Anyone done (or know about) the Backstage Magic tour recently?

[tonypitt]

I'm seriously considering (if I can convince my wife that it's worth it) taking the Backstage Magic Tour. According to a website I saw, this is a 7 hour tour that takes you to at least 3 of the parks (Animal Kingdom wasn't listed).

I have a few questions about this tour if anyone knows:
1) Is it worth it?
2) How much walking is involved? (Obviously since it visits 3 parks it's not totally walking, but I'm just wondering what to compare it to.)
3) And lastly, how can I convince my wife this would be fun?

 

[Thunder5921]

:wave: Hello tonypitt

My husband and I took that tour in our Nov/Dec 04'. I was the same way with the price. Is it worth it. With us, we didn't have to buy our tickets this trip cause we still had days left on our hopper. So that was a plus. We wish their was a little more with the behind the scenes stuff. We did learn alot. Walking wasn't too bad. I have a lower back problem so it didn't seem to bug me. They drive you around in a tour bus to the different stops. When we called to make our reservations for the tour I asked them what our meal would be. They told us that we would get to pick from the menu at the restaurant before we start the tour. NOT TRUE!!! We ate at this one restaurant in MGM. I can't think of the name of it. My hubby and I aren't into weird foods. We have seafood stuff not fish the other stuff. I can't eat spicy food. Had pizza that I had to find tums after I ate one piece. A salad with weird cheese on it. Then some other stuff that I can't remember cause I wish not to. LOL I think they have to think about what everyone likes. There are many other restaurant that have very great food in MGM. I just think what they served us was mainly why the tour cost so much. I would bet this meal we had was a $30 per person. We would just been happlier with a hamburger & fries. We loved the tour don't get me wrong. I think they should have told whoever books those tours that they pick the meal. Oh, I forgot they did ask if anyone had a food allergy. Now when the tour is done for the day. You can't stay in the park so if you want to reenter you must have a ticket. I think we got done around 5- 5:30. I hope this helps. I still think the price is too high for what all you see. That's just me. Have any other questions feel free to email me.

Thunder5921 :wave:

 

[brkgnews]

From one of my previous posts....

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Note the wording of this post... "Backstage behind/around" means that you are literally behind the buildings -- not neccesarily that you're seeing all the inner workings. "Backstage Inside" means that you're in the building, seeing inner workings and hidden stuff.

It is a day-long tour (like, 8:30AM-4PM) that covers onstage and backstage at EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, and Disney-MGM. Among the items on the tour... (highly subject to change depending on what's running and what isn't, the tour guide, the day of the week, whether the bus driver is lefthanded, etc)

• Backstage at Catastrophe Canyon
• Backstage inside American Adventure
• Backstate around World Showcase
• Backstage behind Living Seas, Test Track, The Land, and other EPCOT attractions.
• Backstage inside the costume manufacturing department
• Backstage inside the wardrobe checkin/checkout department at EPCOT
• Backstage inside the main shop, where they make ride vehicles and AudioAnimatronics
• Backstage underneath the Magic Kingdom (In The Utilidors!)
• Backstage inside Holiday Services (where they store all the Christmas decorations for the entire park/resort/cruiseline chain).

Also includes some limited onstage time (mainly for lunch at Mama Melrose's, which is included in the price of the tour). The tour hovers around $200 (and does NOT require a separate park admission fee), but I believe it is well worth it! If you're a true Disney fan, you'll really love pulling the curtain back. You must be 16 years old (with photo ID) for the tour. No cameras, big bags, bazookas, etc.

If that's a little out of your range, I might suggest Keys to the Kingdom. It is similar, in that it offers some backstage peeks, but also has much more onstage time. You'll probably ride a few attractions on that one -- we rode Pirates and Haunted Mansion. The key difference between these tours is that Keys only covers the Magic Kingdom. It's around $50, plus you ALSO have to pay admission to MK. Your lunch is included, but it's quick-serve stuff like Columbia Harbor House, rather than table service like Backstage Magic. This is the tour where you pick out your meal at the start of the day. You must be 16 years old (with photo ID) for the tour. No cameras, big bags, corporate espionage utensils, etc.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

[JLTraveling]

Did this tour many years ago, but from the descriptions it doesn't seem to have changed that much. We loved it (4 in our group, ages 21 to 40 something). We're huge theatre types and love backstage anything, as well as huge Disney fans. Two of us were CMs at the time, and we felt that we learned a lot on the tour that we hadn't learned as CMs. It's a full day of behind-the-scenes access, trivia, and fun. As others mentioned, it includes lunch and does not require a day's admission to the parks (unless you want to go back in after the tour). I highly recommend this tour...it's well worth every penny!