At Christmas 2017, when I had already planned to buy an annual pass, my brother gave me a Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I decided that the Halloween trip would be a great time to use it so I booked it in advance. Looking back, it would've been nice had I considered being out late on Halloween night and having to be at the Magic Kingdom very early the next day - but it all worked out!
My keys tour was bright and early so I started making my way to the Magic Kingdom around 7:15 am. Even though I was staying on property, this was an appropriate amount of time given that I was driving over and needed to take the ferry or monorail. There were a lot of people waiting to get into the Magic Kingdom that morning for tours or early morning magic in Fantasyland. It's worth noting that the previous day had seen orange and yellow garland and pumpkin decorations in the MK. When I arrived on November 1, there were now plenty of Christmas decorations up!
When I got over to the cast member to check in, I had a few minutes of panic because my name wasn't on the list. I had my confirmation number though so he told me to go on inside. When I got to the check in area (by Tony's Town Square Restaurant and the Mickey Mouse/Tinkerbell Meet & Greet location), they didn't have my name so I gave them the confirmation number. They asked me a couple of times, "Could it be under anyone else's name?" And repeatedly, I said no. Finally a cast member took my confirmation number and looked it up that way. Then we found that the reservation had gone under Erica's name since it was attached to the room that she booked.
Once they figured that out, they made my nametag and had me order lunch which would be a limited menu from Pecos Bills (this was a relief; I'd seen some reviews online of food coming from Tomorrowland Terrace which was less than impressive). We were gathered together by our tour guide, Rae, and issued small pouches containing ear pieces. Soon, we were off to start our tour which would last about 4 hours.
A couple of initial thoughts about the tour:
- Most of the people in my group were Disney fanatics - there was one lady who kept acting like she knew more than our guide!
- No photography was allowed; I get not videoing anything and I certainly understand no photography in backstage areas. I thought it was odd that while we were walking down Main Street, we weren't supposed to take pictures. My only guess is that it might slow down the tour and/or give away tour secrets to guests who haven't paid for the tour.
- I really wasn't sure how this was going to take several hours - we were just in the Magic Kingdom. But before it was over, I would laugh, I would cry, and I would learn a lot about the magic!
Our tour guide had a microphone on her shirt which projected into our earpieces so we could hear no matter where we were. I'm hoping to share a few fun pieces that I learned along the way (if you're hoping to take this tour yourself, I would stop reading now).
- Outside of Tony's Town Square restaurant (which is Lady and the Tramp themed) there is a square of concrete with doggy paw prints in them. You can't usually see this because strollers are usually parked over it.
- Many people know that the park uses forced perspective which makes the buildings on Main Street and Cinderella Castle look taller than they are.
- Many people also know that the windows on Main Street are tributes to the folks who had a large role in helping create the attractions throughout. There is one window with the name Card Walker that says "Justice of the Peace" - this was a close friend of Roy and Walt Disney's who would frequently step in when the brothers had a disagreement. Also, we were told that the park is set up sort of like a movie with coming attractions at the start (ride posters under the train station), credits (the windows along main street), with the Director being last (a window in tribute to Walt is located above the ice cream shop on Main Street facing Cinderella's castle).
Card Walker (Justice of the Peace) window on the left. Another thing I started paying attention to during the tour is speakers around the Magic Kingdom. Notice how that window on the right is open? Sort of looks like a speaker sitting there huh? Word has it that during parades, you'll notice open windows that will close once the parade is over.
Roy Disney's window in the middle - thanks for helping complete the vision Roy!
- The Disney company is an entertainment company with four main priorities: safety, courtesy, show, efficiency (in that order). If you pay attention, it's not hard to see all four of these in action on any given day on Disney property.
- The Partners statue in front of the castle has a life-size representation of Mickey Mouse. The sculptor figured out the size by figuring out how tall Mickey is compared to Stokowski in the movie Fantasia. Also there is a very small hidden Mickey on a ring on Walt's finger (there's no way to see the ring from the ground).
If you're not familiar with the Partners statue, here's a picture I took of it this past summer!
