How to Skip All of the Lines at Disney World

It Can Be Done. But It'll Cost You.

By
Arthur Levine
Arthur Levine
Arthur Levine
Arthur is a travel writer with more than 25 years of experience. He has been covering theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, and attractions for TripSavvy since 2002.
TripSavvy's editorial guidelines
Updated on 09/17/21
Fact checked by
Jillian Dara
Jillian Dara
Fact checked by Jillian Dara
Emerson College
Jillian Dara is a freelance journalist and fact-checker. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Michelin Guides, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Forbes.
TripSavvy's fact-checking
Line of people waiting for ride at Disneyworld
There are lines everywhere at Disney World, but you can avoid them -- if you know how and have the resources. Joe Penniston/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Have you ever visited Disney World and pushed your way through an impossibly enormous crowd only to discover that the standby line for Haunted Mansion—an attraction that you and your theme park posse really wanted to ride—was snaking out into Liberty Square? And the wait time was over two hours? Yeesh.

Have you ever wished that you could just sashay up to the front of the line and walk right into the famous stretching room? Or skip all the infernal lines at the popular resort? Well, you can.

We are not talking about Disney Genie+, the ride reservation program that the Disney parks introduced in fall 2021 to replace FastPass+. Yes, you can use the moderately priced Disney Genie+ to skip some ride lines. But there are all kinds of restrictions and limits. (For example, you can only make one reservation at a time. And not all attractions are available for the program.)

The parks also introduced Lightning Lane Select in fall 2021. That option allows visitors to purchase access to high-demand attractions such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. But guests are restricted to two Lightning Lane Select attractions per day. Then there is the incredibly popular Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The hype surrounding the groundbreaking Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is, um, out of this world. The only way most visitors can get on Rise is by either waiting in a loooong standby line (or using the parks’ often-frustrating Virtual Queue program when it is available).

No matter how much planning you do, you're bound to end up waiting in at least a few (if not many) lines.

But what if we told you that you could forget about Disney Genie+, Lightning Lane Select, and all of the other line management technology and strategies that Disney offers, but still walk right onto nearly every ride your heart desires (including Rise of the Resistance and Avatar Flight of Passage)?

All you need are some bucks—lots of 'em.

Disney World VIP Tour Services
 TripSavvy / Theresa Chiechi 

Disney World doesn't trumpet it too loudly, but the resort offers something it calls VIP Tour Services. It allows participants to hop right onto most rides of their choosing as well as a bunch of other benefits. In 2021, the fee to book a premium VIP tour for a group of up to 10 people ranges from  $425 to $850 per hour, depending on the season, for a minimum 7-hour duration, not including theme park admission.

2:27
Watch Now: The Do’s and Don’ts of Visiting Disney World

Things to Know About Disney World VIP Tour Services

  • The premium service includes door-to-door transportation from wherever you are staying in Central Florida to Disney World. Unfortunately, the mode of transportation is not a pumpkin coach.
  • Participants also get VIP seating for shows. For parades and nighttime spectaculars, the Disney VIP Tour Services team will help make reservations for special viewing areas.
  • Tour groups receive the insight of the trained guide. (You may have seen the guides at the parks; they're the ones wearing the tartan vests.)
  • The tours can cover multiple parks and last multiple days. (Disney World is enormous, after all.)
  • At the end of the seven-hour period, guests have the option of extending the tour up to 14 total hours. But, the meter is ticking (of course) for every hour of your tour.
  • The program is quite popular and availability can be limited. Make reservations well in advance (up to 180 days) if you want to take advantage of the service.

Other Tour Options

If Disney World's custom, private VIP tours are too pricey for you, the resort does offer other pre-planned group tours. Among the choices are an Ultimate Disney Classics VIP tour of the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom Tour, and a Backstage Magic tour. There is even an Epcot Seas Adventures – Aqua Tour that includes snorkeling in The Living Seas huge aquarium tank. Learn more about other Disney World tours here. Note that Disney World temporarily suspended the group tours during the pandemic. But the private tours have been available.