Anybody checked # of bookings for your 2009 trip lately?

[Bobo912]

The airfare I've been watching for the last 4 months dropped $100 per person last week, so I decided to call ABD and see how many people had booked our trip. I was told it's at 14% capacity. Not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds discouraging. I asked what the minimum would be to avoid cancellation and the CM said there is no hard and fast number. The tour director (maybe not the term she used, but something like that) would decide as we get nearer the departure date. That sounds reasonable. I think she was being purposely vague, which is okay since I'm just going to hang on and see what happens anyway. I'm guessing 14% is 4 or 5 people at the most and possibly just me and DS. I decided not to book airfare yet (our trip is the first week of June). I've read on the Dis board that some adventures have gone on with as few as 12 people. I'm sure it depends on the trip, but I'm curious about what you folks may have experienced with cancellations or what ABD may have communicated to you about minimum bookings.

[ga9497]

As you mentioned it really depends on the location and how many people it takes for the trip to still be profitable on Disney's end and not lose money by still traveling with less then x amount of people needed

I would highly suggest booking your airfare through ABD. They can book any airfare you found and if they cancel the tour they will pay any cancellation fees that the airlines require. They will also pay the change fees for the air if you decide to change your date to a future one if they end up cancelling the date you currently have chosen. This is one of the best reasons to book the airfare through them. If you decide to go this route. Let them know which airline, flight numbers, etc you prefer and they will take care of it

[Pakey]

I have a feeling our Costa Rican trip next year is not nearly full yet either but I have not called to check yet. For our London/Paris trip this year, I found the flights I wanted and then called AbD and had them run the rates for the exact same flights and they were able to get it for me at almost the same price so I booked through them. I will do the same for the Costa Rican trip too just so that I'm not stuck with airfare.

[Bobo912]

Thanks to both of you. I was planning to let ABD book the airfare. That's what we did for the Costa Rica trip last year and they were able to get the same price as that I found elsewhere. It's just easier to let them handle everything. We're booked on the Australia trip and I'm afraid it will be at high risk for cancellation because a lot of dates are offered and the airfare is so high. The CM told me bookings usually go up after Chrsitmas, so there's still hope.

[Happy99]

Lets say that the max out is 40 people then 14% is 5.6 people

The other way to know if your date has more people is to see if they are still offering early booking savings. I have found that most of the popular trips / dates sell out of the early booking very quickly

I think the state of the economy has a lot to do with the bookings this time around. Lets face it an ABD trip is expensive and while worth it anyone that is nervous about their financial situation will not easily shell out the money needed for the ABD

[Bobo912]

Absolutely. If I hadn't already booked our trip early, I would probably have done one of the US trips this year, instead of Australia. I got an email from ABD a couple of days ago promoting the early booking rates. Not sure if all the trips still have early booking, but they listed all of them.

[Christyvoltron]

I do not like this tendency for ABD to cancel trips at will. My husband and I are hoping to go to Knights and Lights in May but we used frequent flier miles to offset some of the cost but if they cancel it close to the time we are going -- and in fact even now -- we probably won't be able to get tickets that would work for the trip. Not to mention they wait until the last minute and for some of us it is very hard to arrange for the time off and when employers arrange for coverage and you have the time off they don't like to make adjustments. I think if they cancel us we will have to think long and hard about going with ABD in the future. We took our first trip with ABD which was Backstage Magic and that was touch and go whether we would go until the last minute. That just doesn't seem right. If they are having trouble filling trips maybe they need to have less trips but it doesn't seem right that you get your hopes up and plan and save and then boom right before you go you are cancelled.

[Bobo912]

The CM told me that if the trip were to be cancelled we would be notified 60 days in advance. Is that not accurate? On one hand, I would like to know even sooner. But on the other, I don't want them to cancel too soon, if there is any possibility of the trip going off as planned. But honestly, if another month or two goes by and we're still less than 20% they might as well cancel or try to combine some of the trips and not wait until the 60 day point.

[Pakey]

I know that our Costa Rican one did not have any early booking discounts left when we booked in October (we used bounceback discount) so I guess that means that our tour is partially full anyway. It's an adult only trip and I have heard that those tend to fill easier than the family trips. Of course the Costa Rican one is not one of the more expensive ones so perhaps people still feel they can afford a trip in this range. This will not stop people from forfeiting their deposit though if they can no longer afford to pay that large balance closer to the departure date.

