VIP Tours

This trip, my daughter and I decided to try something new. I had heard about VIP tours and looked into it. Full disclosure, IT IS NOT CHEAP!!! However, it was really fun! I am including a link to the Disney VIP Tour Service page where you can find out about the 4 different tours they provide and price.

If you have been to Walt Disney World many times, this is an awesome way to see some different things. My daughter, her friend and I took the Ultimate Thrill Rides VIP tour. As Annual Pass holders, we got a 10% discount, which, for this price, was substantial. The tour included lots of walking in Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios as we went from ride to ride. Unfortunately, Space Mountain was down, so they added Pirates of the Caribbean for us.

We started at The Magic Kingdom at The Plaza restaurant, which is on the right side of Main Street, just as you enter the Castle area. There were 21 people in our tour and 4 tour guides. All 4 guides started at Disney in the College Program and stayed on, hoping to make it a career. Their love of all things Disney was infectuous. When we arrived, we were given a bottle of water and a bagged towel that was amazingly cool the entire day!!! (They actually gave us extra for the next few days, as well!).

We were ahead of the "Rope Drop" crew, walking to Space Mountain. Sadly, it was closed, but I can tell you how much entertainment I got out of watching people run like their lives depended on getting on Space Mountain first...only to get there and find out the ride wasn't open. Of course, we were all disappointed, but we went on to our next ride, The Seven Dwarves Ride. You can find me in one of the pictures, sitting next to Ty, one of our guides. He was so fun and full of information! Did you know that, when you enter the jewel mining cave, you can lean left and right and your car will rock...and it's meant to do that? Well...you can...and it does!!!!! As soon as we got in the cave, Ty said, "Okay. Left. Right. Left. Right." He was leaning as he said it. Before you knew it, we were rocking back and forth. Additionally...there is a Hidden Mickey in the cave. It is a traditional Mickey, large circle and two small circles, made out of three gems embedded in the wall of the cave on the left side.

After Seven Dwarves Ride, we headed over to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. Our touring party had a couple of younger kids, so a couple of the tour guides stayed with them and entertained them while the older people rode. The guides knew exactly where to stand so that the kids saw us and waved as we rode the ride. The kids did not feel slighted at all!!!!

Oh, Wait!!! We rode Haunted Mansion before that! Sorry. I got ahead of myself. With the tour, you go up as if you have fast passes. At Haunted Mansion, however, you don't do that. We went in a special entrance that still had the haunted look as we walked down the hallway. And, poof, we were in the large elevator, beginning our experience! (Note...Hidden Mickey on the table in the Ghost Party room).

After this ride, we had a restroom/water break. At different points during the tour, there were coolers of bottled water waiting for us. They took very good care making sure we were hydrated and comfortable. It was at this stop that we were told, because we couldn't ride Space Mountain, we were going on Pirates of the Caribbean. :) (Note...a few Hidden Mickeys on this ride!).

And, just like that, we were done with The Magic Kingdom. We were escorted through a "Cast Members Only" exit to 4 Disney Vans. Each guide drove one of the vans. What a ride!!! As we went, Ty, our driver, told us so many little factoids about Walt Disney World and it's history. I was fascinated. We drove behind the scenes to the Cast Member entrance of EPCOT. There we parked and entered "The Land" through a back entrance. We had a lunch of our choice, (included in the price), at the Quick Service restaurant. Lunch included any entree, a non-alcoholic beverage, and dessert! Let me just say that Disney has really worked hard on making food choices that are tasty and good for you! Each of us had something different and we each really enjoyed our choices!!!

After lunch, we were escorted to SOARIN'. If you have been on SOARIN, but not within the last year or so, go again!!!! They have changed it and it is amazing!!!!!! Even more so than before.

Then we got back into air-conditioned vans and went to Disney Hollywood Studios!!!! This park was absolutely packed because Toy Story Land had officially opened just two days prior. Even so, it wasn't bad. We walked quite a distance to our first ride, Toy Story Mania, and made our way back towards the vans, stopping at the other scheduled rides on the way. If you like the Buzz Light Year ride at The Magic Kingdom, you'll love this ride. (One key, you can pull the little ball rapidly over and over again. I thought you had to let it return to it's original position before you could shoot again! I'm dying to go back and improve on my score!!)

Toy Story Land is really neat. The premise is that this is where the toys play when humans are away. All the decorations are things the toys would use to make a land. For instance, a bench is made up of life-size dominos. One wall is made of popsicle sticks fresh with the stains from whatever flavor the popsicle was. Any given moment there will be a "toy" coming through. We saw Woody, Jessie and the green soldiers, (separately). Unfortunately, The Slinky rollercoaster was not on the itinerary, yet. It will be, evenutally, but after the big crowds die down!!!

The rest of the rides were Twilight Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster. For those who know me, they know I really don't do these kinds of rides. However, in the name of "a business expense" and not wanting to waste the money I spent, well, the pictures are attached and I loved it!!!!!!!

This tour lasted 7 hours!! We were given the option of staying at Hollywood Studios or returning to Magic Kingdom. We opted for Magic Kingdom where we got in our car and went back to the hotel for a little rest before returning for a big night. :)

Bottom line: The VIP tours are expensive, but, if you can swing it, they offer a whole new perspective. This December we are going to take the "Keys to the Kingdom" tour, which is run by Guest Services. It is $99 per person and lasts 5 hours. We will be going into the tunnel system that runs under the Magic Kingdom. I cannot wait to do this one!!!! Unfortunately, because it is behind the scenes, no picture taking is allowed. In fact, children 13 and under are not allowed, because they don't want the magic to be ruined.

A big shout out to Danielle, Kennedy, Zach and Ty! They were amazing guides!

Here is the link to the VIP Tour site:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/vip-tour-services/?CMP=KNC-FY17_WDW_TRA_DOM_VIP-Tours_Exact|BR|G|4171070.RR.AM.01.03|&CMP=&keyword_id=aud-297874652121:kwd-152971615229|dc|disney%20special%20tours|178076008770|e|5062:3|&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-JvaBRDGARIsAFjqkkqHsecdjQBDkVrNvwjLbdUTB4uZZV1odK09b7JyC1ZzFetd5FSR1l0aAi2JEALw_wcB&s_kwcid=AL!5062!3!178076008770!e!!g!!disney%20special%20tours&ef_id=WnXQlwAAAGw0UlHa:20180712175023:s&dclid=CIvk7_qPmtwCFUG-swodjLQD9w