Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Universal Studios VIP experience
11:07 AM
- Exclusive Backlot Access
- Priority access to all rides and attractions (ie unlimited Front of line Passes)
- Access to VIP lounge with breakfast
- Gourmet Lunch in the private VIP dining room
- Valet Parking
- Personal Tour Guide with a small group of other VIP's
One thing to note, guests must be at least 5 years old to experience the VIP tour. Our youngest is just 5 and the next two kids are 8 & 9. We read online LOTS of people saying not to bring kids under age 10. I disagree completely! Our little 5 year old LOVED it and he did not impede the others in our group at all. He was too short for a couple rides, so my husband and I took turns staying off those rides with him. Other than that, having him there was no different than anyone else being there. In fact, it was harder for the expectant mother in the other VIP group than it was for us with our little kids. (BTW, if I was pregnant, I would skip paying the added price to be a VIP. You cannot participate in SOOO much anyway. Just my opinion though.) We did have a pretty awesome group though and they all loved the kids. Yeah for our awesome group!!!
What was MY Experience with it?
We arrived at Universal Studios and headed right to Valet parking. They parked our car as we headed to the VIP entrance at the theme park. Once we were checked in, they sent us up to the VIP lounge where they were serving what they call "a light breakfast". It was amazing. AMAZING! Here are a couple pictures of it (this only shows 2 of the 6 stations full of food):
That breakfast alone had my oldest son sold on this VIP thing!
At breakfast, our host, Sami (pictured below with my family) explained to us what she had planned for us for the next few hours. We would spend about 3 hours out in the park doing rides and a show, eat lunch, then go to the Backlot studio VIP tour for 2 hours. After that, we would be on our own to do whatever else we wanted to at the park until it closed at 10 (still with unlimited front of line passes).
Besides the 7 of us, there were 8 other people in our VIP group. Here are the rides and attractions we did with our group:
- Transformers: The Ride-3D
- Jurassic Park: The Ride
- The Simpsons Ride
- Universal's Animal Actors Show
- Harry Potter Land!
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Ollivander's wand choosing ceremony
Let me just share one picture from that part of the day (from the Jurassic Park ride) because it is hilarious:
After all that in just a few hours (3), we had our amazing gourmet lunch. It is served Buffet style and you have about an hour to eat and drink all you want. It was truly amazing! I will just let the pictures do the talking for that:
During lunch we even met a couple characters, like Betty Boop and Count Dracula.
Once lunch was over we did our 2 hour VIP Backlot Studio tour. It was awesome! We joined another VIP group on a comfy bus (not the trams you usually ride in the backlot tour). We got to walk through a real sound set, walk along the streets of the backlot, go through part of the Prop building and wave at the trams go by (they thought we were famous people and took pictures as they passed. It was funny). Here is my family on the steps of the clock tower from Back to the Future (and yes, the 5 year old IS asleep on my husband's shoulders):
After our backlot tour was complete, we went on our own to experience more of the park (like my youngest kids FAVORITE ride in the world, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem) using our front of line passes.
Final Thoughts?
It was a splurge to do the VIP experience at Universal Studios, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was well worth the splurge! It was perfect for my whole family (2 adults and 5 kids ages 5-13). We ALL loved it. We have gone to Universal Studios without front of line VIP passes and enjoyed it, but the VIP tour made us LOVE it. If you want to go to Universal Studios and experience it at it's very best (and you are willing to pay for the splurge), the VIP tour is the way to go!
After our backlot tour was complete, we went on our own to experience more of the park (like my youngest kids FAVORITE ride in the world, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem) using our front of line passes.
Final Thoughts?
It was a splurge to do the VIP experience at Universal Studios, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was well worth the splurge! It was perfect for my whole family (2 adults and 5 kids ages 5-13). We ALL loved it. We have gone to Universal Studios without front of line VIP passes and enjoyed it, but the VIP tour made us LOVE it. If you want to go to Universal Studios and experience it at it's very best (and you are willing to pay for the splurge), the VIP tour is the way to go!
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