This particular tour takes you through Main Street, USA highlighting its quirks, and hidden nods, and throws to Walt’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri. It’s not often that folks get to focus on all the history and acknowledgments of Main Street. From the windows that honor Imagineers and contributors to the Walt Disney Company from its inception to the details of the foundation of Disneyland park and its status as the birthplace of all that is Disney parks even today, there is so much more here than meets the eye.

This is a relatively short tour, lasting roughly 90 minutes, and goes up one side of Main Street USA, and back down the opposing side. Making various stops for stories relating to the storefronts, details on various pieces throughout the street, and how it relates the Walt and his time there during its construction, planning, and opening. If you are in love with the history of Disney this is a great way to learn more and hear some authentic stories of Walt moving about the park in its infancy and interacting in the varied spaces and with the original cast at the park.

However, this tour ends with a huge highlight and the very reason I was the happiest about experiencing it…being able to step inside Walt’s actual apartment atop the firehouse with that famous lamp In the window. If you are a Walt fan at all, you know the stories and legends about that famous lamp and the significance of it being lit. This apartment, according to Kerra, our guide, was originally built for Walt and Lillian to rest during the construction and design phase of the park and became a magical place of refuge for the family after the park’s opening. It has played host to Mouseketeers, politicians, actors and actresses, even the incomparable, Julie Andrews. It hosted dignitaries and celebrities alike in its years and also saw the quaintness of Walt and his family as they grew and changed. This space literally oozes nostalgia so thick it’s literally breathtaking!

We ended our tour with snacks on Walt’s terrace. This terrace was constructed much after the apartment and overlooks the Jungle Cruise! So while snacking and sunning here, you may just hear some wild animals and lots of laughs, although you’ll be well hidden behind the lattice and trees! This terrace is also another place Walt would watch the crowds enter the park and be able to see the faces of guests as they experience walking into the park. It was his hidden quiet space inside the magical kingdom he had created for all of us.

I loved the experience of this tour and being able to really soak in further the history and nostalgia of Disneyland. If you are looking for a unique experience that doesn’t take a long time out of your day at Disneyland park and want to learn lots of little known information on the famous Main Street and Walt’s deep connection to it, this is a great way to enjoy it! And being able to say you’ve been inside the actual apartment is some bragging rights that I will forever cherish and a day I will not soon forget!