served family style.

While enjoying your meal, Disney Characters will be available for photos and fun. As an added treat, you'll get an up close look at a few of Animal Kingdom's exotic species.

Birthdays and special occasions will be given recognition.

Disney Dining Plan: 2 Table Service credits
Meeting location: Flights of Wonder Theater
Valid theme park admission is required

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Good Morning Gathering

Ciao! and welcome to Tony's Town Square Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. Here Tony invites you to enjoy a delicious all you care to eat breakfast. Mickey and Friends are there for treasured photos and fun interaction.

Tony will be happy to note special occasions. Guests celebrating anniversaries will be serenaded with "Bella Notte," the classic song from Disney's Lady & the Tramp. Following this memorable start to your day, you'll have preferred entry to "Mickey's PhilharMagic."

Meeting location: Tony's Town Square Restaurant
Valid theme park admission is required
Available with the Dining plan as well

Phineas and Ferb “know what they’re gonna do today”

And I know where I want to go! Disney World has announced that Phineas and Ferb, animated characters in a popular Disney Channel show, will begin interacting with guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in May.



The experience is billed as a play-and-greet where Phineas and Ferb actually “know what they’re gonna do today” — they’re making a movie about all their crazy adventures. With the help of guests and movie director Cletus Filmore, they will recreate some of their favorite moments. But there will be plenty of time for breaks to meet with their fans, sign autographs and take pictures.



The Phineas and Ferb meet-and-play will be located near the exit to Muppet*Vision 3-D.

Phineas and Ferb made their first appearance in the Disney Parks when they rode in the the 2009 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade at Disneyland.

Aulani's Exhilarating Water Feature will Provide Adventure and Fun for All Ages

The Waikolohe Stream, inspired by the natural landscape of the islands themselves, will provide adventure and fun for all ages when Aulani opens to Guests in August 2011.

Waikolohe means “mischievous water,” and it’s a fitting name for the floating tube journey along Waikolohe Stream. Guests will launch into the water starting with an exhilarating water slide into a course that will take adventurers through an eye-catching lava outcropping (called Pu`u Kino) and through misty caverns dotted by beads of sunlight that will find their way through the rock. The occasional hot spring will blow off a little steam, while cooler and more “mischievous” fountain springs will surprise explorers with a bit of “added refreshment.”

Disney Fantasy Begins to Take Shape

On Feb. 11, 2011, Disney Cruise Line® celebrated the keel laying of the Disney Fantasy™ at the Meyer Werft shipyard. This is the second of two newly designed ships that take the family cruise experience to all-new heights. The sister ship to the Disney Fantasy, the Disney Dream™ entered service on Jan. 26, 2011.

The keel laying ceremony is a significant milestone in the ship building process when the first block, or section of the ship, is lowered into the building dock and a coin is placed under the keel for good fortune. Placing the coin was Karl Holz, President of Disney Cruise Line, assisted by Minnie Mouse.

The Disney Fantasy will offer many of the innovations that the Disney Dream currently features and brought to the cruise industry for the very first time, including AquaDuck -- the world’s first shipboard water coaster. However, the Disney Fantasy will feature a few new design elements and Guest experiences that will give the ship a unique identity all her own.

The 4,000-passenger Disney Fantasy will sail weeklong Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral, Fla., beginning with its maiden voyage scheduled for March 31, 2012. In addition, the Western Caribbean itinerary will change to feature a stop at Costa Maya. Bookings are now open for sail dates through August 2012.

Date night at Palo

We really enjoy our date night at Palo. It is a 130-seat, Adult Exclusive restaurant that boasts Northern Italian cuisine for dinner nightly, in addition to brunch on 4-night and longer cruises, and high tea on 7-night and longer cruises.

Named after the signature long poles used to push and pull gondolas in and around Venice, Palo is the preeminent venue for Disney dining on the high seas. Boasting elegant Venetian glass, inlaid wood paneling and sweeping 270-degree panoramic ocean views thanks to the restaurant's elegant floor-to-ceiling windows and semi-circular layout, Palo is the perfect setting for Guests 18 years of age or older looking for a more intimate—and more romantic—dining experience. Venetian masks adorning the walls, a backlit bar at the restaurant's center and an open kitchen only add to the magic.

Palo Reservations
Reservations are required and can be made online or upon boarding the ship. When dining at Palo, Guests will skip the regularly scheduled Main Dining restaurant.

Online reservations are available at the following times:

Platinum Castaway Club, Suites/Concierge, Weddings/Vow Renewal, VIP, Media and Make a Wish Guest Types: 120 days in advance
Gold Castaway Club: 105 days in advance
Silver Castaway Club: 90 days in advance
All Other Reservations: 75 days in advance
An additional charge is required to dine at Palo:

Dinner: $20 dining charge, per person
Brunch: $20 dining charge, per person
High Tea: $10 dining charge, per person
Please note prices are subject to change without notice.

When Guests have not cancelled a dining reservation at Palo or Remy by 2:00 p.m. on the day of the reservation or do not show to the restaurant to honor their reservation, the reservation is considered confirmed and 100% of the Dining Option is applied to the Guests' folio.

Dress Code
A dress shirt or jacket is required for men and a dress or pantsuit is required for women. No jeans allowed. At brunch and high tea, attire is cruise casual, meaning no shorts, jeans, swimwear or tank tops.

