Disney100 Celebration Tour

[DizMe]

We saw one guide leave their group at the entrance of Blue Bayou, while another guide walked their group to a water front table.

Is there a tour takes you to Blue Bayou? Or is that a VIP thing?

 

[LKing]

Is there a tour takes you to Blue Bayou? Or is that a VIP thing?

Not sure. Maybe it was Adventures by Disney??? We've never seen guides escorting guests into restaurants.

 

[Rich M]

I will be taking the tour on Wednesday at 1 PM. I will be sure to come back and give my feedback on it by Friday.

 

[Gypsybear]

Down to 2 weeks....YAY.....any thoughts on this tour yet, from those who have already done it?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Rich M]

Did the tour on April 19th at 1 PM. I thought it was a decent tour with a lot of cool information. I thought the drawing at the Animation Academy was cool and you get a little extra time with the artist at the beginning to get some history and ask questions. I really like the pin that we got but the Parade viewing is still not the best. Its in the same place as the Plaza dining but you get the earlier parade and they get the later. The days tours must have been empty because the area was empty for us. Maybe 20 people overall so we got to be spread out. If you seek the information then I recommend this tour because it's full of information. If you are looking more for the parade viewing I would go with the plaza and get lunch. You do get a special sweet treat and a photo at the castle with a photopass person which was a nice addition. I also liked the button with our names on it. Overall I would say i liked the Holiday one better but this one was still worth the money in my opinion. Keep in mind this was only my 2nd tour.

 

[Charade67]

Thank you for the tour information. I have never done a Disney tour, so I am really looking forward to this one. Ours is scheduled for the morning, 9:30 I think. I think my daughter will enjoy the animation academy. I haven't told her about this tour. It's going to be a surprise.

 

[ballarinamom]

Tours are one of our favorite things to do, so we will be adding this to our list in December. If it is still available.

I will say that we were really disappointed at the seating options for the Holiday Tour parade viewing last year compared to previous years. We had zero room, as we were the last group to arrive, and sitting down on the concrete with a rope in your neck was not what we had hoped for. I hope they go back to chairs for parade viewing and return the seat cushions for Fantasmic / Blue Bayou dining packages. These little extras matter for us!

I totally agree! We have done the Holdiay tour many times specifically for the seats. And we loved the Fantasmic dessert party because we didn't want to sit on the ground. For the cost of the holiday tour, taking away the HM front of the line ride and the chairs makes it less appealing.

 

[joseph821]

Did the tour on April 19th at 1 PM. I thought it was a decent tour with a lot of cool information. I thought the drawing at the Animation Academy was cool and you get a little extra time with the artist at the beginning to get some history and ask questions. I really like the pin that we got but the Parade viewing is still not the best. Its in the same place as the Plaza dining but you get the earlier parade and they get the later. The days tours must have been empty because the area was empty for us. Maybe 20 people overall so we got to be spread out. If you seek the information then I recommend this tour because it's full of information. If you are looking more for the parade viewing I would go with the plaza and get lunch. You do get a special sweet treat and a photo at the castle with a photopass person which was a nice addition. I also liked the button with our names on it. Overall I would say i liked the Holiday one better but this one was still worth the money in my opinion. Keep in mind this was only my 2nd tour.

Do you go on any attractions on the tour?

 

[Rich M]

Do you go on any attractions on the tour?

No

 

[joseph821]

No

Ok. Thanks.

 

[mustachspot]

Were you able to purchase any drawing from the animator as a souvenir?

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Thank you for posting a review @Rich M! I booked this as a surprise for my daughter and I’ve seen nothing about the actual experience and I keep searching since it started. LOL She is finishing up her junior year of art school so I think she’s going to love the animation drawing piece.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

I hope it’s ok to post this. Just found a YouTube post about the tour. It doesn’t give a lot of detail but it does show the cookie and pin so it’s cool to watch.

 

[Gypsybear]

Thank you for the update!!

Our tour is scheduled for next week. Looking forward to it.

 

[Rich M]

Were you able to purchase any drawing from the animator as a souvenir?

We were not given that option but I have seen artist give them away before. I am sure you can ask

 

[pindecisive]

So interesting that it doesn't show up on the tours page, but if you google it, it's available.

 

[Katiebird]

Fwiw the animation academy drawings are not exclusive, anyone can do them (they say disney100 on the schedule board and the character is a surprise). The discussion prior to the drawing IS exclusive, and the tour people get to sit in the front.

 

[Gypsybear]

Ok, so finally did the tour on Saturday, May 6th. I have some good things to report, and some not so good things to report.

We had our tour scheduled for 9:30am. We were a group of 7. There was also ANOTHER group of 7 at the same time. Our guide was energetic, and really excited to be there (you could see it in her mannerisms, and hear it in her voice).

