Keys to the Kingdom is a 5 hour walking tour at Magic Kingdom, detailing the history and fun facts about the Most Magical Place on Earth. Here’s my 2023 Keys to the Kingdom review and tips on how best to experience this tour! Caution: spoilers ahead!

When Should I Book Keys to the Kingdom, and What Does it Cost?

As soon as you know you want to do this tour, book it! Reservations are available up to 60 days in advance. Use the Disney website to book – that’s the easiest way to get a reservation!

Tour times are mostly offered at 8, 8:30, 9, and 9:30am. Double check the dates you are interested in for specific times! Once you book, make sure you have park admission and a park pass reservation for Magic Kingdom as this is required for the tour!

Keys to the Kingdom costs $114+tax per person. Discounts are available for APs and DVC Members!

Who Should do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour?

If you’re a fan of Magic Kingdom, Disney parks, Disney history, Walt Disney, or Roy Disney, this tour is for you! Also, if you are interested in seeing backstage areas, this tour is also for you! Keep in mind everyone doing the tour must be 16 years or older. This tour is also fully accessible for those with mobility impairments!

What Can I Expect to Learn & See on Keys to the Kingdom?

OK – if you already know a lot about the Magic Kingdom or Disney Parks history, you probably won’t learn anything too surprising. Here’s a brief rundown of what we learned about and where we went on our tour:

• Main Street USA – learned about the history of the property owned by Disney in Florida, and a “who’s who” of some of the windows, with a noted emphasis on Roy Disney
• Adventureland – talked about the storytelling in Adventureland, with a ride on the Jungle Cruise included. Also discussed some of the history of Audio-Animatronics, and learned some fun facts about Pirates of the Caribbean & Tiki Room.
• Backstage – we entered backstage near Splash Mountain/Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and learned a lot about entertainment & parades. Our tour guide came from an entertainment background within the company, so he shared a lot about his journey as a Cast Member and some personal stories. We saw parade floats and learned about how they are maintained and some of their operational features, along with the responsibilities of some Entertainment Cast Members.
• Lunch – next we took a lunch break at Pecos Bill’s. We could order an entree and a bottled drink; I chose nachos & a Diet Coke. They had a little toppings bar set up for us, too!
• Frontierland – we walked through Frontierland to get to Liberty Square. We did not make any stops in Frontierland.
• Liberty Square – we gathered on the dock area for the steamboat and learned about some of the details of Liberty Square, with an emphasis on the Hall of Presidents and Haunted Mansion. Next up, we rode Haunted Mansion and then discussed some of the tricks and effects that we saw on the ride.
• Fantasyland – we didn’t stop in Fantasyland, but we went straight to a door leading backstage and entered the Utilidors! This was very cool and definitely the highlight for me. We learned about some of the operations of the Utilidors and where the corridors lead, and saw a few rooms/offices that help support the operation of the Magic Kingdom. We also saw a couple princesses getting ready to go up to Cinderella’s Royal Table to greet guests at lunch.
• Backstage Main Street – we exited the Utilidors behind Main Street, where we learned more about Tinker Bell’s flight from Cinderella Castle during the fireworks. We saw where she lands each night, which was really interesting and surprising. We also saw the facility where they store all the ice cream bars.
• Conclusion of tour – at this point our tour was over and we handed in our listening devices and parted ways with the tour group.

Tips for Experiencing Keys to the Kingdom

Arrival

If you are participating in a tour that begins before the park opens, think about your transportation wisely! We booked the 8am tour on a day when the park was scheduled to open at 9, meaning that Early Entry for resort guests began at 8:30. Since we are local, we drove ourselves in. We planned to arrive at the gates as early as possible. We parked around 7am after encountering no Cast Members at the parking booths, and we were held at security until about 7:15am. The security guard let us know that the only mode of transportation available at this time was the ferryboat – so once we were cleared through security we hustled over to the boarding area. It wasn’t long before we were underway to the Magic Kingdom, and we made our way over to the tapstiles, which opened right at 7:45am.

