How do VIP Tours operate for non-LL rides?

[fairy8i8]

I have been looking at a VIP Tour, and everyone talks about being whisked from park to park to do the headliner attractions; however, my family likes to experience everything. How does a VIP tour work for rides without LL, character greetings, and shows?

I have read mixed reviews about characters- some say they have no wait, others say they wait in the regular line. I have read nothing about regular rides without LL, and apparently no one wastes tour time on shows. However, with 3 special needs children, I want to be able to enjoy the parks with them rather than being glued to my phone trying to make DAS pass reservations and basically being the family tour guide. On our last trip to DL, I felt like I barely got to enjoy the magic and theming because I was constantly figuring out the next ride, booking it, and then trying to see how to get there.

 

[Kailunkat]

Rides without LL - Are there any rides without LL now? Pretty sure everything has a LL/ILL entrance. The rule is that if it's a genie+ ride then you can ride it LL as many times as you want during the tour. Sometimes (if wait times are high or if it's a very popular ride) you might need to ride something else in between your repeats. Sometimes there is a secret entrance to a ride that only a VIP guide can bring you through (Space Ranger Spin has one).

If it is a ride with an ILL or virtual queue then it depends on the ride. I believe the ILL rides are as follows (based on my experience last winter). Depending on what happens with Tiana - that could impact 7DMT or Tron (although I suspect Tiana will end up LL not ILL after the initial surge of it being new).
- 7DMT - as many rides LL as you want
- Tron - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- RotR - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- FoP - as many LL as you want
- GotG - 2 rides from your guide (3 possible if you book ILL too)

Shows - VIP can get you priority seating for shows and fireworks.

Characters - If that character has a LL pass for it, then you would be able to use it. If not, then you wait in line like everyone else. Your guide would be able to give you up to the minute info on how long the line is at any point - so this would be something you could tell them at the beginning of the day that you are interested in and then you could play it by ear based on the wait time.

Your guide will also provide some small snacks (ice cream bars, rice crispy treats) free of charge. They have free ponchos if it rains for you. They will go pick up meals or snacks for you if you order them from QS locations (you pay for them via app). They will pick you up at your hotel (or meet you in park) and will have a van available to transport you between parks and will bring you in through CM entrances to save you time. They cannot make you reservations at TS restaurants or for extra ticket events like after hours.

Ok now the bad news. You have a minimum price of $500 per hour and a minimum booking of 7 hours. Maximum is 10 hours. So for the base cost your talking about $3500-$5000 before tax and tip. You are expected to tip your guide, that isn't included. You cannot break the tour hours into chunks, once your booking time starts your timer is running. If you are late meeting them - it's part of your time. If you want to take a break in the middle of the day that's fine but your going to pay $500 an hour for it. Travel time is part of your overall time, you pay the same amount regardless if it's spent traveling in the van or on rides. Your meal time is also paid time for them. You can bring up to 10 guests (non-negotiable) but it's the same pricing regardless if you bring 2 people or 10 people.

So for all of those cost reasons, many people try to maximize their rides on the tour day and don't do a lot of shows (except for ending the tour by having them seat you for VIP fireworks). That being said - I have done a VIP tour (yay for traveling with a ton of people on all my WDW trips) and it is amazing. The guides have a lot of inside info/are very knowledgeable about WDW trivia, lore, history and are just all around Disney nerds. If you decide to do it - I HIGHLY recommend Ellie F. as a guide. My kids now ask every time we go to Disney if we will get to see Ellie again and which rides they get to ride with her.

 

[SkyGuy]

Rides without LL - Are there any rides without LL now? Pretty sure everything has a LL/ILL entrance. The rule is that if it's a genie+ ride then you can ride it LL as many times as you want during the tour. Sometimes (if wait times are high or if it's a very popular ride) you might need to ride something else in between your repeats. Sometimes there is a secret entrance to a ride that only a VIP guide can bring you through (Space Ranger Spin has one).

If it is a ride with an ILL or virtual queue then it depends on the ride. I believe the ILL rides are as follows (based on my experience last winter). Depending on what happens with Tiana - that could impact 7DMT or Tron (although I suspect Tiana will end up LL not ILL after the initial surge of it being new).
- 7DMT - as many rides LL as you want
- Tron - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- RotR - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- FoP - as many LL as you want
- GotG - 2 rides from your guide (3 possible if you book ILL too)

Shows - VIP can get you priority seating for shows and fireworks.

