Tours in WDW

[mindy0509]

I just got back from WDW and my husband and I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour and loved it. Our tour guide, Brandy, was fantastic. She had a wonderful personality and a love for Disney!! I would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to dig deeper into how the "magic" is created.

We also took the Segway tour around the world last year. This tour was also fantastic and well worth the money.

I was wondering what other tours people would recommend. We go to WDW atleast once every year and are now at the point where we want to do the "extra" things at the parks. Any suggestions?

 

[Elonwy]

Thanks...I haven't done any tours but I have seriously been considering doing the keys to the Kingdom tour as I've heard lots of good things about it.

 

[Captain Hank]

Well, I'll put in the obligatory plug for Behind the Seeds at The Land in Epcot. It's a great (and relatively cheap) tour for anyone interested in science and/or gardening.

Also, there's the 7-hour Backstage Magic tour that covers Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Magic Kingdom and some of the backstage support facilities.

 

[dxwwf3]

I'm sort of considering doing either Keys to the Kingdom or Backstage Magic on my next trip. But I've read descriptions of what you see on both and wasn't too impressed, but I still have an interest. I have a feeling that I might enjoy either tour more than the descriptions would have me believe. As far as value goes, is Backstage Magic worth the price or is Keys "good enough"? Do you still get to go in the Utilidors in either tour?

 

[Missymoe4]

Well, I'll put in the obligatory plug for Behind the Seeds at The Land in Epcot. It's a great (and relatively cheap) tour for anyone interested in science and/or gardening.

Also, there's the 7-hour Backstage Magic tour that covers Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Magic Kingdom and some of the backstage support facilities.

The only tour I have done was the "Behind the Seeds" tour. I think I only paid five dollars as well. Upon my mother's urging, I went on it alone, and was really fascinated with it all. I do not have a "green thumb," per say; however, the tour was great. :sohappy:

How much do the other tours run? How long are they? Maybe I should consider one for this summer.

 

[Captain Hank]

I'm sort of considering doing either Keys to the Kingdom or Backstage Magic on my next trip. But I've read descriptions of what you see on both and wasn't too impressed, but I still have an interest. I have a feeling that I might enjoy either tour more than the descriptions would have me believe. As far as value goes, is Backstage Magic worth the price or is Keys "good enough"? Do you still get to go in the Utilidors in either tour?

Yup, both go into the tunnels. I can't speak for Backstage Magic, but the time spend in the tunnels during Keys was relatively short. While I knew a lot of the information presented on the tour, it was still very enjoyable, and it was neat seeing areas of backstage that I don't see normally, like the parade float garage. I'd still recommend it, even for the "been there, seen it" type Disney fan.

The only tour I have done was the "Behind the Seeds" tour. I think I only paid five dollars as well. Upon my mother's urging, I went on it alone, and was really fascinated with it all. I do not have a "green thumb," per say; however, the tour was great. :sohappy:

How much do the other tours run? How long are they? Maybe I should consider one for this summer.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed Behind the Seeds. A fairly comprehensive list of the tours offered is posted here: http://www.wdwmagic.com/tours.htm

 

[dxwwf3]

Yup, both go into the tunnels. I can't speak for Backstage Magic, but the time spend in the tunnels during Keys was relatively short. While I knew a lot of the information presented on the tour, it was still very enjoyable, and it was neat seeing areas of backstage that I don't see normally, like the parade float garage. I'd still recommend it, even for the "been there, seen it" type Disney fan.

Sounds good. I was kind of worried about Keys being a lot of "been there, done that" stuff. I would hate to spend 4 hours and $60 (even though I will have an AP discount) on a tour with information I had already heard 100 times before, so that is good to hear. But at least it looks like there are some interesting sights as well. I might just do that tour.

 

[irish_man]

Is photography allowed in any of the tours?

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I'm signed up for the Keys to the Kingdom tour for this summer - they told us no photography whatsoever, and that we can't bring large bags either. I'm a little bummed, 5 hours is a long time for me to take zero pictures in WDW

Thanks for the feedback on the Keys tour, I'm really excited for it! I've never done any other tours to give any feedback on...but someday I hope to have seen them all!

