I bit the bullet...Booked a VIP Tour, Tips/Advice Welcome!!!

[21stamps]

I've been debating for over a week, and finally went ahead and did it!

Unfortunately, the Jedi Training schedule does not go past August, so my contact will call me at that time to reserve a spot for November.

Any advice/experiences etc with these tours would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks in Advance!!!

 

[hiroMYhero]

On Black Friday, JTA will be running the 20 show schedule that it's currently running. Your child will have to check-in about 30 minutes before showtime so set aside an hour total for JTA. Is JTA still scheduled for a slot after your VIP tour ends?
25-minute shows near Star Tours - The Adventures Continue
10:10, 10:40, 11:10 & 11:40am, 12:10, 12:40, 1:10, 1:40, 2:10, 2:40, 3:10, 3:40, 4:10, 4:40, 5:10, 5:40, 6:10, 6:40, 7:10 & 7:40pm

 

[21stamps]

On Black Friday, JTA will be running the 20 show schedule that it's currently running. Your child will have to check-in about 30 minutes before showtime so set aside an hour total for JTA. Is JTA still scheduled for a slot after your VIP tour ends?
25-minute shows near Star Tours - The Adventures Continue
10:10, 10:40, 11:10 & 11:40am, 12:10, 12:40, 1:10, 1:40, 2:10, 2:40, 3:10, 3:40, 4:10, 4:40, 5:10, 5:40, 6:10, 6:40, 7:10 & 7:40pm

Our tour is tentatively 9-4, but that may change. I'm still deciding if flying in night of Thanksgiving or next morning.

Here is my plan- Do all of the major rides at Epcot /DHS, JTA, and maybe a show or two. Apparently the guide will meet with us and ask my child questions and tailor a plan to his interests. The VIP contact also said she noted on our reservation that he is a Star Wars and adventure fan, and that also shapes what the guide plans.

They have preferred access to the SW characters that do not have fast passes, so that was a major plus as well.

After the tour they will drop us off near the restaurant we are having dinner at for our CP package.

How I was able to (somewhat) justify this-

We will get most/all rides and attractions done in Epcot and HS, including JTA, in that 7 hours. Which means that we will not have to do a rope drop HS day, freeing us up to split a different day between the story tellers and then an evening at HS for F! H&V package, and hopefully ride ToT a few more times.

Do you think they could sign kiddo up for Jedi Training and let us do it on our own after? Would we still be able to do a CP package?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Do you think they could sign kiddo up for Jedi Training and let us do it on our own after? Would we still be able to do a CP package?

Yes, VIP guests during SWW chose a JTA after their tour ended so that they didn't use a very expensive hour for JTA.

Ask for the 4:40 slot. You can have them book a lunch CP package and choose the 2nd or 3rd CP to attend... you have to fit in lunch during the tour so have them book it as the CP package.

 

[21stamps]

Yes, VIP guests during SWW chose a JTA after their tour ended so that they didn't use a very expensive hour for JTA.

Ask for the 4:40 slot. You can have them book a lunch CP package and choose the 2nd or 3rd CP to attend... you have to fit in lunch during the tour so have them book it as the CP package.

Wow thanks!! That is great to know!!!

As far as the lunch- she said that we could just grab a quick service spot..would we have to take up that much time during the tour? I was planning on Garden Grill for the CP package.

 

[21stamps]

Plan B- if I can do quick service lunch, and if I can get a Jedi training after the tour, which would mean that I may not have time for the Garden Grill dinner- could I book the package and just not show up, yet still get in to CP? It would be less expensive than an hour used up while dining with a tour guide.

Kiddo might be disappointed by that, but- he also may not notice since so much else will be going on.

Grrr.. I thought this tour would relieve stress.

 

[hiroMYhero]

If they can book Garden Grill for say 5:45 or so, you can go to the last CP which is better when it is dark. Walking from Studios to Garden Grill will take about 30 minutes.

That way you can have the quick service lunch that won't take up much of your touring time.

 

[Love Tink]

Wow thanks!! That is great to know!!!

As far as the lunch- she said that we could just grab a quick service spot..would we have to take up that much time during the tour? I was planning on Garden Grill for the CP package.

In my opinion you should definitely do a QS lunch, not take the time for a sit down lunch during the tour.

We did a VIP tour last year and our guide was shocked every time we wanted to do anything that he couldn't help us expedite, like meet non-FP characters, or trade pins. He would have had a conniption if we had tried to do a table-service lunch.

 

[21stamps]

In my opinion you should definitely do a QS lunch, not take the time for a sit down lunch during the tour.

