August 31st of last year I made my first trek to Walt Disney World Resort without my family in tow. I was on my way to meet my new DBFF (Disney Best Friend Forever) and future Two Moms and A Mouse co-conspirator. This trip was extra special because we had booked a Keys to the Kingdom Tour.
We had both been gitty with anticipation for months, and then before we knew it, there we were sitting at the Port Orleans bus depot waiting for the Magic Kingdom bus to pick us up.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom @ 7:30am and waited in line with other guests who had prior reservations for breakfast and tours. Finally at 8am we were able to enter onto Main Street USA. We took the opportunity to take pictures that otherwise may have been difficult to capture with crowds.
We were privileged to take a ride in a Main Street Vehicle – which brought us down to Cinderella Castle- this was my very first ride ever in one of these vehicles! Being mindful of our 8:15am check in time for the tour, we made our way back to Guest Services to be accounted for. When we arrived we were greeted by two Cast Members who gave us a menu from the Columbia Harbour House to pre-order our lunch for later that afternoon. We then received a small folded card with our name on the front, across the top it read, “Disney’s Keys to the Kingdom” – inside was a small gold key which had the same phrase engraved along the length, the head of the key was of course shaped as a Mickey Head with an imprint of Cinderella Castle.
We were also given an audio pack and headset with a 3×2 rectangular pin attached, with the same phrase as well as our name. This audio pack and headset were to ensure we could hear our tour guide at all times while filtering out the background noise of the hustle and bustle around the Magic Kingdom. I believe it also translates for any one speaking a language other than English. Our 8:30 tour was about to commence, we were told under no circumstances were we allowed to take pictures during the tour and were asked to put away our cameras and phones. We were off for our 5 hour tour!
Our first few stopping points were along Main Street USA as our tour guide talked about how Disney likes to present its park in the aspects of a “show”, with the smells, sounds and sights. Then our tour guide brought us down a side street to the right, the park was about to open and he did not want us to get trampled by the onslaught of guests rushing to their favorite attractions. Once the coast was clear we moved on toward Adventurland where we scored a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean without having to wait in the que- the advantages of being a VIP! I believe we were scheduled to jump aboard a Jungle Cruise boat instead, but it was being refurbishment at the time. After our POC VIP ride we sat in the outside seating area of Tortuga Tavern, across from Pirates of the Caribbean; here our tour guide spoke about Walt’s past history. After a quick bathroom break we made our way “back stage” through Frontierland. He had us observe how the sounds of Magic Kingdom would fade away after a certain point “back stage”.
We proceeded on, viewing their large avac system –a system of underground pipes that removes the trash from the front of the “show” to the back of the “show”. We moved onto the storeroom where the Electrical Parade floats were housed as well as some of the Holiday floats, there was a separate storage area for additional Disney vehicles. These huge metal warehouses had such cool vintage signs that hung on the walls; I was just itching to take pictures of them! While back stage we witnessed some Cast Members along with a pirate float practicing for an upcoming parade- this was not a float from the current 3pm parade, thinking back – I believe this was part of the new Festival of Fantasy Parade – but who knows, I could be wrong.
Next up was a walk through Liberty Square and onto our Columbia Harbour House Lunch. We were escorted upstairs where the tables had been preset with our names and lunches. Nicole and I were dining with a couple from England. They were very friendly as we engaged in conversation about their many cats and dreary England days.
It was time to move on. We gathered into the “Counting House” outside the entrance of the Haunted Mansion, to talk about some facts and trivia about this spooky building which houses 999 Happy Haunts. We then made our way toward the exit where we actually entered the Haunted Mansion. We went down a dark narrow hall and through a side door which brought us into the stretching room, benefits once again of being a VIP. Once everyone had made it through, (note: no one decided to take up residence within the mansion just yet), we made our way back toward Main Street USA.
It was time for the part of the tour that we Two Moms had been waiting for most of all! We were entering the utilidors! Oh, how I had dreamed of this day! What would we see? Would Mickey be there, Cinderella? Would we see the Seven Dwarfs engaging in a game of cards right there on the hall way floor?? Maybe we would see the wardrobe room or maybe where the princesses became princesses!
We walked down – – – down a stair well and entered through another door; we were now below the Magic Kingdom.
This has come to be common knowledge for most people, but I’ll put it out there again. The utilidors is actually the ground level or first floor of the Magic Kingdom. Because of Florida’s high water table they were not able to dig tunnels; instead they built a second level and created the Magic Kingdom on the second floor. So now we have entered into the “secret” utilidors, sadly we didn’t see anything on my wish list. Here are some of the things we did see and learn:
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The color striping in each hall way corresponds with each of the Magic Kingdom lands above so a cast member does not ruin “the show” by entering the wrong land with the wrong costume on. Since some people are color blind, the names of the different lands and pictures relating to each land also appear on the walls.
- We viewed many historical photos placed on a wall while our guide gave us information about them and told their stories.
- We witnessed a few battery operated vehicles transporting items or people through the tunnels, these little vehicles move fast! Just before they came to a turn they would beep their horn alerting any oncoming traffic.
- As we were leaving we saw a few Casey’s Corner Cast Members and carts of large hot dog rolls.
We exited the utilidors and took the stairs up – up — up and returned back onto Main Street USA.
Our tour was about to end, we stood under the train station on Main Street and returned our audio packs and head phones. Our tour guide asked us to gather around and proceeded to share a personal “Magical Story” with us. He began to talk about his mother who at one time was very ill with cancer. Her doctor had suggested she go and do the things that made her feel happy and at peace and to listen to music that made her feel in high spirits. She planned a vacation to her “happy place”, the Magic Kingdom and made plans to watch “Wishes”, this was a “feel good” memory for her. Our guide told us, Disney had allowed him to enjoy the show with his mother, and he continued his story telling us how she belted the whole song out as the fireworks went off one by one. He began to get visibly emotional and proceeded to tell us his mother was doing much better. By this time it was hard holding back emotions as tears streamed down my face – I don’t remember if she was completely healed or if her cancer had just stopped spreading- but I do remember this was his Magical Disney Story because he felt Disney’s atmosphere and music truly had a healing effect on his mother.
A very profound moment at the end of our tour.
Now, I am sure you are wondering what we thought of our Keys to the Kingdom Tour and if we would recommend it?
First, the success of each tour depends on the enthusiasm and insightfulness of the tour guide you are with, so each tour will slightly vary. That being said, Nicole and I were pleased with the tour and would recommend any Disney enthusiast to embark on their own KTTKT. Some people have taken this tour more than once; as for Nicole and I, once was enough and we are looking forward to other WDW tours.
Have you taken the Keys to the Kingdom Tour? Tell us your favorite part or something you were wishing to see while on your tour.
~Maureen