Which Tour?

[Rachael Q]

We are going in January, and we have already booked the Segway Tour. And now I am having problems deciding between doing
Keys to the Kingdom $58 (49.30)
Undiscovered Future World $49 (41.65)
Hidden Treasures $59 (50.15)
Total $166 plus park admission (we have annual passes) (141.10)

or Backstage Magic $199 (no admission needed). (169.15)

If I book the three tours separately then I can space them out over our stay. Rather than all in one day. And the price difference is not huge.

What is included in the Backstage Magic tour that we would miss out on if we did the other three?

We are most interested in seeing the Utilidors, the illuminations barge, and the christmas warehouse.

I read through the tour reports on Debs website, but most of the reports are 2002, so I wasn't sure how up to date they are.

 

[AlwaysAPrincess]

We did Backstage Magic Tour July 2002. We ABSOLUTLY LOVED LOVED LOVED IT! It is an ALL day tour.....kepp that in mind. There is a lot of walking & you see 3 parks..MK,EPCOT,MGM.

You do not need Park Admission. Out tour started in EPCOT...we saw the American Pavillion & how the sets move & work, Body Wars....we actually watched people get on & off the ride &they had no idea we were there & we saw the barges for Illuminations.

Then we went over to MGM. (Now in between You see so many things like where international students have classes, their tree farm...Did you know that if a tree gets hit with lightening ....they can replace that tree & no one would ever know it was removed...kinda like an understudy) SO there are lot of facts to be learned as you Park Hop. We saw costuming, make-up (actually saw Snow White getting ready to go up to the street..she was having her make-up checked) Where all the uniforms are kept. Had lunch at Mama Melrose (included) Then over to MK...were you went down into the utilidoors, saw the floats for the electrical parade, our guide marched us right up to Main Street for the 4 O'clock parade. (front row) We walked around the back of MK to see ACTUALLY how close Thunder Mountain is to Splash Mountain....you wouldn't believe it. YOu can see the backsides of both rides unfinished.

We saw the CHristmas warehouses & CM working on decorations. There is just so much I can tell you...I am babbling enough.

Long story short...WE LOVED BAckstage Magic. It is a full & long day. I wouldn't recommend it for children...we did see Piglet carrying his own head heading up from the utilidoors tro go out on Main STreet. I think that is would take the Magic away from children.

Also have to say we had a WONDERFUL tour guide. She gave us so many extra's that other groups did not get. If I can remember her name I will post it for you. I remember where she is from but her name slips me right now.

Let me know what you decide. Have fun!

 

[cruisin'Mike]

I did the Backstage Magic tour about 10 years ago, so some things may have changed. I like your idea of the spearate tours that can be spaced out over a few days. Going into the utilidors was great, but if I'm not mistaken, I think that is included in the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I could have done without a tour of the laundry facilities or the horticultural center. You will probably get more highlights by doing the shorter tours and can skip the not-so-exciting stuff. I'm sure someone else will come along and let you know about their experiences with the other tours. I'm pretty interested to see their responses myself. Whatever you choose, have a great trip!

Mike

 

[AlwaysAPrincess]

Honestly...I think a lot of these tours all depend on your guide. My parents just did Keys to The Kingdom & they enjoyed it but said they didn't get as much extra info. as we did on our Backstage Magic Tour. But our guide encouraged LOTS of questions.

I think you will enjoy whatever you pick....is anything at WDW ever bad?!?!?! Just decide if you want to do 1/2 days or one full day. If the 1/2 day tours fit your schedule better...go for it!

 

[kandmwedding]

Originally posted by Rachael Q


We are most interested in seeing the Utilidors, the illuminations barge, and the christmas warehouse.

If you want to see the Illuminations barge then do the BSM tour. I went on the Hidden Treasures tour and it definitely doesn't include this - it's strictly about the countries. And in all honesty, I have to say that I wasn't very impressed with the HT tour. It wasn't quite as interesting as the KTTK tour, and definitely didn't have as good of a CM leading it as the KTTK tour did. I've never been on BSM, but based on the other posts here, I'd say it was your best bet.