I too would like to use some of my free miles for airfare but I'm not comfortable risking it at this point.

[Christyvoltron]

If we get cancelled 60 days prior to our trip there will be no way, at that point, that we will be able to get acceptable frequent flier tickets for any trip to which they would transfer us -- and I don't think that's right -- why should we be waiting until 60 days -- or later -- before the scheduled departure to find out whether or not we're going to be able to go as promised. We picked a date, we put down our deposit and I think that those trips should go as scheduled. So we will either go to London/Paris on our own at that point -- and what hotels etc. would be available we don't know -- or we'd have to cancel. I'm just saying if they offer the trip they should honor the commitment. If something came up and we couldn't go they wouldn't let us off the hook with no penalties let me assure you. And p.s. most of the ABD booking agents will NOT tell you how many people have booked on the trip and so therefore it is almost impossible to plan AND I, for one, think 60 days is pretty darn late in the game to be cancelling trips.

[knewton64]

The airfare I've been watching for the last 4 months dropped $100 per person last week, so I decided to call ABD and see how many people had booked our trip. I was told it's at 14% capacity. Not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds discouraging. I asked what the minimum would be to avoid cancellation and the CM said there is no hard and fast number. The tour director (maybe not the term she used, but something like that) would decide as we get nearer the departure date. That sounds reasonable. I think she was being purposely vague, which is okay since I'm just going to hang on and see what happens anyway. I'm guessing 14% is 4 or 5 people at the most and possibly just me and DS. I decided not to book airfare yet (our trip is the first week of June). I've read on the Dis board that some adventures have gone on with as few as 12 people. I'm sure it depends on the trip, but I'm curious about what you folks may have experienced with cancellations or what ABD may have communicated to you about minimum bookings.

---- Yes, my October 2009 "Sprirt of America" trip is approx 14% filled as well. Keep in mind that it's December 2008 & the trip isn't until October 2009 & it's one of the more popular trip they offer. So in short, I am not too terribly worried. I did post something in the ABD chat room via subsection, "Sprirt of America trip - Oct 2009" but.....so far - no replies. Keep in mind I wrote that to attempt to generate interest & see who all is going so far - but no such luck! :confused:
********** GO FIGURE*********** But again - since its 10 months away, I don't feel that it will be canceled. Now, sure, if it was 4 months away...THEN I WOULD BE CONCERNED. Which reminds me - when is your trip?? Where?

[Bobo912]

We booked the June 6 Australia trip. I'm worried for several reasons. It's early June, so in some parts of the US school isn't out yet. It's one of the longer trips. And the airfare is huge. But one week later the airfare goes up around $300 per person and stays that way all summer. That is why I selected that date. If it's cancelled, we won't be able to book a different date. I booked pre and post days, so our trip is a full 2 weeks and it's very unlikely I'll be able to reschedule it. And I'm not too excited about paying an extra $600 in airfare. The trip is expensive enough already. It this trip is called off, I'll probably try to change to one of US trips in the same time frame. Either way, I'm okay with it.

[Dahly]

We are booked on the 07/28 Galapagos Trip. I am hoping since there are fewer of these offered, along with the need for ABD to reserve space on a cruise ship for the Island tour portion of the trip, there will be less chance of cancellation. This is also the first year this trip is offered, so I hope all of those weigh in my favor. It was a hard choice to book this trip, given it was nearly a year in advance, and the sinking economy certainly was a factor, but I will try not to dwell on it and until I hear otherwise, I am making my plans! I did check a month or so ago, and was told we were 60% booked, so that is a good sign, but I won't totally relax until I see the ABD sign at the airport!

Good Luck to everyone!

Happy Holidays!

Dahly

[Bobo912]

60% sound very promising. I would love to hear about your trip when you get back. We were considering the Galapagos trip for 2009, but I was concerned about spending that much time on a boat with an 8 year-old. Hope you have a great trip!

[sayhello]

People should keep in mind, that if ABD cancels your trip, they will pay for any rebooking fees or cancellation fees for your airfare, whether you booked your airfare with ABD or not. Here's the quote from their FAQ: If we cancel your trip prior to its commencement because there are too few Guests: (i) we will attempt to re-book you on another departure of the same itinerary, subject to availability, and we will bear any reasonable airline re-booking charges; however, if we are unable to rebook you, we will issue a full refund of your land package price and Vacation Protection Plan (unless you have filed a claim); and (ii) if you booked airfare through us, we will issue a full refund of your airfare; and (iii) if you did not book airfare through us, we will reimburse you for your reasonable out-of-pocket (subject to proof) airline cancellation charges or, in the case of bookings using frequent flier miles, a reasonable cancellation service fee, provided you have exercised best efforts to mitigate such charges/fees; and (iv) the aforesaid payments and/or rebooking by us shall constitute a full settlement. Not that this will help with re-sheduling with work, etc, but at least you don't need to worry about the airfare.

