VIP guided tour reviews?

twodogs

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 20, 2012
We are thinking of doing the VIP tour at DLR for one of our park days. This is the one that is up to 10 people, is $400/hour (and up) and minimum 6 hours. We have done this tour at WDW one time and loved it (though it is so costly, we have to space it out to one day every few years...). In any case, I have read all I could find on the DIS about this tour, but the in-depth reviews are mostly from 2014 and prior.

Does anyone have any more recent experience with a "plaid" that they can share, as far as which rides were excluded, character meet and greets, nighttime entertainment, dining reservations? The site is pretty vague on some of the amenities.

Thank you!
 
OK, I can't talk about paid "Plaid" tours. Though I have had multiple visits with "Plaids" or Media CM's as a guide/

First off, I would think about what is important to YOU and YOUR group. You are paying for it, so Disney for the most part will work with you.

The standard VIP does not allow backstage access, though sometimes you are taking backstage to just avoid a main ride queue. They won't allow photos/video during those times, and they are rare.

Things you can ask for, specific rides, shows and parades. You can also ask for specific Character meet and greets, even characters not scheduled that day. (You meet in a private area)

As for being vague, they do that for a reason. What I would do is come up with a plan of your own, trying to match the timing up with how many hours you decide to pay for. (Also planning if you want early, afternoon or evening) The time charge is straight through, so you can's ask for 2 separate segments with a break in the middle.

I would NOT deal with dining reservation during the tour, as it will eat up too much time. Maybe add a request at the end of your planned time, where they Plaid can escort you in, and then end their shift. Same issue with a parade or fireworks, plan for it to be at the end of the tour.

Once they know you are serious, you should be assigned a contact host to help plan the day. And of course, don't ask to enter construction areas like Star Wars Land, as they won't approve that.

Enjoy your trip.
 
Your VIP guide is like a human fastpass. We enjoy our days with them. You can plan a route you like, or let them just escort you. They are excellent at listening and being able to fill in the next ride when your group is in the "What next" mode. The guide can tell you what rides are included. Basically it is all FP rides, plus additional rides like Mater's, Little Mermaid, Monster's Inc... There are a few rides not included (like Peter Pan and Mickey's Wheel of Death.) These change fairly frequently, so ask the guide when you meet up.

Characters - Guides can call ahead and "book an appointment" for characters like Elsa and Anna, the princesses at the Royal Theater area, Mickey and Minnie at their house, and at Star Wars. Generally, there is no meeting characters in private areas any more.

Meals - The VIP coordinator can set up meals for you for the day, but I wouldn't waste time having a meal during your tour. (That said, we generally eat a quick meal when we meet our guide, then will take a snack break. And we make sure our guide is well hydrated and fed also. Nothing like getting your guide a chimichunga and they use it to direct you thru the park with it!)

Most night time entertainment has viewing areas. The earlier you get the tour set, the better your chances of getting what you want.

Oh, and Frozen the Musical is included if you want to see it, but you will use at least 90 mins of your tour to do it, I don't recommedn this!

And your guide is usually very knowledgeable about the park, and they enjoy having fun.

AND they can help you come up with fun ride photos!
 
We did one two years ago; it was awesome. It was just our family of 4. It's funny because they try not to bill it as a "human fast pass" but in reality that's what it is.

You can call the booking number that's on the website and they can tell you specifically about what's included as far as attractions and what's not. I've heard it can change, but the constants as far as I know is that all FP rides ARE included and PP is never included. Our plaid did take us in the exit through most of the other rides in FL if I remember correctly.

I think Darkbeer1 and Malcon10t have already answered most of your questions, but I'd just add that the plaids are just really fun to talk to, they know everything there is to know about DL and they clearly enjoy being there. They can and do go on some of the rides with you, but ours didn't go on every ride. For instance, he said he couldn't do GRR because they're not allowed to get wet. The ride photos that you get with a plaid are a hoot, though. I'll try to post some of mine a little later.

Even if you don't do a meal with a reservation, your plaid can be very helpful at mealtime. They can go grab a table for you while you go through the line. We always offered to get our plaid something to eat/drink every time we got something ... sometimes he accepted and sometimes he didn't. However, I've since read a book that was written by a DW plaid who said the plaids actually get their food for free in the parks! Now this was DW so maybe it's different for DL, but who knows.

