Discover the Magic Tour?

[minniefaye]

Has anyone gone on this tour? We are thinking of doing this when we go to Disneyland next and I was just wondering what people had to say about it.

 

[DMP]

It's closed right now... they aren't saying when it will reopen - but, I assume some time in June. We were totally bummed!

 

[zukeeper]

The tour is spectacular! Our kids were 3-9 yrs old when we did it summer 2005. You start in Main street and go on a hunt for the owner of a book (I think was the premise). You find out where you're going next from each person you visit. The pictures will spoil this, so maybe don't show the kids. It was great for a Saturday, since it is so busy that day and this tour has no waiting in line. You go to Tom Sawyers Island which is why it is closed right now. I imagine it will open when the island opens, I believe end of May - possibly May 18 for the POTC Disneyland Premiere? So if you are going after that, make sure and do this tour. You can get 20% off by using a Disney Visa. There is probably a discount with AP and maybe AAA too. Disney Visa is the way to go with kids though since you get 2 free strollers, a free picture in DCA each day, and other discounts.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8029880@N06/show/

I hope this link works for you - it should be a slide show of the tour.

 

[TeamTnC]

Thanks for the pictures Zukeeper. Do you think more often than not people bump into that many characters along their hunt? How much was it and did it include the lunch? Did you have to pay for the adults as well as the kids? I also was thinkning about doing this when we go in July.

Thank you in advance for anymore information you might have.

 

[zukeeper]

You will see all the characters that were in my pictures because it is planned that way - they are the people that help you with the book (unless they replace them with another character, but the same number). You end up going in the back door to Mickey's house - no line! - for the final leg of the tour.

You get a lunch which is pre-ordered and ready as soon as you stop at Rancho Del Zocalo in Frontierland. Adults get a slightly more "adult" lunch than kids. At the end of the tour, they also give out a special pin that is only available through the tour. I let the kids trade the adults pins (make sure you get one for each person!) and the cast member was shocked that we would trade it.

The cost of the tour is $59 for the 1st 2 tickets and $49 for each additional. No price difference for adults or children. I believe the 2 year old went for free. I don't remember what we did about his lunch, probably just shared. They say for ages 5-9, but the almost 3 year old still enjoyed it. We did not take a stroller, however another family did and it was a bit of a hassle since we had to wait for them. They do pretty much ask you not to bring a stroller.

Now - pay attention here - if you have an AP (which you can upgrade to once you get down there with you parkhopper you got in your package), you can get these tickets at $39 for the 1st 2 and $29 for each addtl - a savings of 33% and 40% or $80 for a family of 4. If you have a Disney Visa, you will get a discount of 20% which equals a savings of $44. There are other great reason to have the Disney Visa (free stroller, free meet & greet with picture, etc), but I would definitely consider the Deluxe AP if I were doing a tour. You get many many more discounts at so many places to eat plus 10% off any souveneir purchase over $10 at Dsiney.

 

[cinder-ellah]

Its a great tour ! ! Just don't count on seeing all the characters in the book. You're supposed to but.........some of them were "busy".

We just didn't tell out 5 year old that we would see any characters at all, so there were no disappointments that way.

We enjoyed this very much and would recommend it. We'd loved to do it again !

My niece walked hand in hand with the Mad Hatter and Alice down Main St USA and if nothing else that was more than our moneys worth !

A great time was had by all and the Cast Members leading the tour were great !

 

[minniefaye]

thanks for the info everyone! I finally called Guest Relations and they said this tour will open up again in mid-June. They weren't sure if it was going to be offered every day when we go in October, but had no plans to get rid of the tour all together! I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that we will get to do this!!!

 

[Snookies]

thanks for the info everyone! I finally called Guest Relations and they said this tour will open up again in mid-June. They weren't sure if it was going to be offered every day when we go in October, but had no plans to get rid of the tour all together! I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that we will get to do this!!!

Our experience was much like zukeeper's experience. We also did took this tour back in 05 when we were at DL for the 50th. The group actually interacted with more characters than promised because there were some unexpected encounters along the way. IMO, the whole experience is worth the time, effort, and money. I think they offer it more frequently in busier seasons because when we took it in early June before summer crowds arrived, it was only offered two or three times per week vs. every day.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We did it in April '06 for my dd's 5th birthday and it was the highlight of our trip. We used the disney visa discount and paid $136 for oru family of 4. I would highly recommend it for families with kids between 4-12. Our tour was very similar to zukeeper's experience although we had slightly different characters. Peter Pan and Wendy began our tour with wanting to know if we can help them find the unknown owner of the book they found. We played follow the leader with Peter Pan as we hopped down mainstreet to the Wishing Well. We met Snow White at the Wishing Well and eventually found Mary Poppins & the Penguin by th carousel. We rode the carousel with both of them and yelled talley-ho every time our tour guides pointed to an imaginary fox. We eventually had lunch at Rancho de Zocalo. After lunch we met with Jessie & Woody in Frontierland (and Pocahantes too since she was right next to them) and was directed to Tarzan's treehouse where we met Jane. We got to dress up as Pirates and argh strangers as we waited for the raft to Tom Sawyer's Island. There we looked for buried treasure where the kids got to pick one item from the teasure chest to take home with them. The final clue led us to Mickey's house where we took the train from New Orlean's square to Toontown. We returend to book to Mickey and each got a Disover the Magic Tour pin. We did this tour on our last full day at the parks and we, kids and parents, absoutely loved it. I'd recommend it. Although they they plan the tour with which characetrs will be out, I beleive soemone reported not being able to see the characters they were suppose to see. I'm not sure if it was a timings issue or not.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

This tour sounds like so much fun! I tried to do it with my SIL's family. I had got us all tickets (7 in all), but her two boys, ages 4 & 6 would have nothing to do with it, and did not want to participate. The 4 year old was still really afraid of the characters, which I didn't know at the time I got the tickets. I hope to do this someday with some family members who have kids who would like to do it.

 

[DangerMouse]

We did the tour in January, and our character intertaction was minimal. We saw Woody & Jessie (just by chance, they weren't really even in the book) and Band Leader Mickey at the end, but the other characters we were supposed to see were not "available". I was pretty disappointed because I thought that was supposed to be the highlight of the tour.

We still enjoyed it, but don't set yourself up to see all the characters mentioned, because sometimes it just doesn't happen.

 

[TeamTnC]

Thank you everyone for the fantastic input. I thing my DS 7 and DD 5 will love this. We often go geocaching and hunt for things, so this sounds different but similar, where you are solving a mystery. I will make sure not to tell them about the character interaction just in case it does nto happen. We will be there the end of July, so it more thatn likely will run daily.