Alpine Magic July 26 [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

View Full Version : Alpine Magic July 26

Gibson4

06-29-2009, 01:38 PM

Our family of 4 (girls 6 and 9) are headed on the Alpine Magic tour July 26. It's our first ABD trip and we'd love to hear from anybody going or who has been.

disneyduck31

06-29-2009, 07:02 PM

I just returned from the Alpine Magic tour and I had the time of my life. There was so much to do for people of all ages. There were surprises everyday and we were never bored. I was worried about the length of some of the bus rides but they all felt so short. My guides were Marco and Jason and I could not have asked for anyone better.

HappyGrumpy

06-29-2009, 07:31 PM

Carol

06-30-2009, 10:06 AM

28willys

07-10-2009, 07:54 AM

We just returned last night from Alpine Magic and it was truly amazing. It was our first ABD experience and certainly won't be our last. Jason and Marco were fantastic, couldn't have asked for better guides.

We are booked on the Alpine Magic trip this August. We head out on the 16th. Cannot wait!!! Glad to finally see some postings here regarding this trip. Just received our backpacks and info earlier in the week. Sounds like everyone has had a great time. We are traveling with my parents. My mom thought the itinerary sounded a bit juvenile, so it is good to hear that you enjoyed it. It is our first trip with ABD as well. Do you happen to know if it makes any sense for me to bring my netbook? Is there any type of internet service at any of the hotels we stay at? I am hoping to stay in touch with my inlaws who will be home taking care of all our animals!!! Any tips you could give would be greatly appreciated. We have no idea what to expect!! :yay:

Carol

07-10-2009, 08:46 AM

It's not too juvenile. There are a few activities that are "young at heart". I'm in my late 50's and loved them all. There is always something else to do if you don't want to partake.

We took our netbook and could use it only a few times. In Stesa we bought an internet card from the front desk for 5 Euro for 30 minutes. It wasn't much time but worth it to keep in touch. The 30 min. can be spread out during your stay there. In Zermatt, the hotel was having issues with connectivity so we were able to only connect a few times. Hopefully it's fixed by now. We bought the internet card again in Lucerne. It was 5 CHF for 24 hours service, it ended each day at midnight.

The hotels are wonderful, the food is fantastic, very few disappointments, the scenery is absolutely amazing and you will LOVE Jason and Marco. I can't say enough about those two. Just the best.

Hope this helps.

glassslipper2004

07-10-2009, 10:41 AM

Wonder if your guide was the same Marco we had on Viva Italia last summer? He was wonderful!

Carol

07-10-2009, 11:49 AM

Marco did Viva Italia last year. There was a family on our trip that had him last year on Viva Italia. His knowledge of the area was tremendous.

glassslipper2004

07-10-2009, 02:37 PM

Neat! On our Viva trip he was outshined a bit by Heidi, who spent a lot of time playing with the girls in the group (my DD8 and DD10, then, included), but we loved Marco too.

I wish they would advertise which guides were on which trips - we liked ours so much, it would definitely be a draw. But that would probably make their staffing too complicated.

mwebsite

07-11-2009, 09:21 AM

Marco talked about this tour on our Viva Italia last month. He said it was a wonderful trip and he was so excited about it. He is from Northern Italy and was pleased he was going to be able to share that part of Italy with everyone. I think he is a guide on all these adventures and you will love him. It looks like a wonderful tour with amazing scenery.

clarabelle

07-11-2009, 10:44 AM

What is the weather like on this trip?
(yes I have a weather obsession):)

Carol

07-11-2009, 01:27 PM

We had fantastic weather the whole trip. Shorts and Tshirt kind of weather. Except for one rainy afternoon and it wasn't cold, just rainy.

joyandsyd

07-11-2009, 03:11 PM

Carol, Great to hear about your trip. We are starting to plan this trip for next year. How far in advance did you book yours or can you recommend how far in advance we should book?

clarabelle

07-11-2009, 03:37 PM

joyandsyd

I have no experience with Alpine Magic -but with ADBs as a rule you should book as soon as the new dates come out if possible.
There are a limited amount of early booking discounts available for each trip.
The new trips come out around the first week in August on the internet

joyandsyd

07-11-2009, 05:59 PM

Thanks. We're going to try to book early, but I had no idea when the new schedules come out. Huge help.

Carol

07-11-2009, 06:51 PM

We booked our trip the first week of Aug. last year. Right after the new tour dates were published. We actually booked the very first trip date offered for Alpine Magic. It was a new tour and I new we'd be taking a chance. Our first choice was cancelled (we got the call in Jan.) and we had to re-book for a month later. So glad we did!

disneyduck31

07-11-2009, 07:59 PM

I was on the Alpine Magic trip with Carol and I booked much later. About 3 or 4 months before the trip. I hear that they fill up fast sometimes tho so I would book earlier next time.

joyandsyd

07-12-2009, 10:01 AM

This is such a great site. Thanks to everyone who has interjected. If any of you have tips or more FYI on the Alpine trip please share. We are definitely going to book our trip as soon as the new dates come out. Do any of you know what the size restriction for the zip-line is? Our daughter really wants to do it (very adventurous), but it says there is a size restriction. She will be 7 when we go on the trip. She's nearly 60 pounds now. Thanks in advance!!!

