Has anyone done Backstage magic tour

[Kevin355]

Am looking at doing it, but $249 seems like an awful lot of money for a 7-hour tour. Is it worth it and does Disney run specials on it at a lower price? Any info would be nice. Thanks.

 

[Dani C]

Am looking at doing it, but $249 seems like an awful lot of money for a 7-hour tour. Is it worth it and does Disney run specials on it at a lower price? Any info would be nice. Thanks.

Only you could determine if it is worth it to you. You could get a discount with a Disney visa, etc. but I've never seen specials run for the tour.

When I took it we had lunch at Whispering Canyon. They provide bottled water and you take a charter style bus to go between parks. You will see backstage areas, such as the elevators at ToT, and may go to costuming, agricultural center, parade storage, and possibly see rides in the making or repair of cars, things like that.

 

[Karin1984]

I thought it was worth it and if I had more days during my stay I would do it again. I loved the costuming and workshop backstage area and also seeing the AK parade floats from up close was fun (especially as our tour guide was a cm who used to manage the parade, she had some interesting things to share). Standing backstage in the American Pavillion is one of my best memories, as at the moment we went in, pre-opening WS that day, they were checking the movie and the sound. We came in during the finale music, before we started we just listened first to the awesome music track instead of rushing into some animatronic explanation.

To justify the costs I reasoned afterwards: lunch would cost me $20, the pin $10-15, the brochure from D23 we got, the water, as it looked like it was going to rain we all got a poncho (it didn't and we could keep the unpacked poncho), I didn't need an extra park day ( went back to the hotel and took the night off from going to the park), divided by the almost 8 hours my tour took, the price per hour wasn't that bad for the fun I received in return.

 

[Kevin355]

Thank You both.

 

[Dan Murphy]

It's a great tour, I have taken it twice. Very informative, fun day. 15% discounts for AP, DVC or Disney Visa.

 

[Meriweather]

I've also taken it twice.....very different both times.
I am always used a discount.
I would do it again too.

 

[OKW Lover]

Haven't done this tour in quite a while but I'd still call it "worth it" as long as you are really into Disney and what makes things work. You see lots of good, behind the scenes stuff and will hear back-stories to many of the attractions/lands.

 

[Karin1984]

Oh, what I forgot what I really liked about the tour and still talk about once in a while at work: When you are in the costuming/workshop backstage area, on a lot of buildings inside/outside, you see inspirational quotes from Walt Disney. How/What the man thought and what he stood for was everywhere. When we talk about how to inspire our teams, I usually use Walt Disney as an example.

 

[Chuckers]

It's where I learned that, when the park first opened, the cast members said EPCOT stood for "Extreme Polyester Costumes Of Torture".

 

[Disney Dynamite]

I gave this tour to my husband as his wedding gift in 2012, and we really enjoyed it. It does come with a hefty price tag, but it was absolutely worth it. (I really like Karin1984's price breakdown!) We loved getting to see all of the behind the scenes stuff. When we were on our tour, we got to see the cars for the 7DMT being built before the ride was ever open, and we got to see the beginning of some of the topiaries for the Flower and Garden Festival. It was so cool! At one point, they were also offering a AAA discount in addition to the discounts mentioned above, but I'm not sure if that is still the case.

 

[JamiLeigh1913]

Back in 2007 my DH and I went on what would be our last pre-kid vacation. The price was around $200 back then. We debated on spending the money and by the time I made the decision it was sold out. I will always regret this.

 

[sunny_stace]

I went back in 2011 as a 30th birthday gift to myself and I LOVED every minute of it! It was something I had been wanting to do for years and it did not disappoint! I felt like a VIP all day! We got to see so many awesome things (the costume and props area and the parade floats were my favourites), had a great lunch (WCC) and our guides were awesome! The two we had had also worked for the company in other capacities and were full of little tidbits about different things in Disney history and trivia!

It was awesome and I would love to do it again! for me, it was well worth the money

 

[Kevin355]

Well, I get 15% off with my Disney Visa, and we have 2 days of not going to parks. Sounds doable. Thanks all.

 

[Chuckers]

Don't you have to have valid park admission in order to be able to do the tour?

 

[Sleepy425]

No park admission is required for this tour. We did it last year and loved it! Worth the price in our book.

 

[Chuckers]

Okay.. because I remember we ended our tour in Animal Kingdom with a special standing area to see the parade. After it was done, we were let loose in the park.

