Please share your experience on the Non-private VIP tour

[Disneyfriend]

We are carving out a day or two this trip for our first ever detour to Universal. My two youngest (8 and 9) have become Harry Potter fanatics, so this is a must!

We are seriously considering booking the non-private VIP tour for our first day to US/IoA. This would be for a Friday in October. I know the private tour would be even more amazing, but the $3300 is simply a bridge too far, budget wise. I think we can swing the roughly $1800 for a non-private VIP tour for the 5 of us, as a splurge.

I know the non-private tour can have up to 12 people, and we would make up 5 of those people. I know the tour guide sets the agenda as a kind of "highlights" tour.

My concern is that both my husband and I have enough neck and back issues that we can no longer ride the intense roller coasters. And our middle aged stomachs (inner ears?) have caught up with us as well, so that we don't enjoy rides that induce a lot of motion sickness.

I'm looking for actual experience from those of you who have actually taken the non-private VIP tour. Which rides did you actually get to go on? Would the tour be a waste for those of us who really don't want to do rides like Dr. Doom and the Dueling Dragons?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

 

[macraven]

i know you are requesting to hear from those that have done the day park tour but if you call vip tours, you can ask them which rides are on the list for the private and non private day tours.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Thank you ... but I have actually called and talked to the VIP Tour department twice, and they have adamantly refused to provide any sample list at all. Apparently they don't want to make any guarantees, which I can understand.

So I'm really hoping for some recent first hand experiences, just to give me a good idea of what to expect.

 

[macraven]

the only thing i know about those day tours are what a friend of mine that did it two years ago told me.
the day they had the tour, there was one roller coaster ride.
they took a pass on it and wasn't an issue for them.

they loved it as no wait at all for what they did in the parks.

hopefully some will post their experiences with the tour you are asking about.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Thank you Macraven!

 

[disappearingme]

From an OrlandoInformer Post

We took the plunge and booked a Non-Private VIP Experience this past weekend. IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY! First, let me answer the question--YES, the tour did include EFG! My group had only 8 people and the itinerary was chosen by the tour guide, but there were no complaints. Although we were only guaranteed 10 rides, our tour included:
​

• • Minion Mayhem
  • Rip Ride Rockit
  • A shortcut through a sound stage over to IOA and the Hulk
  • Doctor Doom
  • Spiderman
  • Jurassic Park (with free ponchos)
  • Dragon Challenge (Red)
  • Dragon Challenge (Blue)
  • The Journey
  • [lunch break]
  • Hogwarts Express from Hogsmeade to DA
  • Twister
  • The Mummy
  • ET
  • Simpson's
  • MIB
  • Escape from Gringotts

Yep...16 different rides! We had Deanna and she didn't mess around! It was exhausting, but amazing! The longest we had to wait for any ride was about 15 minutes at EFG.



A few tips from our experience:
​

• • Be sure to arrive early to take advantage of free breakfast. We at breakfast and got to watch Despicable Me III while waiting for the tour to begin. They had wonderful muffins and patries and fruit. Also had coffee, juices and water. Grab a bottle or 2 to go for the rest of the day!
  • Bring a backpack. We didn't because we got the park early to ride EFG first thing and didn't want to mess with a bag. However, at each ride, your tour guide will hold your bag for you--another great benefit!
  • Don't forget to have some cash to tip your guide at the end. Most of our group tipped $20.
  • If you're late...no worries. We had several meet up with us after the first couple of rides. The main office keeps in contact with the guide.
  • We had an hour for lunch and all ate at the 3 Broomsticks. We had plenty of time to eat and then do some shopping in Hogsmeade.
  • Don't be afraid to sit out of a couple of rides. Seriously...listen to your body. When you're not standing in line, you don't have that recovery time from the motion simulators. At least 1 person in our group sat out in almost every ride.

I hope this helps to answer some questions!​

http://orlandoinformer.com/topic/96-how-is-the-vip-tour-at-universal/page-4

This is not me - just from the post. Read the whole thread - there's lots of info.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Disappearingme, thanks for taking the time to post this! Lots of great information to be sure. Thank you again.

 

[*LittleMermaid*]

I don't want to get your hopes up but 16 rides is a lot. You will probably do between 10-12 on your two park tour. Unless you book a private and then you can do as many rides as you want.

 

[Disneyfriend]

I don't want to get your hopes up but 16 rides is a lot. You will probably do between 10-12 on your two park tour. Unless you book a private and then you can do as many rides as you want.

I hear you . . . it sounds like that tour was unusually full. Probably best to expect a more moderate number of rides.

I have now called the VIP Tour department yet again and spoken to someone else. I am SO FRUSTRATED by the constant attempts to upsell me to the private tour. It's happened three different times now with three different people. Yes, I get it that it would be absolutely lovely to do the private tour . . . but in attempting to sell me on the private option, the sales person ends up bad mouthing the non-private tour. They stress over and over that nothing is guaranteed. That I will have NO say in the agenda at all. That my kids' preferences will not be taken into account. And I have hung up, frustrated, three times now. I keep thinking . . . um, you're not exactly making me want to plunk down my $1800!

