Did you know that Cast Members who work at Magic Kingdom use tunnels underneath the park to get around?
Magic Kingdom
As you walk around Magic Kingdom, you are actually on the SECOND floor of the park because the first floor runs underneath your feet, with a series of service tunnels called the Utilidors. These tunnels are a winding tunnel system that actually goes right underneath Cinderella Castle! These tunnels allow for Magic Kingdom Cast Members to swiftly get around parts of the park without ruining the “magic”, and this was something Walt Disney himself, was very passionate about! While these tunnels are on almost every Disney Adult’s bucket list to explore, sometimes the Cast Members who have access to them hate them!
Walt Disney wanted these tunnels to be built because he did not want to break the immersion of the park. For example, he didn’t want a Frontierland Cast Member, for instance, walking through the Tomorrowland area and having their costume clash with the theming in the other areas. So, in order to preserve the “magic,” Cast Members started using those secret tunnels.
©Disney | Obtained via News 6 Orlando
These tunnels also double as storage areas; they house all kinds of equipment, and there is even a SUBWAY.
©Disney | Obtained via News 6 Orlando
If you’ve never been to Magic Kingdom before, then you might not realize how incredibly EXTENSIVE the trip is to get over to the park if you decide to drive over there yourself OR take a rideshare — like an Uber or Lyft.
If you’re Ubering to Magic Kingdom, you’ll get dropped off at the Ticket and Transportation Center.
When you park at Magic Kingdom, you’re actually parking over at the Transportation and Ticket Center. Then, from there, you’ll have to take a bus, ferry, or Monorail to make it the rest of the way up to the park gate. We are already exhausted just thinking about it!
Transportation and Ticket Center
As for Cast Members, though, they can’t just magically teleport themselves into Magic Kingdom. So they, too, also have to park far, far, FAR away and then hop onto a bus to make it over to their shift. And AFTER that bus ride, they — then — have to navigate through the tunnels to get to where they’re going. And depending on where they’re stationed that day, that’s not often a quick process, either.
Magic Kingdom Bus
Believe it or not, guests actually have the benefit of being able to take shortcuts inside the park to help cut down their travel time between locations. For example, near the front of the park and to the right of Cinderella Castle, the somewhat abandoned Tomorrowland Terrace quick service makes for a great shortcut that many times goes underutilized. Not only are there typically fewer crowds cutting through there, but it’ll save you a few minutes as you travel to and from Tomorrowland.
The Best Magic Kingdom Shortcuts
Tomorrowland Terrace
As another example, let’s say you want to hop on TRON Lightcycle / Run and then head over to Storybook Circus (or vice-versa). Well, instead of heading all the way back out of TRON and circling the Tomorrowland Speedway, you can just go under TRON Lightcycle / Run instead and exit out where the Fantasyland railroad station is.
TRON Lightcycle / Run
You get the idea. There are a lot of corners you can cut to help you save your steps inside the park. But the utilidors really don’t give Cast Members the same advantage. So once a Cast Member does finally make it to the right area, then they may have to walk up 3-4 flights of stairs just to get to their actual place of work! So it’s basically, these Cast Members will get a full workout before they start their shift.
Magic Kingdom Cast Member
If you ever want to explore the Utilidors of Magic Kingdom without becoming a Cast Member yourself, the only way to pull that off is by taking the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. The Keys To The Kingdom is a five-hour walking guided experience that offers behind-the-scenes access to some of Disney World’s most hidden areas, including the Utilidors!
Magic Kingdom
The Keys To The Kingdom Tour costs around $129 –$149 per guest, and that is on top of your regular day park ticket. So this is pricey and expensive for sure, but it is super unique if you want to shake up your typical Disney World vacation. Plus, lunch is provided during the experience, and you will receive a commemorative gift, as well!
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe
Cast Members are truly the heart and soul of Disney World and even with the extra steps it takes for them to arrive at their location, they are still happy to help you and your family have a magical vacation!
There Are Only 2 Ways to Truly Understand the NASTY Smell Coming From Under Magic Kingdom
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I highly recommend the Keys of the Kingdom tour. While it is pricey it’s actually one of the less expensive tours and you can get a discount with your Disney Visa. We saw the utilidors, backstage at a couple of rides and the staging area for the parades. It was rather fun seeing the characters run around without their heads on. The tour guide was great and had lots of fun stories.
My husband and I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour last year. It was amazing. Our tour guide (sorry I don’t remember her name) was so friendly and knowledgeable. She told us great details about the history and culture of the park. We saw the utilidors. This was a “secret” place to tour. Our tour guide kept a good pace for our group. The Keys to the Kingdom tour is well worth the time. You see and hear so much on this tour.
I’m not at all surprised that cast members dislike the Utilidors- rather dark and depressing and they go on for ever! We did ‘the keys of the kingdom’ tour on our last day as a special treat. As folk who know Disney facts it was a boring 5 hours. Far too much standing around : the cast member leading the tour wasn’t very good- very slow in his delivery and not amusing but pompous. We learnt nothing ! You were supposed to jump the queue for one ride as part of the tour. We stood outside the pirates of the Caribbean for a while then told we couldn’t do the ride ( which wasn’t shut down). Our pre-ordered lunch was served on Tommowland terrace : we waited outside for half and hour and then waited seated on the terrace and eventually a cold (fish and chips) lunch arrived. Such an anticlimax and waste of time and money. That was January 2017 and we don’t think we will ever get back to WDW from U.K.