Alicea: 0:24

Hello everyone, I'm Alicea.

Nathan: 0:26

And I'm Nathan.

Alicea: 0:27

Welcome to this week's episode of Adventures and Mousecapades. This week we are going to talk about Disneyland Park Tours. These are tours available for an additional charge that you can do at the Disneyland Resort.

Nathan: 0:41

Yeah, so both Disneyland and a little bit of California Adventure, although I think most of these are at Disneyland Park. But yeah, this should be exciting. Always fun to find new ways to give the mouse a few more dollars.

Alicea: 0:57

Yes, and as always, prices, experiences, information and offerings are subject to restrictions, changes or cancellations without notice. This is something that Disney puts on their website for pretty much every single tour that they offer.

Nathan: 1:13

Yeah, yes, and we'll talk about some of those changes that we've noticed. And then some of these things are definitely seasonal as well. So just be forewarned what we say here may not be exactly what you experience, should you choose to do these.

Alicea: 1:30

First off, we'll start with a tour, which is the most recent tour that we have done is the Disneyland Railroad Guided Tour. This is located at Disneyland Park and the website says take a journey to discover Walt Disney's passion for trains and ride in the presidential car of the Disneyland Railroad, the Lily Bell. This is a nice little tour where you're really learning about Walt Disney's love for trains and discover how that had an impact on the Disneyland Resort itself. You'll have a guide walking with you through the park and he'll tell you all about stories where the ideas behind Walt's train creations first started. You'll understand the impact that trains had on Walt Disney's dreams, from animation and film all the way to the theme parks. And, of course, you will get to ride on the Lily Bell, if it is available, which is just an amazing train car.

Alicea: 2:27

They'll have it at the end of one of the trains and it was designed inside by Lillian, Walt Disney's wife.

Nathan: 2:35

Yeah, it's glorious. It is a pure piece of Disney-ana. For any Disney nerd, you definitely want to be this and be on this tour and see this stuff. It was really fascinating. We did this last year, I think it was.

Nathan: 2:54

And it was really quite special to be able to be inside the Lily Bell and take a lap around the park but also just to hear a bunch of stories and some insider information about Walt and his love for trains and really how that infected a bunch of the Imagineers. They were at one point basically in competition for each other to see who could have the best backyard railroad.

Alicea: 3:20

So it was really neat. Well, this tour has changed a little bit from what I've seen on the site before. You did used to be able to meet a train engineer and talk with the engineer. Last time, or when we did this tour, we did not get to talk with an engineer. We also did not get to visit the roundhouse, so sometimes, who knows, maybe it'll change back and forth.

Nathan: 3:43

We did get to see one of the original steam engines at D23, though last year.

Alicea: 3:52

Yeah, that was pretty cool that had been refurbished.

Nathan: 3:55

That was very, very cool. So you know a little bit of a tie-in.

Alicea: 4:00

Yeah, I think this was about a 90 minute or two hour something, yeah, something like that yeah um, it doesn't say on the website how long it is and it does not say on the website the cost. I believe it was around 140 dollars per person. Okay, a lot of the, a lot of these are fairly expensive yeah yep.

Alicea: 4:24

Next on the list is a seasonal tour. It is Disney's Happiest Haunts, the Villain's Trail guided tour. Take a frightfully fun guided tour around Disneyland Park and into Disney California Adventure Park to unearth chilling stories and thrilling experiences and to watch Halloween Screams, a nighttime spectacular, from a special viewing area. This tour goes through, obviously, both parks and it's during the Halloween time season, so you have all those spooky decorations out there and you will have a guide, of course, that they will talk about the history of Halloween and Halloween tales specific to Disney experiences. You'll get a lightning lane entry into haunted mansion holiday. You have access to a reserved viewing area for halloween screams, which is a nighttime spectacular. Also get a photo opportunity with the animatronic witch from snow white so like in the ride whoa, and a collectible keepsake of disney's happiest haunts.

