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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 8, 2024 12:05:02 GMT -5
Wow, what a great trip and wonderful memories were made. Your VIP tour sounds amazing and I love how you had one on one time with both the grands and the adults. Thanks for sharing! Thank you! We all had time together and separate and it was great! F |
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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 8, 2024 12:06:23 GMT -5
Sounds like such a wonderful trip. So many fun experiences! We enjoy Giordano's too when we can work it into a trip. Thank you for sharing the TR all the fun! Thank you! It was really fun! My husband and I both grew up in Chicago and Giordano's to us is like going back in time! |
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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 8, 2024 12:10:33 GMT -5
Good TR... and now I'm tired. LOL Thanks! Didn't mean to tire you out, we actually were on a pretty relaxed pace. |
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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 8, 2024 12:52:19 GMT -5
I am curious about the VIP tour, as I have considered this several times. What is the etiquette for meals? Does the cast member stay with you during meals? Do you pay for his/her meal? How about gratuity at the end? I've never done a private tour for such a long period at such a high price. Is the cast member allowed to accept a tip? What is a suitable range? We had heard so many good things, and it did take some saving up but we felt it was really worth it. We chose and planned around the day with the least expensive hourly rate and while we planned for 7 hours we budgeted for 10 just in case. Never thought we would do a 10 hour day, but it went by so fast! I think the problem now will be going back to standard park touring and lines...  With all the snacks they kept offering up we did not stop for lunch but we did mobile order dinner at a quick service at Hollywood Studios. We asked Anna for a recommendation and she chatted about her favorites which brought us to the ABC Commissary. We had the choice for her to go off while we had dinner or to join us. We invited her to join us, and she said her meal was covered by Disney. She helped us find a table, helped pick up all the meals and sat with and chatted with the grands. She was really great with kids! One thing to keep in mind, the VIP tour clock starts when you are picked up or first meet the guide and ends when she drops you off or leaves you at a park. Time spent eating counts as part of your tour hours and in the pre-panning they recommended avoiding table service meals because they would eat up quite a bit of time. We did not pay for any of the Starbucks or water or other snack runs Anna did. For gratuity it's probably what you feel is fair and are comfortable with. The VIP site recommends 20% but also says a gratuity is not expected. Some of the sites I saw recommended 20% or the cost of an hour. It is entirely up to you. We did 20% because Anna was just so good. One thing to note, you cannot add the gratuity to your credit card or magic band payment but the guide had both Zelle and Venmo. Hope this helps! We cannot say enough good things about the VIP experience - it was awesome! |
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Post by reblzmom on Mar 8, 2024 16:49:53 GMT -5
What a terrific report! Thanks for sharing - especially the VIP tour experience.
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Post by tomandrobin on Mar 9, 2024 7:32:40 GMT -5
I am curious about the VIP tour, as I have considered this several times. What is the etiquette for meals? Does the cast member stay with you during meals? Do you pay for his/her meal? How about gratuity at the end? I've never done a private tour for such a long period at such a high price. Is the cast member allowed to accept a tip? What is a suitable range? If you stop during a VIP tour to eat, the VIP guide will not eat with you unless you invite them.
Our last tour (7 days ago), we stopped at Columbia Harbor House to eat. We invited Paul, our tour guide, to stay and eat with us. His meal was comped by the restaurant.
Gratuity is a long debated topic for Tour Guides. Technically, you do not have to tip at all. In the Club FB Group and the VIP Tour Share Group, this topic is discussed it seems every 6 months. Most people tend to tip about $300 (or $30 pp) for a tour, some only do around $100 and some do around $1000. Since being members, we average doing 2-3 VIP tours each year. We have tipped as low as zero and as high as $700. Lately, we have been tipping $500 because we have found a fantastic VIP guide that we request every time now.
There is a facebook group dedicated to sharing VIP tours. This is a great way to do a VIP tour without taking on the whole cost. The downside is you need to find the right group and the dates you want to go.
