VIP Tour Report

[Jojo Cat Lady]

We just returned from our Disneyland VIP tour. We flew from PDX to LAX and used the Executive SUV service which I highly recommend. They were waiting for us at baggage claim and there was plenty of room for 5 adults and our 8 suitcases. The cost of $167 was less than other options we considered.

Our tour guide was "Matty," a very pleasant and knowledgeable young man who has worked for Disney for several years. We provided a list of the rides we wanted and off we went. We rode 7 rides in CA, including Incredicoaster and Goofy's Sky School several times in a row. We took a break for lunch and then managed 13 rides in Disneyland, some more than once.

We had dinner at the Blue Bayou, followed by reserved seating for Paint the Night parade and the fireworks. We had a great time but we were exhausted!

I was surprised to learn there were 45 VIP tour groups operating that day. There is capacity to have up to 60 groups a day. Do the math. That could be hundreds of people getting priority boarding. At some point, it would be difficult to accommodate everyone.

We were able to afford the trip and tour by reducing our usual 5-day stay to 3 days. This change saved 2 nights at GCH and 2 days of park tickets. DS is allowed to keep all the airline rewards earned through business trips for his company so that covered our air fare. And each of us use a Disney-branded Chase Visa card during the year, always paying the bill in full to avoid interest charges. Between us we had accumulated hundreds of "Disney Dollars" which went towards the trip.

Grandsons are now in college so it may be difficult to take a family trip in the future as they get busy with their adult lives. I'm glad we splurged on this very memorable trip.

 

[LKing]

Glad you had a great trip!

Did you get a choice of which location you wanted for your PTN VIP seating?

 

[Jojo Cat Lady]

There was a group of chairs facing the castle where the parade came down Main Street and turned the corner. We could sit anywhere within the roped-off area. We chose the front row and were only a few feet away from the floats.

 

[LKing]

There was a group of chairs facing the castle where the parade came down Main Street and turned the corner. We could sit anywhere within the roped-off area. We chose the front row and were only a few feet away from the floats.

That would be my first choice of locations. I wonder how they choose which VIP tours sit there and which sit by Small World.

How crowded was it for fireworks? Were people waiting in front of the castle (but not along the parade route) early? Did you notice a large surge of people into that area after the parade was over?

 

[Jojo Cat Lady]

It was very crowded with people on the curb along the route and laying on the pavement in front of the castle. Security was constantly making people back up. And it was packed with people trying to exit when the fireworks were over.