 

[macraven]

when you do a public tour, the tour guide sets the pace and decides on the ride agenda.

maybe since you mentioned to vip tours your kids have a preference on what they want to do/see, they are recommending the private tour.
could be they are just trying to let you know that private tours might be more satisfying for what your family wants.

just a guess i'm putting out there on why they are stressing the other tour type.


i do private tours years for hhn.
to me, it is worth it even though the cost is much higher than private tours.

i enjoy having a tour for 7.5 hours rather than the shorter ones.

all in my group tips 20% each to the tg at the end of the evening.
it is a tipped position.

 

[piccolopat]

Why not get the express access passes instead? We bought them so we could bypass the lines like a resort guest for much less money. We picked exactly what we wanted to see.

 

[Harr]

thanks for great information

 

[Disneyfriend]

when you do a public tour, the tour guide sets the pace and decides on the ride agenda.

maybe since you mentioned to vip tours your kids have a preference on what they want to do/see, they are recommending the private tour.
could be they are just trying to let you know that private tours might be more satisfying for what your family wants.

just a guess i'm putting out there on why they are stressing the other tour type.


i do private tours years for hhn.
to me, it is worth it even though the cost is much higher than private tours.

i enjoy having a tour for 7.5 hours rather than the shorter ones.

all in my group tips 20% each to the tg at the end of the evening.
it is a tipped position.

Honestly, they've gone way beyond simply informing me about the private tours and explaining how they're different . . . to HARD selling them in favor of the non-private. And that's fine. I think it's great that they exist and that people have nothing but positive experiences on them. And I can honestly understand why! One of these days we might splurge on a private tour as well. Hope you have a blast on your private HHN tour this year (assuming you are going?)

 

[Disneyfriend]

Why not get the express access passes instead? We bought them so we could bypass the lines like a resort guest for much less money. We picked exactly what we wanted to see.

That's currently my back up plan for sure! I was only tempted to indulge in a VIP tour because I know Escape From Gringott's and Forbidden Journey are not included in the express pass . . . but it probably makes a lot more sense to do the more economical route of just staying on-site instead. Thanks!

 

[macraven]

disneyfriend, maybe there are no other requests for a public tour on the days you called about.
would think if no one else books the tour when you are going, it would be just your family on that tour.

think that is the reason why they are pushing you to upgrade??

just a passing thought i had.

i have been doing private tours for going on 12 years now for hhn.
so little wait for houses and reserved setting for shows in advance.
and, less walking thru the crowds as the tour i take goes doesn't always go thru the parks but thru back ways to reach the houses.

i stay onsite and get the photo id express pass for during the day in the parks.
that's the next best thing than booking a day tour.

express passes could work for your family but like you already mentioned, some of the rides you would want to do in potters land, does not have express.

if you only have a day (or 2) for the darkish, go with express passes if the public tour doesn't work out for you.

 

[*LittleMermaid*]

The tour is a great way to see the highlights of both parks in as little time as possible. Highlights mean that you will not see everything and maybe some things that you really wanted to see. After the tour you can use express lines with your vip tour credential. You can expect to do the more popular attractions on tour such as Despicable Me, Transformers, Rockit, Mummy, Gringott's, Hulk, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Journey, Dragon Challenge. Your tour guide may customize it a little based on the demographics of the group such as adding a child's ride if there are small children such as Cat in the Hat. But the small kids will still have to sit out while the rest of the tour enjoys Hulk, Rockit, and Dragon Challenge. Your tour guide will not skip those unless everyone declines. Some of the less popular rides like Disaster, Twister, Shrek, or longer shows like Terminator, Poseidon, you may have to do on your own using the Express lines.

 

[Disneyfriend]

disneyfriend, maybe there are no other requests for a public tour on the days you called about.
would think if no one else books the tour when you are going, it would be just your family on that tour.

think that is the reason why they are pushing you to upgrade??

just a passing thought i had.

i have been doing private tours for going on 12 years now for hhn.
so little wait for houses and reserved setting for shows in advance.
and, less walking thru the crowds as the tour i take goes doesn't always go thru the parks but thru back ways to reach the houses.

i stay onsite and get the photo id express pass for during the day in the parks.
that's the next best thing than booking a day tour.

express passes could work for your family but like you already mentioned, some of the rides you would want to do in potters land, does not have express.

if you only have a day (or 2) for the darkish, go with express passes if the public tour doesn't work out for you.

Macraven, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. That *would* be lovely to accidentally end up with a private tour!!

We really are looking forward to our first trip to Universal Orlando. We went to US Hollywood about ten years ago, and the rest of my family really didn't care for it. It's taken this long . . . and mostly the addition of the WWHP . . . to convince them to give it another try!

