Walt Disney World is now offering discounts on VIP Tours and Club Level rooms for select dates through Fall 2025. This covers details about the deals, but more importantly, commentary about Walt Disney World running special offers on these limited-capacity offerings that, presumably, are aimed at the top 10% of guests.
This VIP Tours discount comes hot on the heels of yesterday’s post, Is Walt Disney World Too Expensive for Middle Class Americans?, which discussed the company’s increasing reliance on the top 10% to 20% of household incomes. This is just one of several recent posts that has covered the negative long-term ramifications of pricing out families and alienating longtime fans.
That also covered how we expect Walt Disney World to continue aiming more upmarket going forward, as that represents a growth area (Lightning Lane Premier Pass being one of several such examples). This isn’t unique to Walt Disney World, as the hospitality industry as a whole is chasing higher-spending customers, with airlines reducing their inventory of economy seats and replacing them with fewer premium cabins and hotels replacing standard rooms with suites.
Given all of that, it seems worth sharing the latest discount on VIP Tours at Walt Disney World:
For a limited time, guests staying in Club Level Rooms or Club Level Suites at Walt Disney World Resort on select dates from April 28 to September 27, 2025, can save 20% on a Disney Private VIP Tour during their stay.
Make your Disney day unforgettable with a private VIP Tour Guide, turning your adventure into a magical, personalized experience! Enjoy a fully customizable experience with private transportation, guided by Disney’s most knowledgeable and friendly Cast Members.
Walt Disney World’s personalized VIP services include:
- Pre-arrival planning
- A flexible start time, picked by you
- Visits to multiple theme parks
- The ability to enjoy some of your favorite attractions efficiently during your visit
- Shared insight from your highly knowledgeable Disney Private VIP Tour Guide throughout your tour
This Walt Disney World VIP Tour discount is valid from April 28 through September 27, 2025 during a Resort stay. The number of tours allocated for this offer is limited. Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same tour. Reservations required. Valid for new reservations only.
Offer is nontransferable and proof of eligibility may be required at the time of booking and at the time of the tour. Valid Theme Park admission for each Park visited on the tour is required and is not included. Offer may not be combined with any other offer, discount or promotion. Offer subject to change or cancellation without notice.
VIP Tour Discount Blockout Dates:
- May 23-26, 2025
- June 19-26, 2025
- July 4-7, 2025
- August 30 to September 1, 2025
This discount is also being offered to eligible Disney Vacation Club Members. Details are identical to the above, right down to offer and blockout dates. There are a few other added terms & conditions:
Eligible Disney Vacation Club Member must pay for the tour and be on the tour. Offer is non-transferable and proof of eligibility is required at the time of booking. A valid digital Disney Vacation Club Membership Card and photo ID are required at the time of the tour.
All tours must be booked for a minimum duration of 7 continuous hours, and your party may include up to 10 Guests, including infants. Guests age 17 or younger must be accompanied by a participating adult. The price for VIP Tours ranges from $450 to $900 per hour depending on the date booked. Admission to the parks is not included in the price of the VIP Tour.
Separately, special offers no longer categorically exclude Club Level rooms–as was the case for a long stretch during the peak of pent-up demand. This is not a brand-new development, but has been a gradual change over the course of the last couple discount cycles. (I’ve probably mentioned it in deal analysis, but can’t recall.)
During the height of revenge travel, Club Level was excluded from discounts because it was easily booking up at full price. As we’ve definitely commented elsewhere, Club Level went from being a common free upgrade to one of the most competitive room categories–even at exorbitant rack rates that often start at over $1,000 per night.
Accordingly, I thought it was interesting when I went to price rooms for an upcoming May 2025 trip via the Stay Longer & Save Up to 30% Off Disney World Resorts in Spring to Fall 2025, and Club Level rooms were the only options for my dates at my first two choices: Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary Resort. The former was $794/night and the latter was $979…with a discount.
The only Club Level I’d actually want right now, Chronos Club, is the most difficult to book…presumably because it’s also the least expensive (minor detail). I’d like to re-review that, but it has become my white whale. Unsurprisingly so, since it can be under $400/night with a discount, which is the lowest Club Level room by hundreds of dollars!
