Other Entertaining Attractions

Richard Petty Driving Experience

Test Track is for sissies. The Richard Petty Driving Experience at WDW gives you a chance to do the real thing in a 600-horsepower Winston Cup car. How real is it? Expect to sign a two-page waiver that features words like DANGEROUS and CALCULATED RISK before you climb in. At one end of the spectrum, you can ride shotgun for a couple of laps at 145 mph ($105, including tax). At the other, spend from 3 hours to 2 days learning how to drive the car yourself and race fellow daredevils in 8 to 30 laps of excitement ($425-$1,330, including tax). Note: You must be 18 years old to do this. Hours and seasons vary. For reservations call tel. 800/237-3889, or head on the Web to www.1800bepetty.com.

DisneyQuest

The reaction that visitors have upon experiencing this popular attraction is often the same. No matter if it's from kids just reaching the video-game age, teens who are firmly hooked, or adults who never outgrew Pong, they leave saying: "Awesome!"

Four separate zones -- explore zone, a virtual adventureland; score zone, a superhero competition city; create zone, where imagination and invention rule; and replay zone, filled with classic games but in a futuristic setting -- ensures that everybody will be entertained . . . and likely for hours.

This five-level virtual-video arcade has everything from nearly old-fashioned pinball to virtual games and rides. Want appetizers?

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride puts you astride a motorcycle-like seat and flies through the 3-D Cave of Wonders. Invasion! An ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter has the same kind of intensity. Your mission is to save colonists from intergalactic bad guys. One player flies the virtual module while others fire weapons.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold puts you and three mates in 3-D helmets so that you can battle pirate ships virtual-reality style. One plays captain, steering your ship, while the others assume positions behind cannons to blast the black hearts into oblivion. Each time you do, you're rewarded with some doubloons, but beware of the sea monsters that can gobble you and your treasure. In the final moments, you come face to face with a ghost ship, which can send you to Davy Jones's Locker.

Try the Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam if you're a pinball fan. It's an interactive life-size game where you ride platforms and use body English to score points.

If you have an inventive mind, stop in at CyberSpace Mountain, where Bill Nye the Science-Turned-Roller-Coaster-Guy helps you create the ultimate loop-and-dipster, which you can then ride in a simulator (yes, you'll actually turn upside down). It's a major hit with the coaster-crazy crowd.

Finally, if you need some quiet time, sign up at Animation Academy for a minicourse in Disney cartooning (a drawback, however, is that you'll have to fork out yet more bucks just to keep your artwork). There are also snack and food areas for those who need something more tangible than virtual refreshment.

DisneyQuest (tel. 407/828-4600; www.disneyquest.com) is located in Downtown Disney West Side on Buena Vista Drive. The admission ($36 for adults, $30 for kids 3-9; prices don't include 6.5% sales tax) allows you unlimited play from 11:30am to 11pm (until midnight Fri-Sat). Unfortunately, heavy crowds tend to gather here after 1pm, which can cut into your fun and patience.

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Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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				Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2008 Author: Laura Lea Miller Pub Date: September 04, 2007 Price: $16.99				Related Titles: Beyond Disney: The Unofficial Guide to Universal SeaWorld & the Best of Central Florida, 5th Edition Frommer's Florida 2008 Frommer's Florida 2009