TOURS

Discover Walt Disney World in a new and exciting way. Disney now offers a wide variety of tours. These tours are designed to show you just how things are created and a backstage look at the parks. Did you every want to know just how those Disney Characters just appear in the park? Well, on just one of the many Disney tours you can see just how they get around the underground tunnel system. Here you will experience what most people never get a chance to see the secret underground tunnels. These tunnels are referred to as the utilitors. On this tour you will visit the backstage area of the Magic Kingdom, visit the costume area, the recycling plant; find out what really happens to all of the trash here in Walt Disney World. Did you ever notice just how nice the beaches are? Find out just what these beautiful white beaches are made of. Would you believe ground glass. That�s right all of the beaches here in the Walt Disney Resort area are man made. Grinding glass to a fine powder at the recycling plant has created them.

The following is a listing of all the tours that Walt Disney World offers. These tours are in conjunction with American Express. When using an American Express card you will receive 10% off the price. Reservations are needed.

BACKSTAGE MAGIC
Discover just how the Disney magic is created. You will travel behind the scenes of all three theme parks. In the Magic Kingdom you will go down to the utilidor system. At EPCOT you will be shown the computer-controlled system that operates Body Wars. Then you will take a close up look at the manatee habitat in the Living Seas Pavilion. At MGM Studios you will have a special lunch and the chance to paint a keepsake Mickey Mouse cel at the Animation building. Your day also includes some surprises. For the most part you will be able to take some photos, but in certain areas you will be restricted and asked not to take any photographs. This tour is approximately 7 hours. The reason that it is so long is you cover a lot of ground on this tour. This tour does cost more it is $160.00 per person.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
This is a new tour that will give you a close look at the newest Disney theme park. Guests will travel behind the scenes of this park. You will visit the area of the Savannah where most guests don�t get to go. Then you will journey to the holding area where the animals are kept. On this tour guests will take a backstage look at the Animal Kingdom. See what happens off stage. This tour is three hours and is $60.00. Guests that take this tour must be over 16 years of age and a valid admission to the park is required. The tour is only given on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I took this tour and I would take it again. First off you will be meeting at the Conservation Station about 8:30 in the morning. You will be doing a lot of walking. You will go to the housing area of the animals. Your guide will show you were the animals are kept in the evening. When I took this tour we had the opportunity to feed the Giraffes. We learned how they have trained the animals to come in at night, what they are feed and more. So if you want something different to do, take the tour.

INSIDE ANIMATION
Did you ever want to know just how those animations are created? How do they create the cels that they use? Take an exciting & educational look behind the scenes of the world of animation. Learn what goes into making a full-length animation film. Watch as the Disney animators create different scenes. Here you will even get a chance at creating a cel. This tour is approximately 2 � hours.
Price $45.00 per person.

DOLPHIN PROGRAM
Disney has created a new type of tour that gives the guests a chance to go into the water with the dolphins. This program is expensive and you are only in the water for about 30 minutes. The last time I checked this program was going for $130.00. I would like to see them bring back the D.E.E.P. program also.

DIVE QUEST
The Dolphin Exploration Education Program is no longer in service. It has been replaced with a new program called Dive Quest. Here guest get to dive into the tank of the Living Seas and swim with the fish. This program has taken off. They do have some restrictions with this program. The major one is that you must be a certified diver. The money that is raised from this tour goes directly towards the research project that is going on with the dolphins.
Price you must call on. It is about $145.00

KEYS OF THE KINGDOM
Learn the history, trivia and visit the backstage area of the Magic Kingdom attractions, the utilidor and production center. This tour is very similar to the other except you are only visiting the one park. This tour is approximately 4 hours. Price $45.00 per person.

If you are planning to take any of the tours just call and make a reservation. Some of the tours only take a limited amount of people and they do fill fast. The Disney representative will be more then glad to give you more information on any of these tours. The phone number to make a reservation for a tour is (407) 929-8687. The prices that are shown are subjected to change. Check with the representative for the most current pricing of the tours.

Remember if you are a returning visitor to Walt Disney World and you are looking for something different to do these tours are worth it. I would not take one of these if you are a first time visitor at Walt Disney World. The only reason that I say this is because you may not have enough time to take a tour and see all the parks. Now, if you are staying more then five days then you may want to think about one of the tours.