How many people do these trips without being time share members?

[Bete]

I just can't see these trips being worth it if you are paying out of pocket for them. Convince me I'm wrong.

How many of you have done these trips OOP? Please stand up and be counted, now.

I can see this being very hands free and you doing very little but showing up at your destination, but I can do most of these trips for 30 to 50% less and probably customize more to our liking by doing a little research, etc.

I just can't see it.

[Bobo912]

I just can't see these trips being worth it if you are paying out of pocket for them. Convince me I'm wrong.

How many of you have done these trips OOP? Please stand up and be counted, now.

I can see this being very hands free and you doing very little but showing up at your destination, but I can do most of these trips for 30 to 50% less and probably customize more to our liking by doing a little research, etc.

I just can't see it.

I am not a DVC member. I've been on 2 ABDs so far and will definitely do more in the future. In my opinion, it's worth every penny.

[Pluto,]

i never been on a abd hopefully sometime in the future. im a dvc member but i will not use my points for this unless i had to unload a lot of points. you are still paying for it maybe even more. you have your points that you pay maint fees on every year around 5 dollars a point give or take a little depending where you own.

[Tozzie]

I just can't see these trips being worth it if you are paying out of pocket for them. Convince me I'm wrong.

How many of you have done these trips OOP? Please stand up and be counted, now.

I can see this being very hands free and you doing very little but showing up at your destination, but I can do most of these trips for 30 to 50% less and probably customize more to our liking by doing a little research, etc.

I just can't see it.

Most of the people who post on this board and go on the trips pay cash for them. I am a DVC member but I pay cash for the trips, the points needed for one person for a trip are high anywhere from 400-700 points for 1 so it is not a good use of points to begin with.

As for being able to do it for less money, you can but you won't have the same experience and on certain trips there are things that you just can't do as they aren't open to the general public. I think it is worth it not to have to do anything but show up. I think it is worth it not to have to wait in line to get into any of the popular tourist attractions/exhibits/museums. The attention to detail is phenomenal and if things go astray ABD will make it all right or they will try their hardest. There is a poster who went to china last year and ended up being quarrantined due to someone they were sitting near on the plane had a fever and the whole swine flu thing, abd counldn't get them out of quarrantine but stayed in touch with them the entire time and did whatever they could to help, you wouldn't get that if you were on your own.

I have looked into other tour groups and the things they offer, yes many are less money but they don't offer many of the things ABD does. Only you can decide if it worth the money I think they are.

[Miss SD]

You wouldn't be able to get access to most of the activities on the Backstage Magic tour on your own. That's why we signed up for this tour--twice. And we paid cash.

[Bobo912]

On some of the other tours, you get to visit the attractions when they are closed to the public and others you bypass the lines. Because of this you can do much more in a day than you could on your own. But the biggest advantage is that you can just relax and enjoy yourself knowing that everything will be taken care of for you.

[WeLoveABD]

WEll! I had plenty of orders to respond to in my military days, but that was THEN...however, to respond to the inquiry--we have been on 4, and are not DVC members. We looked into the DVC and concluded it didn't work with ABD--and we don't want to be locked into a time share of any sort. I grew up with Disneyland, and we live 2 hours away--so too far for DisneyWorld to make it worthwhile, and too close to Disneyland to stay on site overnight.

As you may see from other posters, there is a wide variety of travel interests--and some love love love ABD, others not so much (although I think the guides are universally praised and appreciated--a BIG selling point). True you can do trips on your own, you can do guided tours for far cheaper--and you may be able to find a better itinerary for certain destinations (some are trying Tauck this summer, for example).

But unless you've done one of these trips--and if your mindset is strictly fiscal (I've been there--only recently have we taken the plunge into bigger trips), then the trip may not be for you--it is hard to describe the sheer joy and relaxation we have encountered with the Disney program. I was uncertain about it all before we did our first trip with ABD to Italy--but being able to leave the details (a LOT of details) to our guides and just go along for the ride, with the kids active and busy, and down time and family time...well, when we got back we figured out all of the costs and benefits and determined it was well worth the cost. I still hold to that.

