Our VIP Experience

[divawife]

If you can afford it I think this is WONDERFUL! Just like if you can afford to stay in a deluxe resort or get deluxe dining I also think that is WONDERFUL!

Not everyone can and I thank the OP for taking the time to let us know how it went. It sounded like a surprise for the whole family and especially her daughter's birthday that her husband arranged.

I did not get the feeling that her family would not or could not or were not going to - go back and enjoy the parks at a shorter pace and see other things. They were given a choice on what to do and what to see so they could have spent the whole time in one park. It sounds to me that they made very, very good use of their opportunity and considered it a large sprinkling of family fairy dust from the DH.

Some (not all of course) sound a bit jealous or sour grapes.
I can always post on deluxe resort threads that I wouldn't spend that kind of money, that kind of money would mean a whole other bunch of days for my family or that I think it is a waste of money or I would spend it on something much more fun. But I do not. I love reading about other's experience and happy that they enjoyed themselves so much.

So good for them! I would love to do this sometime too.

 

[Wendybird55]

It's easy to spend lots of money at Disney for special treament / experiences I guess it's all in what each person prefers.

I'll be spending about $1,500 (or a bit more) for some special celebrations I have planned for DH and DS this year...they are:

2 hr fishing excursion (using Birbaums 20% off coupon)
Illuminations Fireworks cruise with special Happy Birthday Banner and Mickey Cake
Dinner for 2 at V&A Queen Victoria room with wine flight and extra cost to upgrade some courses if offered.(my sister will be doing something special with DS that evening hopefully Wishes Dessert party if it's available)
Special town car or SUV to DH & I from OKW to GF and then back on V&A night.

My final cost also accounts for taxes and tips.

I know it's alot of money but this year is a spcial Birthday for DH and instead of spending money on a big party (he doesn't want one) or something he doesn't need, I decided to give him some wonderful Disney experiences. I think V&A will be his favorite. And then on his actual birthday I will have a book I make on Disney Photo pass of us enjoying his special celebration.

We've been to Disney many times and have gone on all the rides and attractions we like many times as well. At this stage we're more interested in enjoying (as others have said) the atmosphere of Disney and don't feel compelled to hit the parks fast and hard. Plus, for whatever reason. DS who is 5, announced he doesn't want to do "inside" rides this year.

I guess that's one of the many great things about Disney. There are so many things to do (or not do) and so many ways to enjoy yourself and especially so many different ways to spend your money.

 

[ttintagel]

Do the guides still wear those cute plaid skirts?

 

[Feralpeg]

The Disney VIP Guide has a Disney van and will take you directly between the parks backstage, and will park in the backstage area as close as possible to the attraction.

While convenient, it sort of ruins the magic. I've been behind many of the attractions and the backstage area is less than magical.

 

[tdsbu]

Nearly all of the people that engage the VIP tours for the parks around Orlando would never provide details on the experience, cost, pros, and cons because 1) their time is too valuable, 2) they could care less about helping others learn about it, 3) one of the reasons they do the tour in the first place (protect identity) may conflict with posting on a public message board, and/or 4) they may fear backlash from others that feel distrust/jealousy/covetousness after reading a report like that. I think it is very gracious of the OP to provide detail on this and want to say thank you for educating us a little on your experience.

 

[ocean134]

Sounds like an awesome experience OP. I've always wondered what it was like to have a VIP experience. I also think it's nice that you tell the Host/Hostess what you want your experience to be like.

If you can afford the experience and enjoyed your time, good for you! Maybe one day I will save up and give it a try too.

 

[KimK2006]

Thank you for posting your experience OP! If you can afford it, I think it AWESOME! Maybe someday......

I have some friends of friends who did this. I admit I was jeanous!

 

[Darragh]

If you can afford it I think this is WONDERFUL! Just like if you can afford to stay in a deluxe resort or get deluxe dining I also think that is WONDERFUL!

Not everyone can and I thank the OP for taking the time to let us know how it went. It sounded like a surprise for the whole family and especially her daughter's birthday that her husband arranged.

I did not get the feeling that her family would not or could not or were not going to - go back and enjoy the parks at a shorter pace and see other things. They were given a choice on what to do and what to see so they could have spent the whole time in one park. It sounds to me that they made very, very good use of their opportunity and considered it a large sprinkling of family fairy dust from the DH.

