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.