I highly recommend Keys to the Kingdom Tour

[barbeml]

This was the highlight of our trip last week! A terrific investment of time and money, and it only enhanced the magic for us, did not spoil it. Some really nifty "backstage" moments, fabulous tour guide and all our questions answered.

If you have any questions about the Keys Tour, fire away.

[KristaTX]

I agree - this is a great tour. My mom and I took it in February and loved it. I'd do it again someday - I think my husband would like it.

[kandmwedding]

Did you eat at the Harbor House? What did they serve?

What rides did you go on?

What did you get to see backstage?

[callmecal]

Been to Disney probably 15 times since '76, but never toured. Taking the wife (no kids this time) for a weekend getaway and are scheduled to take the tour.

Glad to hear it went well.

How much time did you spend underground and on Main Streeet?

How about the Castle...any touring there?

:earsboy:

[diswedwish]

This may be a silly question... Are you supposed to tip your tour guide? I didn't think so since it is a CM giving you the tour, but thought I'd ask just in case. Thanks!

[spotdot001]

barbeml,

What rides or attractions did you see/ride on the tour?

Did you have to wait in line to ride the rides?

Who was your tour guide and did you like him/her?

How many people were in your tour group?

Also wonder about tipping tour guide?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Disney1-30-98]

Just did this tour also a couple of weeks ago, let me see if I can answer the ?'s for you.

No, did not tip the tour guide and no-one in our tour did, about 20 people.

You do not have to wait in any lines and you ride the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion.

Our tour guide was Rae(sp) nice lady with lots of info.
We did go underground and did not spend tons of time there, maybe 20 minutes. Honestly, wasn't that impressive but neat to see.

We went upstairs on main street into the emporium and saw some of the offices up there. Some of the things on main street were pretty cool, behind the scenes was neat there.

No castle involved.

You eat at Columbia house and they give a menu to choose from in the beginnng of the tour. Food was pretty good!

Get to see backstage area where the parade floats are kept.

Hope I answered all the ?'s.

Be sure to have all of your ?'s ready, they will answer anything you've ever wanted to know if they can.

[barbeml]

I think Disney1-30-98 covered it all.

We had 17 people in our group and the wonderful Rae was our guide. We had our own boat and jumped line for Jungle Cruise, and took VIP entrance to Haunted Mansion (very cool!) and had the "stretching room" all to ourselves.

We found the "backstage" areas fascinating. Learned some cool stuff about parades, characters, work routines of various CMs. Saw a certain Princess in the Utilidor.

No tips involved, but I did present Rae with a "What Would Walt Do" pin at lunch--if ever a CM deserved one, she did! We all loved her so much that she got many hugs at the end.

I don't want to give specifics and spoil it for you. It is very good advice to jot down any questions you have always wanted to ask, as it is easy to forget them.

Enjoy!! And Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[disney queen]

we stood in line for the rides. albeit a short line as we did this in december. be sure to look for the hidden donald in the haunted mansion!:tongue:

[lindsey]

We did this tour last December and loved it. We went on POC and HM. It was fun finding the hidden mickeys. We had 13 people and it was a nice size group. I HIGHLY recommend the tour. Lunch was nice at Harbour House. Especially not having to stand in line and/or wait.

[JimmyMartin]

We did it. It was great. I believe no one under 16 is allowed. You go into the utilidors below and see some characters in various stages of dress. Lunch was great. Wife still makes sure we go to Columbia House every visit which is about 3-4 times a year now.

[Micca]

I also recommend it. We have been to WDW dozens of times and
still got a lot out of it.

[DVC-Don]

Did this tour last August also. Loved it. There was only about 10 people on the tour I did and we did HM & PotC and ate at Harbour House. It was great.:earsboy:

[TLinden16]

We only spent about 10 minutes in the utilidors when I did the tour this year, and the most exciting thing we saw was the garbage chute (everyone try to contain your excitement now--I know that those of you who haven't done the tour yet are probably jealous now, but you can see if too if you take the tour). When I took the tour back in 2000, we spent a lot more time in the utilidors, and got to see costuming and cosmotology, and really got a feel for how immense they are. Didn't feel that way this time.

My tour guide was Jennifer and she was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. She did a wonderful job as our guide.

