Keys to the Kingdom - age limit

[scakul]

We want to take our 15 year old on the keys to the kingdom tour in June. The tour description says you need to be 16. Do they really verify ages? I want to schedule the tour but don't want to be disappointed if they turn us away.

 

[Talking Hands]

16 and yes they do check ids

 

[Eljay]

There are other tours without age restrictions.

 

[Samirella]

Family Magic is one that lets younger children go.

 

[beattyfamily]

Could someone please tell me where you can get info on these tours. I think now that we've gone to WDW a few times, I'd like to take some time now to do different things we've never done...

 

[Karend01]

While there are tours for the pre-16 age group, they are few and far between. The Family Magic Tour, while great for little kids, may not be quite right for many kids over 10. My daughter was 8-9 when we did it and while she had a lot of fun, she is also a really good sport about playing along for the sake of younger kids.

This age group is really in need of a few good activities - those similar to the courses that were once offered at the Disney Instititue would really com in handy for the 9-15 year old group. My daughter enjoyed the DI theater course (On with the Show?) much more than the Family Magic Tour as she got a sneak peek backstage at Splash mountain & got to meet some of the cast of a show at MGM

Karen

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by beattyfamily
Could someone please tell me where you can get info on these tours. I think now that we've gone to WDW a few times, I'd like to take some time now to do different things we've never done...

There is info right here on the DIS:

Tour Info from the DIS

WDWIG also has info, including some "tour reports":

Tour Info from WDWIG

 

[beattyfamily]

Thank you very much!

 

[Talking Hands]

Disney did have 3 excellent tours for children between the ages of 10 and 15. They have dropped them unfortunately. Probably not enough interest. My daughters did both the Art and the Drama oriented ones but not the ecology one. Completely enjoyed them.

 

[LauraLea]

I understand your frustration Karen. My son was able to enjoy several of the programs they had for older children before they stop them. I am grateful for this.

Are you aware of the new tour called Seas Aqua at Epcot. It is similiar to Dive Quest but does not require a diving certificate. You more or less snorkel for 30 minutes in the Living Seas aquarium.
Much to my surprise, they allow children as young as 8 to participate. It is a little pricey, $100 (AP 10% discount available).
My 17 yo DS and I will be doing it this March.

Laura

 

[Calcio]

I'm sure I'll receive the hammer from some folks for this but . . .

In November of 2000 I took the keys to the kingdome tour with my daughter, aged 15 years 9 months 10 days. At that time she was about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 115 pounds. Our lovely CM/guide did not ask for her id, and that's a good thing as Massachusetts drivers' licenses weren't available then until age 16 1/2 years.

I also didn't have her passport, travelling within the USA, so she had no form of identification. If we had been challenged, I would have pointed out the Mass age requirement for a drivers' license, thus she didn't have one.

And by the way, she didn't cause a riot or anything on the tour. In fact, her favorite part of the tour was in the utilidors, when Tiggr walked by with his "head" in a bag.

Yes 16 is the stated age limit, but I felt then (and still do) that an appropriately behaved young lady of gentleman near the cutoff age was just fine. This rule isn't for health or safety, like 48 inches for Rock N Roller Coaster and its safety harness. It's to ensure all parties on the tour are well behaved.

So let me have it :>

 

[Deb & Bill]

I thought the age cutoff was for insurance reasons. Don't know for certain though.

 

[Eljay]

What's the big deal? Glad she enjoyed it!

 

[WDSearcher]

I'm sure the Disney folks would have appreciated you following the rules, since they generally tend to trust guests to do so (which is why they don't check the birth certificates of every kid who is deemed by their parents to be "under 3" ), but as you said, all was well and she had a great time. Hopefully this won't encourage other parents out there with less well-behaved "older looking" pre-16-year-olds to do the same thing.