Walk in Walt’s footsteps tour

[Jimsig]

I would not recommend for those who:
A) Have children in tow

I would say it all depends on your child. My 9yo DD loved the tour. She loves all things Disney World and DL. I had already booked the tour but she did not know about it. Before we went one day she was watching youtube videos and one was of someone doing the tour and she asked me if we could do it. I told her we could "try" as I wanted to make it a surprise. However I know my 9yo nephew would most likely not enjoy it even though he loves Disney, he likes the rides best.

Has anyone had success getting into a fully booked tour as a walk up? I called on Saturday and tried to book a weekend in February, and they were all sold out. The CM on the phone told me to go first thing in the morning and ask if they could squeeze us in. I’m wondering if this ever actually works or if she was just trying to make me feel better about not getting a reservation.

Our tour had 16 people an we had at least 2 people in our group that had just booked that morning, I can't remember if they called at 7a Pacific that morning or walked up when the park opened. I would call every couple days as you never know if someone might cancel.

 

[wareagle57]

Is it normal that they are not showing any times for April, despite being able to click on those dates? It currently shows through April 9, but each day says no times available.

 

[dieumeye]

Just adding to the great info already in the thread... I was able to walk up at 11:40am and book the noon tour same day on a recent Sunday. I was told the tour was fully booked at 20 people, but they did an override to allow me to join as the 21st. However, when the tour started there were only 18 of us, so maybe 3 people cancelled or no-showed at the last minute?

The tour itself was just as others have described. Started at noon, and at 2:30 half the group went to the apartment while the other half went to lunch. Then at 3:00 the groups switched places and were out of there around 3:30. Make sure you have a big breakfast or a snack if you're not used to having lunch that late! I tracked steps and the total walk was about 2 miles.

 

[Pamela M]

Is it normal that they are not showing any times for April, despite being able to click on those dates? It currently shows through April 9, but each day says no times available.

It's possible. I believe in order to sign up for the tour you have to call.

 

[VTHappyGirl]

Our tour on 2/15 had 24 people, no walk-ups all had reservations. The group size was not an issue since you could hear the Guide easily with the headsets.

We did see Walt's apt too and were split into 2 groups for that part. It was a really nice tour and a great way to end our trip.

 

[tink too]

So glad I found this thread while researching for our upcoming trip. I think my family would enjoy this - I know I would for sure.

 

[LizzyS]

We took the tour this past Tuesday, February 26th @ 9:30 am, and I would recommend biting the bullet and doing the tour if you're thinking about it and have more than 1 day in the parks. This was a two day trip for us and we did it on the second day and it worked out great. If you opt for Maxpass, it's very easy to schedule one or two for after the tour while on it, so that also worked out great.

Ryan was our tour guide and he was awesome. We got to skip the line on Alice, It's a Small World (it's usually Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, but it was down Tuesday), and the Disneyland Railroad. We were in the first group to go up into Walt's apartment and you get to stay up there with the two tour guides that take you up there for what seemed like 15-20 minutes, so that was awesome. Then they will take a few pictures of your party with the lamp in the shot as well.

The food was good for lunch as well and, as others have posted, they give you the special pin that you can only get on the tour, which is very nice. The headsets to hear the tour guides work great and it's just a plastic loop that goes over your ear that had obviously been washed (a little towel dander on it when it was handed to me) well between guests, so nothing gross about it, though you can bring your own ear buds if you'd like.

I had the caprese sandwich for lunch, which was actually huge, and I got a MATTERHORN MACAROON for dessert, which I'd had before but it had been a while, and it was DELICIOUS and ADORABLE.

I highly recommend the tour if you want to get into Walt's apartment as it's totally worth it and the apartment is adorable.

 

[AJA55]

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WOW complete different pin. Mine is from 12 years ago.

 

[Erin M]

We just took the tour on Sunday. I think if you're a big fan of history and have the time you should do it!

Out host was Sandi and she has worked at DL since the 60's, has been doing the tour for ten years. She was very nice and really fun to talk to while we ate lunch but her speaking skills during the tour left a little to be desired. A few times she forgot what she was saying and had to start over. I think she was flustered because we had a lot of technical difficulties to get started. Our tour actually started 25 min late because of it. We rode Alice and then saw the show at the Tiki Room. I think we ran out of time because of all the tech issues (there was another headset out halfway though the tour).

The lunch was great, and Sandi made a point to come by and answer any questions. My friend asked her about the spider on the glass in HM, and if the story about why it's there was true. She confirmed the long told story so that was fun.

I don't think I need to do it again, but I am glad we did it.

 

[bethwc101]

We just took the tour on Sunday. I think if you're a big fan of history and have the time you should do it!

Out host was Sandi and she has worked at DL since the 60's, has been doing the tour for ten years. She was very nice and really fun to talk to while we ate lunch but her speaking skills during the tour left a little to be desired. A few times she forgot what she was saying and had to start over. I think she was flustered because we had a lot of technical difficulties to get started. Our tour actually started 25 min late because of it. We rode Alice and then saw the show at the Tiki Room. I think we ran out of time because of all the tech issues (there was another headset out halfway though the tour).

The lunch was great, and Sandi made a point to come by and answer any questions. My friend asked her about the spider on the glass in HM, and if the story about why it's there was true. She confirmed the long told story so that was fun.

I don't think I need to do it again, but I am glad we did it.

Somebody shot a BB gun or something right? And the glass is one large sheet so wasn't efficient to replace so they covered it?

