Howdy Disney friends!
My 6 year old son is really interested in the behind the scenes of the parks, especially the design, construction and operation aspects of Imagineering. He studies the various Imagineering books, he checks the front page of WDW Magic for construction updates almost daily, he watches ride POV videos on YouTube, he wistfully talks about the luck people who post after-hours ride walk through videos, and on and on. We're going to be at WDW at the end of August and I'm trying to find some way for him to get more than just the Guest side of the parks.
Back when I was a kid in the 80s, I went on a behind the scenes tour that was really similar to the current Backstage Magic tour. It was an amazing experience and made me love the parks on a whole new level. Unfortunately, he's well under the minimum age for this and the other tours. I called and asked if he and I could join the Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour since that one is shorter and maybe they'd let him in. The Cast Member I spoke to gave me a very firm, but polite, "No." I understand, but it's a bit frustrating since he could totally handle that tour in a respectful, mature way.
Does anyone out there know of any backstage tours open for kids? We'll obviously go to One Man's Dream and anything else that is open. I'm also thinking that I could get ad hoc our own tourwith "Imagineering Field Guide to MK." But, I'm "Dad" and that means that I have no idea what I'm talking about even if I am reading it out of a book. Maybe we should just bring some hardhats, safety vests and walk out onto the Star Wars Land site? How much trouble could we really get in? (I'm joking, of course!)
Any suggestions? Thanks!
My 6 year old son is really interested in the behind the scenes of the parks, especially the design, construction and operation aspects of Imagineering. He studies the various Imagineering books, he checks the front page of WDW Magic for construction updates almost daily, he watches ride POV videos on YouTube, he wistfully talks about the luck people who post after-hours ride walk through videos, and on and on. We're going to be at WDW at the end of August and I'm trying to find some way for him to get more than just the Guest side of the parks.
Back when I was a kid in the 80s, I went on a behind the scenes tour that was really similar to the current Backstage Magic tour. It was an amazing experience and made me love the parks on a whole new level. Unfortunately, he's well under the minimum age for this and the other tours. I called and asked if he and I could join the Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour since that one is shorter and maybe they'd let him in. The Cast Member I spoke to gave me a very firm, but polite, "No." I understand, but it's a bit frustrating since he could totally handle that tour in a respectful, mature way.
Does anyone out there know of any backstage tours open for kids? We'll obviously go to One Man's Dream and anything else that is open. I'm also thinking that I could get ad hoc our own tourwith "Imagineering Field Guide to MK." But, I'm "Dad" and that means that I have no idea what I'm talking about even if I am reading it out of a book. Maybe we should just bring some hardhats, safety vests and walk out onto the Star Wars Land site? How much trouble could we really get in? (I'm joking, of course!)
Any suggestions? Thanks!
