VIP tour question

[mmouse50]

Would it be worth doing a VIP tour for a group of 10 that includes 4 kids, (2) under 2, (1) 3 year old plus (1) 4 year old and only do MK? They are all under 44 inches. Is that too much child swapping? I know that you have to have tickets but do I need Genie+ for that day to get the download of ride pictures on memory maker?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Would it be worth doing a VIP tour for a group of 10 that includes 4 kids, (2) under 2, (1) 3 year old plus (1) 4 year old and only do MK? They are all under 44 inches. Is that too much child swapping? I know that you have to have tickets but do I need Genie+ for that day to get the download of ride pictures on memory maker?

That's really only a question you can answer as this tour is thousands of dollars for the 1 day. You will not need Genie+. Are you familiar with VIP Tours?

Tours start at a minimum of $3,150 plus park admission for each guest, food and tips.

 

[R&RsMom]

We did a tour in October 2021. Hit all 4 parks, but spent at least half the time in Hollywood Studios. Did all the main attractions in HS; Space, Big Thunder, and Mine Train in MK; I think just FOP and Everest in AK; and just Remy in Epcot. We did stop for QS lunch in HS. Tour went from 10-5. We got there early and rode TOT and Rockin Roller Coaster during early entry. And again with the guide. We did Food and Wine at Epcot for dinner, and found our own places for Harmonious. I tipped $400 in cash, in an envelope. I pretty much think everyone tips. (Our day was one of the cheaper ones per hour.)
I agree with others that I would not do Oga’s, any sit down, or a droid-building experience. We had a another day at HS for that.

 

[CeCe0906]

We did our tour on our last day. Started at Hollywood Studios around noon. We arrived at open, and did Mickeys Runaway Railway, Star Tours, The Frozen show, browsed a couple of shops, and had a snack, bathroom break and then met our guide,

Did the rides in Galaxy's Edge, took some cool photos, Did Toy Story area rides, Slinky Dog 2x back to back!, runaway railway again, then had a quick meal, while the guide and I talked about what else we wanted to do that day; some people only snack, but while we didn't do hour long huge meal, I needed a short break. My young gd didn't want to to TOT or Rocin Rollercoaster, so we moved on. When we went the Indiana Jones show and Fantasmic weren't running, so that wasn't in the plan, but I would have hopped over on a different day than tour for those anyway.

We decided to finish up our day doing things at MK, that were favorites or we didn't do on our MK time, but when my granddaughter expressed disappointment that test track had been down, we had a new plan.
Our guide drove us from HS to Epcot, parked in a back stage area near test track, we popped in and rode, then we went to MK for the rest of the day with rides ending with fireworks arriving at the reserved area about 8 minutes before they started. It's only sit on the grass, not chairs, we lots of space and a great view!

What my feet appreciated most at the end of the day, was the ride home! When the fireworks ended, we were whisked out of a close side door, walked only a few steps to her waiting car, and were driven back to the Dolphin, arriving probably before most of the people made it to their resort bus!

Our guide was great! She provided some waters along the way, and much needed tech help with mobile order, etc. Her name was Stephanie.

It was nice to do on the last day, it enabled us to do things we missed or loved, or might have been busy or down. The ability of the guide to park in different backstage areas, to maybe just do a couple of rides in another park was nice, as well as the ability of the guide to communicate with other guides about lines, crowds, etc was helpful to make the most of your day. And the best routes to avoid backtracking to conserve steps!

Make a list of your must dos, and they will do their best to make it happen. You can always adjust on the fly.

 

[CeCe0906]

Hi guys, thank you in advance for any input. Planning on 1 tour - splitting between Epcot and DHS. Would love for my 5 yo daughter to experience all the rides, as she is definitely excited for that. I have 3 yo too. But also want to take in the park itself, definitely all the Star Wars stuff, stop at the Cantina, have a drink with the kids, look at droids, ect…but I have a feeling the VIP tour is more of a hustle bustle type tour. Of course you want to get your moneys worth.

For those who have done VIP, did you go back to the same park another day for some “sightseeing?” Any insight would be great!

Additionally - before even thinking of VIP, was planning on getting Plaza viewing tickets for Enchantment. Now since we are doing VIP, do we get guaranteed good viewing spots for fireworks shows? Will it be at the Plaza?

Thanks again!