Nathan: 5:29

The villains trail guided tour pin huh interesting, so this used to have an ability to actually have a photo op with the hitchhiking ghosts, right yes, yeah it.

Alicea: 5:44

So they did change what you got to have your picture with. And it's interesting because I was thinking about this the other day. I was like, okay, I would love to have my picture with the hitchhiking ghosts from the haunted mansion. Yeah, but I wonder where that would be, because whenever this tour is is when it's haunted mansion holiday, so it's got the nightmare before christmas overlay. Yeah and where the hitchhiking ghosts are. That is where oogie boogie is with his wheel so I wonder they.

Alicea: 6:12

They must have them somewhere else. But it got changed because now it is the wicked witch from snow white or evil queen, sorry, whatever it is. And and this new version goes to both parks. The older version only went to Disneyland Park. It did not go into California Adventure.

Nathan: 6:33

Interesting. What is Halloween Screams? Is that the firework show that they do during Halloween season.

Alicea: 6:39

Yes, that's not the parade. Got it Okay, this seems fun.

Nathan: 6:48

Yeah, not the parade got it okay. This seems fun. Yeah, I can see why they're leaning into the evil queen and not the hitchhiking ghosts if they're trying to do this as you know, leaning into the villains, which definitely is something they're trying to hype up on the park side, although that's coming to florida, not disneyland.

Alicea: 7:01

But yeah, still, this is 130 per person. Okay, sorry, starting at 130 per person. So it may change um, the closer you get to halloween, maybe let's say my guess.

Nathan: 7:16

Would you like to

Alicea: 7:19

I would have liked to have done it more when it was the hitchhiking ghosts, but yes, I would because, okay, halloween is my favorite holiday and I love how the park is decorated during that time and just learning more about what Disney does for the spooky season, of course, I'd love to do this. Honestly, I'd love to do all of the tours. It gives us more information. It's always fun just to hear more about Disney and how they do things.

Nathan: 7:48

Right, yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. I don't know, it doesn't... This one doesn't scream at me, ha ha ha, pun intended, I would do it, I would go along with you, but it may not be something that I would personally go seek out. Yeah, but that just goes to show you everybody is open to their own opinion and different strokes for different folks.

Alicea: 8:13

It's interesting they call this the Villain's Trail guided tour, but they don't mention anything specific about the Villain's Trail.

Nathan: 8:22

Details, details. What are you expecting? Consistency?

Alicea: 8:27

Yep.

Alicea: 8:30

Well, keep hoping, uh-huh another seasonal tour is holiday time at the disneyland resort. Guided tour explore the dazzling seasonal transformation. Gather around for a festive tour of both theme parks for a close-up look at the sparkling magic that celebrates this joyous season. Your guide for this two and a-a-half-hour walking tour will share some favorite Disneyland holiday traditions that pay homage to festive ceremonies from countries around the world. You will also enjoy reserved viewing for a Christmas fantasy parade. Delicious holiday treats, a wonderful wintry ride on. It's a Small World Holiday, and more. It's a Small World Holiday holiday.

Alicea: 9:12

Yeah, they're doing a holiday overlay these days in disneyland like inside too yep huh, all right, yep, I did not know that I know disneyland gets all the cool stuff they do well, and I'd like the small world of disneyland better anyway, because they've incorporated ip into it and I love it.

Nathan: 9:32

It was very, very tastefully done. Yes, this sound, I would do this. Yeah, I would do this. At the drop of a hat, I would do, yeah, yeah.

Alicea: 9:39

It does say portions of the tour are refreshed every year, so guests returning to enjoy their favorite highlights can also look forward to discovering some new surprises. Hmm, you do have a collectible souvenir with this one and with the other tour, the Happiest Haunts one too. This is, like I said, a two and a half hour walking tour. I don't have a price listed. I'm guessing it's probably around $130 or so, compared to, you know, the other two.

Nathan: 10:05

Yeah, feels like this is just the replacement for the Halloween one.

