VIP tour & one day on our own - any suggestions?

[Raya]

We have a quick trip (arrive Saturday, leave Wednesday) and are trying to decide how to handle our park plans. With less than 30 days to go concerns about crowds and Covid mounting, so we're considering a VIP tour.

Can anyone speak to what we should or shouldn't try to do on our own outside of the tour?
Are we better off with a Sunday, before the tour, park day or a Tuesday, after the tour, park day?
What times are best to start the tour? We'll probably do 7 or 8 hours of VIP time, should we schedule it to wrap up at the last park or start with rope drop?
We currently have 2 park hopper tickets, is it worth the hassle to switch to non-park hoppers as the tour lets you park hop?

 

[jormom1030]

I thought several people posted that VIP tours are completely booked already for months.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I don't believe a VIP tour will be an option. They're filling to capacity at the 60 day mark within a short time of opening.

 

[Raya]

So after a long hold time I was told they are currently booked but the wait-list often gets offered tours. Also they often have day of availability if I call at 9am.

 

[sophy1996]

I think they may require hopper tickets if you want the VIP tour to go to more than one park. I recall the CM checking the status of our tickets when I booked our tour.

You still have to have a park reservation for the first park, so if you get the tour day-of then you may have to start at whichever park you already have a reservation for (unless they can change it).

I would always prefer going to the parks on a Tuesday rather than a weekend.

We scheduled our tour to start at 10 and it was really nice to not have to worry about rope drop. But we went before fireworks restarted, so didn’t mind ending @5. If you want them to get you a place for a nighttime show, plan the start time accordingly.

 

[SkyGuy]

We have a quick trip (arrive Saturday, leave Wednesday) and are trying to decide how to handle our park plans. With less than 30 days to go concerns about crowds and Covid mounting, so we're considering a VIP tour.

Can anyone speak to what we should or shouldn't try to do on our own outside of the tour?
Are we better off with a Sunday, before the tour, park day or a Tuesday, after the tour, park day?
What times are best to start the tour? We'll probably do 7 or 8 hours of VIP time, should we schedule it to wrap up at the last park or start with rope drop?
We currently have 2 park hopper tickets, is it worth the hassle to switch to non-park hoppers as the tour lets you park hop?

You must have park hopper tickets in order to hop even with a VIP Tour, so don’t switch your tickets if you think you’ll be fortunate enough to snag one.

 

[trivan]

What time and what to do on your non-tour day is really going to be based upon your personal preference.
When fireworks were being done, we started the tour late so we can end at the MK with access to the VIP section. We love the fireworks but hate the camping out for spots so this worked for us. You can end the tour then or have the Plaid wait to drive you back to your hotel (to save that hour of tour time). Our last tour, no fireworks so we started at 9am. Non-tour day for us is about getting to a few rides early and then just find attractions which have little wait as we would have done all our ride requirements during the tour. Relax the rest of the day and snack!