New trips for 2016!! On Feb. 16th

[Rapunzellover]

So talking to ABD today, I learned there will be 3 new trips starting this summer! The vacationista said check Feb. 16th. She said the three trips are domestic and are:

1. WDW in Orlando--backstage magic style I assume

2. Montana

3. REVAMPED DC/Philly trip

So cool.

 

[sayhello]

So talking to ABD today, I learned there will be 3 new trips starting this summer! The vacationista said check Feb. 16th. She said the three trips are domestic and are:

1. WDW in Orlando--backstage magic style I assume

2. Montana

3. REVAMPED DC/Philly trip

So cool.

Cool! Except for the weekend trips, they haven't changed/done much domestically in a while. I'll be interested to see what they've come up with!

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

ABD already has one trip that goes to Montana. Wonder if they are dropping that one or just adding a second. The Banff/Jasper area is one of (if not the) most beautiful place I've visited. It would be shame to eliminate that itinerary.

 

[tgeorge]

Oh....I would really love a WDW Backstage Magic type trip. That would be awesome. Although, I really need to get my butt out to DL. I've never been and I've done WDW numerous times.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Was wondering the same thing about Montana, Bobo. I suspect it's an additional one, at least for 2016.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Not that I plan on booking any of them but I would be interested to see the itinerary for WDW. I mean Southern California has a point to it in that you are following in Walt's footsteps from when he lands in LA to the creation of Disneyland. Not sure how they can work something for WDW. I wanted to do the old DC trip but was turned off by staying at Great Wolf Lodge.

 

[kaseyC]

Very interested to se what the Montana itinerary looks like. We are looking at booking the Nat. Geo Yellowstone trip over the ABD one because it starts in Bozeman, MT. Would love an expansive MT itinerary.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Not that I plan on booking any of them but I would be interested to see the itinerary for WDW. I mean Southern California has a point to it in that you are following in Walt's footsteps from when he lands in LA to the creation of Disneyland. Not sure how they can work something for WDW. I wanted to do the old DC trip but was turned off by staying at Great Wolf Lodge.

My DW and I were joking about the same thing. Half of BSM is early Hollywood. So would the WDW trip take us out to the Florida swamps or Gatorland? In all seriousness it sounds intriguing. If they can include some exclusive behind the scenes stuff that would be exciting. Cinderella Castle Suite, anyone?

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

More and more ABD really seems to be weighing against the early bookers. Aside from the no-guarantee issue, I think this is the second time (did it with Norway, right?) that they've released new trips well after the initial release of summer trips. It would have been nice to have the full plate of options to look at when I was planning my summer. I'd been really interested in the Washington DC trip and might have used that to transfer my river boat cruise deposit to. Oh well, I'm expecting "revamped" to be more for less (aka Scotland) so it's probably wouldn't have mattered. Hope they prove me wrong. I'm also interested in what the will do with the Disneyworld trip, given the backstage magic focus on Hollywood and Walt. I'm not big on Disneyworld (west coast Disneyland bias ) but a VIP type trip would make it more intriguing.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I've done probably 80+% of the backstage tours offered at WDW that they would have to offer something completely amazing for me to consider an ABD to WDW. Also, how much are they going to ask us to spend of limited activities? You can't take a full day off a trip and still expect us to pay the same amount of money, i.e. Scotland.

 

[calypso726]

My DW and I were joking about the same thing. Half of BSM is early Hollywood. So would the WDW trip take us out to the Florida swamps or Gatorland? In all seriousness it sounds intriguing. If they can include some exclusive behind the scenes stuff that would be exciting. Cinderella Castle Suite, anyone?

We are planning to do BSM next year either before or after our trip to Aulani if the dates works out for us. We were fortunate enough to snag a spot during D23's Magic and Merriment event a few years ago and were able to tour the Cinderella Castle Suite. It was beautiful and a cool experience so for me they'd have to do way more than that to book a WDW ABD. Although, not having to get airfare is a bonus for us Floridians!

I've done probably 80+% of the backstage tours offered at WDW that they would have to offer something completely amazing for me to consider an ABD to WDW. Also, how much are they going to ask us to spend of limited activities? You can't take a full day off a trip and still expect us to pay the same amount of money, i.e. Scotland.

Same here! Been on Keys to the Kingdom at least 7 times, that one is my favorite! We've done the multi-park tours and most of the behind the scenes stuff here in WDW and many of them more than once. I am curious to see what they have in store for WDW and the other itineraries.

 

[sayhello]

I've done probably 80+% of the backstage tours offered at WDW that they would have to offer something completely amazing for me to consider an ABD to WDW. Also, how much are they going to ask us to spend of limited activities? You can't take a full day off a trip and still expect us to pay the same amount of money, i.e. Scotland.

Well, and that's another difference between WDW and DL. DL does not have the large array of backstage tours that WDW does. I'm having a hard time coming up with what they could do at WDW that would be exclusive enough to justify the kind of prices ABD is likely to charge. I also wonder where they'd stay, because I'm pretty sure the Grand Floridian is quite a bit more expensive than the Grand Californian. I'll be interested to see what they come up with.

Sayhello

 

[Calfan]

More and more ABD really seems to be weighing against the early bookers. Aside from the no-guarantee issue, I think this is the second time (did it with Norway, right?) that they've released new trips well after the initial release of summer trips. It would have been nice to have the full plate of options to look at when I was planning my summer. I'd been really interested in the Washington DC trip and might have used that to transfer my river boat cruise deposit to. Oh well, I'm expecting "revamped" to be more for less (aka Scotland) so it's probably wouldn't have mattered. Hope they prove me wrong. I'm also interested in what the will do with the Disneyworld trip, given the backstage magic focus on Hollywood and Walt. I'm not big on Disneyworld (west coast Disneyland bias ) but a VIP type trip would make it more intriguing.

