I had an unusual "Disney" question come up over the weekend.  "Is that a nuclear power plant near Disney?"

First, a little background story.  We went to Port Canaveral over the weekend for a tour of the new Disney Dream cruise ship.  On the way, you take the 528 toll road to get to Port Canaveral and from the bus, you can see two huge cooling towers at one of our power plants in Central Florida.  You can also see the towers as you fly into the Orlando International Airport, depending on your arrival flight path.  This caused someone to ask if these towers were a nuclear power facility so close to Disney World.

Well, the answer is no.  What was seen and what you may see on the way to your next Disney Cruise is the Stanton Energy Center.  The Center includes two coal-fired energy systems and one natural gas powered system.  NO nuclear power.

For the record, Florida has three nuclear power facilities.  One in Crystal River near the Gulf Coast north of the Tampa Bay area, one that's just south of Miami, and one in Port St. Lucie (near West Palm Beach).

So, the next time you're tooling along on your way to the Disney Cruise ships, you'll have the answer when someone asks, "Is that a nuclear power plant?"

If you're like me, you often wonder how Disney docks those giant cruise ships (it's just a quick look inside the mind of a crazy person).

Well, on our last cruise, we had a great view of the captain's outdoor helm, specifically for docking the ship. I took a lot of video of the process and boiled it down to the quick video you see, below. Enjoy!

Have you ever thought about doing a tour at Disney World?  What's a "tour," you may ask.  What tours are offered?  Disney tours provide behind-the-scenes looks at the Disney World property, as well as special guest experiences that you can only get on a tour (in other words, it's not part of the normal park experience).

Disney tours can provide that "once-in-a-lifetime" experience for any traveler of any age.  As if going to Disney World wasn't already a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you can take your little "train engineer" behind the scenes of Disney's steam-powered engines in the Magic Behind Our Steam Trains tour.  Maybe your a Disney trivia fanatic and you want to know more about what happens behind-the-scenes (and even underneath!) the Magic Kingdom -- the Keys To The Kingdom tour would satisfy all your Magic Kingdom cravings!

Here's the full list of tours available at Disney World:

Tour: Around the World at Epcot
Location: Epcot
When: daily
Duration: 2 hours
Ages: 16 & up
Cost : $95
Details: Guests "test drive" the Segway Human Transporter; weight maximum 250 lbs.; Epcot admission required (extra).

Tour: Backstage Magic
Location: MK, Epcot, Studios
When: M-F
Duration: 7 hours
Ages: 16 & up
Cost : $219
Details: Lunch included; no theme park admission required.

Tour: Backstage Safari
Location: Animal Kingdom
When: M, W, Th, F
Duration: 3 hours
Ages: 16 & up
Cost : $70
Details: Tour backstage animal facilities such as the veterinary hospital and elephant barn; Disney's Animal Kingdom admission required (extra).

Tour: Behind the Seeds
Location: Epcot/The Land
When: daily
Duration: 1 hour
Ages: all ages
Cost : $16/ages 10 and over, $12/ages 3-9
Details: Get a behind-the-scenes look at the agricultural world and greenhouse of The Land pavilion with visits to the fish farm and the chance to taste some of the produce grown on-site. Epcot admission required (extra).

Tour: Disney's Family Magic Tour
Location: Magic Kingdom
When: daily
Duration: 2½ hours
Ages: all ages
Cost : $30
Details: Magic Kingdom admission required (extra); this is a primer for first-time visitors with children, a skip (literally) through the magical lands.

Tour: DiveQuest
Location: Epcot/The Seas with Nemo & Friends
When: daily
Duration: 3 hours
Ages: 10 & up (*)
Cost : $175
Details: (*) Open-water scuba certification required; ages 10-16 must be diving with a parent or legal guardian; bring swimsuit (locker room provided); diving gear provided; no theme park admission required.