One of my favorite things about having a plaid was actually the time we DIDN'T have him! We had never done a leisurely breakfast in the park before because we never want to waste that first hour when it's not so crowded. But the day we had the plaid, we arranged for him to meet us around 10, so we were able to eat a nice breakfast in the park and relax first.

BTW, even if you don't have your plaid during a show, such as WoC, you can still get VIP seating if it's the same day as your VIP tour.

Finally, know that you will get tired! I'd never realized how much resting you do when you're waiting in line. By the time our 6 hours was up, I was really tired.

By the way, the tv show "Black-ish" had an episode last week where the family had a plaid at DW! It was pretty good.
 


I so want to do this--hoping for a birthday celebration in a few years--I will be in Europe on my next birthday
 
If the guide rides depends on if they want to mainly. GRR is one ride they are NOT allowed to ride, due to the wetness issue.

We are a family that normally might only ride a few rides a day, we take a mid day break, visit with friends, etc... So when we do a tour, we joke it feels like we are on a commando march! It is exhausting!! But we do enjoy a leisurely morning, start the tour in the afternoon, and finish at the night time entertainment.
 
Thank you all so much for the detailed answers. When we did it at WDW, we ate a QS lunch so as not to spend too much time on that. They actually took us "backstage" quite a bit at WDW, just getting from one park or one area of a park to another. I actually didn't like that as I prefer the ignorance of being in the "bubble" and not thinking about the infrastructure of the rides etc!!

My kids will want to do rides, and PP is not a favorite, so that's ok that it's not included. But we do really want POC, RSR, CS, and a few others. Sounds like those are all available in general. I appreciate the advice about no shows since it's a large (and expensive!) chunk of time.

I'm glad to know we can get seating for later evening fireworks etc even if plaid time is over. imdont think we took advantage of that at WDW.

My girls are big Star Wars fans, and will want to meet those characters. Do I just tell them who we want to meet, and they take us to the front of the line?

Thanks again all!!
 


I don't know about characters since we didn't do those, but for POC they take you in the exit, RSR you go in the FP line (which you still have to wait in). I'm pretty sure all the FP rides are the same, you just go in the FP line but will still have to wait however long that is. The ones that don't have FP are actually a little quicker because for most of those you go in through the exit.
 
Most of the OP questions have been answered, but a few random tips:
  • Ride TSMM several times in a row
  • Ride both sides of the Matterhorn (less than 15 minutes)
  • Most permanent character meets will have quick access: Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, Princess Fair, Anna and Elsa, Mickey Mouse (may sometimes require advance planning).
  • WOC viewing is seated (a recent change)
  • Tip your guide.
 
Do you know if you can take another tour as part of the VIP tour? I was thinking about Walk in Walt's Footsteps. It would be nice if that could be done as part of the VIP day.
 
Do you know if you can take another tour as part of the VIP tour? I was thinking about Walk in Walt's Footsteps. It would be nice if that could be done as part of the VIP day.
No, the guides don't have access to the Dream Suite, and WIWF is usually done earlier in the day. Personally, I wouldn't want to use my $400 hour tour to spend 2-3 hours doing a tour that only costs $30 hour per person.

And echoing Nonsuch, tip your guide.
 
...Even if you don't do a meal with a reservation, your plaid can be very helpful at mealtime. They can go grab a table for you while you go through the line. We always offered to get our plaid something to eat/drink every time we got something ... sometimes he accepted and sometimes he didn't. However, I've since read a book that was written by a DW plaid who said the plaids actually get their food for free in the parks! Now this was DW so maybe it's different for DL, but who knows...
DL VIP Guides recently (within the last few weeks) were issued meal vouchers (VIP Guide Dining Plan).
 
What is the recommended tip?
We tip $300.
There is seems to be no "standard" for VIP Guide tipping, and any amount is certainly appreciated. Many guests are unaware tipping is allowed.
Is that for all tours or just VIP tours? We are going on the Happiest Haunts Tour on Sunday.
While I have not experienced the Happiest Haunts Tour, I have tipped the guide for the Holiday Time Tour.
We tip $5-10 per person.
I have had the tip refused once, so the rules might be different than VIP Tours (or rules change year to year).
 
I think the tip size could also depend on your group size. A group of 10 should tip more than a family of four IMO. I can't remember now what we tipped (family of 4) but I think it was $200. The book I read by the VIP tour guide indicated not everyone tips, but the service is so personalized I would have felt bad not tipping.
 

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