Universal Orlando offers a wide variety of things to do. From thrill rides at the theme parks, to pools at the hotels – there is something for everyone to do. Universal Orlando also offers another way for you and your family to enjoy the theme parks and make the most of your next vacation without all the stress. If you’re looking for a stress free vacation, a VIP Tour might just be for you.
Universal offers several different options for their VIP Tours, all of which offer something a little bit different than the next tour. Some of the tours are pretty basic, but other tours offer just about everything you’d want. One great thing about Universal’s tours is they all include a souvenir lanyard, complimentary Valet Parking on the day of your tour, a Universal Express Pass to skip the lines after your tour has concluded for the day, and discounts on select merchandise and food locations.
We were invited by Universal Orlando to check out their 1 Day/2 Park Non-Exclusive VIP Tour. We had Matt as our tour guide. For starters, Matt was very knowledgeable about the parks. I even learned a few things about the parks that I personally didn’t know. We started our tour at Islands of Adventure and headed straight to Marvel Super Hero Island where we rode all of the popular attractions, including The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, Dr. Doom’s Fearfall, and The Incredible Hulk. After, we headed straight for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and then stopped in to get a wand at Ollivanders. We ended our tour early as we had to get back home, but the tour was great!
The tour is full of fun information that guests might not know about the parks – even I learned something I didn’t know! The best part of the tour is that it not only includes an express pass for each person on the tour for after the tour has ended, but on your walking tour of the park, your escort will escort you right onto the rides and you don’t wait in line. You also don’t have to worry about stopping to get a locker for your bags either as your tour guide will wait and hold your things while you ride.
Some fun facts we learned on our tour:
- The artist that did all the drawings for Marvel Super Hero Island hid his signature on each drawing he did. See if you can find it!
- There’s a second “random” face on the rocks outside of Mythos – that’s Narcissist. If you look in the pool below, Narcissist is looking down upon his own reflection.
- There are foot prints of the Zax all over Seuss Landing because the Zax walked there first and Seuss Landing was built on top of it. The Zax now remain at Zax Bypass where they will stubbornly not let each other pass.
Although we had to end our tour early, I would say that it’s worth every penny. I would completely pay for a tour for a special occasion or if I had family coming in from out of town that wanted to experience everything at the parks without missing a single thing. While it seems like quite a high price to pay, you can’t dismiss the fact that you go straight to the front of the line (including bypassing the express line) and that you learn quite a bit about the parks.
Are you planning on doing a VIP Tour on your next visit to Universal Orlando?
VIP Tour Information:
1 Day/1 Park
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Non-Exclusive
- You choose your park (Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure)
- Includes priority access to a minimum of 8 attractions
- Tour will include other guests
- Tour lasts approximately 5 hours
Cost:
Starts at $169.00 + tax.
Peak pricing $229.99 between the following dates – April 13, 2014 – April 26, 2014; June 1, 2014 – August 30, 2014; December 21, 2014 – January 3, 2015.
Park admission is required, but not included with VIP Tours.
Exclusive
- You choose your park (Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure)
- Tour will not include other guests
- Tour lasts approximately 8 hours
- Tour is good for you and up to four other people
Cost:
Starts at $1899.00 + tax.
1 Day/1 Park Exclusive tours not available during the following dates – April 13, 2014 – April 26, 2014; June 1, 2014 – August 30, 2014; December 21, 2014 – January 3, 2015.
Park admission is required, but not included with VIP Tours. [/expand]
1 Day/2 Parks
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Non-Exclusive
- You visit both parks!
- Includes priority access to a minimum of 8 attractions
- Tour will include other guests
- Tour lasts approximately 7 hours
Cost:
Starts at $189.00 + tax.
Peak pricing $249.99 between the following dates – April 13, 2014 – April 26, 2014; June 1, 2014 – August 30, 2014; December 21, 2014 – January 3, 2015.
Park admission is required, but not included with VIP Tours.
Exclusive
- You visit both parks!
- Tour will not include other guests
- Tour lasts approximately 8 hours
- Tour is good for you and up to four other people
Cost:
Starts at $2199.00 + tax.
Peak pricing may vary between the following dates – April 13, 2014 – April 26, 2014; June 1, 2014 – August 30, 2014; December 21, 2014 – January 3, 2015.
Park admission is required, but not included with VIP Tours. [/expand]
2 Days/2 Parks
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Exclusive
- You visit both parks, but you visit one park each day!
- Tour will not include other guests
- Tour lasts approximately 8 hours per day
- Tour is good for you and up to four other people
Cost:
Starts at $3699.00 + tax.
Peak pricing may vary between the following dates – April 13, 2014 – April 26, 2014; June 1, 2014 – August 30, 2014; December 21, 2014 – January 3, 2015.
Park admission is required, but not included with VIP Tours. [/expand]
How do you know which tour to choose?
You have a few decisions as the vacation planner to choose from, and a great place to start would be price. Based on the prices, which tours fit your budget? Keep in mind that park admission isn’t included with any of the VIP Tours, so you’ll need to factor that into the cost of your visit as well. You might also want to take into consideration if you want complete and total strangers on your tour. While the non-exclusive tours might be cheaper, for a little bit more, you could have the entire tour to yourself and up to four other people.
Why is “peak pricing” more expensive?
Peak pricing is more expensive because those are considered busy seasons for the parks. Typically Spring Break, Summer, and Christmas Break are the busiest times of the year for all of Orlando’s parks.
What do you get on a tour that is different from a normal day at the park?
There’s a couple of different things that the VIP Tours offer that you won’t get during a normal visit to the park. For starters, if you decide to do valet parking (which is complimentary with your tour), you’ll end up paying upwards of $30 just to park – or you can do regular parking for just under $20 and walk a little bit further. Then there’s the fact that a Universal employee will escort you around the park to some of the most popular attractions and walk you right up to the ride and will get you on and you don’t have to wait in line. The employee escorting you and your group will also tell you fun things about the park, like hidden things in the art work, or things that guests commonly miss. And don’t forget that you also get discounts on select merchandise and food and an express pass for when your tour ends. As a regular park guest, you wouldn’t get discounts on anything and you would have to foot the extra fees for an express pass. Did we mention that you literally get front of the line access? Seriously.. there’s the regular line and the express line.. and then there’s a virtually wait free experience! During our visit, we stopped at Ollivanders and we only waited about 5 minutes to go in. The current wait was roughly 45 minutes long and we went straight to the front of the line.
How do I book a VIP experience?
Call 1-866-346-9350 from 9am through 6pm Eastern Time or email VIPTours@universalorlando.com.
For more information about Universal Orlando Resort, visit the official website by clicking here.
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