Walk in Walt’s footsteps tour

[Erin M]

We just booked our tour for a Sunday at noon. I'm so excited!!

 

[lalasmama]

How does the lunch/dinner option work? I'm a picky eater so I'm a bit worried I wouldn't find anything I can eat if it's a pre-fix meal. Is it always Jolly Holly? I see they have a grill cheese on their menu but it's seasonal. Would it be possible for me to ask just for that or some variation of just bread cheese and possibly meat? If you do a noon tour does it start with lunch or do you have an early dinner?

I believe we had to choose from 3 options--and all were cold sandwiches or a salad. They grab all the meals, and have them waiting for you, so there's not really a way for a "hot" option to be served at the proper temperature as the health department would require. The options sounded weird, and I'm pretty picky, but I found one that sounded okay. You should be able to find the options pretty easily.

 

[juuuliebeth]

They have an abbreviated menu from Jolly Holiday. Three sandwiches and two salads to choose from, then one of three desserts and your choice of drinks. The sandwiches, I believe, were turkey, roast beef, and caprese. I'd assume you can ask them to leave things off. And they had packets of mustard/mayo, so I feel like they come without condiments. I'm not positive, though, because I got a salad. The salad came with dressing on the side and a bread stick.

 

[LizzyS]

Just went on this tour on Sunday. Here's a general overview:

Checked in at 11:30 and sat at a table to wait. I wanted to rest my legs. I ordered my lunch and was told we'd eat after. There turned out to be about 18 people on this tour, many of whom would ask questions and engage the guide, which was nice. The time between 11:30-12:00 is used to pass out audio devices, so I definitely recommend getting there early.

We had Michael as our guide, who was wonderful. We rode both Alice and the Railroad. Would have done Lincoln, but we got behind schedule due to audio issues and missing a train because of heavy ridership, and it's right before returning for lunch/apartment so we watched the pre-show and skipped it. It was about 2.5 hours walking, or I think that's what they were aiming for anyway. There was a 5-10 minute break where you could use the restroom or buy a snack.

I was part of the first group to go in the apartment. They do the separating for you. Two different guides showed us around, Craig and Amy I believe, while Michael took the rest for lunch. We spent maybe 30 minutes there? Hard to gauge since I wasn't looking at the clock. I was done with lunch around 3:45 or so, for what it's worth. All three guides, you could tell, really loved what they did and made the event so special.

They take a photo of you in the apartment and try to get the lamp in with you. I don't want to give too much information away, but there's a reason they pose you on a certain side of the room.

It was the perfect tour for me. All history and very little behind the scenes. I don't want to ruin the magic for myself. You learn a lot of fun stories, some of which I knew. Some I didn't. A lot of imagineering information, which was cool. But nothing about the day-to-day. It's very much rooted in how the park came to be and evolved. And it definitely pays tribute to Walt. I teared up several times.

I'd definitely recommend for those who:
A) Love Walt; or B) Love history, especially of the parks

I would not recommend for those who:
A) Have children in tow; B) Are only there for the thrill rides; or C) Want a behind the scenes look

Even if you only have a limited amount of time, I found the 12pm tour time gave me plenty of time in the morning and the evening for doing other things. It was also during a busy day, so while following our guide through the crowds could be challenging, I didn't feel like I was missing out on precious park time.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. I'm happy to answer, so long as it doesn't involve ruining the tour for those who want to go in the future. The less you know, the better, in my opinion. Which is why no photos are allowed in the apartment except the one at the end.

Also, I believe the cost was around $110, but I can't be sure as I used a discount.

Thank you so much for your review, it was really helpful to me. I think I've decided we're going to do it even though the time offered on our day isn't what I ideally hoped for. I love Walt and Disneyland history and I think my husband will enjoy it, too.

 

[B3rlingirl]

This sounds all pretty great... I still have almost a year to rethink it but it really sounds like a great treat...

