I just did the tour about a month ago. (Oh the day it was 108 degrees, so that was fun. We kept looking for shady spots to stand in during those two hours, and there weren't many around! LOL) Oh yeah that's another thing, I thought I read that the tour was 2 to 2.5 hours, but ours was definitely closer to the 2 hour mark. I believe we barely hit it. The whole experience was kind of disappointing because our tour guide appeared to be brand new. She seemed flustered and she kept getting nervous and laughing uncomfortably, so that was awkward. She had someone else shadowing her and taking notes on her performance in a little book. He was trying to keep a distance but it was so obvious he was there. At one point someone asked her "who is that?" and she gave some fake lie about how he's there in case of an emergency. Maybe someone else can confirm whether or not the tours always include an extra guide following them. I'm curious to know now! I actually forgot all about that guy until I started replying in this post.
So before the tour we were told about how we could make special dining reservations, but it was only at a few select restaurants. (Big Thunder BBQ was definitely one, and I think Wine Country was as well. I know Carthay Circle wasn't, because that was the one place I wanted/needed reservations for so I was a tad disappointed.) At that time we were told we'd be given VIP seating to Aladdin, and we were given a special lanyard that we could wear if we wanted.
We started off in DCA first. We were going to stop to see the Muppets but it was down because of Frankenweenie (something the tour guide didn't know) so she kind of stood there like she didn't know what to do. After talking to the other guy that was with us they decided we'd see It's Tough To Be A Bug instead. On our way there we went to the Tower of Terror and inserted our tickets for FPs. After the show we went to receive World of Color FPs. On the way out of the park we stopped by the restroom just inside DCA for a 5-10 minute break.
We went back to DL and went to Pirates. We entered through the exit and were quickly shoved onto a boat. Quick rant: My mom and I were the last to get on the boat, and since each row already had 2 or 3 people we split up and sat in different rows. Well at the very last second the tour guide shoved my mom over and sat next to her, in a row that already had three adults in it! I had to spent the next 15 minutes looking at my poor mom in front of me sitting uncomfortably with her whole body squished because those boats aren't really meant for 4 adults in a row. I get that the tour guide had to come with us, but I was especially annoyed because the front row had two adults and a small child (they were also on our tour), so there was much more room there for her there. So just be warned, claim your space and don't get squished by your guide. LOL
After Pirates we went to the Railroad (that counts as a "ride") and road it to Tomorrowland, and then we just walked from there back to the Tour Gardens. I still don't understand why they did that as opposed to just riding back to Main Street. The only thing we "learned" on the walk back was how you could see ride times posted at the hub, but she told us that on the way to Pirates! I certainly didn't mind the extra walking, but it was just stupid because the ride from Tomorrowland to Main Street has all of the indoor scenery that would've been nice to see.
When the tour was over we were given a piece of paper that was our VIP ticket to Aladdin, and with it were a few FPs. One was Star Tours and the other may have been Soarin, but I can't remember. (It was so hot that day! LOL) We also received a special pin.
Be warned: it really is a "Welcome to DL" tour for first timers, so the info was stuff most of us already know. For example, when we went for Fast Passes we got a whole lesson on how it all works.
During the tour I found it odd that we were over in DCA getting FPs for later because no one ever asked us if we only had a single park admission to
Disneyland for the day. What if you didn't have a Park Hopper, how would you use them later? I didn't really feel like interrupting to ask her, but later I believe I overheard her talking to someone in our group and I swear I heard her say that the tour ticket also gets you admission to the other park. I could be wrong, but it's definitely worth checking into if anyone is just going for the day because it'll save you a few bucks.
I hope that helped a bit!
