DWTS Tour 2022 VIP Experience Blog:
Crazy its been 2 years since the last time we saw the DWTS Pro’s! I have missed live shows so much and have been able to see a few other entertainers over the last year. Before I get into the VIP Experience I will be doing another blog on the show itself shortly and the show is AMAZING!
If you don’t have tickets its absolutely worth getting a ticket to the show. I love the music, performances etc.
You would be hard pressed to find someone that has been to more DWTS Tour VIP Experiences than me. I have been doing them since their first tour, multiple shows. I cannot tell you how excited I was when they announced this time we they would be back to doing the Q&A (they did that on the very 1st tour) and then a photo with the FULL cast! That’s what I have been waiting for and so many others because the old system it was always luck of the draw if you would get to see your favorites or not.
I will get into my specific thoughts in a moment but, before I do so everyone understands I am very well aware we are in COVID times still. I am personally immune compromised. I am vaccinated & boosted. Just want that clear so my comments are not taken out of context. I want all of us to be safe & healthy including fans, pros, staff etc.
There is a huge difference in how each venue I am going to are handling COVID.
Richmond: No PCR or Vac cards required at all. NY show I am doing you can only attend IF you are vaccinated and NC it’s negative PCR or Vac card.
We had to arrive 3 hours & 45 minutes ahead of the show time for check in. They checked us in and then lined us up to go into the theater for the Q&A. Ray is the host. He has been a host at another tour I have done but, its escaping me on which one and he was wonderful. They take you into the theater by having those with front row vip go in first and sit in the front row, then everyone else sits in row 2 and behind. They answered approximately 5-6 questions, you have to submit them ahead of time and then they chose the ones they want to answer. It was fun, different and entertaining but, hard at times to hear because pros were wearing masks on the stage which very honestly was just odd because they were out dancing on that stage a few hours later maskless so I don’t totally understand the point of that.
After that you line back up starting with the front row and they took us down to another room for the photo. I was so excited about this and then that excitement quickly faded. I understood we as the fans had to be masked but it makes no sense to me how they are doing it. You walk up and have to sit in front of the pros in a seat that is about 6-8 feet in front of the Pros, absolutely no interaction like you usually get with a DWTS VIP and then they were also masked in the photo. I won’t use my photo for anything beyond this blog and I have the ones from other tours as treasured memories. That photo is going to be a constant reminder how much COVID has ruined for 2 years.
What I don’t understand is if they want us as fans wearing it, fine, we are sitting more than the CDC recommended socially distanced space from the pros at least let them take off their masks for the photo so we can get a semi-decent photo memory & you can see their faces. Personally, I wish they would let anyone that is vaccinated show their card and be allowed to pull the mask down quick just for the pic again saying this because you are already facing the opposite direction AND socially distanced. I asked the opinion of many with the VIP yesterday and that was the common feedback. Its absolutely not worth the $ and if you haven’t bought one yet I would save it for a future tour.
I would rather have a giant piece of plexiglass between us and allow us all to be unmasked like Derek Hough just did for his tour during COVID. I have done others in the last year during the Delta variant where you had to be vaccinated to do VIP and they let you pull the mask down for the pic and immediately pull it back up and then the artist(s) didn’t have them on. As I stated above I understand the safety side of it BUT it just makes no sense. If you are going to charge the same prices as in tours past you need to give a semi-similar experience and this wasn’t in the same ball park for $500 $600.
After the pic you had to leave the theater and go entertain yourself for 2 hours. It was freezing cold but, thankfully a few fans I know and I went and grabbed dinner.
Verdict: Save your $ unless changes are made and wait to do VIP at a future tour and hopefully they will offer this again when we get back to “normal”.
Positives:
It was nice to have the Q&A just wish it could be a little longer.
Nice to get a photo with the FULL cast just wish it could be different.
Negatives:
Compared to past VIP on these tours this one was disappointing. For years we have had a party, the meet and mingle and then the photo with 3 pros and the celeb where you could say hi, hug etc. Obviously I understand why we can’t hug etc. I love the changes BUT not how they were implemented around COVID. They are charging the same prices this tour for no where near that experience for the photo. You can’t meet the celeb’s or pro’s beyond yelling hello and then you have this ackward looking photo as your memory.
I can only hope as the tour goes on maybe they will make some small changes to make it worth the cost. Again I absolutely want everyone to be safe, we are living in difficult times but, there also needs to be understanding that people are spending a lot of money for these packages and improvements could be made that have been proven effective by other tours.
Gifts: A plastic bag (they did say its not up to their standards and we will be getting a new one mailed to us). This was ironic because so much emphasis was made on the bag quality not being up to standards but, no understanding or emphasis on the experience itself which is dramatically less personal. A coffee mug and a signed program for the pkg I had. We were supposed to have crowd free merch shopping but, after the pics there wasn’t anyone there to make the purchases with.
