well we finally broke down and brought the kids to Disney. I always hated the idea because it didn’t seem like an actual vacation but more of a constant battle with crowds, lines, and miserable kids and parents. For the unwashed masses this is exactly what you get.
we did the VIP tour guide thing for a couple days. This is the only way to do Disney. Fast pass every ride, best seat on every ride, stroll into VIP seating for shows just as they’re about to start. Hop from park to park with ease, driving right up to the back entrance of whatever ride you want. We did four parks in one day. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
I was just talking about this with a coworker yesterday. Can’t decide between a Disney cruise or VIP Disneyworld/all the other parks. I’m leaning towards the cruise, wife wants to go to the parks.
$450/hour, 7 hour minimum. Highway robbery but it does make the experience light years better, so I guess it’s worth it.
I hear the cruises are awesome, another thing I swore I’d never do but will end up doing soon. Definitely would be more relaxing while theKids Club occupies the minions.
…if you’re going to do VIP for a portion of the trip I’d recommend saving it for mid/late trip. The letdown is real, like coming off a crack bender i imagine.
Sounds like the VIP is the way to go. As a general trend, as I age I’ve become a lot less materialistic but conversely much more willing to part with cash for convenience and/or things that mean I don’t have to put up the unwashed masses.
Turd, I thought you were so zen that you’d be able to deal with that though.
I don’t like this, as it is a conflict of interest. Disneyland has incentive to make their lines worse, so more people will buy the VIP ticket. The Mouse has got you guys by the testes here. I was thinking about it the other day actually. Disneyland is in the business of selling lines, not selling attractions. Since they charge per admission, their revenue is directly proportional to attendance, not utilization of park attractions. So, their profit maximization strategy is to hold as many people in line for the longest amount of time. Hordes of people standing around in queues = more money for the empire.
It looks like it might be quite a bit more limited than the hourly deal you did. You still get the guide and front of the line, etc., but looks like you only get front of the line for certain attractions and go to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. The $299 doesn’t include your ticket either. Lunch is on them though.
Originally, my wife was all about Disney since she never got to go as a kid. I went as a five year old and literally fell asleep on Pirates of the Caribbean. It just held no appeal for me for some reason. As of now, I’ve convinced her that it’s a scam (guilt trip) and for thousands of dollars we should go someplace actually fun, like skiing in Japan or rafting the Grand Canyon (if we don’t want to fly far) or literally anything else that the kid(s) are into at that time. I’d even rather go to Atlantis (which I have to in March). We’ll see what happens once peer pressure kicks in. I’m not overly optimistic, especially since we’re bound to get invited to go in with some other family. What a scam.
Definitely smart to go all out if you’re going to do it. Did you have lunch with the princesses? Who as the most charming?
I loved Disney as a kid and I love it as an adult. I’m not a huge fan of waiting in line, but if you’re flexible with your timing you can find weeks that have low attendance historically and the lines really aren’t that bad. I am rather upset though that multi-day tickets now expire after 14 days.
What, you go to Disneyland for more than 14 days? For the lines, I guess the least they can do is send some Pocahontas or Belle for the dads to ogle. Kids can just lose their shit over mouse hats or something.
No, the tickets used to never expire, so you could buy a 10 day ticket to get the lowest price per day and it was good forever. In recent years you paid a bit extra to have your tickets good forever, but it was still a better deal on a per day basis than buying a 4 or 5 day ticket that expired. Now, you don’t even have that option.
Went to Disney last spring and generally had a good time. A VIP thing sounds like it’s something more for efficiency-focused adults to appreciate. There’s no point in shelling out $450 per hour when your five-year-old niece wants to spend a half-hour eating cotton candy.