Keys to the Kingdom Tour
One of the headline tours available at Walt Disney World is the “Keys to the Kingdom Tour”, which allows park visitors to explore some of the history of Walt Disney World and Magic Kingdom, and also have a quick peak behind the curtain and see what it takes to make the world’s most visited theme park tick.
Our tour took place in September 2024, and we booked it on the the Disney World US site using a VPN. UK visitors are restricted in their options for purchase, and going to the “disneyworld.co.uk” website only gives you a phone number to call to make a booking. If you use a VPN, the US website has the option to book online. This felt much easier to us as we could see availability and work out which date worked best with our other plans.
At $149/pp (plus park tickets) the tour is a bit more expensive than the other the Enchanting Extras, but as this tour takes you behind the scenes at Magic Kingdom, we felt it was worth doing at least once as you’re experiencing something that isn’t normally available to park visitors.
After booking, we received an email confirmation covering the tour: where to meet, the ID you must bring, and what shoes to wear. This email also mentions the key restriction of this tour; as you’re going backstage at Disney, all cameras, mobile phones, and video equipment are explicitly not permitted. On the tour, we didn’t have to hand over our phones or anything like that, but we were only allowed to check our phones during toilet breaks and lunch.
The tour is a walking tour so visitors with mobility issues may need to make plans, but we did have two members of our group in ECVs and they didn’t experience any problems navigating around the whole tour but sometimes had to take separate routes from the main group (which usually involved lifts).
Start of the tour and Main Street
The day started early, at 9:00 a.m., with us checking in at Town Square Theatre and meeting our tour guide. After about 10-15 minutes of waiting, we were taken outside and given a quick orientation of the day and what we’d be doing. Our guide reiterated the rules provided in the original booking email: no photos or videos, and ideally, no phone use at all.
The first stop was Main Street, and our guide pointed out the meaning of various elements visible from the ground, including several later changes added in honour of Roy O. Disney. While we’ve heard a few facts about Main Street before, it was nice to have information handed down first-hand and expanded. For example, Center Street used to stretch across Main Street, but the west side was replaced with an updated Emporium in 2001.
Adventure Land
From Main Street, we made our way across the hub towards Adventure Land, and much like before, our guide was pointing out interesting facts and information about the area. One item of particular note is looking at the roof of the Tiki Room. Most people assume that it is made out of straw or wood, but in the Orlando weather, it wouldn’t last too long and also cost a lot to replace. Instead, the Imagineers created the roof from aluminium! If you’re ever passing by the Tiki Room, check out one of the benches, and you’ll see that the wall is worn away a bit; this is where the guide hops up to prove it!
For our trouble, we got to experience the Tiki Room, from reading other reviews this should be a ride on Jungle Cruise, but when we visited in September 2024 it was closed for maintenance. All was not lost, as our guide was able to give some great information about the Tiki Room, one of Andy’s favourite attractions.
Parade Storage and Prep
Just behind Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, we make our first trip backstage. A quick hop over a gate, over the railroad lines, and suddenly, the theming slips away to large industrial buildings. The area we were in is used for parade staging and storing everything needed. As we were on tour in September at 9 a.m., we seemed to have hit the perfect mix, seeing the cavalcade preparing, the Festival of Fantasy floats lining up for later in the day, the Halloween floats being prepped for the week, and also some Christmas floats in the shop being repaired.
Suddenly, it becomes apparent why guests on the tour need to be over 16, as a “beheaded” Max Goof walks past us in preparation for the cavalcade. I can imagine that it might kill the magic for some younger visitors, and Disney doesn’t want that to happen. It may just be a liability thing, but I like to believe better than that.
Last stop was the waterway, and Jo lost her mind seeing the floats for the Electrical Water Pageant, her favourite Disney show. Our guide explained as well that these are easily visible to prying eyes from the Monorail, just before you get into the Magic Kingdom station from the resort Monorail if you look out to your left you can see the waterway and the buildings.
Haunted Mansion
The next stop on our tour was Haunted Mansion; our guide initially said it wouldn’t be a ride we’d go on, but after explaining the history and details of the building, then took us through the Servants Quarters through to the ride. Of course, with our luck, we got stuck on the ride for a few minutes.
The Servant’s Quarters is a themed corridor that skips the stretching room and is mostly used by cast members and guests who can’t enter the ride via the normal route. It’s not a usual place that guests can see, so it was interesting to take a moment to look at the minor details in this themed space. Similar back-routes in modern rides are generally left in a generic state (like corridor that skips the drop ship on Rise of the Resistance), so it’s nice to see when Disney took the extra step they didn’t need to.
While we couldn’t take any photos on this tour, we could take advantage of the ride PhotoPass to make a photo memory.
Lunch
Lunch was at Columbia Harbour House, which is included in the price of the ticket, and your selection is made at the beginning of the tour before leaving the Town Square Theatre. Harbour House was never a place that we had tried before as the menu didn’t interest Andy’s tastes, but after the tour, we decided we would go back at a later date. Overall, we had about an hour’s break and were allocated seats in a roped-off area upstairs at Harbour House.
The Utilidors
After Haunted Mansion was walked through the crowds of Small World and Peter Pan to the outside of The Friar’s Nook, using a small door next to the Mobile Order Pickup, we descended into the “utilidor” system.
For those who don’t know, Walt Disney World was built at the first-floor level (or second, for our US readers), as Disney couldn’t dig down into the Floridian ground due to the high water table they constructed most of the park a floor up to allow for a set of access and maintenance tunnels to exist beneath. The tunnels allow cast members to move easily around different areas of the park without travelling through the busy park and also allow space for storage, management, and even HR. Part of the tunnel system even runs out to the back of Magic Kingdom to the ‘surface’ level, allowing for goods to be loaded into the park without using the service gates.
While it is fascinating, the utilidors just look like any other backroom operation you’d have at a hotel or shopping centre, with a pinch more magic. Our guide was very clear that this is a backstage area where cast members are just people trying to travel to work, have lunch or relax before facing their jobs in the park. Still, it didn’t stop us from being interrupted by three princesses who were heading up to Cinderella’s Royal Table from interacting with us in character.
End of the Tour
We continued down the long stretch of the corridor under the castle and central hub, eventually popping up at the back of the Main Street Confectionery shop in the pathway used for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties as the entrance route between the square and towards Tomorrowland. We then left backstage next to the Town Square Theatre, where we started our day.
Our guide informed us we could keep the name badges we had been given and also pick up a Keys To The Kingdom Pin as a gift for attending the tour.
Final Thoughts
We loved this tour. As Disney fans, we enjoyed the small peek behind the curtain and the deluge of facts regarding the park and its creation. While the price is high, it would be nice to include a theme park entry or even a limited entry where you’re escorted in and out at the start and end. For UK visitors who are mostly taking advantage of 14-day tickets, this isn’t much of an issue, but for people paying gate price, the idea of giving up another $149 and half a paid ticket day could be too much to swallow.
The included quick-service lunch isn’t going to set the world on fire, but it was tasty enough and had options for everyone’s palettes, including straight chicken tenders and fries.
We’ll go on the tour again after a few years, as Walt Disney World is always changing, so I doubt this tour will remain the same forever.
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