Keys to the Kingdom Tour In Magic Kingdom
We finally got to knock a bucket list tour off our list and we want to tell you all about it! Keys to the Kingdom is a tour that takes you through Magic Kingdom to show you some of the behind the scenes and history that makes this park so special.
Don’t forget to check out our even more in depth review on our YouTube Channel!
What is it?
This is a five hour walking tour with a guide who will talk to you about the history of the park, how some of the day to day works, and much more! You’ll be guided through some of the park as well as backstage areas that ONLY Cast Members have access to. You even get to go in the Utilidoors underneath the park. (more on that later)
How much is it?
The price for this tour is around $129–$149 per person, BUT if you have an Annual Pass or Disney Visa you get a discounted rate of $109.65 per person making this a great bang for your buck! Keep in mind, guests must be 16 years of age or older to participate in the tour and must be able to present a government issued ID upon check-in.
You can book your tour up to 60 days in advance using either the My Disney Experience app or the Disney website. Tour times start at 8:00, 8:30, and 9:00am daily.
It’s also worth mentioning that you do get Lunch at Columbia Harbour House included as well as a few other freebies & surprises.
The Experience
First things first, when you check-in, you are going to meet at the host stand at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. Here is where you will show you ID, get your name tag, head set, and place your lunch order.
They also had nice cold complimentary bottles of water for you to take.
If you want to take pictures, this is the ONLY time you may do so during the tour! No phones or cameras are allowed during the entire length of the tour, especially in backstage areas. They do have a big ‘key’ photo prop so that you can take a few pictures before the tour begins.
Your name tag you get to keep, and has to be pinned in a visible place so that Cast Members know that you are a part of the tour. I actually pinned my nametag around the straps of my headset lanyard so that I didn’t have to pin it to my clothes.
Your headset loops around your ear, so I recommend NOT wearing big earrings. Your tour guide will be giving you lots of information while on your tour, so this helps you to hear them in crowded, loud, or spaced out areas.
I won’t spoil ALL the surprises, but I do want to give you a rundown and idea of how the tour goes so that you can be a little more prepared than we were.
You’ll start on Main Street USA and your guide will walk you through the different elements of ‘show’ and how all of Main Street is supposed to feel like going to the movies including rolling out the red carpet, the beginning ‘credits’ and of course the smell of popcorn!
Next we headed over to Adventureland to talk about a classic Disney attraction including it’s origins and how it’s evolved over the years. And SURPRISE! We even got a special ride on this particular attraction and we didn’t even have to wait in line. Don’t worry, this one is one the entire family will enjoy.
Afterwards, we headed backstage to where they house the Parade Floats for Festival of Fantasy and all the other specialty Parades and Cavalcades. This area goes around the back of Pirates of the Caribbean and you get to see just how big this building actually is.
Coming back into the park we head through Frontierland and Liberty Square to head to lunch. Lunch was a Columbia Harbour House and each guest gets an entree and drink of their choice. As a fun surprise, they gave us a cupcake from Cheshire Cafe and a souvenir pin to commemorate the tour!
After Lunch, we headed over to the Haunted Mansion to talk about the history of this attraction and of course we got to ride this one as well!
This is the part of the tour where we finally headed down to the Utilidoors. These are the underground tunnels that run under the entire park. The ONLY way you get to go down there is if you are a Cast Member or doing this tour. The original purpose of these is so that Cast Members had a way to get to their different lands in their costumes without being seen by guests in the wrong land.
Now it is also their breakroom space, offices, stockrooms, costuming, and more. We spent quite a bit of time down here and it was really cool to see a side of Disney that no one gets to see. Just a fair warning, this does spoil some of the ‘magic’, so if you don’t want that, this may not be the tour for you. BUT this is also why they don’t allow children on the tour.
Finally we exited the Utilidoors out on the pathway that is usually open for fireworks or special ticketed events. From here, you get to see where Tinkerbell lands and talk about some secrets of how she makes magic every night during Happily Ever After.
Our Thoughts
Overall, this tour waaaaay blew my expectations! It was much more in depth than I thought and all the extra surprises made the value of this tour absolutely worth it! I do have to warn that it is ALOT of information and I don’t recommend doing this if it’s your first time to Magic Kingdom. If you have been before, or even a few times, then I think this could be a great way to experience the park in a totally different way.
Disney History buffs are going to absolutely love this tour and if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the parks, this is definitely one to add to your bucket list!
