The Guy A totally separate experience from the Fantasy show itself (and an additional purchase that can cost almost as much), the VIP Tour offers you a special look inside the show, the dancers and the venue itself.
For a review of the Fantasy show itself, click here.
How Does It Work?
The VIP tour begins one hour before showtime – well, that’s when you should be there. The ACTUAL tour didn’t start until about 15 minutes later.
The tour has a fixed number of slots – I believe a max of twelve people can book a spot. We went on a Tuesday night (10:30pm show – so our call time at VIP was 9:30pm). As mentioned before, this VIP tour is EXTRA and does NOT include actual show tickets.
While show ticket prices are dictated by the quality of seats you want (we got excellent seats for $65 – second row), the VIP tour appears to be a fixed price (unless the surge or charge more on weekends) or $65. Yep, for the same price as the show itself – you can get a backstage tour and personalized attention.
Don’t expect anyone to be waiting at the venue doors for you. The doors were closed and locked – and staff showed up just after 9:30. Just hang out there like you belong there.
Someone will come out and get you – looking at your tickets – and usher you into a small area with lots of Fantasy IP (and Carrottop – his show is there too) and a counter with a TV behind it.
We were there a bit – chatted up the dude behind the counter … while he was waiting for the tour guides to arrive.
Once he heard them giggling on the other side of the curtain? He started the pre-tour show.
So What Is It, Exactly?
So, the guy behind the counter starts a video on the TV – showing off the ladies of the show and talking about it’s history (celebrating its 26th year this year).
Once that is over, two of that night’s dancers will come in and greet you. Some brief introductions and a photo opportunity in front of the cool Fantasy wall.
From there, you’re taken around a winding carpeted ramp where there are pictures of all the current dancers for the show. If that dancer was performing that night, the tour guides would take turns telling their backstories and how long they had been with the show – along with their roles in the production.
It was really quite interesting – first to meet two of the ladies you were going to see later as well as a “sneak peak” of the rest of the cast.
From there, you’re taken back stage to see where the dancers change and primp between numbers. Plus, we got to see five of the dancers (in their street clothes – I realize you’re there to see them OUT of clothes, but it added a neat layer to it) practicing the newish final number. You also got to look out to the seating area ahead of time – which was also pretty neat.
You then go into the auditorium itself where your lovely tour guides bid you goodbye and security takes you back down to the general lobby. By then, it had filled with people.
Any Swag?
You would think for $65, you would leave with a little somethin’ to take with you – and this didn’t disappoint.
Included with your tour comes a really nice color booklet along with a VIP lanyard, a themed poker chip and a cool little shot glass.
Keep that booklet handy – at the end of the show, you will have a chance to have all the dancers sign their photos inside. It’s like … a high school year book of beautiful dancers.
Is It Worth It?
We had a really hard time finding out ANYTHING about this VIP tour – which is why we wanted to offer up our review here – hopefully we can help you decide if it is worth it.
We really liked it. YMMV, of course. For us, we like being part of the event, somehow. The tour gals were fun and well-informed. We also got to meet the producer (which is apparently a big deal – like the Wizard of Oz, apparently, NOBODY sees the producer).
It effectively doubles the price of the show – so only you can decide if it is worth it.
[…] There is a separate VIP tour you can take BEFORE the show. It is a separate cost and doesn’t include the show tickets. To read our review of the VIP tour, click here. […]