Just returned from WDW and we did a VIP tour for the first time. Here's a quick review:
It was myself, DW, and DDs 6 and 4. We booked about three months in advance and the rate for mid March was $400/hr, with 6 hr minimum.
We had it set for pickup at 9am from our hotel, the Swan. We got down to the lobby a few minutes beforehand and at 9am on the dot, a Disney CM walked through the door of the hotel. I approached her and asked if she was looking for us, and she indeed was our guide. Her name was Lauren (Medford, NJ). We quickly introduced her to the girls and she led us to a large white panel van. When Lauren opened the door, the van already had two carseats installed with 2 stuffed Minnie toys waiting for the girls. Lauren loaded up our stroller and we were on our way all by 9:05.
She asked us where we wanted to start and of course I said MK and I gave her a list of 13 rides/Meet and Greets I had already chosen. She said that would make her job a lot easier today. We drove straight to MK, past the Contemporary into a side entrance for the park. We stopped in a small lot and another CM was there to scan our magic bands. Lauren took care of the stroller and immediately got behind the bar and it became pretty clear that she would be doing all the pushing that day. I gotta admit, it was nice to get a day off from that
We entered MK right next to Buzz Lightyear which was on our list. She walked us through the fast pass line all the way up to the loading point, which was the same routine she led us through the rest of the day. She met us at the ride exit with our stroller where we proceeded to the next ride. The timestamp on our ride pics was 9:21am. After Buzz, we did Tomorrowland Speedway, 7DMT, Ariel, Peter Pan, Cindy/Rapunzel, Anna/Elsa, and Haunted Mansion. At that point it was about 11:15 and we decided to have lunch at Columbia Harbour House. Laruen ate with us (she paid for her lunch) and she took us upstairs to a table in a quite corner of the restaurant. My wife was looking for Ranch dressing and couldn't find it by the condiments and was just going to go without, but Lauren got up and found a CM who came back with 5 huge packets for us. It took us about 40 minutes to eat and then we left to ride BTMR followed by POTC.
After that, we walked back to the exit behind Buzz Lightyear, where the van was waiting for us with the engine on and the AC running. We drove to Epcot where we parked behind the Test Track ride and again, entered through a side entrance. My DD didn't want to ride TT and wanted to stay behind with Lauren, so we went up to the loading area, and Lauren took DD with her and told us she would meet us at unloading. When we were done, DD said she had a nice time telling Lauren about all of her favorite DisJR TV shows like the 7D. Then we went to Spaceship Earth, which was the one time we didn't go through the Fastpass line. instead, we walked in a side entrance through a very narrow doorway and to where the riders were unloading. We got on there before the other riders got on. After that, we rode Soarin which was our final ride of the day. After that, we said goodbye to Lauren and took a couple final pictures and she walked away at 2:55pm on the dot. We could have continued with the tour after 3:00 at a rate of $100/15 minutes. We did not tip, as our confirmation letter we got at booking explicitly said gratuities not accepted.
I would say we went at a leisurely pace the whole day and I was happy to get everything on my list done in 6 hours. Lauren was very good with my children and they became attached to her in a very short time. The VIP guide will get you into any Fast pass entrance in the parks, except ETWB. Once in the FP line, you wait like everyone else, and do not go to the front of the line. However, we didn't wait very long in any of the FP lines. The day we went was probably an 8 crowd level day. Lauren said on a usual day, Disney does about 43 VIP tours, but that day had about 80 scheduled due to Spring Break. She said Christmas time was the busiest.
I think I would do it again. It was on of the best days we had in the parks and we didn't feel tired at all after 6 hours, mostly because we didn't spend much of it standing in a line. Our kids liked having an extra friend to talk to and Lauren even rode a couple of the rides with us.
If anyone has any specific questions, let me know,
It was myself, DW, and DDs 6 and 4. We booked about three months in advance and the rate for mid March was $400/hr, with 6 hr minimum.
