anybody ever do VIP tour? Is it worth the 125 per hour? can you tell me about it?

[nataliesdaddy]

anybody ever do VIP tour? Is it worth the 125 per hour? can you tell me about it?

 

[nataliesdaddy]

bump bumpo

 

[OhMari]

Most celebrities use it, so it must be worth it. (If you can afford it).b

 

[nataliesdaddy]

bump111

 

[Wenlitz]

We took the VIP tour at universal. We loved it!! We havent done these tours at WDW.

 

[CleveRocks]

Most celebrities use it, so it must be worth it. (If you can afford it).b

That's pretty thin reasoning if you ask me. Maybe "most" celebrities use it because it makes them feel important, or because they like throwing money around anywhere they can whether it's useful or not, or because they don't know any better, or because they're used to being catered to rather than doing for themselves, or it somehow affords them some anonymity so they can avoid autograph hounds, or ....


Just because celebrities do it doesn't in and of itself mean it's worthwhile. A lot of celebrities have shrinks for their pets -- is that worth it? J Lo brings her own dressing room furniture with her when she does concert tours -- is that worth it? JMHO.

-- Eric

 

[TimothyG]

Chances are it is extremely worth it. This is WDW we're taking about. It's like an extended KTTK tour but around the entire world, etc. But there is a 5 hour minimum for the tour so for over $600 + park admissions, etc. it wouldn't be worth it unless you have a LOT of money. You probably do get to skip lines, etc. though, but it is really for celebrities.

 

[GIOny]

Just because celebrities do it doesn't in and of itself mean it's worthwhile. A lot of celebrities have shrinks for their pets -- is that worth it? J Lo brings her own dressing room furniture with her when she does concert tours -- is that worth it? JMHO.

-- Eric [/FONT][/QUOTE]


Wow JLo really brings her own furniture?? That's .I would think if you are a gazillionaire and have nothing better to do with your money then go for it but if you are like the rest of us then you would do better using that money towards a deluxe hotel and some nice meals at upscale places and you can have alot more fun finding your own special spots in the park. It's fun exploring on your own, not having someone leading you by the ear.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

I think perhaps people are taking the celebrity thing just a little too personally - whether celebrities use it or not, how people judge or condemn them, or what other eccentricities they might have, are all highly irrelevant.

What I need to know is if someone has done this before... and can they fill me in on whether it was worth it and what the experience was like. If for example, it buys 5 hours of front of the line access and I can get a boatload into the day for my daughter and she can slam out all the major attractions at the park of her choice and or do them multiple times then in my opinion it is worth it. If it is no better then the amount of stuff I can get done by following one of the touring plans I have made over the course of our visits then it is not worth it for me.

On our own, I know we will get done 12 to 14 rides/attractions per day with leaving the parks by 1 to 2 pm. If on ther othe rhand, a VIP tour could up that to 20 things then it would be worth it. Or even 12 to 14 thyings by say 11 that would also be worth it.

 

[safetymom]

I haven't done it but done some reading. You don't get to skp lines but the CM makes use of the fast pass system. They know which rides to hit so you don't spend a lot of time in the line. But if it is a busy time of year you will still spend much of your time in lines.

You are also expected to buy their meal if you are dining.

 

[Threehearts]

My brother, his wife and 4 children used the VIP touring for the whole day for all 6 days in WDW. I believe they had 2 guides each day to help with their 4 children. I don't mean as babysitters as they had help with them but more to guide them to appropriate attractions for the varied ages of the children. They had never been to WDW and wanted to have the easiest time possible. They stayed at the GF Conc. and were pleased with the services there. Finances are no issue for this family and so for them they were VERY happy with the guide service. They felt that they got on rides with an insider helping them and made the most of their time. I will try to get more details. I wouldn't consider the guides as I could probably give the tour myself but my brother and especially his wife are used to a 24 hr. service staff at their home and I'm not sure they could have managed at WDW on their own(at least according to my S-I-L). A funny story- The family visited us and the children wanted to know where our playing fields were. I pointed down the street and they were astounded that we didn't have regulation fields in our back yard. Next, I realized that I didn't have any entertainment that would suit them so my kids took out sponges and we all had a hilarious car wash at home(on my no book value car). My brother's kids thought that men came in the night and washed your cars in your separate garage building. Just the look on their faces when my kids ROLLED down the windows made the whole experience worth it. Threehearts

 

[Puffy2]

Don't compare the Universal tour to a Disney tour. At Universal, you DO get to jump to the head of the lines, and you get to see back stage areas, and you get a little gift bag and drink ticket, and you hear a lot of trivia...still I prefer to tour Universal on my own so I can see and do what I want to do and not what the tour guide wants me to do (there wasn't any time for visiting characters and such with the tour and you miss a lot of the "feel" for the attractions because you miss some of the preshows, by jumping to the head of the line.

At Disney you don't even get the head of the line perk - the guide just shows you around the park, will go get a fast pass for you, gives triva, etc... - if you have read a good guide book I think you are better off on your own (and will save a ton of money in the process too) - I would think a guide would only be good for clueless people or those who don't speak English and might otherwise find themselves lost in the park. The celebs hire guides to keep the people off of them - they get special treatment because of that.

