My family paid $408 to visit Walt Disney’s apartment at Disneyland. Here’s how you can do it too.

There’s truly nothing like walking down Main Street, USA, to Disneyland and knowing that almost 75 years ago, Walt Disney himself stood there, looking out at Disneyland Castle. Sleeping Beauty, amazed by what he and his team of creatives, known as the Imagineers, had achieved. The history and love of the park is palpable from the moment you enter the park. As a Disney history buff, I always jump at the chance to go behind the scenes and learn about theme parks around the world. That’s why my family and I took the Walt’s Main Street Story tour during a recent trip to Disneyland Resort.

The small-group tour highlights Walt Disney’s life in Marceline, Missouri (another place to visit on my list), as well as facts and secrets about Main Street, USA. The end of the tour ends with a visit to Walt’s apartment above Disneyland. Fire station. Something my parents and I always wanted to see.

Walt’s Main Street Story Tour Logistics

After passing the Disneyland turnstiles and under the train station, we headed right towards Tour Gardens which is on the left side of the hub. We checked in at the small lookout where we were given a badge and earpiece to hear our guide and then asked what types of drinks we wanted for refreshments after the tour.

We also met our VIP guide here. To say that these guides are a wealth of information is an understatement. During the tour, our guide was friendly and was able to answer almost all questions from our group of nine.

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I paid in advance for my family’s visitation time, which cost $408 for three people. We used our Disney Visa credit card to get 15% off the full price, which turned out to be a huge savings. The tour includes Disney PhotoPass photos that can be downloaded from the Disneyland app.

Walt’s Main Street Story is a 90 minute tour, which was the perfect length. My family took the tour early in the morning, which I highly suggest for small groups and first-time visitors. When I took the tour, it was my dad’s first time visiting Disneyland. The perspective provided by our guide and the deep history that was shared gave my father the belief that Disneyland is not just another theme park and is very different from our original parks at Walt Disney World.

I’m walking down the middle of Main Street, USA

The tour started in the heart of Main Street, USA, heading towards Sleeping Beauty Castle. We were told some of Walt’s childhood stories that would eventually lead him to California. Our guide also shared some fun facts about Main Street, USA. One thing I particularly loved was checking out the brick test wall between Starbucks and Disney Clothiers. While there are many stories about the brick wall, the one I choose to believe is that the Imagineers had to show Walt different styles of bricks off-site and get quick approval. But with the shortage of supplies and the impending opening of Disneyland, the brick wall ended up being used in the park.

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The tour on Main Street, USA continued to the Partners Statue and headed up the main drag of the park towards the Disneyland entrance. Along the way, we stopped at prominent display cases, adorned with made-up names and titles representing people who made significant contributions to The Walt Disney Company. One of my favorites is by legendary Imagineer Tony Baxter, whose title is “Inventor.” The little slogan underneath says: “Imagination is at the heart of our creations”. Baxter played an integral role in the development of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland and Journey into Imagination at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT.

As we were walking down Main Street, USA, my father asked a question the guide didn’t know the answer to. I thought my dad wouldn’t get an answer to this question, but after the tour our guide was able to go to City Hall to ask around and get the answer for my dad.

Enter history

The tour concluded with a visit to Walt Disney’s apartment overlooking Main Street, USA. Before going up the stairs we were told that we were not allowed to take photos or touch anything inside. As I entered the sacred room, I felt tears flowing. I was in the room where Walt Disney spent time at Disneyland with his family and where he made grilled cheese sandwiches on a small griddle that is still in the apartment.

Now, the hot plate is part of a Disneyland tradition where outgoing and incoming Disneyland presidents share a meal on the apartment patio during the transition period. In a recent presentation, Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Experiences, said that the two executives used Walt’s griddle to prepare grilled cheese and that chili was also served since that was Walt’s other favorite food. .

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The little apartment is also home to other Disney secrets. At one time there was a fire hydrant that connected the apartment to the fire station below and Walt used the hydrant from time to time. Well, one day a kid decided he could climb the pole and get into the apartment. The fire hydrant exit was quickly closed after the incident.

While the majority of artifacts in the apartment are real and belonged to Walt Disney and his family, some are replicas. Our guide was able to show us what a replica was and explain why the real piece no longer existed. He also shared stories of Walt Disney and his wife, Lillian, enjoying time at the apartment and life at the time.

One thing I loved was that our guide was also keenly aware of the emotional experience some people had in a place that was so special to so many people. He moved easily around the apartment, sharing stories and being willing to listen to guests’ stories about their favorite memories of seeing Walt Disney on television or going to Disneyland in his early years.

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Our time at Walt’s apartment ended with photos taken by Disney PhotoPass photographers. We were able to stand between a couch and the table facing Main Street, USA. On the table is a lamp that is still lit, showing that Walt’s spirit is still alive and well in Disneyland. I loved that the photos were included in the price of my trip, and they all turned out great. Our photographer even showed me the photos after she was finished with mine to make sure I liked them and didn’t want any more.

After leaving the apartment we were taken back to the Tour Gardens for a signature cookie, a soft drink and a commemorative postcard. We were also able to keep our name badges, which are very nice souvenirs.

Overall, the tour is exceptional for Disney fans who want to do something unique at Disneyland or for history buffs who want to learn something new about the park and Walt Disney. I loved every minute of the visit, and being able to go into Walt Disney’s apartment was a true dream come true that anyone visiting Disneyland can do too.

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