I'm not a die-hard on this--we'll be doing other trips with other groups--but these have been great trips. To hark back to the military: attention to detail!

[monydave]

I'm not a DVC member but have been on two trips with ABD. I must admit they are expensive but I feel they are worth it. Each of the trips has been an incredible adventure with great guides, spectacular hotels and wonderful food and activities. I'm not sure there are any words that I could type here that would make you change your mind. I feel lucky to have been on these trips with my family and we will continue to be able to share these memories for the rest of my life. Coupling that with the incredible feeling of not having to worry about a thing when I'm on the trip, and that to me makes it worth the cost.

[figmentfan2009]

been on 2, heading out on the 3rd. We paid out of pocket... I'm not sure you could get (booking on your own) some of the wonderful experiences you get going with ABD. China... not a prayer. Won't spoil some of the magic, for those Beijing Bound this year... but there are WAY things that you wouldn't be able to do if it were to be self booked and there are things that weren't booked that we loved... ABD is kind of the best of both worlds... We are weird, we make the MOST of every minute of the "free time" by experiencing a lot of what isn't on the itinerary, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it a 4th time (10 weeks from now we will be in Rome).

Pricey? yeah... but worth every single cent.:thumbsup2

[Bete]

I appreciate the comments. I'm not against these trips; they just seem so pricey. If you feel it's worth it then Disney has done their job.

[LTFrench]

We travel a lot, usually not with a tour group. That being said....
We are not DVC members and do not ever plan on joining.
We do not enjoy spending more time standing in long lines, trying to understand tour guides that don't speak *our* English, waiting for public transportation....... This does not happen with Disney, and in our opinion is well worth the money vs time and frustrations.... We just returned from a second AbD trip and see more in our future.

[helenk]

I am a DVC member but did not use my points for this trip. I researched several other companies before I booked the ABD trip. ADB was just a tad more than Tauck but ABD had everything I wanted and I booked with Dreams Unlimited and I got a $400 gift card. So in the end I really felt like I was getting a good deal.

[brewcrew]

I would rather save up and spend more to have everything taken care of for me. I have not done an ABD trip yet but I will! Hopefully sooner than later!

[It's always cold]

We are DVC members but are booked on our first ABD China adventure this summer. We are not using any points for this trip, and yes it is very expensive but would not ever consider doing a trip to China without ABD. It is too foreign and the language barrier too big for us to do it on our own. We also like being spoiled, treated well and eating good, so this is just the obvious choice for our family.

[clarabelle]

We paid out of pocket -and will do it again someday I hope

Most group tours at this level are expensive.
Yes I could have done it cheaper -but the transportation was a big deal for us.
There is no way we could have seen as much on our own. We would have spent a large percentage of our time trying to figure out how to get there and where to park.
We would see often 3 or so attractions a day -so figure your entrance to those into the price- and we never waited in line.

This was such an easy trip- It was worth the extra money to me.

[beachbunny]

Done one ABD trip and will be doing another soon. I don't use DVC points, and I never will. Like others have said, it really isn't a very good use of points.

Looks like you've already made up your mind about ABD. For those still thinking about ABD, you need to compare apples to apples - tour companies to tour companies - guides to guides - hotels to hotels - paid admissions to paid admissions (some tour companies include a place on the itinerary but you just drive by in your bus and don't get to enter). ABD really is a step up from Globus or Tauck. It's no Abercrombie and Kent, but something in-between.

I've done almost 20 tours (my parents were big on tours). And truth be told, I prefer traveling on my own. But there are just some places in the world where a tour is the preferable means of travel, for example, on my two ABD trips to the Galapagos Islands and South Africa.