Characters - If that character has a LL pass for it, then you would be able to use it. If not, then you wait in line like everyone else. Your guide would be able to give you up to the minute info on how long the line is at any point - so this would be something you could tell them at the beginning of the day that you are interested in and then you could play it by ear based on the wait time.

Your guide will also provide some small snacks (ice cream bars, rice crispy treats) free of charge. They have free ponchos if it rains for you. They will go pick up meals or snacks for you if you order them from QS locations (you pay for them via app). They will pick you up at your hotel (or meet you in park) and will have a van available to transport you between parks and will bring you in through CM entrances to save you time. They cannot make you reservations at TS restaurants or for extra ticket events like after hours.

Ok now the bad news. You have a minimum price of $500 per hour and a minimum booking of 7 hours. Maximum is 10 hours. So for the base cost your talking about $3500-$5000 before tax and tip. You are expected to tip your guide, that isn't included. You cannot break the tour hours into chunks, once your booking time starts your timer is running. If you are late meeting them - it's part of your time. If you want to take a break in the middle of the day that's fine but your going to pay $500 an hour for it. Travel time is part of your overall time, you pay the same amount regardless if it's spent traveling in the van or on rides. Your meal time is also paid time for them. You can bring up to 10 guests (non-negotiable) but it's the same pricing regardless if you bring 2 people or 10 people.

So for all of those cost reasons, many people try to maximize their rides on the tour day and don't do a lot of shows (except for ending the tour by having them seat you for VIP fireworks). That being said - I have done a VIP tour (yay for traveling with a ton of people on all my WDW trips) and it is amazing. The guides have a lot of inside info/are very knowledgeable about WDW trivia, lore, history and are just all around Disney nerds. If you decide to do it - I HIGHLY recommend Ellie F. as a guide. My kids now ask every time we go to Disney if we will get to see Ellie again and which rides they get to ride with her.

We’ve done several VIP Tours, and perfect recap is perfect!

 

[jo-jo]

Rides without LL - Are there any rides without LL now? Pretty sure everything has a LL/ILL entrance. The rule is that if it's a genie+ ride then you can ride it LL as many times as you want during the tour. Sometimes (if wait times are high or if it's a very popular ride) you might need to ride something else in between your repeats. Sometimes there is a secret entrance to a ride that only a VIP guide can bring you through (Space Ranger Spin has one).

If it is a ride with an ILL or virtual queue then it depends on the ride. I believe the ILL rides are as follows (based on my experience last winter). Depending on what happens with Tiana - that could impact 7DMT or Tron (although I suspect Tiana will end up LL not ILL after the initial surge of it being new).
- 7DMT - as many rides LL as you want
- Tron - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- RotR - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- FoP - as many LL as you want
- GotG - 2 rides from your guide (3 possible if you book ILL too)

Shows - VIP can get you priority seating for shows and fireworks.

Characters - If that character has a LL pass for it, then you would be able to use it. If not, then you wait in line like everyone else. Your guide would be able to give you up to the minute info on how long the line is at any point - so this would be something you could tell them at the beginning of the day that you are interested in and then you could play it by ear based on the wait time.

Your guide will also provide some small snacks (ice cream bars, rice crispy treats) free of charge. They have free ponchos if it rains for you. They will go pick up meals or snacks for you if you order them from QS locations (you pay for them via app). They will pick you up at your hotel (or meet you in park) and will have a van available to transport you between parks and will bring you in through CM entrances to save you time. They cannot make you reservations at TS restaurants or for extra ticket events like after hours.

Ok now the bad news. You have a minimum price of $500 per hour and a minimum booking of 7 hours. Maximum is 10 hours. So for the base cost your talking about $3500-$5000 before tax and tip. You are expected to tip your guide, that isn't included. You cannot break the tour hours into chunks, once your booking time starts your timer is running. If you are late meeting them - it's part of your time. If you want to take a break in the middle of the day that's fine but your going to pay $500 an hour for it. Travel time is part of your overall time, you pay the same amount regardless if it's spent traveling in the van or on rides. Your meal time is also paid time for them. You can bring up to 10 guests (non-negotiable) but it's the same pricing regardless if you bring 2 people or 10 people.