If you’re staying on Disney property, I would strongly suggest looking into using Uber or Lyft to get you to the Ticket & Transportation Center, as buses may or may not be running that early. Another great option is the Minnie Van service, which drops guests off right outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom.

If you have a later tour, you don’t need to worry as much about the logistics of transportation, but do make sure you arrive early to give yourself ample time to get through security and into the park. The check-in area is just past the Main Street train station, on the right, at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. Arriving early allows you to get your listening device, place your lunch order, and do a quick bathroom stop before embarking on your tour.

During the Tour

If you have a physical disability requiring the use of an ECV or wheelchair, this tour is fully accessible for you! Your tour guide will talk to you in advance about boarding the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion so that they can let the Cast Members at the attractions know.

If you have food allergies, make sure to mention that when you place your lunch order so that the chefs at Pecos Bill’s can prepare a special meal for you. Disney is great with allergies, so you don’t need to worry about not being able to find something to eat.

They will also provide you with Dasani water bottles on the tour, but feel free to bring additional snacks and/or drinks. Also, sunscreen up! This is a long tour and has a lot of walking and standing in the Florida heat. Be prepared!

There are designated bathroom stops during the tour, but if you need to go, make sure to tell your tour guide and the group will wait for you.

There is absolutely no photography or video recording backstage, and there are a few opportunities to take pictures throughout the tour. Our tour guide told us if we wanted to take a couple quick pictures we could, but I only took one the entire tour because I was too busy listening to the information!

You will be given an audio listening device so you can hear what the tour guide is saying. If you encounter any issues with your device, let your tour guide know ASAP, as they carry spares with them. We had a couple that died out on our tour and they were swapped out within a minute or two.

Another thing to note is that the tour guides who run the tour are extremely well-versed in Disney Parks history, so feel free to ask them any questions that come up. If they don’t know the answer, they will reach out to their team and try to get an answer for you! Some of the questions can only be answered backstage so as other park guests don’t overhear and have the magic spoiled for them. They’ll let you know if they need to answer your question backstage!

Tron and Keys to the Kingdom

With Tron requiring a boarding group via virtual queue or the purchase of an Individual Lightning Lane, talk to your tour guide if you received a callback time that is during your tour. They will work with you and get you rescheduled so you don’t miss out on riding Tron! Additionally, if your tour takes place around 1pm (during the 2nd drop for the virtual queue), make sure to let your tour guide know that you will need to take a moment to book yourself a boarding group. The Cast Members understand and are more than accommodating!

What to do After Keys to the Kingdom

After your tour, you’ll likely be pretty tired from walking around all day, and you’ll probably also be on information overload. If you’re local, I would recommend heading home and resting before returning to the parks. If you’re visiting from out of town, I would do a slow-moving/restful attraction like Carousel of Progress or take a ride on the Monorail. A table service meal is also a great option, so you can sit with your party and talk about everything you learned on the tour!

My Thoughts on the Tour

I thought Keys to the Kingdom was informative and I appreciated our tour guide’s personal insights. He did a great job weaving stories from his days as an Entertainment Cast Member into the storytelling and production that goes into running the Magic Kingdom. I didn’t learn too much that was groundbreaking or new to me, but I did learn more about Roy Disney and his involvement in getting the Magic Kingdom & Walt Disney World Resort up and running. Although I heard things that I mostly knew already, it was insightful to be standing in the park, looking at different aspects of the park both onstage and backstage, and seeing it all come together to tell different stories. Magic Kingdom is not my favorite park at Walt Disney World (shoutout to Epcot) but after going on Keys to the Kingdom I now see the flagship Florida Disney park in a new light and appreciate the operations required to support such a complex park.

I would gladly go on this tour again, and I’m interested in taking it with a different tour guide! I loved our tour guide’s information and personal stories from his time in Entertainment, and I would love to hear other perspectives and details too.