ABD Disneyland trip and Walk in Walt’s footsteps?

[Mmelf]

My wife and I are going to be graduating from our masters program in the first week of May and was looking at doing the ABD Disneyland trip as a nice reward to ourselves. We have been to WDW more times than we can count but have never been to Disneyland and figured we wouldn’t go again in the foreseeable future because of distance. Trying to get the most out of the trip we were wondering if we should plan to do the Walk in Walt’s footsteps Tour on our last day of the ABD or would we have basically done everything in the tour during our ABD trip?
Also we noticed that the May ABD is an “Adult Exclusive” adventure. Does anyone have any experience in what exactly that entails for the Disneyland trip?
Any info would be greatly appreciate!

 

[TarotFox]

I haven't been on the ABD yet but I feel like I would maybe save it for another trip. I'm pretty sure you see Walt's apartment on both, and that's really the highlight of the tour and the only special access point.

Adult Exclusive trips are just that, adult exclusive. There will be no families with children on the trip.

 

[dt14890]

My wife and I are going to be graduating from our masters program in the first week of May and was looking at doing the ABD Disneyland trip as a nice reward to ourselves. We have been to WDW more times than we can count but have never been to Disneyland and figured we wouldn’t go again in the foreseeable future because of distance. Trying to get the most out of the trip we were wondering if we should plan to do the Walk in Walt’s footsteps Tour on our last day of the ABD or would we have basically done everything in the tour during our ABD trip?
Also we noticed that the May ABD is an “Adult Exclusive” adventure. Does anyone have any experience in what exactly that entails for the Disneyland trip?
Any info would be greatly appreciate!

Adult Exclusive means no one under age 18 is on that trip. I enjoy taking those as while I am sure everyone’s children are just lovely, I just prefer NOT to travel with them. You get A LOT of Walt’s history as it is on this trip and Walt’s apartment is included.

 

[Eastridge]

Both tours keep evolving, but I believe the current version of the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour takes you to the apartment in the fire station. The Backstage ABD also takes guests to the apartment. So I would suggest not doing the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour since the main thing it offers is a duplicate of one of the Backstage ABD highlights.

Admittedly, the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour does give you a very nice pin...

 

[GreatDane10]

Not sure about Walk in Walt’s Foot steps but we just returned from the ABD Hollywood and Disneyland tour. The first two nights were in Hollywood and then we stayed three nights at the Grand Californian in Disneyland. The first full day we visited the Mall, right next to the hotel, where the Oscars are held, the Chinese Theater, and the El Capitan which is owned by Disney. We had lots of backstage experiences. We then had lunch at the Tam O’ Shanter resturant, Walt’s favorite before he built the current studios. My wife and I got to sit at his table and drink his favorite cocktail and had his favorite meal. We then went to the Griffith Park carrousel, where Walt took his daughters and dreamed up Disneyland.

The next day we visited the Jim Hansen studios and were given a tour by one of the puppeteers. A very special experience. We then went to the Disney studios and had a great backstage experience and ate lunch in the commissary. I had Walt’s favorite chili and it was quite good. We had a great backstage experience and got to shop in the employee store. Next we went to the Imagineer campus and had a very special backstage tour. We finished the day at the Grand Californian.

The next day we went into Disneyland. We entered the park before anyone else. Weird to see Main Street empty. We had breakfast at the Plaza with a great character experience and got a boarding group for the Rise of the Resistance, something very very hard to get right now. We got special access to several rides and were given 5 fast passes. We also got to visit Walt’s apartment in Disneyland!!!

I won’t go into any more detail but needless to say the experience continued to be just as good. we had wonderful weather but I would not take this tour in the summer, it would be uncomfortable in the parks. I would also get pictures on your phone as you go. The guides are willing and they take a lot of pictures themselves. But we are still waiting for access to those pictures. We should have that in a couple of days. If you do not have kids I recommend taking one of the adult only tours.

 

[GreatDane10]

Not sure about Walk in Walt’s Foot steps but we just returned from the ABD Hollywood and Disneyland tour. The first two nights were in Hollywood and then we stayed three nights at the Grand Californian in Disneyland. The first full day we visited the Mall, right next to the hotel, where the Oscars are held, the Chinese Theater, and the El Capitan which is owned by Disney. We had lots of backstage experiences. We then had lunch at the Tam O’ Shanter resturant, Walt’s favorite before he built the current studios. My wife and I got to sit at his table and drink his favorite cocktail and had his favorite meal. We then went to the Griffith Park carrousel, where Walt took his daughters and dreamed up Disneyland.

The next day we visited the Jim Hansen studios and were given a tour by one of the puppeteers. A very special experience. We then went to the Disney studios and had a great backstage experience and ate lunch in the commissary. I had Walt’s favorite chili and it was quite good. We had a great backstage experience and got to shop in the employee store. Next we went to the Imagineer campus and had a very special backstage tour. We finished the day at the Grand Californian.

The next day we went into Disneyland. We entered the park before anyone else. Weird to see Main Street empty. We had breakfast at the Plaza with a great character experience and got a boarding group for the Rise of the Resistance, something very very hard to get right now. We got special access to several rides and were given 5 fast passes. We also got to visit Walt’s apartment in Disneyland!!!

I won’t go into any more detail but needless to say the experience continued to be just as good. we had wonderful weather but I would not take this tour in the summer, it would be uncomfortable in the parks. I would also get pictures on your phone as you go. The guides are willing and they take a lot of pictures themselves. But we are still waiting for access to those pictures. We should have that in a couple of days. If you do not have kids I recommend taking one of the adult only tours.

One other note, we got a new pin every day

 

[NashSmartGuy]

I have done the ABD, but not the Walk in Walt's Footsteps. If it's your first time, I think you'd get more out of your visit by just enjoying the park rather than taking another tour. It's also very likely to be duplicative of what you do on the ABD tour, which is pretty great.

 

[sayhello]

I haven't done the ABD, but I've done Walk in Walt's Footsteps, and base on what I've read, I do think it's probably going to be a subset of what you do and see on the ABD.

Sayhello