Eight Unique Vacation Activities at Walt Disney World
Are you the adventurous type? Would you rather do something unusual during a vacation than follow the beaten path? Well, I have some great news! I always mean it when I say that The Walt Disney Company caters to every possible kind of tourist, even those who prefer the road less traveled. Here are eight unique vacation activities at Walt Disney World.
Dive into the Living Seas
Scuba divers, take note! You should relish a rare opportunity to explore one of the largest aquariums in the world!
Epcot’s DiveQuest takes place at The Seas with Nemo & Friends, formerly known as The Living Seas. When Disney opened the aquarium, it was the biggest one in the world, and it’s still way up there. The Caribbean Coral Reef is a 5.7-million-gallon saltwater aquarium that provides a home to more than 6,000 types of sea creatures.
For a set fee, $179 at the time of publication, an adult may participate in a three-hour event in these waters. Your actual dive time is 40 minutes, and it comes with a special bonus. Family members who don’t want to dive can watch you from windows within the aquarium! You can show off your diving skills to all of your friends.
Get Surfing Lessons
Have you always wanted to learn how to surf? You can hang 10 in the safest possible environment during your Disney vacation. Typhoon Lagoon, one of the two water parks on campus, hosts pre-park surfing lessons. Whether you’ve never surfed before or you are an intermediate surfer trying to improve, cast members can help.
I should warn you that surfing lessons are expensive everywhere. It’s no different at Disney. You’ll pay $190 per tutorial session, a reasonable amount for high-quality training. You’ll also get to see Typhoon Lagoon when it’s empty, which is a pretty strong selling point.
Live with the Land
Living with the Land represents the best of Disney. It’s a green-friendly initiative with a noble goal: eradicating world hunger. Imagineers run a series of biomes, natural habitats where they grow foods. You can look at these locations during the attraction. However, you’ll understand what’s involved much better by taking a tour.
The Behind the Seeds Tour takes guests through four different greenhouses and a fish farm. You can watch the feeding frenzies of fish schools, and you can hold gigantic fruits and vegetables that Disney specially grows here. This $25 tour will help you feel better informed about the food chain and the future of agriculture.
Mail a Coconut to a Loved One
When you’re on vacation, your heart still belongs with your loved ones back home. While society has moved away from physical mail, postcards are still a thing to some. At Walt Disney World, postcards should be a thing for all travelers, because something is available that’s spectacular.


Photo: WDWforGrownups.com
You can mail a coconut as a postcard to a loved one.
I’m not joking. Three stores at Walt Disney World sometimes sell coconut postcards. Boutiki at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Calypso Trading Post at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and Plaza del Sol Caribe Bazaar at the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop in Magic Kingdom are where you’ll find them. Please understand that they’re not always available for sale at each of these locations, though.
The process is precisely what it sounds like. You’ll find a hollowed-out coconut that has a To and From label on the front of it. You’ll notice that it has priority postage already stamped on it. All you do is fill in the names, and you’re ready to send your super-strange, truly unforgettable postcard!


Photo: WDWforGrownups.com
Play Arcade Games
Are you a gamer? Well, I’m right there with you, as my gaming days go all the way back to Zork and Yar’s Revenge. And I know how much gamers want to scratch that itch, even at the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Well, Disney has us covered! Many of the resorts feature arcade sections, places where you can play some of the latest games plus timeless classics. Whether you’re into Fruit Ninja, Guitar Hero, Temple Run, Dance Dance Revolution, or Galaga, you’ll find a game here.
Plus, some classic arcade non-digital offerings like Skee-Ball are available. Sure, you can play games on your smartphone, too, but arcade games will always have a special place in the hearts of true gamers.
Receive a Musical Haircut
During your lifetime, you’ve heard the term ‘barbershop quartet’ so regularly that you’ve taken it for granted. Presuming you’re like me, you’ve forgotten the key word there. A barbershop quartet gets its name from a time when members of society, mostly men, hung out at barbershops and started to sing together.
Disney has embraced the barbershop quartet concept since the 1950s. The Dapper Dans have sung their way into the hearts of Disney fans for 60 years now and were an integral part of Magic Kingdom from the beginning.
What you might not realize about them is that they have a home base, a fully functioning barbershop right there on Main Street, U.S.A. At the Harmony Barber Shop, you can get a regular haircut while oblivious park guests walk by.
This place is almost hidden in plain sight. Honestly, few people believe me when I tell them that for $19, they can put the barbershop in barbershop quartet.
Ride in an Air Balloon
Are you afraid of heights? If so, this suggestion’s out the window. Those of you who don’t mind a bit of elevation will find it addictive, though.
At Disney Springs, you’ve surely noticed the giant air balloon that sometimes ascends into the sky. What you may not know is that you can ride it. Aérophile S.A., a company that bills itself as “The world leader in balloon flight,” operates the world’s largest tethered balloon.
Called Characters in Flight, this balloon ride costs $20 per person. You’ll soar into the air and look down on Walt Disney World from an otherwise impossible perspective. It’s something that every Disney fan should have on their bucket list…unless they’re afraid of heights.
Take a Pirate Cruise.
No, not that one. Pirates of the Caribbean isn’t the place on the Disney campus where you can shout, “Yo ho, Yo ho!” and admire a pirate’s life.
At Walt Disney World, you’ll have your choice of several different pirate cruises. Most of them target children, as Disney sells two-hour sailing adventures for guests aged 4-12.
Adults needn’t feel left out, though. Disney also hosts the Pirates & Pals Fireworks Dessert Voyage. During this paid experience, you’ll receive all of the sugary treats you can imagine plus a splendid concoction called Pirate Punch. Then, you’ll board a pirate boat and watch the closest thing to cannonball fire these days, the nightly fireworks presentation at Magic Kingdom. Yar! That sounds like a great time, right?