Walk in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps

“To all who come to this happy place, welcome.”

A special snapshot from our visit in 2016

Walt Disney uttered these famous words on Disneyland’s opening day in 1955, and the idea has always brought a smile to our faces when we enter the parks. Given that Disneyland is the only park that Walt experienced during his life, we knew we wanted to do the “Walk in Walt’s Disneyland Footsteps” Tour when we made a visit to the West Coast during Disneyland’s Diamond Anniversary in 2016. Honestly it was one of the most special experiences we’ve had at any Disney Park, and we would strongly recommend it to anyone who loves Disney.

What you need to know:

The tour lasts roughly three hours – important to note when planning your day – and includes a meal.
You can book your tour by phone up to 30 days in advance of your visit. Be sure to write down the confirmation number given to you over the phone and bring it with you. Just like it’s 1955, you won’t receive an email confirmation for this one!
Plan to arrive at your meeting point 15 minutes before the start of your tour. Your tour guide will help you get set up with the audio headset you’ll use throughout the tour.

Andrea modeling our custom buttons and cool headsets! You’ll also get to take home an exclusive keepsake pin from your tour!

The tour begins near the Disneyland Fire Department, below the window of Walt’s apartment where he would frequently stay in the early days of Disneyland. Walt would famously light the gas lamp in the fire station window to let people know he was in the park, and the lamp has remained lit almost constantly since his death in 1966 to symbolize his continued presence at Disneyland. Our tour guide did an amazing job telling the story of a young Walt growing up in Marceline, Mo. and the inspiration that his hometown brought to Disneyland. You know these Missouri gals loved that!

As we walked right down the middle of Main Street, USA and approached the entrance to the castle, our tour guide played Walt’s opening day speech in our headsets. Cue tears.

Our lunches were waiting for us upon arrival to the Jolly Holiday Bakery!

We learned so many fun tidbits about the vision and challenges it took to bring Disneyland to life, and even though we are Disney fanatics, we learned so many new things! The tour lead us through every part of Disneyland and shared information about the inspirations Walt drew from his own life to create the happiest place on earth. No two tours are exactly the same, but naturally rides are a key part of the tour. We were VIP guests to the Mad Tea Party – we walked right onto the ride with our tour guide!

Our morning tour included lunch at Jolly Holiday Bakery, and everything was set up for us when we arrived. They were able to accommodate Megan’s gluten sensitivity, which was great.

Easily the coolest thing we’ve ever gotten to see at a Disney Park!

After lunch we rode one more ride, and then the real VIP experience began. These experiences vary by tour, but there is usually a special, exclusive element – sometimes Walt’s apartment above the fire station, sometimes Club 33, sometimes the Disneyland Dream Suite. We had read this tidbit in reviews, and yet when our tour guide told us we’d be touring the Disneyland Dream Suite, we had no chill. Instead of entering Pirates of the Carribean, we were able to take the secret entrance to the apartment above. Walt had begun the process of building the suite before he passed, but the project was put on hold after his death. The suite was purposefully built to look over New Orleans Square, which was Lillian’s favorite part of the park.

In 2007, Disney decided to finish Walt’s project and used the original designs that had been created to bring Walt’s original vision to life. Each room has a particular theme, and one of our favorite parts was the “Kiss Goodnight” in the bedroom. If you’ve ever stayed at a Disney Park until close, you might be familiar with the last magic moment as you leave at night – it’s something special that signals the end of the day. When you press the “Kiss Goodnight” button in the master bedroom, themed around Adventureland, the painting of a waterfall above the bed comes to life with the sights and sounds of splashing mermaids. We were only allowed to take one photo inside the Suite, but trust that we left with a lot of interior design inspiration!

We finished our tour in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle – Walt’s voice once again in our headsets explaining that Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world.

Have you ever taken one of the special tours at Disneyland or Walt Disney World? Which one should we take next?