Yes or No?

[AMG]

Just returned from an 8 day wonderful Disney World vacation. Had a great time. Saw advertisements for Adventures by Disney and thought what a great new way to take a vacation. My question is...I see it is rather an expensive trip.

Would you recommend spending the money and which trip should I plan as my first?

 

[sayhello]

Boy, is *that* a loaded question!!!

First question:

Would you recommend spending the money

Well, it really depends on how much money you're willing to spend for a vacation, and what's important to you. I'm currently signed up for my 3rd ABD, so obviously I think it's worth the money. Having someone else worry about arranging all the details, getting you access, arranging special activities, shlep your luggage, check you in & out of your hotels, transport you both to & from the airport, and everywhere in between, take care of problems that occur during the trip, reschedule things if needed, provide you with water and snacks throughout the trip, lead you on hikes, arrange people to explain and enhance what you're seeing, etc, etc... Well, it's worth it to me.

and which trip should I plan as my first?

That's really going to require a LOT more info from you. Single? Married? Kids? How old are you? How old are the kids? What kinds of activities do you enjoy? Are you looking for something "close to home" (assuming you're in North America)? Europe? "Exotic" like Asia or Australia? What time of year? Do you prefer active trips or cultural or nature? Museums or the mountains? Shopping or biking? There is a LARGE range of trips offered by ABD, and a lot of people here can give you insights on the pluses & minuses of certain trips once they know more about you.

There's some who have been saying they think the quality of ABD has been going downhill. That hasn't been my experience, but I'm sure you'll hear about both sides of it. Also, last year ABD had a lot of stumbling due to having expanded just before the economy crashed & burned. I think they are dealing with that.

Long way of saying, it can DEFINITELY be worth the money depending on what you're looking for. And we can help you with picking a trip once we know what you're looking for!

There's a sticky at the top of this forum with links to people's ABD Trip Reports. I think reading those will also help answer some of your questions.

Sayhello

PS, they are advertising Adventures by Disney at WDW? Cool! I've never seen that when I've been to WDW. I think it totally makes sense, and never understood them *not* doing it!

 

[Icemann]

Have planned and booked second of many ABD Adventures.Agree with above post

 

[glassslipper2004]

We've done one "cultural" (Viva Italia) and one "nature" (Southwest Splendors) and loved them both. But after two years of such luxurious vacations, we are going to take a break next summer. Taking a family of four on these trips, especially if you are going overseas and have to pay for airfare, is expensive - but the trips are wonderful.

 

[AMG]

Thanks for the information. I guess it was a loaded question, but you both answered it for me.

It's me and my daughter who is 24 and I don't mind spending the money when I believe I am getting my money's worth. See America first I always say. I always wanted to see the Grand Canyon and Alaska, so I may start there.

Thanks again.

 

[marcemch]

I just experienced the opposite - reverse sticker shock when I went to book a 4 night trip to WDW after taking ABD trips the last two summers. "Wow - 4 nights at the Polynesian with park hopper tickets for 5 days for my daughter and I for just a little over $2000?" It seems like such a bargain after what we've spent for ABD trips - I have to say that it makes me re-consider the value of what we got (especially now that prices are up and no EBD!). I too first saw the ABD trips advertised on the TV at WDW during a Jan 2007 trip!
So here are my 2 cents - I agree with Sayhello that they are great trips and whether they are "worth it" it depends what you're looking for in a trip. I only question if there's THAT much difference in what you get from ABD than from other comparable touring companies (the key word being "comparable"). I think many folks may think there are not comparable companies - I guess that's a matter of opinion and again, what's important to you. On my first ABD trip (Germany), we experienced Disney magic - I can't imagine other companies matching that. On the second trip (Alaska), we experiened a really good tour - I CAN see other companies matching or even exceeding that experience. I think that for families traveling, there are fewer options (escorted touring companies for families) to which compare, and for me, having buddies for my daughter while we travel is worth ALOT! But if I were traveling alone (which I did for many years as I didn't become a parent until I was 41!), I likely wouldn't consider ABD, or if I did, there are certainly more companies that I believe offer comparable tours for comparable or less $, so I'd make sure I comparison shopped.
Okay - so did I say "comparable" enough in this post?? Ha!

