Keys to the Kingdom--DO IT!!!

[JuliaPooh]

Just back. We did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour and absolutely were fascinated! We are long time Disney folk, but we learned so much. I highly recommend this tour--and I learned that Columbia Harbor House is a wonderful place to eat!!!

 

[barbeml]

So glad you enjoyed! We are WDW vets too and cannot believe how much we learned on our Keys Tour in November. The amazing Rae was our guide--she was incredible.

Barbe

 

[catsrule]

We did this in October and enjoyed it. Rae was our guide also.

 

[lillykat]

YEAH thank you for your mini review - we are going to do this on our honeymoon trip in april because of all the wonderful reviews!!!!

 

[Micca]

They do a really good job with this. DW and I are long-time WDW visitors but still picked up a good bit of info.

 

[zen1]

How much does it cost to do the Keys to the kingdom Tour?

And what do you get to see and do on this tour?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[JuliaPooh]

We had Rae also. She was so much fun!! She gave us a lot of history about the beginnings of WDW--some which we knew, but she clarified. Then we went on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion with many behind the scenes tidbits. We ate lunch at the Columbia Harbor House, went behind Pirates and saw how the characters and floats all worked, then went down into the utilidor. She talked the entire 5 hours and had unbelievable information. Very worthwhile. Every WDW fan should do this!

 

[WDWguru]

Julia, what day and time did you go? We may have been in the same group! We just went on this last trip (been meaning to forever) for my birthday. DH and I were on the 9 am tour on the 30th with Rae and there was another birthday girl in the group. It was great!

 

[Armadillo4]

I have a ressie for the 9am KTTK tour on Sunday Jan. 18. Whoo-hoo!!!!!! It's MLK weekend, so in addition to being a really informative and fun tour, I figure the tour will help me feel like I've accomplished something on what will probably be a really crowded park day. Is there any way to find out in advance the CM tour guide schedule? Rae is mentioned in practically every KTTK thread on these boards, it would be great to have her as our tour guide.

zen1, there's an excellent page here on the DIS that gives an overview of all the backstage tours. KTTK is $58, although there are some discounts available. There's a similar page on AllEarsNet.com that also has user reviews of the various tours.

 

[JuliaPooh]

WDW Guru,
How funny!!!!!! Yes, it was us on the tour with you and yours!!! I guess that's what we get for not wearing our green ribbons! We had the birthday girl, who absolutely LOVED her day and thought it was so cool that someone else in our group had a birthday. I hope your trip was as great as ours. Now, I'm having to come back to reality--10 degrees and 15 kindergarten kids. Have a wonderful, Disney kind of day!

 

[Pluto2003]

it is all in who is the guide........ Our guide this past November said her mother told her as a child she would be a preschool teacher or work for Disney. She combined them as an adult to become a tour giuide. She talked to us like we were preschoolers. All she could do was ask if we had any questions. If we didn't, we moved on. Her answeres were "Disney-correct"
Our group had two wheel chairs and two electric scooters, did not accomodate them very well. My husband said of receiving the pin for going on the tour was "how much can I get on E bay for this" I could see the potential for this tour but did not get it when we went. Hope everyone get Rae as their guide........

 

[ChrisZ]

Howdy all...

It seems everyone wants to get Rae for the guide.

So maybe since many people ALREADY got her...could you tell us the day of the week and the time you booked your tour? I know they overlap tours a little bit, so there might be a dedicated "Rae" time we could all gun for.

Thanks in advance!

Chris
Monday is almost here...

 

[antnee]

I did the tour in December of 99, the 4 hour one. Did you do the 4 or 7 hour tour??? Woner if they change them every so often. Shhh I am going to surprise my gf with this on our next trip

 

[perdidobay]

I'd like to know too!
I just booked the KTTK tour for 9am on 1-14.
Also, since the park opens at 9am and we need to be at City Hall at 8:45am, do we need to show our resservation number to get in? Also, does WDW transportation start early enough so that we can use it to get to MK?
We will be staying at WL. I was hoping to be able to take the boat around 8:15 am.
Thanks for any info

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think Keys is a subliminal commercial for Columbia Harbor House, LOL. I have seen so many posts over the years for folkswho went on the Keys tour (myself included) who never had visited that restaurant and loved it, LOL.

I did Keys some trips back and also thought it great. All the tours are, I have done 9 so far. And I think I am going to have to start over if they do not make new ones. All good.

http://allearsnet.com/btp/tours.htm

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by antnee
I did the tour in December of 99, the 4 hour one. Did you do the 4 or 7 hour tour??? Woner if they change them every so often. Shhh I am going to surprise my gf with this on our next trip

I think you're confusing Backstage Magic and Keys to the Kingdom.

Backstage Magic is a 7 hour tour through 3 of the 4 parks. (I think Animal Kingdom is the one you don't visit) It's $199, and you don't need park admission. I think a sit-down lunch is included.

Keys to the Kingdom is the 4-5 hour walking tour of the Magic Kingdom only. It's $59 (I think), and requires park admission.

SOMEDAY I shall take the Backstage Magic tour!!!!!

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

DH and I did this tour in 2002. We really enjoyed it. Our tour guide, ( I can't remember his name), was fantastic. He looked like the actor who stars on the show "Ed". We learned about official and unofficial hidden Mickey's. I do think this is for die-hard Diser's though. We are fanatics, and loved it, especially anything historic about Walt and Roy. I think if you are just an average park goer, it might be a little long. I loved Colombia Harbor House. It is a hidden jewel in the MK.

 

[Mich Mouse]

Is the Columbia Harbor House a sit down restaurant or counter service ?

I know I've passed it a hundred times, but never went in!

 

[dvcfamily41801]

We did it last July and had Nicole as our guide and she was AWESOME. Also appearing with her was Brick and he was just hysterical!! I cried for the first hour of the tour just hearing about all the Disney magic and the Disney "keys". We just loved it. As with everyone else, two more thumbs up for Columbia Harbor House. We had never been and loved it!!

 

[WDWguru]

Julia, that is too cool!! It was a great birthday for me, and sounds like it was for Jessica, too!

For those of you trying to get Rae, I'm not sure how they assign the guides. When we checked in there were three guides there getting ready to lead the 8:30, 9 and 9:30 tours. Rae did the 9:00 starting tour, and knew ahead of time which group she was leading, but I couldn't tell you if they trade around or if she does that same one every time. She did say she does one tour a day (I'm guessing she doesn't work 7 days a week, but don't know).