VIP tour and tipping.

[DisneyJen2020]

Just FYI, you are going to find a WIDE variety of answers and no consensus one way or the other, and a lot of people who don’t really want to reply, given the personal nature of tipping.

BTW, to the DIS!

Thank you, I appreciate that. Do you think $500/day ($1500 total) would make the guide feel taken care of or maybe they'd be wishing they were paired with another guest?

 

[Searc]

Do we need to plan to tip for Keys to the Kingdom? I know that’s different than a VIP tour but piggybacking here since I never thought of tipping for a tour.

I tipped my guide for the KTTK tour.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thank you, I appreciate that. Do you think $500/day ($1500 total) would make the guide feel taken care of or maybe they'd be wishing they were paired with another guest?

Well, I’m going to tip-toe around the subject myself.

I suspect there are plenty of people that don’t tip at all and there are those that will do something more like 20% (a not insignificant amount of money) - and every variation in between.

My experience with the plaids is they aren’t going to have a “wish they were paired with other guest” mindset - they are absolute pros (for the most part) and are very professional in their demeanor and interaction with guests. I personally place a high value on the service and don’t mind showing that appreciation through the tip - but that also doesn’t mean others are wrong if they feel differently. Such a personal topic for sure.

Sorry for the tight rope walk answer.

(BTW, not knowing the particulars of your plans/park style, my unsolicited comment is that 3 VIP tour days is a lot. I could maybe fill 2, but I’d struggle with 3!)

 

[DisneyJen2020]

I personally place a high value on the service and don’t mind showing that appreciation through the tip - but that also doesn’t mean others are wrong if they feel differently.

(BTW, not knowing the particulars of your plans/park style, my unsolicited comment is that 3 VIP tour days is a lot. I could maybe fill 2, but I’d struggle with 3!)

Thank you! Do you fall more to the 20 percent side of things, if I might ask? I love to take care of good service too. Adding 20 percent for three days would be about 3 grand in our case in 3 days. I assume the guests will be professional to us regardless but also want to show them we care. We have a 3 year old and 6 year old coming with, plus slow moving me. I was thinking a full day at MK with parade and fireworks and different rides for the different preferences of the group, and then a shorter but still full day at HS. Split day with AK/Epcot but we're also staying at Beach Club so will go over to World Showcase on our own one evening to walk around / do dinner / see Epcot Forever. We will stop to eat and use the transport etc. With kids needing periodic breaks and me not really wanting to stand in typical standby lines with my leg pain, I figure if there was ever a time to go big on the tours it's now.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'm going to Disney for a long weekend in March to celebrate my birthday. We've decided to get two 7-8 hour days and 1 10-12 hour day with a VIP guide, as I will be on crutches and will already be slowing down my party (hoping the VIP guide will help us make up some time). I think we will have the same person all three days. Our rate is $550 two of the days and $650 the third day (the third day starts a higher rate spike for spring break I think). Any advice on how much to tip generously but within reason? We'll have four adults and two kids total. Will probably stay at 1 park only for two of the days and do two parks the third day (we'll make sure the longer day is one of the lower rate days).

Do you really think you'll be able to walk 7-8 hours a day on crutches? Rent an ECV and save yourself a lot of pain!

 

[DisneyJen2020]

Do you really think you'll be able to walk 7-8 hours a day on crutches? Rent an ECV and save yourself a lot of pain!

I don't think I'll make it the whole time on crutches, I'll prob rent an ECV for part/all of it - but even with the ECV I'll be slow moving once I'm off it and getting on it /retrieving it, etc. Thank you!

 

[GoingSince1990]

Thank you, I appreciate that. Do you think $500/day ($1500 total) would make the guide feel taken care of or maybe they'd be wishing they were paired with another guest?

I would suggest $300 for each of the first two days and $400 for the third, so $1000 total, possibly to be adjusted up a bit if your guide is truly exceptional (or down if you feel your guide was substandard, which is rare but does happen sometimes). As I’ve said, tipping is truly not expected or assumed and I think your guide would be very happy with this amount.

 

[DisneyJen2020]

I would suggest $300 for each of the first two days and $400 for the third, so $1000 total, possibly to be adjusted up a bit if your guide is truly exceptional (or down if you feel your guide was substandard, which is rare but does happem sometimes). As I’ve said, tipping is truly not expected or assumed and I think your guide would be very happy with this amount.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[alliecat523]

We tipped $300 in cash.

 

[iivye]

We tipped $300 for a private vip tour for 3 people.

 

[cobright]

This is one of the few occasions I am in the camp of the lighter/non-tippers. Have been in a couple of largish VIP tour groups, and for my clan's part of the group (4 of us) on tours that were 8 hours each I tipped $250.00 for each tour.

At this expense, I wouldn't have felt obligated to tip at all if we had received merely satisfactory service. As is pretty common, from what I've read, our tour guides just nailed it. Went above and beyond. Even went so far as to shake loose a rare character (Friar Tuck) for Characterpalooza.

In one tour we paired up with some folks my wife works with, a family and a couple and they didn't tip anything. In that regard I was a little ashamed of the company I kept but the Cast Member didn't skip a beat, like that's totally normal. And really, in addition to whatever they got paid for those 8 hours I bumped their salary by $30 an hour.