 

[hmansion]

The Keys to the Kingdom (KttK) tour specifies no bags or cameras (I think), but my tour guide only mentioned "no photographs" when we were "offstage". Most of the tour is in the midst of the other 1000's of visitors. Of course, no one brought anything since we all were under the assumption we just shouldn't have cameras. I can see Disney wanting to play it safe by asking folks not to bring them at all, but it was clear our guide wasn't going to worry about it during the onstage moments.

I hesitated taking the KttK tour for years and 1st took it this spring. I, too, thought I knew it all and thought 4 or 5 hours sounded like a long time. I was very pleasantly surprised. I did learn a thing or two, of course, but what I hadn't counted on was just how entertaining the tourguide would be. "Matthew" walked about with a short cane/wand - silver tipped on both ends - twirling it around and pointing with it for effect. He made hilarious comments and observations as we walked about the park. It was like following Willie Wonka through the marvels of his chocolate factory! This Disney tour was like no museum tour and the 5 hours zoomed by without me ever feeling bored or tired. Great show and I plan on taking it again.

Behind the Seeds is good, too. Inexpensive and educational. It's a lot less structured/rehearsed and, at least when I did it, was basically following a cast member who was also an agriculture student in college talk about what was going on at The Land. Felt like a school fieldtrip

Steve

 

[FBullock]

We've done the Keys, Segway, Undiscovered future world and this year we did Wild by Design. All are great and the better tour guide the better the tour. WbD was great in that we had head sets and the guide could talk about things as we walked thru AK without everyone else hear us or having to stand so close together.

We've enjoyed them all and plan on doing more in the future.

 

[trendicoff]

I absolutely love the tours at WDW. I've done:

-Keys to the Kingdom 3x (#4 coming up in July)
-Backstage Magic
-The Undiscovered Future World
-Behind the seeds 6x

Here's my take on them, sorry if it goes on too long.

Each has a very different audience to it as well as different information distributed. Keys happens to be my favorite, it focuses mainly on the Disney approach towards entertainment as expressed through MK. You'll hear alot about Disney philosophies on customer service and get to see the design of the park through new eyes. Also, from what I've experienced, the Keys tourguides are the stars of Disney Cast Members and have the most wonderful personalities. Its primarily walking with about 30% of the tour spent standing still (at least on my tours).

Backstage Magic is somewhat the "ultimate backstage experience", it is 7 hours of tour, but a large chunk of that is spent on a bus or standing still in various areas. (Lunch was just over an hour at Mama Melrose's) The focus on this tour is more of how Disney pulls off such an elaborate show each and every day and just how huge the operation really is. You'd never think about it, but the stop at the Disney laundry facilities is probably more impressive than the utilidor. I would say that the overlap in material with Keys is very low, probably under 20%.

Undiscovered future world was very interesting, but a little disappointing. Our guide was excellent (Thanks Octavio) and it was definitely Epcot to the core, but not as much the technology and innovation side of Epcot as much as a few fun factoids and alot of emphasis about what Epcot represents as an international gathering place. The last part of the tour is a meeting with a foreign cast member who is an ambassador of their country. Really a wonderful tour (and it includes VIP passes to Illuminations) but I think it needs to be renamed or reworked to focus more on futureworld.

Behind the Seeds. Hmm, not much to say. Great value, wonderful "starter tour" and really neat information, plus a bite of free food I always take advantage of this simply because its a nice break from the usual Disney hustle and bustle.

wow, guess I did ramble on, but I just can't help it, the tours are not for everyone (if the magic gets ruined easily for you) but if they;re your type its worth every penny!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I have never done any of the tours. This year since I will be going solo, I wanted to do more things while I am there and keep occupied. So I am doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I heard a lot of great things about this tour.

 

[Disneykidder]

I've always wanted to attend a tour. When my son is older I will definately go to one.

 

[Captain Hank]

Is photography allowed in any of the tours?

No photography is allowed in any "truly" backstage area. When I took Keys to the Kingdom, it was only specified that cameras weren't allowed in the backstage areas, and the guide specified what was backstage versus onstage. Other tours, like Behind the Seeds, Around the World on a Segway and Wild By Design, which take place primarily onstage, are more leniant about photography.