Disney Private VIP Tours — Castles & Carpools

Are Disney Private VIP Tours worth it? Here’s all the know-before-you-go info you need for this ultimate Disney family vacation extra.

We often credit Walt Disney World as the place where our love of family travel began. It is the most popular U.S. travel destination after all. And it remains a place we love to go back to again and again.

Since we’re frequent quests, we’re constantly trying to make our next Disney vacation something a little different. In fact, that’s one of our favorite things about Disney. There’s so much to do that every time we go back, we can find new things to experience.

Until recently though, we hadn’t done one coveted experience: the Disney private VIP tour.

Available in multiple Disney parks across the world, Disney VIP tours are the ultimate Disney park extra.

Now that we’ve checked that Mickey-shaped box, we’re giving you the lowdown on what to expect on Disney VIP tours. From prices to frequently asked questions, we’ve got all the deets here.

What are Disney VIP Tours?

Let’s start with the basics.

While at a Disney park, have you spotted a red-plaid-vest-wearing cast member walking around with a family? That’s likely a VIP tour guide.

Disney VIP tours are experiences booked under Disney’s Special Events and Tours Collection. These are things to do at Disney that fall outside of what is included with park admission.

When you book a Disney VIP tour, a personal concierge takes you around one or more parks for the day.

In short, that cast member is there to expertly guide you through the park, providing perks along the way. He or she escorts you to rides, attractions, and whatever else you want to do in the park.

The tours are booked for a minimum of 7 hours and can accommodate a party up to 10 people.

Prior to or on the day of the tour, guests tell the concierge team what parks they want to go to. Guests can chose one park or multiple parks for the day. And they tell them what they hope to ride or experience throughout the day.

The concierge then uses some true Disney magic to make it all happen.

Traveling to Disney World with teens? Check out:

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How much do Disney VIP Tours cost?

It’s likely no surprise that VIP tours are among one of the priciest things you can do on property. All that special Disney treatment comes with a hefty price tag.

The cost of VIP tours vary according to which Disney property you’re visiting and the time of year. As with park admission tickets, slower times of year negate lower prices. Holidays and busier times equate to tours being more expensive.

For example, our 7-hour September tour in Disney World cost $360 per hour for a total of $2520. September is not considered a peak time to visit though. So, the cost for the tour was lower than it would be many other months.

And the cost of tours have gone up since our fall 2024 visit.

Currently, the Walt Disney World site states tours cost $450 to $900 per hour, depending on the day booked. Disneyland VIP tours start at $500 per hour but cost as much as $800 per hour during peak times.

To best utilize your tour time, book shows with little to no queue before or after your tour. Reserve your time with your guide for things that normally have long waits.

What’s Included with Disney VIP Tours? What’s Not Included?

While no two tours are exactly alike, there are a few things that are always included.

things included in every VIP tour:

Lightening Lanes or other skip-the-line access to rides - The biggest perk included with a Disney VIP tour is access to rides without wait times. Your VIP tour guide can whisk you from ride to ride allowing you to cover much more ground than without a guide.
Special event seating - Parades and shows your thing? Tours also provide guests with access to special seating for those.
Transportation - Getting between parks is included as well. This means you’ll be riding in a van driven by your guide between parks, entering backstage.
Water and snacks - While food and drinks are not specifically included with tours, guides know 7 or more hours is a long time without food. Our guide handed out water very frequently throughout our tour. He also surprised us with Mickey shaped pretzels, chips, and other snacks.
Things your guide thinks will make your tour more special or efficient - Sounds vague, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. But in the best way because that’s where Disney shines the most.
Tour guides have been known to have more tricks up their sleeves than Aladdin’s Genie. If they can make it happen, they will.
For example, our guide grabbed a stroller for the 6 year-old on our tour. He knew that was the best way for us all to keep up. ( No extra charge by the way.) He would also do little things like pause for a picture at a cool spot. Tell us the best spots to sit on a ride. And give us tons of cool Disney facts and info.
We’ve even heard of Disney tour guides finagling things like a stop at Oga’s Cantina, a hard-to-get reservation. The trick (as you’ll hear throughout this article) is to tell your guide what you’re most excited about at Disney.

things NOT included with your VIP Tour:

Tickets to the parks - Park tickets are the main thing not included with your tour. You must purchase separate park tickets. If you plan to visit more than one park, you must purchase park hopper tickets.
Time allotted for meals. While you certainly can eat a sit-down meal during tour time, we don’t advise it. That’s because this time still counts as paid-for tour time. You cannot “pause” your tour in the middle. The time window continues to run until your 7 hours (or more if you book more) is over.
Gratuity. Most tour participants choose to tip their tour guide. Although it’s not mandatory, around 15-20% is common.

Riding the most sought after rides, like Tron, with little wait time is one of the biggest perks of a private tour.

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What Exactly Did Our Disney VIP Tour Look Like?

“Custom” is the key word when describing a Disney VIP tour.

But, we thought it might still be helpful to get an example of what ours looked like.

Your tour can look as much like ours (or as different) as you want.

For example, during our day, we saw and experienced all 4 parks. We were able to ride the newest attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It had just opened a few weeks prior to our visit. And we rode all the rides that typically have the longest wait times at the 4 parks.

So, our tour involved a ton of walking. (Led by a guide with an uncanny ability to do said fast walking backward… while pushing a stroller.)

Here’s exactly how our VIP day shook out.

First park: Hollywood studios:

We started our day on our own at Hollywood Studios. We saw the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration and the now-closed Lightening McQueen show. We knew these shows wouldn’t be crowded so we didn’t want to waste VIP time seeing them.

We met our tour guide at 11 a.m. Our guide texted us a few minutes prior just to confirm the pickup spot.

