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DWTS Tour VIP Blog 2023

First I want to say that VIP is MUCH better this year, back to what the fans want.

Fabulous Ray is the host again!

I received the email with the important info for my show on the 2^nd. Show was the 6^th. If you don’t have it within 48 hours of your show email: vip@dwtstour.com

This next info may vary city to city but, it will give you a general idea. Please read your email for your specific times etc. These were the times for opening night.

Ck in: 4:45-5:15

Q&A: 5:30 (they answered about 10-12 questions)

Photo: 6:00

For the questions you could write them on an index card at check in and give them to the check in staff. The pros were on the stage and we were in the 1^st few rows of seats.

The photo was with the full cast and no awful awkward orange bench! Again, this part could change if your city has a big COVID policy mandate change & also note that in the email. Let’s hope we get through this tour with no mask/social distancing need. I have a had a ton of questions on hugs etc. I think again if that does or doesn’t happen is based city to city depending on health rules, mandates etc. I also think if you are unsure ask.

After the photo you receive your swag bag. They ask for front row VIP to go first for the photos because we have the signed poster so it’s easier for them.

We were able to scan out to eat if we wanted to between VIP and the show starting.

Photos were posted by the time we left the show. Remember though that is good when they can do that, there are a lot of variables like Wi-Fi strength and access etc. They will give you the SmugMug link in the email you get with the details.

I was really much happier this year with the entire VIP experience.

The show was amazing! I will be going again in 2 weeks and will blog on the show after that. Mandy Moore is absolutely amazing and well we all know the pros are as well! I do have to correct one thing I said yesterday that was an error. They do announce each pro but, its mid-show not at the end. The ending to me just felt abrupt but, I am going to go back and find a video of it and see if it was just not what we all were used to etc. I have always liked it when they do final bows at the end, that they wave and say goodbye to the audience when they are getting their standing ovation but, that’s personal preference.

Lots of questions on the buses etc. Security was pretty much telling everyone that nobody is coming out etc. but, Emma, Alan, Alexis & Sasha did quickly. No idea how it will be city to city so don’t want to give anyone false hope etc. on that. If you want to guarantee to meet them your best way is to do one of the VIP pkgs that includes the photo.

January 7, 2023

VIP Experience Blog

DWTS Tour 2022 VIP Review

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!

January 8, 2022

VIP Experience Blog

Dancing with the Stars Winter Tour 2020 VIP Experience Blog

Dancing with the Stars Winter Tour 2020

VIP Experience

#dwtstour 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.

I wanted to wait and go to at least 2 of my shows before writing this to see if some of the kinks got worked out.

Pre-Show:

You receive your email a few days before telling you when to arrive, giving you the link and password for the photos, the waiver etc. One thing that has been confusing to people this year is it says no personal cameras/phones allowed. I think they need to be more specific and say no cameras/phones allowed in the photo area because several have thought it also meant in mingle.

Check-in:

Check in was so slow at the first event I went to at Mohegan. Even after they started checking people in the line moved extremely slow. They also had us in such a small room at Mohegan in my opinion too many people for such a small room. The second show I went to in Durham was much faster, they had us in the usual area for VIP at DPAC which is always great!

VIP Swag:

I honestly didn’t keep any of mine, I gave it away at both cities. It really seems like they continue to increase the prices and give fans less. I always liked when they at least gave you a tote bag.

VIP Photo & Mingle:

I didn’t want to comment on this until after I saw if things were better at the 2nd show but, this VIP Host will not go down on my list of great ones. At Mohegan she was not very polite, she would only post 1 of the 2 pics. I let her know we have always received both and she sarcastically responded that she would only post 1 and she would decide which one to post. I emailed VIP Nation after that show and was very pleased that they backed the fans up and are now posting both pictures. The photo experience is way too fast, they are taking away the personal aspect of it that used to make this so great in the early tours. I barely had time to say hi and hug the pros before the host was saying look here. It’s disappointing because you spend $300-650 of your hard earned $ for a rushed experience. I am not saying give each person 5 minutes but, at least let them say hello and if they have something quick to say allow that like you used to. That almost always comes down to the host though because all the pros are awesome and engaging. I miss the host Anthony Jones a lot, he was one of the best they have had, he got the job done but, truly understood the fan experience. There was also another girl a few tours ago that was really good. Both of them posted pics within 24 hours, were very friendly at all times, didn’t rush you in the photos, checked the photos before you walked away etc.