So for all of those cost reasons, many people try to maximize their rides on the tour day and don't do a lot of shows (except for ending the tour by having them seat you for VIP fireworks). That being said - I have done a VIP tour (yay for traveling with a ton of people on all my WDW trips) and it is amazing. The guides have a lot of inside info/are very knowledgeable about WDW trivia, lore, history and are just all around Disney nerds. If you decide to do it - I HIGHLY recommend Ellie F. as a guide. My kids now ask every time we go to Disney if we will get to see Ellie again and which rides they get to ride with her.

Question from a jealous person. , so you want to ride say ROTR, you get into the line that might be 30-40 mins long? Once we saw a LL line that snaked all over the courtyard.

I thought it was more front of the line, so you could hit 57 rides in one day.

It does sound wonderful, except for the paying part, but when I win that 10 billion dollar lottery..........

 

[Captain UP]

Question from a jealous person. , so you want to ride say ROTR, you get into the line that might be 30-40 mins long? Once we saw a LL line that snaked all over the courtyard.

I thought it was more front of the line, so you could hit 57 rides in one day.

It does sound wonderful, except for the paying part, but when I win that 10 billion dollar lottery..........

No, you definitely won't wait in a line that long for anything. We walked straight into the first pre-show for Rise.

 

[jo-jo]

No, you definitely won't wait in a line that long for anything. We walked straight into the first pre-show for Rise.

Well then, I'm going to start checking the sofa cushions right now for loose $100 bills.

Sounds like a wonderful experience.

 

[Captain UP]

There are groups on a social media site that will help you hook up with a group and thus only have to pay for yourself.

 

[jo-jo]

There are groups on a social media site that will help you hook up with a group and thus only have to pay for yourself.

Thanks for the idea, but I’d never be able to keep up with the group. I’m sure a VIP day involves 47,000 steps.

I’ll just dream through others stories.

 

[fairy8i8]

Rides without LL - Are there any rides without LL now? Pretty sure everything has a LL/ILL entrance. The rule is that if it's a genie+ ride then you can ride it LL as many times as you want during the tour. Sometimes (if wait times are high or if it's a very popular ride) you might need to ride something else in between your repeats. Sometimes there is a secret entrance to a ride that only a VIP guide can bring you through (Space Ranger Spin has one).

If it is a ride with an ILL or virtual queue then it depends on the ride. I believe the ILL rides are as follows (based on my experience last winter). Depending on what happens with Tiana - that could impact 7DMT or Tron (although I suspect Tiana will end up LL not ILL after the initial surge of it being new).
- 7DMT - as many rides LL as you want
- Tron - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- RotR - 1 ride from your guide (2 possible if you book ILL too)
- FoP - as many LL as you want
- GotG - 2 rides from your guide (3 possible if you book ILL too)

Shows - VIP can get you priority seating for shows and fireworks.

Characters - If that character has a LL pass for it, then you would be able to use it. If not, then you wait in line like everyone else. Your guide would be able to give you up to the minute info on how long the line is at any point - so this would be something you could tell them at the beginning of the day that you are interested in and then you could play it by ear based on the wait time.

Your guide will also provide some small snacks (ice cream bars, rice crispy treats) free of charge. They have free ponchos if it rains for you. They will go pick up meals or snacks for you if you order them from QS locations (you pay for them via app). They will pick you up at your hotel (or meet you in park) and will have a van available to transport you between parks and will bring you in through CM entrances to save you time. They cannot make you reservations at TS restaurants or for extra ticket events like after hours.

Ok now the bad news. You have a minimum price of $500 per hour and a minimum booking of 7 hours. Maximum is 10 hours. So for the base cost your talking about $3500-$5000 before tax and tip. You are expected to tip your guide, that isn't included. You cannot break the tour hours into chunks, once your booking time starts your timer is running. If you are late meeting them - it's part of your time. If you want to take a break in the middle of the day that's fine but your going to pay $500 an hour for it. Travel time is part of your overall time, you pay the same amount regardless if it's spent traveling in the van or on rides. Your meal time is also paid time for them. You can bring up to 10 guests (non-negotiable) but it's the same pricing regardless if you bring 2 people or 10 people.

So for all of those cost reasons, many people try to maximize their rides on the tour day and don't do a lot of shows (except for ending the tour by having them seat you for VIP fireworks). That being said - I have done a VIP tour (yay for traveling with a ton of people on all my WDW trips) and it is amazing. The guides have a lot of inside info/are very knowledgeable about WDW trivia, lore, history and are just all around Disney nerds. If you decide to do it - I HIGHLY recommend Ellie F. as a guide. My kids now ask every time we go to Disney if we will get to see Ellie again and which rides they get to ride with her.

