What attractions do you go to during the Keys to the Kingdom tour?

[BC]

I have read that you go to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion during the tour, but just wondered if there are more? We thought of passing those up on our regular day at the Kingdom if we will be able to do them during the tour. Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[tifandjim]

When we did that tour, we also got to ride Jungle Cruise.....

 

[ahoff]

On our tour it was Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise.

 

[miste76]

We did all 3 on our tour... JC, POTC, and HM. But that was 2 years ago.

 

[EileenAmI]

My DH and I did this last year, and we got HM and PoC. It was really great though to go "backstage" and see the parade set-up, and we got to see the inside of some of the floats. It's more of an educational tour, and not really ride-oriented.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

This is probably a dumb question but I'm going to ask anyway....
Did seeing all the behind the scenes and backstage areas take away from the "magic?" I'm just not sure if I would look at things the same afterward. Just wondering...

 

[Ilovestitch]

Keys to the Kingdom was the highlight of our trip this past May- our tour guide Rae was so awesome!! We first rode Jungle Cruise, then POTC, then HM- we bypassed the lines and got on the next car/boat.

It doesn't ruin the magic- it really makes you appreciate all the hard work that the CM's do to make WDW what it is. It is kind of a letdown though when you see some of the backstage areas- I always want to believe that people really live in the buildings on Main St. and Liberty Square! You walk through the back of the Emporium and its just a parking lot and dumpsters, and you can see the back of the Jungle Cruise.

You get a nice lunch at CHH and a name badge, Keys to the Kingdom pin and you get a VIP lanyard to wear around your neck. At the beginning of the tour they give you a huge ice cold bottle of water, too. The CM's were like "this is the one time you'll ever see free drinks at WDW" It is a lot of fun, though, and worth every penny! -Stephanie

 

[diswedwish]

We got to ride the Jungle Cruise and HM in Jan. We didn't feel like seeing the backstage areas ruined the magic for us; we felt it increased it since now we know just a bit of what goes into creating it!

Have fun on the tour

 

[wdwaholic]

My DH and 20yo DS did this tour 2 weeks ago and loved it!!They both tried to outtalk each other when telling us all about it!! I finally told them to take turns and play nice!!
I believe they did both HM and Jungle cruise.They've told friends who are going to Disney that the tour is a must and showed off their Keys to the Kingdom pins. they are both into "how things work" so this tour was perfect for them and they both said it didn't ruin the magic for them.they both want to do the AK behind the scenes tour next yr
Trsh

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Yes, I definitely want to do the behind the scene tour at the AK!! We would probably do that one before the MK. I think I would want my kids to be a little older before doing that one. I don't even know what the age limits are so maybe it's something we can't even consider yet. Thanks for the replies anyway!!

 

[Praise2Him]

Like EileenAmI said, it's not ride oriented and I wouldn't count on riding the rides. When we did the tour we rode POC, but HM was "down" and we didn't get to ride it. It was no big deal to us, because we've ridden it before. Our guide did take us up to the ride and talk about it.

 

[stink]

December 2003, we rode Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise. The tour gives you a behind the scenes look at the operations of MK. It was what I really wanted to see. So if you are into some of the reasons why Magic Kingdom is successful as it is, I would really recommend it. It did not take away any of the magic for me, but it may for others as you tour some of the backstage areas.
Our tour guide CM was outstanding.

We also did Gardens of World Showcase Tour which did not meet our expectations, whereas Keys to the Kingdom exceeded our expectations.

 

[tifandjim]

At the time we took out Keys to the Kingdom tour, there was an age limit.... only 16 yo and older could take the tour. The youngest person in our group of 15 was 20. Also, we started our tour just before the gates openned, and a commercial was being taped in the park that morning. That was a really cool experience to watch, as well!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I wonder if which specific rides you go on is somewhat a function of which guide you get. We did HM, not Jungle Cruise, don't remember if we did POTC or not (it's been about 5+ years). But when we went we did the Enchanted Tiki Room. As we walked by, I commented on how I hadn't seen it since they changed it and wondered how the new show was. Our guide heard me and said "Let's go find out!" and in we went to watch that show. Is there a little flexibility or a specific "route" they're supposed to follow?

 

[MiJo]

We went in the backdoor at HM, PotC and JC for the rides. We also went behind the wall near Frontierland and had SM explained to us before getting to visit a parade float warehouse. That was very interesting for me. I don't want to give anything away but we did learn a lot about the architecture and planning of the MK, how they do certain things on certain attractions and where several hidden Mickeys (and even a hidden Donald) are located. The only disappointment I had was the Utilidors. I guess I expected more during this portion of the Tour. It was like walking around in a windowless hallway. We couldn't really see into any of the adjoining rooms where the "action" is taking place. The pin for this Tour is very nice and quite in demand, from what I gather. I imagine each Tour Guide could do things differently. Our Tour Guide, Robin, claimed to be the most senior of the guides and she was very good. This tour lasts around 5 hours with very little time to sit other than the lunch break (we had sandwiches/chips at Harbour House) and the time you are on the rides. You will enjoy this tour a lot if you have any interest at all in the MK and WDW in general. We also did the Segway Tour in EPCOT around a month ago and it was great. You might want to consider that one for a future trip.

 

[coasterville]

I did the KTTK tour this month. We visited Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion for our rides.

We also got to see the backstage area behind Fronteirland, back of both sides of Main Street, the second floor over the Emporium, and the Utilidors, but no visit to the parade warehouse.

 

[Lady Cluck]

How far in advance can I call for reservations for the KTTK tour?

Can't seem to find this in any of the usual places.

Thanks!

 

[pumpkinfish]

DH and I finally took this tour last September. We both walked away with vast amounts of knowledge. Some we already knew about, but most was brand new to us! Now, whenever we go through the gates, we try to out-do one another with everything we learned. I think this is so we never forget everything we learned...it really is A LOT!!!

We really appreciate every single detail that was put into building the Magic Kingdom. Going behind the scenes was great, but that was only about 20% of the tour. Most of it was "onstage"

I really hope you book the tour, and enjoy every minute of it!!!

 

[MNSusan]

We did the KTTK tour in January and rode the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. I think the experience you have is VERY dependent upon your tour guide. Our guide might've been having an off day - it happens to the best of us - but he just wasn't much fun. He even denied the existence of Hidden Mickeys and most of the info he gave us was historical rather than magical. That said, we thought it was cool to see the backstage areas, get into the Utilidors, and see CMs during their "down" time, half costumed, etc.

 

[tifandjim]

Our tour guide pointed out several hidden Mickeys, even a hidden donald...