Family Magic Tour - Two Thumbs WAY UP!

[Yzma and Kronk]

......and it's even better when you get Peter Pan!

Just back and because of comments on the DIS Boards about the Family Magic Tour, I booked it for ourselves and relatives who were WDW newbies. It was great! An absolute must do for DIS families who want something extra!

We started our with our guide Jennifer at City Hall. She told us that Peter Pan stole Captain Hook's special gold hook and he called Mickey to complain that if he didn't get it back he would gather all the villians to turn the Magic Kingdom into a evil place. It was our job to find the hook in 2 hours. Jennifer had clues prepared by Peter Pan for us to follow, and once we were sufficiently sprinkled with special Mickey pixie dust we were on our way!

We went out into the MK, hopping skipping, jumping, calling out, acting like our favorite character and generally having a ball!
The kids loved it! The children had to read Peter's clues and figure out where to go next. Jennifer gently helped the kids, so it wasn't a traditional "tour", more like a scavenger hunt.
The funniest part was the kids looking for, yelling out, and finding the "granite ball" while riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and literally crawling through the Starlight Cafe! The looks from the other WDW guests were priceless!
Once we completed the tour, we were taken to a private area just near Advertureland. Jennifer told the kids that Peter hid the hook around in the bushes and just when they were looking he jumped out of the bushes! I wished I had a video camera!

Peter proceeded on talking to all the children in a group and on an individual basis. After autographs and pictures, we went over to A small World to ride it with him! He had them play a game while riding IASW which made the ride even more special than it already is. The kids were thrilled. Peter spent about 40 minutes with us. At the end we were given a special certificate to remember the tour.

It was a great way to spent 2 hours at MK. However, this tour isn't for everyone. It is really suited to aged 5 - 12 yr olds (this is not to say your 4yr old wouldn't enjoy it) but it is two hours, and they are reading and figuring out clues, so the younger set would might get bored part way through. It is more fun when all adults participate with the group (My kids 68 yr old grandmother was hopping and crawling right along with everyone )
Remember: they don't guarantee that Peter Pan will be the character appearing, but I think he appears most of the time. It would probably still be worthwhile if you get another Disney character.
If you don't have kids, but are a true kid at heart - then this one is also for you!

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to help.

 

[Dan Murphy]

That's great, glad you guys had such a good time on the tour. I love the tours, going on my 9th in Dec. The yare all great.

 

[Lori-n-NY]

I have this scheduled for Oct 24 and now I'm even more excited then I was. My 10 year old daughter does not know we are doing this. It's the only thing I was able to keep a secret from her. I am hoping to arrive at MK before the opening stuff happens and then go to Tinkerbelle's Treasure before meeting at the City Hall for the tour.

How many people were doing the Tour?
Bringing my camera is OK? I don't want to miss any good pictures of people crawling....lol or hopping or spinning..

Ok enough I know....
Can't help it.

Thanks Lori

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

Lori - We had a group of 8 and I didn't tell them anything until the tour started. They knew something was up once they all received their "Peter Pan" name tags. You check in and get your tags. They also have coffee available for the adults while waiting.
We arrived at MK about 8:45am. We rode Buzz, Indy Cars and Space Mountain prior to the tour. We just made our way back to the courtyard to the left of City Hall about 9:40am
We had about 22 people on our tour - 12 children. Jennifer, our guide focused mostly on the children for the clues and answers and how we should do things. This made it both special for adults and kids.
Yes, do bring your camera, video camera, etc. I got many great shots of the kids with Peter Pan, at the private area, walking to IASM and on IASM.
Have a great time!

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Thank you so much for posting this info!! I have been trying to decide if we should do this tour when we go in December or maybe wait a little longer. DS will be 4 next month, but we have 2 trips planned for next year, so I don't know if we should wait until then. DH and I are so excited to do this, so I dont know if we can wait LOL!

Glad you all enjoyed the tour

 

[momto2]

Has anyone brought a child at the high end of the age bracket? in other words, 12 or 13? I had read that some kids this age were bored? Is it required that all act silly (or just the smaller kids)?

 

[happiest in Disney]

Do they still offer 2 of these a day or is it one now? We did this a few years back and loved it. I was thinking of doing it again....what are the times of day?
Donna

 

[Aisling]

Has anyone brought a child at the high end of the age bracket? in other words, 12 or 13?

momto2,
My son will be 12 1/2 when we go. I'm also looking for opinions about this.

 

[Honeychild]

Thanks for the GREAT review! I have this scheduled on New Years Day and I am so excited. My grandmother always told me that whatever you do on NYDay you will do all year long. This way I figure we're guaranteed to have a year filled with fun, laughter, and DISNEY!

 

[MinnieGi]

Thanks for posting about this fun tour. Something to keep in mind for when DD is older. (she's 3 now)

 

[SMHCPA]

Thank you so much for posting this! I have it booked for 10/22 with my almost 6 yr old son and his grandma. They think we are going on a special guided tour but have no clue what is really going on. Grandma skips down main street singing "Walkin right down the middle of Main Street USA " every time we go so I know she will be game.

They only offered one time - 10am.

I will be happy with whatever we get as far as character/ride but do you have any idea why IASM vs. Peter Pan? Evan loves that ride but I hate the wait so I was hoping to sneak it in lol!

Suzanne

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

There was a 12 or 13 yr old on our tour, he was with another family, but as far as I can guess he also had a good time.
He sort of hung back from the smaller ones and let them figure out the clues but participated just as much as the adults. I wouldn't worry about the 12+'s just as long as they would see the fun in it! (With a DISer as a parent - this should be a problem


As far as being required to act silly - there is absolutely no pressure to participate at all. You can just hang back and follow the group. For example, if someone in the group cannot crawl on the floor or hop, etc. it would just as much fun to watch the others do it.

Unfortunately, they only offer one tour per day at 10am. We finished our tour at about 12:20pm, so if you are planning lunch or anything afterwards I would give it until 12:30pm to be safe.

We got IASM because there were so many children on our tour, and they like all the children to be able to ride with Peter together. Peter sat in the middle of the front row with 2 children on each side of him, and the rest sat directly behind him. He asked that "all the stinky adults sit at the back of the boat where they belong " If there are only a few children - enough to fit Peter and all the kids in the Peter car, then he would most likely take them there. He was great in IASM turning around and talking to all the children.

Honeychild - what a great thing to do to start out 2004! Just have them sprinkle extra "Mickey dust" and you'd be sure to have a Disney 2004!

I'd be happy to answer any more questions.