I have seen Adventures by Disney on Kelly and Regis and Extreme Home Makeover - but don't know much about it? Anyone have any experience with this vacation?

I've done three of them so far - Viva Italia (Rome, Tuscany, Venice), Imperial Cities (now Magical Kingdoms -- Austria and Prague) and Flavors of France (Aix-en-Provence and Paris) and have my fourth booked for next June! They're amazing trips - very high end escorted tours where you don't have to worry about a thing. I can't recommend them highly enough! We've done adult-only trips and also ones with children. My three boys (26, 22 and 21) enjoy them as well.

http://picasaweb.google.com/DottiSaroufim/FlavorsOfFrance02#5253824011238822066

Let me know if you have specific questions and I'll be happy to answer them. There are 23 itineraries for 2009 and they can all be found on http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/index?name=HomePage. I always tend to get a little over-enthusiastic, but I'll try to contain myself and just answer the questions. :)



Dotti

My sister in law's family is going to Italy next year through ABD. And from what it sounds, its going to be a great trip. They have been pleased with the planning process thus far.

From my conversations with others who have done trips the pros are that you are staying at some of the nicest places and quality of the activities is top notch. You dont have to think about a thing nor try to piece together a great vacation. Its all done for you.

The con to all of that is that it is expensive. It would blow my vacation budget for a few years if I did some of the more elaborate trips. But nothing that is high quality is ever cheap. Also, if I recall from my own investigation, is that airfare is not included, so you have to add that in as well.

Which Italy trip is she on next year? We're doing Bella Italia on June 5!

Dotti

Wow - you've done three? How awesome. I wouldn't expect to hear that kids of that age would want to do a tour like this. Guess I have an oudated view of these kinds of tours.

We sort of played around with the idea of my husband and I taking a big trip for our 20th wedding anniversary in 2010. However, we feel bad leaving our 15 and 13 year old kids behind. Do you really think there is much to offer them or would they be bored to tears and me left feeling like I wasted my money.

Sorry to ask so many questions but seems like you have a good handle on these!

I've thrown around the idea of doing an Adventures by Disney trip, too. I guess if you've taken three already, it MUST be worth the extra cost! What are some of the things you enjoyed most? What kept you coming back to Disney instead of trying another supplier?

Wow - you've done three? How awesome. I wouldn't expect to hear that kids of that age would want to do a tour like this. Guess I have an oudated view of these kinds of tours.

We sort of played around with the idea of my husband and I taking a big trip for our 20th wedding anniversary in 2010. However, we feel bad leaving our 15 and 13 year old kids behind. Do you really think there is much to offer them or would they be bored to tears and me left feeling like I wasted my money.

Sorry to ask so many questions but seems like you have a good handle on these!

My boys are not generally the tour type. Actually, before the Imperial Cities (now Magical Kingdoms) trip, they backpacked through London, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, and the baby (19 at the time) stayed in Prague for six weeks after the AbD portion. I really didn't know how they'd "adapt" to this kind of a trip, but it was wonderful! They love little kids, and we had two 6-year-olds, a group of female cousins (14, 12 and 9) and one turning-16-year-old boy. They all got along so well that it was like we knew each other all our lives. I have more photos of my boys with little girls on their shoulders or asleep in their laps (the parents said they'd never travel without us again!) and the 16-year-old was thrilled to have other guys on the trip -- he was dreading it before meeting us. :)

On our Flavors of France trip, again we had all ages from 7 to 17. My 22-year-old had all of us singing Disney songs on the long (long, long) walk down the steps of the Eiffel Tower. However, I really don't think it was just my boys -- these kids would have had loads to keep their interest even if my guys didn't provide comic relief. I think it's impossible to be bored on an AbD trip -- the Adventure Guides are wonderful with the children and the trips are set up to incorporate lots for young and old. I wouldn't worry about that at all!

Dotti

I've thrown around the idea of doing an Adventures by Disney trip, too. I guess if you've taken three already, it MUST be worth the extra cost! What are some of the things you enjoyed most? What kept you coming back to Disney instead of trying another supplier?

Hmmm... enjoyed most... the Disney attention to detail. The way the trips are really hands-on -- mask-making in Venice, kayaking in the south of France, working the marrionettes in Austria -- there are so many experiences that aren't offered elsewhere. The quality of the hotels and excursions and guides. That it's multi-generational and all generations find something to love.

Being in the business, I get to research and learn about all the different tour companies. When clients look at the less expensive tours and then break it down so that they're comparing apples to apples, AbD always wins. And I've put over 100 guests on these trips and no one has yet returned and said it wasn't worth every penny. Most come back and immediately book the next one!

I know it's a high price tag with the economy going down the toilet, but one of the things that brings people back to AbD is that so much is included. You pretty much know right up front what you're paying and there's not much need to spend a lot once you're at your destination. I'm not someone who needs to shop (probably because there's no money left by the time I pay my final payment) and Disney doesn't nickel and dime you the way some other tour companies do, so I never feel surprised. Right there, I guess, is a good reason I keep coming back.

Dotti

Has anyone done this as a solo traveler/had a solo traveler in their group?

I know they really stick it to you with the single supplement (just like the cruises) but reading some of the descriptions it really sounded 'Family' oriented, so I wonder how out of place a single person would be.

I don't feel 'odd' in Disney parks, so I was kind of shocked on the cruise the number of people that were really suprised that I was by myself. It just sounded even more so from the stuff I read about the Adventurs.

I am also interested in the solo traveler question. Also, has anybody taken the Backstage Magic trip (Hollywood and Disneyland Resort)? I would love to hear more about that trip.