Universal Studios VIP Tour, Is it worth it??

 VIP Experience with Universal Studios, is it really worth it? 

I love going out and exploring other adventures! I just love visiting other places to say I have been there and I have done that! My husband and I had the opportunity to travel down to Disney for a week just the two of us! We thought why not head over to Universal and do a VIP tour!! We took on two parks with a 7 other guests and had the time of our lives! 

We were given a reminder call one week prior to our tour and asked if there were any needs they needed to accomadate for us, I couldn't think of any and was impressed with their concerns. The bit of information they passed on to us was that of where to park and the current covid guidelines. Normally with all tours, there is valet parking, but due to current coivd restrictions we parked our own vehicles in the valet lot. Don't get me wrong, it was still a HUGE difference from walking across from the main parking garage. 

We were asked to arrive half an hour to forty five minutes early to our start time for our tour. We started at 9:00 AM and arrived about 8:30 AM. It was easy to park and go through security since literally it was all right there. We went up the escalator and jumped on the moving walkway and bam we were in City Walk! 

With the new capacity restrictions, I was a little nervous about making sure that we got in on time and also that the lines weren't too difficult for us to get in. Let me tell you, I worried for nothing. We walked right on past everyone in line. Staff from Universal directed us to the VIP entrance where we were greeted with lanyards and our tickets which were printed and already scanned into the park for us! Our first line that we had the opportunity to bypass was the entrance! 

We were then escorted by a tour guide to La Bamaba for breakfast. Honestly I was expecting a continential breakfast and coffee and juices. Not at all!! I had Lox and Bagels juice and bottled water to go! We were not rushed at all and enjoyed our time. This is also where we met the other seven members of our group. We were asked again if there were any needs that we would like noted for our day so that they could accomodate us through out our tour. Our tour guide went over what to expect with us for the day and a few rules, and then we were off on our adventure!! 

I had read other reviews where you only got to ride a few rides, or that you were thrown into the express lane and the tour guide just left you there so I was a little nervous about this, and happy when this was not the case. Now note, this is not a back stage tour. There are some areas that you do go back stage and get to learn how some things work, but it's not based on being back stage! Also, there were areas that we traveled behind scences that we were not allowed to take photos which we all respected. But I won't lie, I felt like a superstar when we went to Men In Black and got to go down on the main floor with the aliens and take pictures!! 

Our first stop was Race through New York with Jimmy Fallon. We cut through the back area to walk onto the ride. Basically we did this all day long. With the tour, we were guaranteed at least 10 major rides, we hit 13! We at no point were placed into the express lane and left! We literally were escorted! I felt like a movie star! We had the park to park so we did rides in both parks, breakfast and lunch over 7 hours! We were on the move! 

In Universal Studios we rode Race through New York with Jimmy Fallon, Revenge of the Mummy (and went behind the scenes), Men In Black, ET, Escape from Gringots, Transformers: The Ride 3D and then after lunch at Finnegan's Bar and Grill we rode the Hogwarts Express over to Islands of Adventure. At IOA we were able to ride Jurassic Park River Adventure, The Incredible Hulk, The Adventures of Spider Man, Skull Island: Reign of Kong, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and to top it off Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure! At each ride, you were told what it was like on it in terms of motion, 3D, movement, and could opt to sit out, or if you wanted to just check out what the "que" line looked like that was an option. You were never forced to go on a ride you didn't want to! There were only two rides that not everyone in our group didn't want to participate in but they found stores close by!

For lunch we had a wonderful table service meal while listening to live Irish music. Here again I assumed we would be in a quick service location. They also included a 15% tip already so literally we just went in ordered our meal (an appetizer for every 2 people in your party, an entree, and dessert) and then you go meet back up with the group. They sat you with your party and not as the large group so you weren't spending every single minute of the day together as a group. 

The end of the day, we said our good byes and could either stay in Island of Adventures or head back via a short cut with the tour guide back over to Universal Studios. Tony and I had a reservation at Mythos for dinner so we stayed at Islands of Adventure for the evening. But here is a bonus! With your VIP lanyard and ticket, you automatically get Express Passes for the DAY that you are there! So we hopped over to Seussland and played for a while! Yes I am a grown woman, and I will always play there! We also headed back to Hogsmeade for butterbeer before dinner! 

As the park was closing and we finished our dinner, we headed out and hit the last store. With the tour, your receive a nice 10% discount, so of course I will take advantage! 

Now the price of the tour starts* around $189 per person just for the tour. (Depending on the time of year is where the costs will fluctuate and if you do one park or two parks!) You still need to purchase your park tickets, they are paid for seperately. This does seem like quite a bit, I did kind of go whoa at first, but everything that was included and the experiences we had, I would do it again in a heart beat! 

So is the VIP tour worth it?? YES YES YES!!! 

Want to book this and need some help? You know you can contact me to make this happen!!

megan.mead@soaringholidays.com

Capture the Moment

  Capture the Moment! 

Have you ever wanted to have a personal photo session in Disney with your family or friends but thought the cost would be outrageous? So did I until I found capture the moment! This was a private session at the castle with my family and friends! We had half an hour with a photo pass photographer to capture memories that will stay with us for a lifetime! Since we already had memory maker, we didn't have to purchase the photos, and was just able to download them to our personal devices! 

There is a limit of 8 guests per session, booking two session back to back will get you more people into your session! You meet your photographer at Town Square to start session. We were asked to arrive 15 minutes prior to our start time. The photographer came out and greeted us and gave us the option of location either castle pictures or down on Main Street for a holiday session since it was on New Years Eve. We opted for the castle!! 