Thanks so much for the information! I looked up what wasn't LL, and they are all either character greets or things that don't really need a LL because they just aren't that popular, like the People Mover. I haven't been to WDW for 10 years (in the parks)! DH and I were in Orlando just a few weeks ago, and we did Divequest, but he isn't a fan of themeparks himself, so we didn't do any. He said he thought maybe we should bring the kids next year. It's exciting for me to share something I love with my kids, but also nerve wracking because they naturally don't do well in environments like WDW, so it takes a lot of prep and planning beforehand and care on the trip to try to help everyone have an enjoyable time. I am hoping VIP tours will help in that we will have someone who knows the parks and how they operate so we can attend to our kids' needs and have a good time as a family.

 

[Cloudy]

Thanks for the idea, but I’d never be able to keep up with the group. I’m sure a VIP day involves 47,000 steps.

I’ll just dream through others stories.

This is not necessarily true. I tagged along with a friend and her sisters family. They hit the headliners in all 4 parks and that’s basically it. There was a lot of driving! Not what I would have done but it wasn’t my plan. We were at Remy and the next ride was GotG. The thought of that walk was exhausting. I asked the guide how we were getting from Remy to GotG and she said we were going to drive (and giggled)! She knew I was relieved. We went out a secret entrance near the international gateway and drove around to the back of GotG to enter. I guess that’s the real problem with joining a group, you are at the mercy of the groups tour plan which may not be your ideal tour plan.

 

[Kailunkat]

This is not necessarily true. I tagged along with a friend and her sisters family. They hit the headliners in all 4 parks and that’s basically it. There was a lot of driving! Not what I would have done but it wasn’t my plan. We were at Remy and the next ride was GotG. The thought of that walk was exhausting. I asked the guide how we were getting from Remy to GotG and she said we were going to drive (and giggled)! She knew I was relieved. We went out a secret entrance near the international gateway and drove around to the back of GotG to enter. I guess that’s the real problem with joining a group, you are at the mercy of the groups tour plan which may not be your ideal tour plan.

Epcot and AK have convenient backstage parking but MK and HS are a little more out of the way. I will say that our tour day was very fast paced and had a LOT of walking.

Question from a jealous person. , so you want to ride say ROTR, you get into the line that might be 30-40 mins long? Once we saw a LL line that snaked all over the courtyard.

I thought it was more front of the line, so you could hit 57 rides in one day.

It does sound wonderful, except for the paying part, but when I win that 10 billion dollar lottery..........

We did wait for ROTR (about 30mins) even in the lightning lane. Also about that long for GotG. About 15mins for FoP, Tron and 7DMT. The VIP doesn't cut to the front of LL, it just gets you into it. At risk of bringing up a contentious topic, the crack down on DA that Disney is doing I think will have an effect on it and it will be interesting to see what happens with the headliners. Normal LL should be unaffected because you can just buy genie+, but I think the ILL rides will get shorter ILL access and maybe they will let VIP ride it more. Who knows.

I have been looking at a VIP Tour, and everyone talks about being whisked from park to park to do the headliner attractions; however, my family likes to experience everything. How does a VIP tour work for rides without LL, character greetings, and shows?

I have read mixed reviews about characters- some say they have no wait, others say they wait in the regular line. I have read nothing about regular rides without LL, and apparently no one wastes tour time on shows. However, with 3 special needs children, I want to be able to enjoy the parks with them rather than being glued to my phone trying to make DAS pass reservations and basically being the family tour guide. On our last trip to DL, I felt like I barely got to enjoy the magic and theming because I was constantly figuring out the next ride, booking it, and then trying to see how to get there.

Also OP - your family sounds like they might actually qualify still for Disability Access so be sure to look into that too. I recommend waiting a few months because no one is sure how the recent changes will play out but things should settle down in a month or two.

 

[fairy8i8]

Epcot and AK have convenient backstage parking but MK and HS are a little more out of the way. I will say that our tour day was very fast paced and had a LOT of walking.



