I just have to throw in, I have done the Keys to the Kingdom tour at Disneyland, and what you will get at Disneyland with ABD is *NOT* the same access at all. I'm not saying it negates missing out on Imagineering, but it is misleading to say it's equivalent to the Keys to the Kingdom tour.
I've seen a lot of people tossing around that comparison and as someone who hasn't done either I was curious what the major differences are?
Fair enough, but it's one of the behind the scenes group tours that Disney offers. Do you have a better comparison? FWIW VIP is between $400-700/hour for a private tour that grants better access to rides than what AbD will offer, and we wouldn't be flying out to DL just to do VIP.
I genuinely hope that it is everything you want it to be! Life is stressful enough.
Well, first off, I have to correct myself. It's not called "The Keys to the Kingdom" tour at Disneyland, it's "Walk in Walt's Footsteps". We did get fastracked onto some rides, and got to go to Walt's Apartment, but there really wasn't any backstage "how does it work" stuff. It was mostly walking the park and doing rides with a Guide to explain the history and fun features to us.
The "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour (the Disneyland version is not called "Keys to the Kingdom". My bad.) is meant to be a tour that explores the history of Disneyland Park, point out fun facts, and get you front-of-the-line access to a couple or three rides. It also takes you to Walt's Apartment and includes a light lunch. The ABD does all that, but also includes some behind-the-scenes, "how does it work" type of access to places most other folks are not allowed, gives you VIP viewing for the parades and/or Fantasmic and/or World of Color depending on what's running. The Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour is only in Disneyland Park for 3 to 4 hours. The ABD is an all-day affair (2 days on the regular trip, and 1 day on the Escape) and also includes California Adventure. It includes more of your meals, and some sort of Fastpass access for when you're not with the Guides (on your own time). When you are done with the Walk in Walt's Footsteps Guide, it's done. No extra access for you.
We factored in the great value of staying at the Grand California hotel, my favorite Disney hotel---loved this trip in 2018, and had planned to do it again but for the pandemic. I have every confidence that ABD will not disappoint.
Grand California is truly a spectacular hotel, perhaps one of the nicest we have ever stayed in. When I said we didn’t value it it’s because as DVC members we already have the ability to stay there “for free,” so paying for it via the tour is actually a (known) negative.
Thanks. Have they given you a straight answer on how this is in any way comparable to how the tour was described? Of the 7 trip highlights currently listed on the website, 4 (including 3 of the most unique elements) are now substantially different?
I'm a DVC member as well but I've never been able to actually snag a room at Grand California since it's not my home resort and the points per night are so high. Glad to hear it's as nice as it looks!
I believe hotel tours are being offered again-- may not work into your schedule though. I love hanging by the fireplace listening to the lobby pianist.
Don't you have some sort of Credit Card statement with the charge showing on it? Or get an email from ABD showing a zero balance from when you paid? While I can TOTALLY understand how frustrating this is, it should be pretty easy to prove you already paid. And if it's not, you DEFINITELY need a new travel agent.
It really is. If you ever get the chance to go around Christmas you will not be disappointed. We lucked out mid-week a few years ago. It also helped on the points chart. The other nice thing about Cali is it doesn’t require a lot of days, so 2-3 nights makes for a good trip there.
I'm pulling old CC statements while I wait for a call back.
