The Fatten'em Plan: A Trip Report w/ pics

[Cass]

Day 5

I have been looking forward to this day in particular, for a long long time! We are going to be doing MGM in a very special way.

During our last trip to Disney I came to notice the CM's in plaid vests who seemed to be escorting certain families around the parks.

With some investigation I discovered they worked for Disney VIP Services and you could hire them for a magical day in the park. They are expensive, but I was determined to try it one day and 2 years later, that day has come.

I found out I could book VIP Services 90 days prior to our trip - so I made a reservation for December 17th, way back in September.

The VIP Services office emailed me a questionaire to complete, (ie)

- who was in our party,
- ages
- favourite characters,
- what was important for us to see & do
- what was not important for us to see or do
- likes/dislikes
- any special requests or special occasions being celebrated

I completed the questionaire and faxed it back to them. I really just wanted to see the standard things but wasn't interested in the stunt car show, Sounds Dangerous or the backlot tour.

I mentioned that Louise loved Sorcerer Mickey, and that I had never seen the parade in it's entirety or beauty and the beast before. I also mentioned we were celebrating 3 birthdays this trip.

About a month before our trip I recieved a letter in the mail confirming our VIP Tour with our guide's name. (Jane*) We were instructed to meet her in the lobby of AKL at 9:00am on Dec 17th.

*not her real name for privacy.

Our alarm went off at 7:00am and I lept up like a kid on Christmas morning, sore feet, blisters and lost pal mickeys forgotten - I was really excited about today's guided trip to MGM.

I had (another) ADR for breakfast today at Boma, but again I was over ruled. The girls had loved breakfast at the lounge so much yesterday that they wanted to go back there again. Sheesh, but am I going to argue with three hungry females that I exhausted the day before?

So we went up for breakfast in the lounge and while we were eating I called a little morning meeting to spring my surprise on them. It went something like this.

Me: Today we are having a personal guide take us around MGM

Louise: blank stare

Megan: shrug

Noel: 'but I don't want a tour'

Me: No, no' - it's more of a guide than a tour and they can get really good seats for shows and will run ahead and get our fast passes, etc. VIP's, executives and movie stars use these guides, plus they drive us to the park - no buses!'

Noel's eyes were starting to light up and her little brain was turning.

"This is going to be a really good day, isn't it Mom?'

Truer words were never spoken.

Just before 9:00am we went down to the lobby and I spotted a beautiful lady in a plaid vest, white blouse, blue skirt and heels. I approached her and asked 'are you Jane'?'

'No,' she replied, 'but are you Mrs. Myers?'

'Umm no...'

and then I noticed her name tag read Theresa, so we laughed as she was here for another family, not us. She told me that she was sure our guide would be along soon.

We stepped outside the lobby and noticed a large dark blue SUV pulling up to the curb. The driver was another beautiful lady in the same uniform as Theresa, we had just met.

Jane stepped out of the SUV and looked over to us with a big smile 'you must be Cass, Louise, Noel & Megan, I'm so happy to meet you all'

Jane was lovely, a California girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, she was wearing heels & nylons, you have to appreciate how much fun that is on a hot day in the parks, but she was always poised and never broke a sweat.

She invited us to hop in the SUV and start our day, the girls warmed up to her immediately and Noel claimed dibbs on sitting in the front seat beside Jane.

On the drive over to MGM Jane introduced herself, told us about her work experience with Disney and told us to relax and leave today up to her. She promised that we would get everything done that I had mentioned on my qustionaire and she would be delivering us to The GF by 6pm for our dinner ADR at Narcoosees.

The girls had lots of questions for Jane, the first being if she ever escorted any celebrities.

Yes, she had, and in fact she just looked after Beyonce' during the filming of the Christmas Parade 2 weeks earlier.

Jane listed other *celebrities & *Royalty! that she had escorted through the parks and then added that they are just people who want to enjoy themselves at Disney - just like any other person or family would . It was her job to make sure they had a nice time.

*I promised not to mention who the royals and celebs were on the internet.

Big celebrities that would cause crowds & gawking, she would use the tunnels at EPCOT & MK for and the backstage areas at DAK and MGM. Also there are little secret lounges where V-V-VIPs can be kept happy & safe while crowds are managed and other things are organized for them.

 

[Cass]

Before we knew it we were in the backstage area at MGM. Jane parked the car and we walked literally 15 feet to a wall with a small opening. When we walked through the opening I couldn't believe where we were, right at Rock n' roller coaster with the restrooms are.

It was so surreal to be right there knowing the SUV was just on the other side of the wall, the girls thought it was way cool to walk right into the middle of a park.

