To take full advantage of our adults only tour status, we also did the behind the scenes Keys to the Kingdom tour. It's a 5 hour tour of all things Magic Kingdom, including a trip into the Utilidor underneath the parks. No kids under 16 are allowed so that it doesn't ruin any of the magic.
Our tour started on Main Street at 8 a.m. before the park officially opened. Our guide, Justin, was so enthusiastic and full of great nuggets of information, as I think you would have to be for this type of job!
For a Disney novice or a non-Disney lover, this tour would be overwhelming or tedious. But we loved it! We heard all about the history of the Florida Project - how the land was acquired, who ran the projects (their names are tributes in many of these Main Street windows), and the secrets and hidden gems to see and hear along Main Street that many of us plow right past to get to the castle (the piano lesson in the alley upper level shop and how the parade sound system works being just two examples).
After exploring Main Street, we went through Adventureland and Fantasyland before heading backstage to the parade storage and practice areas. Of course no phones or cameras were allowed to be out backstage. But it's interesting how close it is to certain rides and attractions and that your eyes don't notice it. We rode the Jungle Tour with "how did they do this" commentary. As someone who has spent dozens of days in the Magic Kingdom and read many articles with behind the scenes info, one of my favorite "I didn't knows" was a hidden restroom in Adventureland! I thought I knew where all of those were!
Lunch was a Pecos Bill where we had never eaten before. I asked Justin's recommendation at check in on what to preorder and he suggested the spicy fried cauliflower tacos. They were excellent! I will definitely get them if we eat at Pecos Bill's on a future trip. They came with Indian food toppings (mango chutney and a yogurt sauce) but I ended up dressing them with the taco bar fixings and loved that even more.
After lunch we took the exit into Haunted Mansion for a ride. This is many Disney fans' favorite attraction. I've always been a bit indifferent to it, but loved this ride after our pre-ride briefing of all the hidden Mickeys. I had never noticed all the details! (Probably because I was always trying to comfort a semi-scared kid!) I won't give the inside the ride secrets, but I will point out that the outside of the building has chess pieces all around it.
Last up was entering the Utilidor near the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride. This was what I was most looking forward to, and it was cool, but the entire tour was really amazing. Plus, I didn't see any furry characters - just princesses, a prince and a lot of stage show dancers!
On our way out there were several school bands playing which was really neat to see!
