Reviews of Keys to the Kingdom – Magic Kingdom
Reviewed by fey2k Review Date: 02/04/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Tour date Sat, Jan 26, 2013. We had Landon as the tour guide. I think he has learned a LOT since the time of another reviewer in April 2012. We really enjoyed his passion for Disney.
The details others have posted recently have not changed. Enjoyed getting our own boat on Jungle Cruise and hearing some stories of the molds of animals and characters. Really enjoyed the use of the headsets on Haunted Mansion, getting the behind the scenes info as we rode through the attraction!
We are not Disney history experts, so all of the information we heard was new and interesting. Would love to take similar tours in other parks.
As other have posted, get there early for check in and then wander main street for photos before the crowds let in.
Tour lasted a good five hours, including the stop for lunch.
Pros:
Lots of info, special pinCons:
NoneReviewed by grumpy1 Review Date: 05/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My wife and I did this on 5/22/13. Lots of walking but a lunch break was great. Jessica from Golden Co. was the best. Knows her history and adds great side stories. Worth the effort to learn some secrets and see the "show"
Pros:
all of itCons:
noneReviewed by dvcnut Review Date: 08/01/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is a great tour for the money. You learn so much and begin to appreciate what sets Disney apart from other theme parks. The only downside, if there is one, to the tour is that you are literally standing for five hours. The jungle ride, lunch, and haunted mansion are nice breaks but don't give your feet much of a break.
Pros:
Info learnedCons:
Standing for five hoursReviewed by jim61vik Review Date: 11/22/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
A tour is a tour.
This is a 4+ hours of walking around the park with someone talking about it non-stop.
They give you a massive amount of information, and a great deal of insight on how the parks were laid out and designed. It's amazing all the things they take into consideration and the level of detail is impressive.
I would have like to see more of the mechanical side of the attractions how they move all the water for the water for water attractions, how they maintain the coasters and moving rides. Safety is a huge concern with Disney and their guests so I would have expected a bit more insight on all of the checks and things they have in place to insure safe operations.
Visiting the underground was interesting although "underwhelming". If you didn't realize before the tour it existed, it might be different but most people taking a tour like this already know about it even if they don't know the details.
I think it was worth the cost and for anyone who has thirst for more insight into how the Disney people bring this to fruition will enjoy it. I was left wanting more but in some ways I don't know what "more" was I guess I felt a bit unfulfilled.
Pros:
very informativeCons:
not what I really expectedReviewed by love2gals Review Date: 12/02/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My family of 5 went on the Keys to the Kingdom tour this past Saturday, November 30, 2013. I should begin by saying my husband and I took this tour 14 years ago when our children were too young to join us. They have heard us talk about the tour many times on our visits to WDW and were anxious for the time when they could join us. They were finally old enough and got to join us this time.
I can't say enough about our tour guide, Jessica, she was wonderful! She was very knowledgeable and extremely friendly. She would have made Walt very proud!
Most of our tour was very interesting. Jessica pointed out many facts and even some Hidden Mickeys. She also revealed various other hidden characters, including a Hidden Walt! We really enjoyed all of the facts that she taught us.
Now for the not-so-positive aspects of the tour. I think most people, and Jessica mentioned this herself, probably take this tour because you get to go into the Utilidor. Sadly, it was a real letdown. When we took this tour 14 years ago, a major part of the tour was in the Utilidor, and in various locations of it. We got to see where they styled the wigs, applied make-up, we were shown their laundry service and told about their costumes and how each and every one had a bar code sewn inside to keep track of them all. We were told interesting facts from "down under". One of which I remember them telling us was about the amount of dryer lint they produce each day. I don't remember details but it was staggering.
During this tour we only went into the Utilidor for about 40 minutes at the very end of the tour. It was only under the Main Street section were I would assume you see less "action" in the form of characters. It was pretty much standing around looking at a few historic pictures and displays that were hung on the walls. Not only was this very disappointing compared to what we recall from our previous tour, it was also very uncomfortable to stand still for 40 minutes after you had already been touring for over four hours.
All in all I would recommend this tour but not if you are taking it to see the Utilidor, you really don't see much of it.
Pros:
for the most part, very interestingCons:
utilidor segment was boring and a lot of standingReviewed by tinyallison Review Date: 12/12/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
It was pouring rain at all parts of our tour. But I really enjoyed it. Our tour guide was nice and knowledgeable. I would do it again.
