First time visitors to Universal, thinking about a VIP tour and had a few questions.

[Scubadaddy32]

We are planning a 12 day trip to WDW and staying on property in May. We decided to take at least one day at Universal and thought we would splurge and try a Private VIP tour. It will be our first time to Universal in decades and we were wondering if a single day VIP tour would give us enough time to do most of the rides and attractions?
Is the VIP tour worth the money for those who have been on it?

 

[saleenl]

When we took the VIP tour, we were able to see all the attractions we wanted to in one day. That might not be true for you, though - I think it really depends upon the mix of rides and attractions that interest you. We stayed on site two additional days after our VIP tour and were able to add in some of the shows and take more time to look at everything. Looking back, I think it was worth it for us. I enjoyed a lot of the behind the scenes stuff we got to see and it was great to skip the ride lines. However, we could only skip the line one time per ride, if I recall correctly (but maybe that was just the non-express pass rides). If I were planning a future trip, I'd add at least one park-to-park day in addition to the VIP tour.

 

[cfoxga]

While we haven't done a VIP tour yet (have a non-private VIP coming in March), we have been to Universal during busy seasons (Spring Break and Thanksgiving) both with and without EP. I assume that with school ending in May, that you will potentially face some large crowds.

With EPs, you can see quite a bit of the parks even when they are crowded. One day would mean planning exactly what you want to do and rushing from ride to ride to fit it in a day. While that is what I did for my Disney trips years ago, it is not what I would want from a Universal trip. Two days might be enough for some, but I usually recommend 3 days with EPs to really get to experience everything at a leisurely pace.

Private VIP tours can definitely shorten the amount of time needed to see exactly what you want (time permitting), as there are no lines (including Hagrids). If I only had 1 day at Universal and was staying offsite, this would be a good (but expensive) option.

If you have two days and want to save some money, a single night at a deluxe hotel gives two days of EPs for up to 5 people. You will have some waits at each ride, but you'd likely get as much or more done than the private VIP tour. If you are only 2-3 people in your group, then perhaps a non-private VIP tour for one day and EPs for the second would work...

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Thank you both for the input.
We are blessed that we are in a financial position where the Private Tour won't be burdensome to us. It's just my wife and I. We are also "park people" and keep a very active schedule during what we call "playcations". We also understand everyone is different, basically we just want to hit all the rides this time and spend some time in each area to familiarize ourselves with Universal and what it has to offer.
We typically travel to WDW 2 times per year for extended stays once in early to mid May and once in Sept. We are quite sure that we will make more trips to Universal in the upcoming years if we enjoy it, just like we have with WDW.

 

[cfoxga]

It sounds like the Private VIP tour will give you what you are looking for. But there are parts of the Universal "bubble" beyond the parks. If you get a chance, spend some time in CityWalk and maybe hop on a boat to PBH, RPR or HRH to see what the deluxe resorts are like.

We (myself, DW, DD12 and DD13) fell in love with Universal on our first trip 3 years ago after a couple trips to Disney when the kids were younger. We park our car in the hotel lot and only use it for occasional excursions to Disney Springs. Otherwise, we let the boat take us where we need to go. The big difference with Disney is the ability to just show up without any planning. No picking parks/FastPass+ 60-90 days in advance. With EPs from the deluxe hotels, you ride what you want with little wait. We've made only one dinner reservation, and it turned out that it was not necessary.

I've recently started researching for a Disney trip and I cannot believe how complicated things have gotten since our last trip 7 years ago (before FastPass+). I'm sure I'll figure it all out, but there is a new learning curve...

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I have done the non-private VIP tour at Unviersal and my whole family enjoyed it. Yes we did have to work within the group with the ride selection but we really got to do alot. Don't forget you will have front of the line access for each ride which is awesome on this tour. I don't know if there is a minimum of people you need for the private one. We purchased the both parks tour, not sure how the private one works. We also enjoyed the discount for the shops after and the express pass the rest of the day. The tour guides will do what you want so if you really study all the rides you can plan your day to hit everything you want within the time frame.

My vote would be to do it.

Enjoy!!

 

[Scubadaddy32]

It sounds like the Private VIP tour will give you what you are looking for. But there are parts of the Universal "bubble" beyond the parks. If you get a chance, spend some time in CityWalk and maybe hop on a boat to PBH, RPR or HRH to see what the deluxe resorts are like.

We (myself, DW, DD12 and DD13) fell in love with Universal on our first trip 3 years ago after a couple trips to Disney when the kids were younger. We park our car in the hotel lot and only use it for occasional excursions to Disney Springs. Otherwise, we let the boat take us where we need to go. The big difference with Disney is the ability to just show up without any planning. No picking parks/FastPass+ 60-90 days in advance. With EPs from the deluxe hotels, you ride what you want with little wait. We've made only one dinner reservation, and it turned out that it was not necessary.

I've recently started researching for a Disney trip and I cannot believe how complicated things have gotten since our last trip 7 years ago (before FastPass+). I'm sure I'll figure it all out, but there is a new learning curve...

Yep, you got that right when it comes to WDW... Although after many trips in the past 4 or 5 years, we pretty much have the Disney deal down to a science. From FP's to ADR's and the best bang for your buck resorts. (We typically stay at deluxe, but have a new favorite in the Gran Destino Tower that is in the Moderate category.)
Universal looks to be a completely different game. We just wanted to get a good overview and catch the most popular rides without much fuss. We would do the regular VIP tour, but since we are so active, we worry the pace of others could be a bit slow for us. Haha
We have a few secrets and tips for handling Disney that we have learned over the past few years. You can always find us at scuba.... @ the hoo.