TexasWook

Earlier this year we had benefit of being able to try out the Disney VIP Tour Guide and since there wasn't anything on FT about it I'd thought write a brief review. Since we paid for the airfare and hotel with points I thought we would splurge and spend our savings on the VIP tour service. My wife and I have 3 kids ages 4, 6 & 8.

So we used the service on two different days once in the morning for an all day (ending at 4) and then later on in the week for an afternoon and evening.

So an over view of the service is that basically you get your own personal fast pass guide. The guide lets you use any fast pass line as many times as you want as often as you want. My daughter had a blast riding Rock & Roller Coaster and road it three times and we rode Tower of Terror three times. Our guide played by the rules and we did not skip lines at non-fast pass attractions or autograph or photo sessions. He could not help us with the character greetings outside of the princesses and Mickey on Main Street. He could not help with things like Jedi Training Academy or with the activities of Star Wars Weekend. We all had to wait in line for it's a small world and Dumbo.

What was most beneficial was how our guide got us service where we were told none was available. For example we tried to book our daughters into Bippity Boppity Boop boutique and were told it was booked. Our guide showed up and they took us as a walk-in since they had some no-shows. We tried to get lunch reservations at a restaurant one day and we were told they were booked over the phone but when we showed up with our guide they had room for us.

Some of the most useful aspects of being with the guide were the behind the scenes access and short cuts. For example we jumped in the fast pass line for Soarin and when we finished we hoped in the Disney car and drove around Epcot to enjoy Mission Space. When then hopped in the car and drove to Hollywood Studios and parked right next to Rock N Roller Coaster. Less than five minute walk from the car to the attraction.

One of the best parts was the VIP seating for the nighttime parade. VIP seating is also available for the Daytime parade but the parade was rained out and we caught the night time parade the next day. Our guide was very knowledgable about the park history, the stories of the rides, he was great and telling the kids what was fun or scary about the rides before we went on them. He also was great about setting my youngest on one ride and then finding a nearby ride for my older 2 kids. This was the best use of our time when we were able to have two groups using his service at the same time.

I would say the other truly beneficial aspect of having a private guide was having access to the private guide service. So on the days when we weren't with our guide but we need restaurant reservations we could call our VIP liaison and she could get us into a restaurant or get us get us a cabana at the water park. Our guide as a person was pretty good. He was a 1st year law student and he rode about half the rides with us. We watched a few shows and he didn't watch any of those with us.

Is the experience worth the $275/hr we paid for it? Yes and no. I think the next time we go back we will probably use the service again and try to do all the fast pass rides in one day with the parade at night. I really liked having someone who could help us find restaurants and help us figure out the park. It made the trip much more enjoyable. Would we have had fun without it? Yes but this made the trip alot easier. I think if you could find a group to split the cost with it would be perfect as the guide will help with up to 10 at one time. Feel free to ask any questions.

Mary2e

Thank you for this review! I've experienced some of it when taking individual tours, which are led by the VIP guides as well. For example, if you take the Undiscovered Epcot tour, you get the fastpass access to at least one popular ride.

But I was unaware of the other benefits, though I did want to try it one time.

CokeandTaco

Enjoyable reading, thanks for the post....^

I would think this service (while expensive) may be very valuable for 1st time visitors, they can get a "lay of the land" and learn how things work from the guide....if you can get 2 or 3 families together, the cost per person will obviously decrease....

Was there any tipping allowed?, or other costs over the per hour charge?

Mary2e

As a rule, Disney guest services employees cannot take tips. I've seen them refused. VIP services are part of that group.

TexasWook

We did tip. Our guide made a comment at some point during our first day how a large portion of his salary was undocumented cash and asked me as a Tax Consultant what his exposure and liabilities were if he were ever to get audited.

We tipped him around 12% of our total fee.

There was no additional costs except for meals. The guide did not allow us to buy him any meals or drinks as he told us that "The Mouse" paid for all his meals and snacks during his time with guests.

I think splitting it between 2 or 3 families would be a great idea and honestly a great use of his time. A perfect example of this was when we went to Hollywood studios and he got my wife and daughters VIP seating for the Beauty and the Beast show and then got son and I inline for the Tower of Terror, then put us in the fast pass line for Toy Story and then took my wife and daughter into the line for Rock n Roller Coaster where we met up with them and picked up my youngest daughter. All in 45 minutes.

Also I really can't express how helpful our VIP Concierge was for us a first time visitor. I can honestly say that if you decide on a "last minute" trip say with less than 2 months to travel date the VIP Service would be great for squeezing you into restaurants and other activities. There is a 4 hour minimum that you have to meet in order to use the service.

I think a great use of the service would be if you were staying on property and had the guide pick you up at your hotel and take you in the back of the park you were going to start with at the park opening time. While they aren't supposed to let you into the park before it opens I'm sure they would be happy to have you in the back parking lot at 8 AM and helping you to be the first on a few of the rides that didn't have fast pass.

Mary2e

Wow... about the tipping. I have taken just about every tour, which again, is run by the same department, and tips are always refused. I even took the day long tour to 3 parks and no one even tried to tip them.

I wonder if this wasn't a fishing expedition for $$$$.

I do have to agree this is a great way for 1st timers to get a good sense of what is available and not have to worry too much about dealing with obscenely long lines and crowds. So many people don't even understand the fastpass system.

flyerwife

Just curious as to how many hours, in total, you had this service?

TexasWook

Flyerwife - We used 13 hours of the service. The minimum requirement is six hours per day. If your children are old enough to be able to afford not taking break I think a 10 hour day would allow you see a majority of the fast pass attractions at three parks and get you into the VIP seating at the night time parade.

flyerwife

wow, thanks.....that's a LOT of money. Glad you all had a great trip...sounds like a fun experience (you realize it WILL ruin them from waiting in line on the next vacation, right? )

Flews

Very interesting. I wasn't aware of this service, even after a dozen trips to WDW.

Thanks for the review.

Cheers,

EOppie

VIP Tour Guide cast members are now allowed to accept tips. While the fee for their services may be steep, they do not see but a sliver of that.

Previously VIP Tour Guide cast members were supposed to refuse tips, however many accepted anyway.

Mary2e

Thanks for that info. I hadn't known.

However, at those prices, Disney should compensate their employees far better than the sliver being received. The service provided is excellent, and those guest services cast members are the best of the best. They should be paid as such.