The not so good:
While it was entertaining at times, there was a lot of crossover information between this tour, and the Walt's Main Street Tour. We began by walking over to DCA. We had a brief chat about the architecture, and then we moved to the Animation Academy.

They let us in the back way to the studio. We got to chat with the Animator for about 20 minutes before they let in the regular guests. He gave his drawing of Dumbo to one of the members of the tour. They collected all our drawings and said that they're return them to us a bit later in the day.

After the Academy, we went to Carthay, did a little listen here, and then were led to the bathrooms by the entrance and given a break, before heading back to MK park. From here, we were led to the theater on Main Street (for some reason the Opera House was closed). We chatted briefly, and then were led to the hub. We criss-crossed back and forth between the entrances to each section of the park, getting some brief info about each area.

We finished at the HUB, by having a Photopass photographer take our pics in front of the castle (for the most part). The photographer was friendly and took her time with all of us. We were then instructed to meet in front of the flag pole at 3:30 for the parade. We were given a Mickey100 pin (with a double pin back).

The good:

The tour guide was VERY attentive. Every thing that was asked of her, she went out of her way to address/complete.

We returned at 3:30 for the parade. I was a bit skeptical up to this point. BUT, it turns out that they REALLY enforced the reserved area, which was MOST of the area directly across from the train station. That made a big difference. They gave us all a "cookie", it was really a brownie with icing, etc., a Disneyland fan (for the heat), and returned all our drawings to everyone.

Cruella came to the rope, and engaged in playful banter with us. THEN, the band came up, and began to play Cruella De Ville, which she danced along with. They band was fully engaged with the reserved area. They kept most of their focus on the area. After they left, they took the rope directly in front of us DOWN, and kept enforcing the reserved status of the area. The parade came through. Never have I had so much attention paid to us (tour guests) before. We had dancers/CMs come up and actually greet us, engage in light banter, etc. We were able to get "front row" access to the parade, for pictures and videos. It really made up for the rest of the tour, which I think needs to be changed up a bit more, to REALLY differentiate it more from Walt's Main Street tour.


So, would I do it again? Yes.

 

[Charade67]

Thanks for the information @Gypsybear. I have never been on any Disney tour so this will all be new for me.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Ok, so finally did the tour on Saturday, May 6th. I have some good things to report, and some not so good things to report.

We had our tour scheduled for 9:30am. We were a group of 7. There was also ANOTHER group of 7 at the same time. Our guide was energetic, and really excited to be there (you could see it in her mannerisms, and hear it in her voice).

The not so good:
While it was entertaining at times, there was a lot of crossover information between this tour, and the Walt's Main Street Tour. We began by walking over to DCA. We had a brief chat about the architecture, and then we moved to the Animation Academy.

They let us in the back way to the studio. We got to chat with the Animator for about 20 minutes before they let in the regular guests. He gave his drawing of Dumbo to one of the members of the tour. They collected all our drawings and said that they're return them to us a bit later in the day.

After the Academy, we went to Carthay, did a little listen here, and then were led to the bathrooms by the entrance and given a break, before heading back to MK park. From here, we were led to the theater on Main Street (for some reason the Opera House was closed). We chatted briefly, and then were led to the hub. We criss-crossed back and forth between the entrances to each section of the park, getting some brief info about each area.

We finished at the HUB, by having a Photopass photographer take our pics in front of the castle (for the most part). The photographer was friendly and took her time with all of us. We were then instructed to meet in front of the flag pole at 3:30 for the parade. We were given a Mickey100 pin (with a double pin back).

The good:

The tour guide was VERY attentive. Every thing that was asked of her, she went out of her way to address/complete.

We returned at 3:30 for the parade. I was a bit skeptical up to this point. BUT, it turns out that they REALLY enforced the reserved area, which was MOST of the area directly across from the train station. That made a big difference. They gave us all a "cookie", it was really a brownie with icing, etc., a Disneyland fan (for the heat), and returned all our drawings to everyone.

Cruella came to the rope, and engaged in playful banter with us. THEN, the band came up, and began to play Cruella De Ville, which she danced along with. They band was fully engaged with the reserved area. They kept most of their focus on the area. After they left, they took the rope directly in front of us DOWN, and kept enforcing the reserved status of the area. The parade came through. Never have I had so much attention paid to us (tour guests) before. We had dancers/CMs come up and actually greet us, engage in light banter, etc. We were able to get "front row" access to the parade, for pictures and videos. It really made up for the rest of the tour, which I think needs to be changed up a bit more, to REALLY differentiate it more from Walt's Main Street tour.


So, would I do it again? Yes.

Thank you for the update. I splurged on this tour as a surprise for my daughter and I think this sounds awesome. I did finally see another review on YouTube that also showed the parade viewing and it looks really nice.