I never have done an Adventures by Disney, but I would love to! This message board has a dedicated page to them so you might get more information there. www.disboards.com/forums/adventures-by-disney.146/
Also, I was looking into the Ireland one. It looks like such an amazing experience. Disney would charge $26,000 and this website did a DIY version (basically the same experiences) for $8,000. Ouch. I'd love to do it but I couldn't justify the price considering our income. irelandfamilyvacations.com/disney-ireland-vacation-tips/planning-your-irish-vacation/
I'm also fascinated by it and have read the forum on Disboards.....but the cost is so ridiculous, and I am such a control freak, that I think I could probably find a way to do the same trips for much less money. They basically say that you get your money's worth in countries where safety is a concern; if anything bad happens, you have Disney behind you getting you out. They also mention the attention you get having the Disney guide in addition to your local guide.
I have been on 2. Germany and Italy. They were amazing, DH's parents are vacation club members, so there was no cost to us - which was also amazing! We went pre-kids, so it was 4 adults (DHs parents and DH and I) The Disney guides and local guides were great - and very knowledgeable. We didn't have to wait anywhere and we saw some awesome things that I don't think would have made the cut if I was planning the trip on my own.
My dream is to do an Adventures by Disney safari when DS1 and 2 are 13 and 16, but I don’t think we could ever afford it. I wanted to do the Scotland one, but it would have been an absolutely insane price (I can’t remember if it was $12k each or for both H and me for one week, but I am instead going with my mom and spending more like $2K).
I have been on 2. Germany and Italy. They were amazing, DH's parents are vacation club members, so there was no cost to us - which was also amazing! We went pre-kids, so it was 4 adults (DHs parents and DH and I) The Disney guides and local guides were great - and very knowledgeable. We didn't have to wait anywhere and we saw some awesome things that I don't think would have made the cut if I was planning the trip on my own.
Do you know how many points they have b/c we have a shitton of points and the only way we could do ABD for our family (3 adults) is if we rented out all of our points for 4 years and paid cash. The 2 tours you've done start at 710 pts per adult.
Post by alleinesein on May 16, 2019 16:18:00 GMT -5
I refer to ABD trips in my DVC groups as trips for people who don't ever want to be outside of their comfort zone. They never have to directly interact with the locals because their ABD guides will do everything for them. I just can't justify spending that $$$ on a trip that I know I can do for 1/3 of the cost and still stay in 4/5 star hotels.
I have been on 2. Germany and Italy. They were amazing, DH's parents are vacation club members, so there was no cost to us - which was also amazing! We went pre-kids, so it was 4 adults (DHs parents and DH and I) The Disney guides and local guides were great - and very knowledgeable. We didn't have to wait anywhere and we saw some awesome things that I don't think would have made the cut if I was planning the trip on my own.
Do you know how many points they have b/c we have a shitton of points and the only way we could do ABD for our family (3 adults) is if we rented out all of our points for 4 years and paid cash. The 2 tours you've done start at 710 pts per adult.
I believe they have 900. I know they used banked points from the previous year and borrowed from the next year - but I also know they paid normal money for the remainder.
I agree with alleinesein, these trips are great for people who want the Disney version of these countries - and not go too far outside their comfort zone while still getting an international experience. But I think we had many opportunities to interact with locals and see a lot of each country.
I refer to ABD trips in my DVC groups as trips for people who don't ever want to be outside of their comfort zone. They never have to directly interact with the locals because their ABD guides will do everything for them. I just can't justify spending that $$$ on a trip that I know I can do for 1/3 of the cost and still stay in 4/5 star hotels.
I totally think this is fair lol. I used to be completely anti-tour group vacations, but as I get older I do see the appeal. Especially with kids. It's nice to have the thinking done for you and be in a relatively controlled environment. I don't think DH and I would ever vacation like this alone (God knows we can't afford $25k trips anyway. Maybe in another life.). I will say that a friend of mine did a Tauck tour to Italy (funded by her ILs while her family watched her DS - lucky girl lol), but they got to have some experiences that apparently are unique to certain tour groups like having an evening tour of Sistine Chapel. She has a photo of them in the middle of the room completely alone, without millions of people milling about. It was really cool! So I can see if a tour offers you those kind of exclusive experiences why it might be worth it. I don't know what ABD offers that is like that.
Every once in a while I pull up that website and dream. I also like to look at the National Geographic tours. I would love to have some of these experiences, but they are not really for the middle class haha.
Post by alleinesein on May 17, 2019 0:07:02 GMT -5
ds1013 We have 600 points so we can do a lot of things with that but it still doesn't even scratch the surface for ABD!
readyin07 I know that some of the ABD tours get early hours/after hours access to things so you can experience them without the crowds. The Disneyland/SoCal one includes some backstage stuff at the parks and the Disney Studios plus you get reserved viewing areas for parades/fireworks on your Disneyland day. I've shared viewing space with an ABD group for a Halloween event many years ago and it was definitely an older crowd that had no kids in it.
I'm booked on one of the ABD river cruises for next summer. I'm so excited for it. The Egypt one they just offered looks absolutely amazing.
Ooh which river cruise?
Danube. We'll do about a week before in Paris, DLP and Ai on our own and then do a night or two in Munich pre cruise, then an extra night or two in Budapest on the back end.
I haven't but the Costa Rica tour looks pretty par for the course for a regular itinerary I saw many people planning on the TA boards when we planned our trip. You can definitely do it for less; I think we spent maybe $3500 for 2 people total when we went. CR is pretty easy to navigate on your own.