 

[LizzyS]

We just took the tour on Sunday. I think if you're a big fan of history and have the time you should do it!

Out host was Sandi and she has worked at DL since the 60's, has been doing the tour for ten years. She was very nice and really fun to talk to while we ate lunch but her speaking skills during the tour left a little to be desired. A few times she forgot what she was saying and had to start over. I think she was flustered because we had a lot of technical difficulties to get started. Our tour actually started 25 min late because of it. We rode Alice and then saw the show at the Tiki Room. I think we ran out of time because of all the tech issues (there was another headset out halfway though the tour).

The lunch was great, and Sandi made a point to come by and answer any questions. My friend asked her about the spider on the glass in HM, and if the story about why it's there was true. She confirmed the long told story so that was fun.

I don't think I need to do it again, but I am glad we did it.

If they offer it for years to come, I might do it again. The main point is to get into Walt's apartment, after all! Our photo in there is now my facebook profile picture.

 

[Winnowill]

Somebody shot a BB gun or something right? And the glass is one large sheet so wasn't efficient to replace so they covered it?

They'd basically have to remove the roof to replace the glass.

 

[lsumatt72]

Took the tour this past Sunday (3/3). Tour guides name was Tara I believe. She was good but all the information on the tour was stuff I knew, except for maybe 1-2 things. I feel like a lot of things were skimmed over quickly, but the obvious highlight was Walt’s apartment which was basically a religious experience for me

 

[LizzyS]

Took the tour this past Sunday (3/3). Tour guides name was Tara I believe. She was good but all the information on the tour was stuff I knew, except for maybe 1-2 things. I feel like a lot of things were skimmed over quickly, but the obvious highlight was Walt’s apartment which was basically a religious experience for me

I felt that way about the info about Walt, too, but if you've read one of the good biographies about Walt (I've read 2 and have another on the back burner), that's bound to happen.

I lightly touched the doorknob with one finger when I exited the apartment because it looked original and I wanted to touch something that Walt once touched, lol. I touched *nothing* in the apartment, before someone calls me out for being a jerk. I also considered it a religious experience because I really love Walt Disney.

 

[B3rlingirl]

I felt that way about the info about Walt, too, but if you've read one of the good biographies about Walt (I've read 2 and have another on the back burner), that's bound to happen.

I lightly touched the doorknob with one finger when I exited the apartment because it looked original and I wanted to touch something that Walt once touched, lol. I touched *nothing* in the apartment, before someone calls me out for being a jerk. I also considered it a religious experience because I really love Walt Disney.

I haven’t read any biographies but would be very interested... which ones did you read? (Though it is a complete different story if they are even available here in Germany...)

Every tour report I read here makes more more curious about the tour...I actually really wanna do the tour!
But I don’t know if I might regret investing precious park time for it and it’s expensive and I might want to to a F! Lunch packages Instead...oh boy...so much to think through... luckily, I still have lots of time to think about it (and to overthink it) but I really love reading all your reports...

 

[Jimsig]

But I don’t know if I might regret investing precious park time for it and it’s expensive

Of course it's all a personal opinion but at $109 (including lunch) I think it's a bargain for what you get, compared to other things of the same nature at DL or WDW and those don't get you in Walt's Apartment. Take the cost of lunch out of it, which you are probably going to eat and pay for anyway, and the cost of the tour is around $90. But that said if I was only doing one day at DL I would probably skip it. But if you are doing 2 or more at DL that should give you plenty of time to do the tour and see/do everything you want tp at least once.

 

[dieumeye]

There is a very simple way to figure out if this tour is for you. Answer the question: would you pay for the tour if the only thing it included is going to Walt‘s apartment?

If you answered yes, then this tour is for you.

If you answered no, then this tour is not for you.

Sure, there’s lunch, you get to visit a couple attractions, and hear some interesting facts about the park, but honestly, that stuff’s mostly filler.

For the record, I think it’s worth it.

 

[LizzyS]

I haven’t read any biographies but would be very interested... which ones did you read? (Though it is a complete different story if they are even available here in Germany...)

Every tour report I read here makes more more curious about the tour...I actually really wanna do the tour!
But I don’t know if I might regret investing precious park time for it and it’s expensive and I might want to to a F! Lunch packages Instead...oh boy...so much to think through... luckily, I still have lots of time to think about it (and to overthink it) but I really love reading all your reports...

I have read The Animated Man by Michael Barrier and Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas, both excellent. Bob Thomas also wrote The Art of Animation.

 

[LizzyS]

Of course it's all a personal opinion but at $109 (including lunch) I think it's a bargain for what you get, compared to other things of the same nature at DL or WDW and those don't get you in Walt's Apartment. Take the cost of lunch out of it, which you are probably going to eat and pay for anyway, and the cost of the tour is around $90. But that said if I was only doing one day at DL I would probably skip it. But if you are doing 2 or more at DL that should give you plenty of time to do the tour and see/do everything you want tp at least once.

Yes, we were doing 2 park days and I didn't feel like we missed out on precious park time because of it, which was always my only hesitation in the past.

 

[Winnowill]

Of course it's all a personal opinion but at $109 (including lunch) I think it's a bargain for what you get, compared to other things of the same nature at DL or WDW and those don't get you in Walt's Apartment. Take the cost of lunch out of it, which you are probably going to eat and pay for anyway, and the cost of the tour is around $90. But that said if I was only doing one day at DL I would probably skip it. But if you are doing 2 or more at DL that should give you plenty of time to do the tour and see/do everything you want tp at least once.

Don't forget the cool pin you get as a "gift"!