Credit: DisneyThree things are inevitable on a Disney vacation: crowds, snacks, and a pretty heavy assault on your wallet. While some of the best magical memories at Disneyland or Disney World come from the small moments money can’t buy, there are also plenty of OTT experiences that can only be bought via multiple dollar signs.
We’re not just talking armfuls of Mickey Mouse plushes or a meal for five at Be Our Guest. Behind the gilded curtains, there’s a whole other world of Disney-themed offerings available to the top one percent. These are the crème de la crème of Disney Park add-ons.
Chef’s Table at Victoria & Albert’s
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is renowned as Disney World’s flagship hotel. Themed like a Victorian-style beachfront Resort, it’s home to opulent decor and equally luxurious restaurants.
The culinary crown jewel of Grand Floridian is Victoria & Albert’s, winner of the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award every year since 2000. Named after Queen Victoria and her beloved husband Albert, its decor is as regal as its name, and its menu is worthy of any monarch. As with any fine dining, this doesn’t come cheap. The prix-fixe menu begins at $295 per person – and the Chef’s Table experience boasts an even heftier price tag.
For $425 per person (and an extra $200 if you’re after a wine pairing from the restaurant’s mind-blowing 500 selections, too), you can spend three hours enjoying exclusive eats. You’ll be sat amidst “fine furnishings and a shimmering floral chandelier” while a feast tailored to your dietary preferences is whipped up before your very eyes. This is no average Walt Disney World Resort meal – which is why it’s totally off-limits to Guests under the age of 10, and semi-formal or formal attire is mandatory.
Private Surf at Typhoon Lagoon
The oldest of Disney World’s two current water parks features North America’s biggest wave pool. During Park hours, you’ll need to stand your ground between swathes of armband-clad children to get the full experience. Out of Park hours, however, it could become the private domain for you and 24 of your closest friends to try out your skills on a surfboard.
Typhoon Lagoon offers Private Surf sessions both before and after the Park closes. For $1,200 ($1,300 if you opt for an evening session, or $1,500 if you want to do it on an evening weekend), you’ll get to surf 100 waves for up to three hours. You can even add on 25 bonus waves for $300 a pop and add an extra 5 Guests for $90.
Morning sessions run from 6.45 a.m. to 9.45 a.m., while evening sessions kick off 30 minutes after Typhoon Lagoon closes. Surfing isn’t without its risks, which is why you’ll need to sign a waiver beforehand. But once you have, it’s just you, blue sky, and the mechanical, chlorinated waves. Pure, luxurious, water park fun.
Club 33
Disney’s legendary private dining club started out as a Disneyland exclusive. Located above Pirates of the Caribbean, next door to Walt Disney’s former apartment, it’s infamously tough to gain access – not to mention expensive.
To join Disneyland Resort’s Club 33, members need to pay $25,000 upfront, then $10,000 each subsequent year. There are now additional locations at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom – where members need to pay $33,000 to join, as well as an annual fee of $15,000 – and Tokyo Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland.
And these are just the last reported numbers; current members have suggested that you now need to pay closer to $60-70,000 and up to $20,000 annually. Then there’s the years-long waitlist to take into account, with Disney pausing new signups on multiple occasions.
While there are ways to get into Club 33 without paying these fees – namely by invite of an existing Club 33 member – things are also pretty pricy once you’re inside. Guests should expect to pay a minimum of $100 per person before gratuity and alcohol. You also get access to exclusive merchandise (which you’re strictly forbidden from sharing online).
VIP Tour
Odds are you’ve already spotted a VIP Tour in action. Guests accompanied by Cast Members in plaid are in the middle of an expensive jaunt around Disney property. While these are sometimes high-profile, celebrity Guests who’d cause too much of a commotion if they wandered the Parks alone, anyone can take a VIP Tour – if you have the cash.
Priced between $450 to $900 per hour (depending on the season) at Disney World and starting at $3,500 at Disneyland, a VIP Tour gives groups of up to 10 Guests ultimate access to a Disney Park’s rides, shows, and other attractions for a minimum of seven hours. You’ll get a Disney day that’s totally curated to your interests. Forget waiting in line; your Tour Guide gives you a shortcut to the front of the line, celebrity-style.
They’ll also serve as your go-to for magical Disney secrets and give you occasional backstage access as you traverse from Park-to-Park. If virtual queues, Lightning Lanes, and waiting out in the sun for a quick zip around Slinky Dog Dash aren’t your thing, this is your (costly) solution. Just factor in that you’ll also need to pay extra for your Park entry, too.
21 Royal
Another exclusive dining opportunity at Disneyland. Up to 12 Guests at a time can enjoy an “extraordinary dinner party” in the heart of Disneyland Park, in a private residence that was originally designed as a second home for Walt and Lillian Disney.
Today it’s been reimagined as a lavish, Empire-style apartment perched above Royal Street in New Orleans Square – just feet away from the bromine-scented water of Pirates of the Caribbean. Upon arrival, Guests receive full cocktail service in the salon, courtesy of the property’s designated butlers. You’ll also get a tour of the apartment, complete with a full historical breakdown of its most magical features before dinner is served.