Carol

07-12-2009, 04:50 PM

I honestly don't remember what the limit was, whether age or size. It's not just zip lining, it's a cable obstacle course as well. It was quite challenging. However there is a childrens area that the younger kids on our tour seemed to really enjoy, one was a 7 year old girl. If your daughter is adventurous, she'll love it.

joyandsyd

07-12-2009, 08:08 PM

Thanks Carol. The children's area would probably be challenging enough for her.

Gibson4

08-01-2009, 06:29 PM

joyandsyd

08-03-2009, 09:59 AM

Gibson4...thanks for the blog, and all the pictures! It looks absolutely fabulous. The you-tube video was crazy. Please tell us which group you used so we can try to book with them when we get to Zermatt. What incredible memories you'll have...with excellent documentation.

mkmommy

08-06-2009, 08:41 PM

What a wonderful blog you have of this trip. I spent a lot of time in Switzerland and the Interlachen area when I was backpacking Europe many moons ago and your pictures brought back some wonderful memories.

I look forward to reading about the Fussen part of trip, my husband and I spent some time there a couple of years ago and had a great time there also.

Your blog has gotten me thinking maybe we should so this trip next year instead of our planned DCL trip.

Thank you for sharing.

Tozzie

08-08-2009, 06:31 PM

We are on Day 7 of Alpine Magic and I have to say this trip is stunning. Stunning beauty every moment of this trip. Marco and Jason have been incredible guides. You can check out our progress at payitbackwards.typepad.com Too many highlights to mention but I will document a full report when we are back home.

THis is one of the trips I was tossing around for next year and after seeing the pictures I decided this is the trip I am taking. The pictures are awesome!!!

RSM

08-18-2009, 11:18 PM

28willys

09-02-2009, 09:04 AM

Thanks for the great blog. One quick question: Did you do the paragliding on your own or was it part of the Disney offering. If you did it on your own, was there ample time to do it or did you have to skip something. I assume you did it in Zermatt. Thanks.

The paragliding is done in Zermatt. It is not part of the abd trip, but your guides can set it up for you. When we were there in August Jason (our guide) had the owner of the paragliding company meet with us at our hotel. We planned to paraglide the next afternoon, but the winds were not right for it and we weren't able to go. Another family from our group planned on going one evening, but had the same problem. According to the owner, the best time to paraglide is first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, we had other plans with our abd group in the mornings.

sweetlovin'

10-24-2009, 08:33 PM

I am considering doing the Alpine Trip. I looked up the paragliding and I also saw that they offer helicopter tours. Is there enough time in between group activities to do both?

28willys

10-25-2009, 07:11 PM

I am considering doing the Alpine Trip. I looked up the paragliding and I also saw that they offer helicopter tours. Is there enough time in between group activities to do both?

The paragliding is hit or miss depending on wind conditions. We were on standby for two days and never got to go. The day we did the zipline, we had 5 or 6 hours before dinner to do our own thing. We had enough time to take the cablecars to Glacier Paradise (the ride itself is about an hour each way), we had lunch at the top of the glacier, then my husband and daughter went back to the zipline and finished the red and black courses. They barely made it back for dinner. :) I guess the wind conditions are better for paragliding in the mornings. The currents start to pick up in about the time ziplining is finished. Check with your guides as soon as you get to Zermatt and see if they can set something up with one of the ziplining companies. That way you will be on standby if the weather works out.

I don't know anything about the helicopter tours. We didn't see anything like that when we were there.

Have a wonderful time. I am so jealous!!! It was definately the trip of a lifetime, and I would give anything to go back!!! Zermatt was our favorite of the three cities. It is beautiful!

Tozzie

10-25-2009, 10:28 PM

The paragliding is hit or miss depending on wind conditions. We were on standby for two days and never got to go. The day we did the zipline, we had 5 or 6 hours before dinner to do our own thing. We had enough time to take the cablecars to Glacier Paradise (the ride itself is about an hour each way), we had lunch at the top of the glacier, then my husband and daughter went back to the zipline and finished the red and black courses. They barely made it back for dinner. :) I guess the wind conditions are better for paragliding in the mornings. The currents start to pick up in about the time ziplining is finished. Check with your guides as soon as you get to Zermatt and see if they can set something up with one of the ziplining companies. That way you will be on standby if the weather works out.

I don't know anything about the helicopter tours. We didn't see anything like that when we were there.

Have a wonderful time. I am so jealous!!! It was definately the trip of a lifetime, and I would give anything to go back!!! Zermatt was our favorite of the three cities. It is beautiful!

If you google Zermatt you can get to a website that has various activities paragliding and helicopter tours are on that site, I think it is myswitzerland.com. I was actually thinking about doing both myself. The helicopter tour is approx 20 minutes .

sweetlovin'

10-26-2009, 07:37 PM

Here is the link I saw. http://www.zermatt-fun.ch/

Thanks for the answer and the tip about the mornings. That will help:). I think it will be a great trip!

Tozzie

10-26-2009, 10:27 PM

Here is the link I saw. http://www.zermatt-fun.ch/

Thanks for the answer and the tip about the mornings. That will help:). I think it will be a great trip!

Thanks for the link that is a different website than the one I was talking about and I am booked on this trip.

sweetlovin'

10-27-2009, 07:25 AM

Glad to help! Here is the other link for the Helicopter Tours. If you go to the left side you will see excursions. http://www.zermatt.ch/en/page.cfm/experience/summer_activities/forest_fun_park

That is where the helicopter tours are and other various things to do in the summer. Just in case anyone is interested in anything else:)