- The Crystal Palace restaurant gives a great example of transition in theming. It was said that when Disneyland was being built, Walt would walk around with his eyes closed. He believed that you should be able to tell from the atmosphere where he was in the park (sounds and even smells).
- All first aid in Disney is free.
We made our way into Adventureland where we rode the Jungle Cruise (it was actually transformed into the Jingle Cruise already) in the "VIP" fashion which means going in the exit with the guide. We had a whole boat to ourselves! We learned that originally, the Jungle Cruise was intended to be more educational and give you information about the real animals that the animatronics were based on. People weren't loving it and Walt heard about a cast member who was making some jokes. After riding and having that experience, the ride was changed.
From there, it was about time for lunch! We went into a private room at Pecos Bill's and our food orders were set out with a place card - inside the place card was the special pin you get for the Keys to the Kingdom tour! I had a chicken taco salad and they brought in all kinds of toppings - our own unlimited toppings bar (WITH GUAC).
After lunch, we went into a backstage area where we saw where the parade floats are stored and maintained. We also got to hear about some of the different roles our tour guide, Rae, has had working with Disney. She has some really cool jobs including being a keys guide and a VIP tour guide. She also works with the suite in the Cinderella castle and has been "friends" with some Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and the Fairy Godmother! All of the parades at Disney have dress rehearsals which have to be done in the overnight hours. I think I always assumed there was some backlot area where they could just do all the parade rehearsals.
We walked down into Liberty Square and learned more about the Haunted Mansion (like how they used Leota Toombs' daughter's face to update the effect) before riding the Haunted Mansion, again, in a VIP way. We actually walked in the exit and then to a special hallway where we walked right into the fireplace room and then had our own stretching room.
After that, we started to make our way through Fantasyland toward Mickey's Philharmagic. The moment of magic was finally almost here - we were going to be heading down into the utilidor. If you don't know, the utilidor is the first floor of the Magic Kingdom. Part of the benefit of the utilidor is that cast members can get from one place to another without throwing things off (think about being in Frontierland and seeing two cast members walk by in Tomorrowland costumes). So, down we went.
I was surprised by how big it was - I don't think I'd really considered what it would be like before we were down there. Our guide said it's smaller than people think it is but still, we were down there for probably an hour or so. We went down into the utilidor by Mickey's Philharmagic (right by the carousel) and came up and out behind Main Street toward the front of the park.
There are pargo vehicles (sort of like small golf carts) that drive around the utilidor (we saw a few that were carrying souvenirs for package pick up or resort delivery). There is a credit union down there! And there was a TON of Disney memorabilia on the walls. I worried that seeing this would ruin the magic for me. Luckily, we didn't run into any of the mascot characters or anything like that. What struck me is that it looked like any kind of industrial workplace. There were people on break looking at their phones. People were walking through carrying lunchboxes. Some cast members were on bicycles.
We were able to see aerial photography of the Magic Kingdom along with photos from the opening day ceremonies. There was also an area for attractions that have been closed or re-purposed and for coming attractions. The story that made me cry was about opening day. Rae, our guide, told us that when Disney World opened in 1971, Roy Disney (who played a huge part in making sure everything came together) had a security detail around him to make sure he got from appearance to appearance. At some point, he was able to get away from the security detail and asked a cast member on a boat to drive him out into the water. Roy told the cast member that it was one of the worst and best days of his life. Best because he saw Walt's vision come to life; worst because Walt wasn't there to see it. A couple of months after the park opened, Roy passed. So, yeah, Rae made us all cry near the end of the tour.
Another interesting thing I learned was about the men whose names are on the Ferryboats that bring you across to the Magic Kingdom from the transportation and ticket center. They were both hugely integral in terms of dealing with the land and coming up with the engineering in the utilidor. If you've ever wondered who Potter and Fowler were, check out this website.
We came up out of the utilidor and had a few more minutes in a backstage area before returning our hearing devices and saying goodbye to Rae.
Final thoughts on Keys to the Kingdom:
From there, it was about time for lunch! We went into a private room at Pecos Bill's and our food orders were set out with a place card - inside the place card was the special pin you get for the Keys to the Kingdom tour! I had a chicken taco salad and they brought in all kinds of toppings - our own unlimited toppings bar (WITH GUAC).
