Planning Tips

Why Should You Use WDW Park Planners?

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You’re probably asking yourself, “why should I use WDW Park Planners to plan my Disney World vacation?” Well, here are a few important reasons!

Disney World Expertise

My love and passion for Disney World has made me an expert on the subject. I know the ins and outs of the parks and use my knowledge to help clients get the most out of their vacation. Planning a trip to Disney can be a daunting task (even if you’ve been there before!), especially when things are constantly changing at the parks and resorts. I work hard to always stay up-to-date on all WDW news and make the planning process stress-free and magical for you!

As an independently owned business, I provide honest thoughts and recommendations on all things park and resort related (i.e. the Disney Dining Plan might not make sense for your family’s vacation, and that’s okay!). I don’t push for any particular resorts, restaurants or packages – I just help you determine what’s best for your family’s vacation!

Strategic Planning

Planning a trip to Disney World is unlike any other vacation prep. With a staggering number of new restaurants, rides and attractions opening at Disney World, resort rooms, dining reservations and Fast Passes are getting tougher to come by. I help secure those prized bookings and create a plan that ensures you get the most out of your time in the parks. No more wasting away your days in lines or struggling to figure out where to go next – I do the hard part for you! You just show up at the parks ready to hit the pavement!

Personalized Itinerary

After learning what your dream Disney trip looks like, I create a day-by-day itinerary specifically designed with your family in mind. This trip schedule is based on everything from your kids’ ages and heights to favorite rides, Disney movies and characters! I even include time for breaks – whether it’s just coffee, pool time or naps – it’s necessary to take a breather from your busy day at the parks! Leading up to your trip, we’ll work closely together to make sure you hit all of your family’s “must dos.” Not sure what your must dos are? I have tons of magical recommendations that I’d be happy to share!

My goal is to help you get the most out of your vacation and experience the magic and wonder of Disney. Questions? I’d love to talk to you and answer them!

Planning Tips

My VIP Tour: Make Better Memories at Walt Disney World

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By: Colleen Bentley, WDW Park Planners

Front row viewing, saved just for us! We walked up a few minutes before the show started and had a prime viewing location saved by the tour guides. Our guide grabbed waters for us to have during the show since it was hot and humid that day 🙂

What is it? 

My VIP Tour is an Orlando based company that offers Disney VIP tours of the parks. Their team of professionals will plan the ideal itinerary for your family’s vacation, and then you will have a Disney World private tour guide take you around the parks so you don’t have to worry about a thing! 

Their guides are incredibly talented and know the ins and outs of the parks. Aside from being local park experts, they go above and beyond to take care of your family. MY VIP Tour guides do everything from getting your coffee to holding it while you enjoy the rides, from saving the best parade viewing locations to creating magical moments for your kids with little surprises throughout the day – and it’s those little things that make the experience so special. They provide a seamless experience for your family so you can “Make Better Better Memories.” 

My VIP Tour creates a strategic plan for your family that they execute so you will wait in minimal lines (less than 15 minutes!) the entire day. They do all of the work so you can experience more in the parks and enjoy quality time together to really get that Disney VIP experience. 

That’s our guide, Kelly, in the middle! We had SO much fun with her in the parks!

Why should you consider it?

You’re already spending a ton of money to make your Disney vacation special, so you want to make sure you do it right and get the most out of your time and money. With My VIP Tour, you are guaranteed to do Disney right. Their top notch guides are highly trained professionals that will make it a trip to remember for your family. You’ll never want to do Disney again without them!

If you’ve ever thought about having an official Disney Private VIP tour guide take your family through the parks but didn’t want to spend $450-$750 per hour, you can book My VIP Tour for a fraction of the price! Their tours run from $175-$250 per hour, depending on the season. They require a minimum of six hours which is an optimal amount of time to get in all of your Must Do rides and attractions (but many families end up extending their day with the guide because they have such a great time!). 

A-team level picture 😉

Our experience!

My husband and I had the opportunity to spend the last day of our trip with a My VIP Tour guide on a  Magic Kingdom tour, and it was absolutely magical! Kelly was the BEST, and we had such a fun day with her. 

As the family trip planner for years, it was an unusual feeling to hand over the reins to someone else who was a park expert. Once I got over the initial questioning of wondering where we were going next and how they would plan our day for us, I was able to enjoy Magic Kingdom in a totally different way! 

I got to sit back and relax while Kelly led us from one attraction to the next, all the while keeping up the conversation about our Disney favorites AND at the same time working on getting us more Fast Passes, coffee, water – whatever we needed! She made it look effortless, and as a fellow trip planner and expert, I was so impressed with her skills!! 

Disney World can be stressful, overwhelming and, frankly, not magical, even for people who visit regularly! It’s a ton of advance work and planning just before you get there, and you need to really know your way around. Take the burden off your plate and book a My VIP Tour guide today 🙂 

We are so grateful for Kelly for making our day extra magical!!

Interested in learning more? 

Visit their website and send me a message so I can share more about it with you! 

My VIP Tour Website

 

Reviews

Tour Review: Caring for Giants

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Elephant Tour at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 

Location: Disney’s Animal Kingdom 

Rating:

Details:

  • 60 minute tour
  • Offer several time slots throughout the day 
  • $30 per person, regardless of age
  • Must be 4+ years old (kids under 18 need an accompanying adult)
  • Experience “backstage” of Disney’s Animal Kingdom
  • Get up close with the animals in a private viewing area – 80 to 100 feet away!

Overview:

On this one hour tour, you get to meet with animal specialists from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. These are the cast members who care for these massive elephants, so you’ll get to hear all about what it’s like every single day with the African herd. You also get to hear from an African cultural representative who will share about Disney’s conservation efforts in their homeland. 

As you listen to these experts, you’re in a special viewing area about 80-100 feet away from the elephants! It’s a unique angle and closer than you get to see them on Kilimanjaro Safari –  so worth it just for that. 

Our Experience:

We got tickets for this tour to celebrate my sister’s birthday! She is an Environmental Science major and loves animals, so we thought this would be a special way to celebrate her golden birthday (she turned 19 on the 19th!).

Despite the torrential rain all day at Animal Kingdom, we still had a great time on this tour. The rain miraculously held off during our viewing portion – for which you’re outside with no coverage – so we lucked out! 

Our tour guide was coincidentally from a town close to where we’re from, so we hit it off right away. He took us backstage in Animal Kingdom to our bus, which he drove and took us a few minutes away to the viewing area to observe the elephants. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the African herd and how they were cared for by the Disney specialists. 

When our guide was done, he turned it over to the cultural representative, who was from Tanzania. He shared stories of his homeland and about how Disney was working to conserve the wild populations. 

Overall, we thought this tour was worth the money spent. For $30, and one hour of our day, it was great! I love seeing the backstage of Disney (as un-glamorous as it is). If you’re looking for something unique and reasonably priced at Disney, then this is it!  

Buy Tickets Here