'Okay' Jane said, 'if you would come with me I'd like to start you off on The Great Movie Ride and we'll leave the bigger rides until later'

Obligatory pic of Tower of Terror fear.

So we all walked down the street towards TGMR. Jane went right in with us through the preshow and then told us to enjoy the ride and she would meet us at the end. She said was off to book our lunch and collect some fast passes for us.

Louise and Megan are big Wizard of Oz fans so they loved the scene in Munchkinland. It's been a while since I did this attraction and I really enjoyed it too. We had the gangster this time, last time I think we had the cowboy.

When we came off the ride Jane was right there with a big smile asking how we enjoyed it. She asked us to follow her as she had someone who wanted to meet Louise. We walked along to the little meet & greet area with Sorcerer Mickey - Louise was beside herself, Mickey is her man and although she had seen him from afar over the last few days, they had never met.

Mickey motioned for her to come to him and they hugged for the longest time, it was so funny. Megan and Noel approached with their autograph books and Mickey motioned for them go back because he still wanted to hug Louise, she was crying and laughing, it was so cute.

After everyone met Mickey Jane said our next stop would be Voyage of the Little Mermaid, she told us she had our fastpasses already for Rock n' Roller coaster & Tower of Terror and that we would be having lunch at the Prime Time Cafe right after Indiana Jones.

Over to Voyage of the Little Mermaid we went and she stayed with us, chatting in the waiting area until the doors opened to the theater. Then she told us she would meet us at the exit and to enjoy the show.

Again, being newbies to Disney - Megan and Louise enjoyed VOTLM so much, and seeing them enjoying it made me enjoy it even more - if that makes any sense. If you ever start to lose your appreciation for Disney, just take someone who has never been before and you will be renewed.

At the exit Jane was there waiting for us and asked if we would like a rest room break or a drink. We took a few minutes and then all met in the coffee/book store shop. Jane said while we were at Little Mermaid she arranged our VIP seating for Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast.

Louise and I were looking at each other like we just won the lottery.

Next we were off to Star Tours, Jane actually went with us on this ride and I have to say it was just so nice to have her along with us. The girls were chatting with her constantly on all kinds of topics from Disney to boys, to movies, to her family to christmas to whatever. She was just such an engaging person and great with the kids.

Star Tours was fun as always and we poked around the gift shop for a while.

I noticed the Jane was occasionally stopped by guests and asked questions/directions. She was pleasant & courteous to everyone who spoke to her but occasionaly had to be firm that she was escorting a family and could not help them at the moment. She would suggest they contact guest services. We noticed a fair amount of people looking at us trying to figure out if we were 'anyone'. Sorry to disappoint you all

It was almost time for Indiana Jones and we arrived at the entrance just a few moments before the show was to start. Jane had us wait for a moment while she spoke to the CM at the entrance.

A moment later she returned with another CM and informed us we would be escorted to our seats. She told us to enjoy the show and she would meet us at the exit afterwards.

The new CM led us through a packed theatre down to the roped off 2nd row, front & centre. These were the best seats I have ever had for this show and as soon as we sat down, it started. Again, it had been a few years since we did Indiana Jones so it was fun for Noel and I as well as Louise and Megan. Definately one of the perks to these VIP Tour guide is that there is very little waiting for anything.

After the show we met Jane at the exit and she asked if we were ready for lunch. We were all hungry and happy to go and eat. Louise needed to have a smoke as she had been good all day so Jane made sure Louise knew where the restaurant was and directed her to the smoking area closest to Prime Time Cafe.

Waiting for our table at Prime Time

We were seated in about 5 minutes and had Jeff as our cousin/server. What a laugh when he realized that someone was missing from our group. He scrawled a crude note and left it on the table for her.

Louise! You're late!

A few minutes later Louise arrived and saw her note. She hung her head sheepishly as Jeff read her the riot act , hands on his hips demanding to know where she was and why she thought Mom's rules didn't apply to her?

Megan was cracking up at her mother being yelled at.

For lunch - I had the shrimp cocktail, stuffed pepper and a vanilla shake

Louise had shrimp cocktail, some kind of club sandwich, and a drink that glowed,

I can't remember what Megan ate but she had a chocolate shake,

Noel had chicken noodle soup and the baked cheese appetizer and a chocolate shake,

Jane had the onion rings, fried chicken and a diet coke.

Jeff was funny with Jane - they knew each other as she eats there at least once a week with a family. Jeff knew Jane didn't like the veggies and was trying to spoon feed her.

At dessert time cupcakes and candles magically appeared for Noel, Megan and my birthday . For our main desserts I think we all had smores which are awesome here. Jeff lead the tables around us in a rendition of the Happy Birthday song.