 

[Sleepy425]

When we did the tour we ended at Epcot by the resort buses.

 

[dtauer]

Okay.. because I remember we ended our tour in Animal Kingdom with a special standing area to see the parade. After it was done, we were let loose in the park.

I don't think it works that way any longer. When our tour was over, we were returned to an area outside the gates at Epcot. A park admission was required if you wanted to re-enter any of the parks.

Here's a quick rundown of what we did, hope it helps.

Epcot - We went behind the scenes at the American Adventure where they showed how the show works. Quite amazing design as they needed to work around the water that is immediately below ground level in much of Florida. They showed how each scene moved into place and how the unused sets are stored while another is in place. We then went outside to the "public" area of World Showcase and they gave a real-life exercise in how forced perspective is used to make buildings appear larger or smaller than they really are. This was also fun because World Showcase was not open, so except for a couple of cast members, our group were the only ones there. Made for great pictures of a completely empty park.

Animal Kingdom - up close look at the parade floats, how they're powered, where they're stored, and how they're controlled. Also did a tour of the horticulture area where they show how the trees are staged based on size to be able to replace trees in the parks with something the same size. Trees that are dying/diseased are often replaced overnight and if you visit 2 consecutive days you may not even realize that the tree you see today might be a different tree than was in that same spot yesterday. Also saw the greenhouse with all the flowers and the topiaries that are either past their prime or not yet ready for onstage.

Lunch at Whispering Canyon, including dessert and drinks.

Hollywood Studios - 2 locations - first we did a walking tour of costuming. How they're made, when they're washed, design considerations, etc. Very Interesting. The other location was a back entrance to Tower of Terror. I was super excited about this as it's one of my favorite rides and I was hoping to see some of the ride mechanism, theming elements, etc. However, all we saw was a copy of the ride vehicle and a high level overview how the ride worked. Nothing much at that part that isn't readily available on the internet, and not much to see in the small garage at the back of the building.

Magic Kingdom - a tour of the Utilidors. Very interesting as they spent time showing the various maps and where the secret entrances come out to the park. Also saw a bunch of cast member areas and talked about things like garbage collection, supply delivery etc. After the utilidors we went back "on stage" and waited for the 3:00 parade. Our guide pointed out how the floats are controlled and how the various second floor windows on main street open and close as the floats go by in order to balance the appropriate sounds of the parade based on where you are standing/sitting.

I love Disney history and theming, so much of the tour was already things I had read about. However, actually being in the utilidors is a lot different than just reading about it. Also, being able to be backstage to see how things work is always more interesting than just reading an internet page about it.

I don't think I gave away any excitement of the tour, as I hear it constantly changes and we took it several years ago. More trying to give you a feel for the type of things you will see to help you make a decision as it is an expensive tour.

 

[ZoZo]

I've been on three WDW tours (KTTK, Backstage Safari, and Backstage Magic). Loved KTTK and Backstage Safari.

To be perfectly honest, I was somewhat disappointed in the Backstage Magic tour, especially for the price you have to pay. I thought the most interesting thing was the costme shop. I was stuck at the back of the group when we went backstage at American Adventure, and couldn't see a thing! As another poster said, the backstage part at Tower of Terror was simply seeing a ride car. I had already seen the utilidors as part of the KTTK tour, so no new info there. We were driven through the topiary area (for the Flower and Garden show) but didn't get to leave the bus and really look around. And we saw some backstage "building" areas where they build ride cars, and some parade floats. I did enjoy lunch at WCC.

Given the cost of the tour, it was pretty disappointing. Maybe because I'd already seen some similar things on KTTK (utilidors, parade floats, etc.), the "repeats" were a letdown. But spending 20 minutes showing us a ride car for Tower of Terror? Not interesting.

Sorry to be a downer - but I found the other two tours (KTTK and Backtage Safari) just fascinating! And way less expensive!

 

[Chuckers]

I've been on three WDW tours (KTTK, Backstage Safari, and Backstage Magic). Loved KTTK and Backstage Safari.

.. snip ..

Sorry to be a downer - but I found the other two tours (KTTK and Backtage Safari) just fascinating! And way less expensive!

Actually, I have to agree with this statement. While I wasn't disappointed by Backstage Magic, I found KTTK and Safari much more entertaining and informative.