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I am just a little worried about the sandwiches cause I don’t like mustard that much but that is no deal breaker...

 

[wareagle57]

We just booked our tour for a Sunday at noon. I'm so excited!!

I thought these were only in the morning. A noon tour would seal the deal for me for sure. I hate to give up the early morning hours.

 

[Erin M]

I thought these were only in the morning. A noon tour would seal the deal for me for sure. I hate to give up the early morning hours.

I think the noon tours are only available on certain days. If we'd picked Monday we would have had to go with the 9:30 option.

 

[cruisehopeful]

How does the lunch/dinner option work? I'm a picky eater so I'm a bit worried I wouldn't find anything I can eat if it's a pre-fix meal. Is it always Jolly Holly? I see they have a grill cheese on their menu but it's seasonal. Would it be possible for me to ask just for that or some variation of just bread cheese and possibly meat? If you do a noon tour does it start with lunch or do you have an early dinner?

I had a noon tour and we ate at the end of the tour. We had prepackaged meals which have been posted above. I got the turkey sandwich and threw a large part of it out. The condiments came in packets. I don't think there was an option to leave anything off the sandwich. The Jolly Holiday Salad is very good. I knew I liked that and should have ordered it, but thought I'd want some protein. My meat was kind of gross. I got a small bottle of water but I think some people got coke products. I don't think you can predict what order anything will take place in as far as eating at the beginning or the end. There is a stop in the tour where you can buy drinks and snacks on your own.

 

[LittleFlounder]

I believe we had to choose from 3 options--and all were cold sandwiches or a salad. They grab all the meals, and have them waiting for you, so there's not really a way for a "hot" option to be served at the proper temperature as the health department would require. The options sounded weird, and I'm pretty picky, but I found one that sounded okay. You should be able to find the options pretty easily.

I took the tour a couple years ago and had the same cold sandwich options. They take your order before the tour starts and your meal is prepared while you're on the tour, and is waiting for you when it's your group's turn for lunch. If you have an allergy or want something left off your sandwich, they can accommodate you. Make sure you let them know when you make your lunch order. I ordered the turkey sandwich and asked for no tomato...it was no problem at all.

 

[LizzyS]

Guys, I called yesterday morning and booked the tour (@ 9:30 am, that's the only one offered that day) for February 26th and I'm so excited! If anyone else is taking the tour this day, let me know, I'd definitely say hello!

On another note, I waited a smidge over 20 minutes on hold yesterday morning when I called at about 8:40ish am PT.

 

[sacramentoashley]

Has anyone had success getting into a fully booked tour as a walk up? I called on Saturday and tried to book a weekend in February, and they were all sold out. The CM on the phone told me to go first thing in the morning and ask if they could squeeze us in. I’m wondering if this ever actually works or if she was just trying to make me feel better about not getting a reservation.

 

[lalasmama]

Has anyone had success getting into a fully booked tour as a walk up? I called on Saturday and tried to book a weekend in February, and they were all sold out. The CM on the phone told me to go first thing in the morning and ask if they could squeeze us in. I’m wondering if this ever actually works or if she was just trying to make me feel better about not getting a reservation.

I'll be interested to hear if someone has had this idea work! I'll say that there were around 16 people in my tour group, and I thought that was WAY too much. But I had also thought that I read there was a 10 person limit, so seeing 16 was startling! Perhaps if it's under x amount, they have a few spots for walk-ups? Like I said, I'm interested to hear any experiences with this!

 

[Winnowill]

I did this tour in 2016 where our group was me and one other couple, so it's definitely possible to have spaces available. That said, our guide said it was the smallest tour group she'd ever had.

 

[Pamela M]

Has anyone had success getting into a fully booked tour as a walk up? I called on Saturday and tried to book a weekend in February, and they were all sold out. The CM on the phone told me to go first thing in the morning and ask if they could squeeze us in. I’m wondering if this ever actually works or if she was just trying to make me feel better about not getting a reservation.