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the information. I guess it was a loaded question, but you both answered it for me.

It's me and my daughter who is 24 and I don't mind spending the money when I believe I am getting my money's worth. See America first I always say. I always wanted to see the Grand Canyon and Alaska, so I may start there.

Thanks again.

Great! I do think this info will influence the answers you get. Because what you are looking for will probably be different than a family with young children.

Funny you should mention the Grand Canyon and Alaska! Those are the 2 ABD's I've taken! I also subscribe to "See America First". And there are so many places in the US that I've still yet to see! The American Southwest and the Grand Canyon are extremely spectacular, and definitely worth seeing, and ABD does it well. Same is true for Alaska!

There are links in my Signature to the Trip Reports for my 2 ABD vacations: Southwest Splendors (American Southwest/Grand Canyon) and Taming the Last Frontier (Alaska). Check them out! I think they'll give you a good feel for the trips and what they include. Let me know if you have any questions! (I travel alone, so for me, touring with a company like Adventures by Disney is an especially good thing).

Personally, having done both trips, I think you'd love either, but I'd suggest doing the Grand Canyon trip first. I still think it's one of ABD's best itineraries!

Sayhello

 

[Diskidatheart]

AMG, my wife and I are doing our first ABD trip next May. It's an adults only trip. We did a lot of research and talked to a few people who did similar trips with other tour companies. From our discussions, their tours were less expensive at first, but then there were several add-ons to these trips, which brought the cost in line with ABD. (Please note that not all tour companies have these add-ons, but it's something to look out for when comparison shopping). There are numerous posts within the last couple of months regarding all the trips. It's funny because when ABD published their 2010 trips, there was a lot of anger/disappointment on the board because of trips not being offered, early booking discounts (EBD) not available, and overall discounts available. I think that anger/disappointment has died down somewhat now. If you read through trip reviews, you will get a pretty good feel for what to expect on an ABD trip. Be careful when you read Sayhello's trip reports because you will want to do both trips next year.

To answer your questions, only you can determine if the price is worth it, but in my opinion you get a lot for what you are paying and yes, it is still expensive. I'll be able to tell you if it was worth it next May.

As far as where to go, there is plenty of discussions and trip reviews on this board and I think after reading through all the threads you will want to go on all the trips. Happy reading! It's a tough decision.

 

[WeLoveABD]

We concur--we save up for these trips, and having gone on other tours with other companies can only echo what is noted above: at the end of the trip, we always felt we got our money's worth (we'll be doing our 4th ABD this Christmas). On each trip, at the end, there were always those who were someone skeptical at first about the value of the trip (cost vs what you get), but in every instance they were sold on the program and looking forward to another trip. The biggest hurdle we have to overcome when discussing ABD with others is the thought that this would somehow be a Disney character trip, which of course it isn't at all. There are Disney touches--but mostly it is about immersion into the culture and the storytelling.

 

[HappyGrumpy]

We will so go again. I would really like to do the Adults Only BSM.

I really wish they would do more in the way of incentives. DCL just adopted the Silver Gold and Platinum tiers for repeat customer and its great! Check out the thread. ABD really needs to consider this as well.

Incentives can go a long way specially when you are a repeat customer! I am talking about more that a pin that says welcome back.!


Ashley

 

[Turtlemom]

We did 3 "see America" trips with ABD--Hawaii Legend of the Islands (no longer offered), Southwest Splendors and Quest for the West. Although I certainly could have lined up the same trip on my own--travelling with ABD made it much easier and much more fun. Our fellow travellers in both cases were amazing and it was fun for us and for the kids to have someone to share it with. The Guides also make the trip and in both cases the guides were exceptional. Having a group also allows for special events and entertainment that you would not have on your own

I agree that the trips are expensive, but when you compare other companies (Tauk in particular), they are in the same general range.

Good luck with your decision. I am hoping to sign up with ABD again this year, so we definitely think it is worth it. . . .