Tour: Dolphins in Depth
Location: Epcot/The Seas with Nemo & Friends
When: M-F
Duration: 3 hours
Ages: 13 & up (*)
Cost : $175
Details: (*) Minors must be accompanied by a guardian aged 18 and up; no theme park admission required; guests get up close and personal with the animals knee-deep in the water; swimsuit required.

Tour: Epcot Seas Aqua Tour
Location: Epcot/The Seas with Nemo & Friends
When: daily
Duration: 2½ hours
Ages: 8 & up (*)
Cost : $140
Details: (*) Parent or guardian must sign waiver for all minors aged 8-11 AND must participate in the program along with the minor; no theme park admission required; non-scuba-certified guests have an in-the-water experience with the animals using scuba-assisted snorkeling equipment (provided); swimsuit required; no observers permitted backstage; refreshments, T-shirt and group photo provided.

Tour: Keys to the Kingdom
Location: Magic Kingdom
When: daily
Duration: 4½ hours
Ages: 16 & up
Cost : $65
Details: Magic Kingdom admission required (extra); a look at history and philosophies behind the park; visits themed lands and backstage; lunch included at Columbia Harbor House.

Tour: Mickey's Magical Milestones Tour
Location: Magic Kingdom
When: M, W, F
Duration: 2 hours
Ages: all ages
Cost : $25
Details: Magic Kingdom admission required (extra); discover the magic of Mickey by visiting attractions and special locations retracing his famed career. Guests aged 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Tour: The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains
Location: Magic Kingdom
When: M-Sat
Duration: 3 hours
Ages: 10 & up
Cost : $45
Details: Magic Kingdom admission required (extra); no cameras; it's an inside look at the Walt Disney World Railroad and an opportunity to learn about Walt Disney's love of steam trains; see how the trains are prepared for their daily operation.

Tour: Undiscovered Future World
Location: Epcot
When: M, W, F
Duration: 4 hours
Ages: 16 & up
Cost : $55
Details: Epcot admission required (extra); hear stories about Walt Disney's ultimate dream; get rare glimpses at backstage areas.

Tour: Wild by Design
Location: Animal Kingdom
When: M, W, Th, F
Duration: 3 hours
Ages: 14 & up
Cost : $60
Details: Disney's Animal Kingdom admission required (extra); stories behind the making of the park - how art, architecture, artifacts and story-telling combine to transport guests to exotic lands; insight into the care of wild animals and their habitats; light continental breakfast provided. Guests aged 14-15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Tour: Yuletide Fantasy
Location: throughout WDW
When: Seasonal daily
Duration: 3½ hours
Ages: 16 & up
Cost : $69
Details: No theme park admission required; visits resorts and theme parks to see how holiday traditions are woven into decorations that turn Walt Disney World Resort into a winter wonderland.

Tour: Custom Guided Tours
Location: custom itinerary
When: by arrangement
Duration: minimum 6 hours
Ages: all ages
Cost : starting at $175 per hour
Details: Disney Special Activities phone number is 407/560-4033

You'll notice that that last one is a completely customizable tour!  Disney will work with anyone to bring their dreams come true in a personalized, custom tour!

You can see that the tours run the full gamut of interests and parks.  While the tours do cost a little extra, they're worth it!  Don't forget, your Authorized Disney Vacation Planner can help you book these tours, too.  Let someone else do the leg-work -- you just show up for your tour!

Ever wonder where the geographical center of Disney World is located? Well, maybe only the most fervent Disney geeks wonder about this little bit of trivia, but I'm one of those "geeks." Interestingly enough, the geographical center of Disney World is located in one of the parks! I took some video (some rather shaky video) of the location, this past weekend. It has several interesting quotes surrounding the spot (I filmed my personal favorite) as well as various milestones in history (including the birth of the internet -- but it didn't attribute that date to Al Gore -- interesting). Most of the time you would probably walk right over the spot, but you should stop to take it in the next time you're visiting Disney World.

By the way, did you notice I didn't mention which park you can find the spot? I'm sure you can tell from the video, but I thought I would leave that a little mystery for you to solve.

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