There is so much to see and do in Disney World that it’s easy to miss some of the great details. I’m not just talking about the restaurants and hotels either; I’m talking about some of the cool things that cast members do.
Have you heard of Disney Floral and Gifts? Jean Volante, who is the Manager of Dream Making for Disney Floral and Gifts, is sharing ideas for Valentine’s Day on Disney Parks Blog. Her ideas are fun and it’s definitely worth it to poke around the website. I had never really taken the time to look around and see everything they have to offer, but I made time today because I was curious. They have a lot of cute and fun packages available! I’ll highlight some of them here, but if you are looking to add a little extra something to a celebration or for the beginning of your trip, you should definitely check out their website.
I will preface this post by saying that we have not ordered any of these packages. My opinions and descriptions are based on what I have seen on the website. Also, I have only been through the Disney World section, because that is where we go, but I’m sure the Disneyland ones are the same or very similar. They have a wide variety of things to choose from, whether it’s for a specific holiday, a birthday, a congratulations, or another type of celebration, they seem to have you covered with their package themes. You can even build your own package! Lots to look at on the website, so here are some of my favorites:
1. Mickey and Minnie’s Grand Magical Welcome (Family 2015) – This is my favorite. There is so much that comes with this package and I really want to order it for our next trip, but the price tag is a bit of a hindrance. Before I drop the price tag bomb on you, I’ll give you an idea of what is in this package. First, you will see a character banner on your door which features a Mickey window with mail slot and mail. When you walk in the room you will see Mickey footprints and castle luminaries. Both Mickey and Minnie will have left magical bins filled with goodies for the family. In the bins you will find things like Glow With the Show ears, treats from Minnie’s bakery, autograph books, a Toon Town Times newspaper (featuring your family’s last name in the headlines), beach towels, and more. There really is a lot of cool stuff with this package. OK, now for the sticker shock…$549.95. Yep, it’s not cheap, it’s not even inexpensive…it’s very expensive, but it looks like such a fun way to start the trip! I’ll start saving my pennies and we’ll see if we end up ordering it for our arrival day. Fingers crossed!
The Mickey and Minnie Grand Magical Welcome (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
2. Mickey’s Magical Welcome (Family 2015) – This is a scaled down version of the Mickey and Minnie Grand Magical Welcome. It has a lot of the same things, but it is missing certain things. For instance, it has regular mouse ears instead of the Glow With the Show ears that come with the more expensive package. There is only one bin of goodies instead of two. It does still have the Mickey footprints and the luminaries, which is a feature I think is really cute. It also still comes with the character door banner with the Mickey window and mail slot with mail, which is also a pretty fun feature. So if the $549 caused your jaw to hit the floor, you can always opt for this one. Not that the Mickey’s Magical Welcome is cheap either, but at $349.95, it’s $200 less and you still get a lot of cool welcome goodies.
Mickey’s Magical Welcome (Family 2015) (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
3. Mickey and Pals Big Birthday Wish – Disney is always great when it comes to celebrating birthdays and this is no different. There are a couple of fun options for birthday surprises. The first one is the more expensive of the two ($395) and it includes a “surprise” banner on your room door, colorful boxes that have been left by Mickey and his friends, a singing Mickey Mouse birthday balloon, and more. Plus, Tinker Bell has left behind a Pixie Dust surprise. It sounds like this would be a fun surprise for both children and adults.
Mickey and Pals Big Birthday Wish (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
4. Mickey’s Birthday Wish – This is the scaled down version of the Mickey and Pals Birthday Wish. You still get the singing balloon, the birthday ears, the banner, and other things included in the bigger package. However, instead of multiple packages from Mickey and his friends, it’s one package from Mickey. It is still a fun package and comes with a lot of things that both kids and adults with love. The price of this package is $215.
Mickey’s Birthday Wish (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
5. A Royal Welcome – This is a more affordable surprise to have waiting in your room. It comes with a princess autograph book, a pen, a light-up tiara (not sure if it is plastic) and lollipops (at least that’s what the heart shaped items look like in the picture). This package will run you just $36.95. So it is definitely cheaper than the other packages I have listed.
A Royal Welcome (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
6. Pampered Princess – This is for all the women who need some relaxing time. This comes with everything you need to pamper yourself: bath crystals, body wash, hydrating lotion, a super comfy looking robe, tiara (because every woman deserves a tiara!), and more. This looks like a nice package for relaxing and the price is not cheap, but it’s not terrible for all that you get ($230).
Pampered Princess (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
7. Star Tours Adventure Pack – This looks like a pretty awesome package for anyone who is a Star Wars fan. I mean, it comes with a light saber and a light-up lanyard! Those are only a couple of things that come in this fun looking package. Again, not cheap, but you do get a fair amount of Star Wars themed stuff. The Star Tours Adventure Pack will cost $153.95.
Star Tours Adventure Pack (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
8. First Mate’s Treasure – If you have someone who loves playing pirate games, this might be a good one. It comes with a hat, a sword, a hook, treasure, and more. It looks pretty cute. This one is one of the less expensive packages, costing $63.95.
