Need honest opinion on Keys to the Kingdom tour

[wendellg85]

Trying to decide whether to take my parents on Keys to the Kingdom or Backstage Magic tour. Hubby and I have done BM before so he wants to do KTTK, plus it is MUCH cheaper! I've read a lot of reviews on KTTK but struggling to understand just how much of it is talking about the history of the park, people, etc? I know you also ride JC & HM, have lunch at Tomorrowland Terrance (blah) and see the utilidoors - those actual "activities" don't seem like they would take up 5 hrs, which worries me if it is a LOT of history talk? A little is fine but I'm not sure anyone in our group is overly interested in prolonged history. We are more about behind the scenes things. Will we be bored?

 

[lovin'fl]

We did Keys to Kingdom in Aug 2015. My SIL had done it the year before and raved about it so one of my twin DDs requested it. DDs were 16. There is a lot of talking and a lot of walking. It was hot when we went too. I would have preferred to skip it. It ate into our day. We had a nice lunch at Columbia Harbor House though. DDs were bored and would not do it again. My MIL and FIL would probably like the tour but might have trouble with all the walking. And would definitely have trouble in the heat so it would be good for a January trip for them. YMMV.

 

[supersnoop]

I did it solo and enjoyed it. If you are pressed for time and have lots you want to accomplish on that day, I’d skip it. I went to the park with the one and only objective to go on a tour, so I was satisfied.

 

[Sir William]

I did it solo and enjoyed it. If you are pressed for time and have lots you want to accomplish on that day, I’d skip it. I went to the park with the one and only objective to go on a tour, so I was satisfied.

I did it for the same reasons. I enjoyed it as our guide explained the MK’s developmental and concept history as compared to DL, the meaning behind many of the names found on Main Street, and some of the history of what you see on HM and JC. We also toured part of the utilidoor “underground” complex, which was probably my favorite part of the tour, and other backlot areas. Our guide was also very good at providing us rest stops in quiet and shaded areas (it was very hot that day). We had lunch at Columbia House, which was neither better nor worse than other times I’ve eaten there.

I’ve been thinking of doing it again as I got a lot out of it, but then I also like history.

 

[tellemarie]

I did KTTK solo because it sounded like so much fun. It really is a lot of walking and, depending on when you do it, can definitely get pretty hot. However I really feel like the cost was worth it. I do like Disney history though, which I felt like what the tour was mostly about. So if you're not that interested in that, you might want to skip the tour, but I think it was a really great time.

 

[RhodyOrange]

I did it solo and ate at Columbia Harbour House too. There is a lot of talk about the history of Walt and some of the rides. You go backstage behind splash mountain which I thought was pretty cool, plus the utilidors, which was probably the main reason I did it.

You do kind of just “pull-over” at 4-5 spaces with shade or seating so the guide can talk for like 15-30 minutes. I enjoyed those parts, but it sounds like that might not be your thing.

 

[bryanb]

I'm a fan of Disney history, although I reconsidered taking the KTTK tour after walking by two different groups. One of them was talking about what Walt's vision for Disneyland. The other was pointing out the meaning of the windows on Main Street and the use of forced perspective to make the buildings taller.

While both of these are interesting, I've probably heard the same facts many times at Disneyland and in reading other things about parks history. My impressions were only very brief, so it's probably not too fair to the tour, but it made me think that many fans would already know.