There'’s Nowhere To Go But Down... To The Utilidors! NEW TR LINK 6/4

[KelleyK75]

The tour sounds awesome and definitely something everyone should do. Thanks for sharing the facts that you had learned....it's always interesting to hear those types of little known things.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Hi, Courtney! I've been lurking around, reading your other TRs, which led me to this one. I love the "voice" you write with and am really enjoying this TR!! I have always wanted to do a tour (especially Keys to the Kingdom) but never seem to budget enough time or money in our vacation schedule to accomplish it. Our next trip isn't until 2016 (bah!!! ) but I already have the money set aside to do this tour or the one with all four parks (why can I not remember what it's called right now?!) Can't wait for the next update!!
Your new DisFriend,
Jackie

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Tampa is a lovely place, or at least always was. I feel like I practically grew up there honestly. I think they'll like it there.

Pre Welcome Show Photopass... Perfect start to the day.

Who is this Anna and Elsa you speak of? Are they popular or something? For some reason I took a ton of pictures of them too.

I love my name tag, and while I know they couldn't really do it, I really really wish the name tags were in the style of CM name tags. Of course that's because I just want a CM name tag.

Yeah so I'm going to assume that when you all went to the restroom waiting for the tour to start that you were all smart enough to actually use the proper one. Because I just had flashbacks.

Hmmm, it seems like they have completely switched to a no pictures at all policy as I've read this a lot lately. I wonder if too many people were taking backstage photos so they just took pictures totally out of the equation.

So fascinating to read about people's different experiences on this tour. Your details are fabulous Courtney. Well done.

Hahaha, the HM plates are one of my favourites simply for that reason. It may be there, it may not be there.

I totally feel ya on the Roy/Walt connection. I tear up every time I hear Roy's MK dedication.

 

[Newsies]

Duuuuuude. That is the EXACT Anna and Elsa I met in July. HGNGGBBB.

THE KEYS TO THE WORLD TOUR SOUNDS SO FANTASTIC!!!!! OHH MY GOODNESS I HAVE TO TAKE IT AT SOME POINT!!!!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Thanks so much for sharing what you could of the tour. It's definitely on my bucket list of things to do in Disney.

 

[jash08]

Jeremy and I did this tour when we were on our first anniversary trip. We LOVED it! I would honestly do it again too. I am a complete history dork, so combining that with Disney is a win win!

 

[courtneybelle]

Awesome that your Aunt and Uncle moved to Tampa! Someday. Someday I will be in Florida.

The tour guides with a mic are super handy! We had one when we went to the Vatican and toured, and it was nice to be able to hear over all of the noise.

I must be a weirdo then, because we always go right to Tomorrowland! Every single time.

In Disneyland, the reason Pirates has a drop is because it needs to go under the berm of the park. It's pretty interesting.

The tour sounds amazing! Definitely something I'll have to do someday.

You and me both, sister. I wanna be…where the people are…

It was awesome! At first, I didn't think we'd need them because it was such a small group, but when we were on Main Street they were fantastic.

Yeah, we always go straight to Tomorrowland or Fantasyland

I love that there's a reason for the drop in Disneyland too! So cool.

You and the parents would absolutely love this tour! I would definitely recommend it.

Thankfully another semester down and school is still going well! Wishing the same to you! Happy vacation, wooooo!

Wow- thanks for the amazing description of your tour! Honestly, the lack of pictures was no big deal (though probably a little bit of a bummer for you) because you saved so many details! I actually just started a hidden Disney treasure book that describes a lot of these things- I wonder if the author took the tour...?

Thank you for sharing the story about the clock pin. I also just picked that pin up on a recent trip and love that there's more of a story than just being the opening date. That's great!!

Vacation yayyyy!!!

Thank you for the nice words, Emily!!

Isn't that pin so cool? At first I liked it but now I appreciate it so much more.

Keys to the Kingdom sounds wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed the history and behind the scenes stuff. I think a lot of people find that sort of thing takes away from the magic, but I totally disagree, seems like you do too.

What's the DisneyBounding for this day? Mulan?

I'm totally with you on that, I find all the details make the parks even more magical

Kylie's outfit actually does look like Mulan! But she is Anna and Emily is Elsa this day.