We did a VIP tour last year and our guide was shocked every time we wanted to do anything that he couldn't help us expedite, like meet non-FP characters, or trade pins. He would have had a conniption if we had tried to do a table-service lunch.

Did you enjoy the tour? Did he determine what you would do? Did you accomplish everything you wanted in the 7 hours? And lastly- do you think my "plan" sounds good ?

Sorry that I have so many questions!!

 

[21stamps]

My fave qs in Epcot is Tangerine Cafe, but I think that would eat up too much time. We won't be in WS.

Any recommendations for that? Or can we just decide where to stop during the tour?

 

[Love Tink]

Did you enjoy the tour? Did he determine what you would do? Did you accomplish everything you wanted in the 7 hours? And lastly- do you think my "plan" sounds good ?

Sorry that I have so many questions!!

I don't mind the questions. We did enjoy the tour, although it was a bit awkward. It was just my two younger sons and me, and we go to WDW pretty often, and are really good at touring on our own. So we weren't first-timers and we also weren't really raring to go-go-go and get a ton done. (The tour was a gift.) So our guide didn't know quite what to do with us. Eventually he adjusted to our pace a bit, and let us do things like stop for MM photographers without looking at us like we were crazy. But it was actually kind of stressful for my boys and me, to feel like we had to go at someone else's pace. I know that sounds silly.

He had made a few reservations for us before we met up. We were doing MK and HS, so he had arranged a time for Anna and Elsa (which we did), and had arranged a Jedi Training spot (which we declined because we didn't want to spend the time) and a meet and greet with Darth Vader and two Stormtroopers (which we did, as this was before Darth Vader was available regularly).

We were able to do pretty much anything we wanted - unlimited Fastpass - which was definitely fun. What we actually liked the most was entering MK in the morning by going backstage (we had our Magic Bands scanned in a parking area by a CM with a tablet, then came into the park right by Buzz) and then going backstage at HS and coming into the park right next to TSMM. As Disney nerds, this is the stuff that excites us.

I'm not sure I would waste time watching any shows while on your tour. You want to maximize your time doing things that take Fastpass, and doing things you can't do normally. One thing I didn't realize until later was that we could have sat in the VIP area for the afternoon parade at MK. That would have been really fun and memorable (more valuable to us than riding rides) but I didn't realize we could do that until later. I know EP and HS don't have parades, but you could ask about any of the Star Wars experiences and whether you can get a spot up close for those.

 

[21stamps]

I don't mind the questions. We did enjoy the tour, although it was a bit awkward. It was just my two younger sons and me, and we go to WDW pretty often, and are really good at touring on our own. So we weren't first-timers and we also weren't really raring to go-go-go and get a ton done. (The tour was a gift.) So our guide didn't know quite what to do with us. Eventually he adjusted to our pace a bit, and let us do things like stop for MM photographers without looking at us like we were crazy. But it was actually kind of stressful for my boys and me, to feel like we had to go at someone else's pace. I know that sounds silly.

He had made a few reservations for us before we met up. We were doing MK and HS, so he had arranged a time for Anna and Elsa (which we did), and had arranged a Jedi Training spot (which we declined because we didn't want to spend the time) and a meet and greet with Darth Vader and two Stormtroopers (which we did, as this was before Darth Vader was available regularly).

We were able to do pretty much anything we wanted - unlimited Fastpass - which was definitely fun. What we actually liked the most was entering MK in the morning by going backstage (we had our Magic Bands scanned in a parking area by a CM with a tablet, then came into the park right by Buzz) and then going backstage at HS and coming into the park right next to TSMM. As Disney nerds, this is the stuff that excites us.

I'm not sure I would waste time watching any shows while on your tour. You want to maximize your time doing things that take Fastpass, and doing things you can't do normally. One thing I didn't realize until later was that we could have sat in the VIP area for the afternoon parade at MK. That would have been really fun and memorable (more valuable to us than riding rides) but I didn't realize we could do that until later. I know EP and HS don't have parades, but you could ask about any of the Star Wars experiences and whether you can get a spot up close for those.

Thanks!

I absolutely hate that I am not doing MK with the tour. It seems like it would up the "value" substantially.
How long did it take you to do HS?

I am actually excited to use the MM a few times with the guide! I think it will be a neat memory for my child, and I definitely can't see us ever doing this again.

 

[Love Tink]

Thanks!

I absolutely hate that I am not doing MK with the tour. It seems like it would up the "value" substantially.
How long did it take you to do HS?

I am actually excited to use the MM a few times with the guide! I think it will be a neat memory for my child, and I definitely can't see us ever doing this again.