But I agree. A lot of other companies (like Backroads) guarantee that *most* tours will go no matter how few people book.

My ABD (Southwest Splendor in May) went with 14 people, so I know it really does depend on the tour.

Sayhello

[Dahly]

60% sound very promising. I would love to hear about your trip when you get back. We were considering the Galapagos trip for 2009, but I was concerned about spending that much time on a boat with an 8 year-old. Hope you have a great trip!


Thanks! I would love to do Australia, but not sure about that long airplane ride with an 11 year old that doesn't like to sit still! He is very into marine biology, and the possibility of swimming with pengins and sea lions won him over for this trip.

I would love to hear about your trip as well as that one is on my list!

[PatriciaH]

I think a lot of people do not like the non refundable deposit (after 14 days) either. Most tour companies give you it all back if you cancel before final payment. Some take a small processing fee out. Nothing like $300pp.

[Bobo912]

ABD called today and our Discovery Down Under trip has been cancelled. They gave us plenty of warning since our trip wasn't until June 5. Checked airfare for the rest of the summer and it is goes up $450 per person the second week in June and stays that way through July. So I now have to decide if I want to reschedule the Australia trip and pay the extra airfare on an already very expensive trip or switch to another adventure. The CM did tell me that they would honor the early booking discount for any adventure we would like to take. At this point, I don't know what to do.

[cappygirl]

Our May 16th Ireland trip was cancelled today too :sad1:
But we've already been rebooked on the June 13th tour. Our TA took care of everything for us (thanks Dotti!!)

[Carol]

I've been concerned about our trip being cancelled as well and I called today. I was told our trip is 9% booked. That sounds like 2 people, DH & me. Doesn't look good. I was also told that if I booked our flight not using ABD, they would pay the difference of any extra cost if our trip was cancelled. I've been waiting to book our flights as the prices keep dropping and the flight schedules keep changing. If our trip does get cancelled, I hope we get offered the early booking discount to reschedule a different tour. We've booked three extra pre tour days in Venice using points for our hotel. That might not be an option if our dates change. That will be disappointing.

[redzinner]

ABD called today and our Discovery Down Under trip has been cancelled.
Our May 16th Ireland trip was cancelled today too.

Sorry to hear your travel plans were changed. Hopefully you will be able to do another tour Bob912. cappygirl it's great that you were able to have flexible dates! Man the economy is really putting a pinch on these tour dates.

We are scheduled for the Ireland tour on May 23rd. I just called and was told it wasn't full yet but the concierge agent would not tell me the percentage booked. He did state that they would try to get us in another tour or give us a full refund.

[Tozzie]

I called last week to make an additional payment and the trip I am going on is 15% booked or 5 people, the CM told me that a lot of people wait until after the Holidays to book especially the US trips but I am not convinced. I am stuck if they cancel it A- I pick my vacation time in the beginning of the year and can't change and B- I am gioing on the Golden Path to yosemite tour and since I have friends in Southern California and I had extra DVC points I have a week at Disneyland staying in the Grand Californian hotel on those points. I also booked my airfare using Miles so it will be a mess to sort out if it gets canceled. Theyaso did this to me last year and I am nervous now. I also had at the early booking Discount and a $500 credit that I received because they cancelled my trip last year. I am just going to keep my fingers crossed.

[rkdahl]

Our Nov 30th ABD Australia trip was cancelled with just under 60 days notice. This was after several calls weeks prior to ABD where they felt this trip was a solid go and there should be 'no problem', with the usual no guarentees of course. I suspect a family cancelled for some reason after final payment and that caused them to go below minimums.

While their reasonable air fare refund policy might help in some cases. In ours it did not help at all. We had booked a pre-ABD trip for a week in another location and then a post ABD trip for a week in another location. With the ABD cancellation we could not juggle all our airfares, hotels and other events with less than 60 days notice. We had travel logistics at each end of our ABD trip that just could not be moved. It's very hard in less than 60 days to juggle an entire overseas intenarary.