Lately, the VIP tours have been much better. The guides have better access to ride entry. They seem to have snacks at every stop between parks. In park snacks seem to flow more without even asking. Plus, the VIP guides are seasoned now after the pandemic. After Disney World reopened, they had to hire almost a complete new VIP staff.....there were growing pains.
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Post by tomandrobin on Mar 9, 2024 7:40:24 GMT -5
We had heard so many good things, and it did take some saving up but we felt it was really worth it. We chose and planned around the day with the least expensive hourly rate and while we planned for 7 hours we budgeted for 10 just in case. Never thought we would do a 10 hour day, but it went by so fast! I think the problem now will be going back to standard park touring and lines...  We cannot say enough good things about the VIP experience - it was awesome! Isn't that the truth!
There are two things that a lot of people choose when booking a VIP tour, that I did not see mentioned in your summary. First, there is a VIP section at the Train Station where VIP tours can watch the parade. Its in shade and has lots of snacks to enjoy while watching the parade. Second, is the VIP fireworks viewing at MK. Its really nice to be able to sit and spread out, while watching the fireworks. The guides will bring you ice creams and popcorn to eat, while watching the show.
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Post by sherrih on Mar 9, 2024 11:43:24 GMT -5
That sounds like an amazing trip. I absolutely love going with the grandkids - it's a totally different experience spending time with them. Glad your DS and DDIL loved it even more than they expected.
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Post by Brian5581 on Mar 9, 2024 21:45:29 GMT -5
What a wonderful trip! Thanks so much for taking the time to share.
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Post by bakerworld on Mar 10, 2024 10:12:15 GMT -5
Good TR... and now I'm tired. LOL Thanks! Didn't mean to tire you out, we actually were on a pretty relaxed pace. If that's relaxed then we're practically standing still.  |
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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 10, 2024 12:10:11 GMT -5
We had heard so many good things, and it did take some saving up but we felt it was really worth it. We chose and planned around the day with the least expensive hourly rate and while we planned for 7 hours we budgeted for 10 just in case. Never thought we would do a 10 hour day, but it went by so fast! I think the problem now will be going back to standard park touring and lines... We cannot say enough good things about the VIP experience - it was awesome! Isn't that the truth!
There are two things that a lot of people choose when booking a VIP tour, that I did not see mentioned in your summary. First, there is a VIP section at the Train Station where VIP tours can watch the parade. Its in shade and has lots of snacks to enjoy while watching the parade. Second, is the VIP fireworks viewing at MK. Its really nice to be able to sit and spread out, while watching the fireworks. The guides will bring you ice creams and popcorn to eat, while watching the show.
Oh my gosh. totally forgot about that, thanks for the reminder! We did take advantage of the special parade section - I especially appreciated not being all crammed together trying to see. The grandkids loved it too and we all appreciated that it was shady and not crowded. We had intended to finish with the fireworks, but as we were headed there it was clear that DGD was not going to make it and we called it. |
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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 10, 2024 12:48:37 GMT -5
Finally figured out how to quote from multiple posts... Sorry for any extra posts in the past! What a terrific report! Thanks for sharing - especially the VIP tour experience. Thank you! Was such fun trip! That sounds like an amazing trip. I absolutely love going with the grandkids - it's a totally different experience spending time with them. Glad your DS and DDIL loved it even more than they expected. Thank you! Seeing WDW with the grandkids is like experiencing it all over again through new eyes - and building new memories with them! What a wonderful trip! Thanks so much for taking the time to share. Thank you! |
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Post by Eli's Nana on Mar 10, 2024 12:53:30 GMT -5
Thanks! Didn't mean to tire you out, we actually were on a pretty relaxed pace. If that's relaxed then we're practically standing still. Hahaha... I don't believe that for a minute! I guess I should have said it was a relaxed pace "with grandkids". When it's just the two of us we probably move more at a snail's pace. |
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Post by WDWGoof on Mar 11, 2024 5:39:31 GMT -5
So….did you change DILs mind about being a park person now?
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Post by disneyteach on Mar 11, 2024 16:32:42 GMT -5
What an amazing trip! So glad you got to experience it with your kids/grandkids!
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