Adventures by Disney

LuLaSue

LuLaSue

Well-Known Member
I don't know if I am posting this in the right place. If not, I am sorry...:(

DH turns 50 next year, yup, he has an entire 10 years on me. The cradle robber he is has one wish for his 50th, IRELAND!

So ask and he shall receive, right? Why not....

I put a deposit down on Adventures by Disney, Ireland. The experience looks absolutely amazing and we are both very excited. I was wondering if anyone has done any of the Adventure by Disney Tours. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member

My guess was pretty spot-on. I think it'd also be waaaaay more manageable if it was just 2 of us going. I have this little list of places I want to go see that we reserve for when the kids are gone...as in: grown & have their own busy lives. Maybe that's an advantage to having had them when we were pretty young. LOL!
 
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Bolna

Well-Known Member
Oh, and on the DISunplugged podcast they just reviewed the ABD Italy trip and had some issues with it. It more or less boiled down to the description of the trip being much more grand than what was actually offered. The hotel was supposed to be a villa in the Tuscan countryside, but it turned out it was in the old stables and some rooms were really not nice at all (one was even without a window!).
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Bolna said:
I have never taken an Adventures by Disney trip, but I do agree that some of things they offer sound rather special.

However, I feel for what they offer, they are very expensive. You definitely pay for the service of not having to plan and think yourself. I think planning a trip to anywhere in Europe (and especially to a country where English is one of the official languages) should not be too difficult from the US, especially in the age of the internet. If you look at everything the trip includes and look at putting something comparable together for yourself, you will find that you can save a lot of money. Even driving a rental car on the "wrong" side of the road is not that scary! :confused:

Personally, I would prefer an individual trip to being forced to follow a group itinerary, but that is truly a personal choice. I just wanted to encourage you to consider alternatives! But I hope you find out what is best for you and have a fantastic trip! :)
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Absolutely a large part of what you pay for is the service. When traveling from one destination to another on the tour it's like having the Magical Express. You set out your luggage and don't have to worry. You'll see it again in your room when you get to your next hotel. Things like that are a large part of what you pay for. That's another cost I always looked at and was a little overwhelmed with: gratuities for your guides. Granted, the overall percentage when compared to the cost of the trip isn't that large and, really, if you've had an excellent guide they should be rewarded. But YIKES!
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
lulabell1972 said:
Enjoy them while they still want to vacation with you! Although, I have read your reports, I don't think they will ever not want to vacation with you! You all look like you have such fun together!
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Awwww...thank you! We do have a blast together! I have a feeling I'll be making my apologies for not taking the boys with me for the rest of my life. I'm thinking they'll always wish they could go with us, too. Not surprising. Tracey's folks go on some amazing trips that I'd love to go with them on: Hawaii and, most recently, Ireland.
 
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Bolna

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
Absolutely a large part of what you pay for is the service. When traveling from one destination to another on the tour it's like having the Magical Express. You set out your luggage and don't have to worry. You'll see it again in your room when you get to your next hotel. Things like that are a large part of what you pay for. That's another cost I always looked at and was a little overwhelmed with: gratuities for your guides. Granted, the overall percentage when compared to the cost of the trip isn't that large and, really, if you've had an excellent guide they should be rewarded. But YIKES!
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Yes, the thing with the luggage can be neat. But it is not an exclusive ADB service, I have seen this happening many times when I stayed in hotels where tour groups were staying. Also - that's again one of the things where you have to decide what you prefer: have access to your luggage all the time, or be fine with having to set it out early in the morning (I have seen luggage being collected as early as 6:30 am!) and not being able to get to it until the evening, but not having to carry it. That's what I meant: everyone ought to figure out what kind of vacation they like best - then you can figure out whether the premium is worth it!
 
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LuLaSue

LuLaSue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Bolna said:
I have never taken an Adventures by Disney trip, but I do agree that some of things they offer sound rather special.

However, I feel for what they offer, they are very expensive. You definitely pay for the service of not having to plan and think yourself. I think planning a trip to anywhere in Europe (and especially to a country where English is one of the official languages) should not be too difficult from the US, especially in the age of the internet. If you look at everything the trip includes and look at putting something comparable together for yourself, you will find that you can save a lot of money. Even driving a rental car on the "wrong" side of the road is not that scary! :confused:

Personally, I would prefer an individual trip to being forced to follow a group itinerary, but that is truly a personal choice. I just wanted to encourage you to consider alternatives! But I hope you find out what is best for you and have a fantastic trip! :)
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I totally get what you are saying and really do appreciate it. I have been to Italy, planning our own way,many times and enjoyed it tremendously. I worked in the travel industry for years and to be honest, I am so done with planning. I don't want to look a tour book or map out my travels, I want someone to do it for me. I want to be on vacation. I did do research and knew if we did not travel thru Adventures by Disney, we would have a personally guided tour. Princing was very similiar. We are always happy with the Disney product and think that Disney does go the extra mile to make your experience a little extra special.
wave.gif
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
lulabell1972 said:
I totally get what you are saying and really do appreciate it. I have been to Italy, planning our own way,many times and enjoyed it tremendously. I worked in the travel industry for years and to be honest, I am so done with planning. I don't want to look a tour book or map out my travels, I want someone to do it for me. I want to be on vacation. I did do research and knew if we did not travel thru Adventures by Disney, we would have a personally guided tour. Princing was very similiar. We are always happy with the Disney product and think that Disney does go the extra mile to make your experience a little extra special.
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Really??? You can get a personally guided tour for a similar cost??? OOooohh...that sounds niiiiiice. I wouldn't even know how to go about finding these types of operators. I wonder how big the ABD groups are. On our recent cruise I can honestly say we enjoyed our forray off the ship waaaay more when we did our own thing vs. thru the ship where we were with a group. In groups it's hurry up then wait. On our own it was all at our own pace. I'm getting ornary in my old age (today is the big 3-8, actually). I don't want to be around big groups of people. I'm much happier spending the majority of my time with just my little family or smaller groups. I think that's partially what's turning me off to the parks vacations these days. Even "slow" days aren't so slow anymore. :rolleyes:
 
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LuLaSue

LuLaSue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
sweetpee_1993 said:
Really??? You can get a personally guided tour for a similar cost??? OOooohh...that sounds niiiiiice. I wouldn't even know how to go about finding these types of operators. I wonder how big the ABD groups are. On our recent cruise I can honestly say we enjoyed our forray off the ship waaaay more when we did our own thing vs. thru the ship where we were with a group. In groups it's hurry up then wait. On our own it was all at our own pace. I'm getting ornary in my old age (today is the big 3-8, actually). I don't want to be around big groups of people. I'm much happier spending the majority of my time with just my little family or smaller groups. I think that's partially what's turning me off to the parks vacations these days. Even "slow" days aren't so slow anymore. :rolleyes:
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First of all....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
party.gif


If your looking to do Europe on your own....
Avanti Destinations and Travel Bound are two good resourses. Travel Bound is great for just booking hotels and transfers and you can contact the hotels and they can refer guides. With Avanti, you can build your own custom vacation. You can add private tours and guides, or even group tours. I have used them in the past and they are really good and offer some of the better hotels. I used Avanti to go to Italy our first few times now, I just use Travel Bound.

I agree with not wanting to be in a group but, I just don't want to do the planning anymore. The family just assumes I am going to do it all and I know I sound terrible but, I just don't want to. I just want to pick up and go this time.

When we go to the Parks, we typically go "off-season" and enjoy the quiet. This year we are going in August with my brother and his kids and I admit, I am a bit anxious about the crowd level. My brother assures me the crowds will be low but, the sun will be hot.
 
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sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
lulabell1972 said:
First of all....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
party.gif


If your looking to do Europe on your own....
Avanti Destinations and Travel Bound are two good resourses. Travel Bound is great for just booking hotels and transfers and you can contact the hotels and they can refer guides. With Avanti, you can build your own custom vacation. You can add private tours and guides, or even group tours. I have used them in the past and they are really good and offer some of the better hotels. I used Avanti to go to Italy our first few times now, I just use Travel Bound.

I agree with not wanting to be in a group but, I just don't want to do the planning anymore. The family just assumes I am going to do it all and I know I sound terrible but, I just don't want to. I just want to pick up and go this time.

When we go to the Parks, we typically go "off-season" and enjoy the quiet. This year we are going in August with my brother and his kids and I admit, I am a bit anxious about the crowd level. My brother assures me the crowds will be low but, the sun will be hot.
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Thank you for the birthday wish! :)

And thank you for the travel info! I'll have to do some digging. Yay!

I totally understand your feelings about now wanting to be the planner anymore. That's another thing I'm sorta "over" when it comes to WDW travel. I don't want to do any of the planning. I don't want to book dining. I don't want to look up park hours, EMHs, etc. And, like you, my family all look to me to do this sort of thing. I. Don't. Want. The. Hassle. LOL! Terrible, I know. What kind of mother/wife am I???? o_O Like you, I'd rather make a payment and roll. I want to be on vacation, too. That's one thing I do enjoy about cruising with Mickey. With the rotational dining you pretty much show up and have that part planned for you. There's very little to actually have to research and book. And it's relaxing. Not mega-crowds.

