What VIP Tour Guides Can do...

[Scarlet_J]

On our next trip we plan to have a VIP tour guide for at least one day. I am hoping someone can tell me more about what they can/will or can't/will not do to help me plan out our days. I know to give them a list of must do rides, but I had questions about a few other things.

1) Can they get us into a table service restaurant without an ADR? I'm not talking about anything hard to get like a character meal or BOG. But if we decide we want to sit down for a meal and there is a wait for walk ups, would they be able to get us in fairly quickly? (I want to note that I realize it is a waste of our time with the guide to do this, but if its hot and the kids are tired, we may need the break.

2) Can they get us a good spot for the festival of fantasy parade? And maybe one that is not in the blazing sun? I think the kids would really like it but I hate to wait in the heat and sun for a decent spot.

3) Can they get us good seats for a nighttime show like rivers of light at the end of our day?

 

[slford00]

1) I'm not sure about this, maybe someone else can answer. I highly doubt they could get into a super covered/limited availability place (like BOG), but I wouldn't be surprised if they could work some magic at other places.

2) Yes. When we did VIP day, during FoF parade the guide took us to an exclusive area only for VIPs (including actual, non-paying VIP people... we were sitting next to Walt's granddaughter!). It was to the side of the bridge from Liberty Square to the castle Hub and in the shade; they have a few benches there for sitting. In that stretch, theres no crowds on either side of the road (on the bridge), so the people sitting there get literally 100% of the attention from parade characters. It was fantastic.

3) We didn't do this because I didn't want to use 1 of our 8 hours sitting and waiting for and during a show when we otherwise would have unlimited FP. But I think they can do this.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi there. I’ll see if I can help with some of your questions.

1) You can ask and they may be able to help, but there are no guarantees. If you really are waiting until day of to decide dining, it works best if you can give them a heads up of what you want earlier that day so they can call ahead, see what they can work out, etc. I wouldn’t count out something like a BOG lunch, it’s possible. YMMV of course and group size probably plays a role too.

3) Yes, there are reserved seating/viewing spots for VIP tours - but you still need to be “on the clock” with the guide to use them, just FYI.

 

[anomamatt]

1) We have never done this on a tour, but I'm sure they will try. If you ask for something, they will do everything they can to accommodate it. And not dining related, but we have asked for things that a guide tried to accommodate and was denied (in both cases by a MK manager). But just about any reasonable request (like a last minute "emergency" dining reservation) they will try their hardest to make happen.

2) We have always watched parades from the train station (reserved section on the second floor).

3) Yes, but as @GADisneyDad14 said, they need to be there with you the whole time. The nice thing though is that you don't need to really wait... you have seating reserved ahead of time and can just walk to it last minute.

 

[Alison S]

How much does this cost? Just curious!

 

[anomamatt]

How much does this cost? Just curious!

$425-650/hour (pricing is seasonal, but can vary from one day to the next) with a minimum of 7 (continuous) hours.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/private-vip-tours/

 

[mefordis]

$425-650/hour (pricing is seasonal, but can vary from one day to the next) with a minimum of 7 (continuous) hours.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/private-vip-tours/

 

[baler31]

1. Yes, we have done this. We typically tell them we are unsure of our dining plans and may do table or QS depending on how we feel at the time. It has never been a problem.
2. Yes, we have been on the Liberty Square Bridge and the train station. Not sure which area they are currently using.
3. Yes, but just like the parade any shows should be arranged before so they reserve space for you. They are great at timing the night time events and we have literally been seated and 2 seconds later the show starts.

 

[rlk]

We just had a VIP tour a few weeks ago.
1. We didn't do a sit-down meal during our tour. Disney Special Services were helpful in getting me a BOG dinner reservation prior to our trip. I don't know if they have special access or it was just luck.

2. We watched FoF parade at the train station. It's great viewing especially for the high floats in the parade, plus it is shaded up there.

3. If you ask, they will get you VIP viewing for nighttime shows.

 

[FSU Girl]

So special VIP viewing of a firework show isn’t included? I did this in Disneyland and we picked the show we wanted and they put us on a list. Our tour had ended hours previously so we weren’t escorted there

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So special VIP viewing of a firework show isn’t included? I did this in Disneyland and we picked the show we wanted and they put us on a list. Our tour had ended hours previously so we weren’t escorted there

No, not at WDW. You need to still be on the clock/with your guide to use any of the reserved viewing locations.

 

[rlk]

You can choose a start time that would encompass a fireworks show. The private VIP tour needs to be booked for a minimum of 7 hours. You can decide the day of the tour to continue after the 7 hours; you will be charged accordingly.

 

[AngiTN]

1. Seems like a huge waste when it's so easy to book so many meals at Disney with no advance notice needed. The A in advanced can be 5 minutes done right on the app by you. Why would you do that while paying someone $500/hr?

2. Again, something you can do very easily all by yourself only about 15 min before the parade starts down in Frontier Land. Even on crowded days, like NYE. Just be near where they are going to close of the Walk way. Again, no reason to pay some one $500/hr to sit there while you watch a parade

 

[baler31]

1. Seems like a huge waste when it's so easy to book so many meals at Disney with no advance notice needed. The A in advanced can be 5 minutes done right on the app by you. Why would you do that while paying someone $500/hr?

2. Again, something you can do very easily all by yourself only about 15 min before the parade starts down in Frontier Land. Even on crowded days, like NYE. Just be near where they are going to close of the Walk way. Again, no reason to pay some one $500/hr to sit there while you watch a parade

They can do so much more with timing though.

