Disney and Universal Studios theme park enthusiasts are always looking to get the best experience from their visits.
Devout theme park fans will often go a step further than just paying for a gate admission to get into a park and instead invest in a park pass that allows the guest to bypass the standby line for rides and attractions to reduce their wait in a long line.
At the Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., that means paying for Genie, Genie+ or Lightning Lane to bypass those lines. Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood offer the Universal Express to make guests lives easier in line for a few more dollars.
Disney (DIS) and Comcast's (CMCSA) Universal Parks have even more behind-the-scenes adventures available for ardent fans looking to learn more about the parks than your average visitor.
Disney World has several reasonably priced personal encounter tours such as the "Behind the Seeds" agricultural tour at The Land Pavilion at Epcot for $35, Disney Animal Kingdom's "Caring for Giants" encounter with elephants also for $35 or maybe "Up Close With Rhinos" at Animal Kingdom for $45. Magic Kingdom has a five-hour "Keys to the Kingdom Tour" at the theme park for $114. All of these adventures require gate admission, which ranges from $109 to $189, depending on demand.
Private VIP Tour at Disney World Isn't Cheap
For even bigger fans, Disney World's Private VIP Tours range from $450 to $900 per hour for a group of 10 people for a minimum seven hours, with the price depending on the season. The additional park admission is required.
Disneyland offers "Walt's Main Street Story Tour," a 90-minute walk covering behind the scenes on Main Street USA for $160. Park admission is required as well. The park's VIP Tour ranges from $500 to $700 per hour for a group of up to 10 people for a minimum of seven hours. Park admission is also required. Disneyland Resort's park admission ranges from $104 to $179.
Universal Orlando Resort offers a VIP Experience starting at $189 with a couple of options with one park for five hours including a minimum eight rides or attractions or two parks for seven hours including a minimum 10 rides or attractions. Separate theme park admission is required. A Private VIP experience is also available, but guests should contact the resort for exact pricing on all of these VIP Experiences.
Universal Studios Hollywood's VIP Experience has limited availability with no price listed. Guests are advised to contact the theme park for details.
SeaWorld Entertainment's (SEAS) theme parks also offer their guests the VIP treatment. SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio, Texas, are looking to compete with Disney and Universal parks as they on June 27 began offering some much lower-priced tours.
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SeaWorld Parks Offer VIP Tour Bargain Prices
San Antonio's SeaWorld park is the best bargain at $399 per person for its seven-hour Ultimate VIP Tour, which gets guests a private VIP tour guide, front of the line access to rides, entrance to the park, complimentary parking, two meals and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, animal encounters, reserve seating to shows and animal presentations and a Photokey to capture images.
SeaWorld in San Diego is a little pricier at $499 for the exact same benefits, while Orlando charges $600 to $750, for a tour with the same features, according to the parks' websites.
SeaWorld's affiliate Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., offers its Elite VIP Tour with a tour guide ranging from $429.99 to $679.99 with a minimum two guests required, but the website does not include any other details.
