Marceline to Magic… Are you ready for a tour???
by Lauren Bruce
When I talk to people about Disney World and they start to get that “How are you going again?” look in their eye, I gently tell whoever it is that each trip can be totally different. There are so many experiences to be had that we haven’t even scratched the surface. To that end, on our most recent trip (June 2018) we started our Magic Kingdom day with the “Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom” tour.
If you’re unsure about the tours offered at Magic Kingdom, this is on the shorter-end; coming in at just about 3 hours in length. For our 1st tour, I thought it best not to stretch the limits of my husband’s attention span with a longer experience like “Keys to the Kingdom” or “Backstage Magic.”
The tour was easy to book by calling reservations (and the 15% DVC member discount was nice- remember, YOU STILL NEED A REGULAR PARK TICKET on this day). Different tours are offered on different days of the week, and this particular excursion is not recommended for kids (which is one of the reasons we choose this, as our kids were back in Pennsylvania!).
Once you are booked and confirmed, directions tell you to meet at the Town Square theatre at 7:45 for the 8:00 AM tour. On the day we were scheduled, Magic Kingdom park did not open until 9:00, so we checked in at the far gate where a cast member had a list of names who pre-booked a tour. We were told all tours and breakfast reservations guests would be allowed to enter at 7:45. After check-in, we were given a tour-specific button with our names on it, a listening device, and a bottle of water. We had about 10 minutes to spare before our tour started- plenty of time for a last-minute restroom break and window shopping.
I won’t spoil the whole experience for anyone with too many details, but our tour closely followed the description on the Disney website. Our guide was fantastic! While she was very knowledgeable and able to answer questions, she didn’t insert too much of herself into the tour (which was welcome after the previous day’s tour experience at the Wilderness Lodge). *Note here that our guide highly discouraged picture taking on the tour and then at one point specifically forbade it prior to entering a backstage area.
From Main Street, our walking guide first took us to Liberty Square and into the Haunted Mansion. When you slow down and learn about specific attractions, Disney’s attention to detail is really something to marvel at. After our Haunted Mansion experience, we walked through Fantasyland and finished our morning in Tomorrowland, learning about Walt Disney’s hand in the Carousel of Progress (a nostalgic favorite of mine).
Overall my husband and I really enjoyed our morning. We learned a lot about Walt, saw park details that we hadn’t noticed before, and enjoyed 2 ride attractions, all as part of the 3-hour tour. We would wholeheartedly recommend this tour to any adults who are wanting a little different experience than a standard park day.
For planning, it is important to know that there was no time for shopping or eating and there was only one restroom break. If you are taking this tour, make sure to factor that information in before your 7:45 check-in!
I hope that my summary of our morning spent with the Marceline to Magic tour helps in your magical Disney planning!
Enjoy, Lauren
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