1. We usually book 2-midnight in the summer and we have to dine during that period. TS usually does not take a lot longer than QS
2. One summer years ago when hours and shows were more frequent we saw all 3 nighttime events. We were ferried backstage and basically arrived and the shows started.

There is a huge time savings to VIP tours. Some of our family members fly in and only have the day of and fly out that night so for us it is important.

 

[rlk]

1. Seems like a huge waste when it's so easy to book so many meals at Disney with no advance notice needed. The A in advanced can be 5 minutes done right on the app by you. Why would you do that while paying someone $500/hr?

2. Again, something you can do very easily all by yourself only about 15 min before the parade starts down in Frontier Land. Even on crowded days, like NYE. Just be near where they are going to close of the Walk way. Again, no reason to pay some one $500/hr to sit there while you watch a parade

They can do so much more with timing though.

1. We usually book 2-midnight in the summer and we have to dine during that period. TS usually does not take a lot longer than QS
2. One summer years ago when hours and shows were more frequent we saw all 3 nighttime events. We were ferried backstage and basically arrived and the shows started.

There is a huge time savings to VIP tours. Some of our family members fly in and only have the day of and fly out that night so for us it is important.

We really enjoyed our viewing spot at the train station for the FoF parade during our tour. Not only for the great view, but it also served as a quick break from the action. With the VIP guide, we accomplished everything we wanted to do in MK, Epcot, and AK. I didn't feel the parade viewing was wasting time or money.

Our VIP tour was during a very busy Spring Break time; the FoF parade was scheduled two times per day. For the 12:00 pm parade, we arrived at the train station at 12:05 and were leaving by 12:35. During this time we took the opportunity to eat a snack during the time that the tour guide kindly brought(we paid) for us.

 

[FSU Girl]

No, not at WDW. You need to still be on the clock/with your guide to use any of the reserved viewing locations.

Well that stinks. I loved having the show reserved for us it was almost 5 hours after we ended our tour and I was able to go back to the hotel and relax and have some dinner before going to the show.

 

[cobright]

1. Seems like a huge waste when it's so easy to book so many meals at Disney with no advance notice needed. The A in advanced can be 5 minutes done right on the app by you. Why would you do that while paying someone $500/hr?

2. Again, something you can do very easily all by yourself only about 15 min before the parade starts down in Frontier Land. Even on crowded days, like NYE. Just be near where they are going to close of the Walk way. Again, no reason to pay some one $500/hr to sit there while you watch a parade

Oh man, you need to try a vip tour then. You'll never doubt the value again. Basically, the guide finds out what is important to you and makes sure you get 3 or 4 days worth of that in your 7 hour tour.

My group usually plans ahead and we go whole hog on deluxe dining anyway so using the guide to get us a reservation never crossed my mind, but we were offered priority seating at a couple of signatures if we had wanted it.

They got us an unscheduled break with fins Ariel in the grotto just my family, some cast members, photopass and the mermaid for more than 15 minutes in the grotto playing games and listening to sea stories. And when we finished up in hollywood studios for character palooza two of my favorites were in the lineup. I had asked for Robin hood and was told it couldn't happen ... But he did.

It's expensive to the point of ridiculousness. My wife's work constraints forced us to cut a trip in half at the last minute and to compensate her for the trouble they paid the cost of or next years vacation plus the cost of a vip tour. We got so much stuff done. Easily several full days in the parks worth of stuff.

I'm planning a couple of the mini vip tours on upcoming trips.

 

[wcw57]

Soooooo, I've read the Disney promos for VIP and I've read THIS thread...

What would be the compelling reasons for the $$$ outlay for the VIP tour?

 

[iujen94]

1) We have never done this on a tour, but I'm sure they will try. If you ask for something, they will do everything they can to accommodate it. And not dining related, but we have asked for things that a guide tried to accommodate and was denied (in both cases by a MK manager). But just about any reasonable request (like a last minute "emergency" dining reservation) they will try their hardest to make happen.

2) We have always watched parades from the train station (reserved section on the second floor).

3) Yes, but as @GADisneyDad14 said, they need to be there with you the whole time. The nice thing though is that you don't need to really wait... you have seating reserved ahead of time and can just walk to it last minute.

I’m curious - what did you request that they couldn’t accommodate?

 

[anomamatt]

I’m curious - what did you request that they couldn’t accommodate?

Let's see...

- We have asked about skipping lines that don't have FP queues. When the line is outside (for example, meeting characters at a party -- or Merida's line) they will ask and the character handler usually says no. Not always, but usually. When we have been allowed to do this, it's because the character is taking a "break" and we catch them on the way back in. I will say Disney is good about not making it look like specific people (VIP tours) get special treatment (it's kept somewhat out of site by using the FP queues, etc). This is TOTALLY the opposite of Universal's private VIP (which incidentally is far superior to Disney's VIP in all ways). They have let us use the exits at times when it's not obvious to the whole queue we are skipping the line (this is standard for meeting Anna & Elsa in EPCOT, for example, but we have done it for other things in MK).

- We asked to see the Cinderella suite two times. Once it was denied because someone was staying there. Another time the manager just said no without giving our guide an explanation.

One of the things I like least about Disney's tours is that there are no rules, really. I mean, you can ask for just about anything and your guide will try to accommodate it. But even after a few of these, I don't know what is OK to ask and what isn't and I have felt bad at times for putting the guide in a position where he wants to accommodate us, but is told no (and then has to come tell us no).

I will say that our next two trips we are going to try out the club level FP system (at least on the first one) and see how that goes. It's certainly a lot cheaper and gives the nighttime reserved viewing. If they added parade viewing to the CL package, it would be even more compelling.