Thread by @nathanbarry

Did you know you can pay to skip all the lines at Disneyland?

I did it last week & learned all about it.

The special tour is called Disney VIP Tours. If you’ve spent time in the park you may have seen the guides in their plaid vests. It’s wildly expensive & worth every penny.

Here are a few perks:

1. Skip all the lines. The longest wait we had was maybe 5-7 minutes.

2. Priority reservations for meals.

3. Reserved seating up front for shows like Fantasmic & World of Color. No need to get there early.

4. Valet parking at The Grand Californian.

Enjoyed a popular ride? Turn around and do it again, but instead of waiting an hour you can be back on it in 5 minutes.

We did 24 rides in one day...with small kids. And it was totally manageable.

Okay, about the cost... It's expensive:

$450 – $700 per hour, with a minimum of 7 hours. So you're going to spend at least $3,150. The price depends on how popular the park and tours are that day.

Oh yeah, and that doesn't include admission to the park.

The tour is for up to 10 people, so if you split it with friends or another family the cost can be more manageable.

Here's the experience:

The day starts with valet parking at The Grand Californian. 10 min after arriving at Disneyland we were inside California Adventure (the line through the hotel is short).

We started with a few hours on our own. The park isn't busy early, so we waited to meet up with the guide.

Because of COVID you have to meet your guide at a set place & sign a waiver. After we did that we started skipping every line on Pixar Pier. Hilary & I wanted to do the Incredicoaster, but the kids didn't. While we did one ride the kids did the carousel with their grandparents.

The guide isn't a babysitter, so you have to have an adult with the kids at all times.

But after we'd finish a ride he'd be waiting at the exit with our stroller ready to go onto the next one.

We said what we were interested in and he planned the perfect route.

We ended each day at 5 or 5:30 with our guide dropping us off at the restaurant where he had made dinner reservations. Then we'd explore the park for another hour or two after dinner before heading to bed.

We did three days at the park, the first two with our guide. That meant we could hit all the rides we wanted (we revisited our favorites from day 1) and save the experiences without lines (Tom Sawyers island, shopping, etc) for a slower paced day on our own.

We work hard and invest in order to buy experiences and memories. If your business or creative venture is taking off, plan and start saving for a fun splurge.

My splurge is a perfect day at Disneyland with friends and family. Yours might be something totally different.