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Credit: Inside the MagicDisney has recently put out a mega-ban across the Walt Disney World parks over the past few weeks, removing any and all third-party tour companies.
Disney does run their own V.I.P. Tours at the parks, which basically gets guests onto whatever rides they would like right away, with private transport. Guests do still have to purchase their own ticket for day, and purchasing a V.I.P. Tour is very costly, resulting in thousands of dollars for up to 10 guests. While these tours are not budget-friendly, they do end up getting booked out quite often.
In order to fill the void for guests who either want a V.I.P. Tour from Disney but cannot book one due to capacity or would like a guide without having to spend so much money for the tour, third-party V.I.P. Tour companies began popping up nearly 25 years ago.
While Disney has certainly been aware of this for a long time, it was not until now that they decided to do something about it.
As Disney is based on private property, they can enact their own rules and regulations for guests to follow.
According to the Disney World website, there are three rules which can conflict with any commercial visits into the parks (AKA any visit that will make someone money while on Disney World property):
- Unauthorized events, speeches, or use of any flag, banner, sign or other material for commercial purposes or as part of a demonstration.
- Photography, videotaping or recording of any kind, or otherwise engaging in any activity, for unapproved commercial purposes.
- Unauthorized solicitations of any kind, whether commercial, religious, educational or otherwise, or conducting any unauthorized commercial activities, including solicitations of money or other contributions or donations.
Running an unauthorized business and using Disney World as your product is something that the company can certainly act on legally, which is what they have done. Now, anyone who owns or works for a third-party V.I.P. tour company that operates within the Disney parks has been flagged, and when guides have been scanning into Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the gates, they are now being sent to Guest Relations, where they will receive a trespass warning.
A larger discussion has opened up about the bans on Reddit, mostly after specific people and companies began making YouTube videos, pleading their case to Disney.
A poster said, “A YouTube channel I watch with a moderate sub base just got banned from Disney for offering 3rd Party Tours”.
They continued, “I primarily watch their DVC room tours as they do a pretty good job with their camera work and are pretty thorough, which I like. They have a fairly moderate subscriber base at 25-35k. They recently released a video with an explanation as to why they haven’t posted any new content recently.
Long story short, they were banned from pretty much ALL Disney property with the exception of their DVC home resort. When they tried to enter a park, they were directed to guest services at which point Disney security and park management officially banned them for the following reasons:
Unauthorized commercial activity related to my work helping families navigate The Parks as a tour guide and we have since found out that they did the same to over a hundred other people who were acting as tour guides in the parks over the last 20 years…
I know they pretty recently put the banhammer on these third-party tour guides, and this is the first time I’ve seen it affect someone I follow.”
While only being a few hours old, there are nearly 200 replies on the Reddit thread.
Some guests have been guessing why Disney chose now to be the time to make their move, stating, “Man I can’t imagine having put down and still be responsible for the amount of money for a Disney timeshare and be practically banned from Disney.
That said though, while I know a lot of people just point to Disney as greedy, it’s probably more of a liability thing. They ONLY want people working with Disney in an official capacity to be operating any kind of services inside the park. They want very clear distinctions between who is and is not a part of Disney.”
While these companies were not posing as Disney, their guests may not know any better, especially if they haven’t been to Disney before. So, for Disney to allow an unauthorized business to run under their watch leaves them liable for what that business does, and that behavior ultimately reflects on Disney World, even if it has nothing to do with it.
Others believe that Disney is trying to put an end to guests abusing the DAS (Disability Access Service) system, which basically allows guests to wait virtually for the ride they want, and when it is their time to ride, they can use the Lightning Lane, a section of the queue that guests typically have to pay for through Disney Genie+, for free.
One guest wrote, “I also know a lot of those unofficial VIP tours abuse DAS, which is a huge problem and probably another reason they want to crack down on it.”
Disney recently enacted a lawsuit against a third-party ear-selling company that used copyrighted Disney images on their product and had the company owners banned from the park this year, so Disney is certainly starting to look closer and see who is making money using their product without permission.
As the post mentioned, a certain YouTube channel went public with the knowledge. At the moment, that YouTube channel was not disclosed, but there are actually several channels that are using YouTube to share their site of the story. Below, we have Micheal from Micheal’s VIP’s. Micheal worked for Disney as a guide, and then opened his own business, which he claimed to run for 24 years under the nose of Disney.
On Columbus Day weekend, Micheal was banned and stated that after a year, he could attempt to appeal his case, however, Disney did not have to allow him to return. Micheal runs an entire company of third-party guides, who can not go to Disney World. Micheal swore his company did not use DAS, and did everything by the book, aside from getting proper authorization from Disney.
Another guide, Rachel Ratliff has also made a video sharing that she was banned.
The video caption reads:
“This video does not speak for all third guides as far as personal stories and feelings I’ve shared but there are many guides looking for a chance to speak to someone at Disney. Many of us are feeling hopeless and unsure what to do at this point. I have made this video in desperate hope it reaches the right person. This video was made to get the message out there and also a way for me to express my feelings. I have had too many thoughts eating me alive to keep silent. I am searching for the chance to speak to someone at Disney that can change the outcome. I would love to have my job back but mainly I would like to have my ban lifted so I can enjoy the parks when my family comes to visit.”
The video actually has quite a bit of comments from those who have used third-party tours and enjoyed them, “Our family was shocked when we heard about all of this. We’ve gone twice with a third-party guide, and we love him. He was part of planning my husband’s marriage proposal, and he helped watch our newborn during rides on our following visit. Pushed strollers, fed him bottles, all of it. We don’t want to go back to Disney without him.”
Overall, it seems that companies are hoping to reverse this ban, however it will be up to Disney on what or if that happens.
Do you think that Disney made the right call to trespass Disney V.I.P. guides?