3. Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Dine with an Imagineer

Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)

Experience: Dine with an Imagineer at the Hollywood Brown Derby, price TBD (call for more information)

This is one for the history and engineering buffs. If you’ve ever wondered how Disney puts together an attraction, what elements of design and technology they’ve implemented around the parks, or just want to pick the brain of someone who has what might be the world’s coolest job, Disney’s Dine with an Imagineer experience is for you.

Be aware that this is a group meal, not a personal one, so you aren’t guaranteed to get any one-on-one time with Disney’s employees. That said, you’ll still have the opportunity to ask at least one question and soak in the conversation during your four-course meal. It’s also a great opportunity for younger guests to gain a new perspective and appreciation for the minds at work behind their favorite theme park.

Unlike some of Disney’s other tours and add-on experiences, this is one event that can be enjoyed over and over again without feeling canned. The Imagineer you dine with one day won’t be the same person whose company you enjoy on your next visit, so you have the opportunity to learn even more about Disney’s multifaceted departments and careers if you choose to partake in this meal on multiple occasions. This is also an experience that doesn’t have to be taken in at the parks, as it’s additionally offered at Cítricos in the Grand Floridian Resort.

4. Disney's Animal Kingdom: Hover over a bask of live crocodiles

Image: Jeff Christiansen, Flickr (license)

Tour: Wild Africa Trek, $189-249/adult

It’s no secret that Animal Kingdom is host—or, rather, home—to a plethora of wildlife, from sable antelope and scimitar-horned oryx to cheetahs and black rhinoceroses. While many species can be spotted from the camouflaged trucks of Kilimanjaro Safaris or the twin trails that run through Africa and Discovery Island, there are quite a few private experiences available to those craving a more intimate encounter.

One of the most extensive (and exclusive) is the Wild Africa Trek. Offered twice daily, barring thunder and lightning, this three-hour tour takes guests well beyond the boundaries of the park itself. Armed with little more than water bottles, courage, and sensible footwear, guests hike through brush, get up close and personal with gap-toothed hippos, and strap into sturdy harnesses as they venture across a dilapidated rope bridge—as scaly-backed Nile crocodiles bob out of reach just 10 feet below.

Of course, guests are never in any real danger, but that doesn’t make the moment any less exhilarating. (Take it from a true skeptic, one who, determined not to be duped by the incredible special effects on Flight of Passage, constantly fought the urge to bend down and pet the “banshee” she was riding.) It’s worth noting, too, that the steep price of the tour doesn’t include mandatory park admission, bringing the total price per person above $400 pre-discount.

Cheaper, shorter experiences are also available on a frequent basis, like the Caring for Giants ($30/adult), which allows guests a special viewing of and informational seminar about the park’s African elephants, or Starlight Safari ($74/adult), which takes visitors on a nighttime cruise through the wildlife-populated grounds of Animal Kingdom Lodge.

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Which Disney add-on experiences have made your vacations more memorable?