tours - which one?

[Rachael Q]

We are planning a trip for April for 2006.

We have previously been on the Segway Tour, which we both loved. We have also been on Mickey's Magical Milestones - I thought it was okay and DH was not impressed at all. He wanted to go behind the scenes and hear about how things works, how they were built etc.

Which tour would you recommend?

Rachael

 

[melissa5583]

Well, I'm going on the Backstage Safari tour and the Behind the Seeds tour next week.....so I'll tell you how they were when I get back!!!

 

[Johnfish]

If you like animals you will love the Backstage safari tour at animal kingdom.

we went the day before labor day.... We were the only ones on the tour (my son and myself)! Which was really cool as we had 3 guides all to our selves.

The tour started at 8:30 and we checked in at guest services. They told us where to wait for the guides. The guides then took us backstage. We got to see where they keep the elephants and the rhinos. They even got one of the rhinos to come over near where we were standing (there were bars between us) and we actually got to pet him.

Then they took us over to an aviary. They showed us lots of different birds and talked about thier conservation program. They have special breeding programs to help restore endagered species. One of the species thay are trying to save is a kingfisher from the island of Guam. These birds had been almost completely wiped out by snakes that had made it onto the island. Disney went in and rescued the few remainig birds (about 20) and started a breeding program. There are about 80 now in captivity and the number is continuing to grow. We got to see the breeding pairs and even a chick they had in a special incubator.

After the aviary we were shown where all the food for the animals was prepared. It was interesting to note that the fresh produce supplier that supplies all the Disney restaurants also supplies Animal kingdom! The animals do eat well!!

The next part of the tour took us to a conferance room. We were shown a video about how the animals are trained. After the video a keeper came in with an animal for a close up visit. Our guides seemed relieved that it wasnt a snake this time! Our animal was a 7 year old screech owl. I was amazed at how small he was (about 5 inches tall) We learned alot about what they eat and their behaviour. The keeper also told us we could make owl houses that would attract these little guys to our yard.

The last part of the tour was the Safari. We got on our own tour truck (just my son, myself and the 3 guides). We got to ride through the safari with out the little red story and the guides gave us all sorts of details about the animals and how they are transported in and out of the safari etc. They also pointed out several hidden mickeys (next time you ride check out the shape of the island the flamingos are standing on ).


I think the thing that impressed me most was the conservation efforts that Disney is constantly supporting. I had no idea how involved Disney was in these types of programs. From the bird breeding all the way up to breeding elephants and other large mammals.

The other great thing about the Back Stage Safari tour is that some of the money for the tour is contributed to the Disney Wildlife Fund that funds these program.

My son and I really enjoyed this program and recommend it highly.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.


John

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Sorry to jump in your thread, but....I would love to do the segway tour and am trying to figure out when a good time to do it would be. Is there anything I need to know before I book?
Thanks

 

[ncbyrne]

DH and I have done Hidden Treasure of the World (takes you backstage at the Epcot WS) which is about 4 hours, and the Backstage Magic (7+ hrs) tours. We loved both.
Hidden Treasures gives you an in -depth look behind each of the countries with lots of interesting trivia. It ended with tea in Morocco. Our tour consisted of only DH, me and one other woman, so it felt like a private tour!
Backstage Magic was AWESOME! It's an all day tour that takes you backstage at Epcot, MGM, and the MK. You are transported on a luxury
bus (not WDW resort busses) between the parks. Everyone gets a bottle of water and a pretty nice pin. At first it seems pretty pricey @ $199 per person, but.....since it is an all day tour, you don't need to use one of the days on your park tickets. An all-u-can eat lunch is also included at Mama Melrose. All the other tours require that you pay to get into the parks before your tour begins, so DH and I felt it actually was a bargain considering all that you get for your money.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Highly recommend Backstage Safari and Backstage Magic!! We are taking both again come our May 2006 trip

 

[conwaym98]

We did the Keys to the Kingdom tour at MK last year. Its about 4 hours long and has some really good background information about the park and disney trivia. You get to go behind the scenes a few times and into the utiladors under te park. I think it gives a great behind the scenes glimpse at what goes on everyday.