jabead
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2000
- Messages
- 7,371
I have been interested in taking the Keys to the Kingdom Tour ever since I first heard about it a few years ago. However since we always had at least one family member below the minimum required age of 16, this had not been an option on our previous family trips. Since it was just DH and I this time, I jumped at the chance to take this behind the scenes tour of Magic Kingdom. I saved it for the last day of our trip, reserving the 9:30 a.m. tour.
After my breakfast at the Grand Floridian Café, I took the monorail to Magic Kingdom. It wasn’t yet 9:00 (park opening time) so I entered through a gate on the right side for those with pre-park opening breakfast reservations etc. Upon entering the park I saw there were very few people on Main Street. Since I wasn’t meeting up with DH until 9:15 to check in for our tour, I had some time to kill so I decided to take advantage of the relative emptiness of the park to take some pictures of the castle.
Cinderella's Castle (before park opening)
A little closer view
Main Street facing the Train Station (taken on my walk back to City Hall)
Ok, now moving on to...
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM TOUR
I then met up with DH in front of City Hall and we entered a room on the left side of this building where we were to check in for our tour. We were given our name badges and guest passes to place around our necks. We were also shown menus for the Columbia Harbour House at this time and asked to choose what we would like to eat and drink for lunch. Also in the check-in area were complimentary drinks of coffee and bottles of water available for tour guests. We then sat down outside and waited for our tour to begin.
When everyone had arrived for the tour, our guide introduced himself. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name.
Anyway, he gave us each an ear piece so that we could easily hear him, even when we were in more crowded areas. Then we each introduced ourselves to the group by telling them our name, where we were from and what our dream Disney job would be. Our guided tour then began by walking along Main Street, stopping to look at some of the windows and buildings. Our guide told us a little about who the windows were named after and why. We then moved up to the central hub, stopping by the Partners statue in front of the castle. Here we were given some interesting tidbits of information about both the statue and castle.
This is the only picture I have of our guide. If anyone recognizes him and can tell me his name, I would be eternally grateful. It's driving me crazy that I can't remember his name.
I asked DH if he remembered and his reply was, "Did we have a male or female guide?" 
I guess his memory is even worse than mine. 
Anyway, next we headed over to Adventureland, where our guide told us things about the theming of this area and rides located there, as well as about Walt Disney’s life and the company’s history. We then got to jump to the front of the line and ride the Jungle Cruise with our guide assuming the role of the skipper.
It was then time to go backstage. We were first shown the yellow line on the ground behind which Cast Members cannot be seen by guests. After crossing this line, we met up with Woody and Jessie (Toy Story characters) on their way out for a Meet & Greet session. One member of our group was a huge Toy Story fan so Woody and Jessie graciously stopped for a quick picture with her. We were then taken to the warehouse where the parade floats are stored. We were shown a few other things in this backstage area before returning to Frontierland and on to Liberty Square. Then after an introduction of the ride by our guide (who also gave us some tips of things to look for on the ride), we took the back entrance to the Haunted Mansion and immediately boarded the Doom Buggies.
After this our group reassembled and walked across the street to the Columbia Harbour House for lunch. We were led upstairs to a roped off area of tables where we found waiting for us our name cards and special pins sitting by our pre-ordered lunches. There were two things I wanted to try at CHH, so when DH ordered one of these, the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich, I ordered the other, the Fried Shrimp Basket. I must say that both of these were excellent.
Anchors Aweigh Sandwich - white tuna with lettuce and tomato on toasted multigrain bread
Fried Shrimp Basket- Served with Coleslaw and French Fries
After lunch, we headed back to Main Street as it was now time for the highlight of the tour, the Utilidors! I won’t go into any details about this part of our tour… you’ll just have to take the tour to see it for yourself.
We then returned to City Hall where our tour ended at around 2:00. I would definitely recommend this tour and feel it was well-worth the price that we paid. Oh, and by the way, the tour costs $70 per person I believe. I have a Disney Rewards VISA card so received a 20% discount when I booked the tour by phone. I think they also offer a 15% discount to Annual Passholders and DVC members, so if you qualify for any of these discounts, be sure to mention it when booking your tour.
