Keys to the Kingdom Tour

[Captain_Nemo]

I have the tour booked for 1/15 but could not really make out what the cast member said about where to go in the morning. I think he said "Tour meets at Tour Garden Left of City Hall" is that right? I never heard of the "Tour Garden" lol

[faline]

Very easy ! Go to City Hall in the Magic Kingdom to check in. Just ot the left of that areas is a patio area (between City Hall and the train station). This is where you'll wait for the tour to begin.

[Rekenna]

Lucky dog! I would love to go, but have never had the chance.

Have fun!:mickey:

[mouseketeer mom]

Yes, just head to city hall, and when we went there was a sign up outside on the sidewalk that said "All tours check in here" or something like that. Very easy to find. You will check in and they will tell you the choices for lunch and you will choose your meal at check in. Then when you get to Columbia Harbour House, your meal will be waiting for you along with a placecard with your name on it, and inside that place card is your "Keys to the Kingdom" pin! You will be seated with whoever you are on tour with, plus others as well. This was a fun tour..I can't say I learned a whole lot..even the utilidor part of the tour was very staged..in other words you still weren't going to see anything that Disney doesn't want you to! But it was fun, we enjoyed it alot.

[kemps@wdw]

Am very excited for you! :yay: We're planning to do this tour on our visit in Oct. I have wanted to do it for a long time, but had to wait til DD turned 16. (could NOT go w/out her). Staged or not, I am very much looking forward to it! :mickey:

[andreallybadeggs]

This was a fun tour..I can't say I learned a whole lot..even the utilidor part of the tour was very staged..in other words you still weren't going to see anything that Disney doesn't want you to! But it was fun, we enjoyed it alot.

Unless it's changed recently, have to disagree with this just a little because we learned quite a bit. Perhaps it depends on your guide but think more likely it's up to the group and the questions asked. You will not SEE any more than Disney wants you to see, true. But our guide (Matt-- fabulous!) told us from the outset that any and all questions were acceptable so fire away. We asked him about several things we'd read on Intercot, rumors, etc... and he addressed them all in a very forthright manner. We were particularly interested in the best and worst things about being a cast member since DD had her heart set on working there one day (which she now does!!) but also asked some off-the-wall things like if the MK flight of Tinkerbell is performed by a guy. (It's not)
One of our favorite WDW lines ever came from that tour as we had walked half way up Main St. and then turned to watch the guests being allowed to enter MK. Matt said something like, "You're lucky to be in the park ahead of time so you can get this perspective. It's very much like watching the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Only the bulls don't have strollers." :D
Enjoy the tour. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[brad192]

I did this tour a few years back, and it was very informative & entertaining. One thing to note - the response you get from your guide on certain questions will vary depending on whether you're on-stage or off-stage. Our group learned early on that you'll get a more direct & complete answer to some questions when you ask them off-stage. Apparently, there are some rules about what the guides can say when they're "performing" on-stage.

[laprana]

We booked this tour for our trip in May and I'm so excited for it! I've been wanting to go on it for a long time, and finally convinced the rest of my family. :yay: For those of you who have been on it, how big are the groups for this tour?

[brad192]

If I remember correctly, the group I was with was limited to about 20. Everybody got earpieces so that we could hear the guide really well, even though we might have been a bit far away from him. Don't bring any cameras (they're not allowed), and be sure everyone in your party has a photo ID with them - they will check. Oh, and the more questions you ask, the more you'll get out of the tour. Enjoy!:mickey:

[badkitty]

I thought the tour was a lot of fun but I have to say that our guide had a lot of answers and insights but made several mistakes in presenting Disney facts. I agree with mouseketeer mom that I didn't learn that much and our group did asked a lot of questions onstage and backstage. I guess it really depends on how much you already know.

I do think it is a great tour though.

[laprana]

If I remember correctly, the group I was with was limited to about 20. Everybody got earpieces so that we could hear the guide really well, even though we might have been a bit far away from him. Don't bring any cameras (they're not allowed), and be sure everyone in your party has a photo ID with them - they will check. Oh, and the more questions you ask, the more you'll get out of the tour. Enjoy!:mickey:

Thanks for the info! The group size sounds perfect! I was hoping that it wouldn't be such a big group that it would deter talking to the guide. I'll probably come up with a million questions to ask between now and May...I might have to practice restraint! :blush:

[ChipNDale79]

how much does this tour cost?

[laprana]

how much does this tour cost?

I believe the price is $65 plus tax per person, and you have to have a park ticket to enter MK for the tour. But, they do offer discounts on the tour price for Disney Visa holders, AP holders, and DVC members! :thumbsup:

[ChipNDale79]

I believe the price is $65 plus tax per person, and you have to have a park ticket to enter MK for the tour. But, they do offer discounts on the tour price for Disney Visa holders, AP holders, and DVC members! :thumbsup:

Awesome, i do have an AP, that sounds like a good value. Does that include the lunch at liberty tree, or do you have to pay for that separately?

[laprana]

Awesome, i do have an AP, that sounds like a good value. Does that include the lunch at liberty tree, or do you have to pay for that separately?

Lunch is included, but it's at Columbia Harbor House. We've never eaten there, so I'm excited to try it! Lots of new things this trip! :yay:

[Rekenna]

Hi! Couldn't stand it and I booked for Mar 1! Yay!:yay: I've always wanted to go and if it's great I will book the 7-hour tour next time. Thanks for the thread it pushed me to do somehthing I've wanted to do for a while.

I got a 20% discount with my Disney Visa card.:mickey:

Have fun!

[Hannah & Ryan]

We've booked the tour for january 28!:cheer:

You can order your lunch at check in!

[beksy]

We just went on the tour a week ago (is it time to go back yet? :( ) as a special gift for Mom. It was me (27), my sister (21), and Mom, who was in an ECV. The tour was great! I didn't learn a whole lot but my mom and sister did. We did have an interesting "interaction" with Chip and Dale off-stage. Mom had a blast and we will definately be doing another tour in the future. The one bad thing was nobody in our group seemed to want to speak up and ask questions (Mom happily filled in the gap though). For anybody with an ECV or wheelchair, I would not worry a bit about doing the tour. They made it so easy for Mom, with the guiding making sure to find places for her to get on and off sidewalks, clearing pathways for her, and helping with rides. At lunch we went upstairs, which is the part I was worried about since Mom can't do stairs and there is no elevator. We got a special peak at the kitchen and got to use the service elevator so Mom wouldn't be left behind. It was wonderful and definately worth the money just to see some of the stuff I've heard about. :thumbsup:

[pixiesmimi]

We went on this tour in August and loved it. We got there early to make sure we were on time and had to wait around for others for quiet a while. They didn't exactly start on time. We brought our camera in our bag since we were going to be at MK after the tour and I asked if we needed to leave it in a locker. They told us no, it was fine. Just don't take it out during the tour. We walked into the building and registered and received our pins and chose our lunch menu.

We had Matt also and he is really good! :thumbsup: It was very hot that day and we spent quiet a bit of time backstage in an area that was hot (won't spoil it by telling you where) but after leaving there, the group had to take an unscheduled water break so everyone could cool off. We also had a couple of people in wheel chairs along and they were very helpful to them. They were very accomodating to them at the Harbor House and the Haunted Mansion. We learned a lot from the trip. Very much worth the money and time spent.