We had it set for pickup at 9am from our hotel, the Swan. We got down to the lobby a few minutes beforehand and at 9am on the dot, a Disney CM walked through the door of the hotel. I approached her and asked if she was looking for us, and she indeed was our guide. Her name was Lauren (Medford, NJ). We quickly introduced her to the girls and she led us to a large white panel van. When Lauren opened the door, the van already had two carseats installed with 2 stuffed Minnie toys waiting for the girls. Lauren loaded up our stroller and we were on our way all by 9:05.
She asked us where we wanted to start and of course I said MK and I gave her a list of 13 rides/Meet and Greets I had already chosen. She said that would make her job a lot easier today. We drove straight to MK, past the Contemporary into a side entrance for the park. We stopped in a small lot and another CM was there to scan our magic bands. Lauren took care of the stroller and immediately got behind the bar and it became pretty clear that she would be doing all the pushing that day. I gotta admit, it was nice to get a day off from that
We entered MK right next to Buzz Lightyear which was on our list. She walked us through the fast pass line all the way up to the loading point, which was the same routine she led us through the rest of the day. She met us at the ride exit with our stroller where we proceeded to the next ride. The timestamp on our ride pics was 9:21am. After Buzz, we did Tomorrowland Speedway, 7DMT, Ariel, Peter Pan, Cindy/Rapunzel, Anna/Elsa, and Haunted Mansion. At that point it was about 11:15 and we decided to have lunch at Columbia Harbour House. Laruen ate with us (she paid for her lunch) and she took us upstairs to a table in a quite corner of the restaurant. My wife was looking for Ranch dressing and couldn't find it by the condiments and was just going to go without, but Lauren got up and found a CM who came back with 5 huge packets for us. It took us about 40 minutes to eat and then we left to ride BTMR followed by POTC.
After that, we walked back to the exit behind Buzz Lightyear, where the van was waiting for us with the engine on and the AC running. We drove to Epcot where we parked behind the Test Track ride and again, entered through a side entrance. My DD didn't want to ride TT and wanted to stay behind with Lauren, so we went up to the loading area, and Lauren took DD with her and told us she would meet us at unloading. When we were done, DD said she had a nice time telling Lauren about all of her favorite DisJR TV shows like the 7D. Then we went to Spaceship Earth, which was the one time we didn't go through the Fastpass line. instead, we walked in a side entrance through a very narrow doorway and to where the riders were unloading. We got on there before the other riders got on. After that, we rode Soarin which was our final ride of the day. After that, we said goodbye to Lauren and took a couple final pictures and she walked away at 2:55pm on the dot. We could have continued with the tour after 3:00 at a rate of $100/15 minutes. We did not tip, as our confirmation letter we got at booking explicitly said gratuities not accepted.
I would say we went at a leisurely pace the whole day and I was happy to get everything on my list done in 6 hours. Lauren was very good with my children and they became attached to her in a very short time. The VIP guide will get you into any Fast pass entrance in the parks, except ETWB. Once in the FP line, you wait like everyone else, and do not go to the front of the line. However, we didn't wait very long in any of the FP lines. The day we went was probably an 8 crowd level day. Lauren said on a usual day, Disney does about 43 VIP tours, but that day had about 80 scheduled due to Spring Break. She said Christmas time was the busiest.
I think I would do it again. It was on of the best days we had in the parks and we didn't feel tired at all after 6 hours, mostly because we didn't spend much of it standing in a line. Our kids liked having an extra friend to talk to and Lauren even rode a couple of the rides with us.
If anyone has any specific questions, let me know,
That's the way you do it!
! Lol
But the other tours just seem like.......regular days you can have anyway??? Yes, you are going to 3 parks in a day, so I guess maybe if you only have 1 day and the tour includes all (and only) the rides you want to do anyway, it could be worth it to some. I don't think they'd ever be worth it to me; not because of the cost so much, but because I'd feel like I wasn't enjoying the parks and I was rushing through (maybe - obviously I can't say it would definitely feel rushed since I haven't done it 
