Exclusive VIP tour?

[MickeyManiacMom]

Hello all! I recently won a contest and we are comign to US/IOA in November. Part of our package is 2 days of exclusive VIP tours for our family at both parks. I have looked up all the information and pretty much all it says is that is is customized for each group. Can anyone give me an idea of what kinds of things to expect with these tours? Thanks!

 

[Motherfletcher]

An exclusive VIP is truly the only FOTL pass that you can get. If you want to stay on the Hulk and ride again that's likely doable. The guides can tell you anything you want to know about the parks. You can pretty much write your own itinerary. You got the best of the best!

 

[MickeyManiacMom]

I am a devoted Disney girl, and we've never been to US or IOA so we're excited. Originally our prize package included one day of VIP tour. But we were also supposed to participate in Fear Factor Live and since it will be closed while we are there, they upgraded us to 2 days VIP. After reading reviews here of FFL, looks like we got a GREAT deal for that! I just can't believe that for 2 days of VIP tour it is $3600! INSANE! That is why I wondered what all it included - for almost $4000, I'm assuming we're getting the full court press on this one! Our room is at the Royal Pacific - it looks nice. I hope we don't have any problems when we check in!

Now to decide just where to eat while we're there.... LOL! We are "sneaking" over to Disney for the first day when we arrive. I just CAN'T take dd to Florida without going to see the Princesses!

 

[lindalinda]

I have done the VIP tours (not exclusive...the ones that are groups of around 10-15 people) and they are awesome. We had so much fun! The tour guides were very fun. My boys actually sent a thank you note to them, and if you know many 9 year old boys that do that, consider yourself blessed! This was about 4 years ago, and we did the universal and IOA vip tours before going to disney....big mistake of course. While we were standing in line at disney, the boys asked to go back to US for another vip tour. I actually called while standing in line at disney and booked it! Of course, now that we know to stay onsite, we havent done them lately, but you will love it!

 

[Notatourist]

Think of it this way. Ever imagine NOT waiting in line? Imagine having someone plan out your day? Imagine being able to get ahead of everyone else, including hotel keys and express....Having someone answer every question and show you things you never knew about the parks....


That's a tour. Enjoy.

 

[damo]

Wow! You are so lucky! What kind of contest did you win, if you don't mind me being nosey?

 

[MickeyManiacMom]

I don't mind at all. (Mostly because I am nosey too! LOL) I entered a contest that was on a case of Ozarka bottled water, which is a brand of water by Nestle waters. You just went online and entered your code from your case of water along with your contact information. The contest was called "Choose your Adventure". So I did that online in October and thought nothing more of it. It ended on December 31st. Fast forward to February 20-something when I arrive home to a Fed Ex envelope on my front steps. I read that thing at least 10 times before I believed what it said! LOL!

Basically I got to choose my adventure. Option #1: A 3 day trip to Universal Studios in California and attend a red carpet movie premier. #2: A 4 day trip to Universal Studios Orlando (with tons of perks!) or #3: A 2 day trip to any concert in the US with backstage passes.

Being a family of 4, 2 of which are small children - option #2 made the most sense for us. Then after reviewing all the details further - since it was a prize package for 4 people, they had actually arranged for us to get 2 hotel rooms. We couldn't very well put the kids in their own seperate room - that didnt' make sense and kids park tickets are WAY less expensive than adults. So after a lot of discussion my sister and her family are also going with us. We put all the adults down as the winners, and we only had to pay airfare and park tickets for the kids.

 

[MickeyManiacMom]

And for the more nosey people (like me)! Here is a list of what we get:

Round trip airfare
Airoport limo pick up by character (??), limo return to airport after trip is completed
Hotel accomodations on site, 2 rooms for 3 nights
Character Breakfast
Exclusive VIP Tour
Compete as a contestant in Fear Factor Live (now canceled and replaced with a second day of VIP Tour)
Dinner prepared by an executive Chef
City Walk Party Passes
$400 Universal Spending Cash to use in the parks

Can we say HOW excited we are for this??? All I can say is that everyone should take that 30 seconds to enter contests because now I know SOMEONE has to win these things!

 

[damo]

Holy smokes. That is one sweet prize!!!

 

[Motherfletcher]

Yeah, I was all excited when I got the big foam King Kong hands!
Do they give you vouchers or something so you could sell one of the VIP days?

 

[MickeyManiacMom]

Nope - US booked everything for us in our names. They already sent our confirmations to us for both VIP tours. So no chance of selling anything. Which is ok. I'm sure we can make good use of them ourselves!

 

[disneyfreakk]

Congrats on your PRIZE!!

I just wanted to mention a few things that I have seen other disers needing help with.

For tax reasons, because you will have to turn in the total value of your prize at tax time it might be a wise idea to get a quote or something in writing from Universal Studios of the value of your prize. You said that the 2 day VIP tour ran about $3600, but on the website it says :

"2-Day/2-Park Exclusive Tours
This exclusive our will be geared towards the interests of your group, providing you with an insider's perspective of both theme parks. As the only guests on this tour, the choice is yours as to how to spend your day at the parks. The start time is generally scheduled at your convenience.

Price: $2,600.00 – $3,000.00 per group + tax (group is up to 12 persons)

NOTE: Tour prices do not include park admission. Anyone under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult. "


Sorry to bring up taxes, but you need this info if the gov decides to audit you later


Have a great time on your trip!
Kellie

 

[MickeyManiacMom]

We are well aware of the taxes!! But still, what we will pay in our taxes next year will not be NEAR what it would have cost us to go on this trip if we had paid for it ourselves. Yes, we will be getting a 1099 from Nestle Waters which will detail the total amount of our prize. You are right it was $2600 not $3600 for the 2 day VIP. I've gone a bit crazy - I can't believe ANYONE would pay that much money for 2 days of a tour at an amusement park. But hey, we will be more than happy to live it up and see how it goes!

 

[Nank]

Wow, that's just awesome! Congratulations and enjoy the VIP Service!

 

[KATHINOWA]

What a fabulous prize! It's nice to know that people do win those prizes.

When we were at US/IOA last week, we saw people with the VIP tags walking around with a guide and getting right to the front of the line. We wondered what that was all about and now I know.

Congratulations on your win!