VIP tour or GCH & Genie+ for 9 teens and me?

[GoingSince1990]

Tour. And you don’t need to tip 20%. Something like $200-$300 is just fine.

 

[AndrewC]

No one likes the shows huh? Those VIP seat for Fantasmic look dreamy! I would love to watch the show from that vantage point. My favorite show!

I don’t think I’ve noticed those before, where are they located? Also, is there still seating for VIPs right in front of the castle for the fireworks?

And if tours aren’t skipping to the front… what’s the average wait for some of the major stuff (Indy, Space Mt, Haunted Mansion) on a “normally busy day” when standby is like 45-70 minutes.

Edit: I guess I just thought VIP tours had a little more direct access to stuff. What about attractions that don’t have LL? Could you be waiting 40+ minutes for Toad? I mean a random date in October would be ~$3,200 minimum, that’s almost $460/hr and kinda would suck to spend that amount of money waiting to get on a Fantasy Land attraction…

 

[CeCe0906]

I don’t think I’ve noticed those before, where are they located? Also, is there still seating for VIPs right in front of the castle for the fireworks?

And if tours aren’t skipping to the front… what’s the average wait for some of the major stuff (Indy, Space Mt, Haunted Mansion) on a “normally busy day” when standby is like 45-70 minutes.

Edit: I guess I just thought VIP tours had a little more direct access to stuff. What about attractions that don’t have LL? Could you be waiting 40+ minutes for Toad? I mean a random date in October would be ~$3,200 minimum, that’s almost $460/hr and kinda would suck to spend that amount of money waiting to get on a Fantasy Land attraction…

For attractions without LL, most enter from exit, just like DAS.

 

[twodogs]

I don’t think I’ve noticed those before, where are they located? Also, is there still seating for VIPs right in front of the castle for the fireworks?

And if tours aren’t skipping to the front… what’s the average wait for some of the major stuff (Indy, Space Mt, Haunted Mansion) on a “normally busy day” when standby is like 45-70 minutes.

Edit: I guess I just thought VIP tours had a little more direct access to stuff. What about attractions that don’t have LL? Could you be waiting 40+ minutes for Toad? I mean a random date in October would be ~$3,200 minimum, that’s almost $460/hr and kinda would suck to spend that amount of money waiting to get on a Fantasy Land attraction…

And for holiday dates (for example Columbus Day weekend, the entire weekend), it’s $700/hour. So $4900 minimum, plus tickets and PH if you want to hop, which I would think you would.

They have alternate entrances/access to exits on non-LL rides, as I understand it from the tour we just booked (we’ve done them at WDW but this is our first at DLR). So I would think the lines for non-LL would be pretty short.

 

[GoingSince1990]

For attractions without LL, most enter from exit, just like DAS.

One of the biggest benefits of a tour is the near-instant access to non-LL rides such as Peter Pan, Alice, Snow White, Mr Toad, and Storybook Land. If not for this I would hesitate to buy a tour, as on a multi-day trip you can easily do all the LL rides at a fraction of the cost, just by buying Genie+ and paying for ROTR, RSR and WS.

 

[smiles33]

One of the biggest benefits of a tour is the near-instant access to non-LL rides such as Peter Pan, Alice, Snow White, Mr Toad, and Storybook Land. If not for this I would hesitate to buy a tour, as on a multi-day trip you can easily do all the LL rides at a fraction of the cost, just by buying Genie+ and paying for ROTR, RSR and WS.

True, this is why I hesitated to book a VIP tour since we don’t plan to go on any of the non LL rides. Every ride we want has LL. However, you can only use Genie+ once per ride per day, so you can’t get multiple rides. Back in the pre-Genie+ days, we would ride GOTG, Space, Splash, Incredicoaster, and other favorites multiple times per day by rope dropping and getting FP.

 

[smiles33]

And for holiday dates (for example Columbus Day weekend, the entire weekend), it’s $700/hour. So $4900 minimum, plus tickets and PH if you want to hop, which I would think you would.

They have alternate entrances/access to exits on non-LL rides, as I understand it from the tour we just booked (we’ve done them at WDW but this is our first at DLR). So I would think the lines for non-LL would be pretty short.

Yes, this is what we are paying for summer/high season. With a 7 hour min, it’s almost $5,000 which is why I initially thought it was a bit much to tip 20% (which is my normal tipping amount for everything else).

 

[GoingSince1990]

Yes, this is what we are paying for summer/high season. With a 7 hour min, it’s almost $5,000 which is why I initially thought it was a bit much to tip 20% (which is my normal tipping amount for everything else).

Sometimes a percentage basis just doesn’t make sense. For example our pool service for the season costs several thousand dollars, but we don’t tip the pool guys 20% of that. And sometimes 20% is too low; I will always tip an Uber driver at least $5, even if it is a $10 ride. If everyone tipped the VIP guides $1000, their annual income would be about $250,000 from tips alone, on top of their normal salary. Tips for tours are genuinely not expected, and Disney actually makes it quite difficult to tip, as there is no way to add the tip to the credit card you use to pay for the tour. For our recent $4900 tour we had an excellent guide (as usual) and I brought an envelope with $300 cash for the tip.

 

[GoingSince1990]

True, this is why I hesitated to book a VIP tour since we don’t plan to go on any of the non LL rides. Every ride we want has LL. However, you can only use Genie+ once per ride per day, so you can’t get multiple rides. Back in the pre-Genie+ days, we would ride GOTG, Space, Splash, Incredicoaster, and other favorites multiple times per day by rope dropping and getting FP.

One thing to bear in mind is that while on a tour you can ride most rides multiple times, but this does not apply to ROTR or WS, for which your guide will need to get a return time. You might be able to ride more than once but for these two rides you can’t just keep riding over and over again.

 

[smiles33]

Sometimes a percentage basis just doesn’t make sense. For example our pool service for the season costs several thousand dollars, but we don’t tip the pool guys 20% of that. And sometimes 20% is too low; I will always tip an Uber driver at least $5, even if it is a $10 ride. If everyone tipped the VIP guides $1000, their annual income would be about $250,000 from tips alone, on top of their normal salary. Tips for tours are genuinely not expected, and Disney actually makes it quite difficult to tip, as there is no way to add the tip to the credit card you use to pay for the tour. For our recent $4900 tour we had an excellent guide (as usual) and I brought an envelope with $300 cash for the tip.

Yes, very true. I always tip at least $5 even if it’s a $10 Uber ride. But for higher priced services (e.g., a $500 instacart order), I still tip 20% so that’s $100. I’ve just never had a service cost several thousand dollars that I needed to tip for (we don’t have a pool service). Anyhow, I will bring $300 cash. Thanks again!

 

[smiles33]

One thing to bear in mind is that while on a tour you can ride most rides multiple times, but this does not apply to ROTR or WS, for which your guide will need to get a return time. You might be able to ride more than once but for these two rides you can’t just keep riding over and over again.

Yes, I read that on here so I know those rides can only be ridden once on the VIP tour and we won’t get to go twice unless we rope drop them.