Alicea: 10:09

Yes, yeah, yeah. Feels like this is just the replacement for the halloween one. Yes, yeah, yeah, no I I think disneyland is absolutely gorgeous during christmas time 100, uh, just with all the lights and everything. And yeah, they definitely light up small world they put a santa hat on the clock and put lights all over it. Of course, I'd love to do this one too.

Nathan: 10:30

Yeah, this sounds like a lot of fun and it's not too too expensive. No, no, you got to remember you have to have a park admission for that day too.

Alicea: 10:40

Yes, for all of these tours, park admission is not included.

Nathan: 10:44

Right, right. So this is above and beyond. You are taking some time out of your park day. So if you are taking some time out of your park day, so if you are, you know you're you're very rare or first time or one time only kind of trip to Disneyland. These kinds of things may not be for you. You probably want to focus your time on the rides and attractions and food and shows and all the rest of that stuff that you're really there for. A lot of these tours are really for the folks who go to the parks often and are looking for something a little different.

Alicea: 11:20

A new tour they have right now is called A Story of Celebration 70th Anniversary Guided Tour at Disneyland Resort. This is exploring 70 years of celebrations during an enchanting guided tour through Disneyland Park. It is $120 per person and the little blurb says for seven decades Disneyland Park has been a beacon of celebration, from the Tencennial Celebration in 1965 through the 50th anniversary's happiest homecoming on Earth, disneyland has invited guests to celebrate milestones, imagine endless possibilities and embrace new stories. And that tradition continues today with the disneyland resort 70th celebration. Join us for a captivating tour through this history. This is a two-hour tour and you will journey through the festive past, learn about the significant Disneyland moments and uncover some rarely shared stories.

Alicea: 12:16

I always love to hear the rarely shared stories but how rarely shared are they if they are on every tour?

Nathan: 12:24

Don't think too hard about it. Okay, we have marketing speak going on here hard about it.

Alicea: 12:34

Okay, we have marketing speak going on here. You also get to ride some of the original attractions, maybe the mark twain riverboat and the disneyland railroad very cool you get a lightning lane entry for a select attraction. They don't say which one it'll be, whatever they decide upon that day. Yeah, you get a reserved viewing area for the Paint the Night Parade, which Is pretty cool. I love the Paint The Night Parade.

Nathan: 12:52

Yes, I want to see that in person

Alicea: 12:56

and you get popcorn while you are watching the Paint the Night

Nathan: 12:59

Look, it says savory buttery bites. Yeah, just the way popcorn is supposed to be.

Alicea: 13:06

Yes, and a tour keepsake. Very cool, whatever that may be.

Nathan: 13:14

It's something you can keep, for goodness sake. Mm-hmm, this sounds fun. I would do this.

Alicea: 13:19

Yeah, I would too, maybe in April, ooh, if it's available.

Nathan: 13:23

Okay, I approve.

Alicea: 13:26

See how crazy busy it'll be during that season.

Alicea: 13:32

Because sometimes they do not offer tours if it is high peak season.

Nathan: 13:38

Got it, got it. Speaking of not offering tours, there's a couple on here that we know about that. In one case we've even done that is not on their Disneyland website right now. Yeah, the first one is Walt's Main Street Tour. You get to hear a lot of facts about Main Street and some of the honorary windows and things like that, and you get to tour Walt's apartment in Town Square. It's no longer on the site. On the website there is a mention and a link on the VIP tour site, but it just goes to the main list, so this is not being offered right now. I have a funny feeling this will come back. It may just be replaced for the seasonal ones that we have in Halloween and Christmas season and I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, come January we see this one come back.

Alicea: 14:35

Yeah, another tour that was there before was Cultivating the Magic, where you can learn about the horticulture of Disneyland and the landscaping in the gardens. Again that one is no longer on the site. Disney will switch tours around. Every once in a while that may come back again. I think this is maybe one of the tours that I'm just not interested in. That's fair, yeah.

