Two New VIP Tours Debuting at Walt Disney World

[Magenta Panther]

I can honestly see why a structured tour might be a very appealing thing for park guests. It would certainly make things less stressful, be a better use of their time, and cut down on cranky tired kids and aching feet. I think these tours are a good thing.

 

[BigTxEars]

I can honestly see why a structured tour might be a very appealing thing for park guests. It would certainly make things less stressful, be a better use of their time, and cut down on cranky tired kids and aching feet. I think these tours are a good thing.

I agree, with 10s of millions of people going yearly to WDW there are all kinds of different ways those people would want to "do Disney" when they are there. Only make sense to give them that option. It's the number one destination resort in the world, makes sense that they would offer a very wide selection of options to their guest. As a customer of any business I think the more options I have there the better it is.

 

[Dwarful]

I wonder how long before they will offer park specific VIP tours.... I could see this becoming a way to buy your way to the front of the line access. MK VIP tour....top ten attractions, lunch, some photo ops and firework spot.

 

[GrammieBee]

It's fine if you have the money, limited time and want to do it. No one should say you shouldn't. However,we manage to do quite well on our own and, in any case, would find it hard to justify spending that amount of extra cash.

Disney is quite good at finding ways to get people to spend more money.

 

[cw1982]

It's fine if you have the money, limited time and want to do it. No one should say you shouldn't. However,we manage to do quite well on our own and, in any case, would find it hard to justify spending that amount of extra cash.

Disney is quite good at finding ways to get people to spend more money.

Yep... for us it was one Mickey Bar or Dole Whip at a time

 

[MarkTwain]

I can see why people would like it, but to me it seems like they're actively encouraging the wrong type of park touring. I think there's someone on MiceChat whose catchphrase is "the parks are meant to be sipped, not chug-a-lugged" and I would say that applies here. I can't see how anyone would have a positive experience at Walt Disney World without experiencing ANY of the smaller experiences meant to fill the day between the big rides.

Not to mention the notion that this would much more easily/affordably allow entire large groups of people to skip ahead of and hold up standby queues, a luxury that used to be afforded to a very select few.

 

[disney4life2008]

Yep... for us it was one Mickey Bar or Dole Whip at a time

Maybe I will join the rich and get both a Mickey Bar and Dole Whip - then top it off with a candy apple

 

[cw1982]

Not to mention the notion that this would much more easily/affordably allow entire large groups of people to skip ahead of and hold up standby queues, a luxury that used to be afforded to a very select few.

I wonder, though, how many people will really do this. We've discussed at length that this is geared towards the people who only have one day and want to get the most out of the parks, but I wonder how many in that position can afford to pay this kind of premium?

 

[MarkTwain]

I wonder, though, how many people will really do this. We've discussed at length that this is geared towards the people who only have one day and want to get the most out of the parks, but I wonder how many in that position can afford to pay this kind of premium?

When I was a cast member, I actually dealt with a surprising amount of those kind of guests. Lots of business types (often solo adults) with a single free day on a business trip, travelers that decided to extend their layover for a day, people who were vacationing in other parts of Florida but decided to have a single day for Disney. I'm not sure all were aware of the true scale of Walt Disney World beforehand, but many tried it nonetheless. I suspect this tour might appeal to many of those.

 

[FutureCEO]

Bottom line is: if people pay, the tours will stay. If you don't pay, the tours won't affect you.

 

[docdebbi]

as someone who really can't afford this, i dont' like that i will be waiting longer while these people get in front of me.
if however, i could afford this ( calculate $2700 for my family of 6 for one day in the park), i would think it was wonderful. then i could spend the rest of my trip slowly enjoying the parks and smelling the roses.
i don't resent those who can afford it, or that it exists- as with everything else, you get what you pay for. look at the differences in quality from a value resort to a concierge level deluxe. you can buy the best if you are willing to.
i don't however, think that this will have a major impact on disney's bottom line, i think compared to disney's many sources of income, few enough people will chose to do this to not have a significant financial impact. i think they really are doing it to keep those who desire it happy and coming to the parks

 

[GrammieBee]

Yep... for us it was one Mickey Bar or Dole Whip at a time

For us it wasn't a dole whip or a mickey bar, it was a granola bar from our camera bag.

 

[cw1982]

For us it wasn't a dole whip or a mickey bar, it was a granola bar from our camera bag.

Yeah we did that a lot too... I can't eat much at a time so I pretty much have to have something small every few hours. But I wasn't going to go to WDW and not enjoy the things I can only get there

*yes I know I can get those at DL and the Dole Whips are in Hawaii as well. But seeing as how I'm not going to either of those anytime soon, my original statement is still true for all intents and purposes.

 

[DManRightHere]

If this is essentially a front of the line pass, I do not like it.

If it actually has a good tour and informative aspect to it that allows you to see things park guests can not it may not be a terrible deal.

 

[Tigger1988]

News flash. The ability to pay for VIP guides with access to the front of the line is nothing new.

Cans afford it? Don't do it. I know I won't be.

 

[Hakunamatata]

That's the concept of relative. Someone who has little to no savings may think that $100,000 would make them wealthy. Someone with $1,000,000 may think they need $4,000,000 to be wealthy. You said if you only had one day in the park you would pay it and it had nothing to do with wealth. You said paying for this tour had nothing to do with wealth, when in fact every purchase we make has to do with our own personal wealth. In order to take this tour you need to have a wealth of at least the price of a parkhopper ticket and $299 plus tax that you are willing to spend. So from that I assume that you have the wealth to not be worried about spending over $400 for a day in the parks. Other people may not have that amount of disposable money.

Right but talking about wealth and referring to a group as wealthy are two different concepts.

 

[dvitali]

Not if you're waltzing to the front of the line for each attraction.

Not really the front of the line, but a side door that a cast members use to get to their work location. Then they allow the guest to jump on the line holding up the regular and the fast pass line for a few minutes.

 

[dvitali]

While these two tours are new, extremely similar versions of them were "trialed" as DCL excursions when the ships were calling at Port Canaveral from New York and Galveston. A bus would bring the groups (20 people per 2 guides) from the port to MK for the Family tour , where the tour would begin. They did well, so they were developed further into the products you see today. I'm sure there are reviews of them online from DCL passengers. They were split into Families and Thrills back then, also.

Whether or not they are "money grabs," it was demonstrated by the ship excursions that people were willing to pay for the service. Those tours were watched very closely, and the tours announced this week would not be happening if those initial tests hadn't gone well.

I have also been saying this for years but how about a Haunted Mansion VIP tour and not just a one time event. Have it be a regular thing and have guests show up early in the morning for a behind the scenes tour with lunch in the all new, just opened, Haunted Mansion restaurant. Ok, so I can dream cant I?

the Keys to Kingdom Tours stop at the Haunted Manison and you enter a side door that cast members use to get to their work location. It a direct line to the boarding area without going thru the shrinking library room. Then you ride it like a normal guest.

 

[Kman101]

Money grab or not (and it is), who really cares if someone wants to drop the cash on the offerings?

 

[note2001]

If this is essentially a front of the line pass, I do not like it.

If it actually has a good tour and informative aspect to it that allows you to see things park guests can not it may not be a terrible deal.

Chances are that guests on this tour will be coming through back stage to access the front of the line. This shouldn't affect anyone too much, and they will only be given one ride, per ride planned.

I don't think I'd like it as by entering back stage you miss the queue's build up to the story for each ride, which is part of the experience which makes it a true theme park verses an amusement park.