Dinner
Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. nightly; the final reservation time is 9:00 p.m.

Over subtle classical Italian music, Palo boasts the best in fine Northern Italian dining, serving a varied selection of tantalizing favorites with a mouth-watering contemporary twist.

Although subject to change, dinnertime menu items may include:

Appetizers/Soups & Salads:
Sicilian Pesto Marinated Shrimp Salad
Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Polenta with a Roasted Shallot Sauce
Main Courses:
Lobster and Mascarpone Ravioli
Risotto di Mare
Pumpkin and Broccoli with Shrimp and Grappa Sauce
Penne Arrabbiata
Chicken Braciola
Garlic Roasted Rack of Lamb
Brunch
Brunch is served from 10:30 a.m. to noon while the ship is out at sea during Disney 4-Night and longer cruises. During visits to Key West, brunch is served from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Check the Personal Navigator—the Disney Cruise Line daily newsletter detailing all there is to see and do—for specific dates and times of activities while onboard.

Palo continues its commitment to fine Italian dining, offering a varied selection of classic favorites with a contemporary twist.

Although subject to change, Palo Brunch offerings may include:

A Selection of Baked Breads and Pastries
Grilled Marinated Vegetables
Alaska King Crab Legs
Homemade Pizzas
Smoked Salmon and Mixed Greens
Freshly-made Pancakes
Tiramisu
Lemon Meringue Pie
Champagne, along with specialty drinks like Mimosas and delicious ice-cream blended smoothies, may be purchased for an additional cost.

Open seating is available when dining at Palo for brunch, meaning you and your family are invited to dine at any table you choose.

Vegetarian delights include assorted cereals, salads, fresh fruits and berries and a selection of cheeses.

High Tea
High Tea is served from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. while the ship is out at sea on Disney 7-Night and longer cruises. Check the Personal Navigator—the Disney Cruise Line daily newsletter detailing all there is to see and do—for specific dates and times of activities while onboard.

Amid an elegant upscale environment, Palo invites you to relax and unwind during your cruise vacation with a soothing selection of traditional, flavored and herbal teas, finger foods and desserts to delight even the most discerning palates.

Although subject to change, High Tea offerings may include:

A Selection of Premium Teas
High Tea Finger Sandwiches
Warm scones and a Selection of Jams
Chocolate Eclairs

Palo at High Tea also offers espresso, café latte, cappuccino, mineral water, café mocha, café mélange, sparkling water, and a full selection of wine and mixed drinks for an additional cost.

Romantic Vista Spa Villa for Two

One of our favorite dates is having a couples massage on our curise!

Amenities at the Spa Villas include:
Spa treatment rooms
Couples massages
Private verandah
Personal whirlpool
Open air shower
Roman bed with canopy
Tea Ceremony
Foot Cleansing Ceremony
Pamper yourself by relaxing in a soothing whirlpool, or feel tensions melt away amidst incredible ocean vistas and warm tropical breezes from an ideal perch on a canopied Roman bed. Treatments at the marvelous Villas range from 105-minute individual sessions to ultra-decadent 155-minute sessions for couples.

Included with every reservation are:
Tea ceremony
Bathing ritual of your choice
Foot cleansing ceremony
For an extra fee, you can even have a bottle of champagne, strawberries and additional treatments added to your private session—tailor-made to deliver you into blissful divinity.

Couple's Choice
Duration 130 min
Price $475
The Couple's Choice delivers 130 minutes of comfort and pleasure, and includes a 75-minute spa treatment of your choice. Select from a range of treatments, including the Elemis Aroma Stone Therapy, an Elemis Cellutox Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap, an Elemis Musclease Aroma Spa Ocean Wrap, an Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow with half-body massage, an Exotic Frangipani Body Nourish Wrap with half-body massage, or an Exotic Coconut Rub & Milk Ritual Wrap with half-body massage. This sensual package may be booked online or onboard at the Vista Spa.

Romantic Hideaway
Duration 120 min
Price $449
The Romantic Hideaway package offers irresistible relaxation and rejuvenation options. Select the La Thérapie HydraLift Facial, an Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Facial, an Elemis Deep Tissue Muscle Massage, a Swedish Massage, or an Elemis Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow with half-body massage. Please note this enchanting package may only be booked onboard at the Vista Spa & Salon.

Ultimate Indulgence
Duration 150 min
Price $589
The Ultimate Indulgence package combines our most sumptuous pleasures—a revolutionary Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Facial and our soothing Elemis Deep Tissue Muscle Massage—in an unforgettable retreat into ecstasy for the body and spirit. Couples seeking quiet time together will find this package ideal. The facial miraculously rejuvenates and reduces signs of aging, while the massage brings the body into balance. Please note this heavenly package may only be booked onboard at the Vista Spa & Salon.

The Dream's Senses Spa & Salon looks incredible! It spans two decks. Guests who have booked a treatment are welcome to relax and linger in the Relax Room, as well as enjoy the rainforest-themed aromatherapy steam room. Discover the benefits of steam, heat and hydrotherapy combined with the power of aromatherapy to relax the mind and body. Specialized areas within the Rainforest room include a Hamam (steam bath), a Caldarium (steam room) and Laconium (dry sauna). The Dream spa offers the same couple's villa choices.