Review of VIP Tour vs LL in all 4 parks

[PoppyJ]

I haven't seen many reviews of the VIP Tour so I thought I would write up my experience for anyone curious.

My husband and I had the opportunity to join a VIP tour group last week. We were in a group of 9 all adult group. Total cost for the two of us for the 8 hour tour was $1,360. Total cost of the tour was $6,800 (hourly rate was $850 x 8 hours).

We started at Animal Kingdom at 12:30 pm. Our first ride was Everest. We entered through the back near the single rider entrance. Our guide had waters/soda for us when we got off the ride. We then walked to Avatar and entered through the lightning lane.

We left Animal Kingdom around 12:30 pm in a van parked by Avatar. Our next park was Hollywood Studios. We had options of a snack when we arrived (chips, pretzels, Kind bars, etc).

We rode Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon, Slinky Dog and Toy Story Mania, all through the lightning lane. Our tour guide got us waters and sodas. We rode Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway through a side entrance. We got another snack (Mickey pretzel, popcorn or churro).

We left Hollywood Studios around 4:00 pm in a van parked near Rock n Rollercoaster. Our next park was Magic Kingdom. We parked near Tomorrowland.

We rode Space Mountain, Tron, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Haunted Mansion (skip pre-show) and Tiana’s Bayou. We had another snack (beignets). Then we went to the VIP merchandise shop.

We left Magic Kingdom around 7:00 pm. There were additional snacks available when we left (chips, apple sauce, crackers, etc). Our last park was Epcot.

We parked right next to Guardians of the Galaxy. We rode Guardians twice through the lightning lane.

We then drove to the back of America and walked to Germany for the VIP section for fireworks. We got there around 8:30 pm. We were the only group there and had the entire section to ourselves. It had a great view, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. (I normally do not watch the Epcot fireworks). We also recieved our VIP Tour pins here.

In 8 hours we did:
Everest
Avatar
Rise of the Resistance
Millennium Falcon
Slinky Dog
Toy Story Mania
Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway
Space Mountain
Tron
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Haunted Mansion
Tiana’s Bayou
Guardians
Guardians

I thought it was interesting to compare this to my 4 park day from last May. On a crowd calendar, our VIP Tour day was a moderate crowd day and our May 2024 day was a low crowd days.

This is what we did in May 2024 using Genie+:
6:30 at AK
7:20 in park
7:46 on Avatar (walk on)
8:10 Navi River (5 min)
8:30 coffee/breakfast
9:18 Dinosaur (walk on)
9:50 Everest (15 min)
Photo (Tree of Life)
Snack (Mickey bar)
10:18 bus to Hollywood Studios
10:35 at Hollywood Studios
Photo (Chinese Theater)
11:15 Tower of Terror (23 min)
Photo (Tower ofTerror)
12:00 Star Tours (12 min)
12:30 TSM (LL)
1:00 Woody's (Totchos)
1:15 Slinky Dog (LL)
1:35 Skyliner to Epcot
2:00 at Epcot
2:45 Soarin (30 min)
3:00 Living with the Land (5 min)
Photo (Epcot Ball)
3:40 Test Track (LL)
Snack (F&G carts)
5:30 The American Adventure
(Guardians down - ILL refund)
6:50 Monorail to MK
Photo (Castle)
7:30 Haunted Mansion (LL)
7:50 Space Mountain (LL)
8:10 Buzz (LL)
8:30 Tron (ILL)
Snack (Sleepy Hollow waffle)
Fireworks
9:33 It's a Small World (5 min)
9:55 PhilharMagic
11:10 Tron (VQ 40 min)

We did a lot more smaller rides, and we stopped in every park for photos and food.

But in comparison, our day was 17 hours and we were EXHAUSTED. I don't remember our total step count but it was well over 30,000. However, our total cost for Genie+ and Tron LL was only $95.86

Our VIP tour was 8 hours and we were able to hit all the big rides in all 4 parks. What I found most interesting though was that our tourmate's step count was only about 12,000! (We don't wear Fitbits anymore) We also did not feel exhausted at the end of the tour.

The VIP tour did feel rushed in the sense that you're trying to get in a many rides as possible in a short time so we did not stop at all for photos or food (even the snacks we were given, we ate as we walked).

At $1,360 for a shared tour (I can't even imagine paying for the entire tour price), the VIP tour was a once in a lifetime experience for us. We really enjoyed it but it's hard to justify the cost.

 

[OKW Lover]

Please say more about the "VIP merchandise shop".

 

[PoppyJ]

Please say more about the "VIP merchandise shop".

It is in at the back of the store near Mickey's Town Square Theater in MK.

There's VIP pins, Loungefly, ears, hat, ornament. You can only buy the merchandise during the tour. I didn't buy anything so I'm not sure of the prices.

This article has some info. I didn't realize this is fairly new.

https://wdwnt.com/2024/12/walt-disney-world-now-selling-exclusive-vip-tours-merchandise/

 

[jo-jo]

Your 17 hours/ 30000 step day also involved the 8 miles from the buses to the front of animal kingdom. So much time and distance is spent going from park to park.

Since you joined a group, how were the rides chosen? Did anyone sit out this or that ride because it wasn’t their cup of tea?

 

[PoppyJ]

Your 17 hours/ 30000 step day also involved the 8 miles from the buses to the front of animal kingdom. So much time and distance is spent going from park to park.

Since you joined a group, how were the rides chosen? Did anyone sit out this or that ride because it wasn’t their cup of tea?

We were asked to check our top 12 rides. There were rides we didn't have time to get to. And yes, some people sat out some rides.

 

[Little E]

@PoppyJ thank you so much for this review. I've always wondered what a VIP tour was like. Did you go with a group of folks you know, or were you placed with a group of folks you didn't know?

 

[PoppyJ]

@PoppyJ thank you so much for this review. I've always wondered what a VIP tour was like. Did you go with a group of folks you know, or were you placed with a group of folks you didn't know?

We did not know anyone else in the group. We found a share through a Facebook group specifically for VIP shares. I have been in the group for a few years but this was the first time I saw a group that fit perfectly (date, all adults, almost a full group, rides people were interested in). Our group was great and everyone was friendly and fun!

 

[Little E]

@PoppyJ Interesting! I didn't know VIP "shares" were a thing. I'm so glad your group was great and you had a great experience. A VIP tour is definitely a bucket list item for me. I will definitely file this info away. Thanks for sharing!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Just a reminder - discussing 'sharing' VIP tours is not permitted on DISboards. Thanks.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

This is great. Thanks for sharing. My family asked about doing a VIP Tour and I said I didn't think it's for them. Seems too fast paced for a group that ultimately is ready to tap out after 3-4 hours in the park.

 

[Little E]

Just a reminder - discussing 'sharing' VIP tours is not permitted on DISboards. Thanks.

I apologize profusely! I didn't know this. Thank you for pointing it out.

 

[_19disnA]

My family asked about doing a VIP Tour and I said I didn't think it's for them. Seems too fast paced for a group that ultimately is ready to tap out after 3-4 hours in the park.

I agree. Even if you are the 'money is no object' type and want the go-go-go Disney experience to do as many rides as possible in one day............that VIP thing still sounds like an exhausting experience.

A number of years ago we did a behind the scenes tour through American Express that we really enjoyed. No idea if still offered. It lasted about 4 hrs and was maybe $50/person, seemed to recall it included a lunch somewhere. Involved some leisurely walking, but didn't seem like a race to get from one area to the next. Disney provided the transportation between parks. I don't seem to recall doing any rides and it more about seeing what goes on in parts of Disney the public never gets to see. We really enjoyed it. Depends on your interests and budget mostly.