Anyone been on the Welcome to Disneyland tour?

[SharDan01]

I am a WDWer from Orlando, going to Disneyland for the first time with my family Nov 22-26. I know everything about WDW but nothing about DLR. I saw on the disneyland.com website there is a guided tour called "Welcome to Disneyland" for only $25 ($20 for AAA and Disney Visa). It is supposed to take you all around both parks and you even get some bonus Fast Passes. Has anyone ever been on this tour? It will be me, my DS 6, DS 10, and my mother-in-law. Thanks!

 

[macman752]

I am a WDWer from Orlando, going to Disneyland for the first time with my family Nov 22-26. I know everything about WDW but nothing about DLR. I saw on the disneyland.com website there is a guided tour called "Welcome to Disneyland" for only $25 ($20 for AAA and Disney Visa). It is supposed to take you all around both parks and you even get some bonus Fast Passes. Has anyone ever been on this tour? It will be me, my DS 6, DS 10, and my mother-in-law. Thanks!

Another first time, DL visiting Floridian here. I'll be taking the tour on 9/21.

If you'd like I'll post my experience back on this thread on Monday evening.

 

[SharDan01]

Wow, that would be great Macman, thanks!

 

[macman752]

No problem, glad to do it.

 

[seetheworld]

Another first time, DL visiting Floridian here. I'll be taking the tour on 9/21.

If you'd like I'll post my experience back on this thread on Monday evening.

I would love to hear all about it! Thank you!

 

[macman752]

Had a great time on our tour. Our guide, Carmen, was super. She is a relatively new, very enthusiastic cast member.

We picked up our tickets at one of the ticket booths before entering the park. Remember to have a photo id with you when you arrive. We then checked in at the Group Tour building which is just to the left of City Hall.

Carmen met us promptly at 10:00 a.m. We were the only persons who had scheduled this tour for today so it was just my wife, Carmen and myself on the tour.

Our first stop was California Adventure. We were told about the meaning of the star in the Esplanade then entered the park. We walked to all areas of the park with our guide pointing out all of the big name attractions and giving hints as to how to best experience them. We rode one attraction during the visit but I won't spoil it for you should you take the tour.

We then re-entered Disneyland and walked to all of the lands, rode the train and experienced one ride. Again, I won't spoil it for you. We ended our tour back at the Hub and exactly 12:30. I could not believe that 2-1/2 hours went by so quickly.

Carmen told us to enjoy the rest of the day but to make sure that we stopped by the tour office before we left the park. When we did we given 4 readmission passes for up to six guest. These are like fast passes but they don't have an expiration and can be used for any fast pass ride at either Disneyland or California Adventure (except Toy Story Midway Mania). We were also permitted to make a dining priority seating and one priority admission to a parade or stage show. We chose priority admission to Aladdin this Thursday afternoon.

Was it worth the price? I thought so. To a seasoned WDW vet, Disneyland is similar, yet different. The attractions have the same names, they are in the same lands but the landmarks are all different. The tour helped in learning what to look for. California Adventure is totally foreign so everything we learned was helpful.

As an aside the crowds are not bad at all today. The ride we went on at CA is one of the more popular attractions. We rode it at about 11:00. There were 6 guests beside the 3 of us on it. I've never seen the same attraction at WDW with less than 75 at one time.

 

[JustAKid]

How does one go about arranging the Welcome to Disneyland tour? Can you pre-arrange it, or do you have to do it in-park?

 

[JustAKid]

Forgive me! I found it! You can call up to a month in advance to arrange the tour by calling 714-781-4400.

 

[disneymum58]

Is this tour offered every day? My son and I really enjoyed the "Discover the Magic" tour a year ago.

 

[MyMonkies]

Thanks for the review Macman! This might be something fun for us! Heck, I would think the special parade seat & fast pass deal would make it worth it.

Was the tour interesting enough you think that kids would enjoy it??? We'll be taking our 10, 8 & 2 year olds.

 

[pigby]

Great review - I did wonder whether it would be of interest to a seasoned WDW vet - we are pretty much like yourselves - it will be our first DLR trip next year (have been to WDW 10+ times)

 

[SharDan01]

Thank you, Macman, for the great review. We are definitely signing up for the tour now. At $20 with the AAA or Disney Visa discount, that tour sounds totally worth it! Even if it just had the priority seating and Fastpasses, it would be worth it. Thanks!

 

[disneymum58]

I think it's great that you got the 4 FP. Must have been a little bit of Disney magic because when I called to book I was told we would only receive 2 FP. Still, I think it sounds like a fun tour and we are considering it as well.

 

[FourOrchards]

Could someone share what it costs to take the tour?
Would they limit the group that went? We have 9 going.

 

[SharDan01]

FourOrchards, from what it said on the website, the tour is only $25 per person, but they have AAA and Disney Visa discounts that would make it $20 per person.

 

[macman752]

Sorry for taking so long to reply. Sent my computer off for a hard drive upgrade while I was there. Just got it back today.

Thanks for the review Macman! This might be something fun for us! Heck, I would think the special parade seat & fast pass deal would make it worth it.

Was the tour interesting enough you think that kids would enjoy it??? We'll be taking our 10, 8 & 2 year olds.

I'm sure that they would tailor the presentation to the audience. The 10 and 8 year olds would probably have a good time. The 2 year old might not get much though.

I think it's great that you got the 4 FP. Must have been a little bit of Disney magic because when I called to book I was told we would only receive 2 FP. Still, I think it sounds like a fun tour and we are considering it as well.

We received lot of Disney Magic after taking this tour. You can't take flash pictures during Aladdin so I had to use my iPhone. This is a shot of the Grand Finale. Pretty good seats don't you think?

Photo Here

 

[ArvisoCa6]

So with the Priority seating, you mentioned a parade or a show? Does this cost anything extra? What exactly were some of your choices? I'm planning a 10th anniversary trip and i'm looking for cool things to surprise my DW with!

 

[macman752]

So with the Priority seating, you mentioned a parade or a show? Does this cost anything extra? What exactly were some of your choices? I'm planning a 10th anniversary trip and i'm looking for cool things to surprise my DW with!

Priority seating is included in the cost of the tour. Your choices will depend on what parades or shows will be held during your visit. Our choices were the parades at Disneyland or CA. We had Fantasmic! seats arranged so I did not ask about that. We chose Aladdin as it was held just one day during our visit so we wanted to be sure that we would be able to experience it.

 

[Donald is #1]

Wow this tour sounds interesting! I'll be making my first DL trip next May and I may have to do this.

 

[LyndaC]

I brought a group of 18 WDW veterans on this tour Half Marathon Weekend. We weren't backdoored into any ride, and our fast passes were specific fast passes, we couldn't even exchange them for another attraction. Our show choices were the Play Parade or Aladdin, we had been told Fantasmic was an option when we individually booked the tour, but when we asked about it, the cast member acted like we were trying to scam them.