Pros:
Very informativeCons:
RAINReviewed by momof3inMadisonAL Review Date: 01/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
My husband and I took this tour October 4 (8:30). I realized that I didn't review it, now that I have taken the backstage magic tour (separate review). We have 4 kids, all too young to take this tour, but had a chance to visit WDW for a weekend by ourselves. This tour was a must do!
Our tour guide was Rachel. I only remember that because it is my daughter's name. She was super friendly and personable. She told us about her history with the company and it really felt like we knew her. She was very knowledgable and answered all of our questions (as able).
She first took us to the side street off of Main Street and we sat at the tables and chairs. (To counter someone else's review, our tour guide had us sit frequently.) It was so fun to see the park open and all the guests go by. She pointed out the windows and things that in all our visits to MK, we have missed.
We went to Adventureland and sat at the little tables across from Swiss Family Robinson. She gave us the history of Walt, disneyland etc. We rode Jungle Cruise and honestly I enjoyed this boat ride of fun facts more than the actual cruise.
Rachel was full of fun facts, pointing out things from Frontierland to Liberty Square. We ate lunch at Columbia Harbor House.
Then we did STAND near the Liberty boat while getting the history of Haunted Mansion, supposidly Rachel's favorite ride. She had so many facts about HM, that we couldn't remember a fraction of them as we rode through.
We were excited to see the utilidoor, but it was really uneventful as others have said, and we did have to STAND. We were hoping to see more than the coridor under Main Street. Rachel was great talking about the pictures that were on the wall though.
I definitely recommend this tour. Wish they had more tours like this one!
Pros:
great informationCons:
left wanting MOREReviewed by jeconk Review Date: 03/12/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Great tour. Even though you walk around for nearly 5 hours, it doesn't seem that long. So much information and "side stories" are told that time flies. Left wanting for more. (how about a part 2 to Fantasyland & Tommarrowland.) Lunch was cold by the time we got sat down because they set it up before you get there....maybe they could serve it after you arrive so the food is hot. This is a great tour to also learn about "Walt's Vision" and some of the many things that were incorporated into the Magic Kingdom.
Pros:
Incredible amunt of information is shared and all very interesting.Cons:
Food at meal was cold by the time we sat down because it was pre-served.Reviewed by ruthann Review Date: 03/31/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband and I are seniors, age 63 and 66, when we took the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We have never gone a tour before, but wanted to try something different. The 5 hours long tour was broken up in some rest areas not listed, but still a lot of walking. It was worth it though. Our tour guide made the tour for us. He was enthusiastic, entertaining, and seemed like this was his first time giving the tour, that is, he was as awestruck as the rest of us. The info and behind the scenes tours were great. The food was really good too, and the special gift at the end was a nice surprise! I would recommend this tour to anyone who can keep up, but if you are at WDW you do a lot of walking every day. One of my favorite parts of the tour was not on the tour! Before the 8:30am tour, we were able to walk about the empty park (main street area only and the castle area) before the tour and before the park opened. It was a real treat to walk about practically alone and to actually see the store window displays all spruced up for Christmas. It was awesome! Would we do it again? Probably not but only because we have done it once. It is well worth the money and the experience is unforgettable. If you have health, walking issues you should probably take a shorter, easier tour. One older couple had a difficult time with the walking, heat, etc. I would recommend this tour to anyone, and would definitely take another WDW tour!
Pros:
fun! great tour guide, lots of infoCons:
just the amount of walking on a very hot day!Reviewed by Nsunukji Review Date: 08/30/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We took the keys to the kingdom tour (8:30am) and were very pleased with it. We left our DD(16) and DS(15) on their own for the morning and they had their own fun. Haylee our tour guide was vey eager to snow us all the hidden secrets that are right out in plain site in MK. YEs, we eventually went "underground", but as others have posted, that's not as exciting as it might seem. We learned a lot more about Walt and Roy and our kids got a kick out of some of the things we learned when we later hooked up,with them. Lunch was nice in the American Pavilion. It was a really hot day and there is ALOT of walking I really thing the tour could be cut short about 1/2 hour or 45 min and still be as enjoyable. You really have to be interested in Disney to enjoy it, which we are. Definitely well worth the price.