In the end, we filled the planned ABD 10 days with another activity in Australia but we were terribly disappointed.

Two things that disturbed me the most about this ABD cancellation:

1) other than the original 'bad news cancellation' call, I received no other call, letter or anything from ABD saying we are sorry this happened and we apologize. That really bothered me. I expected some kind of formal follow up letter stating what had happened with an apology.
2) I also wrote them an online feedback suggesting ideas and ways to improve the cancellation process and possibly reduce cancellations. I received no reply to that either.

My wife and I had booked an ABD trip for later in 2009 for Austria. I am seriously debating what to do as we have zero confidence this will actually happen. We are considering cancelling the ABD trip and planning our own vacation knowing full well it WILL occur and we can count on everything happening.

We are going to decide what to do in the next couple of months. With the economy as it is and lots of travel cut backs happening, I am in no way going to plan on that trip happening and build other travel arrangements around an ABD trip when such high cancellations seem to be happening.

There's got to be a better way of scheduling these trips than the current, roll the dice and at 60 days see what happens, roulette wheel. :confused3

[Bobo912]

I called last week to make an additional payment and the trip I am going on is 15% booked or 5 people, the CM told me that a lot of people wait until after the Holidays to book especially the US trips but I am not convinced.

That's what they told me on Dec 16 - the day I started this thread. Guess it didn't work out that way. I hope you have better luck than we did. Our trip was still 5 months away, but I am glad that they decided to go ahead and cancel now, rather than waiting for the 60 day mark. The CM told me which dates are the most heavily booked and which have the most kids, but I think it will be a little difficult to reschedule this trip because it is one of the longer ones. And, since we were going to the other side of the world, we thought we might as well spend a few extra days, making it even longer. We'll probably switch to one of the other adventures, and maybe try for Australia again next year.

[PatriciaH]

Anyone check the South Africa trips lately? :confused3

[wdwsos]

ABD called today and our Discovery Down Under trip has been cancelled. They gave us plenty of warning since our trip wasn't until June 5. Checked airfare for the rest of the summer and it is goes up $450 per person the second week in June and stays that way through July. So I now have to decide if I want to reschedule the Australia trip and pay the extra airfare on an already very expensive trip or switch to another adventure. The CM did tell me that they would honor the early booking discount for any adventure we would like to take. At this point, I don't know what to do.

I'm so sorry yours was canceled. :( AbD is trying to do this a little further out so that people are prepared. I think a lot of folks have complained (especially here) that they'd rather know sooner than later.

For those on trips not canceled, keep in mind that by reducing the number of tours offered, your chances are better that yours will be a go.

Bobo912, I have a group of friends (all adults, so far) going on June 5 to Bella Italia and it's a guaranteed departure. Come with us! :) The date is the same even though the destination is far different!

Dotti

[nunzia]

Our Backstage Magic is "less than 50% booked" according to the ABD rep who wouldn't give more info than that. We are going with another couple and I know of one other DIS couple going..so..we will see what less than 50% means :)

[kristilew]

I called last week to make an additional payment and the trip I am going on is 15% booked or 5 people, the CM told me that a lot of people wait until after the Holidays to book especially the US trips but I am not convinced. I am stuck if they cancel it A- I pick my vacation time in the beginning of the year and can't change and B- I am gioing on the Golden Path to yosemite tour and since I have friends in Southern California and I had extra DVC points I have a week at Disneyland staying in the Grand Californian hotel on those points. I also booked my airfare using Miles so it will be a mess to sort out if it gets canceled. Theyaso did this to me last year and I am nervous now. I also had at the early booking Discount and a $500 credit that I received because they cancelled my trip last year. I am just going to keep my fingers crossed.

tozzie, we are in a similar situation with Southwest Splendors. However, we are looking at it as a trip we can recreate on our own if the ABD does get cancelled. We'll still go see our friends in Sedona, then we'll just go stay at the hotels Disney would have put us in and see the same sights. With the Yosemite trip, you should be able to do the same. It wouldn't be as magical, but it was what swayed us to commit. As DH said, we're doing it no matter what. But I do hope, for you and for us, that the ABD's happen!

[Dahly]

Bobo912 - so sorry to hear your Australia Trip was cancelled. I hope you can rebook the same trip, or find another one that works for you. :hug:

Good Luck!

Dahly

[Phil1019]

Hi, I called ABD today about my trip to Costa Rica 4/18/09 - I was told that my trip is just about fully booked and is definitely a go!