To be fair, I was expecting good service and prepared to tip for it and I was also expecting all of my fellow tour-mates to be of the same mine. The second tour we did, the other family palmed a wad of green (as is proper) but that first trip, the girl really earned a little better at least than just my family put in.

 

[burg]

I will be taking my family on a 3-day tour and was wondering if the customary way to go about this is to tip by the end of the last day (which is my base plan). Would be awkward to me to tip every day given what the expectation of the guide might be ... thoughts?

 

[jagafen]

Our guide seemed very happy to be getting a tip at all; I suspect that quite often they get nothing.

I haven't done a Disney VIP tour, but we did a shared VIP tour over on the other side at Universal. There were at least 4 families/couples in our group. We planned on tipping, and did so at the end as described below (palming it). Even though I thought I was being discreet (we hung around for a picture with our guide afterwards), there was another couple waiting as well. The wife must have seen the palmed cash when I went to shake our guide's hand after the pic, and I saw her elbow her husband who then went digging in his wallet.

In one tour we paired up with some folks my wife works with, a family and a couple and they didn't tip anything. In that regard I was a little ashamed of the company I kept but the Cast Member didn't skip a beat, like that's totally normal. And really, in addition to whatever they got paid for those 8 hours I bumped their salary by $30 an hour.

Honestly, I think there are tippers, and non-tippers. DH and I were both servers and bartenders at various points during college, so we're tip minded. It baffles me to see others on a guided tour anywhere (e.g. cruise lines, all inclusive resorts, tourist dependent cities in general). We were in Belize this past summer on an all day snorkeling excursion, and 80% of those on the boat took off as soon as the lines were tied. Again, DH and I were 1 of 2 parties that tipped the crew (2 boat loads of tourists) for that run.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

whats a tour running now? about 5,500? for 7 hours?

 

[skippytx]

whats a tour running now? about 5,500? for 7 hours?

$425 to $750 an hour depending, 7 hour minimum.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

$425 to $750 an hour depending, 7 hour minimum.

so yup my math is mostly correct. That's steep. I would say being light on the tip isn't bad.

 

[cobright]

Honestly, I think there are tippers, and non-tippers. DH and I were both servers and bartenders at various points during college, so we're tip minded. It baffles me to see others on a guided tour anywhere (e.g. cruise lines, all inclusive resorts, tourist dependent cities in general). We were in Belize this past summer on an all day snorkeling excursion, and 80% of those on the boat took off as soon as the lines were tied. Again, DH and I were 1 of 2 parties that tipped the crew (2 boat loads of tourists) for that run.

whats a tour running now? about 5,500? for 7 hours?

Generally speaking I'm usually in the pro-tipping camp, especially in cases where that tip makes a significant contribution to the value of the service. But I sailed into Belize 4 years ago, an all day snorkeling excursion was about $100-150 a head and if you booked it through a cruise ship, the excursion was likely only paid about $50 a person. Tipping is absolutely the right thing to do.

The last tour we went on at Disney was right around $5k Like $500 a person. That's a premium. For the absolutely outstanding level of service we received I happily gave up a couple hundies. But this guide literally got us everything we asked for. Behind the curtain in Haunted Mansion, Private MnG with Fishy Ariel, A rare character from Robin Hood! For the other family in our group that really didn't mind just tagging along it seemed I think they'd be fine tipping anything or nothing really.

 

[F.R.I.D.A.Y.]

The last tour we went on at Disney was right around $5k Like $500 a person. That's a premium. For the absolutely outstanding level of service we received I happily gave up a couple hundies. But this guide literally got us everything we asked for. Behind the curtain in Haunted Mansion, Private MnG with Fishy Ariel, A rare character from Robin Hood! For the other family in our group that really didn't mind just tagging along it seemed I think they'd be fine tipping anything or nothing really.

Just want to add a bit of perspective to all this. Yes the tours are expensive, but the vast majority of the cost of the tour ends up in Disney's pockets. Guides are paid a VERY small percentage of the overall cost of the tour. Tips are certainly not required but tend to be very much appreciated.

 

[Sydnerella]

You are receiving a personal knowledgeable service that is working with you through the entire day. This is highly tipped personal service as far as tipping etiquette goes. For excellent service I would expect to tip no less than 20% until the experience costs got above $2000. If it was $600 per hour for 7 hours I think one could certainly afford a $500 tip.

For those who would disagree, if you cannot afford to tip accordingly then you should not do the experience. $100 for 7 hours seems inadequate when compared to tips a server might earn over a busy lunch shift would exceed that amount.

 

[WDWFan4ever]

I find this an interesting issue and there certainly isn't any right answer. Generally, I don't have a problem with tipping 20%. But it seems to be a bit unfair/inequitable that the same amount of effort by the Plaid gets rewarded vastly different simply by which day/month the trip is taken. I completely understand Disney charging more for peak periods as a matter of economics/demand. However, the effort put into each tour doesn't vary much by month/day. The Plaid still gets to cut the line and provides similar commentary regardless of time of year. The tip however could (almost) double depending on time of year despite no more effort on the Plaid's part. Or looking at it from the Plaid's perspective, if they pull a low per hour rate tour, could get 50% less in tip but still put in the same effort.