Discover the Magic Tour

[J. Galt]

I am considering reserving this tour for our upcoming trip (Nov/Dec). There would be three of us (me, dd(5) and dd(9)... dh has to work). Would love to hear reviews of this tour from people that have done it. What is involved? Is it worth the cost? Is there a different tour my family might enjoy more?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I highly recommend the Holiday Tour. It includes riding Haunted Mansion Holiday and IASW Holiday without waiting in line, and reserved SEATS for the Holiday parade with gingerbread men and hot chocolate in a souvenir mug.

 

[J. Galt]

I highly recommend the Holiday Tour. It includes riding Haunted Mansion Holiday and IASW Holiday without waiting in line, and reserved SEATS for the Holiday parade with gingerbread men and hot chocolate in a souvenir mug.

Thanks for your quick response! I saw the Holiday Tour, but I was wondering if it was going to be worth it for us. We are going to be there for a week, and while we won't be in the parks the entire time, I'm thinking by the end of the week we will already have seen all this (parade and rides). That's why I was leaning towards the Discover the Magic tour. Is there more to the Holiday tour that would make it a better choice for us than the Discover the Magic Tour?

 

[ballarinamom]

We do the Holiday tour every year as do others on this board. It tells you about the traditions and decorations. The Christmas carols really get you into the spirit. But for us, we go to DL for 5 nights beginning the Thursday before Thanksgiving. So our last night (Sunday before Christmas) is usually extremely packed. So for us is a great treat to go front of the line on HM and IASW when the lines are ridiculously long. AND have the VIP seats for the parade (at night). Tho we see bits of the parade several times when we are there, we hold off until the tour. The characters from the parade really interact with you when you are in those seats. Plus to cool keepsake mug is great

 

[J. Galt]

We do the Holiday tour every year as do others on this board. It tells you about the traditions and decorations. The Christmas carols really get you into the spirit. But for us, we go to DL for 5 nights beginning the Thursday before Thanksgiving. So our last night (Sunday before Christmas) is usually extremely packed. So for us is a great treat to go front of the line on HM and IASW when the lines are ridiculously long. AND have the VIP seats for the parade (at night). Tho we see bits of the parade several times when we are there, we hold off until the tour. The characters from the parade really interact with you when you are in those seats. Plus to cool keepsake mug is great

That is good to know! How long does that tour normally last? What time does is normally start? Does it end with the parade? Also... my husband is really worried that some of the "magic" might be ruined with these tours (ie. don't want to blow anything for the little ones who still believe it all.... I mean they have some inkling that Mickey is a guy in a suit, but they aren't ready to really accept it yet). I'm assuming this tour is good for little kids too????? Maybe I could start our trip with this tour instead of ending it with it, but we start our trip on a Sunday and we have ressies for brunch that day and I want to make sure we could make it to the tour as well. Does it run every day?????

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

It's about 2 hours and ends with the parade. It runs every day and if there are 2 parades they have 2 tour times. We chose the later one so we had the evening parade. If I remember right it was the 4pm tour, with the 6pm parade. We took our 4 kids on it ages 8, 4, 2 and 1. The 2 little ones rode along in the stroller but the guide really included the older girls. There were a couple other kids in our group as well. Neither of the 2 tours do "behind the scenes" things that would ruin any magic.

 

[ballarinamom]

The tour is about 2 hours long and we think it just adds to the magic. They have a day one and an evening one. The night is better because all of the lights are on and sparkling. The tour guide carries a "candle"- just wonderful . My daughter did it the first time when she was 5 and she insists we do it every time. we had a stroller with us and the guide really works with you. If you do the day tour, you watch the parade from the train station. You are farther away from the characters.

 

[MrsMac218]

Wow, the Holiday Tour sounds great!

I'm so sorry to interrupt your original post...

How do you book the tour, and does anyone know how much it costs?

Thanks!

 

[J. Galt]

No worries about hijacking the thread!

I'm starting to lean towards this tour, however, I would still love to hear any info about the Discover the Magic tour if anyone has it. My kids LOVED the Kim Possible adventures at EPCOT in WDW.... is Discover the Magic anything like that?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

No worries about hijacking the thread!

I'm starting to lean towards this tour, however, I would still love to hear any info about the Discover the Magic tour if anyone has it. My kids LOVED the Kim Possible adventures at EPCOT in WDW.... is Discover the Magic anything like that?

I think its more like the Family Magic Tour in the MK. Where you have clues and try to save the park from Capt. Hook....


Any Tour you book by calling 714-781-4400. You have to pay when you reserve and can book a tour up to 30 days in advance. I think the tours are around $59, maybe slightly cheaper for kids.

 

[Malcon10t]

Thanks for your quick response! I saw the Holiday Tour, but I was wondering if it was going to be worth it for us. We are going to be there for a week, and while we won't be in the parks the entire time, I'm thinking by the end of the week we will already have seen all this (parade and rides). That's why I was leaning towards the Discover the Magic tour. Is there more to the Holiday tour that would make it a better choice for us than the Discover the Magic Tour?

I'm going to be a different voice. I would recommend the Discover the Magic tour for your group. The Holiday Tour is a lot of fun, but I have seen the under 8 set get bored during the tour. (I've done the tour 4-5 times myself.) It is history of Disneyland and Christmas rolled into one. The Discover the Magic tour is geared to the younger crowd and every time I have seen one of the tours out in the park, the kids are having a blast.

 

[Sjwillia]

Here is my trip review of the Discover the Magic tour I took a year ago -

Discover the Magic Tour - ***My first time***
At 9:10 AM. DGS7, DGS6 and I checked in at City Hall for our Discover the Magic tour.
The tour starts at 10:00 so we killed some time pressing pennies, making Pinocchio dance, getting a fortune, and picking out candy at the Emporium. This tour was so much fun! It turns out we were the only 3 people signed up. The boys were tentative at first. They wanted to go on RIDES and were not sure what Grandma has signed them up for. This tour is a Treasure Hunt. Each treasure chest found has a puzzle piece with a clue to the next chest. The CM was great! She got the boys totally involved. We were running through Disneyland whooping it up like Indians and making finger hooks and growling ARRRGH at each pirate we came across. The first ride on the hunt was POTC. We went in the exit and were immediately put on a boat by ourselves. The boys were totally impressed and engaged from that point on. The next attractions were Tarzan’s Treehouse and Buzz Lightyear ***First time***. We went to the KA Carousel but it was down. Our CM guide gave the whole family fastpasses to use later on any attraction because we couldn’t do this ride. We solved the puzzle and ended up in Toontown where we got a slushy. Then a private meeting with Mickey in his house where the boys put the puzzle together for Mickey. This tour was well worth the money.

 

[rentayenta]

Now I want to do the Holiday Tour!

 

[DizMe]

Ooooo, I LOVE the holiday tour!!! I met ballarinamom on the tour 2 years in a row!! I always see a DISer when I go, and it has become a tradition for me and my sister. We have a blast.

As far as which tour to choose with children, I don't know! I've only been on the Holiday Tour and I've never brought my kids The kids in our groups have always enjoyed it, though, and the parade seating + front of the line for HMH and IASWH is wonderful. There's something extra good about that gingerbread Mickey and mug of cocoa when you're on the tour

 

[J. Galt]

Ooh... Discover the Magic tour sounds right up their alley too. We are always so busy at WDW I guess I didn't realize they offered it there! This is going to be a tough decision!