 

[Disneyfriend]

The tour is a great way to see the highlights of both parks in as little time as possible. Highlights mean that you will not see everything and maybe some things that you really wanted to see. After the tour you can use express lines with your vip tour credential. You can expect to do the more popular attractions on tour such as Despicable Me, Transformers, Rockit, Mummy, Gringott's, Hulk, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Journey, Dragon Challenge. Your tour guide may customize it a little based on the demographics of the group such as adding a child's ride if there are small children such as Cat in the Hat. But the small kids will still have to sit out while the rest of the tour enjoys Hulk, Rockit, and Dragon Challenge. Your tour guide will not skip those unless everyone declines. Some of the less popular rides like Disaster, Twister, Shrek, or longer shows like Terminator, Poseidon, you may have to do on your own using the Express lines.

It really does sound amazing overall. I'm totally ok with enjoying "only" about 80% of the tour. It would still be a really fun day overall.

Still so tempted to sign us up. As I explained in my above post, I am really trying to change my husband's impression of Universal. We went to US Hollywood a decade ago, and he just was massively underwhelmed. It's taken my kids becoming huge Harry Potter fans to convince him to give Universal Orlando a try. So that's part of my motivation for considering the tour.

 

[White Rose]

We are carving out a day or two this trip for our first ever detour to Universal. My two youngest (8 and 9) have become Harry Potter fanatics, so this is a must!

We are seriously considering booking the non-private VIP tour for our first day to US/IoA. This would be for a Friday in October. I know the private tour would be even more amazing, but the $3300 is simply a bridge too far, budget wise. I think we can swing the roughly $1800 for a non-private VIP tour for the 5 of us, as a splurge.

I know the non-private tour can have up to 12 people, and we would make up 5 of those people. I know the tour guide sets the agenda as a kind of "highlights" tour.

My concern is that both my husband and I have enough neck and back issues that we can no longer ride the intense roller coasters. And our middle aged stomachs (inner ears?) have caught up with us as well, so that we don't enjoy rides that induce a lot of motion sickness.

I'm looking for actual experience from those of you who have actually taken the non-private VIP tour. Which rides did you actually get to go on? Would the tour be a waste for those of us who really don't want to do rides like Dr. Doom and the Dueling Dragons?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Only negatives:
One thing I read someone post is there is a free breakfast. Please do not think you are getting a meal. There were a few sweet pastries out and some coffee. This is not breakfast. I was glad I had a real breakfast at the hotel beforehand.

Also, it is stated you get a 'souvenir lanyard' we got a black plain neck cord style lanyard, found at staples...nothing 'souvenir' about it, unless they were out, and this was the emergency backup. (The lanyard is the strap that holds your VIP pass.)

We did it in dec 2014 and the tour is limited to 10, and we were able to skip out on the roller coasters. We did not do dueling dragons but we did both of the Harry Potter rides and one way trip on the Hogwarts express. Our ride list is below. (in no particular order)

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
E.T. Adventure
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Hogwarts Express (one way)
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
Jurassic Park River Adventure
Men in Black: Alien Attack
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges (not usually included according to the guide but all of us wanted to ride)
Revenge of the Mummy
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
The Incredible Hulk Coaster
The Simpsons Ride
Transformers: The Ride-3D
We ended with VIP spots for the parade. The parade is not up to Disney standards, but was acceptable. (it was the Macy's Xmas parade.)
We skipped Simpsons rip ride rockit, and the hulk coaster, but as you can tell, we still had a lot of rides.

We are doing the non private tour again in Sept with my 80 year old father and 13 year old nephew. (My dad ballroom dances 6 days a week... hehe.) We will probably skip the same rides again, but dad might want to experience Simpsons...we might try to talk him out of it. (It was a bit too much for us - we did it CA several years ago and were green half way through, but had no affects on any other 3D ride.)

 

[White Rose]

I hear you . . . it sounds like that tour was unusually full. Probably best to expect a more moderate number of rides.

I have now called the VIP Tour department yet again and spoken to someone else. I am SO FRUSTRATED by the constant attempts to upsell me to the private tour. It's happened three different times now with three different people. Yes, I get it that it would be absolutely lovely to do the private tour . . . but in attempting to sell me on the private option, the sales person ends up bad mouthing the non-private tour. They stress over and over that nothing is guaranteed. That I will have NO say in the agenda at all. That my kids' preferences will not be taken into account. And I have hung up, frustrated, three times now. I keep thinking . . . um, you're not exactly making me want to plunk down my $1800!

We were asked at the beginning what we wanted to do, and we all said Harry Potter - so I'm not sure why they are told that - now if one person in the group wants to ride the Dr. Suess rides all day, then no, that is bot going to happen, unless everyone in the tour wants that. If there are set rides on the guide's list and no one in the group wants to ride it, then, no you are not going to ride that...but the other way around, if one person in the group wants to ride Simpsons, and it's on the tour guide's list, everyone will wait for that one person.

We convinced the guide to let us do a water ride and she really tried to stop us, but all of us said we wanted to do it, and she got us ponchos and we rode it. This might be a unique situation, but we felt that she handled everyone in our group well and we all got to make a decision as a group. We were the oldest people in our group, and we are in our 40's. We had 3 17-19 year old teenagers without parents, an early 20 something couple, and us.