Booking a Disney VIP tour can be a complete game changer for your trip—no long lines, exclusive experiences, and personalized attention. But as magical as it is, there are still a few things that can trip you up if you’re not careful. After learning from my own experience, here are five mistakes I made when booking my Disney VIP tour that you should avoid!
1. Trying to do too many parks in one day
With a VIP tour, you might feel like you can conquer all four parks in one day — and technically, you can. However, trying to do too much can lead to exhaustion and a rushed experience. I made the mistake of cramming too much into our schedule, which left us running from one park to another without really enjoying the magic. We started off heading to Animal Kingdom and then did Magic Kingdom, we wanted to take in one more park but after doing 2 parks we were completely drained.
Instead, pick your favorite parks and focus on them. You’ll have a more relaxed, enjoyable day while continuing to experience the top attractions.
2. Not using a travel agent
The reason not using a travel agent is so high on my list is because the following 3 mistakes on my list could have been avoided if I had listened to my travel agent.
First of all, travel agents don’t cost a dime, and my travel agent gives a $50 gift card when you book a tour with her. In addition, she provided valuable tips when I booked my Disneyland VIP tour, including:
- How to get private character experiences
- How to get premiere seats for the parade, fireworks and Fantasmic in one visit
- Where the Secret VIP snack stand is located with soft drinks, candies, ice creams and more
- How Disney Guides is basically a lightning pass for mobile ordering.
By the way, I always use Better Days Vacation As my travel agent, they are amazing and I believe they always do the $50 gift card offer when you book a tour with them. If not, let me know and I’ll make sure to update my post.
3. You don’t eat a big meal beforehand
I was so excited to start our VIP tour that I didn’t think much about eating a big meal beforehand. Huge mistake! The VIP tour is action-packed and you’ll be on the go for hours.
While Disney has plenty of snack and food options, you don’t want to waste valuable time hunting for food when you could be riding your favorite attractions.
Be sure to have a hearty meal before starting the tour to keep up your energy and avoid any midday hunger pangs.
4. Starting from the Hotel
Although it may seem convenient to have your VIP tour guide pick you up at your hotel, I found that it ate up valuable time. I’d say we wasted 30-45 minutes driving to the parks, and at $450-700 an hour, those are some expensive minutes
Instead, have the VIP tour guide meet you directly at the park entrance to maximize your time.
You’ll be able to jump right into the action without missing a minute of your VIP experience.
5. We’re not timing it with the fireworks
One of the biggest perks of a Disney VIP tour is exclusive front row access to events like parades and fireworks shows. I made the mistake of not timing my tour to coincide with the evening fireworks (hence the photo of the Disneyland Fireworks seats, which I learned from my travel agent) If you can, schedule the VIP tour to end right before or during during a big evening event so your driver can give you the best seats in the house. It’s the perfect way to end an already magical day.
So, if you want to get the best fireworks seats for your Disney World VIP experience, make sure to book so that it ends about 30 minutes before the show so you can be seated. It’s a great way to end the night.
Wrong bonus: No Framen
If you don’t have a plan for the things you want to do, you’ll find yourself wasting time deciding on attractions, walking more than necessary. It’s much better to have a plan of the top sights you want to see so your VIP guide can take over and make sure you get to all the must-see spots.
Total
Overall, a Disney VIP tour is one of my favorite things I’ve spent money on at Disney and I would recommend it to anyone interested. Does it cost a pretty penny? You bet. But when you do more in a day than most people can do in 3 days, that offsets the cost a bit. Like I said earlier, I would recommend using a Disney travel agent to book, I personally love my agent at Better Days Vacationbut there are others out there that can help too.