It is customary for the guest to pay for meals/drinks for the guide - which I was very happy to do. I told Jeff we had the dining plan but to bill me separately for Jane's lunch.

When the bill came he had just taken 5 meal credits on our plan and there was no charge for Jane at all. In fact he had counted our milkshakes as regular drinks and the only extra charge was for Louise's glow cube. It was a great lunch and everyone left happy and full. Jane shared her onion rings with us and they were awesome with the creamy dip, yum. I will definately order them if I am ever there again.

'Perfect timing for beauty and the beast' Jane announced as we walked over to the theatre. Again, it was almost showtime when we arrived and the theatre was packed. We were escorted down to the 2nd row to the roped off seats and Jane asked us to just stay in our seats and she would come collect us after the show.

This was the first time Noel and I have seen this show, we always seem to miss it or have bad timing during our other visits. It was really well done and the costumes were beautiful. I am so glad we finally got to see it.

When the show was finished we remained in our seats and Jane came down to collect us. She told us just to wait for a moment longer until the theatre cleared a bit. So we just sat there for few minutes chatting. Then with a big smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, she asked us to follow her... she didn't leave the theatre though, she headed around the left hand corner of the stage instead.

'No' I said

'No' Louise said

'could it be?'

A private meet and greet with Belle and the Prince, just for us... woohooo!

It was so cool, we asked all kinds of questions and took photos. Belle and Prince Vincent (we asked his name!) were very gracious and we stood there for 15 minutes chatting with them.

Louise asked Bell and Vincent how big the person playing chip was because the costume is so small. Belle and Vincent looked at each other with confused expressions and then said to Louise 'what do you mean? Chip is a cup, not a person'

LOL it was so funny.

We said goodbye to Belle and Vincent and thanked Jane sooo sooo much for arranging this surprise for us, she said it was not always possible but there were times when she could work a little magic and today was one of those times. Well, we appreciated it very much.

 

[Cass]

Now I am trying to remember what happened next, I know we had some spare time to shop a little in the Villains store etc... and then we went to Tower of Terror. Louise opted to take the chicken exit and Jane stayed with her while Noel, Megan and I did the Tower. Fun as always but Megan was not overly thrilled with it. Noel and I had a riot, we love this ride. Louise, Megan and I hung out in the gift shop for a bit while Noel and Jane went on it again.

After ToT it was getting close to parade time so Jane asked us to follow her over to the viewing area. It was a roped off area, right on the parade route with a little staircase so we could all sit and be comfy with a great view.

Noel is sitting just behind the chain with the reserved sign hanging on it. You can see the back our Jane in her plaid vest.

Louise and I just looked at each other like this was a dream or something, we had come along way from dragging our sorry butts around the world showcase the day before. This was living the high life!

Jane sat with the girls, chatting away as usual, and we all watched the parade swing by.

Parade pics

 

[Wazzo]

This is great! I am SO enjoying your TR Cass!

 

[Cass]

More parade

Next we were off to see the Muppets, again Jane waited with us during the pre show and then said she would meet us at the exit. She had recieved a few pages on her pager during the parade and needed to call her office. Louise wondered whether my VISA was declined or something.. Ha ha!

Muppets was the same as always (IMO it could use an update) and then we did a little shopping and relaxed on a bench in the late afternoon sunshine. Did I mention the gorgeous weather we had been having? today was just a perfect day, sunny & mild, warm & breezy.

Jane arrived back and said we had time to catch the last Car Stunt show if we wanted but I vetoed it, I just was not interested at all - even with 2nd row seats!

Louise and I wanted to do a little more shopping and Noel and Megan wanted to do rock n' roller coaster.

Jane suggested that she take the kids to the rides and Louise and I enjoy shopping on our own. We agreed to meet at 5:15pm in the courtyard near the big guitar - which is also if you remember, where Jane's car is parked just a stone's throw away.

So the girls rode Rock n' Roller coaster twice with Jane while Louise and I had some peaceful shopping without kids, this is always a good thing. Louise is a big Rocky fan and bought herself a Rocky tee shirt at the Planet Hollywood store.

At 5:15pm we met the girls and Jane by the big guitar and Noel asked if she could do Tower of Terror one more time. 'Sure' said Jane ' we still have time as long as it's okay with your Mom' which it was, so Megan, Louise and I had a drink and waited on the low wall for Noel and Jane to have one more quick Tower ride.

So this completed our day at MGM and what an awesome, fun and relaxing day it was. I will never forget it.

It was almost 5:45pm now and our dinner ADR was for 6:05pm at Narcoosees. It suddenly dawned on Noel that Jane would be leaving us soon and she didn't want that at all.