We did wait for ROTR (about 30mins) even in the lightning lane. Also about that long for GotG. About 15mins for FoP, Tron and 7DMT. The VIP doesn't cut to the front of LL, it just gets you into it. At risk of bringing up a contentious topic, the crack down on DA that Disney is doing I think will have an effect on it and it will be interesting to see what happens with the headliners. Normal LL should be unaffected because you can just buy genie+, but I think the ILL rides will get shorter ILL access and maybe they will let VIP ride it more. Who knows.



Also OP - your family sounds like they might actually qualify still for Disability Access so be sure to look into that too. I recommend waiting a few months because no one is sure how the recent changes will play out but things should settle down in a month or two.

Yes, they likely would, but my husband was talking about me designing my dream trip, so while I would get them DAS, my dream trip would include VIP tours (and then maybe he would be down for going again). He has this nostalgia of no one in the parks when he was a kid.

Now that I think about it, the only time he did Disney World as a kid (west coaster) was right after a major hurricane had ripped through Orlando, and they couldn't even buy food off property, but had to eat in the parks because Disney was the only place in the area with food. The grocery stores had only the beer isle cooled. This makes so much sense to me now. Big difference from my experience going in June and Christmas week. Being in Magic Kingdom when it's at capacity is its own experience, especially before Fastpasses were introduced!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Epcot and AK have convenient backstage parking but MK and HS are a little more out of the way. I will say that our tour day was very fast paced and had a LOT of walking.



We did wait for ROTR (about 30mins) even in the lightning lane. Also about that long for GotG. About 15mins for FoP, Tron and 7DMT. The VIP doesn't cut to the front of LL, it just gets you into it.

Also OP - your family sounds like they might actually qualify still for Disability Access so be sure to look into that too. I recommend waiting a few months because no one is sure how the recent changes will play out but things should settle down in a month or two.

Sometimes it does. At Remy I’ve seen the VIP Tours walk up the defunct Single Rider line and cut even the LL, maybe it depends on how busy it is that day?

Good note on DAS. Past approval is no indication if you will be approved now. Even some people with special needs kids who expected approval recently were denied and ended up cancelling their trips so nobody can be sure about it anymore. Good thing OP’s potential trip is a long way off for the kinks to keep getting worked out!

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

Definitely saw a VIP tour come in a side door for Mickey and Minnie’s. I think it just depends on the ride.

 

[mrjack5]

Definitely saw a VIP tour come in a side door for Mickey and Minnie’s. I think it just depends on the ride.

There are some rides that have a "side entrance" that skip the LL line.

Ones I can remember are

1. Haunted Mansion
2. Pirates
3. Mickey and Minnie
4. Jungle Cruise
5.(There are other rides as well just posting the ones I know for sure)

If the ride doesn't have a LL then SOMETIMES your VIP tour guide will talk to a Castmember and let you on the ride first from the "ride exit" side like the Merry Go Round at Magic Kingdom and Tea Cup ride etc.

 

[SkyGuy]

There are some rides that have a "side entrance" that skip the LL line.

Ones I can remember are

1. Haunted Mansion
2. Pirates
3. Mickey and Minnie
4. Jungle Cruise

If the ride doesn't have a LL then SOMETIMES your VIP tour guide will talk to a Castmember and let you on the ride first from the "ride exit" side like the Merry Go Round at Magic Kingdom and Tea Cup ride etc.

We’ve always come up a back stairway for Test Track and Dinosaur. We came through a side door for Soarin’, but we only did that once when it was raining, and we’ve always come in a back way for Buzz where we load prior to the loading area.

 

[mrjack5]

We’ve always come up a back stairway for Test Track and Dinosaur. We came through a side door for Soarin’, but we only did that once when it was raining, and we’ve always come in a back way for Buzz where we load prior to the loading area.

Awesome I didn't do those rides when we did the VIP tour, I updated my post to clarify there are other rides as well that utilize a side or exit entrance for VIP tours. Thanks!

 

[mommyk8]

Don’t forget you need to have a park ticket for each person above the $500 an hour.

 

[Nikkimouse44]

Just to confirm - if I get to vip tour can I ride all the rides multiple times by going in the LL/ILL entrance without having to get genie plus ILL or do I also need to buy genie plus / VQ / ILL?

 

[Nancyg56]

We are trying to do some planning and are considering a VIP tour. We will have hoppers so park tix are not an issue. In order to get priority area for MK fireworks do you need to have your tour end at that time? We are there in August and will need to figure out the timing and honestly, I am worried about the heat.