Who are the people in the plaid vests?

[3csluvthemouse]

Just back from a Christmas trip and we saw a number of cast members with plaid vests. They appeared to be escorting people, and in one instance, managed to get one group a table in a fully booked restaurant without a reservation and without waiting even 15 minutes! I witnessed it myself. The lady in the vest spoke with the manager, then got on her cell phone, and 10 minutes later, as we were being seated, in they came. They had one of the best tables in the house! I was shocked. Maybe these are dreams that have been awarded? Anyone?

 

[Lintasare]

They are actually from guest relations and usually escort VIP's around the parks. These VIPs can range from celebrities to company head honchos. So if you see one out in the park there maybe someone famous with them.

 

[tjmw2727]

Actually anyone can arrange for the guided tour but it's pricey. They do not get you to the head of the line or into a booked restaurant. They can go ahead and check you in for an ADR, run ahead for FP's while you enjoy a show or grab the family some soft drinks (at your expense) while you ride a ride. Most likely what you saw was the guide checking in a family that already had an ADR and then calling them on the cellpone telling them when to arrive. They probably can get you a better table though

There are a few trip reports here on the dis from folks who hired the tour guides - they are very well written (IMHO) and a wealth of information. The guides help you see the park in the best way and can run and get fast passes for you etc.

Unless you are so famous that waiting in line would cause you or your family harm then you don't get to skip the lines.

TJ

 

[Lintasare]

Actually when I was a CM and we had a special party coming in we would hold tables for them so they would not have to wait at all when they arrived.

 

[3csluvthemouse]

Actually anyone can arrange for the guided tour but it's pricey. They do not get you to the head of the line or into a booked restaurant. They can go ahead and check you in for an ADR, run ahead for FP's while you enjoy a show or grab the family some soft drinks (at your expense) while you ride a ride. Most likely what you saw was the guide checking in a family that already had an ADR and then calling them on the cellpone telling them when to arrive. They probably can get you a better table though

There are a few trip reports here on the dis from folks who hired the tour guides - they are very well written (IMHO) and a wealth of information. The guides help you see the park in the best way and can run and get fast passes for you etc.

Unless you are so famous that waiting in line would cause you or your family harm then you don't get to skip the lines.

TJ

I actually heard the entire conversation in the restaurant. The plaid vest lady spoke with the manager and he asked her twice-do they have a reservation? She said no both times and he said, we will work something out. She went outside and got on her phone. We were then called into the restaurant for our adr and seated on an upper tier (Marrakesh). They started moving tables around and within 5 minutes, the table was seated by the "dance" floor with the lady in the vest. There were 3 woman, ranging ages 30-50, and 2 children under age 4, one child probably about 9.

 

[bradk]

technically the answer is they're guest relations, period. plaid is the signature guest relations costume design element (in all of the parks worldwide).

for the most part, guest relations conducts the tours (a few are conducted by the disney institute), which includes VIP tours as it does Keys to the Kingdom for example.

so you can see them in the parks for a number of reasons.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

Unless you are so famous that waiting in line would cause you or your family harm then you don't get to skip the lines.

Not entirely true. There are VIP Tour Guides that, as mentioned above, are available not only for celebs but also high-ranking company officials and their families. These company officials are usually not the types you would recognize, either (like the head of Disney's Internet division, for example -- or perhaps only the other members of his family).

 

[Hopefully]

When we were there in October we went on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour in the MK. Lunch is included. We were guided by a "vest' (He was wonderful) and we were seated at the Columbia Harbour House for lunch right at 12 noon, ahead of others.
We also ran into a Private guide at Teppan Edo one night. I don't know if they got special seating arrangements, but the group and guide were at our table. I enjoyed talking to the guide, and imagining having that much money to spend.

 

[mma800]

Does anyone have a link to the posts drom DISers about their experience with the "vests"? I'd love to check it out!

We had one in 2005 after I broke my elbow as I entered MK on the 1st morning. I was 2 days at Celebration then Orlando Hospital, and my DH had the 2 girls solo (1 has autism). The guide's name was Eddie, and he was a lifesaver. He stayed with us for our entire stay and was a great help and a great guy. Hard to to WDW without him!! We didn;t really skip lines, but he did have lots of "buddies" around the world who helped us/him out.

 

[winniedapooh]

We are here right now and have been since 12/26. There are a lot more plaid vests than usual that I have seen. I too think this has something to do with YOAMD. I have been watching and they are not Keys tours as there always seem to be families with children of all ages. My vote goes for YOAMD or tours with VIP's.

 

[bradk]

(nvm)

guest. relations. not necessarily tours. definitely not a specific tour.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I know two groups of people who used the VIP services this year. One was my boss who spent more than $9000 for the week for their own guide. They DO bypass lines and eat at any restaurant whether or not it is booked.

Many friends have used this service and love it so much that they ask for the same guide every trip.

 

[mrzrich]

BTW I just want to say that getting a table at Marrakesh without an ADR really isn't that big a deal. I've been there the week of Christmas with a party of 8 and been seated in between 5-10 minutes

VIP tours can be booked by anyone willing to pay for it. It's $125/hr for a minimum of 6 hours, but the price is for your whole group (I can't remember the max # off hand) Somebody here on the DIS figured it out once and it actually wasn't that bad per person if your group was the max.

According to the WDW website the rate is sometimes discounted for on site guests during non-peak times.

 

[Annette_VA]

We are here right now and have been since 12/26. There are a lot more plaid vests than usual that I have seen. I too think this has something to do with YOAMD. I have been watching and they are not Keys tours as there always seem to be families with children of all ages. My vote goes for YOAMD or tours with VIP's.

With kids of all ages, it could be a family doing the Family Magic Tour. Our tour guide wore the plaid vest when we did it.

So, could just be a tour group, could be a VIP...could be anything!

 

[mrzrich]

Ok, so I looked it up. The maximum # is 10 so if 10 DISers decided to meet up we could get the guide for $12.50 an hour each. $75 for 6 hours. Not bad at all.

 

[Princess_Belle]

We are here right now and have been since 12/26. There are a lot more plaid vests than usual that I have seen. I too think this has something to do with YOAMD. I have been watching and they are not Keys tours as there always seem to be families with children of all ages. My vote goes for YOAMD or tours with VIP's.

We won the castle stay back in September and our guide for the night was wearing a plaid vest. So was the guy that picked us up at our resort. Also the castle concierge wears a plaid vest. So yes they do have something to do with the YOAMD. We saw another castle family the other day and they were also being guided by a man wearing a vest.

 

[bhoffman]

We use the "vests" every time we go now They are VIP tour guides. Anyone can hire one. They are $125/hour, minimum of 6 hours (although you will want them all day!). They DO get you front of the line, in any restaurant you want with no notice (including the castle for us last week, party of 8, 5:30pm for our trip in Feb.). We do get the same guide every time we go. We tell her if we know ahead of time what we want to see, and get VIP seats to everything all day. Fast passes faster than you can use them (literally). They are not only for recongnizable celebrities as someone has already mentioned, just anyone who books them 90 days out (and earlier if you are a repeat customer they will hold the date and guide for you). It's really a fun service if you can swing it. Any questions let me know!

 

[Axel]

I've seen them with families with special needs as well. We were at the Nemo show and about 3 minutes before showtime, just before the lights dimmed a family walked in and got that VIP seating row that they save. The little boy with them had ear plugs and special tinted glasses.