Our Disney World VIP Tour

We recently returned from a trip to Disney World and last week I let you see inside the amazing suite that we stayed in at Coronado Springs Resort.  Today I want to share with you the details of our VIP Tour.  I can’t remember how I first heard about the VIP Tour, but I have known about it for several years and have always hoped we would be able to experience it one day.  If you are not familiar with the tour, you can read about it here.  We did the Private Premium VIP Tour.  (By the way, I wore my Skechers Go Walks – click here for latest prices – for 5 days in the parks and for the first time, my feet never hurt once!  Try them – you won’t be sorry.)

First, a little background about the trip.  We only planned this trip about 6 weeks in advance, which might as well be the day before when it comes to Disney World trip planning.  My husband was speaking at a conference at the Coronado Springs Resort and at first the girls and I weren’t going to tag along, but then we changed our minds about 6 weeks before.  Needless to say, we were not able to get a reservation at Cinderella’s Royal Table.  We did, however, get super lucky and managed to snag a reservation here:

The only reason we got the reservation is because just a few weeks before our trip, it was announced that Be Our Guest would officially begin opening for breakfast while we were at Disney World!  I was on Facebook one day and happen to see a post about it and it said that reservations would begin the next day.  So, I got up at 4:45 the next morning and got one!  I was thrilled!  The breakfast was delicious.  I love how they bring it to you:

Okay, back to the trip.  Once the girls and I decided to go, I knew it was likely to be crowded that week so I googled it and discovered that the week we would be there is the second most crowded week of the year!!!  What???  I was really bummed (I readily admit that I am more averse to crowds than the average person).  The previous time we had been there had been during the craziness that is spring break season and I always told myself that next time we go back, it will be the first week of December because (1) no sweating (2) low crowds and (3) Christmas decorations.  But, that’s not how it was going to be.  I began mentally preparing myself for lots of sweating and massive crowds.  I also started worrying about being able to get all the right fast passes on the right days and then I remembered the VIP Tour and thought that this would be the perfect time to do it.  I’m so glad we did!

When I made the reservation, I asked to be picked up at our hotel at 8:00 am.  We walked out of the lobby at 7:50 and our guide Ashley was already waiting next to the car, which was a really nice Suburban.  I had forgotten to ask about a booster seat for our youngest, but Ashley had one waiting anyway.  We got into the car and Ashley asked us what we wanted to do that day.  I told her that we wanted to go to Magic Kingdom and ride every ride.  She asked about characters and I told her we didn’t want to waste time on that (we only wanted to spend the 6 hour minimum on the tour) because we cruise often enough and our girls get to meet plenty of characters on the ships.  When I said this, Ashley told us that she had recently been on her first Disney Cruise (on the Dream) and that she seriously loved it.  She told us that she has worked in the parks for 10 years and that she now officially likes the cruises better than the parks.  Yes!  At that point I knew we would love her!  Here are a few pictures of us on the way:

When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, Ashley pulled the car up right behind Tomorrowland.  A couple of Cast Members were waiting there with an iPad and scanner and they scanned our Magic Bands (the tour requires you to have purchased park tickets separately).  We then entered the park through an unmarked gate right next to Space Mountain and walked straight to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.  Ashley took us right through the fast pass line and we walked right onto the ride.  Since there were 5 of us and this ride seats 2 people together, Ashley rode with my husband.  Apparently she has done this ride A LOT because her score was incredible.  I can’t remember exactly, but it was something like 500,000.  I was impressed.

Next we started walking towards the castle for a few photos, and along the way Ashley asked what we wanted to do for lunch.  My husband and I had already discussed eating the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments, but Ashley said that if we wanted lunch reservations at any of the table service restaurants that she could have called and gotten us one right then.  She did, however, call and find out that Sleepy Hollow started serving the waffle sandwiches at 11:00, which helped her time our route through the park.

After a few photos in front of the castle we moved on to Fantasyland.  This is where the order of things gets a little fuzzy because I didn’t write it down, but over the next 5 hours we ended up doing the following rides, going through the fast pass line each time:

It’s a Small World

Dumbo

Peter Pan’s Flight

Seven Dwarves Mine Train

The Barnstormer

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

Tomorrowland Speedway

The Haunted Mansion

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Pirate of the Caribbean

Jungle Cruise

Big Thunder Mountain

Splash Mountain

Space Mountain

I think the longest we ever waited for a ride was about 10 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean.  We stopped for about 20 minutes for lunch and about 15 minutes for a Dole Whip.  So, we ended up doing 15 rides, lunch and a snack in about 5.5 hours.  Ashley rode a few of the rides with us, but for most of them she dropped us off at the fast pass line and then met us at then end.  She was so sweet and helpful.  She would go get our stroller for us while we were on a ride and meet us with it at the end.  She also ate lunch and ice cream with us and we chatted a lot about the parks and cruises.  She was also very professional.  Several times a park guest stopped her to ask her a question and she would politely say “Sir, I’m sorry but I can’t stop right now” and keep walking.  I appreciated this because we were paying by the hour.  Another thing worth mentioning is that on rides where it mattered (mostly roller coasters), she asked the ride attendant to place us in the front car.  My daughter got to ride in the very first spot on Space Mountain and she was thrilled!

After we had done every ride that we wanted our 6 hours was up, but we really wanted to go over to Epcot and ride Soarin’ because we didn’t have a fast pass for it for any day during our stay.  Ashley informed us that after the 6 hour minimum we would be charged in 15 minute increments.  She thought it would take 1 more hour to drive to Epcot, ride Soarin’, and get back to our hotel and we decided to do it.

We exited the park the same way we entered it through an unmarked gate in Tomorrowland.  The car was waiting and we drove straight to Epcot.  We drove through a security gate and entered into the area behind the World Showcase.  This area was fascinating to see, and I regret not taking pictures.  It had a very industrial feel to it with lots of warehouses and parking lots.  I saw a building labeled “costuming” and each country of the showcase was labeled with a big sign so you could tell which country was on the other side.  It was so neat to see what it looks like behind the scenes.

We pulled up right behind the Soarin’ building and there was a huge building under construction.  I asked Ashley what it was for and she said that they are building a 3rd screen for Soarin’.  I have heard rumors recently about a new film being made for Soarin’, so I asked Ashley if it was true but she was tight lipped about it.  She just said something like “Well, that’s a rumor that’s been going around lately……”  Hey, I tried folks.

Since we were only riding one ride, we left all of our stuff (stroller, backpack, etc) in the car and walked through an unmarked door near the Soarin’ exit.  Ashley walked us through the fast pass line.  She asked the ride attendant to place us in row 1, which means that we would be on the top row of seats and not have people’s feet dangling above us.  After the ride, Ashley met us at the exit and we walked back to the car.  We drove back to the hotel where Ashley dropped us off at the front door, we took a picture and said our goodbyes.  It had been exactly 7 hours since she picked us up, so we ended up paying for 1 extra hour.

This was such an amazing experience and I am so glad we did it.  It is definitely not cheap so it’s unlikely we will do it again, but it sure was fun!

ETA:  Since I wrote this post, we have also done the VIP Experience at Universal Orlando (which you can read about here) and the Ultimate Disney Classics VIP Tour (which you can read about here).

You can read more about our other adventures on my trip reports page and excursions page.

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