Placecard
Pin
After lunch, we went into a backstage area where we saw where the parade floats are stored and maintained. We also got to hear about some of the different roles our tour guide, Rae, has had working with Disney. She has some really cool jobs including being a keys guide and a VIP tour guide. She also works with the suite in the Cinderella castle and has been "friends" with some Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and the Fairy Godmother! All of the parades at Disney have dress rehearsals which have to be done in the overnight hours. I think I always assumed there was some backlot area where they could just do all the parade rehearsals.
We walked down into Liberty Square and learned more about the Haunted Mansion (like how they used Leota Toombs' daughter's face to update the effect) before riding the Haunted Mansion, again, in a VIP way. We actually walked in the exit and then to a special hallway where we walked right into the fireplace room and then had our own stretching room.
After that, we started to make our way through Fantasyland toward Mickey's Philharmagic. The moment of magic was finally almost here - we were going to be heading down into the utilidor. If you don't know, the utilidor is the first floor of the Magic Kingdom. Part of the benefit of the utilidor is that cast members can get from one place to another without throwing things off (think about being in Frontierland and seeing two cast members walk by in Tomorrowland costumes). So, down we went.
I was surprised by how big it was - I don't think I'd really considered what it would be like before we were down there. Our guide said it's smaller than people think it is but still, we were down there for probably an hour or so. We went down into the utilidor by Mickey's Philharmagic (right by the carousel) and came up and out behind Main Street toward the front of the park.
There are pargo vehicles (sort of like small golf carts) that drive around the utilidor (we saw a few that were carrying souvenirs for package pick up or resort delivery). There is a credit union down there! And there was a TON of Disney memorabilia on the walls. I worried that seeing this would ruin the magic for me. Luckily, we didn't run into any of the mascot characters or anything like that. What struck me is that it looked like any kind of industrial workplace. There were people on break looking at their phones. People were walking through carrying lunchboxes. Some cast members were on bicycles.
We were able to see aerial photography of the Magic Kingdom along with photos from the opening day ceremonies. There was also an area for attractions that have been closed or re-purposed and for coming attractions. The story that made me cry was about opening day. Rae, our guide, told us that when Disney World opened in 1971, Roy Disney (who played a huge part in making sure everything came together) had a security detail around him to make sure he got from appearance to appearance. At some point, he was able to get away from the security detail and asked a cast member on a boat to drive him out into the water. Roy told the cast member that it was one of the worst and best days of his life. Best because he saw Walt's vision come to life; worst because Walt wasn't there to see it. A couple of months after the park opened, Roy passed. So, yeah, Rae made us all cry near the end of the tour.
Another interesting thing I learned was about the men whose names are on the Ferryboats that bring you across to the Magic Kingdom from the transportation and ticket center. They were both hugely integral in terms of dealing with the land and coming up with the engineering in the utilidor. If you've ever wondered who Potter and Fowler were, check out this website.
We came up out of the utilidor and had a few more minutes in a backstage area before returning our hearing devices and saying goodbye to Rae.
Final thoughts on Keys to the Kingdom:
- Lots of cool tidbits of information - particularly if your tour guide has been working for Walt Disney World for 20+ years
- Pretty cool to have "VIP Access" to a couple of rides
- I think that people would probably pay the price of admission for just the opportunity to be in the utilidor and experience that portion of the tour
- Disney fanatics would enjoy this. If you're more of a surface-level Disney fan, you may not appreciate some of the history and background on the park as much.
- There are a few other tours you can do; from Marceline to the Magic Kingdom is a little shorter and less expensive. The Backstage Magic tour is more expensive and longer and goes into other park areas outside of the MK. Then there are obviously other park-specific adventures like the Wild Africa Trek, etc.
- It was really cool to be part of a special group; we got to go into Adventureland before the park technically opened and saw it pretty empty.
- It was nice to be able to ask all the questions you've ever wondered about Disney, being a cast member, etc.
Here I am with Rae! A true Disney expert, a knowledgeable guide, and a wonderful cast member!
I'd be leaving the Magic Kingdom soon because Erica had arrived in Orlando and we'd be meeting up!!
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