[Diskidatheart]

Just got back a week ago from our first (but not last) ABD trip. I know they are quite expensive, but after getting back from this trip, we felt like it was a great value for everything that you get. You do everything on the itinerary, but what it the itinerary doesn't show you is all the little surprised that you get with the trip, which I won't get into the surprises. I can't express enough how wonderful it was to have 2 guides and in Rome, you essentially had 3 because the local guide was just was wonderful. You had a local guide in Florence and Venice, but not for the same amount of time. If you do it on your own, good luck checking on your flight back when the Iceland Volcano erupts again. Our guides were right on it and reported back to us a few times to let us know the status. You literally get off the plane, walk you luggage a couple of hundred yards and then just start enjoying your vacation without any worries. They ARE that good!

[abbyjt]

I'll jump on the bandwagon. We have been on 4 ABD's. Each was better than the one before. We have travelled extensively without tour groups. We've done the research, made the arrangements and gone on trips. They were great too. Not as great as ABD. We are not dvc members and never will be. There are 5 of us, and the this summer our youngest will be 12, so we are paying for 5 adults. It's worth every penny. You cannot do a lot of the things Disney does on your own. The guides are the best. Two guides is so wonderful. Other companies have one guide. This summer we are going with a different group, only because Disney doesn't go where we are going.
There is something fabulous about your kids being doted on and making friends with other kids while you are enjoying yourself too. Good luck with your decision.

[WeLoveABD]

This may not be the best description but...when we went on a driving trip we got a GPS, and what a world of difference! I wasn't pulling out maps all of the time, looking up streets and phone numbers or trying to find a Starbucks or a restaurant...it was all done for me. I could sit back (well, I did have to drive!) and enjoy the scenery and the trip itself.

So, in a way, ABD is my foreign country GPS--easy, comfortable, reliable and lets me relax!

[Grifdog22]

This may be a slight bit off topic - my wife is exploring the DVC (I just discovered) and argues that it's a great deal because it includes ABD trips.

I haven't even read the DVC materials or prospectus yet; I would be curious to hear from those who are in DVC and why they do or do not use DVC points for ABD trips.

We've been on 2 ABD trips - and thought very highly of them. We were a bit shocked at this year's price increases/elimination of EBD, etc., but agree with all the comments about the access, tour guides, and attention to detail.

I am leery of locking in anything long term now - and would appreciate hearing from those who are in DVC and their experiences with ABD. Thanks!

[Tozzie]

This may be a slight bit off topic - my wife is exploring the DVC (I just discovered) and argues that it's a great deal because it includes ABD trips.

I haven't even read the DVC materials or prospectus yet; I would be curious to hear from those who are in DVC and why they do or do not use DVC points for ABD trips.

We've been on 2 ABD trips - and thought very highly of them. We were a bit shocked at this year's price increases/elimination of EBD, etc., but agree with all the comments about the access, tour guides, and attention to detail.

I am leery of locking in anything long term now - and would appreciate hearing from those who are in DVC and their experiences with ABD. Thanks!


I am a DVC member and I don't use my points for these trips. It is not a good use of points. The points required for just 1 person is high depending on the trip. Besides I still need (want) my WDW trips each year.

[Forever a Princess]

Hi there!

We are DVC Members. However we did not use our points to go to South Africa. We paid with cash. Like others have posted this is not a cost effective way to use the points.

For the level of concierge service that ABD provided we felt that we got our moneys worth and then some.

ABD is not for everyone. For those who can save and manage to come up with the cash flow, ABD is well worth the money!!!!

[wdwsos]

I'm a DVC member but have never used points for my AbD trips, for the reasons mentioned above. I've been on four AbD trips so far and my fifth is coming up in three weeks.

I'm also a travel agent, but have only been on one AbD trip with any kind of a TA discount. Considering I get discounted offers all the time from other tour companies, but still pay full price for AbD, says a lot. Having the somewhat unique perspective of seeing all the details of other suppliers (and working closely with many), and doing many comparisons for clients, it also says a lot that I choose AbD year after year for my own family.

To answer grifdog22, I'd hesitate to buy into the DVC if you don't plan to use your points primarily for WDW or DLR. In my opinion, it's just not cost-effective. I wrote the DVC Primer for allears.net, so feel free to PM me with any DVC questions.

