To participate, everyone has to be 16 years or older, you must have park admission, and the cost is in the $100 per person ball park. We received a nice discount due to our annual pass.
The tour lasts 5 hours and includes 2 or 3 park rides and lunch. We received behind the scenes information about various rides, history of the parks, went back stage, and even went through the utilidoors (tunnels under the Magic Kingdom). Our tour started at 8:30, but I understand there are 8am and 9am tours too.
We were told to plan leaving for the park 90 minutes before the tour started - and that was really good advice. If you miss the tour you don't get a refund. Between traffic and crowds, you don't want to take a chance so we left the house at 7am. They also want you to arrive 15 minutes before the tour starts so you can get checked in. Once concern we had was: the park doesn't open until 9am, how do we get into the park at 8:15am? Actually, Main Street opens way before the park open, so, getting in wasn't a problem at all.
Everyone on the tour wears an ear piece so we can all hear our tour guide wherever she is. She could be far ahead or in a noisy area and we could still hear her.
Our group had 18 people in it, which seemed like a perfect size. Our three rides were: Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion. The tour guide walked us up to the attraction and we got on immediately - no waiting. Before the ride and during the ride, our guide was telling us secrets to look for. We had many restroom breaks where the guide told us "Go when you can, not when you have to". Lunch was at a reserved area of Tomorrow Land's Terrace restaurant, and there was a large menu to order from.
The Utilidoors are tunnels under the Magic Kingdom. Well... that description isn't accurate. You can not dig underground in Florida because it is all sand with a high water table - it would flood. Instead, the utilidoors are on ground level. The magic kingdom is actually on the second floor (or, the roof of the utilidoor building). That's right! There is a huge building sitting under the Magic Kingdom! Tunnels gives the impression that the utilidoors are small - they are huge! Wide and tall with vehicles driving around inside of them. If you are claustrophobic - you have nothing to worry about (ie - this is an opinion, not a medical diagnosis). The utilidoors are how employees get from one place to another, how supplies are delivered throughout the park, how emergency medical crews can be quickly dispatched, how garbage is disposed of, and much more.
We had such an incredible time! I would love to do this again perhaps in two years or so. I would like to try a different tour next year.
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