First Mate’s Treasure (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
9. Minnie’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Treat Bag – They have a Mickey version too and the only difference seems to be that it comes with a plush Mickey instead of a plush Minnie. I was curious about the Halloween packages, because we are going to the Halloween party this year, and these look like something that would be fun to get for the kids. You get the plush doll, a light-up treat bag (with optional name tag), treats in the bag, a light-up lanyard, glow tattoos, and autograph book. It sounds like a good way to have you child prepared for trick-or-treating in the parks! These cost $79.95 each.
Minnie’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Bag (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
10. A Magical Wish (Romance) – This package comes with a bracelet with Disney’s exclusive Swarovski crystal and charms that say “Dream, Wish, and Believe.” Plus it comes with a sparkly wand…anything that comes with a sparkly wand works for me! Considering you get jewelry and the wand, the price isn’t too bad ($129.95).
A Magical Wish-Romance (Photo from Disney Floral and Gifts)
This list is only a very small sample of what is available on the website. As I said earlier, you can also customize your own package, but they have so many different packages to choose from. Whether you are looking for a princess package, Pixar, Mickey and Friends, balloons, specific holiday packages, special occasion packages, or even a floral arrangement, you can find it on Disney Floral and Gifts. I am having so much fun looking around the website and planning (or dreaming in some cases) of which package we would get for our arrival day. It’s just one more way to add a little extra magic to your Disney vacation!
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
You can reserve a car and a time online at Exotic Driving Experience Orlando Track and Disney also has some info on their website, Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World Speedway. The cost depends on the car you reserve and how many laps you want to do. They also have gift cards available on the website.
Once your driving day has rolled around you now need to find your way to the Speedway. If you have a car, I would recommend just driving there. If you are staying on property you will have to take a few different modes of transportation to get there. First you will need to take a bus or monorail to get to the Magic Kingdom and then hop on the ferry that will take you to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). Once you are at the TTC, make your way to the Lost and Found building (it is a tiny building off to the side).When you get to the Lost and Found building a shuttle will come to pick you up and take you to the Walt Disney World Speedway. It almost feels like you are making your way to some super secret underground group or something and will need a password to get in when you finally get there. Don’t worry though, no password needed. At least on the ferry ride you get to see some of Disney’s beautiful hotels.
Once you have arrived at the Speedway you will need to go to the back to check in. They will take your name and give you a lanyard that has a flash drive on it. The flash drive will be plugged into the car when you start driving and will give you a video of your driving experience as well as your stats.
After you have checked in and received your lanyard, there is a class that all drivers must attend before getting in the car. The class lasted around 30 minutes, with the video they show, and they give you a rundown of all the cars and safety procedures. One thing to be aware of is that the instructor in the car with you does have control of the throttle, so you can’t get too out of control. They don’t have their own brake, but they can dial down the speed, if you’re getting too crazy.
When they class is over, everyone will make their way out to the cars. Here is where you will get your picture taken with the car. You will have the option to buy those pictures later (you can get them on a plaque too). There may be multiple people driving the same car, so they will let you know where in line you fall to drive the car. My husband was supposed to drive the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Supperleggera, but his height was a problem. Since each driver has to wear a helmet, it can be tricky if you are on the taller side to drive the Lamborghinis. He was told he could try the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, but his knees might be close to the key fob and if he broke the key fob it would cost $1500. So, he opted for their other offer…he had to settle for the Ferrari 430 Scuderia (poor baby).
Since he was not able to drive the car we booked, and that package was more expensive, they gave him an extra couple of laps to make up the difference, which was really nice of them. Once the driver is in the car with the instructor they plug in their flash drive to start recording their experience. Here are a few screenshots from the flash drive.
The first couple of laps the instructor will have you take it slow so you can get a feel for the car. Once you have been around the track 2 or 3 times they will let you open up. It’s pretty cool to watch (there is a viewing area on the other side of the building for friends and family to watch the drivers) and the sounds of all the different supercars is pretty amazing. They allow three cars on the track at the same time and if you end up passing someone when you get to the passing section, they will give you an extra lap. My husband had a blast with the Ferrari and we had fun watching!
A video of one lap around the track. (The video is a little shaky, sorry! )
After you have finished all of your laps, you can head inside and look at your video and pictures to decide if you want to buy them. They will also give you a print out of your laps with your times.
This was a great experience for all of us. My husband had so much fun driving the car and we had a lot of fun watching him and all the other cars. It can be on the pricey side (depending what package you get) but if you have a gear head in the family, the experience is definitely worth it. He’s already thinking about which car he wants to drive during our next trip and maybe I’ll drive one too!
If you do decide to do the Exotic Driving Experience and are staying on property, just make sure to leave enough time to get there. Remember, you have to take 3 different modes of transportation and that can take some time. One other thing to note, they don’t take Magicbands. While they are located on Disney property, they are not actually part of Disney. So make sure to have a credit card, cash, or Exotic Driving gift cards on you, since they operate separately.
So, bottom line, it may take some time to get there and it can be expensive, but I definitely recommend it!
Thanks for reading!
Liz ⁰o⁰
mainstreetwishes.com