We spent most of our day at MK and only went over to HS for 90 minutes or so, because we had a dinner reservation there after the tour. I think we rode TSMM twice, then met Darth Vader, then rode ToT and RnR.

Yes, it is fun to have some pictures of your guide show up in MM. We posed for a few on Main Street, but we have more from the rides. Because we were a party of three, our guide rode with us whenever it was a 2-and-2 situation (if it was a ride where the three of us fit together, he met us at the exit). So I have a lot of shots of him on rides with my son. Here is one from our last ride of the day - you can see by then he had loosened up a bit.

 

[21stamps]

We spent most of our day at MK and only went over to HS for 90 minutes or so, because we had a dinner reservation there after the tour. I think we rode TSMM twice, then met Darth Vader, then rode ToT and RnR.

Yes, it is fun to have some pictures of your guide show up in MM. We posed for a few on Main Street, but we have more from the rides. Because we were a party of three, our guide rode with us whenever it was a 2-and-2 situation (if it was a ride where the three of us fit together, he met us at the exit). So I have a lot of shots of him on rides with my son. Here is one from our last ride of the day - you can see by then he had loosened up a bit.

Oh my gosh that is too cool!!!

I wonder if our guide would ride one with my son. He would love that!!!


Give me your honest opinion please- for Epcot and HS is there enough to do to fill 7 hours at that price tag.
We have 2 MK days- both party days, 1 we will leave at 7, the other we will go at 4 and do the party.
We will be staying at CR, so given the ease of transport to MK, and that our days should be lower crowd levels- I thought that we shouldn't add more MK time with the tour.

My 2 biggest concerns are SW characters and Jedi Training- Like I said, it would eliminate the need for a RD HS day.

 

[Love Tink]

Oh my gosh that is too cool!!!

I wonder if our guide would ride one with my son. He would love that!!!


Give me your honest opinion please- for Epcot and HS is there enough to do to fill 7 hours at that price tag.
We have 2 MK days- both party days, 1 we will leave at 7, the other we will go at 4 and do the party.
We will be staying at CR, so given the ease of transport to MK, and that our days should be lower crowd levels- I thought that we shouldn't add more MK time with the tour.

My 2 biggest concerns are SW characters and Jedi Training- Like I said, it would eliminate the need for a RD HS day.

Your guide would definitely ride with your son, I would think. One of my sons is more nervous around strangers, so he rode with me all day, but my other son rode almost everything with our guide. I told our guide to feel free to stomp my son at Buzz and TSMM, but he was too nice.

As for whether the price tag is worth it, only you know. Your guide can either come get you at CR and drive you to Epcot, or meet you at the park. As I said, we loved the backstage view, and skipping the security and turnstiles, so we were happy to be driven over even though it is on the clock. At Epcot you could do Frozen, Soarin', and Test Track - which saves a LOT of time, since right now you can only pre-arrange a FP for one of those. You could do all three. You could also do any of the other FP rides that appeal to you - Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Living with the Land, Figment. You can also visit the Character Spot, since that has FP.

At HS, you could get on all five of the rides, ride TSMM twice (which is always a treat) and do some of the extra Star Wars stuff. My guess is they would pre-arrange a time for you to jump in and meet Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. You could also ask them to make sure you get to see the Star Wars stage show and the Stormtrooper procession. I would schedule Jedi Training for after your tour if they are offering that as an option. Jedi Training takes a long time because they ask the kids to arrive well before the show. You don't want to be sitting, waiting, while the meter runs.

After Jedi Training, you could go back to Epcot and have some time in the World Showcase. It would be a great day.

 

[21stamps]

Your guide would definitely ride with your son, I would think. One of my sons is more nervous around strangers, so he rode with me all day, but my other son rode almost everything with our guide. I told our guide to feel free to stomp my son at Buzz and TSMM, but he was too nice.

As for whether the price tag is worth it, only you know. Your guide can either come get you at CR and drive you to Epcot, or meet you at the park. As I said, we loved the backstage view, and skipping the security and turnstiles, so we were happy to be driven over even though it is on the clock. At Epcot you could do Frozen, Soarin', and Test Track - which saves a LOT of time, since right now you can only pre-arrange a FP for one of those. You could do all three. You could also do any of the other FP rides that appeal to you - Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Living with the Land, Figment. You can also visit the Character Spot, since that has FP.

At HS, you could get on all five of the rides, ride TSMM twice (which is always a treat) and do some of the extra Star Wars stuff. My guess is they would pre-arrange a time for you to jump in and meet Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. You could also ask them to make sure you get to see the Star Wars stage show and the Stormtrooper procession. I would schedule Jedi Training for after your tour if they are offering that as an option. Jedi Training takes a long time because they ask the kids to arrive well before the show. You don't want to be sitting, waiting, while the meter runs.