Noel: "Please Mom, please. can Jane come to dinner with us?'

Me: She is probably busy, Noel - she's been with us all day'

Jane: "No, I'm not busy and I'd love to have dinner with you all'

Me: "can you have our ADR changed to 5 people?"

Jane: "of course I can, I will call my office and look after it"

"Yayyy" the girls said

We all piled in the SUV and pulled on some fresh sweaters, we had brought nicer tops to wear to dinner and I warned everyone we would be out late so to bring a sweater in case it turned cool.

I slid up beside Jane and whispered that I had another surprise for the girls - I had a fireworks cruise booked for 8:30pm from the GF. I invited her to come along if she could change the amount of people on the reservation from 4 to 5.

"Sure" she said "I'd love to come and I can change the reservation, no problem"

We arrived at the GF really quickly and Jane suggested we look around the lobby for a minute while she parked the car and called her office.

The GF lobby is beautiful but a total zoo, there were people everywhere, it was really chaotic and the exact opposite of AKL which I find very peaceful no matter the time of day. We saw Cinderella and the mice just inside the entrance to Park Fare and slipped in for a quick pic with them.

Jane arrived and told me all was well with dinner and the cruise, she has been added on to both ressies and thanks me for including her.

The cost of the VIP touri s hourly, so what's 4++ more hours Jane's services were supposed to be over at 6:00pm, and it turns out that she would be with us until after 10pm. oh well, you only live once and you can't take it with you.

The girls are thrilled that Jane is having dinner with us and they don't even know about the fireworks cruise yet.

We walk through the GF grounds to Narcoosees and Jane checks in for us, even now she is still on duty making sure everything is perfect. She smiles at me and whispers we have a wonderful table with a view of MK.

Our server is very friendly and fun and here is what we order.

Cass: *Nargarita (Narcoosee's special Margarita)
Crab cakes
Surf n' turf (filet & lobster tail)
*This is my first alcoholic drink of the whole trip!

Louise:
Mudslide
Seafood Chowder
Surf n' turf

Jane
Diet coke (not allowed to drink on duty)
Calamari
Seared Sea Scallops

Megan
Chocolate Milkshake
Shrimp Cocktail
Steak, plain with mashed potatoes

Noel
Chocolate Milkshake
Soup
Chicken fingers and fries (that's my girl)

Our view of the castle changing colours and the monorail whizzing by is beautiful, dinner is fun and relaxing and again we pepper Jane with all kinds of questions about her job, the tunnels, the short cuts, the celebrities, the girls wanted to know all about her boyfriend etc...

My lobster was really yummy, Narcoosees is a great restaurant - all of us enjoy our meals and barely have room for dessert & coffee.

Me: year of a million dreams cheesecake (best dessert of the trip)

Louise: some chocolate cake/ lava thing

Jane, Noel & Megan: Brownie sundaes

Louise and I also had more drink drinks - if ya know what mean

The bill was about 400.00 - I told our server we had the meal plan for 4 of us and to just bill me for Jane's dinner. Again they just deducted a credit for her dinner from our plan so there was no charge at all except Louise's and my drinks. Again they didn't even charge extra for the kids milkshakes.

After dinner we went out on the Narcoosee's porch to enjoy the view and I said.

'Well I guess it's time Jane says good bye and takes us back to AKL'

'Nooooooo' say the girls (and Louise too!)

'or' I added

'We could go on a fireworks cruise together?"

'Yayyyyy!!' the girls chorused and started chanting 'fireworks cruise, fireworks cruise, fireworks cruise'

'What do you say, Jane'? I asked

Jane: ::: Big Pause:::

'Lets go on a cruise!'

Yayyyyy.... the girls are squealing and jumping up and down

We still had a half hour until we needed to check in at the Captain's Shipyard so we went back to the GF lobby and the gift shop. The GF lobby was still a madhouse with people everywhere, kids everywhere, noise etc, but they did have some bell ringers performing (who were really good) by the Christmas tree. We looked around for a bit and Louise bought something from the gingerbread house.

The girls bought Jane a pair of Tink earrings because she had told them Tinkerbelle was her favourite character.

Then we strolled back to the Marina area to check in for our cruise, Jane again was still on duty and handled the check in for me. I wish I had a Jane with me at home, right now.

We had a pontoon boat and a nice driver who's name escapes me. This cruise is included as part of the Platinum plan so there is no charge but I did tip the driver when we returned. I was under the impression we were to share with other people on the Platinum Plan but we were the only family there so it was just the 5 of us + our driver.