Just remember the 7 to 10 hour VIP Tour are continuous, so that would be an expensive droid, at about 600/ hr. Maybe do the droid building and roaming around Galaxys Edge pre tour in the morning. That and evening are best, not a lot of shade there. We did take breaks on our tour, but usually used them for a purpose, to mobile order a snack/ bathroom break, check in with what we wanted to do. We didn't shop or do shows on the clock, so to speak. But we did do photo ops, and a character meet., as well as rides.

 

[mmouse50]

I guess what I am really asking is whether a VIP tour is worth it for my group that includes 4 children 4 and under so that we don’t have to stand in lines or is best when used with older children that want to ride everything? I am trying to weigh the pros and cons. With the little ones in tow is it just better to use Genie+ and paid LL to get the best use of park time knowing that we will have to do child swaps for most of the bigger rides.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I guess what I am really asking is whether a VIP tour is worth it for my group that includes 4 children 4 and under so that we don’t have to stand in lines or is best when used with older children that want to ride everything? I am trying to weigh the pros and cons. With the little ones in tow is it just better to use Genie+ and paid LL to get the best use of park time knowing that we will have to do child swaps for most of the bigger rides.

This is only a decision you can make as only your group knows your financial statuses. Is it ‘worth it’ for your group to be paying hundreds of dollars/hour for people to be sitting with the little ones while others ride? It is reality while using child swap that members of your family are entertaining children while the others are on the attraction. If it’s ‘worth it’ is a decision you group needs to look at. You can get a lot done in 7plus hours but not as much if you weren’t doing child swap but, child swap is part of your trip regardless of a VIP Tour.

Also, please note the demand for these tours is higher than the number of tours available so it’s a possibility you will not be able to secure one the day your 60 day window opens.

 

[mmouse50]

Thank you - I guess I will try to master Genue+ and use paid lighting lanes and save the expense until I can truly utilize the value of the tour.

 

[CeCe0906]

I guess what I am really asking is whether a VIP tour is worth it for my group that includes 4 children 4 and under so that we don’t have to stand in lines or is best when used with older children that want to ride everything? I am trying to weigh the pros and cons. With the little ones in tow is it just better to use Genie+ and paid LL to get the best use of park time knowing that we will have to do child swaps for most of the bigger rides.

Be aware that with kids under 18, the guide can't wait alone with them while you ride, so you will still be using the ride swap on rides that they can't do.

 

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

Be aware that with kids under 18, the guide can't wait alone with them while you ride, so you will still be using the ride swap on rides that they can't do.

This is not entirely accurate. Guides are prohibited from having kids under 18 alone on a tour without an adult being on the tour with them. So a guide couldn't take a group of children on a tour alone while all the adults stay at the resort. However, guides are permitted to stay alone with children under 18 to help avoid the need to child swap. In this scenario, it is left solely to the guide's discretion to make the decision as to whether that is something they will offer to do. Many guides are willing to do this, some will not, and some will only offer depending on the situation. But in no circumstances is it required of the guide, and guests doing VIP Tours should prepare their expectations accordingly.

In the PP's case, I imagine it would be unlikely that a guide would feel comfortable staying alone with 4 very young children who also don't know him or her, so I would advise they should plan on needing to child swap whether doing a VIP Tour or not.

 

[katied]

I would not do it with those ages. The tour is too exhausting… too much stimulation… sort of ruins part of their experience.

we did a VIP tour last Christmas time. Friends joined with their kids, age 3 and 7. My kids were 11 and 14. I don’t think the 3 yr old would say he got much out of it… he was exhausted, missed some of the “fun” of the lines and theming.

i think Genie+ works great for MK, and gives you more control. We always did afternoon nap breaks at that age too.

 

[CeCe0906]

This is not entirely accurate. Guides are prohibited from having kids under 18 alone on a tour without an adult being on the tour with them. So a guide couldn't take a group of children on a tour alone while all the adults stay at the resort. However, guides are permitted to stay alone with children under 18 to help avoid the need to child swap. In this scenario, it is left solely to the guide's discretion to make the decision as to whether that is something they will offer to do. Many guides are willing to do this, some will not, and some will only offer depending on the situation. But in no circumstances is it required of the guide, and guests doing VIP Tours should prepare their expectations accordingly.