Last September I was a bit surprised at the crowds at WDW. It's a night & day difference from "off" times back in '04 when we started taking our boys. So many people have said for so long that there's not really an "off" season anymore. I see where they're coming from. I know it's a lot just me. Big crowds in the past never bothered me. Now I get this sense of urgency or something. Not fun. I'd rather go find a breezy balcony & a fruity drink, see something new, and let the scenery pass me by. :D
 
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real mad hatter

real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
sweetpee_1993 said:
That would've been my guess: $1k - $1250 each. :( That's $4500 (roughly) just to get there. The ABD tours don't include every meal. And, by God, if I go all the way to Ireland or Scotland I'm spending some money to bring stuff back with me while I'm there. I'd guess-timate an ABD Ireland tour would cost us roughly $15k. Think of that in terms of cruises! That's more than 3 weeks in a large balcony stateroom on the Fantasy would cost. Translate that into time 1 week vs. 3 weeks and now you have exactly why we've never been to Ireland or Scotland or anywhere else across the big ponds that I've always dreamed of seeing. ;)
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15k for a vacation, For that amount of cash I'd expect 6 months at WDW.:cool:
 
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Stellajack

Stellajack

Premium Member
In the Parks
No
lulabell1972 said:
I don't know if I am posting this in the right place. If not, I am sorry...:(

DH turns 50 next year, yup, he has an entire 10 years on me. The cradle robber he is has one wish for his 50th, IRELAND!

So ask and he shall receive, right? Why not....

I put a deposit down on Adventures by Disney, Ireland. The experience looks absolutely amazing and we are both very excited. I was wondering if anyone has done any of the Adventure by Disney Tours. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

lulabell,
We did Viva Italia June '08, tacked on 2 extra days, 1 prior to the adventure and 1 at the end. This was an incredible experience and Disney makes sure everything is first class. We booked through Disney so they handled the extra details of pre and post-airport transfers for us . We found the flights that we preferred, gave them the flight info and they booked those as well. The ONLY problem encountered was a 1-day delay for one of our bags to Rome at the start. We had packed clothes for each of us in each bag (only allowed l bag each), so we were not inconvenienced at all. Disney rep went to the airport the following day, retrieved the late bag and brought it to our hotel (all 1st class hotels I might add). This was a delayed anniversary trip for us since my husband had seen Venice many years previously and vowed to return (non-military this time). You will have an unbelievable experience with no worrying about trip details. As a WDW planner you will be able to enjoy everything while someone else takes care of planning. Look forward to hearing about your experience.
 
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LuLaSue

LuLaSue

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Stellajack said:
lulabell,
We did Viva Italia June '08, tacked on 2 extra days, 1 prior to the adventure and 1 at the end. This was an incredible experience and Disney makes sure everything is first class. We booked through Disney so they handled the extra details of pre and post-airport transfers for us . We found the flights that we preferred, gave them the flight info and they booked those as well. The ONLY problem encountered was a 1-day delay for one of our bags to Rome at the start. We had packed clothes for each of us in each bag (only allowed l bag each), so we were not inconvenienced at all. Disney rep went to the airport the following day, retrieved the late bag and brought it to our hotel (all 1st class hotels I might add). This was a delayed anniversary trip for us since my husband had seen Venice many years previously and vowed to return (non-military this time). You will have an unbelievable experience with no worrying about trip details. As a WDW planner you will be able to enjoy everything while someone else takes care of planning. Look forward to hearing about your experience.
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Thank you so much! I don't think I was worried at all but, you made me realize I made the absolute right decision.

I have to say, my luggage was also delayed in Italy on a few occasions. I see this when you transfer from a larger plane to a smaller one.

I thank you again for you feedback and will be sure to leave a trip report. The more I hear the more I look foward to the experience.
 
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sgtmgd

sgtmgd

Well-Known Member
LuLaSue said:
I don't know if I am posting this in the right place. If not, I am sorry...:(

DH turns 50 next year, yup, he has an entire 10 years on me. The cradle robber he is has one wish for his 50th, IRELAND!

So ask and he shall receive, right? Why not....

I put a deposit down on Adventures by Disney, Ireland. The experience looks absolutely amazing and we are both very excited. I was wondering if anyone has done any of the Adventure by Disney Tours. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Congrats! Sounds amazing..lmao what is it with Disney and Craddle Robbing..I have 12 years on my significant other..
 
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