I'm another one who doesn't get this *strategy* by ABD to do off-cycle releases of new trips. I know not everyone is as compulsive as me about their travel planning and might not have their plans set yet for 2016, but our big 2016 trip (to China) has been booked for months and months. Even if I was interested in one of these new ABD itineraries, I wouldn't be able to book for 2016. Norway, despite it's off-cycle release, seems to have been successful. But I seem to recall one or two other trips (maybe a culinary one in Italy?) that were introduced off-cycle and then pulled, presumably due to low bookings, I would guess because most had already made their plans for the year the trip was introduced. Totally agree with you that it's frustrating to end up not having had the full range of trip options when booking. We felt this way when the Norway trip was introduced in 2014 and we already had Central Europe booked. We probably would have booked Norway if it was available when we booked at the time 2014 trips were first released. But by the time Norway was released, we had gotten pretty excited about Central Europe and opted to keep that trip instead of switching. But I still had a niggling thought of whether it would have been better to switch, which is kind of frustrating. In terms of the new trips, I'm not actually that excited about any of them. Washington D.C. was on our radar at one time, but now my 8th grade DD will be doing a school trip to D.C. this spring break, and my son will surely want his turn. I'm not a big enough fan of WDW (more admitted California bias for DL) to be very interested in a backstage magic type of trip there, and we are planning to do the Southern California backstage magic trip in 2017. Montana might be interesting, but I'm still more interested in a Winter Wonderland type trip, but can't ever seem to get over the sticker shock of the ABD price for that short trip. I'm much more likely to do that one with NatGeo.

 

[carpenta]

..............Calfan, I too am "compulsive about their planning" for it takes us over a year just to coordinate our vacation times. We are starting to schedule 2018 (God willing).

 

[calypso726]

I agree. Whatever offerings they may have for this summer, we won't be able to take advantage of since we are booked for the river cruise this summer with ABD and already have plans to explore Ireland beforehand and then have the Winter in Wyoming trip in December.

I am pretty OCD about our vacation plans and have a general idea of where we are going for at least the next 3 years. Now, those plans can change but we are always booked a year or more in advance of any vacation. If DCL announces a new ship I will opt for a Maiden Voyage over whatever else I have planned that isn't yet booked. In 2017, since we are going to Aulani in March, we are hoping that the BSM dates will coincide with our trip as pre or post ABD experience. Since I am planning to book flights with miles I will need to book them in April as soon as they are released. New ABD itineraries won't be released until May so if the dates work then I'm going to wind up having to search for award availability a month later and deal with change fees. We are thinking China for 2018, Africa for 2019 and working on travel hacking our way to Bora Bora for 2020 since that is a bucket list item for DH

 

[tgeorge]

Bora Bora would be AMAZING!!!

 

[calypso726]

Bora Bora would be AMAZING!!!

I've started now on getting the credit cards with the sign up bonuses that will give us the points and nights we will need to stay there. The pictures of those over-water bungalows are beautiful! We are also thinking of doing the Maldives the same year. Two credit cards down and 8 or so more to go

 

[RhiannonGator]

I seem in the minority here but I quite like the surprise 'last minute' tour additions. I usually can't commit to a vacation more than six months out due to husband's job, so it makes me feel like I have a chance to get in on something from the beginning. I'm usually wrestling between paying to prices pushed up by the early bookers or hoping to find less popular times that haven't jumped up yet that fit within his limited availability.

I got the letter today with the very slight descriptions, haven't noticed anyone else mentioning..
WDW mentions also kayaking and airboating in the "wilds of Florida" (we had a bit of a laugh at that - not that they don't exist though). Interestingly (to me) it specifically mentions "incredible dining opportunities." I think immediately of V&A but I feel like there would have to be a twist associated with a WDW Backstage Magic..
Montana definitely sounds like a completely different trip than current offering so I wouldn't think it's replacing, unless current one isn't doing well. Glamping, Yellowstone, and dude ranch in Big Sky.
DC/Philly offers no actual details to go off of whatsoever

 

[Rapunzellover]

Yellowstone? That's not Montana. And I didn't receive a letter or the last gift.

 

[calypso726]

I didn't get a letter either. Or at least, not yet. I've lived in Florida since the age of 5 and am now 47. I have never been air-boating even though we live near the Everglades. I keep saying we are going to do it some day and then never get around to it. Somehow I find it funny that the first time I go air-boating might be with ABD

DVC members are supposed to get opening day pricing on ABD trips. I remember talking to someone once who said they were considering buying a small contract on resale in order to get that perk. I explained that "perks" as DVC owners are never guaranteed and can come and go so that was risky unless they planned to use it. Then again, small contracts are easy to sell and go quickly. I can see how that would be an advantage for any new trip like the Scotland one the first year that went up in price by nearly $1000 in days. A 25 point contract can be had on the resale market for under $3,000 with closing costs for a family of 4. A jump in price like that one justifies the cost of the contract. If we didn't already own DVC and couldn't plan things as early as we do, we'd probably do something like that since we clearly are addicted to ABD Hopefully, they will keep that perk. Even though we tend to plan well before dates and rates are released it's nice to know that we "could" do something last minute.