Keys to the Kingdom and Marceline to Magic Kingdom Tours

I’ll be at WDW for 7 days with my sister’s family and our parents. I’m doing most of the planning and really want my folks to have a great time. While my dad will go along with whatever the group wants to do, I don’t want him to miss any opportunities that he would truly like. He was an engineer and builder, so I think one of the tours that focus on the design of Disney World would really trip his ticket. I’m looking at the Keys to the Kingdom vs. Marceline to Magic Kingdom. From the descriptions, it seems clear that the Keys tour definitely includes a lot of information about the design and construction elements…does Marceline as well? Or is the vast majority about Walt’s life? I’d prefer the shorter tour, but not if it isn’t as interesting from a design perspective.

Any insights in to this? Or anything else you have to recommend for the early-70s grandparents to do that is just for them to take a break from shadowing the kids all day?

Thanks!

I have not been on either one, but on my trip I am doing the Keys to the Kingdom. That is one I would have brought my Dad on as he was a carpenter by trade and in construction most of his life. Plus it’s an off-beat trip that not many see and that alone is interesting. Disney is a fascinating place and to catch a glimpse into how the magic was and is created sound like something that would “punch your Dad’s ticket”.

Lots of variables here. I’ve done Keys to the Kingdom and it was outstanding. We really enjoyed learning about the history of the park and the behind the scenes sections. It was also a lot of fun to walk down in the utilidoors, there are pictures and display cases of pins and park history all over. The only warnings I usually give is that it is a LOT of walking and there are only 2 bathroom breaks. Also lunch was pretty mediocre. They try to streamline things so you order when you check in for the tour and they have it waiting… but we found it had been waiting a little longer than we’d have liked. Overall though it was really fun and worth the time and money.

From my understanding the shorter Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour is a much more abbreviated light-hearted version of the Keys tour. It allows for younger children to join and doesn’t go nearly as deep into the details. It also doesn’t go into the underground section. I would consider this one if the other was stressing your time or budget too much but given the choice I’d do the Keys tour again.

If you have a chance to take the Keys tour, I completely recommend it.

While I honestly didn’t find any of the face-value information all that different than what you could find online, being able to really take in some of the rides and their small-but-important details as well as visit the “backstage areas” was easily worth it to me.

I also really enjoyed the indepth look at mainstreet and learning about the small nuances of what’s there.

Thank you all for your input! I ended up booking the Keys to the Kingdom tour for Dad and I on our 7th and final full day in the parks. I figured it may be the only time we get to do a tour, so we might as well go for the big one (and the utilidoors!). It’s too much walking for my mom, but she doesn’t mind missing out. I’m really excited and I think he’s going to LOVE it.

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I’m just following up with you because I’m trying to decide between these two tours too. Have you taken your trip yet? And, if so, how did you like the tour?

Hopefully @LauraSueVT will see your question.
It wasn’t until after I read your reply, @RobertSch6, that I realized this thread was from October.

I can tell you that I did the KttK Tour in late May this year. It was really really neat, but it was really really a lot of a walking and in late May was really really HOT! There is a lot of time spent outside. So keep that in mind, depending on what time of year you go. Also, a really neat feature of this tour that no one mentioned above, is that you get “VIP” access to a couple rides. Not sure if it changes each tour, but we got on to Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise. It was really neat being escorted in “the back way” and being ushered past everyone waiting in line.

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Hi there! No, our trip isn’t until April. We are booked for the Keys to the Kingdom tour (just Dad and I) and we’re excited about it. We’re prepared for the walking- he and Mom do a lot of traveling and spend their days walking - but will call it quits if it gets to be too much.

We scheduled the tour for our last day in the parks, which I’m kind of second-guessing, but it wasn’t necessarily a “must do” for us, and I wanted to make sure we had time to fit in everything else beforehand. If, as the week plays out, we decide we need that last day for something else, we’ll be able to cancel it. I’m sure we won’t, though!

I’ll definitely report back after it’s all over.

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Thanks for the details.

That will be right around the time we will need to book our tour, so your report will be perfect timing. Thanks for your follow-up!:slight_smile: