VIP guides

[poj7]

Hi.

Just had an interesting conversation with a person who just returned from WDW over Thanksgiving and said that they didn't wait in any lines and the place was mobbed. They said they had a "VIP guide" who met them at the gate with strollers and took them to any attraction they wanted and went to the front of every line. "it's the only way to go". This individual is not a celebrity. She said the fee is $75 per hour for the service.

Has anyone ever heard of this? I know I'll probably get bumped to another forum but I wanted the DVCers to hear about this one.

 

[dcfromva]

poj7,
I have heard of this being offered at Universal before. Maybe this is something new at WDW--in conjunction with the Magical Gatherings?
Sounds pretty sweet. How long did they have their guide?

-DC

 

[poj7]

Hi.

They had the guide for the entire trip and they've used him before during a previous trip. I don't know whether to be annoyed that people can buy their way to the front of the line or be intrigued...

 

[Melrosgirl]

Sounds like what tourguidemike.com does (or used to do). He was the VIP guide for many people who would go to WDW for the first time.

 

[poj7]

Unlike Tourguidemike, this is an actual person who takes you to the front of every line, preferred viewing of shows etc etc

 

[jaysue]

$75/hour -

Was this person a WDW employee?

thanks
jaysue

 

[Melrosgirl]

Unlike Tourguidemike, this is an actual person who takes you to the front of every line, preferred viewing of shows etc etc

I know. If you read his bio, you will see that he used to (and maybe still does) do VIP tours for people IN PERSON at WDW. That's how his website got started. He has been a VIP guide there for years.

http://www.michaelsvips.com/ Here's Mike's other job.

 

[poj7]

Originally posted by jaysue
$75/hour -

Was this person a WDW employee?

thanks
jaysue

No, she wasn't. No one in her family was either. She said she asked for "VIP Services".

 

[Keggy]

Disney does offer VIP guides and the fee is $75 an hour. They are mostly all Guest Relations Cast Members who have interviewed and gone through special training to be able to do this. Both of my old roommates are currently guides.

They don't advertise that they will be able to get you out of waiting in line. But they are there to help plan your day to make the most of your time in the park. They will make priority seatings for you, get fastpasses in advance for you. That is probably what that guests guide had done. They didn't get backdoored, as a celebrity would have, but at attractions that offered fastpass, the guide probably had fastpasses for them to utilize.

Kelly

 

[floridafam]

I've spoken with VIP services before and was told the fee was $80 per hour with a 4 hour minimum for a VIP guide. I called them because we were thinking about a VIP tour of Epcot due to the fact that my DS wasn't old enough for one of the tours they offer there.

I thought they told me that VIP guides were not able to take you to the front of the line but I could be mistaken.

I don't really think it's that bad of a deal.

 

[luv34747]

Funny. I just watched a show called Undiscovered WDW on discoveryhd and they showed the vip tourguides. It is a service provided by wdw for any guest. If I remember correctly, they have been providing this service since the beginning. They didn't say how much it cost.

However they didn't mention the ability to cut lines. I'd bet that the guide just got them fast passes.

 

[MikeScott8]

Originally posted by luv34747
Funny. I just watched a show called Undiscovered WDW on discoveryhd and they showed the vip tourguides. It is a service provided by wdw for any guest. If I remember correctly, they have been providing this service since the beginning. They didn't say how much it cost.

I have that show on tape. I don't remember vip tour guides. I remember them showing the Keys to the Kingdom tour and the tour guide from that. I will have to check on that tonight, I know tough research!

Mike

 

[jaysue]

I guess I was thinking - lets's say on average $150-200 for a room at a mod (tax in) plus average $40 a day pp for tickets + food + everything else and then to lay over another $75 an hour for a guide - that makes for a large whack of dough

thanks
jaysue

 

[PamOKW]

Originally posted by jaysue
that makes for a large whack of dough

thanks
jaysue

And I bet some of the folks here could teach the guide a thing or two they didn't know. LOL!

It's always good to know about these things. Thanks for the info poj7.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Originally posted by PamOKW
And I bet some of the folks here could teach the guide a thing or two they didn't know. LOL!

Hmmm, Pam, you've got something there; what a way for a Disney-obsessed DVCer to support his/her Addonitis! And at the rates mentioned, that's roughly 1 point / hour ....

 

[MickeyCrazed]

From experience....
I know first hand that they do not get you front of the line access. You have to sign a paper stating you are aware of that fact.
(Unless something has changed within the last 2 years.)

 

[pmcpmc]

on pts.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We ran into a blind family of DVC members at OKW a couple years ago who always used VIP guides for the parks. I thought it was a great service for someone like them, but I guess I couldn't imagine sighted WDW veterans like us ever needing such a service.

Now the behind the scenes tours are something we LOVE!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Don't forget the 20% gratuities on top of that $75 or $80 per hour fee!

 

[childsplay]

Originally posted by MickeyCrazed
I know first hand that they do not get you front of the line access. You have to sign a paper stating you are aware of that fact.
B]

I'm really curious about how this works. If you aren't guaranteed front of the line access, what are you paying for?