Behind the Magic Curtain at Walt Disney World
It’s all magic on the outside. But are you grown-up enough to see the inside workings of what makes the magic happen at Walt Disney World? The resort offers a special, day-long peek behind the curtain at the fabulous entertainment center. It’s for adults only. The Backstage Magic Tour lasts six to eight hours and is restricted to people over sixteen. Lunch is included. Cost is $224 a person.
Can You Handle It?
You’re grown up now and you can handle it. Who wouldn’t want to see behind the curtain? On Disney’s Backstage Magic Tour, you have the chance to see how the magic happens backstage at Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Normally these areas are restricted. And no pictures are allowed backstage.
The day-long tour starts at Epcot early in the morning. Already that’s special because the park isn’t even open yet and hardly anyone is there. You meet the guide and receive headsets so that you can hear the guide without the guide having to shout. Kinda makes you wonder what’s going to come next, no?
After a tour backstage at Epcot, you find a private bus waiting for you and your group behind the Seas Pavilion. The bus takes you to World Showcase. Never mind how ordinary the backs of the buildings look. You know that on the other side of the stage it’s magical. At the American Adventure in the World Showcase, your guide tells you about the building and the attraction, as well as the mechanics of the show.
Costumes and Wigs
From the American Adventure, you drive to the Cast Center. Wow, look at all those costumes! The Cast Center is where the costumes are kept until they are checked out by the cast members. Let’s hope you didn’t believe those were all real characters out there in Disney World. The guide will fill you on what it’s like to be a cast member. You might even catch sight of a princess getting ready for work. Yes, princesses have to work too. You probably already knew that princesses wear wigs. You’ll see plenty of princess wigs set out for the princesses to wear. Did you have any idea that there were so many princesses, so many people working for Walt Disney World?
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the guide will take you through the costuming department where most of the cast costumes are made. You probably never imagined that they use computers to create the costumes. They do.
Lunch at Whispering Canyon
After Hollywood Studios, the tour group moves to Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe. Lunch is included in the fee for the tour, of course. The cast members, known as waitresses in the real world, are fun characters and can be especially entertaining on the Backstage Tour.
Next up Magic Kingdom
The Backstage Tour includes visits to backstage buildings where, for example, the laundry is done for all of Disney World. That’s a lot of laundry. Another building, Holiday Services, stores all the decorations for Christmas and other holidays. At Central Shops, the vehicles for those thrilling rides are manufactured and kept in good working order. (You probably thought all that happened by magic, right?) Imagine seeing logs for Splash Mountain and honey pots for Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh being created. You will also learn how audio animatronic figures work and even have an opportunity to play with some of them.
Last come the Utilidors. What’s that, you ask? These are the underground tunnels beneath the Magic Kingdom that service Disney World’s most visited theme park. Here you really have to use your imagination, because what you see is basically painted cinder block walls. But hey, what does a treasure cave look like? A cave, right?
You wanted backstage, and that’s what backstage is like.
Herb likes to write about Disney World. Please check out his website that contains Disney World Vacation information as well as Behind Scenes Tours Disney information.
