is this good to do? A Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour

[Sleepless Knight]

When I took the tour in August 2007, we were encouraged to ask questions. In my case, our guide was an older gentleman who had retired a few years earlier and then went to his dream job working at Disneyland. He loved the park and was excellent. A few of us sat with him at lunch and had a nice coversation that was off script.

[dougeebear]

Originally Posted by wanderw1

are there any tours for the general public that go backstage? really backstage and not just the tiki room?

Not at Disneyland. Well, let me qualify that. Adventures by Disney offers a tour of the Imagineering studio, Henson's studio, El Capitan, Jimmy Kimmel's show, and Disneyland with backstage access. Disneyland® Resort and Hollywood Family Vacation | Adventures by Disney The cost is prohibitively expensive for most folks, and from the reviews I've read the Disneyland backstage stuff isn't nearly as impressive as the visits to Imagineering, El Capitan and Henson's studio.

Disney World offers several public tours of various parks that take you backstage and into the Utilidors.

[Datameister]

I haven't done the whole tour, but I did get a chance to see some of the things you normally do as part of it. The Tiki Room flower (Ophelia!) is pretty cool. Can't really say whether or not I would recommend the tour, though, not having been on it. But I probably wouldn't do it, simply because it costs so much and it's not as if it shows a whole lot that you can't normally see, or present a whole lot of facts that I don't already know.

[sarki7]

Originally Posted by BC_DisneyGeek

Do they allow participants to ask many questions?

Sure, of course, but for most of the questions I'm curious about, they're either not willing to give answers, or give vague and general PR responses. The history is all well and good, but I'm interested in the operations and HOW of the resorts. A lot of that is considered proprietary and trade secrets, and not something you'll get a straight answer on.

We were even told that directly on the Backstage Magic tour, that there's just so much they're not allowed to talk about.

But they'll probably be happy to answer any "When did...?" inquires.

[ttrocc7007]

The wife and I did the tour last August.
While certain aspects of it were fun, the guy who led the tour was on his last day and was clearly looking forward more to quitting time than to leading the tour.
He was also very fast to quote the company line about several falacies including the Fantasyland survey marker being the exact geographical spot of the park when it first opened.
I had to point out the site of the Monsanto House Of The Future to him. After that he sarcastically would ask at every stop if perhaps I would like to lead the tour.
When he learned I was a Mice Chatter he launched into a terribly negative spiel about "All those internet sites that always get everything wrong."
The lunch was eaten at the tour guide plaza and consisted of a Blue Ribbon Bakery sandwich and a bag of chips with a drink. Nothing special.
Was it worth 60 bucks? I suppose if I had been an out of towner, but as a well read Disneylander with a million trips under my belt, I was not overly impressed.

[pirateslife4me]

Originally Posted by clowndiscus

is this good to go on?
A Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour

my wife and i went on a tour at disneyworld that whet behind the scenes, and underground.

is this a good one to do at disneyland?

what all does it cover

thanks

geoff

Love this tour! Highly recommended. We also had a top notch Guide. He was well-versed in all-things-Walt. It made the experience that much better.

[pirateslife4me]

Originally Posted by wanderw1

are there any tours for the general public that go backstage? really backstage and not just the tiki room?

The Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic tour is the one! I have experienced this tour and it's a trip of a lifetime. We did lots of extra behind-the-scenes experiences and lots of surprises along the way. The price is high, yes, but you are also staying in two high-end hotels and most meals are included. They are a couple of the character meals which are high cost and gifts/surprises along the way. You also go to places that are not accessible to the general public like Imagineering. They also take care of you from the moment you arrive at the airport to the moment they drop you off.

[sarki7]

You're not really spending much behind the scenes time at the actual park though, are you?

[Sgt. Tibs]

all these tours sound awesome.

does anyone know if there's a tour like these at DLP?

i would post this on the DLP board but there ain't much activity over there :-)

[sarki7]

The tours certainly are cool - but you'd be amazed about how much of this "insider information" is already public knowledge online. It's mostly about seeing it for yourself and getting a little VIP treatment.

Took a long search on the old blog-o-tubes and didn't find anything about tours for Disneyland Paris. Doesn't look too promising, though you may want to contact the park directly. The disneylandparis.co.uk website isn't exactly stellar.

[pirateslife4me]

Originally Posted by sarki7

You're not really spending much behind the scenes time at the actual park though, are you?

Yes, you do. One morning it's behind-the-scenes at Disneyland, the next is CA Adventure. The first few days prior to driving to Disneyland, you go behind-the-scenes at Jimmy Kimmel, El Capitan, Jim Henson Studios, Imagineering, Walt Disney Studios and if the Volunteers can make it, they will open up Walts Barn just for your tour. If you want more of what one does, you can PM me. I don't want to ruin the surprises if anyone else was interested. (Although, there are lots of blogs out there.)

[Aladdin]

I'd say the tour is worth taking at least once, for DL fans. As has been pointed out, if you've been to DL 200 times already, you probably won't learn too much. but they do try to keep things in the tour, that a normal DL guest would not get a chance to experience.

Now, the last time I took this particular tour, was way back when they still had both of Walt's desk on display in the pre Lincoln show, they also let us enter the Disney Gallery by using the back staircase, Well, those are sadly not on the tour anymore, . . . for awhile they even had lunch in the Disney Gallery Patio, that too, is no longer available,

But, they have added the headphones, so it's easier to hear your tour guide, they do try to add the lobby of Club 33, and they do try to give you the additional Tiki room info. And sometimes you even get to ride in the Liily Belle. However, lunch in the tour guide area just doesn't have that same magic touch, and DL really does need to make it a little more special.

[SeaWolf38]

It was a great tour, IMO. I took it last June, just at the beginning of summer, and I enjoyed it alot, even though I knew much of what she was telling us. I did learn some interesting new facts though, and of course enjoyed visiting Club 33's lobby for the first time. I had the added bonus of meeting Bob Gurr while on the tour... but its not included haha. Below is a link to the trip report I made of the tour (complete w/ lots of photos) if you want to check it out, get a feel for it.

SeaWolf38's Tour Trip Report

[sarki7]

The lunch most certainly left something to be desired. And I must say, I appreciate the mystique of a place like Club 33, and in general it's cool to have seen the lobby for myself, but unless you're already aware of how exclusive the club is, you're really just taken into a small foyer at the bottom of some stairs. It's not like they invited us up for a drink.

Originally Posted by pirateslife4me

Yes, you do. One morning it's behind-the-scenes at Disneyland, the next is CA Adventure.

What is it you get to see at the parks? Based on some recaps it didn't sound like the behind the experience was much beyond what the regular tours get.

[Sgt. Tibs]

thanks for looking sarki7, i had a pretty good look too and found nothing. oh well, i suppose there isn't much history to explore in a 16 year old park :-) still would be cool though.

i'll still ask when i get there. just in case.