If you only go on one tour while at Disney World, I highly recommend the Marceline to Magic Kingdom walking tour. For three magical hours, your tour guide will walk you through Walt Disney’s life and the Magic Kingdom sharing interesting historical facts and the best American dream story ever told!
Tour Overview:
Timeframe: 8am – 11pm
Check in: 7:45am at The Town Square Theater
Planning Tips
- Get coffee and a quick breakfast to go before the tour
- Make Table Service reservations for about 20 mins after the expected tour end time.
- Save your fast passes for later in the day.
- Consider making a stop back at the hotel room for a mid-day nap if you’re not an early bird.
- Make plans for later in the day so you’re not rushing after the tour.
The Marceline to Magic Kingdom Tour starts at 8am in the Town Square Theater. All of the tour participants are given a complimentary bottle of water and an audio pack to ensure everyone can hear the tour guide over the noise from the crowd. After a brief introduction, we were off to learn and explore.
As our tour guide Michael led us down Main Street USA and through the magical lands of Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland, he shared story after story about Walt Disney’s childhood, his early struggles, and eventual success. We were truly blown away by how knowledgeable he was about Walt Disney’s life and the history of the Disney World Parks. Michael made the tour just as entertaining as it was informative with his quick wit and fun anecdotes!
Tour Highlights
- Haunted Mansion Ride History and Private Ride Narration
- Exclusive Haunted Mansion behind the scenes experience
- Carousel of Progress History and Private Ride Narration
My favorite part of the tour was definitely the Haunted Mansion behind the scenes experience. After a tour of the Haunted Mansion extended queue and a quick ride through the Haunted Mansion itself, it was time for the most anticipated experience of the day. Michael ushered us to a small roped off area and through one of the “Cast Only” doors. Inside he revealed the Disney magic behind how the imagineers make the iconic Haunted Mansion ballroom scene come to life.
Don’t worry, no spoilers here. You’ll just have to take the tour to find out and get the full experience for yourself!
Overall, I really enjoyed the tour and I’m so glad that we decided to do it. Granted, waking up super early wasn’t my ideal way to start the day, but the tour experience was absolutely worth it. I loved learning about the history of Walt Disney’s life and how his childhood home town of Marceline, Missouri inspired so much of what we see and experience in the Magic Kingdom. After the tour, I had a new appreciation for the Disney Imagineers, Roy Disney, and the nostalgic spirit that Disney World was built upon.
The tour is perfect for both Disney World newbies and seasoned Disney World fanatics, but I think it’s best suited for adults and teenagers. Young kids may get bored easily and 3 hours of walking might make for some temper tantrums. I’m a full grown adult and I was beginning to get antsy for lunch by the last half hour of the tour!
After the tour, I bolted to the Joffrey’s Coffee stand in Tomorrowland for a quick pick me up before lunch. I highly recommend making reservations for a table service restaurant after the tour. We booked Skipper’s Canteen for a half hour after the tour and I’m so glad we did. We were starving!
Overall, the Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour was a great experience and one that I would absolutely do again on a future trip. Stay up to date on all my travels by subscribing to my newsletter!
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