Wheelchair accessible transportation? 
It’s also about stamina, but something to think about.
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I bet they do. On the VIP tour I did we were ferried around in a minibus.
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They take all the shortcuts. For example, when we went to AK, there’s a parking lot right next to Pandora. We got out of the minibus and a minute later (at most) we were in Pandora.
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Is DS for Disney Springs or Hollywood Studios. I’d vote for Studios.
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Hollywood. That’s a typo. I’ll fix for clarity.
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That was harder to decide than I thought it would be. But based on our demographics I picked AK. MK is a good choice because there are so many rides there, but my family is “over” MK. They only go there on Day 1 because I said so – the trip doesn’t start until I see the castle. EP is a non-starter. There’s not enough there to warrant a plaid, in my opinion. Which leaves it down to HS and AK. I had to go with AK because it’s the best park. HS made me pause though because the rides are all fun.
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OK. For all I knew they did have one for Disney springs and things like Cirque du Soleil if that came back, etc.
I had heard they are accessible. And as for stamina, @sanstitre_has_left_the_building’s right, even going park to park, once you get to the backstage area of the second park, you don’t deal with any lines. Someone’s there to scan your tickets and off you go.
It is not front of the line access though, but it is a walking FP. And only good for attractions with FP’s, still at the discretion of the attraction CM. I was on one tour where the CM was close to cutting us off, just because we were going on 6 times in a row and they only had so many bobsleds.
100% worth it in my opinion. If you have the opportunity to do it, I say go for it, especially since you don’t RD (we don’t either). The guide might also have a much better understanding of operations that do accommodate someone in a wheelchair that the general public doesn’t know.
3 or 4 parks might still be rough stimulation wise, so I’d personally limit to 2 parks. But pick the ones that have the attractions you would have the hardest time getting access to regularly. That being said, I’d pick MK first, then HS and if you time it right, you can end the tour dropped off at FoP or one of the end of the night “shows” and any of the parks.
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I picked AK. It is my least favorite park, but the most beautiful. I think having something special like this would help to see a side of AK I don’t haven’t seen.
I don’t need the same for the other parks. I am happy with them as is. (Well, you know…they aren’t perfect, but I just mean I don’t feel the need to enrich the experience as much with those.)
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Ok, I’m going to show my WDW ignorance here. What is a VIP tour? Is it basically someone telling you the history of the park, getting you FP access, and getting you into other parks quickly/efficiently?
I tried to look it up, but Disney’s webpage is very oblique about what such tours entail.
Edited to add - would a VIP tour of HS guarantee you a boarding group?
At this time, no. They say because the attraction keeps breaking down, they can’t guarantee a spot on it, so they don’t even have it as an option.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
I’m also doing a tour in December and I told some Liners I’d post pictures and my thoughts. I had one in Disneyland a few years ago, and she was amazing. Expensive, but amazing.
They can help with reservations at restaurants or really nice access for parades and shows. They can also help plan the day if you wanted to take a break from planning. They can be involved as much, or as little as you want.
We like to have them just as walking FP’s because both my DH and DS don’t like to stick to a schedule, ever. Or get in the parks before 2 pm EST.
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They also have bigger group versions for a watered down price. Like a group thrill or classic ride tour. A group of 10 or so doing most of the parks on a prescheduled tour.
Other times families will split the cost of a Plaid (you can have up to X amount of people), but then you’re having to share the guide and you’re at the mercy of the other group, and vice versa.
There’s one Ultimate VIP tour, which won’t get you a night in the castle, but you CAN go up and poke around the castle suite, plus get any restaurant no reservation needed, and all food and drinks included. All for the low, low cost of $12,000 ($10,000 every consecutive day after).
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One of the other perks is that in order to get you around the park efficiently, you get to go through a lot of the backstage areas most people never see. Like the Utilidors in MK.
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Thanks for the insight, guys!
I voted for MK because they have so many FP rides that my family enjoys and getting a prime spot for the fireworks without camping out for hours sounds great. If I was going to pick 2, I would do HS and MK. FOP is our favorite ride as a group (though personally, Space Mt is still my favorite) and getting into the FOP FP line multiple times sounds amazing.
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MK just for the sheer volume of attractions.
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We just did one of these tours the end of March and the minimum is 7 hours. My son paid for it so his children could get on all of the rides they wanted to. We were there for only 4 nights.
We did all 4 parks and they rode 21 rides! Started in Magic Kingdom, met the guide on Main Street. They will pick you up at your resort, but we were at the Grand Floridian, so it made sense to meet them there. Sam was our guide and he was amazing. My son had all the rides written down they wanted to do. Sam knew where to start and finish in order to maximize our time in the park. We started in Adventure Land and ended in Tomorrow Land where our van was parked behind Buzz Lightyear to head to the next park. In Magic Kingdom the children and their parents rode a total of 8 rides, a couple of them 3 times in a row. The ones my husband and I sat out, Sam found us a place to sit in a shady spot.
Next stop was Animal Kingdom. Here they only wanted to do 3 rides. We parked by Pandora, walked in did the river ride, some did Avatar, moved the van, ate a quick service lunch and did Dinosaur. Went to the van and off to the Studios!
At the Studios we did MMRT, Rise in Star Wars, spent lots of time in Toy Story Land, did all those rides, couple of them twice. Then headed to Epcot!
At Epcot we parked by Test Track and rode that. Got in the van and drove to park between Norway an China, rode Frozen twice, in the van and drove to Soaring. My husband and I ended the tour here and took the little one back to the hotel. My son and the rest of his family rode their final ride and had dinner in Mexico. Sam did ask if Jim and I had dinner plans. We said no. He offered to get us some if we wanted to eat somewhere! So, they have some pull there.
All in all, my son decided it was well worth the money for the and he will do it again. This Nana and Pappa will bow out after a couple parks!
They do have handicapped accessible vans and you decide on your touring plans. I do think 7 hours in one park may be a waste, 2 parks is good. Hope this helps. Oh, my son did tip Sam generously. He was fantastic!
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Thanks for the detailed review!
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Oh, Rise is an option now? Without needing to get a BG? IIRC, I was thinking I had heard at one point that was the one thing that couldn’t be included. Good to know!
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Sorry, not Rise, the other ride in Star Wars Land that you don’t need a boarding group for. Don’t remember the name. I didn’t ride it. Must be the Millennium Falcon one.
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Smugglers run.
Thanks for the detailed report!
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