Some (not all of course) sound a bit jealous or sour grapes.
I can always post on deluxe resort threads that I wouldn't spend that kind of money, that kind of money would mean a whole other bunch of days for my family or that I think it is a waste of money or I would spend it on something much more fun. But I do not. I love reading about other's experience and happy that they enjoyed themselves so much.

So good for them! I would love to do this sometime too.

Very well said. I totally agree with all of the above.

 

[Mrmohill]

The reason that I posted our experience is bc while we were looking into doing this VIP tour I could never really find out accurate information. There is very little info out there.

For my family it was amazing and if we are lucky enough to be financially able to do it again then we absolutely will. With little kids, I loved that she drove us right up to the rides and we really liked seeing the behind the scenes area. We learned about the vaccuum trash system and saw the outside of the safari. It reminded us of Jarasic Park.

We did spend two other days doing the parks without the guide and found ourselves looking at the map constantly to find our way and trying to figure out what rides to do in what order. For rookies like my family it was a way to relieve the stress of planning. We went to all four parks and never felt rushed plus the other days of our trip we got to walk around.

To answer some questions:
She did not accept a tip.
There was no plaid on our guide. She said it smelled bad when it rained bc it was wool.
We were driven around in a suburban.
We loved the cabins and will stay there again. Staying there did not impact our decision to use the guide.
It does not include other tours. We were asked what we wanted to do though so maybe it is possible.

Lastly, our guide was the nicest lady on earth. She was like a part of the family and we exchanged emails at the end. She stayed with our daughter while we went on a "scary" ride and I was very thankful that she was so nice.

Hopefully this helps someone else decide if this is for them. It made our day Magical!

 

[disneyfanlincoln]

Good for you, delighted you had such a great time.

 

[ashleyrm]

I think it sounds wonderful! If I had the extra $$$ I would certainly do it just to see what the experience was like.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/vip-services/

Duration:
More than 6 hours

Price:
$175.00-$315.00 per hour. Theme Park admission is required and is not included.


http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2009/02/vip_tour_at_walt_disney_world.html

If you google disneyworld VIP tours you will find several "VIP tour services"...

 

[kaligal]

I agree with both of these statements. I'm glad you feel as though you got what you paid for, OP, but I would much rather spend my money elsewhere (at Disney, of course ) and experience all the parks have to offer.

People always say, "I'd have done XYZ instead of that..." as if the OP had to choose.

Drives me nuts.

Not everyone says, "Okay, we have X amount of money to spend on vacation." Some people can do all those things. They don't have to choose between them. It isn't a decision - should we do this or that? It's just, What do we want to do?

The OP wanted to ride rides without waiting and was willing to pay to do that. Decided to talk about it on the DIS.

I've seen dumber threads.

 

[Mrmohill]

It does say that tickets are required but we were never asked for ours. We were in the parks that morning so we needed them anyways but she did not check. We never went through a main gate.

 

[Pmctn]

Sounds like a great time. Thanks for the report.

 

[mdsoccermom]

People always say, "I'd have done XYZ instead of that..." as if the OP had to choose.

Drives me nuts.

Not everyone says, "Okay, we have X amount of money to spend on vacation." Some people can do all those things. They don't have to choose between them. It isn't a decision - should we do this or that? It's just, What do we want to do?

The OP wanted to ride rides without waiting and was willing to pay to do that. Decided to talk about it on the DIS.

I've seen dumber threads.

Exactly. The family had the money and decided to use it by hiring a guide one day of the trip. With all the people saying that they would rather spend time experiencing the parks than going from ride to ride with not wait, you would think that this one day was the sum of the whole vacation. I'm fairly certain that the OP had an entire vacation during which she could wander the parks at leisure.

Some people can also find a trip wonderful while seeing the backstage areas. The whole idea that adults feel being driven backstage ruins the magic is just well, odd.

Frankly, I'd rather spend $1,500 on a VIP tour or other experience than spending money on custom clothes, matching t-shirts, crappy souvenirs or the myriad of other things people talk about on these boards.

 

[Mrmohill]

I read this blog before going but it is also inaccurate in that the tour guide is your fast pass. They do not need to run ahead to get anything. They just show their badge and get in the fast pass line.