Lunch was very good at the Columbia Harbor House. It was on the table waiting for us when we got there. There was another cast member, David there to talk to us during lunch, and answer questions for us. David was fantastic! He is a wonderful storyteller, and really kept everyone captivated. I would love to go on a tour with him. Heck, I would love to sit in a room and listen to him read the phone book for a few days. Did I mention that David is very easy on the eyes? :hyper:

Karen

[Mackey Mouse]

We had a great tour when we went a couple of years back.. a very knowledgeable tour guide, I forget his name...we spent some time in the utilidors, toured costuming and cosmetology... we were a group of Disers so he had his work cut out for him with questions and he handled them perfectly.. we also cut the line at Haunted Mansion and went in a castmember entrance, we all loved this..

This December we are going on the behind the scenes of World Showcase, I will let you all know how that one is when I get back... I think it is important we share our experiences on these tours so others can decide whether they want to indulge themselves or not..

[KathyFP]

I really want to do this, but DD is only 5.

Maybe I will have DH take her while I do the tour???

[llfowl]

I loved this tour so much, that I have done it twice! Once with DH and once with DSister!

[Dan Murphy]

I did this tour a couple years ago and loved it. I will be doing my 9th tour in a few days (I am running out of them LOL) and make sure to do one each trip. I do enjoy them.

[barbeml]

Hee hee. David is still there and is still easy on the eyes!

I would LOVE to hear details of Behind the World Showcase. I would love to do an Epcot tour next year.

[Mackey Mouse]

Absolutely.. I will make sure I post a review of it.. I am leaving in 5 minutes to head to the WDW... woohoo..

[QJ411]

Hi everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! :teeth:

I was wondering about this tour, my DH and I will be going to WDW in Dec. and he's always wanted to see this tour...perhaps I can surprise him. Can you guys tell me how much it is and if I can order the tickets over the phone or when we arrive? Any help is great!

THANKS EVERYONE!!!:teeth: :teeth:

[barbeml]

I believe it was $58 per person, which includes lunch at Columbia Harbor House, personallized Keys nametag and a special pin. I booked through Dreams Unlimited and paid in advance, but I think you can book from your room. Might be sold out when you get there.

It was totally worth the cost, IMO.

Hope it works out for you!

Barbe

[QJ411]

THANKS for the info Barbe!:teeth:

[Armadillo4]

I took the KTTK tour this past Sunday and enjoyed it immensely. It rained for most of the tour but the weather didn't dampen the spirits of our guide, Brick (yes, his real name) and the rest our group of 18(!).

After reading all the posts about Rae, I was hoping she would be our tour guide, but I have to give major props to Brick. He's going on his 14th year as a CM (ride operator, costume character, face character, float driver, guest relations), so he really knows his stuff and he loves his job. It really showed too. He was a terrific guide and you'd be lucky to have him as a guide.

My only "complaint" is that they did not have coffee available in the morning as mentioned by other users here. Perhaps the rain affected this as we were all checked in for the tour inside Town Hall instead of the garden next to it. But in that weather, a hot cup of coffee would have been very welcome. Still, it was a great tour! Two thumbs up!

[candleonwater]

Are there any tours similiar to this that young children can go on?

[rigman64]

What is the cost for the Keys to the Kingdom Tour?:smooth: :smooth: :smooth: :smooth: :smooth: :smooth:

[PoohTiggyTwo]

We took this tour in Dec 2003 and loved it! Worth every single penny to us! They had coffee and water waiting for us at check in and we got name tags as well. We also were given special KTTK pins during lunch. Our tour guide was Mary and she knew tons of interesting stuff since she has been with Disney for quite a bit! We met up with her fellow CM, Brick, for lunch at the Columbia Harbour House and food was fantastic! We made sure to go back again to eat there before leaving Disney. We had a good group...12 or 13 I think and we got lots of interesting facts about WDW! We spent quite a bit of time behind the scenes on Mainstreet USA and in the utilidor as well. We got to see a few "princesses" coming and going and got to see rehearsals for new CM's training for Spectro going on behind the scenes as well. Mary happily answered tons of questions about "behind the scene" stuff and we got some really interesting info on Tinkerbell and a few other characters! As I said...worth every penny we paid to do this tour!We booked ahead of time thru Dreams Unlimited and I bleieve cost was $58 per person.

[barbeml]

Welcome to the DIS!

:wave2:

[Kim&Chris]

I'd like to surprise my hubby with a 9:30 tour.

What time do they have lunch? Trying to make dinner plans based on this.

thanks!

[barbeml]

I think we had lunch right around noon. The whole experience was great--my husband really loved it.

[PoohTiggyTwo]

I think our lunch was around 11:00 or 11:30. (can't remember exactly) there was another tour coming in behind us as we left.