Amazing Ways to Pay for More Disney Rides
Like anywhere else on the planet, membership has its privileges at Disney theme parks. Annual passholders get more than regular customers. Club 33 members get MUCH more than annual passholders. And the best of the best, Golden Oaks residents, get more than Club 33 members. At Disney theme parks, you’ll find plenty of ways to get more out of your trip as long as you’re willing to pay for it. Here are several upsells available at Walt Disney World.
Golden Oaks Ownership
I’m going to list these options in descending order. I’m doing this to point out that some ways are more feasible than others. Several upsells are viable for any budget, while the top three are going to price out anyone who couldn’t pay cash for a summer home. Part of this article is educational; the rest about admiring how one-percenters live.
Appropriately, Disney saves the best of all upsells for homeowners at Golden Oak. These folks have spent at least $1.5 million to purchase a home in one of the exclusive subdivisions near Walt Disney World. As part of their ownership agreement, they receive private transportation to and from the parks along with a set number of annual passes, single-day admission tickets, and daily FastPasses. They even get special private tours, something I’ll discuss in detail in just a minute.
Purchasing a home at Golden Oak embodies the height of Disney fandom among the wealthy. You’ll get treated like royalty, and you will literally live at Disney. Unfortunately, your bank account needs to have eight zeroes in it for this choice to be feasible.
Club 33 Membership
If Golden Oaks is for the elite, Club 33 is for the next group of people. I’m talking about folks who love Disney but aren’t willing to drop millions of dollars to live there. They still have a tremendous option to be elite at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, though.
For a cost of $40,000 for the first year and then $15,000 annually after that, guests get to eat at one of the most exclusive restaurants anywhere. Club 33 always had a secret membership available at Disneyland. A couple of years ago, it added one at Walt Disney World.
The newer Club 33 is arguably better because it has four different restaurants available, one at each park. The most impressive part is that they’re hidden in plain sight. I recently walked up to the one at Magic Kingdom and had to point it out to others, as my party wouldn’t have noticed it otherwise.
For the cost of membership, guests receive several special privileges. The best of them is that Club 33 members get more than 10 FastPasses daily! These FastPasses aren’t the regular ones, either. They’re good at any attraction! Do you want to ride Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’Vi River Journey consecutively? You can! Club 33 members don’t have to worry about FastPass tiers. They pay for the right to ride what they want when they want. Oh, and I’m told that the food is exceptional, too.
VIP Tours
We’ve talked to the Plaids before at MickeyBlog. VIP Tours are the best way to spend a day at a Disney theme park. You’ll have a cast member at your beck and call during your park visit. This person will possess encyclopedic knowledge of Disney history. Plus, they’ll have the ability to get you at the front of the line on the various attractions.
While you won’t have FastPasses per se like Club 33 and Golden Oaks members, the Plaid is just as good. Also, this person will work as a runner, grabbing any food, snacks, or beverages you might need. They can even get you into restaurants like Be Our Guest when you don’t have a reservation.
The catch is the cost. A VIP Tour costs $425-$625 per hour, and you must book for at least seven hours. You’re looking at a minimum of $2,975 (plus tip) to book a Plaid for the day. If you have the money, it’s a spectacular experience, though.
I can also offer one pro tip. You can take a group of 10 on a VIP Tour. Should you go with a couple of other families, you can split the cost three ways. Technically, singles could split the cost ten ways. That reduces the charge to $300-$1,000 per person/group. The only catch is that you’re no longer in charge of the itinerary. It becomes a group discussion instead. Disney message boards are full of threads for splitting the cost of VIP Tours if you want to try this strategy once.
Special Tours
Speaking of shared tours, Disney books several special ones for guests. Probably the most famous of these is the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, which costs $99 per person. On this tour, you get to visit the legendary Utilidors where cast members work. This underground facility is otherwise unavailable to regular park visitors.
The other option of note is the Ultimate Night of Adventure Tour, which costs $249 per person. For that (not insignificant) price, you’ll spend four hours on an exclusive nighttime tour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You’ll get to ride many of the best park attractions including both Pandora offerings, Expedition Everest, DINOSAUR, and a special Kilimanjaro Safaris trip. You’ll even get reserved seats for Rivers of Light!
Here are five of our favorite tours if you’re interested.
Early Morning Magic
One of the newest ways to improve your park day is through special ticketed events. While Disney offers annual ones such as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas, you don’t have to wait 12 months to experience such as an upsell.
The parks also have Early Morning Magic offerings. On certain days, Disney opens Fantasyland early. Guests willing to pay $69 per adult and $59 per child gain access to Fantasyland prior to the park’s opening. You’ll have 75 minutes to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as much as you want. You can easily ride each of them a couple of times during this event, assuming you plan well. Plus, breakfast is included in the package!
Would you prefer to visit Toy Story Land? A similar offering is available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You’ll get to enter the newest themed land at Walt Disney World 75 minutes before regular park guests. During this time, you can ride all three Toy Story-related attractions in the area.
Early Park Breakfast
Here’s another pro tip for you. Some frequent Disney park visitors have figured out a hidden upsell. A few restaurants at Walt Disney World open well before the park does. When you book a reservation for one of these places, you can enter the park early.
The only caveat is that you must possess appropriate park admission for that day. As long as you do, EAT FAST! The moment that you’re done, you can exit the restaurant and rush to an attraction, thereby beating the line. This strategy only nets you one or two extra rides before the official park openings. At a place like Crystal Palace or Be Our Guest at Magic Kingdom, however, that’s enough time to run to an attraction that’s always crowded like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, or Space Mountain. You’ll beat the rush!
Extra Magic Hours
Here is the best deal at Walt Disney World. The reason why you should ONLY stay at a Disney resort when you book a vacation is this amenity. With Extra Magic Hours, you get an exclusive hour in at least one park each day. On some dates, it’s two parks, one in the morning and one in the evening.
During this extra hour, the only other people in line are other guests at Disney resorts, many of whom skip Extra Magic Hours. It’s the best way to get extra park time out of all Disney upsells. Why? You have to pay for a hotel room during your trip anyway. So, it’s not an extra out-of-pocket expense. You get it anyway.
Compared to all of the other suggestions here, it’s the cheapest way to get the most out of your Disney visit. It’s also why you should contact a representative at MickeyTravels to schedule your next Disney vacation. They’ll book you a room that you can afford, and it will come with Extra Magic Hours to maximize your vacation enjoyment!