Anyone take the Yuletide Fantasy Tour in 2002?

[CarolMN]

If so, I'd love to hear about it. I've read the info here on the DIS and also on WDWIG and am thinking this might be a fun tour to take on our next early December trip.

How far ahead did you book the tour? Would you recommend it to others?

Thanks for any comments.

Carol

 

[Bill3]

We did not take it in 2002 but we did in 1999. It was really interesting especially the time in Epcot. The World Showcase was not open and thus our group(4+ guide) were the only ones back there. The info was generally stuff we didn't know and kept our attention. We scheduled about a month ahead of time and had no problem getting the day we wanted. It turned out the other two people had a lime green ribbon and we were all avid DIS fans.

 

[betterlatethannever]

We took the tour on December 9th 2002.

Unfortunately, it rained and rained and rained ... during the tour.

First thing, to take the tour, you need a picture ID, since you go behind the scenes and the guards may check before they let you enter. There were about 20 people in the tour group and a few had to either reschedule or cancel because they didn't have an ID.

Also, you do not need to use a day on your park hopper ticket to take the tour.

The group met a MGM about 8:30. Because of the rain, we didn't spend much time walking around MGM. We ended up in a gift shop to stay dry. Our guide discussed Christmas movie trivia. Walked back to New York Street where he talked about the Osborne lights and its history. Went out the back of MGM and boarded a Disney Cruise line bus (which is operated by Mears).

Drove to Epcot and went through a back gate and entered World Showcase near Germany through a CM door. As the previous poster said, WS was closed and we were the only people there. The guide discussed the traditions of some of the countries as we walked to Morocco. We went into a few of the countries/courtyards for these talks.

Drove over to the WL to see the tree and lobby decorations. He gave a lot of interesting tidbits of information about the decorations and setup at the WL.

Due to the rain, we skipped MK and went to the Christmas warehouse. IMO, this was the highlight of the tour. To get to the warehouse, you drove by the monorail and steam engine maintenance building. At the warehouse, you learn how they manage to decorate everything for Christmas. I was expecting an empty warehouse (since all the decorations are up), but there were decorations there already for next year. And there is a section full of decorations for Pop Century, should it ever open LOL. We learned how to make (and participated in making) a Disney bow. We got to keep them and also got a souvenir. Learned a ton of tips on the Disney decoration philosophy.

The guide was very personable, and made the tour very enjoyable (even with the weather). While traveling from place to place on the bus, the guide played trivia games about Disney among others.

The trip ended back at MGM about 1:00.

Overall it was an enjoyable tour and probably would have been much better if it didn't rain.

I am not sure how far in advance we booked the tour (60 days I think).

Ed

 

[K P & J's Grandma]

How much does this tour cost??

 

[betterlatethannever]

Originally posted by K, P & J's Grandma
How much does this tour cost??

It cost about $60 per person. But there are discounts (15%) with AP,DC, AAA, and maybe more.

Ed

P.S. (To answer someone else on another thread) no you can't combine discounts to get 30, or 45 or 60% off.

 

[CarolMN]

Bill & Ed - Thanks so much for your comments.

Ed - Your description was awesome! Really appreciate the time you took to type all that detail out for me!

THANKS!
Carol

 

[disney queen]

we also took it this past december. it was great!! i would recommend booking as soon as you can as this is very popular and sold out this year. we paid w/either an AP discount or DVC discount around 100$ per couple. worth the $$$$.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Thanks for all the info on this, our fall trip might become a first week in December trip But the only good thing are all of these special events!!

Do they allow children on this tour and what times do they offer this tour, are they early mornings before the parks open? I am just wondering because our son will be 4 and I am going to guess they have to be older, but I am wondering if we took him to the Cubs Den, or something like that if DH and I could go???

Thanks

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by dvcfamily41801
Thanks for all the info on this, our fall trip might become a first week in December trip But the only good thing are all of these special events!!

Do they allow children on this tour and what times do they offer this tour, are they early mornings before the parks open? I am just wondering because our son will be 4 and I am going to guess they have to be older, but I am wondering if we took him to the Cubs Den, or something like that if DH and I could go???

Thanks

According to the info on WDWIG, "Disney's Yuletide Fantasy is open to ages 16 and older (guests under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult), and theme park admission is not required".

Here's a link to the tour info on WDWIG:


Tour Info from WDWIG