Keys to Kingdom Tour

[PetePanMan]

We are toying with the idea of doing this for our upcoming trip and I'm interested in any insights on the good and bad. My wife is a bit worried about spending close to 5 hrs on feet and not being in control of when you take breaks etc. How cool are utilidors - cool or over rated? Do you get to see castle suite?

 

[CAS239]

http://www.disboards.com/threads/keys-to-the-kingdom-tour.3399475/

Here's a thread with some info on it.

And as far as I know, no tour shows you the Cinderella castle room

 

[rwdavis2]

If you need a bathroom break just ask the tour guide. It's not constant walking but you are on your feet. You do not spend a lot of time in the utilidors. Maybe 30 minutes, near the end if I remember correctly. Again, no castle tour. I highly recommend doing it at least once.

 

[OhThePain]

The tour is worth doing once. Not our favorite tour that we have done in WDW, but we enjoyed it. IMO, the utilidors is very overrated. You don't really get to see much down there. We pretty much walked down a hallway that didn't have much to see and watched a video before heading back up. If seeing the utilidors is the only reason you want to take the tour, it wouldn't be worth it, IMO. From the tours we have done, KttK is probably the one where the least time is actually spent backstage.

 

[rajak73]

We did it in December. Really liked it and had a great time. Learned some interesting things about Main Street, Castle, etc. Went backstage to area with floats and there sat Cinderellas Gold Carriage! Tour guide didn't even know it was there! We were glad we took the tour, not a lot of time in the utilidors, just around one square but still interesting.

 

[Dan Murphy]

A great tour, as are all of the tours. Don't forget the discounts...Disney Visa, AP and DVC, all 15%.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I really enjoyed it! There are PLENTY of restroom breaks, and they try to let you sit and/or keep you in the shade when they can. You get a water bottle at the beginning too. No castle suite, and IMO the utilidors were cool but not like "OMG!". It was neat to see how close things really are backstage.

 

[Fantabulously Cherry]

It's worth the experience once. I've done it twice. The utilidoors are cool, but not a big chunk of time. It's a lot of walking but you stop a lot to ride rides and you sit down for 30 minutes or so for lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Hearing the behind the scenes stories involvig Walt make it worth the ticket.

 

[RumpleMom]

Is the tour completely doable using a wheelchair?

 

[wonderlandaddict]

The tour is worth doing once. Not our favorite tour that we have done in WDW, but we enjoyed it. IMO, the utilidors is very overrated. You don't really get to see much down there. We pretty much walked down a hallway that didn't have much to see and watched a video before heading back up. If seeing the utilidors is the only reason you want to take the tour, it wouldn't be worth it, IMO. From the tours we have done, KttK is probably the one where the least time is actually spent backstage.

Which one is your favorite?

 

[DrivenByDisney]

Strange to see that other's tours did not spend a lot of time in the Utilidoors. We spent over an hour in them when we took this tour back in December for the third time. Though this was the most time we had spent in them on this tour.

We saw the "Head Room" (just where a lot of the characters heads are stored). Where the CM's can grab all their pins for trading. And we walked a while down a few of the tunnels just to show how easy it was for CM's to get around the lands very quickly. Cool to walk around Magic now knowing where some of the entrances are.

Maybe it is guide specific what they are willing or able to show you down there on any given day. We did see a few characters "out" of character and that was cool and strange all at the same time.

We also rode the following attractions with no waiting

Jungle Cruise - Twice. Once with no effects on and once with effects. Really cool
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
WDW Train

We also ate lunch at the Columbia Harbor House. I guess that is pretty standard for this tour. I think the tour is well worth it. Also, the EPCOT tour is great as well. You get to see a lot about how Illuminations is put on each night. Even get to see one of the fireworks barges and the globe up close.

 

[ekendall2]

The tour is absolutely fantastic. It is very doable with a wheelchair (someone in my group had a wheelchair and they took care of them very well).

DO IT!!!!!

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

Keys to the Kingdom is a wonderful tour. I have done it twice. Each tour was a little different because you see Disney through the Tour Guide's eyes. It is worth every penny, with or without a discount.

 

[spacemountain]

I think every tour is a little bit different. When we did it 2 years ago, we went on 2 rides, HM and JC. Between those and lunch at CHH, there were a few opportunities for sitting. There was a lot of time spent backstage, not just the utilidoors, but also the backside of the rides and buildings, seeing the parade floats, etc. Plus you get to hear a lot of insights about the parks design. All very cool and definitely worth it, in our opinion!

 

[mommajo143]

We loved our tour in November. We learned a lot & really had a great time. We had a few opportunities to sit but honestly didn't find the walking more strenuous than a normal park day... Actually a more leisurely pace than we usually take.

 

[Dream Finder]

Is the tour completely doable using a wheelchair?

Absolutely - just inform the CM when you make the reservation. We toured with DH in an ECV. There are a couple of place where he had to find a ramp (to get on to or off of a sidewalk) and we had an elevator to get into the utilidoors (If I remember correctly, the rest of the group used the stairs)