Staying at WDW doesn't have to be all about the parks. There are many activities to keep you busy. If you have bought a package, check to see if these activities are included in your price.

Golf

The WDW Resort offers ninety-nine holes of what Disney calls the world's greatest golf. The resort offers five championship eighteen-hole courses and a nine-hole walking course.

GOLF COURSES ON WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

Course	Par/Yards	Rating	Slope
Eagle Pines	72/6,772	72.3	131
Lake Buena Vista	72/6,820	72.7	128
Magnolia	72/7,190	73.9	133
Oak Trail	36/2,913	N/A	N/A
Osprey Ridge	72/7,101	73.9	135
Palm	72/6,957	73.0	133

In addition to the golf courses, the WDW Resort contains three full-service pro shops, four driving ranges, and four practice putting greens. If you don't feel like packing up your own clubs and bringing them with you to Orlando, all Disney courses rent Callaway golf clubs and FootJoy shoes. Private golf instruction from Disney's PGA professional staff is available by appointment, but you'll want to schedule your lessons as far in advance as possible. Keep in mind, proper golf attire is required on all of Disney's golf courses. Shirts with collars and Bermuda-length shorts are part of the dress code.

WDW Resort guests can reserve tee times up to ninety days in advance, and day guests can reserve up to thirty days in advance by calling (407) WDW-GOLF (939-4653). All reservations must be guaranteed with a major credit card.

For more information about the golfing opportunities available at the WDW Resort and for current rates, call (407) WDW-GOLF, or visit the special Web site at www.golf.disneyworld.com. Special golf vacation packages are also offered throughout the year. Call (407) 939-7677 for travel package information. January through April is the busiest golfing season at Disney.

Miniature Golf

If mini-golf is more your thing, there are miniature golf courses on WDW Resort property. For example, there's the family-oriented Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf and Garden Pavilions, which offers two whimsical eighteen-hole miniature golf courses and a 22,000-square-foot outdoor meeting facility located near Epcot and the Disney-MGM Studios.

Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex

In addition to the ESPN Club and ESPN Store at Disney's Board-Walk, the WDW Resort also offers Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, which hosts all sorts of professional and amateur sporting events throughout the year and is the permanent training location for the Harlem Globetrotters. Tickets to the premium sporting events that take place at this complex can be obtained by calling TicketMaster at (407) 839-3900.

Disney's Wide World of Sports is a 200-acre complex that contains sports fields, baseball diamonds, tracks, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a 7,500-seat stadium, designed to accommodate professional teams and amateurs alike in more than thirty different sports.

A flat one-price daily admission gives guests access to watch as many nonpremium events as they'd like throughout the day and tour the complex. For ticket prices and admission information, see Chapter 3.

To reach Disney's Wide World of Sports, take the WDW bus service, or by car, take I-4 to The Magic Kingdom exit (25), then follow the signs. Parking is free. The D-Sports Shop located in the complex sells a wide range of official NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL merchandise and clothing. There are also several other sports-oriented shops that sell equipment, apparel, memorabilia, and souvenirs.

Drive a Racecar

Champion driver Richard Petty has teamed up with Disney to offer the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Walt Disney World Speedway. Now you can experience what it's like to drive an actual two-seat stock car around a professional track at speeds of up to 145 miles per hour.

The basic Riding-Along Experience ($89 to $125) allows you to be in the passenger seat of a two-seat stock car as a professional driver takes you for three laps around the track. The Rookie Experience ($349 to $499) puts you in the driver's seat for eight laps around the one-mile tri-oval track, in a car that can reach 125 miles per hour. The upgraded King's Experience ($749 to $1,199) offers sixteen laps of driving divided into two eight-lap sessions. The Experience of a Lifetime ($1,199 to $1,249) allows you to participate in a thirty-lap program (which is divided into three ten-lap sessions). You'll receive professional instruction designed to teach you the basics of racing.

The Walt Disney World Speedway is open to spectators, who can watch nonprofessional races, free of charge, between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. daily (weather permitting). For more information about the Richard Petty Driving Experience, call (800) BE-PETTY or visit the Web site at www.1800bepetty.com.

Tennis Anyone?

Disney's Wide World of Sports complex offers several clay courts, plus there are over twenty-five additional courts located at the various WDW Resort hotels. Disney's Racquet Club at the Contemporary Resort offers six courts, plus a pro shop and private instruction. Court time can be reserved between 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. daily. Some lighted courts are available and are open until 9:00 P.M.

Other court locations include: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (two clay courts), Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground (two hard courts), Disney's Yacht Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort (two hard courts), Disney's Old Key West Resort (three hard courts), and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. All are lighted for night play.

For the best court times, you'll have to plan ahead. Reservations are taken up to one year in advance for the courts at Disney's Racquet Club, as well as at many of the other WDW Resort hotel locations. For many of the courts, the rental fee is $15 per hour; however, some of them are free of charge.

For more information about Disney's Racquet Club and where you can play tennis at the WDW Resort, call (407) 824-3578. For information about any of the tennis courts at the WDW Resort, call (407) WDW-PLAY.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

At various locations throughout the WDW Resort, you can rent various types of boats by the half-hour or by the hour. Renting a boat is a wonderful and relatively inexpensive way to spend a morning or afternoon enjoying the outdoors, without dealing with crowds at one of the Disney theme parks.

Boats available for rent include canoes, canopy boats, pedal boats, pontoon boats, sailboats, and speedboats. You can also go parasailing or waterskiing. Many of these boating activities can be done from the various hotels located along the Seven Seas Lagoon, Crescent Lake, or Buena Vista Lagoon. To rent any of the boats at the WDW Resort, you must be a guest at any WDW Resort hotel and have a valid driver's license or passport. No privately owned boats are allowed to be used anywhere on WDW property. Some restrictions apply in regard to minors renting boats. Check with any WDW Resort hotel for details or to reserve a boat.

There's Even Bass Fishing

Back in the mid-1960s, Bay Lake, which is located on Disney property, was stocked with 70,000 bass. Well, those fish have multiplied, making for a wonderful fishing opportunity. If you want to partake in the fishing activities, you must sign up for one of the Fishing Excursions that take place throughout the day. Reservations are required. Call (407) 828-2204 (Downtown Disney Fishing Excursion), (407) 934-5409 (The Fishing Hole), or (407) 824-2621 (WDW Golf and Recreation Reservations).

All fish that are caught must be released. Fishing equipment is provided. The price for a two-hour Fishing Excursion ranges from about $50 to $70 per person. Up to five people can participate in each excursion. The cost of a five-person tour is $160, with a departure in early morning, midmorning, or afternoon.

Spas

If an afternoon of indulging yourself sounds more like your cup of tea, WDW has three spas on property to choose from. You will find them at the Grand Floridian Spa & Health Club, the Spa at Saratoga Springs, and Manadra Spa at the Dolphin. Spa treatments are available at Animal Kingdom Lodge, BoardWalk, Contemporary, Coronado, Wilderness Lodge, and the Yacht Club.

Horse and Carriage Rides

Three WDW resorts offer-horse-and carriage rides: Fort Wilderness Campground, Port Orleans Riverside, and Saratoga Springs. The cost is $35 for thirty minutes. You can only pay cash or use your room card for payment. Any food or beverages you care to bring are allowed. Simply make reservations at any front desk or concierge desk.

Movie Theater

While escaping to the movies is something that you can do at home, you may find yourself with a rainy day here and there while on WDW property and looking for something to do indoors. At Downtown Disney there is an AMC movie theater with twenty-four screens. The theaters have sport-stadium seating and theaters one and two have balconies.