Nathan: 14:57

That's fair. Yeah, that's fair. Let's talk about a tour you are interested in, shall we?

Alicea: 15:03

The next three.

Nathan: 15:04

Yeah.

Alicea: 15:05

Yeah, okay, that's fine VIP tours. Vip tours yes.

Nathan: 15:09

Yes, these are, in a word, quite pricey.

Alicea: 15:14

That's two words.

Nathan: 15:16

Okay, Thanks for the accounting department checking in there. Appreciate that vip tours range from 500 to 800 dollars per hour. There is a minimum of seven hours and a max of 10. This supports up to 10 people. Gratuities are not included. Highly suggested. Do the math. This is going to be expensive, but this is. You design your day. You get VIP access to all of the rides, assuming they're up and running like better than Lightning Lane. You're cutting the Lightning Lanes.

Alicea: 16:11

I don't know if you do with this one.

Nathan: 16:13

Really.

Alicea: 16:14

Yeah, I think this is a lightning line one. It doesn't say specifically just and I say that just because of a tour that's two down from this one.

Nathan: 16:24

Okay, got it. Yeah Well, just remember, separate admission is required for all the people that will be on your VIP tour. But tour but uh, this looks and can be absolutely magical for your party, for sure if you've ever heard us mention plaids before, yeah, vip tours are guided by plaids.

Alicea: 16:49

these are cast members that have a blue and red and yellow, I think plaid vest or shirt or dress or whatever, and they are your customer service people. They will guide you around on these.

Nathan: 17:03

Indeed and they will help you go get snacks, they will do whatever kind of you need within reason to make your day magical. It's pretty, pretty impressive. Would love to do that someday. We'll need a magic ticket to land on our plate. I think to make that happen We'll see.

Alicea: 17:25

Something new that I haven't seen before. That is extremely compelling to me is the Oogie Boogie Bash VIP Tour. Oh boy, this is $7,500 to $8,500 for an eight hour tour. This is expensive. Yes, this does include park hopper tickets and event admission for your party of up to eight guests oh it also has expedited access to the villain's grove and select treat trails.

Alicea: 17:56

You get private VIP tour character greetings and you get reserved VIP seated viewing of the Frightfully Fun Parade, plus complimentary beverages with sweet and savory treats. It just sounds like you get special seating like where they do the dessert party. For this, maybe you get an exclusive VIP tours tours oogie boogie bash amenity, which is a vip oogie boogie bash pin and a vip jack-o'-lantern candy holder. You also get complimentary valet parking at grand californian wow this is a really good tour.

Nathan: 18:32

This is really expensive it's really expensive, but a one-day park hopper ticket for eight people, you're looking at like $1,500. Double that and you've got your Oogie Boogie ticket. So you're up to three. I'm not going to say that this is a steal.

Alicea: 18:54

I'm not going to say that this is a steal, but Well, okay, so you also got to think about, because this is also including, well, including, like, the dessert party.

Nathan: 19:06

Yeah.

Alicea: 19:07

Two, which is probably around oh gosh, I was like maybe $90 a person too.

Nathan: 19:14

Right.

Alicea: 19:15

Yeah, so okay, it makes it. It makes it a person too. Yeah, so okay, it makes it a little more palatable.

Nathan: 19:22

Yeah.

Alicea: 19:23

It's still a lot.

Nathan: 19:25

Yeah, it's still a lot.

Nathan: 19:27

So you're up to maybe between the three tickets, the three ticketed things your park hopper admission, your O uh, oogie, boogie uh ticket and the dessert, you know, for eight people you're already up to the $4,000 range. So you double that and you get a tour guide and all this other stuff. I mean, look, I'm not saying it's a steal. you know, but this is, you know, if you got some money to throw at the problem, it's kind of an interesting, kind of an interesting package. Or you could go on a cruise for a week.

Alicea: 20:13

I know, I know, yeah, last one is the Land of Dreams VIP tour.