Our guide asked us a few questions about how we wanted our day to go. We had some Disney first-timers with us so our goal was to see and do as much as possible. We also knew we wanted to end at Epcot for a dinner we had booked.
We used the lightening lanes to do the rides at Star Wars’ Galaxy’s Edge, like Rise of the Resistance and Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. We then rode Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror. We got in the lightening land for Toy Story Mania, but as we were waiting our guide decided to nix the ride. He knew, based on his experience and the time we were spending in line, that only one track was operational. He felt the line would take too long.
We then used a backstage exit spot to exit Hollywood Studios and boarded a van driven by our guide.
Second Park: Magic Kingdom
Our guide drove us to a backstage entrance at Magic Kingdom. At Magic Kingdom, we were met by cast members with snacks and waters in the parking lot.
We first rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is normally only available to ride via a virtual queue. Next, we rode attractions like Tron, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, and other high wait time rides.
We exited Magic Kingdom (again through a backstage exit).
Third Park: Animal Kingdom
Our group guide drove us to Animal Kingdom.
We rode Avatar and Expedition Everest.
Foirth Park: Epcot
Our last park of the day was Epcot. We rode Guardians of the Galaxy 3 times!
We ended with Frozen Ever After.
At 6:00 p.m. our guide dropped us off at our dining reservation at Akershus.

Keeping different age groups happy, while seeing a lot that the parks have to offer, is the tour’s special sauce.

Disney makes a great learning vacation. See how at:

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Are Disney VIP Tours Worth It?

For us, our Disney VIP Private Tour was worth it.

Our tour allowed us to see many more attractions then we would have been able to on our own. This was especially important for the family we were traveling with. They knew they would be “one and done” Disney vacationers. So they wanted to see and do as much as possible.

Our tour was also great for our own family because it took the stress out of planning. There was no checking our phones for lightening lanes either. We could just relax and enjoy.

And our tour allowed us to see the parks in a completely different way. It provided a sneak peek at the backstage areas. And allowed us a day with a true Disney expert. Both were huge plus for us as big Disney fans.

Finally, all the special but unassuming treatment made us feel like, well, VIPs.

Have some favorite rides that aren’t the typical headliners? Doing them during your tour time saves going back to a park on a non-tour day.

What Would We Change About Our Disney VIP Tour?

I knew VIP tour guides are the absolute experts on all things Disney. So, I decided to completely loosen the reins when it came to planning our day.

And this paid off in spades in many ways. I was able to save time and worry by not planning. We benefited from the unbelievable know-how of our guide. And our guide did EXACTLY what we asked - fit as much as possible into our day.

But, there are a few things I would change on my end.

Share more with our guide or the concierge team prior to our tour

For example, we had an Animal Kingdom Park day planned the day after our tour. Since there aren’t as many rides there, we could have skipped that park on our VIP day.

Skipping Animal Kingdom would have given us a bit more time for other things. We could have waited in Toy Story Mania line even though it was a bit long for a lightening lane. Or we could have fit in a few other rides at different parks.

And maybe we would have noticed the magic a little bit more at a slightly slower pace.

So, communicating with our guide more is the number one thing I would do different on a future VIP tour.

2. Worry less about the absence of a meal during our tour

It is true that booking a dining reservation is a no-go during your tour. You certainly wouldn’t want to pay while you sit for a meal.

So with teens in tow, I assumed that we would be starving as soon as our tour ended. So I booked a dining reservation at the very end of our tour.

However, I under-estimated how many snacks we would get on our tour. We were kept just full enough to not miss our usual sit-down meals.

If I had a do-over, I would make a mobile dining order at the end of our tour. Then pick it up and be dropped off at the special viewing area for a nighttime show

Top Tips and Hacks For Planning Your Disney VIP Tour:

This trip is all about doing what YOU want to do on your tour day. Spend time before your trip figuring out what that is. Want to just ride as much as possible? Or do you want to factor in some smelling the roses time too? And which attractions are most important to you? Decide all this before your tour.
Communicate what you want to do with your tour guide and booking agent before and during your tour! Your tour guide wants to know what you’re hoping to accomplish from the day.
Remember though that not everyone needs to ride every ride your guide takes you to. Our guide was great at finding a spot for people to wait while still maximizing time.
Plan for the end of your tour. Have your tour guide drop you off at a nighttime spectacular or a ride near a dining reservation. That way you’re making the most of the last hour you paid for.
Prioritize the most popular attractions. These rides have the longest wait times. They are, therefore, where VIP tours shine. Your guide will be able to whisk you through the lines of the most sought-after attractions quickly.
Consider NOT doing shows during your VIP tour. Don’t spend the hourly tour rate to see something as lengthy as a show. (The exceptions to this are must-see shows with long wait times.)
If your goal is do as much as possible on your tour, you will walk a LOT. Plan accordingly, beyond just comfortable shoes. For example, if you’re doing Disney the days before and after your tour, consider making those more relaxed days.

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Other Reminders for your tour:

Just like Disney dining reservations, VIP tours can fill up quickly. Book early for the best availability.
Pricing is per hour, not per person. Booking tours while traveling with another family is therefore a great way to offset the cost a bit. The closer can get to the maximum occupancy of 10, the more bang for your buck. Just make sure everyone can agree on what you want to see and do during your tour.
If you need to cancel your tour, do so at least 3 days in advance to avoid a charge.
No cell phones or other recording devices are allowed to be used in the backstage areas of the parks.
Not sure how long you want for your tour? You can usually add an hour or more if needed on the day of the tour. Double check with the concierge at the time of booking, but usually you can book for 7 hours, with the option to add on.

Disney VIP Tours: The Best Way To Experience The Magic?

What are Disney VIP Tours?

How much do Disney VIP Tours cost?