Backstage Magic Tour

[disneylove69]

Has anyone done this tour lately? It's a little pricey and want to see if $200 is worth it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

It is a wonderful tour. Well worth the time and money. If you have AAA, DVC, AP or Disney Visa, ask for discount, DV is the most discount.

It was my first tours years ago and based on how much I enjoyed it I almost always make sure to do a tour every trip. I did do this one a second time last year. And again, it was great. 3 parks, plus lunch at Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge.

Here are some additional reviews from Deb's site......

http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showproduct.php?product=244&cat=66

 

[ilovecupcakes]

My mom and I just did this tour last week, and we LOVED it. We had Maggie and Bryan as our tour guides, and they were both awesome. You could tell how passionate they are about working for Disney, and you can't help but share in their love for it. They told funny jokes, shared interesting stories, and know so much about the company. We both definitely recommend it.

 

[Quacktatty]

What do they serve for lunch at WCC?

 

[safetymom]

http://www.disunplugged.com/2009/01/26/and-the-backstage-magic-begins/

It is a great tour!

 

[Dan Murphy]

What do they serve for lunch at WCC?

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30281780&postcount=8

 

[LadyZolt]

DH and I did this tour on May 6th, and we also had Maggie and Bryan who were both great, but I would not do this tour again nor would I recommend it because while it did show some stuff, what it seemed to cover a lot the day we took it was cast member clothing and the laundry facilities (they called it "Textiles"). While it was interesting to see all that, I know how laundry works and although the scale is grander, honestly I would have preferred something that fell into the category of being an "in-depth look at the creative and technical operations that bring to life innovative special effects, world-class entertainment and elaborate attractions." (Yes, I copied and pasted that from Disney's web site.) Washing, drying, ironing and sorting clothing, linens, costumes, etc., is not what leaps to mind when I read the description. Had they done stuff about how the parade happens, or Spectromagic, or anything "backstage" for entertainment (we did see some of The American Adventure and Tower of Terror, but not really much and we spent far more time on costumes and laundry), or perhaps talked about how the imagineers designed stuff, or talked about props, or how they train people, etc. Really, I can think of thousands of things that would be more interesting to most guests than the laundry. Maybe we just had the tour on an "off" day as I know a lot of people really like this tour, but I'm giving the opposing opinion so the OP can make an informed decision.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[safetymom]

Personally the group that I toured with loved the laundry part of the tour. There are other tours that show the backstage parade magic. They don't repeat things in the different tours.

We thought the laundry and the shop where they did the signs, refurbed the rides, busses was very interesting.

 

[aubriee]

DH and I did this tour on May 6th, and we also had Maggie and Bryan who were both great, but I would not do this tour again nor would I recommend it because while it did show some stuff, what it seemed to cover a lot the day we took it was cast member clothing and the laundry facilities (they called it "Textiles"). While it was interesting to see all that, I know how laundry works and although the scale is grander, honestly I would have preferred something that fell into the category of being an "in-depth look at the creative and technical operations that bring to life innovative special effects, world-class entertainment and elaborate attractions." (Yes, I copied and pasted that from Disney's web site.) Washing, drying, ironing and sorting clothing, linens, costumes, etc., is not what leaps to mind when I read the description. Had they done stuff about how the parade happens, or Spectromagic, or anything "backstage" for entertainment (we did see some of The American Adventure and Tower of Terror, but not really much and we spent far more time on costumes and laundry), or perhaps talked about how the imagineers designed stuff, or talked about props, or how they train people, etc. Really, I can think of thousands of things that would be more interesting to most guests than the laundry. Maybe we just had the tour on an "off" day as I know a lot of people really like this tour, but I'm giving the opposing opinion so the OP can make an informed decision.

Whatever you decide, have a great time!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

I did the tour May 11th and thought the exact same thing. I was ready for the tour to be over WAY before it was. I was hot and bored. It was OK, but not what I expected. I enjoyed seeing the animatronics below the American Adventure, but that was about it.

I've done KTTK, Around the World on a Segway (twice), Backstage Safari, and Wild by Design. I enjoyed all of them more than Backstage Magic.

 

[lovin'DVC]

As always, Your Mileage May Vary! My husband and I did both Backstage Magic and Keys to the Kingdom this past Feb. We loved Backstage Magic, but were bored out of our mind by the Keys to the Kingdom. We did Backstage first, and KTTK 2nd, and some material was duplicated. KTTK cost less, but we had to use a day's park ticket. Lunch was skimpy, compared to the feast offered on the Backstage Magic tour. However, our KTTK tour guide was slow and not very chatty, so we're going to give the KTTK a try again sometime in the future. I can see with the right tour guide how the KTTK could be fascinating.

Terry

 

[hill6]

We did it on May 12th. Well worth it. You will not realize how fast the day will pass.

 

[disneylove69]

Thank you for the replies and the links. $200 for laundry is a little high. Would be nice if they could just leave you at the MK for free after.

 

[LadyZolt]

Thank you for the replies and the links. $200 for laundry is a little high. Would be nice if they could just leave you at the MK for free after.

One of the women on our tour asked this and they were quite adamant about her not being permitted to do it. I wanted to go back to EPCOT myself, but those who wanted to go to MK couldn't just stay there (or even exit the park and then re-enter using a ticket). They all had to get back on the bus and leave as a group. Since the tour is long, either go to EPCOT that day or no park at all since you'd lose even more time traveling to any other park.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[steven_&_daniel]

One of the women on our tour asked this and they were quite adamant about her not being permitted to do it. I wanted to go back to EPCOT myself, but those who wanted to go to MK couldn't just stay there (or even exit the park and then re-enter using a ticket). They all had to get back on the bus and leave as a group. Since the tour is long, either go to EPCOT that day or no park at all since you'd lose even more time traveling to any other park.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

About half the people in our group decided to stay at MK but were required to give their ticket/card to the tour guide and she went off to have the park entry processed while we waited as a group. Then half went back to the bus and the rest went on their way at MK.