After Jedi Training, you could go back to Epcot and have some time in the World Showcase. It would be a great day.

Thanks. I just didn't know if it would be rude to have all 3 of us on the ride, or if it wouldn't be permitted.

I think I'll stick with this plan of Epcot and HS, and hope that our two MK days are manageable. I'm thinking they should be.

Again, thank you so much for your input!

 

[EllinK]

I've been debating for over a week, and finally went ahead and did it!

So excited for you! I am still debating and trying to justify with some Disney math : )

 

[21stamps]

So excited for you! I am still debating and trying to justify with some Disney math : )

Thanks!!

I'll tell you how I did it-

Back story first-

I booked another (totally unplanned) DCL cruise for 2017 on opening day this week. So maybe was already in enough shock and altered mind frame by that decision so what was 1 more crazy thing added?lol.

Anyway, after booking that cruise I tried to justify it by ways to "find" money, without impacting our everyday lifestyle, or my savings account. (We have another Northern Europe cruise in summer '17- that was the planned travel budget for the year)

If I cut my daily to twice daily venti latte extra shot from Starbucks- down to 1 per week- that's over $2k in 18 months!! Half of the cruise!

Then I started thinking (with the help of budget board here) about purchasing Disney gift cards at Target and at grocery stores for fuel points.

Nordstrom anniversary sale is coming up- I'm going to choose ONE day only to do all of my shopping- and make that day my Triple Points Day-- money saved!!--and can use the Nordstrom Notes for a new outfit - one less thing I'll have to spend money on before our November '16 cruise.

I've also committed myself to buying (almost all) purchases during a sale at other stores as well.

So, how is all of this relevant to the VIP tour?

Well, the very minimum I will save by my Starbucks cutback is $1260.
So instead of applying that to the October '17 cruise, I'll apply it to the tour.

I'm still HOPING to get a 25-30% room only discount.. This would help tremendously to shorten the gap! And I am not going to rent a car for 2 weeks in Florida/pay for parking at the port just so we can be back to WDW early. Now I'm going to rent one way WDW to port, and use Disney transport back to CR. --- another 4-500 $ saved right there!

Also- I had planned on doing an In Room Celebration. - after delivery it's @ $500- took that OUT of the plans when added the tour. So money gained there as well.

That's the method to my madness.

I am hoping flights go down in price and again- seriously hoping for the room discount. If both of those happen combined with the rest, the tour will be pretty much paid for

ETA- ok so writing this all out I feel kind of sick. The tour is almost costing as much as the cruise fare on the Wonder.lol. But, it's a once in a lifetime thing, I would never consider a tour again, and I'm planning on it being a complete surprise for my kid. The Disney world portion of our trip is already going to be a surprise that he finds from Santa while on our cruise, so this is one more fun thing that I can add to that. I just want it all to be magical (this could be the last year he believes in Santa)...and I'll gladly give up Starbucks for that

Maybe any of these will help with your "math". It's a tough decision!! If you really want it and can find ways to make the justification easier- go for it!!

 

[Kaytie]

Our tour is tentatively 9-4, but that may change. I'm still deciding if flying in night of Thanksgiving or next morning.

If I may? As busy as the days leading up to, and the Sunday following, Thanksgiving are on airlines Thanksgiving Day itself is one of the least busy travel days of the year. Prices may not - or may - be lower than the surrounding dates, but the airports and planes should be a lot less crowded.

 

[21stamps]

If I may? As busy as the days leading up to, and the Sunday following, Thanksgiving are on airlines Thanksgiving Day itself is one of the least busy travel days of the year. Prices may not - or may - be lower than the surrounding dates, but the airports and planes should be a lot less crowded.

If I may? As busy as the days leading up to, and the Sunday following, Thanksgiving are on airlines Thanksgiving Day itself is one of the least busy travel days of the year. Prices may not - or may - be lower than the surrounding dates, but the airports and planes should be a lot less crowded.

Of course you may!! Any and all tips or ideas are very much appreciated!

I'm hoping that a Thanksgiving evening flight will be less expensive than the day after. I wasn't thinking about this- but I'm sure you're right about the lower crowds! Probably much less risk of delayed flights as well. I wouldn't want to add the cost of staying on site that night, but could probably find an inexpensive room on orbitz etc.
Even if we have to Uber to WDW it still may save some money depending on flight prices.
Thanks for the suggestion!