As you know by know, Walt Disney World doesn’t offer discounts out of the goodness of its heart. It’s not like the company is thinking that the wealthy have really had a tough go of it lately, and deserve to save some of their hard-earned dollars on VIP Tours or Club Level rooms. To the contrary, it’s all about demand–or more accurately, the lack thereof.
Interest in VIP Tours has died down in the last year-plus, but it wasn’t that long ago that Walt Disney World had off-the-charts demand at full price. I recall hearing from Club 33 members that they were being offered trades of exclusive artwork in exchange for their allotted VIP Tours, because Walt Disney World didn’t have enough guides and was having trouble satisfying demand from guests willing to pay out of pocket.
Now, demand for both high-end product offerings has dropped to the point that they’re being discounted. Keep in mind that it’s not as if Walt Disney World has a huge inventory of Club Level rooms or endless supply of VIP Tour Guides. These are both extremely low-capacity offerings aimed at a very low percentage of guests.
Walt Disney World being unable to fill Club Level rooms or VIP Tours, despite the low-capacity of both, certainly would suggest that a strategy of catering to wealthy guests is bound to backfire. It also probably indicates that even the top tier of Walt Disney World guests are trading down for lower-cost vacations as compared to what they were spending during the height of revenge travel.
Bigger picture, this further reinforces that Disney should not predicate its forward-looking expectations on what happened in 2022. Pent-up demand was an anomaly, as its name suggests. Expecting consumers to maintain that level of spending or product preferences is a recipe for unrealistic expectations and bad business decisions.
In the case of VIP Tours, it’s almost certain that Lightning Lane Premier Pass has cannibalized some demand. This was an inevitability, as it’s a more cost effective option for some affluent guests. While LLPP is a product aimed at filling the gap between Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and VIP Tours, it’s almost certain that some prior or potential purchasers of the guided tours are trading down to LLPP. Just because people are wealthy doesn’t mean they aren’t also frugal or value conscious.
There’s also the reality that some people would find Lightning Lane Premier Pass to be more subjectively compelling, even at equivalent costs. To wit: I’m not in the market for either of these products, but if I were, I’d buy LLPP over a VIP Tour since being accompanied in the parks by a stranger is very unappealing to me. Obviously, not everyone is like me, and well-heeled first-timers are likely to appreciate the value added by the guide. But some people are like me, and would prefer their limited family time be spent with…their families.
A bit tangential, but I’m curious as to whether Lightning Lane Premier Pass is viewed as a success internally. It’s something the CFO touted on a recent earnings call, but that sounded like fluff–telling investors what they want to hear. LLPP has come at a cost–both a monetary one if a large number of guests are trading down from VIP Tours and reputational one thanks to the flurry of negative press. (To the latter point, I’ve seen several mainstream media articles that now mention in passing that Lightning Lanes can cost “over $400” without explaining the starting price, range, or differentiating products. That’s not a good first impression for those unfamiliar with Disney!)
Ultimately, all of this should underscore some of what we’ve been warning about Walt Disney World not being overreliant on the wealthy, top 10/20% of earners, and so forth. Although there are unrealized opportunities among these demographics for Disney, there’s also the reality that affluent are fickle and have no loyalty to Disney.
The middle class is still Walt Disney World’s bread and butter, and the generational fans forged over decades is foundational to the parks’ 50-plus year success. Chasing high-spending guests may prove to be foolish and detrimental in the long-term, especially once those affluent Americans get their fill of Disney, realize it’s not the kind of luxury experience to which they’re accustomed, and move on.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Walt Disney World offering discounts on VIP Tours and Club Level rooms? Does this suggest to you that, if WDW can’t even consistently sell out these low-inventory offerings, perhaps chasing the wealthy isn’t the most viable business plan at scale? Do you still think that Walt Disney World can sustain itself with these big-spenders? Or do you agree with our assessment that Walt Disney World is inherently a middle class destination, and it needs this bread & butter demo? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