We did not stop to eat a meal bc we thought that would be a waste of time. My kids bought a string shooting toy off of a cart before the parade and immediately broke them. She ran back and got them fixed for us before I even had a chance to try to fix them.

 

[clerkshipwanted]

I'm fairly certain that the OP had an entire vacation during which she could wander the parks at leisure.

Some people can also find a trip wonderful while seeing the backstage areas. The whole idea that adults feel being driven backstage ruins the magic is just well, odd.

Frankly, I'd rather spend $1,500 on a VIP tour or other experience than spending money on custom clothes, matching t-shirts, crappy souvenirs or the myriad of other things people talk about on these boards.

i like you!

 

[Mrmohill]

Thank you mdsoccormom! Well said!

 

[pgowder]

The reason that I posted our experience is bc while we were looking into doing this VIP tour I could never really find out accurate information. There is very little info out there.

For my family it was amazing and if we are lucky enough to be financially able to do it again then we absolutely will. With little kids, I loved that she drove us right up to the rides and we really liked seeing the behind the scenes area. We learned about the vaccuum trash system and saw the outside of the safari. It reminded us of Jarasic Park.

We did spend two other days doing the parks without the guide and found ourselves looking at the map constantly to find our way and trying to figure out what rides to do in what order. For rookies like my family it was a way to relieve the stress of planning. We went to all four parks and never felt rushed plus the other days of our trip we got to walk around.

To answer some questions:
She did not accept a tip.
There was no plaid on our guide. She said it smelled bad when it rained bc it was wool.
We were driven around in a suburban.
We loved the cabins and will stay there again. Staying there did not impact our decision to use the guide.
It does not include other tours. We were asked what we wanted to do though so maybe it is possible.

Lastly, our guide was the nicest lady on earth. She was like a part of the family and we exchanged emails at the end. She stayed with our daughter while we went on a "scary" ride and I was very thankful that she was so nice.

Hopefully this helps someone else decide if this is for them. It made our day Magical!

Thanks for posting your story. We've looked at it. It would be great with a couple of families together.

Our dream is to ride TSMM multiple times! Then going to the other FP rides like Soarin'.

It's a luxury for sure. But definitely on our WDW bucket list.

 

[wfjny]

The reason that I posted our experience is bc while we were looking into doing this VIP tour I could never really find out accurate information. There is very little info out there.

For my family it was amazing and if we are lucky enough to be financially able to do it again then we absolutely will. With little kids, I loved that she drove us right up to the rides and we really liked seeing the behind the scenes area. We learned about the vaccuum trash system and saw the outside of the safari. It reminded us of Jarasic Park.

We did spend two other days doing the parks without the guide and found ourselves looking at the map constantly to find our way and trying to figure out what rides to do in what order. For rookies like my family it was a way to relieve the stress of planning. We went to all four parks and never felt rushed plus the other days of our trip we got to walk around.

To answer some questions:
She did not accept a tip.
There was no plaid on our guide. She said it smelled bad when it rained bc it was wool.
We were driven around in a suburban.
We loved the cabins and will stay there again. Staying there did not impact our decision to use the guide.
It does not include other tours. We were asked what we wanted to do though so maybe it is possible.

Lastly, our guide was the nicest lady on earth. She was like a part of the family and we exchanged emails at the end. She stayed with our daughter while we went on a "scary" ride and I was very thankful that she was so nice.

Hopefully this helps someone else decide if this is for them. It made our day Magical!

Thank you very much for sharing your experience, and explaining the cost.

I know various people have various opinions, but I am sure if we all opened up our checkbook, someone else would have negative comments about why we spent money where we did.

I was not aware that a tour guide would/could get you FOTL access. That is great. Could you answer a quick question or two, if you know the answers?

Was the price dependent on the size of the group, or the type of access (on park, multi-park, vehicle or no vehicle, cute or ugly, etc).

Is there a limit to the size of the group (no, not 100 people, but 4, 6 or 8)?

I have to admit, yes some people talk about spoiling the magic, but my 6 and 10 year olds love shows like “Modern Marvels” and “How it’s Made”. They love when they get to walk behind the main street shops, and the few times we have been able to go around the back of the magic kingdom (World Drive to Floridian Way).

Thanks again.