Dinner is the main attraction. Guests gather around a lavishly decorated table, complete with gold-plated dinnerware and fine crystal. According to the 21 Royal website, “The 21 Royal team thoughtfully prepares a menu that weaves together a tapestry of imaginative dishes that combine to create an experience that is uniquely yours. The result is a wonderful combination of fine dining and Disney storytelling at its delicious best.”
Like the best Disney days, it ends with the grand finale of dessert on the private balcony, where Guests will enjoy a spectacular view of the Rivers of America – and, on certain nights, an unbeatable view of the Park’s nighttime entertainment. All yours, for just $15,000.
Galactic Starcruiser
Yes, Galactic Starcruiser is closing down (and being cut down in its prime) in September. But until then, Disney’s most immersive hotel is still available for bookings – which will cost you a pretty penny if you do manage to find an open voyage.
The price of the Galactic Starcruiser was ultimately its downfall. Costing between $4,000 and $6,000 for a two-night stay, it limited its audience to a very niche demographic: exceptionally wealthy (or exceptionally dedicated) Star Wars fans.
For those who could shell out the money, however, an experience like no other awaited you aboard the Halcyon. For the 48 hours spent traveling the Chandrila Star Line, you were totally cut off from the outside world, instead spending your time in Orlando engaging with Stormtroopers, aliens, and droids, learning how to use a lightsaber, and dining on galactic grub.
Disney’s Star Wars hotel set a new bar for immersive experiences. It was the tiny details like the shuttle-pod transportation to and from its entrance and the constellation views from the windows of a standard cabin that made it worth the buck. Ultimately, however, it was a lesson that there really is a ceiling that Disney’s wealthiest Guests aren’t willing to break.
Hotel MiraCosta
For a lesson on slightly-more-affordable immersion, see Tokyo Disney Resort’s Hotel MiraCosta. This doesn’t just offer easy Park access. If you stay at MiraCosta, you’re staying in the Park. Most of the hotel’s rooms offer views directly into Tokyo DisneySea’s Italian ports of Venice and Portofino.
Tokyo DisneySea already feels like Disney’s most lavish theme park experience. But when you throw in a night at Hotel MiraCosta, you go from a Parkgoer to a full-time resident – and isn’t that every Disney Parks fan’s dream?
Of course, a theme park zip code doesn’t come for nothing. Nights at Hotel MiraCosta range from around $500 for a standard view room to more than $3,000 for a suite, with the choice of a MiraCosta, Porto Paradiso, or Il Magnifico Suite. The latter is the finest option available at the entirety of the Tokyo Disney Resort, offering “a dream-like experience in an atmosphere of ultimate luxury” for the humble price of $5,000. You can forget about splitting this between a big group, too, as Tokyo Disney limits occupancy to two Guests per suite.
If you do opt for a suite, you’ll also be treated to a full view of Meditteranean Harbour and its Italian port city Porto Paradiso – including, if you’re lucky, the Park’s iconic volcano centerpiece. Priceless.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
If you spot a bedazzled young Prince or Princess racing through Fantasyland, odds are they’ve paid a visit to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Disney’s resident salon transforms Guests between the ages of three and twelve into the Disney royal of their choice. At a price, of course.
For Princesses, the cheapest package – the “Carriage Package” – starts at $99.95 for hairstyling, makeup, nail polish, and a sash, cinch sack, and t-shirt. The next level up is the “Castle Package,” which, for $199.95, includes a gown and accessories. The priciest option is the “Deluxe Castle Package,” where young Guests will get a deluxe gown and a necklace for $229.95.
There’s also the option to book an Encanto (2021) package if a young Guest would prefer to transform into Mirabel or Isabela ($179.95 each), a “Knights Package” ($19.95) for gel hairstyling and a sword, and a “Deluxe Knights Package” ($79.95) to add a costume.
Guests can choose from four Princess-worthy hairstyles: the Royal Braid (adorned with accessories), Enchanted (a royal bun), Fantasy (which uses a curly hairpiece with a flower halo), and Pixie Magic (which uses a ponytail hairpiece and a flower halo). Transformations take approximately 90 minutes.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salons are located at Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle, Once Upon a Toy Store at Disney Springs (although this is currently unavailable), and Disneyland’s Fantasyland. Internationally, you can also find Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Fantasyland at Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, as well as at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.
Disneyland Signature Suites
If you’re looking to go big with a Disney hotel booking, you can’t go much bigger (literally) than the Disneyland Signature Suites. While all of the Disneyland Hotel immerses Guests in the Disney magic, these themed rooms go above and beyond to bring the Parks to you.
There are currently five different Signature Suites in the hotel: the Adventureland Suite, the Pirate Suite, the Big Thunder Suite, the Fairytale Suite, and the Mickey Mouse Penthouse. Each offers two bedrooms, apart from the Fairytale Suite, which has one bedroom sleeping up to two Guests.
Perks include a continental breakfast each morning, as well as cookies and desserts each night between 8 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., snacks from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a daily wine and cheese reception, personal assistance from the Club Staff, and an exclusive view of the fireworks from the E-Ticket Club.
Disney’s spared no expense with these rooms, incorporating details like a replica of Jack Sparrow’s revolver, magically illuminated walls, a hand-cut mosaic of Sleeping Beauty Castle, and a Mickey Mouse-shaped ceiling. However, that does mean that the expense is passed on to you, the Guest, with rooms coming in at $2,500 to $3,500.