DS18 and I took this tour on Tuesday, May 9. Emilie was our Tour Guide. She was very enthusiastic and loves WDW! The tour was supposed to start at 8:30, but for some reason Emilie had to take the World Showcase tour group outside and get them started, so we started at 8:45. Once we got started, there was a ton of information and it was very enjoyable, and very in depth! Very backstage! The tour ended by the Baby Care center between Mexico and Test Track.
Here is the order of events: Started not in Fountain View as advertised, but in the doors just after Fountain View. (The stinkiest place in WDW) Walk down the hallway to check in, get a badge and a bottle of water. First on tour: SE Pavilion, VIP Entrance and Ride SE, walk to The Seas, discussion outside in the shade, walk to The Land, overlook lobby, discussion ensues, 15 min. break, walk out back of The Land (no Soarin’ ride) to building where 3D glasses are cleaned, you are now backstage of Imagination Pavilion. Walk to front of Imagination Pavilion, discussion with a nice view of the leapfrog fountains. Cross park to Energy Adventure, discussion outside in the shade, Walk to MS, go to HP VIP Lounge. No drinks offered, but candy is offered. Drinks are looking very tempting at this point, but it’s nice of HP to even let tour groups in their lounge…others don’t. walk to TT, walk backstage, discussion under the tracks as cars whiz by above. This part was very interesting! Walk in GE VIP Entrance and ride TT. Walk out backstage and to the CM building with PO, Credit Union, company store and costumes! Costume discussion is interesting. ( I was taken aback by how shabby this area was. Disney treats us so well, I am still surprised by the contrast. Maybe since the places where CMs get to spend most of their work time are so beautiful, this is okay.) Walk backstage and exit right next to Mexico. Walk to Odyssey Pavilion. Discussion in shade and a special pin as tour concludes.
DS and I both enjoyed the tour, but we were ready for it to end. It was getting hot and we were tired. We have been to Epcot many times and it is his favorite park. He did feel it was wise of Disney to have an age 16 minimum, because he felt anyone younger would get bored and it would spoil the “magic.” I do recommend it if you are a big Epcot fan.
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This really doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been involved in theater most of my adult life and backstage and dressing room areas are frequently very “no frills”. I had a friend who worked in “park entertainment” at a different major theme park and I got to see their backstage areas - pretty grim. I’ve heard horror stories about crew and staff facilities on cruise ships…
Thank you! We actually toured the costume/laundry area a few years ago as part of Backstage Magic Tour, and you are right - the contrast is striking. But it still cool to see hundreds of the same costume in one place!
You get to ride Soarin’ as part of DestiNations Discovered (World Showcase connection to Soarin’ Around the World makes sense…). But very cool to hear you get to ride both SE and TT! Migh help with FP strategy.
Looking forward to getting the pin - you get one with the WS tour, too. I hear they go together. SPOILER: Our WS tour guide spilled the beans that there will be a third Epcot Tour: Epcot After Dark, which will talk about the whole park at night - lighting, etc. and should include Illuminations!
@SwimMomElsa, thank you for this. Now I know for sure that we’ll do it. My DBF’s favorite park is Epcot.
I did Destinations Discovered tour at NY. We didn’t ride Soarin as part of the tour, although the guide did take a couple through the back way as they had a fastpass for it. TBH, I think she would have let any of us go if we’d wanted to, but we had FEA booked. Plus we had over-run a bit too. So not always included, or not officially.
The reason FEA wasn’t included is just because if it broke down it would screw the timing of the rest of the tour. Instead of getting to Japan/ Morocco before anyone was entering WS you’d be way further back. Made sense to me when she said it.
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I can’t wait for an opportunity to do the other two tours!
And we went at the end of October. Our guide described Soarin Around the World and a “new part” of the tour, now that it was up and fully functional. Interesting how things fluctuate week-to-week.
Interesting to note, our tour guide was giving his very first solo guide tour. At the end of the tour, one of our group stepped forward to congratulate him on the accomplishment - and on his comfort and ease as well as accuracy of detail. Turns out the “guest” was an undercover CM. Our guide got a little pixie dust in his eyes after that announcement. You’d NEVER have known he hadn’t done it for years.