I was able to change my Haunted Mansion tour back in October. I don't know if it was full or not. I was signed up one day and wasn't feeling well so I went in the am of my tour and asked if they could squeeze me into the next days tour. I was doing this solo so they were more than happy to accommodate me.

 

[mich311e]

Is booking the typical 60 days out?

Also, Disney Visa cardholders get 15% off? I'm thinking of getting one for the discounts (and the $200 statement credit) for our April trip.

Thanks!

 

[jbh275]

Following about the apartment.

 

[LizzyS]

Is booking the typical 60 days out?

Also, Disney Visa cardholders get 15% off? I'm thinking of getting one for the discounts (and the $200 statement credit) for our April trip.

Thanks!

The tours can be booked 30 days out.

For 2 people, my total was $185 with the Disney VISA and that's with the discount. I just booked this past Sunday.

 

[mich311e]

The tours can be booked 30 days out.

For 2 people, my total was $185 with the Disney VISA and that's with the discount. I just booked this past Sunday.

Thanks!!

 

[roflclaw]

For those who have done the tour, when booking can you pay with a gift card or only a credit/debit card?

 

[JaibuJenn]

I did the tour this past December. I actually had not signed up ahead of time! I was pretty lucky in that I went to the tour gardens the day before, and asked if they had any space for upcoming tours. The tours were already sold out, but since it was just me, they were able to add me on to the next day's 12:00 PM tour. No idea how often they do that for folks, but it was perfect timing for me, and it felt like fate.

They had us check in at 11:30. You pre ordered your lunch from Jolly Holiday(same prixe fixe menu as mentioned previously), and then you met your tour guide and fellow attendees. Our group was a little larger, as half of the group consisted of high school students who were doing a project on Walt Disney. I was a little nervous about doing the tour with teenagers, but they were really well behaved and interested in the presentation. The other half of the group were other Disney fans like me who signed on out of pure interest. Our tour guide was very friendly, and was very animated and informational. To be honest, most of the facts presented on the tour were already known to this Disney geek, but it was still enjoyable to hear them in Walt's Park.

Our guide took us to the dedication plaque from opening day, the petrified wood near River's of America, as well as walked us on 3 attractions. First was Alice, and the best part was we bypassed the line entirely, and just walked through the exit and got on! That ride had quite the wait, so that was fun. We also rode the Disneyland Railroad and bypassed the line for that as well. The last attraction we did was Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (one of my personal favorites).

After our guided walk and attractions, the group split in half. The high schoolers went to go have lunch, while the rest of us went on to the apartment. The apartment has special cast members that escort you up. When facing the fire house, there is a fence to the right with a door that leads back stage. Once you go through the door, there's a flight of stairs that you take up to the apartment. It is not wheelchair accessible. The cast members had a very strict no photo or video policy once backstage, and all phones and cameras had to be out of sight for the entirety of your time in the apartment. That was fine for me, but a couple in my group did get busted for trying to sneak a few pics.

The apartment was the reason I've always wanted to do this tour, and let me tell you it is just as incredible as I dreamed it would be! Most of the apartment is just as Walt and Lillian left it. The two cast members told us pretty much everything about the space and what filled it. Really interesting to see all of the antiques that Walt collected inside. They even had us check out the bathroom in the back that they had used. I never felt rushed throughout the entire process, and the cast members were great at answering any questions we had. After we were done viewing the apartment, the cast members took our phones and cameras to take our picture. Since it was Christmas, they had a Christmas tree in the window where the lamp normally is. However, the lamp is simply moved to the table behind you where the picture is taken. After everyone has gotten their fill of the apartment and picture taken, we were escorted back into main street to eat lunch. You are also given a really neat pin!

The tour was $109, and worth every penny! I would have paid that just for the apartment, but the fact that a special pin, lunch, tour, and front of line attraction privileges are included make it a great value! Seeing the apartment made my disney dreams come true.