 

[maxiv]

are there really guide books ?
do u think i can get thim in germany also or do i have to order them ? what are they callled, any links ? and final question...are there also online guide books, e-books ?

Max

 

[nataliesdaddy]

At Disney you don't even get the head of the line perk - the guide just shows you around the park, will go get a fast pass for you, gives triva, etc... - if you have read a good guide book I think you are better off on your own (and will save a ton of money in the process too) - I would think a guide would only be good for clueless people or those who don't speak English and might otherwise find themselves lost in the park. The celebs hire guides to keep the people off of them - they get special treatment because of that.

Thanks - this is what I needed to know - I mean if there is no additional perk I can do TGM or one of my old touring plans and do just as well without ponying up the additional money. I wouldn't mind 125 an hour for a day anyway... but for that kind of money I would want significant value added. And it sounds like they are not much value add from what we can do on our own.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

My brother, his wife and 4 children used the VIP touring for the whole day for all 6 days in WDW. I believe they had 2 guides each day to help with their 4 children. I don't mean as babysitters as they had help with them but more to guide them to appropriate attractions for the varied ages of the children. They had never been to WDW and wanted to have the easiest time possible. They stayed at the GF Conc. and were pleased with the services there. Finances are no issue for this family and so for them they were VERY happy with the guide service. They felt that they got on rides with an insider helping them and made the most of their time. I will try to get more details. I wouldn't consider the guides as I could probably give the tour myself but my brother and especially his wife are used to a 24 hr. service staff at their home and I'm not sure they could have managed at WDW on their own(at least according to my S-I-L). A funny story- The family visited us and the children wanted to know where our playing fields were. I pointed down the street and they were astounded that we didn't have regulation fields in our back yard. Next, I realized that I didn't have any entertainment that would suit them so my kids took out sponges and we all had a hilarious car wash at home(on my no book value car). My brother's kids thought that men came in the night and washed your cars in your separate garage building. Just the look on their faces when my kids ROLLED down the windows made the whole experience worth it. Threehearts

thanks for sharing -

 

[nataliesdaddy]

are there really guide books ?
do u think i can get thim in germany also or do i have to order them ? what are they callled, any links ? and final question...are there also online guide books, e-books ?

Max

The unofficial guide - or tour guide mike if you want an online resource

 

[Lewisc]

Mike, tourguidemike, http://michaelsvips.com/

Also offers a VIP tour. As was posted unless your a major celebrity you don't get front of the line access but it sounds like they know how to minimize your waiting.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

Mike, tourguidemike, http://michaelsvips.com/

Also offers a VIP tour. As was posted unless your a major celebrity you don't get front of the line access but it sounds like they know how to minimize your waiting.

thanks - yeah I am a tgm member

 

[eeyore45]

A friend of mine used it, she loved it, she said that she gets lots of geeky information about the parks, and she believes you see more of the parks with the guide than you possibly can on your own. They aren't allowed to take you to the front of the lines. But they do two things that help. First, living at the park they know the best time to ride any particular ride to be in the shortest line possible. Second, normally you can only have one fast pass at a time, and you have to use it before you can get another one. Her guide would go and get fast passes for them for the rides they were interested in while they were riding or in line for another ride. And apparently he had a fast pass card that would allow him to get more than one at a time. So they rode the non-fast pass rides at the timing he suggested; and then when the park was more crowded, they used our pile of fast passes.

He also made meal reservations for them at the hardest to get into restaurants.

In her case it was especially helpful since her son is rather timid, and there many rides he was afraid to go on previously. But the guide related well since when he was a kid he wasn't terribly brave either; so he could tell her DS exactly what to expect on each ride which helped her DS overcome his anxiety. He was really very very good, with adults and children!

they had the guide for 5 hours (9-2), and rode 14 rides. He was also very good at entertaining my son during the short times they did wait. they never had to wait more than 15 minutes for anything, and they were there in August, one of their busier seasons. He then dropped us for a late lunch at the Blue Bayou; and they shopped they way home.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

A friend of mine used it, she loved it, she said that she gets lots of geeky information about the parks, and she believes you see more of the parks with the guide than you possibly can on your own. They aren't allowed to take you to the front of the lines. But they do two things that help. First, living at the park they know the best time to ride any particular ride to be in the shortest line possible. Second, normally you can only have one fast pass at a time, and you have to use it before you can get another one. Our guide would go and get fast passes for us for the rides we were interested in while we were riding or in line for another ride. And apparently he had a fast pass card that would allow him to get more than one at a time. So we rode the non-fast pass rides at the timing he suggested; and then when the park was more crowded, we used our pile of fast passes.

He also made meal reservations for us at the hardest to get into restaurants.

In my case it was especially helpful since my son is rather timid, and there many rides he was afraid to go on previously. But the guide related well since when he was a kid he wasn't terribly brave either; so he could tell my DS exactly what to expect on each ride which helped DS overcome his anxiety. He was really very very good, with adults and children!

We had our guide for 5 hours (9-2), and rode 14 rides. He was also very good at entertaining my son during the short times we did wait. We never had to wait more than 15 minutes for anything, and we were there in August, one of their busier seasons. He then dropped us for a late lunch at the Blue Bayou; and we shopped our way home.

Thank you very much - this is very helpful