Disney: Ultimate Nights of Adventure VIP Tour

We are back from an exhausting week in Disney World.
Note to self: never go during a holiday week, even if it's just President's Day.

One of the few photos of us from our trip (that doesn't include alcohol)

I won't go into too many details on just how exhausting our trip was; I want to focus on one segment of our trip that was FABULOUS. I cannot speak any higher of the VIP tour  offered by Disney. I can honestly say I would do this tour again and even try a different VIP tour experience. The next VIP tour I'd love to try is the Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour. Sign me up!

Let's start here - if you want the 411 from Disney's website, look no further than here. This is what is included as described by the Disney website.

The Magic of Nature at Night

The Magic of Nature On this 4-hour guided group adventure, discover a landscape shimmering with lights and brimming with life. Embark on an expedition through the icy peaks of the Himalayas. Ride in an open-air vehicle on the lush African savanna. Journey deep into a bioluminescent rainforest on a river boat. And behold a brilliant fusion of water, sound and light unlike anything you’ve seen before! Best of all, you’ll enjoy these wonders with expedited FastPass+ access on this first-of-its-kind tour.

Experience Attractions and a Show

Delight in a Tasty Drink

Take a break from the fun with signature snacks and a specialty beverage (nonalcoholic or alcoholic for Guests 21 and older). 
*Rivers of Light is offered on select nights. You can check the performance schedule up to 180 days in advance.

If you know me AT ALL, you know that I love to research things, especially travel related. So I scoured the internet to see what information I could find  about this tour.
I found ONE YouTube video that takes you along for the ride. I even reached out to the YT creator on Instagram to ask a few additional questions. She was AWESOME and friendly while providing the extra deets I craved.


When/What time/How Long/Where: This tour starts promptly at 3p, you need to check in by 2:45PM (hence the word "Night" in the title - it's more late the late afternoon/evening). This tour is about 4 hours - ended around 7p (start of Rivers of Light).
This tour is ONLY at Animal Kingdom.

Cost: Everyone wants to know WHAT DID THIS COST?!? $249/person plus tax. The total for the two of us was approximately $530. You can receive a discount if you have the Disney credit card or if you are a DVC member.

Was it worth it? Sorry, but you'll have to keep reading!!

Where to Meet:
We met at the location provided to us on a confirmation email sent 7 days prior to our tour. We met on Discovery Island Trail behind the Tree of Life. (Guess how many leaves are on the tree?! Yes, the tour started with trivia!)
They had a table set up along with 3 cast members who assisted with "check in".

Check in:
At check in, you choose what type of wine/beer you want with your meal (>21 years old) or select a non-alcoholic beverage.  You also had a choice of 2 desserts (one chocolate and one non-chocolate). The choices for alcoholic beverages are limited, but I easily found a wine (the only pinot noir) I wanted to drink. I can't recall the # of beer choices they had, but there were a few options.

Group Size:
They max out each group at 25 people - we had 17 people and then a family of 4 left at the very beginning (the young girl was sick) so we only had 13 in our group and it was PERFECT!

You just provide your name and grab your name tags which are on a VIP lanyard that becomes your keepsake. They had bottled water on the table so you could have a bottle while waiting for the tour to begin. We ran to Starbucks while waiting so I could caffeinate for the journey.


(Photo Credit: Laughing Place)

I was NOT good about taking photos (I'll blame heat exhaustion) upon arrival or throughout the tour, so I'm going to link an excellent review. This was one of the few reviews I could find with actual photos. Laughing Place was a great resource with figuring out what to expect.

Starting the tour:
The guides introduce themselves and then everyone goes around to say their name, where they are from, and their favorite animal.

Each ride included in this tour allows you quick access via the Fast Pass line. You are quickly ushered through the Fast Pass line and we waited only a few minutes for each ride. It actually felt like we were almost cutting the fast pass line in some cases.

Rides:
Our first ride was Safari, then we entered Pandora. We rode Na'vi River Journey and then Avatar Flight of Passage before heading for our "snack" in Pandora.


We were brought to a separate waiting area and hopped on. Our entire group took up about 4-5 rows, so we were all together in one group.

Enjoy the ONE ride of photos I took!











After we completed Pandora, we went to Satu'li Canteen for a "snack".
Spoiler alert: they want the food spread to be a surprise, so they use the word "snack" so it's a pleasant surprise when you enter.
Each place setting had one bottle of Smart Water in addition to your beverage of choice.










After a DELICIOUS and filling "snack", we headed to Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, then Rivers of Light. Our tour ended at Rivers of Light where they had a special section (2nd/3rd rows) for our tour group that was marked as 'reserved' when we arrived. The show is BEAUTIFUL! If you have the opportunity to see this show, it is worth your time. I promise!
















In a couple of reviews I found online, people seemed to complain about too many bathroom breaks. I did not find there was an excessive amount of bathroom breaks - I would say 1 per hour on average. You had an opportunity before/after Pandora and again before/after Dinosaur. 
I felt that our two guides were SUPER accommodating for anyone who did not want to ride a particular ride. We had one person in a wheelchair and they ensured that she had the same accessibility as we all did. Even Avatar has an accessible entrance that we were diverted to.
(Please note: if you have a family member/friend in a wheelchair - YOU must push them. The guides are not there to push wheelchairs).

All in all, YES, this is worth the price tag. TO ME. My husband agreed. If you could not fast pass Flight of Passage and want to hit all of the big rides -YES, this is worth it. This is such a personal question because everyone has a different perspective on how valuable their time is. I consider my time to be very valuable and I HATE lines in the heat. The line for FOP was literally HOURS long in the morning. HOURS. We did get to fast pass FOP, but I enjoyed having this second experience.



Wishing you all a magical vacation!


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