[jacksparrowfan]

Hi, I called ABD today about my trip to Costa Rica 4/18/09 - I was told that my trip is just about fully booked and is definitely a go!

Happy New Year to my fellow Backstage Magic Adventurer! YAY!!!! :yay: Now you can really be excited. I hope you send me pictures! Especially of you and your daughter doing the zip line! (Oh my!!!)

I called in to make a payment for Backstage magic (Oct). They said it was 30% full at this time. It sounds positive at this point. In this economy, I still am concerned. But, we will see what happens.

[2RGR8]

I checked on our London/Paris trip that departs June 22nd and there are 13 people booked so far. We are still going whether we go through Disney or not. Our days may not be as organized, but how hard can it be hitting all of the places on their itinerary?

[Bobo912]

Thanks, everyone, for your commiserations. We were disappointed, but everything has worked out okay. We switched to the Alaska adventure and are equally excited about this trip. Hopefully, we'll get to take the Australia trip sometime in the future - maybe next year!

[Phil1019]

Hi, Are you going on the Backstage Magic trip a second time?

[sayhello]

Thanks, everyone, for your commiserations. We were disappointed, but everything has worked out okay. We switched to the Alaska adventure and are equally excited about this trip. Hopefully, we'll get to take the Australia trip sometime in the future - maybe next year!You will *LOVE* Alaska! I was tempted by that itinerary, except that I was just there 2 years ago, so I really wanted to go somewhere new.

Alaska is magnificent, and ABD has you going to some really great places (the Kenai penninsula tour is supposed to be WONDERFUL for spotting wildlife & whales!) That was one of the places I really was sorry I missed.

Glad it all worked out. Australia next year!

Sayhello

[jacksparrowfan]

Hi, Are you going on the Backstage Magic trip a second time?

Hi! Yes, this time I am going with a couple of friends. :)

[Tozzie]

The dates of the trips that were posted as canceled are still on the website. I was hoping they had removed them so that I could use that as a gage but they haven't and the NYC and Boston trip is still listed. Last year when they cancelled the itinerary it was immediately removed from the site. Oh well.

[wii fit mama]

I checked this morning, there are 15 people booked on our June 16, Southwest Splendors trip(leaves Tues). I hope that's enough people although I wouldn't mind leaving that Saturday(the 20th). We didn't book it originally because it would have cost another $1,500.

[kristilew]

Hi, wii fit mama :wave2: We are on the same trip! I was just logging on to post that I checked yesterday too. She didn't give me exact #'s, just said "almost 50%". She also said "it's still early." I wouldn't mind having a small group, but I hope it's not cancelled.

Who all is in your group?

[sayhello]

I checked this morning, there are 15 people booked on our June 16, Southwest Splendors trip(leaves Tues). I hope that's enough people although I wouldn't mind leaving that Saturday(the 20th). We didn't book it originally because it would have cost another $1,500.My Southwest Splendors tour went with 14 people, so there's reason to hope!

Sayhello

[wii fit mama]

Hi Kristiew There will three of us, myself, DH and DD14. When I called Monday am she said it was 37% booked so maybe a new party booked. Are you flying in the night before? We won't arrive until 6:00 and are wondering about a nice, convenient hotel, something like the Hyatt at the Orlando airport would be awesome.

[kristilew]

Can't wait to meet you! There's 3 of us as well. DD is 11.

We're actually flying in on Saturday and spending 3 nights in Sedona with friends. Their inlaws have a fabulous house there and they go every year. They're always talking to us about Slide Rock Park so when we scheduled the trip we piggybacked on their vacation. We're going to rent a car and drive back to the airport on Tuesday to turn it in and meet up with the ABD group.

I know a lot of DISers who have done the trip have stayed somewhere in Phoenix the night before. SayHello, didn't you do that?

[DWFan4Life]

I didn't check any bookings at this moment :lmao: I'm still having my reservation tomorrow. Hopefully, we will having our next trip on December for Christmas season. :) I'm getting excited to it.

Have a nice day and a safe trip everyone. :)

[nordkin]

Hi Kristiew There will three of us, myself, DH and DD14. When I called Monday am she said it was 37% booked so maybe a new party booked. Are you flying in the night before? We won't arrive until 6:00 and are wondering about a nice, convenient hotel, something like the Hyatt at the Orlando airport would be awesome.

We stayed at the Residence Inn and it is only about 15 minutes from the airport. It was a good location and easy to get to.