We did the KTTK tour last March and we really enjoyed it. You have a great memory and retained a lot of details. Your tour guide told you a few things that our tour guide didn't mention (or else I forgot). One of my favorite "secrets" was how the trash is collected. They vacuum it out of the garbage bins into the big (super big) trash collection building. I still can't wrap my head around that concept.

I had to write everything down right after the tour or else I would have forgotten it all haha! I know Trent told us that the tour varies depending on your guide and their interests. I totally forgot about the trash until you mentioned it, so amazing!

The tour sounds awesome and definitely something everyone should do. Thanks for sharing the facts that you had learned....it's always interesting to hear those types of little known things.

I loved the tour!! I am really into the secrets and details of WDW so now I will be looking for them even more every trip.

Hi, Courtney! I've been lurking around, reading your other TRs, which led me to this one. I love the "voice" you write with and am really enjoying this TR!! I have always wanted to do a tour (especially Keys to the Kingdom) but never seem to budget enough time or money in our vacation schedule to accomplish it. Our next trip isn't until 2016 (bah!!! ) but I already have the money set aside to do this tour or the one with all four parks (why can I not remember what it's called right now?!) Can't wait for the next update!!
Your new DisFriend,
Jackie

Hi Jackie!!! Thank you so much for leaving such a nice comment, it means so much I would definitely recommend this tour though Trent said amazing things about Backstage Magic (the four parks tour) as well so you can't go wrong

Tampa is a lovely place, or at least always was. I feel like I practically grew up there honestly. I think they'll like it there.

Pre Welcome Show Photopass... Perfect start to the day.

Who is this Anna and Elsa you speak of? Are they popular or something? For some reason I took a ton of pictures of them too.

I love my name tag, and while I know they couldn't really do it, I really really wish the name tags were in the style of CM name tags. Of course that's because I just want a CM name tag.

Yeah so I'm going to assume that when you all went to the restroom waiting for the tour to start that you were all smart enough to actually use the proper one. Because I just had flashbacks.

Hmmm, it seems like they have completely switched to a no pictures at all policy as I've read this a lot lately. I wonder if too many people were taking backstage photos so they just took pictures totally out of the equation.

So fascinating to read about people's different experiences on this tour. Your details are fabulous Courtney. Well done.

Hahaha, the HM plates are one of my favourites simply for that reason. It may be there, it may not be there.

I totally feel ya on the Roy/Walt connection. I tear up every time I hear Roy's MK dedication.

They seem to be really enjoying it so far! Hopefully I'll get to visit them over the summer.

You may have heard of this movie called Frozen…while not as well known as Avatar, it did pretty OK in theaters.

Oh my gosh, a CM name tag would be so cool…I guess you'll just have to get a job there so you can get one of your own

HAAAAAA yes I made it into the ladies' room this time…

Yeah, I guess they figure it's just easier to have no cameras period than to allow pictures sometimes. I would have loved to take some pics on Main Street, but I understand!

Thanks Rob!!! Yeah, that's one of the things Trent emphasized, that every tour varies based on your guide's interests, so it could be really attractions based or Walt history based or anything really.

Roy makes me so emotional!!! Glad to know I'm not alone

Duuuuuude. That is the EXACT Anna and Elsa I met in July. HGNGGBBB.

THE KEYS TO THE WORLD TOUR SOUNDS SO FANTASTIC!!!!! OHH MY GOODNESS I HAVE TO TAKE IT AT SOME POINT!!!!!

Well, of course! There is only one Anna and one Elsa! They're seriously gorgeous, though.

YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD!!! It was life-changing, for real.

Thanks so much for sharing what you could of the tour. It's definitely on my bucket list of things to do in Disney.

I am so glad I finally got to share it! Feels like it's been a long time coming hahaha. You definitely should do the tour when you get a chance!!

Jeremy and I did this tour when we were on our first anniversary trip. We LOVED it! I would honestly do it again too. I am a complete history dork, so combining that with Disney is a win win!

Ughh isn't it SO perfect?! I would definitely do tours every trip if they weren't so expensive.

 

[RGirl]

Hi Courtney!

Love your early-morning MK pre-entry pics. Ahhhh - I love that time of day at MK.