NEXT UP: Garden View Lounge Tea
After my breakfast at the Grand Floridian Café, I took the monorail to Magic Kingdom. It wasn’t yet 9:00 (park opening time) so I entered through a gate on the right side for those with pre-park opening breakfast reservations etc. Upon entering the park I saw there were very few people on Main Street. Since I wasn’t meeting up with DH until 9:15 to check in for our tour, I had some time to kill so I decided to take advantage of the relative emptiness of the park to take some pictures of the castle.
Cinderella's Castle (before park opening)
A little closer view
Main Street facing the Train Station (taken on my walk back to City Hall)
Ok, now moving on to...
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM TOUR
I then met up with DH in front of City Hall and we entered a room on the left side of this building where we were to check in for our tour. We were given our name badges and guest passes to place around our necks. We were also shown menus for the Columbia Harbour House at this time and asked to choose what we would like to eat and drink for lunch. Also in the check-in area were complimentary drinks of coffee and bottles of water available for tour guests. We then sat down outside and waited for our tour to begin.
When everyone had arrived for the tour, our guide introduced himself. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name.
Anyway, he gave us each an ear piece so that we could easily hear him, even when we were in more crowded areas. Then we each introduced ourselves to the group by telling them our name, where we were from and what our dream Disney job would be. Our guided tour then began by walking along Main Street, stopping to look at some of the windows and buildings. Our guide told us a little about who the windows were named after and why. We then moved up to the central hub, stopping by the Partners statue in front of the castle. Here we were given some interesting tidbits of information about both the statue and castle.
This is the only picture I have of our guide. If anyone recognizes him and can tell me his name, I would be eternally grateful. It's driving me crazy that I can't remember his name.
I asked DH if he remembered and his reply was, "Did we have a male or female guide?" I guess his memory is even worse than mine. Anyway, next we headed over to Adventureland, where our guide told us things about the theming of this area and rides located there, as well as about Walt Disney’s life and the company’s history. We then got to jump to the front of the line and ride the Jungle Cruise with our guide assuming the role of the skipper.
It was then time to go backstage. We were first shown the yellow line on the ground behind which Cast Members cannot be seen by guests. After crossing this line, we met up with Woody and Jessie (Toy Story characters) on their way out for a Meet & Greet session. One member of our group was a huge Toy Story fan so Woody and Jessie graciously stopped for a quick picture with her. We were then taken to the warehouse where the parade floats are stored. We were shown a few other things in this backstage area before returning to Frontierland and on to Liberty Square. Then after an introduction of the ride by our guide (who also gave us some tips of things to look for on the ride), we took the back entrance to the Haunted Mansion and immediately boarded the Doom Buggies.
After this our group reassembled and walked across the street to the Columbia Harbour House for lunch. We were led upstairs to a roped off area of tables where we found waiting for us our name cards and special pins sitting by our pre-ordered lunches. There were two things I wanted to try at CHH, so when DH ordered one of these, the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich, I ordered the other, the Fried Shrimp Basket. I must say that both of these were excellent.
Anchors Aweigh Sandwich - white tuna with lettuce and tomato on toasted multigrain bread
Fried Shrimp Basket- Served with Coleslaw and French Fries
After lunch, we headed back to Main Street as it was now time for the highlight of the tour, the Utilidors! I won’t go into any details about this part of our tour… you’ll just have to take the tour to see it for yourself.
We then returned to City Hall where our tour ended at around 2:00. I would definitely recommend this tour and feel it was well-worth the price that we paid. Oh, and by the way, the tour costs $70 per person I believe. I have a Disney Rewards VISA card so received a 20% discount when I booked the tour by phone. I think they also offer a 15% discount to Annual Passholders and DVC members, so if you qualify for any of these discounts, be sure to mention it when booking your tour.
NEXT UP: Garden View Lounge Tea
Please see my next post for the Garden View Lounge review.
So instead he ordered the GVLs signature tea, called the Gardenview Blend. Unlike my tea, which was served in press pot, DHs tea was served in a very pretty tea pot and covered with a fancy Grand Floridian tea cozy to keep it warm. 
Oh, and although the GVL is not on the 
I must confess that if this had happened to me at our first meal, there probably would not have been any pictures to go with my dining reviews. But, as this was our last day of 7, I did not let his scolding look deter me. I merely smiled and took another picture. 