In the PP's case, I imagine it would be unlikely that a guide would feel comfortable staying alone with 4 very young children who also don't know him or her, so I would advise they should plan on needing to child swap whether doing a VIP Tour or not.

Ok. That's just what my guide told me this past summer. On my first tour in 2021 at WDW , it didn't come up. But last summer at DL, the guide specifically said she couldn't wait at the exit with our 5 yr old, per policy. Which was fine, I could see they could be worried about legal issues. If you are ever at DL, Erica is a great guide. We had my 3 grandkids ages 5,7, and 9 with us and they loved her. They were disappointed on our day after our tour that she wasn't coming with us again!

 

[katied]

Also, based on our experience, it depends on if the guide needs to go thru two checkpoints… many have two points, so the guide cannot wait out with kids. For us, the adults in the group took turns missing rides to hang with the 3 yr old.

 

[Sakura1017]

Agree with the above that the VIP tours are yours to do with as you want. However, if you are there for a few days I’d recommend skipping things you can do easily on other days and using the VIP tours for things that take a long time or can’t easily be done at the parks.

I have kiddos 1-2 years older than yours. We have been doing 3-4 park days a trip, recently with 1 VIP thrown in there. The VIP tour has been used to crank out rides or things we cannot easily do and use other days for wandering the parks, eating, and doing rides at a more leisurely pace.

Not sure when your trip is yet, but if you are not at the 60 day mark yet for dining reservations, I had my pick of Oga’s Cantina reservations for our fall trip. They have gotten much, much easier to get. I’d recommend a non-VIP tour day to visit the star wars area, wander, shop, go to Oga’s, take in the droids, etc. Build some of the plastic lightsabers with the kids (I think that’s at Tatooine Traders, the pricey ones that require reservations are at Savi’s).

For your fireworks questions - we ended our most recent tour at magic kingdom for enchantment. There is a separate VIP tours only viewing area that is on the green in front of the plaza closest to Main Street (so more center than the other plaza viewing greens). And when we did it, not crowded with room to lay out and be no where near anyoneeeee. It was amazing and I’d do it again.

If you do a vip tour in the beginning of the day, are you later able to go the vip tour viewing area for fireworks? Or does it have to overlap with your vip tour time to get the viewing area?

 

[MiketheGrate]

If you do a vip tour in the beginning of the day, are you later able to go the vip tour viewing area for fireworks? Or does it have to overlap with your vip tour time to get the viewing area?

They've told us that your day does need to end at the fireworks time in order to get into the VIP area. Basically, they have to hand you off to the VIP folks and those folks aren't set up until relatively shortly before the show starts.

 

[Sakura1017]

They've told us that your day does need to end at the fireworks time in order to get into the VIP area. Basically, they have to hand you off to the VIP folks and those folks aren't set up until relatively shortly before the show starts.

So I would have to try to book the Disney vip tour not the keys to the kingdom tour? In addition, if you do the multiple parks in 1 day, do you need to buy passes for each park ahead of time?

 

[MiketheGrate]

So I would have to try to book the Disney vip tour not the keys to the kingdom tour? In addition, if you do the multiple parks in 1 day, do you need to buy passes for each park ahead of time?

I don't know about whether the Keys to the Kingdom tour gets you access to the VIP area or not; I've not done that one.

I do know that for the VIP Tour, you need a ticket for each person in your party and a park reservation for the park where you're going to meet your VIP guide for the day. I don't know this for a fact, but I think you need it to be a Park Hopper ticket if you want to move parks.

 

[holden]

I don't know about whether the Keys to the Kingdom tour gets you access to the VIP area or not; I've not done that one.

I do know that for the VIP Tour, you need a ticket for each person in your party and a park reservation for the park where you're going to meet your VIP guide for the day. I don't know this for a fact, but I think you need it to be a Park Hopper ticket if you want to move parks.

We've done two VIP tours and had hoppers for both. I believe you need a hopper to hop.

 

[SkyGuy]

We've done two VIP tours and had hoppers for both. I believe you need a hopper to hop.

This is correct. If you want to visit more than one park on a VIP tour, you need park hoppers. You also need a park reservation for the park in which you’d like to begin - at least that was the case for the last VIP tour we took (Sept 2021).

 

[jo-jo]

Just curious, when you go rides with the VIP tour. Is it front of line or just LL? Some of those LL lines can eat up a lot of time.

I'm waiting to win a lottery before doing a tour.