Nathan: 20:19

Okay.

Alicea: 20:20

This is like a VIP VIP tour. Oh my gosh.

Nathan: 20:23

Okay, like crazy A VVIP tour, vvip.

Alicea: 20:28

VVVVVVVIP yeah. Price of this.

Nathan: 20:33

Yeah

Alicea: 20:34

$14,000

Nathan: 20:35

Oh my gosh

Alicea: 20:36

For up to six people.

Nathan: 20:47

Woah

Alicea: 20:48

this has park hoppers.

Nathan: 20:49

I’m not even going to try to justify the price of this.

Alicea: 20:49

No, no, no, no, no, no. This is like celeb level.

Nathan: 20:52

Right.

Alicea: 20:52

You have the possibility of seeing the dream suite. You can possibly see where they keep all the horses, the barn, whatever the heck that's called. The train repair area Walt's apartment. You get to go through the exit or a special entrance to all of the rides. This includes a table service meal, a quick service meal and all the snacks that you want. the snacks that you want. You get two guides with you at all times and then another guide behind the scenes. You know, just making things smooth as needed.

Nathan: 21:32

10

Alicea: 21:32

This is up to 10 hours and you get parade and fireworks viewing

Nathan: 21:33

Wow, that's a heck of a day. Yeah, this is celebrity. That's impressive,

Alicea: 21:46

yep, and I will note, for all of these VIP tours you get access to the VIP merchandise.

Nathan: 21:48

Well, that just makes them all worth it.

Alicea: 21:52

I want a plaid lounge Fly, nathan.

Nathan: 21:56

Oh my God, yes dear. Oh, we actually have seen that booth. Uh, that was set up in the grand californian, I think yep, yep and um, yeah, Alicea was quite drawn to the the lounge fly.

Alicea: 22:10

I was like I didn't know they had merch for VIP. I mean, it makes sense, disney will monetize pretty much everything, but this is gonna be expensive. Oh, I don't know if we'll ever do a VIP tour.

Nathan: 22:21

Hey, if anybody wants us to join in, we're happy to pay our share.

Alicea: 22:27

You know, I bet there are Facebook groups out there.

Nathan: 22:31

Oh, that's a good point, probably.

Alicea: 22:34

Yeah.

Nathan: 22:34

Probably. But yeah, if any celebrity wants to adopt us into your family for your Land of Dreams tour. Just let us know we're very friendly people.

Alicea: 22:47

Maybe I can see if I can get Ashley to bring us along one day.

Nathan: 22:50

Yeah, good luck with that. Anyway, yeah, there's a lot of tours, there's a lot of tours, there's, there's a lot of a lot of options, and it's you know. I want to underline what we said earlier it's always changing.

Nathan: 23:07

So please absolutely look at what's on disney's site. If you're going to be booking one of these tours, especially one of the VIP tours, have your people call their people and get the details on exactly what's going to be available and things like that for the dates that you're looking for and the prices and all that sad stuff. So keep track of what Disney is officially saying, as there's a lot of change here.

Alicea: 23:38

Have you guys done any tours, VIP or otherwise? We'd love to hear?

Nathan: 23:43

Absolutely yeah. Share your experiences. Just shoot us an email to podcast at ourmousecapades. com and we would love to hear all about it.

Alicea: 23:54

Remember, we are not affiliated with Disney or their subsidiaries. These are personal opinions and suggestions based on our own experiences. We recommend working with a travel agent or contacting Disney directly to plan your perfect vacation.

Nathan: 24:06

And, of course, go ahead and follow us on social media. We're at our Mousecapades. You can find us on Instagram, facebook Threads and YouTube.

Alicea: 24:16

Please give us a rating and review in your podcast app. It really helps people to find us.

Nathan: 24:20

And, of course, don't hesitate to share us with your friends and fellow Disney lovers of all ages.

Alicea: 24:26

Thank you for listening. We'll be in your ears next week. Thank you for flying Star Tours. Bye-bye.