Are you thinking about booking a Disneyland VIP tour? And are wondering what the Disneyland VIP tour includes? My family and I were recently able to experience the Disneyland VIP tour after it had been a dream of mine for years. As a result, here’s what you need to know about the Disneyland VIP tour.
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The Disneyland VIP Tour: What You Need to Know
As a Disney fan, I love taking the mini guided tours that Disney offers. For example, my mom and I previously took the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour before it was discontinued. The private VIP tour had been on my list of things I wanted to experience someday. I finally had the opportunity to experience it during a recent family vacation to Disneyland. Was I disappointed? I answer that question at the end of this article but first things first…….
What does a Disneyland VIP Tour Include and How Much Does It Cost?
It’s not a cheap tour by any means. You can find out more about the cost here. However, private guided tours are a minimum of 7 hours and a maximum of 10 hours, and the cost of the tour is per hour, not per person.* There can be up to a total of 10 people in one guided tour (including children). It includes lightning lane access and front of the line access for rides that don’t have lightning lane access (for example, rides in Fantasyland like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland). The tour also includes photo downloads via the Disneyland PhotoPass and reserved seating for fireworks, Fantasmic, parades and World of Color. It also includes valet parking at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
My husband with our private VIP tour guide. Our guide was great!
My family was able to go on all the big ticket rides one after another, even though we still had to wait in the lightning lines. We never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride (although different groups can have a difference experience). And because I spent so much money on the tour, I wanted to maximize my family’s time with our guide and focus on the rides. Speaking of maximizing our time on the rides, our private guide was also able to redirect us quickly if a ride broke down.
Reserved seating for the nighttime entertainment is included in the price of the tour.
What does a Disneyland VIP Tour Not Include?
It does not include front of the line access on all the rides and it does not include food, unlike the Universal Studios VIP tour. This is a big one, especially since the tour costs a lot of money. This can certainly be disappointing and could be a dealbreaker for guests.
Indeed, guests can save a lot of money just buying Genie+ and individual lightning lanes. However, the big difference in the VIP tour is that you don’t have to wait to go on another ride with lightning lanes (unlike the Genie+ where you have to first redeem the previous lightning lane before booking another one or wait 2 hours, whichever is first).
How hard is it to book a Disney VIP tour?
It was not difficult for me to book our VIP tour. I had been on the fence for months, primarily because of the cost, but decided to book it a few months before our scheduled trip. This may depend on whether or not your planned visit is during a popular time of the year, though.
Are Disney private VIP tours worth it?
This is a very subjective question (and subjective answer). My family thought it was worth it, but I knew what to expect in advance after doing extensive research and asking friends about their experiences. If the Disneyland VIP tour is on your bucket list and you usually stay at a Disney-owned hotel, then you might want to consider saving money by staying off-site. I love staying on property but there really isn’t an incentive to stay on property if you are going to book the VIP tour, especially because the Disneyland-owned hotels are more expensive to stay at. Likewise, you might also want to consider splitting the cost with other guests since the tour can accommodate up to 10 people.
The Disneyland VIP tour would also be difficult for families traveling with younger kids because it’s very hectic and fast-paced. My family wanted to take advantage of experiencing as many rides as we could during our 7 hour window. We did not eat lunch, but Disney made reservations for us to eat dinner after the tour was over.* By the time the tour ended, we were all ready to sit down and rest. However, my family all agreed that the tour was worth it. But it’s very subjective and some guests might be disappointed that it does not include true front of the line access.
*Disney will try to accommodate guests at the restaurant of their choice (and at the guests’ own expense) but if you wait until the day of your visit to make a decision, it’s likely Disney won’t be able to accommodate you if it’s a sit down restaurant like Blue Bayou).
BOOK A TRIP TO DISNEYLAND AND/OR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AT A DISCOUNT!
If you’re thinking of booking a trip to Disneyland or Southern California, then please consider booking through Get Away Today by clicking on this link. Not only does Get Away Today offer the best deals on hotels, including free night specials and exclusive offers like free breakfast, free parking and waived resort fees at select hotels, but Disneyland tickets are also available at a discount. Layaway plans are also available for Southern California vacation packages, with the first payment beginning as low as $125. You can also receive an extra $10 off any 2-night or longer Southern California package by using the promo code CACTUS.
Great blog. I enjoyed this tour very much.