Has anyone ever done Keys to the Kingdom Tour ?

[zen1]

And if so, how did you like it? And what is included in the tour? And is the price $58.00 a person to do the tour? My parents and I were thinking on doing this tour, when we go to Disney World this October.

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[afsi3838]

We did this tour on our last trip. Let me tell you, it was one of the highlights. We learned so much and had so much fun with our tour guide (Rea Rocks!). You learn all this history and all these little secrets, not to mention where there are some really cool hidden mickeys. The price includes your lunch, we had ours at Liberty tree tavern although I have heard of some having it in other places. It also includes coffee at the begining of the tour and you get special "keys to the kingdom" towards the end. I highly recommend it.
This is a link that has some reviews of the tour
http://allearsnet.com/btp/tours.htm#kk
enjoy

 

[goofyernmost]

Originally posted by afsi3838
You learn all this history and all these little secrets, not to mention where there are some really cool hidden mickeys. The price includes your lunch, we had ours at Liberty tree tavern although I have heard of some having it in other places. It also includes coffee at the begining of the tour and you get special "keys to the kingdom" towards the end. I highly recommend it.

Just a word of warning here, if you think that seeing the inner workings will ruin the magic for you, it might be better to skip it. You do see some pretty basic stuff, like where all the garbage lands at the end of the pneumatic tube. Backstage is really interesting and not only did it not ruin the magic for me, I actually enhanced it. I recommend it as well!

 

[TLinden16]

I took the tour for the second time in August, and it is a very good tour (although not as good as it was the first time I took it in 2000). They highlight of the tour is definitely the utilidors, although we only spent about 10 minutes down there in August, and the most exciting thing we saw was the garbage chute (when we took it in 2000, we spent about 30 minutes down there, and we got to go into costuming and cosmotology--we really got a feel for just how immense the utildors were, and how they are utilized--didn't get that feel in August).

The tour includes lunch at the Columbia Harbor House. We could choose from chicken fingers, fish and chips, some kind of salad, and one or two other things. It included a soft drink. We also got a Keys to the Kingdom pin. They also gave us bottled water and/or coffee before the tour.

There is an excellent cast member who helps out at the tours. His name is David, and he is probably the best story teller I've ever heard. He is just so animated when he tells a story. I don't know if he gives the tours, but he came to meet us at lunch and answered all our questions (and he's very easy on the eyes

Karen

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by TLinden16
(when we took it in 2000, we spent about 30 minutes down there, and we got to go into costuming and cosmotology--we really got a feel for just how immense the utildors were, and how they are utilized--didn't get that feel in August).

I think they cracked down on that since September 11. I'm taking the tour for the first time on my honeymoon, and the utilidors are what I'm most looking forward to.

 

[Cathy K.]

I'm planning on booking this for my anniversary trip in August. I just looked at the PS calculatror, the behind the scenes page here and the page at Deb's site and I don't see any mention of how far in advance you can book the backstage tours. Does anyone know?

thanks,
Cathy K.

 

[kandmwedding]

My husband and I took the KTTK tour while on our honeymoon this past January, and it was fabulous!! Rae, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable and funny, and really made everyone feel comfortable throughout the whole trip. You learn all sorts of wonderful "secrets" that really make you understand how Disney pays close attention to detail when creating their magic. You start the tour across from City Hall with coffee and water, and usually have a little time before the tour starts to get some pictures of Main Street basically empty. You choose your lunch off of a menu card (from Columbia Harbour House) and then you do introductions and work your way through some of the lands of Magic Kingdom. You get to ride 2 or 3 rides, depending on how big your group is and how quickly the tour is progressing (we rode Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion), and you also get to check out some of the parade prep areas backstage. Towards the end of the tour you get to go down into the Utilidors and look around a bit (we mostly looked at the map of everything while down there). The tour varies depending on the tour guide, but is definitely worth the $58, especially since it includes lunch, and a coveted KTTK pin. Sign up as soon as possible!!!

And definitely check out the allearsnet.com link that someone posted above - there are some great (and detailed) reviews of the tour on there.

 

[Kim&Chris]

We took this tour last week! Our tour guide was Robin. She was very, very knowledgeable and let us "in" on alot of Disney secrets.

I would recommend this tour, but be advised that you may come away feeling a little saddened by seeing your favorite character walking backstage with his or her head off! By this I mean that we saw Pinocchio strolling backstage in full costume, but the cast member was holding his head under her arm. Very surreal, but interesting.

We got right on to the Jungle Cruise, as well as the Haunted Mansion. The parks were too crowded to try to ride anything else.

Also, if you're a Disney Visa member, you'll get a discount.

 

[dgaston]

DH and I did this tour in August 2003 with Rae as our excellent guide and Robin covering so Rae could eat during lunch (Ours was at Columbia Harbor House). I enjoyed the stories and information, but also want to caution people who may have read tour reports on Deb Will's site that the utilidor time is very limited and as others have said consists mostly of looking at the utilidor map. We also got to squeeze up against a wall when a vehicle drove by. We didn't see any costuming or costume storage, but rather some displays where Rae talked about how people learned their roles, and make-up. I definitely enjoyed this tour. There are usually DVC and AP discounts too.

 

[zen1]

Thanks everyone! I think the tour sounds like it would be a fun one to do, but I do not want to see one of the characters walking around with only part of there costume on, so I will just cover my eyes when we go throught that part of the tour. I know that sounds silly, but I just don't want to see that.

Does anyone know if you can buy your tickets ahead of time(over the phone)?

Thanks again!

 

[hmgolden]

You can book in advance. FH and I just booked our tour for July 1st. We are doing it while on our honeymoon I dont know exactly how far in advance you can book though. Sorry!