The first thing we did was cruise out to the electric water parade and watch the little show from a mere 30 feet away, that was a lot of fun - I've never seen the show before. The girls were impressed, I can;t seem to find my pics of this and I took quite a few

Then we cruised over to the magic kingdom and moored beside one of the large boats that had the music piped in so we could hear the fireworks music.

This was Holiday Wishes again - the same show we saw at MVMPC the other night, but a completely different perspective from this vantage point. We all enjoyed ourself sitting there on the dark lake with a starry sky, the GF, Contemporary, Poly and MK all lit up and the fireworks explosions and music. It was a moment I won't soon forget. Louise was completely blown away over this surprise, we all agreed nothing could top a day like this.

After the show ended we did a little cruise by the different resorts and headed back to the GF marina. Jane said she would walk ahead and bring the SUV around for us and for us to take our time.

Contemporary from the water

We walked back to the crazy GF lobby and out the front doors to the waiting SUV for our drive back to AKL. Hugs all around for Jane and many, many thanks for a magical day.

Noel and Megan begged me to arrange Jane for the next day too, but I already had other plans for us and she was not available anyway as she told us she was scheduled to be with a family a the Magic Kingdom all day. We all went to sleep with smiles on our faces this night.

Like I said, today would be hard to top and I am almost out of surprises, however I still have one up my sleeve for the morning and it involves getting wet.

Thanks for reading

 

[Cass]

The VIP tour sounds AMAZING!! But, for a minimum of $750, Jane can buy her own lunch!

Bahahaha but they ended up just using a dining credit anyway, so it was not painful at all.

 

[Wazzo]

I would never be able to decide which park to have as a VIP day. I'm glad it was so special for you.

I also appreciate your advice regarding NOT staying concierge while on the Platinum Plan... I will heed this advice when the day comes!

Keep it coming!

 

[Cass]

It was a toss up between MGM and DAK, MK and EPCOT are just so big.

I have no regrets at all about the cost or anything, I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Noel is already making plans for the next time) !!!

 

[Wazzo]

It was a toss up between MGM and DAK, MK and EPCOT are just so big.

I have no regrets at all about the cost or anything, I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Noel is already making plans for the next time) !!!

Ooh, I wonder what kind of "backstage" stuff you would see at DAK?

Which park is Noel planning on for next time? I already can't wait for the TR!

Yes, I AM living vicariously through you!!

 

[Cass]

To tell you the truth only REAL VIP's see much of the backstage areas. There is no need to whisk Louise and I through a tunnel as no one is waiting to mob us for autographs

I know Jane's least favourite park to work is DAK because of all the uneven payments, it is tough in heels all day and it is always hotter there then the other parks.

Where in Ontario are you from, Wazzo?

 

[swankybeth]

What an amazing day you guys had! It was so cool reading about your adventures with the VIP guide.

 

[SuAnne]

Okay...now I'm totally jealous that we missed this trip. I don't care...cruise or no cruise next year you are coming with us

 

[Cass]

Okay...now I'm totally jealous that we missed this trip. I don't care...cruise or no cruise next year you are coming with us

 

[pigletforever]

I may have to check out the escort for our next trip. That sounds like a great surprise treat for everyone. sounds like a dream trip so far.

 

[TiggerAllie]

Hey Cass--great report! Your VIP day sounds AWESOME! If you don't mind sharing a bit more about the pricing system... they charge you by the hour, and I assume there is a minimum number of hours? Do they also charge by the size of the party?

Keep the report coming!

 

[pooksma]

Loved every bit of what I have read so far. I was intrigued when I read your dilemma over on the Canadian Boards and was NOT let down by what I read and saw here. Thanks Cass and looking forward to more

 

[Cass]

The rate is hourly with a minimum of 6 hours. It ranges from 95.00 - 145.00 (145.00 if you book with no notice) per hour depending on the time of year you travel and if you are a resort guest.

You can have 10 people in your group for the same price. Anything over 10 and you need to take 2 guides.

We had Jane for 13 hours at one of the higher rates but you know what? it was really a dream come true and worth every penny, also my hubby gave this tour to me as a Birthday Gift

 

[Cass]

I was intrigued when I read your dilemma over on the Canadian Boards

That was some fun, huh? See all the good stuff Louise would have missed had she been denied boarding? You can see why I was sweating

 

[nicolemarie]

Wow! All this Dissin' and TGM'n and I've never heard of a VIP tour! How special! That sounds wonderful!!

Y'all really pulled out all the stops for your trip. It is great fun to live it through you!!

Thanks for sharing!

NM

 

[Cass]

Yep, I don't know how I will top this trip.

This is the link to the Disney page on VIP Services