So excited to read about the tour!!! The set-up reminds me so much of our Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour this summer (which I should be getting to soon in my TR since it was the FIRST DAY ). Too bad about the no pictures rule though - luckily, we only had that rule when inside Walt's apartment. You certainly did a much better job remembering info from the tour than I did (you know, that whole young brain vs. old brain thing), and I enjoyed reading about it so much, Courtney! Thank you for taking the time to take all of us on the the tour with you! I have to admit - I would LOVE it if the Tiki Room was a dinner show!

Couple of questions for you. Do you know if kids are allowed on this tour? How long was the tour? Would taking the tour ruin the magic for a kid? Thank you!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

The Keys to the Kingdom tour just sounds more and more amazing every time I hear about it. Trent sounded like the most perfect tour guide.

I got a little choked up hearing that little fact about why the Roy and Walt statues are where they are. It still saddens me Walt never got to see his Florida project come to fruition and that neither Roy nor Walt got to see Epcot. Too much sadness. Still amazing. Love the pins and the name tags!

Can't wait to read about the rest of your day!

 

[khertz]

KTTK is just the perfect tour for Disney lovers. Prior to taking the tour a few years ago, I had read a lot of the trivia presented during it online or on the boards. But there's just something so special to hearing it again while actually walking down Main Street or through Adventureland and seeing it at the same time. Plus, seeing all of the backstage areas is SO cool! I am really surprised though that you weren't allowed to take photos while on stage. I mean, what's the point of that?!

Great update!

 

[courtneybelle]

Hi Courtney!

Love your early-morning MK pre-entry pics. Ahhhh - I love that time of day at MK.

So excited to read about the tour!!! The set-up reminds me so much of our Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour this summer (which I should be getting to soon in my TR since it was the FIRST DAY ). Too bad about the no pictures rule though - luckily, we only had that rule when inside Walt's apartment. You certainly did a much better job remembering info from the tour than I did (you know, that whole young brain vs. old brain thing), and I enjoyed reading about it so much, Courtney! Thank you for taking the time to take all of us on the the tour with you! I have to admit - I would LOVE it if the Tiki Room was a dinner show!

Couple of questions for you. Do you know if kids are allowed on this tour? How long was the tour? Would taking the tour ruin the magic for a kid? Thank you!

Hi Roni!!

Seriously the best time at MK! I love it.

Thank you so much for reading all of it! I was worried people wouldn't want to read a huge block of text with no pictures, but I'm glad I was able to remember so many details! I'm SO excited to read about your tour!! And I agree, I would LOVE a Tiki Room restaurant.

You actually have to be 16 to go on the tour, which I think makes sense. I don't think I would have enjoyed the backstage portions much as a kid. Our tour started between 8:30 and 9 and we were there until 1, with about a 20 minute break for lunch!

The Keys to the Kingdom tour just sounds more and more amazing every time I hear about it. Trent sounded like the most perfect tour guide.

I got a little choked up hearing that little fact about why the Roy and Walt statues are where they are. It still saddens me Walt never got to see his Florida project come to fruition and that neither Roy nor Walt got to see Epcot. Too much sadness. Still amazing. Love the pins and the name tags!

Can't wait to read about the rest of your day!

Trent was AMAZING. It was so clear how much he adored Disney and working for the Company. I loved him

Ugh, ME TOO. I was so emotional during that portion.

KTTK is just the perfect tour for Disney lovers. Prior to taking the tour a few years ago, I had read a lot of the trivia presented during it online or on the boards. But there's just something so special to hearing it again while actually walking down Main Street or through Adventureland and seeing it at the same time. Plus, seeing all of the backstage areas is SO cool! I am really surprised though that you weren't allowed to take photos while on stage. I mean, what's the point of that?!

Great update!

Yeah, I knew some of the facts already but it was still so amazing being in WDW and hearing about everything that was going on around us! I really wish we had been allowed to take photos onstage, Trent told us a LOT about the names on the windows of Main Street and I feel like I would have remembered that section a lot better with pictures.

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter 31: The Hot And The Cold Are Both So Intense

After saying goodbye to Trent we ducked into the Emporium because we were all dying of heatstroke.

We had to go over to Fantasyland for a very important FP+. We had some time before it, though, so we all got frozen lemonades. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any open seats indoors to eat them, so we huddled under one of the arches to New Fantasyland. No shame.