We had three families between our "crew" and we went with a plan! Biggest piece of advice that I could pass on, plan out your pictures! We did multiple and were able to jump in and jump around and even move inside the castle archway for more romantic pictures, as the kids all went ewwww! 

Here are a few samples of what we did! 

This was truly a great experience and the cost made it even better! The cost was $50 per session, and again since we had Memory Maker, we were able to download all our photos to our devices. The total time that it took for the pictures to show in our My Disney Experience app was about 45 mins, we took around 70 photos! 

Changes can be Good!

 So many changes that are currently in place at Disney, will make your head spin! Literally! I didn't know that I couldn't exit out the same door that I came in, planning your vacation down to the park that you are going into? WHAT? Mobile ordering, no passing your phone to a photographer to not pay for photo pass, and masks masks masks! 

 First thing that was the biggest change that put me into PANIC mode - Park Reservations! What? I have to make a reservation to what, get into whatever park I want! AND I can't park hop! What is this all about? !?!?!?!?! I am so used to waiting till last minute, like the morning of, to see where I want to go for the day. Usually we have dining reservations in a park, but we HOP over to it! OYE! My first thought was this is going to be insane. But afterwards, spending the time there with this new system and during the transition back to park hopping, I LIKE IT! I think this is genius, for crowd control and monitoring the numbers closely. That is my personal opinion, I know that there are different opinions out there, which is great, this is just mine. 

Lets talk about dining. This, this is different. Really different. There are pros and cons to the new systems for quick service, but isn't that the case for everything? Lets list the cons first. Make sure you have ample battery on your cell phone, the ordering process is now "virtual" through your MDE app. Also have a credit card or gift card stored and ready to go. There is now waiting to get into quick services if you don't have an order placed. The cast members will insist that you use your MDE. Now onto the pros!! There is no insanity inside quick service locations anymore! There are seats available! You don't have to hover and wait for  a seat! It's wonderful!! You can also order with allergies through the app! We used mobile ordering constantly in the parks and at our resort! I fell in love with it! On my way to a quick service, I literally can place my order, when I was close I would let them know I was arriving. It would be a few minutes till my screen turned the "blue" that stated my order was ready. When it was I would just walk to the nearest cast member and then they would direct me to which lane my order was waiting for me. To our family, we became familiar with the new system and fell in love! 

Table service dining is all pretty much the same with the exception that you can now only make your reservations at 60 days prior to your trip rather than 180. There is a limited amount of availability due to the restaurants keeping that social distancing and of course keeping it safe. It is really easy to use the check in service from your MDE app. They will ask you the same questions as if you were coming up to the desk at check-in. It also gives you the opportunity to readjust the number in your party if just 2 out 3 are arriving, or if they have space, it will offer you up to another person to join. Menus inside the table service restaurants are all done by scanning a QR code, so make sure that your device is capable of the scanning. There are disposable menus available if needed. The servers are not only in face masks that cover from chin to nose, but also wear a shield. BONUS! The chefs are also in personal protection equipment, which I loved! It literally has become a part of the new normal at Disney. 

Now that I have brought up the new normal, lets talk about the mask situation. Disney is observant to those not wearing their masks properly. They will give you a friendly reminder to make sure that your mask is on properly. Disney requires two layer ear looped masks that cover your nose and mouth. There is no exception. All persons in the park age 2 and up must wear the mask properly. As you are entering each park, there are cast members who will kindly remind you the masks that are acceptable if you have on one that is not. There are vending machines out close to the first temperature check where you can purchase a disposable mask. I am going to lay this out there. There is no arguing with the cast members about the mask, none zip zero zilch, so it's not worth it. Plan accordingly if you are going to the parks and can not wear a face mask. Best advice I can give. No one will have a magical memory. 

Back to the new stuff! The buses are running more frequently, but that is due to spacing on the bus. Not going to lie, I only rode the bus once during this last trip, but it was so much calmer than normal. They do ask that everyone sit since there are enough spaces for everyone. There are dividers on the bus so the driver can assign seats that put families together! 

Last but not least, those temperature check tents. They have this down and it's quick! There are cast members there with the medical staff to help keep things moving swiftly. At dining locations for table service you will also have your temperature checked as well as at Disney Springs. 

I have a few more areas to touch on, but we will save that for the next post! Stay tuned to see how Capture the Magic works, scan and go on your app at two stores, and also how the resorts are doing during this time of new change. 

Thanks for reading! 

Where oh where have I been?

 Well let's see. I have been working. Full time. In one of those in an office, let's sit down in an office and have someone from 3 hours away tell me how to do my job type of working. Clearly, that was a massive shock to my system. More of a shock in 2020 when COVID19 to the world by storm in March. Luckily I was able to make some big trips down to Disney before I was completely cut off from Disney along with all of my clients. CRUSHED. The world literally stopped traveling, and there went my career in the toilet that I had worked so hard to get into in the corporate world. But they always say things happen for a reason, or one door closes and another opens. I truly see that now after COVID hit. I left my position with corporate, and said let's do this on my own........ again. 

So here I am starting off as an independent travel agent for the second time in my life. This time it's going to be a whole lot different. I am older, wiser, and a lot more experience under my belt. Best of all, I get to head back to my favorite bookings of Disney and Universal! 

Now with COVID, there was a huge hit to Disney being shut down, but recently visiting, they have it together!