We Go On A Universal Orlando Private VIP Tour Experience

What is it like to go on a VIP tour at Universal Orlando? We were lucky to find out thanks to our friends, the Owen Family. They let us tag along on a Universal Orlando Private VIP Tour Experience and we got to see what it is like.

Our day started bright and early at 9:30 a.m. as we checked in at the Universal VIP Experience check-in outside the gates of Universal Studios Florida. We met up with our guide Kristi(We have had Kristi as a tour guide before on Halloween Horror Nights RIP and Unmasking The Horror Tours), checked in, given an exclusive VIP Tour Lanyard that includes an Unlimited Express Pass for us to use after our tour is over and head into the park.

We first make our way to Cafe La Bamba for the VIP Breakfast Buffet. After being seated at a table and asked for our drink order(everything from juices to coffee and soft drinks are available) we get to check out the breakfast buffet which has everything from pastries to fruit to hot items like eggs, bacon, sausage, and more. While you enjoy your breakfast our tour guide discusses with us our options for lunch and dinner. On the Private VIP Tour lunch and dinner at a full-service restaurant in the theme parks or Citywalk is included. The Tour guide goes over with us what we would like to do before lunch. On the Private VIP Tour, you decide what you want to do, there is no set itinerary.

After breakfast, we are each given a bottle of water and we are off into the parks. Our family wants to start the day by taking Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade to kick off our day experiencing all the Wizarding World attractions. As we head to Kings Cross station our tour guide talks about each section of the park we are going through offering different facts about each section. The guides are very knowledgeable about the parks and it is fun learning about so many different things throughout the day.

Now as we reach we Kings Cross station we head up the exit. Yes, that is right no lines for us. Almost every attraction you experience on your tour you will get “backdoored” onto usually going up the exit. You do not use the express line. This is a big difference compared to the Disney World VIP tours that use Lightning Lane queues. This allows you to get in a lot more rides in your day at Universal.

We then arrive at Hogsmeade in Islands Of Adventure and get to ride Hagrids, Flight of the Hippogriff, and Forbidden Journey one right after the other. Each one goes up the exit. On Forbidden Journey, if you ask your tour guide, you can check out part of the amazing queue before your ride.

After all that Wizarding World fun it is off to Jurassic Park. We then get to experience Velocicoaster, Raptor Encounter, River Adventure, and Pteronandon Flyers one right after the other. Yes, we got to experience the Flyers. If you have a child in your group that is 36″ to 56″ them and an adult can go up the exit, skip the usually long line, and experience one of the hardest to get coaster credits out there. Two people in our party got to ride it for their first time after all these years of the park being open. Pretty cool.

Now you would think after all that it would be time for lunch but we weren’t done yet. We then rode Kong and Spider-Man. Since you are skipping the queues of the attractions one of the things the tour guides do is give you a little synopsis of the storyline that sets up each attraction before you go on. It is definitely helpful for first-time visitors who have never gone through the queues and miss out on the storytelling that goes on before the ride.

Now it is off to Toothsome’s for lunch. For your full-service meals, you get 1 appetizer for every 2 people and each person gets an entree and a dessert. Tea and soft drinks are included(also everyone gets a bottle of imported spring water). Beer, Wine, and Mixed Drinks are extra. That is a lot of food. We had a good meal at Toothsome’s and yes each person can get one of their amazing milkshakes or sundaes to themselves. Our entire lunch took over an hour and a half at Toothsome’s. It took a while for our food to come out so that does cut into your VIP Tour Time. If you want to spend the least amount of time eating lunch you do have the option of going to the VIP Lunch Buffet at Cafe La Bamba. That will be your quickest option if you want to get to more attractions during your tour. Also, usually, the in-park restaurants get food to the table faster. Also, order your appetizers and entrees at the same time. That will usually get the food to your table faster and you can get back out on the Tour.

After lunch, we head back to Islands Of Adventure because our party wanted to take Hogwarts Express back to Kings Cross Station to get the full experience. While many people want to take Hogwarts Express from park to park the VIP Tour Guide can also take you from park to park via backstage since both parks are right next to each other.

After arriving in London in Universal Studios Florida we head into Diagon Alley. It’s the Owen Family’s first time there so it was amazing seeing their reaction to the Dragon and all the theming and atmosphere that makes Diagon Alley one of the best theme parks lands in the world. We head straight up the exit of Gringott’s to ride the amazing attraction. We follow up with Ollivander’s Wand Experience. However, there is no guarantee just because you are on a VIP Tour that someone in your group will be chosen. Then it is time for some of us to pick out a wand.

The next stop is Men In Black. After riding the attraction we get to go on the Immigration Tour where you get to go into the Men In Black office floor that you can see from the queue. You can take all kinds of pictures sitting at the desk, with the Twins, or in one of those funky chairs. It is a really neat thing to do.

After that, it is 6 pm and we have reached the end of our 8 hr long VIP Tour. We thank our tour guide and take a picture with her. Our tour guide Kristi was amazing. We recommend you ask for her if you ever book a VIP Tour at Universal Orlando. She is the best.

But our day isn’t over yet because we still have dinner. But first, we get to use our Universal Express Passes to ride Transformers and Minion Mayhem.

Then it is time for dinner at Big Fire in CityWalk. If you like Steak, Chicken, or Pork we recommend you book Big Fire for dinner. It was so good and so much food. We also recommend you order the fondue as one of your appetizers. It is one of the highlights of the restaurant. We didn’t even ask for it but they brought out shrimp sides with each of our entrees. Needless to say dinner there was so much food we ended up taking home most of our entrees and our desserts(the Dutch Apple Pie is very good) because we were still pretty full from Toothsome’s earlier and the appetizers. We did all try Big Fire’s signature dessert the Tableside Smores. Those were a lot of fun roasting your own marshmallow and creating your own gooey smore.

We were so stuffed that even though we had some time we didn’t make it back into the park. So that was our day experiencing a Private Universal VIP Tour Experience. After doing both the Universal and Disney World VIP Tours we have to say Universal offers better experiences. You get way more bang for your buck along with meals being included but also getting backdoored onto Attractions as opposed to having to use the Lightning Lane queue at Disney World means you will get to do a lot more during your time than you would on a Disney Tour. Also, you get an Unlimited Express Pass to use after your tour. The Universal VIP Tour Experience is superior to the Disney World VIP Tours. For pricing and information to book a Private or Group Universal VIP Tour Experience click here.

Thanks again to the Owen Family for letting us tag along on their Universal VIP Tour Experience.

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