Speaking of frozen…IT WAS ANNA AND ELSA TIME!!!

The CM working the FP+ was awesome. He used to be in the Marines and now he’s Anna and Elsa’s bodyguard. Appropriate training considering how crazy people get over Frozen.

Anna LOVED Ky and Em’s Anna and Elsa DisneyBounds!

I brought Olaf to see Anna, and she asked if I had brought him to get some more ice from Elsa! She also loved my Frozen nail decals and said that was a good power to have.

Remember how my Aunt Patti had gotten a Pooh book signed because my cousin is having a baby? We got a Frozen book and had Anna and Elsa sign it. We also included our pictures in it; since we live far away from that side of the family we want our new family member to know who we are!

Next we saw Elsa. She was also impressed by the DisneyBounds.

She was happy to see Olaf and asked if I was keeping him cool with my ice powers.

After this we had a little time before Festival of Fantasy, so Kylie went over to her wishing well.

I had one of the most soul-crushing moments of the trip here:

Me: I wish it were cooler.
Emily: I wish YOU were cooler.

SO MUCH SASS.

We headed over to Liberty Square so we could meet up with the interpreters before Festival of Fantasy!

I was so excited for this parade. It was hard to avoid photos but I did the best I could, and I hadn’t heard the soundtrack, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was blazing hot as always, but when those first notes played…

Yeah I cried. You know me well enough by now to not be surprised by this.

THIS PARADE WAS AMAZING!!! I was not the biggest fan of Celebrate A Dream Come True and this just blew it out of the water. It’s so colorful and beautiful and FUN.

Away we go! It's a festival of fantasy!

Tale as old as time…

A dream is a wish your heart makes…

For the first time in forever…

I've got a dream!

HELLO HANDSOME.

Continued in next post
​

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter 32: Beauty And Majesty Shining Magically

Don't be scared, you got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl!

When there's a smile in your heart, there's no better time to start!

I will ride, I will fly! Chase the wind and touch the sky!

And now for creepy things!

How did I get such a close-up, you may ask? Behind the scenes of the trip report:

Here's me just missing the photo of the dragon breathing fire.

I took about fifty million pictures of Prince Philip because he was dreamy. They were very hard to edit down for the trip report.

Continued in next post
​

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter 33: Away We Go!

I think this was my mom's favorite part.

The bubble girls are my favorites.

Jiminy Cricket lost a shoe!

Dale came over to me and kissed my hand! #TrueLove

Goofy also came over to us and rested his head on a trash can. He was getting hot! I feel ya, Goof.

Mickey signed “I Love You” to us and we all melted.

“I only hope we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse.”

Continued in next post
​

 

[jash08]

This parade looks AMAZING. I can't wait to see it in January! It looks so vibrant and detailed. I bet the soundtrack is amazing.

 

[HikingBelle]

WOW! Love the pictures!!! What great views for the parade!!!

Is that common, that characters sign during parades or shows?

 

[KelleyK75]

Great Anna and Elsa pics.

Isn't Festival of Fantasy great! I LOVED it in March and saw it twice. I wanted to see it again. It was so good! Your pictures are great!! And how cute Mickey signed I love you!

 

[emilyindisney]

Okay- WOW! Your FoF pictures are gorgeous!

But first...lemme back up to Anna and Elsa. I love Anna and that picture of her and Kylie. Elsa...well, I always find that she's a little harder to find good friends for if you know what I mean. It sounds like you had great interactions though which is obviously the best part!

Back to FoF! Philip is literally beyond dreamy I love that Mickey signed to you- talk about my heart melting!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

AWWW YAY ANNA!!! I feel like I got a sneak peak by way of your Christmas card!!!! What perfect timing.

Hahahaha, the Wishing Well. No splash in the face wish this time? (Yeah I still remember that).

I did the exact same thing for FoF Courtney. The odd photo was virtually unavoidable, but no video and no soundtrack.

Oh my goodness, there is no comparison between FoF and Celebrate. I was not a fan of Celebrate at all. FoF I want to watch all the time. So yeah, enormously better.

What amazing photos you got. And AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Dale!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[goodmorningirl]

Joining in and loving your report! The DisneyBounding is great!