Few Disneyland visitors know that they can take a guided tour. They're not well-advertised, and it's hard to find information about them even if you know they exist. However, you may find one of them to be just the thing for your Disneyland vacation.
Good things are seldom free. Each tour charges a fee in addition to your admission, which must be valid for the day you take the tour. Disneyland no longer posts tour prices on their website, so you'll have to call to get them. And to avoid disappointment, it's best to reserve up to a month in advance at 714-781-4400.
Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour
Designed for the Disney-lover, this 3.5-hour, fact-and-trivia-filled tour reveals how Walt Disney's vision became a reality. In three and a half hours, tour participants ride the Disneyland Railroad, visit the Enchanted Tiki Room (the park's first animatronic attraction), peek inside exclusive Club 33's lobby and a have a private lunch on Main Street, U.S.A. Tour guests also receive "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps" souvenir pin.
I took this tour in 2001, and I'm still amazing (or boring) my friends and acquaintances with all the interesting things I learned on it. If you want to learn about the man and history behind the park, this tour is highly recommended.
This tour is not recommended for small children, who may become bored.
Discover the Magic Tour
Interact and work with Disney characters while hunting for hidden treasure and dodging dastardly villains during a 2.5-hour tour, offered most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This fun-for-the-whole-family tour includes a snack and souvenir gift. It's recommended for kids between 3 and 9, strollers are not recommended and if the young'uns are under 18, an adult has to come along, too.
Cultivating the Magic Tour
This tour focuses on Disneyland's amazing plants and how impressive horticulture helps tell the story in each of the Disneyland Park lands.
Behind the Scenes at Disneyland and in Hollywood
Adventures by Disney's Backstage Magic tour is a six-day, five-night ramble behind the scenes at film studios, Disney Imagineering and the two California theme parks, venturing into places not normally open to the public.
Read our review to find out more about it.
Seasonal Disneyland Tours
Check the Disneyland website for seasonal tours, such "Disney's Happiest Haunts" at Halloween and the "Holiday Time at Disneyland" tour which often runs from mid-November through early January. It usually includes a chance to explore all the holiday traditions and decorations along with express boarding for "it's a small world" Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday and reserved seating for the Christmas parade.
