secret experiences

[thebigman65]

Not sure if this is too secret, but we didn't know about it!...Friends of ours gave us a tour at MK called "Marceline to Magic Kingdom" for Christmas. We did it during our recent Feb trip and it was a great tour. Very informative and a look inside Walt Disney's life so to speak. Lots of little known facts throughout the park.

Had a great time and I highly recommend it. Keep in mind it is for 16 and older though.

 

[mannersdan]

Oh wow, these experiences sound great! It's amazing the stuff that goes on without you even realising! I think I'm going to have to copy and paste these suggestions into a word document and print them out the next time that we visit!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[Rob S.]

I literally just found out about the paintbrush thing in MK....can't wait to try this!

I remember reading a post recently that they no longer hide the paintbrushes. The poster was told this by the CM on the island.

 

[dvc at last !]

Not sure if its still there, but several years ago a friend and I sat at a checker board table and chairs in the horse barn at the MK. We played for almost an hour and watched as they brought in the horses from the carrages and such. It was a wonderful memory that we talk about often. We will be vacationing again together this weekend and plan to see if its still there!

Where is the horse barn ?

 

[gray52]

I remember reading a post recently that they no longer hide the paintbrushes. The poster was told this by the CM on the island.

In late January we were first on the island one morning... when we docked, the kids scrambled everywhere but came up empty... we asked a CM and he said "Tom and Huck are on vacation". A couple days later we were told the same thing... but nobody mentioned that they no longer do it. It'd be nice to have a confirmation... it's always been such a wonderful experience for our little ones... always a "must do" on Day 1.

 

[MFMont]

When we had the great fortune of being picked to be Grand Marshalls for the MK parade last year, we where told to be at the fire house promptly at 1:30pm. The CM told us that if we are not there on time, that he will have to just pick a family close by that area by 1:45pm. If you are in the area of the fire house at that time, give it a shot. He told us that we would be surprised at how often the chosen groups "No Show". You can check my "Grand Marshall" trip report for his picture(Dean). He must be Disney Management as we ran into him on this years trip report as he was running a Veterans Function right at the entrance.

 

[Caren90]

We've found many "secret experiences" since becoming DVC members. By that I mean we can now slow down and "smell the roses" so to speak and since we go every year we now seek out new things to do. We have played mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens one year, taken an archery lesson at Fort Wilderness another year and in two weeks we will be doing our first Disney tour (UnDISCOVERED Future World.) But the most "secret" of experiences have been the unexpected such as when my husband was on the last ride of the day for Soarin' at midnight during EMH and when he got off the ride he thanked the CM's and told them that Soarin" is his favorite ride and they let him back on for a private ride, all by himself! Secret experience or Disney magic, sometimes they're the same thing.

Now THAT, is awesome!!

 

[dsneygirl]

We love renting a pontoon boat at VWL and cruising around Bay Lake. We usually grab something to-go from Roaring Fork for a snack.

Heading over to the Poly for a Dole Whip from Capt Cooks and just enjoying the atmosphere.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think you could call just about any of the behind the scenes tours "secret experiences". We have done almost all of them, and many of them more than once. The two best ones so far have been Backstage Magic (did that one twice) where you are in lot of backstage areas for about 8 hours of the day, and The Safari Jungle Trek. We have really enjoyed all the Segway tours at WDW as well. The only tour we've done that we thought could have been better was the Gardens of World Showcase one they had a few years back. It wasn't nearly as good as all the others we've been on. Even the cheap little "Behind the Seeds" tour is fun and informative.

FYI, we did Marceline to Main Street last month too, and thought it was very good as well. We got a few glimpses at the new Fantasy land in the process too.

 

[tinkfan]

Where is the horse barn ?

don't think thats the offical name. might be the firehouse? Left in the hub past guest services. Where all the horse drawn carrages and tolley are kept.

 

[Sunshine22]

These two experiences aren't really secrets, but were special. I was surprised that our DD14 and her friend loved having Virgin Strawberry Daiqueries in the Top of the World Lounge at BLT during Wishes. It wasn't very crowded and the view of the fireworks was great. The girls asked to go again the next night and would have gone a third time if our plans had permitted us to do so.

One time during a summer trip, there were extended hours and Mk was open very late. The Electric Parade was shown early and then again later than usual that night. We were standing in Frontierland, with very few others watching the parade. We were so close to the parade that we could talk to all the characters as they walked, danced or drove by as if it was our own private showing. It was a really magical experience!

 

[Dizny Dad]

The Horse Barn is at Fort Wilderness. There is a "horse Museum" there also! The museum holds great memorabilia of Walt and the history of many beloved horses involved in The Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[rocketriter]

Years ago, when I was single visiting WDW with a friend (at a time when the Magic Kingdom was the entire park), we were watching a parade when two teenage girls nearby lit up an illegal substance. Within seconds a cowboy with a walkie-talkie rounded all four of us up and we went on a special Disney ride called "Busted!" Fortunately, the girls admitted that they did not know us and had nothing to do with us, so we were eventually released (with free admission for the next day to make up for the park time that this experience took away from us). But we got an un-welcoming tour of the security offices in the underground utilidors, which counts as a "secret experience!"

 

[hakepb]

In late January we were first on the island one morning... when we docked, the kids scrambled everywhere but came up empty... we asked a CM and he said "Tom and Huck are on vacation". A couple days later we were told the same thing... but nobody mentioned that they no longer do it. It'd be nice to have a confirmation... it's always been such a wonderful experience for our little ones... always a "must do" on Day 1.

I've read it is because MTMRR is closed and I guess the do not want to "overwhelm" splash with the few extra fast passes?

 

[gmi3804]

Not really secret, since they're there in plain sight, but so few guests get to go parasailing that it seems like an exclusive activity to me. I'm going to try this during my upcoming trip in May; we're doing a three-night Premium Plan during our week at OKW. Renting a campsite for those three nights, which we won't use (cheapest accommodation available on the Premium Plan) in order to get meals, tours, watersports, etc. for four days!

 

[gwensgoofy]

A few years ago, we heard a rumour about being picked as the Ski Captain of Blizzard Beach, and followed what we read on this site. My Oldest (probably 11 at that time) got selected, and its still one of his fave Disney memories.

You need to be one of the first families to arrive, I believe, and have a child/teen of appropriate age. About 1/2 hour before Blizzard Beach opened, a CM came down, talked to my son, and asked if he like Summit Plummet. When he said yes, she whisked the whole family in through the gates. We were posed by a Photopass person at various sites, given use of the beach towels, and given a shelter (its marked Ski Captain) but this was before private cabanas. She gave us two drink mugs, then took my hubby, and both boys up to the top of Summit Plummet. They then opened the gates of the park and allowed the crowd to move closer, not yet fully opening the park. The crowd was directed to pay attention to Summit Plummet, and the park was declared open only when my son reached the bottom of the ride.

It was a memorable experience for our family, well documented by photopass, as the photographer went with them, even taking pix on the ski lift, and at the ride. Its this type of experience that makes Disney what it is.

On a side note, a bus driver who saw us waiting (at like 6am) for the Blizzard Beach bus from the Beach Club bus stop actually took pity on us and dropped us off there when he wasn't scheduled to stop there. Disney needs to do these type of "magical" things.

We've also had a number of magical encounters when they did the Year of a Million Dreams. How much fun was it to wait for a magical chance encounter with the Dream Team?