#dwtstour 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…

#dwtstour 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.

This is another fan’s experience this year that goes every year:

“They did it differently this year bc they have the pros come to your table for the mingle so no lines and stuff. For Rochester it’s super small and there’s only a few tables and the vibes are really awkward and quiet. So my brother and I were in the booth in group 1 and by that point Daniella and Lindsay were gone and there were a lot of people who hadn’t met them so I asked the tour hostess if they can come back and a few minutes later Lindsay and Daniella came back and met the latecomers. The VIP goes from 5;30-6:30 and they were in late and out early. It won’t be the same for Verona bc it’s bigger and better vibes so they’ll stay longer but like, people paid for the experience so give them what they asked for and don’t come out early. And I just wanted a quick picture with Daniella and I don’t mean to be a bother I just wanted to say hi and stuff.”

#dwtstour

The Maks & Val Tour & Derek Hough tours are run much better and they truly give you a great fan experience and understand and appreciate that you are spending your hard earned $ to do these experiences. In my opinion that comes from the top down. Maks & Val especially have always genuinely cared about and been so proud of their tour and really listen to fan feedback and work hard at providing a fun, genuine VIP experience for those that come to their event & pay extra for VIP.

The show: I will do another blog soon on the actual show. It really was fantastic this year. I liked the flow, I liked that the audience participation is back and the Pro’s just crush it every night. More to come on that.

Tour staff interaction/waiting by buses:

I was personally happy to see a different security guy in Durham than the guy that has done it for years that is absolutely is nasty to fans. The guy in Durham was very nice & respectful yet got his point across when he needed to and I am hoping he is now the regular security. The usual is always said to fans that wait at the buses that “we have a VIP M&G you can do if you want to meet them, we cannot guarantee who will come out etc”. The one thing I want to say on this is fans wait by the buses for mostly 2 reasons: 1. they might not be able to afford VIP and 2. They may be hoping for a chance to talk briefly to their favorite pros if they didn’t get the chance to in the VIP because its so rushed or maybe their favorite pros were not in the photo/mingle that day. I think that is something everyone needs to understand better and maybe one day my suggestion below will be taken. Nobody wants to wait outside on a winter tour and freeze waiting but it sure is appreciated when the Pros come out and do it for those reasons I just described.

Suggestions for tour management:

For several years I have been saying this but, it falls on deaf ears. 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 (3 Pro’s and the Celeb guest star) 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 or do an add on pkg 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 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 & several other fans would sign up for that for sure!

If possible rotate the Pro’s if you are doing two shows in one city. Some of us like to go to both shows and it would be great to get pics with two sets of dancers since you are paying VIP at both. That used to be the way it was done but, the last year or two it’s the same Pro’s at both so it doesn’t make sense to pay for VIP for both and then the tour loses out when fans stop buying both.

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.

I have personally done so many VIP Experiences over the years and I can say I am being a lot more selective on what I am doing & spending $ on. It really seems to be that the VIP #’s are down and I think it’s because of what I have outlined. I am always happy to do a VIP, support a tour when you feel the lead(s) care, when you are getting a genuine, not rushed, quality interaction etc. Steven Tyler is amazing at this, he has 100’s yet he starts early and gives every single person a special, genuine interaction. Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban same thing. I have to believe most of the Pro’s want to do that for the DWTS fans and I continue to hope we will see positive changes for future tours.

VIP Experiences should always strive to improve the experience especially when prices continue to rise.

For photos from this tour and others I attend follow me on Instagram: @lightscmemories

February 23, 2020