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
