I’m sharing a recent visit to Universal Orlando park where my family and I did the VIP tour. Thursday, December 5th, we arrived at the park approximately an hour early to check in and enjoy the breakfast. Both the breakfast and lunch were fantastic. Zac showed up and introduced himself as our tour guide before leading my family and one other on our tour.
We enjoyed the information given by Zac as we got to our first ride; however, we didn’t see anything that we wouldn’t have seen if we were a regular guest at the park. We quickly learned to stand a few feet from Zac as he tends to spit when he talks. That’s not meant as an insult, but people paying good money for a tour don’t want to be spit on all day. Between rides, he moved very slowly. The park was not crowded, most waits for rides were under 15 minutes, and we felt we lost time enjoying the park due to the slow transition from attraction to attraction, especially when he was on his cell phone (which was often). By 1130, the other family in our group decided to leave the tour and venture on their own. I don’t know their reason for this, but looking back on the day, we definitely could have experienced more of the park had we done the same.
After the other family left, I told Zac our main focus was riding rides, and we wanted to visit the prop room. We didn’t care as much for information, we specifically bought the VIP expecting a larger crowd at the park, and thus purchased it for the unlimited express pass and front of the line ability. Zac stated he understood and could get us through the 14 rides he was allowed to take us on and be done by 1430. We went to lunch shortly after this. Once he returned, I expected the pace to pick up. It did not. Between every ride my kids and I would be out in front of him. We would have to turn around, stop, and wait for him to tell us which way we were going. At the two large coasters, The Hulk and The Red Rocket, he belittled two of my children for being scared to go on those rides. Even I wouldn’t go on them, only my wife and one child would. My wife was infuriated by his comments but kept it to herself. Despite Zac stating we’d be done by 1430, and could then use our express passes to get through the rest of the rides, our tour didn’t finish until 1615, and we were never taken to the prop room.
Overall, my family and I LOVE Universal studios. It’s our favorite park in Orlando, and that is why we purchased the VIP experience for the park. Unfortunelty, we were extremely disappointed in our VIP experience. I read tons of reviews from people who did the VIP and loved it and their tour guide. People stated their guides took pictures of the their family, provided waters and ponchos. We had to ask for a poncho on the Jurassic Park River Adventure. He commented to the store worker, “their making me get them rain ponchos.” His tone made my wife feel guilty for asking for one. He never once offered to take a picture of our family or offered us water. After the park closed and we finished shopping at the stores, we attempted to go by the VIP office to discuss our visit, but they were already closed. Once, we returned home, we wrote the above review and emailed it to them. We got a preworded standard response that our experience would be forwarded to people higher up, and we'd be contacted. We never were. My wife called them 2 weeks later and was told someone would call her back. Again no response.