Anyone that knows me knows I believe in positivity but, I will also keep it real. The last two years have been hell for so many reasons. My passion is attending live shows and I am thrilled they are back.
More to come on the show itself and to end on a positive note: The show is AMAZING and worth the price of the ticket!
My apologies on being absent from the blog for a while. My sweet heart dog, my one in a million got cancer last year and we fought so hard but, she passed away the day before Thanksgiving. I have been in such a sad place overall and been trying to pull myself out of it which hasn’t been easy. Honestly, the first show I went to I wasn’t even excited to go but, only because I just was finding it a struggle to get excited about anything. Once I got there for both shows I so appreciated that I could smile, enjoy the performances and forget my reality for a few hours.
Pre-Show:
VIP Swag:
She also doesn’t post the pictures very fast, I have seen it take almost a week for some cities. My last show in Charlotte it took 6 days and then she only posted 1 of my pictures. Pictures are not all being checked again. That happened to me two years ago when both of my pictures had my eyes closed. One girl shared with me that only 1 of her pics was posted on a recent show and it was blurry and when she emailed and asked about the 2nd pic which she did a special pose with her fav pro she was told it would be posted when the host had a chance and she still didn’t have it. The hosts should understand that fans are super excited to see their pics and everyone understands you cannot always do it same day but, a week…
Mingle: This also seemed faster than usual. At Mohegan the pros were mobbed so they tried to say wait and let them come to your table. Durham it was better but, the only issue with wait until they come to your table is if your photo group # is called when they are almost at your table and then you come out and missed them.
Tour staff interaction/waiting by buses:
Suggestions for tour management:
Suggestion for VIP Nation: I would love to see a fan experience survey come out after shows and then have you all take the feedback and connect with your host to help them improve experiences. Make sure the hosts that you hire understand and appreciate the fan experience and make sure they are not only knowledgeable with a camera but, make sure they understand they must check the photos before the people walk away.
Entering VIP: There were a lot of VIP’s but, the facility was awesome and let us in out of the cold so we could line up inside. Once we signed in I got my ticket, the VIP bag with a tall mug inside and the signed tour program. They did the lanyards with the letters on them again which is great so then they are only lining up small groups at a time for the photos.
The VIP Nation staff is also very kind, nobody is yelling at you it’s a pleasant experience. You do have to leave your purse, bags and anything else on you at the table and you cannot ask for autographs etc. at the cast photo portion. This year too it was one professional photo taken by VIP Nation host, no selfie options in the main photo. You could however do selfies with the dancers in the Meet & Mingle. They did have a GIF area this time. I didn’t get a chance to get over there as I was catching up with friends but, will at a future show. After the photos were done and the dancers all left to get ready for the show you could go to the merchandise stand and do some crowd free shopping which was also nice.
What to wear: Be comfortable & wear what you want. You will see everyone from dressed down to wearing beautiful dresses and everything in between.
Suggestions for Tour Management: This is something I have been thinking about. For the Maks & Val Tour and the Derek & Julianne tours there was another top level tier package when you got pictures in the VIP and then got extra time with them backstage. I know the VIP photos are with “select” dancers (4 the last 2 tours & 5 this tour) at each city but, many fans have voiced their disappointment when their “favorite” isn’t in their photo since it’s a random rotation. I have heard many voice their displeasure at paying several hundred dollars but not getting a pic with their favorite. What if you added another ticket tier or made it with the front row packages that you get your pic with the rest of the VIP’s and then you are either taken down just before the show or just after and get a photo with the full tour cast? If you sold a very limited # of them it wouldn’t take that much extra time. That way you those that truly want to meet them all would have the chance and it would then add another tier package for you. I know I would sign up for that for sure!
Bravo & Thank you: VIP Nation you always put together fantastic unique experiences and it doesn’t go unnoticed! Thank you so much to the tour staff: Mandy Moore & Ashley Edens-Shaffer, Directors and our dance captains: Jenna and Artem truly put together an amazing show that I think every fan should be sure they have a ticket for! The creative genius is obvious at every moment in the show. The vision and layout for this tour is truly worth 10 Stars! The crew and all the other behind the scenes individuals also deserve a shout out! The Dancers (Sharna, Gleb, Artem, Lindsay, Sasha, Keo, Emma, Jenna, Hayley, Alan, Morgan and Brandon all truly leave it on the floor each night. It’s emotional, it’s passionate, it’s raw, it’s FUN, it’s full of energy and I am so excited I will get to see this tour multiple times and have a new take away each night!
If you don’t have a ticket…Buy one today and if you are able to do VIP it’s worth the investment for this experience they have many different levels and price points too! Here’s the link for tickets/VIP package!