I was planning to do Undiscovered World Showcase the next time I went but they discontinued it (during the pandemic, I think?) and it hasn't come back... (Yet? *Fingers Crossed*)
Keys to the Kingdom is the one that I'd really like to do, but apparently, you have to be at least 16. Any idea as to why?I just did the Keys to the Kingdom MK backstage tour and it's pretty extensive. It's ~5 hours and includes lunch (ours was at Pecos Bill's). You go into the Utilidors at the end and we got to go into HM from a side entrance and a special Jungle Cruise ride where the tour guide did all the talking about the attraction instead of the usual spiel from the skipper. I thought it was totally worth it. Behind the Seeds is also a really good value and an interesting tour.
In 2019, I did the "Undiscovered Future World" in Epcot and got to go into the former corporate suite in Spaceship Earth and it was a really fun tour, but they aren't doing the Epcot tours anymore...
The only reason I can think of is maybe because you go through the utilidors and there is some heavy machinery type stuff that you may come across, and possible liability for injuries? Plan Disney says it's to not disillusion or bore kids with a look behind the magic and discussions of the sanitation system and such. Pretty sure I'd have been fascinated by that sort of thing under the age of 16, but that was a long time ago and my memory of myself at that age may not be particularly accurate.
Don’t quote me on this, BUT I think my DW said because you’re “backstage”, there’s always a possibility of spotting a character without their full mask or costume. Much more traumatic for a child…
Yes, because you go into the tunnels under the park and there's a chance the magic could be ruined by seeing characters with heads off, on lunch break, smoking etc.
When I went, I was there alone and was seated with two other women for lunch that were also taking the tour alone and it was a nice conversation to pass the time. During the tour itself I didn't really try to talk with anyone because we were either listening or walking or both. Yeah, in the age of the internet, there's not much they can tell you that you can't find online, and probably most people that would pay for the tour are probably at least partly Disney Parks nerds, so most likely you won't learn a lot, but I found it worthwhile anyway. If you're there for a long weekend, it's a lot of time to set aside, but when I go it's for a week so I try to find things like this to do when I'm there. Sorry you didn't enjoy it as much as I did!
It had to have been my group. I tried to chat some folks up while we were waiting initially in the morning and then again at lunch but to no avail. I'm definitely not going to interrupt the guide that's a good way to have them not want to chat lol!
We've done every one of those except the VIP and the 2 Seas tours. We just did the Rino tour 3 weeks ago. It was great. We got to touch a baby (two year old) Rino. I highly recommend.
