Which tours are worth it?

[DaisyDuck001]

Of the several I've done so far, favorite was The Magic of Our Steam Trains (because it's so specialized), and least favorite was Marceline to Magic Kingdom (because no backstage). YMMV.

 

[bryanb]

I was doing some research about Disney World tours and an ad popped up from this third party company called "My VIP Tour." It doesn't seem legit, but has more than a hundred positive reviews. They claim you don't have to wait in lines. How is that even possible? I can understand Disney being able to offer this service, but for a third party company to do it, it seems suspicious. Anyone know?

 

[Dan Murphy]

it seems suspicious.

It is.

 

[hjvigz72]

Very glad to have found this post. Headed down in a few short months with friends and we were considering doing a tour. (Keys or Backstage) My main question was with regard to a child's age. Kids that will be with us will be 12, 13 & 15 so from my understanding, they can not do Keys to the Kingdom, but they can do Backstage Magic? Does anyone have any experience with this? How? Why? What's the difference I guess? We're interested in learning about the magic and how it happens, so it's not ruining anything for us. (we hope!)

My main concern was doing a 7 hour tour vs a 5 hour. Any info would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

You do need to be 16 for KTTK, and it is long. greta but long. When the kids were not old enough we did the steam trains-really enjoyed it. Also the marceline-again, really good.

 

[mrzrich]

Very glad to have found this post. Headed down in a few short months with friends and we were considering doing a tour. (Keys or Backstage) My main question was with regard to a child's age. Kids that will be with us will be 12, 13 & 15 so from my understanding, they can not do Keys to the Kingdom, but they can do Backstage Magic? Does anyone have any experience with this? How? Why? What's the difference I guess? We're interested in learning about the magic and how it happens, so it's not ruining anything for us. (we hope!)

My main concern was doing a 7 hour tour vs a 5 hour. Any info would be GREATLY appreciated!

KTTK is run by Disney Guest Relations, and Backstage Magic is run by the Disney Institute, that may be the reason for the Age difference.

Yes, Backstage Magic is longer, but in between the many locations, you are on an air conditioned bus and they give you water bottles through out the tour. Also lunch on Backstage Magic is at a table service location vs Counter Service on KTTK. It makes for a more leisurely lunch.

 

[WDW Traveler]

I was doing some research about Disney World tours and an ad popped up from this third party company called "My VIP Tour." It doesn't seem legit, but has more than a hundred positive reviews. They claim you don't have to wait in lines. How is that even possible? I can understand Disney being able to offer this service, but for a third party company to do it, it seems suspicious. Anyone know?

I just saw this too. Sounds like they do things for you (like ADR's, FP+, come up with an itinerary, etc.) which anyone can do on their own or have a travel agent do. And it sounds like they use their "experience" to get you through the park in what they call a VIP tour. They admit they are not affiliated with Disney and do not get instant access to rides, but they know how to tour the parks well apparently. ?? Thought it sounded pretty strange.

On a side note, we have taken the Behind the Seeds tour and thought it was a great experience to get backstage at the Land. We are taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour for the first time this April and are looking forward to it.

 

[bryanb]

They admit they are not affiliated with Disney and do not get instant access to rides, but they know how to tour the parks well apparently. ?? Thought it sounded pretty strange.

Ah, thanks. That makes more sense. I think some of the reviews were overstating their powers, like "we never had to wait in a line" which seemed quite wrong and unlikely.

 

[pattyw]

We haven't done a tour in a few years and just booked the Undiscovered Future World tour in March. They said that no backpacks or cameras were allowed backstage- we need to put all of our stuff in lockers. Is this right or new? We went on tours that went backstage before with our backpacks. They just told us to put all cameras away.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

We've done many tours. Our favorite: Sense of Africa. Some reviews: http://www.disboards.com/threads/sense-of-africa-reviews.3504528/

 

[MeghanTy]

I just saw this too. Sounds like they do things for you (like ADR's, FP+, come up with an itinerary, etc.) which anyone can do on their own or have a travel agent do. And it sounds like they use their "experience" to get you through the park in what they call a VIP tour. They admit they are not affiliated with Disney and do not get instant access to rides, but they know how to tour the parks well apparently. ?? Thought it sounded pretty strange.

I just happened to notice this! I have just been talking to one of these tour companies and its as you described except they use THEIR FP+ as well. So if you can only use your FP+ for 1 tier A ride, they can use theirs for the other is how it was explained to me.

 

[Shanti]

We are headed back to Disney in 2018 and haven't done any tours yet. Any recommendations of which ones are worth it? Cost isn't a factor.

Wild Africa Trek and Behind the Seeds

 

[Off to Neverland 7]

Another vote for Wild Africa Trek. Worth every penny, and you have lunch (more like a snack) out in the savannah. Loved every moment of it