Walt Disney World is a fun, magical, and overwhelming place. With four theme parks, a shopping district, and many resorts there is plenty to do. We go to WDW at least once a year, so I decided to do something different on the two most recent trips, park tours.

Disney offers 10 different tours. eight of the tours are in parks, one at Animal Kingdom Villas, and one at the Campsites at Fort Wilderness. I did three different tours at three different parks; Keys to the Kingdom at Magic Kingdom, Behind the Seeds at EPCOT, and Caring for Giants at Animal Kingdom.

Keys to the Kingdom was the longest tour I did at 5 hours and the most expensive, $129/person. You also need to have a park ticket and park reservation as these are not included in the tour price and reservation. This tour does include lunch and a keepsake. You do spend most of the time walking on this tour, though one member of our group was in a wheelchair that was easily accommodated. As you walk the park, your guide will share with you history, fun facts, and trivia about both the park and Walt Disney. Learning about the park includes tidbits about the many rides and you get to ride two of the rides, Jungle cruise and Haunted Mansion, as part of the tour. Bonus, because you are on a tour you get to go to the front of the line, even entering through back areas. You get the chance to go “back stage” or behind the scenes, including the famous tunnels under the park called the Utilidor. Since you are in cast member only areas, no photography is allowed on this tour.

If you are more interested in plants and nature than Disney history and trivia, Behind the Seeds is a good tour choice. This is an hour long tour for $35/person in the Land Pavilion in EPCOT. Again, the park ticket and park reservation in not included. This is an informative walking tour of the greenhouses that the Living with the Land attraction goes through. You learn about innovation in agriculture that Disney is incorporating including natural pest control, growing plants with little to no soil, hydroponics and aquaponics, and various ways to grow plants vertically in less space. Also you get to see and learn about fish farming. It is amazing how much food disney is able to produce in a small space. Because the tour is in the greenhouses that are on view to the public, photography is allowed on most of this tour.

The final tour was Caring for Giants in Animal Kingdom. This is another one hour tour for $35/person and again does not include park ticket or park reservation. Giants refers to the elephants at Animal Kingdom. The tour is an informative behind the scenes tour about the African Elephant. The guide takes you to a shuttle that he or she drives behind the scenes to an elephant overlook. While driving we learn about the elephants and their daily care and requirements. At the overlook, the elephants are closer than you can get in the safari ride trucks and you can spot a truck or two driving by on the other side. At the overlook photography is allowed. While you enjoy watching the elephants the guide will share more information and show you some items like a tracking collar and the hair from an elephant’s tail. You are allowed touch these items and the hair feels very weird, almost like wire. You get to keep your name tag from this tour, which is made from 85% elephant poop. If you want your own elephant poop paper, it can be purchased online from poopoopaper.com.

On your next Disney trip, if you want something different to do, I highly recommend the tours. I know I will be doing more on my next trip.