Dotti

[ldo]

1st--our DVC guide said right up front---ABD cost a lot of points--not really a good use of points--that says it all.
2nd--we are die hard WDW-DVC-DCL fans--but this summer we are taking family of 6 to Europe for 1 week and 1 week RCCL Baltic cruise. We could get a RCCL family room for essentially the price of 2 persons on DCL, so it was a no-brainer. I have been to many places we are going and am quite comfortable booking tours, flights, foreign hotels, even foreign trains on my own. But, I have spent more hours researching, booking, etc. for our trip than the actual hours that we will spend on our trip. I was a European history major in college, and travel is my hobby, so it's OK with me---but, for most people with kids/job/ etc., that's a lot of time---do you really need to know every train schedule in central Europe by heart--I do! And, with many of our destinations--know what DH says--look online and see what ABD or DCL would do and let's do the same thing--I think that says it all! Elaine

[pamjb]

DH and I did Southwest Spledors in Oct 2009. It was an adults only trip, and only 2 of the 26 travelers were not DVC members. However, of the 24 members, no one used their points to pay for the ABD. Some had just banked points for future use, others rented out their points to pay for their vacation AND use their points.
I absolutely loved ABD. My hubby wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, and when I started doing research, my head started to spin. When I found out that ABD did a tour that included the Grand Canyon, I was sold.
Now if I could just talk him into the Backstage Magic tour.........:wizard:

[TheTXTaylors5]

:thumbsup2 We're DVC Members. After running the numbers, we've found that using our points on ABD trips and DCL cruises are NOT wise ways to use our points. So, we paid out of pocket for our ABD trip and DCL cruises. :wizard: We made the mistake once on using points for a DVC Members Cruise on DCL. We were behind on points for years after borrowing. :headache:

:goodvibes Jennifer

[sayhello]

I've done 3 ABD's (just got back from #3) and I am not a DVC member. ABD's are totally worth every penny.

Sayhello

[Wonders10]

We did our first last summer - to Ireland. Best vacation of my life and we paid for every cent of it ourselves. And we are not wealthy. We saved and scrimped and charged and it was all worth it. I guess depending on the type of traveler you are, you could do it yourself and for less money, but the added things that ABD brings that you can't buy really make everything worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but trying to save...

[nunzia]

I'm a DVC member but certainly do not have enough points to use them for ABD. I paid out of pocket for Backstage Magic and I thought it was a great deal. Loved every minute!

[Jeneseblack]

Whats a Rough estimate for one of these Trips ... Just throw out an example -- Or can someone explain how they are priced ... ??

[sayhello]

Whats a Rough estimate for one of these Trips ... Just throw out an example -- Or can someone explain how they are priced ... ??Are you asking about cost in DVC points or dollars?

Sayhello

[nunzia]

Well, when we did Backstage Magic is was over 4K (totally worth it..great lodging and food, access to places you just can't do on your own).Looking at the current listings the Grand Canyon one (I want to do Golden Path to Yosemite but looks like that's all sold out) it's $2,769 for an adult. I don't remember if this includes taxes. DVC points for the same time same trip is 383. The general standard is giving each DVC point a value of $10.00 since that is the average rental price, so that makes your trip 'cost' $3,830. If you have alot of points to burn up, you might want to use them for ABD, but a better deal would be renting out 276 points to get the cash to pay for the trip, and save your 107 extra points for something else, or just pay cash. I have 175 points total..even by banking and borrowing, I wouldn't have enough points for DH and I to do an ABD trip.

[crisi]

Pricing is here for 2010: http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/index?name=HomePage

There are a few things to remember....

ABD is sold and booked as a LUXURY tour company - they aren't trying to create an inexpensive trip.

Because ABD is going to keep you busy nearly every day doing often pretty special things - private tours for instance, it isn't going to be cheap.

BUT, you don't have to think. Every thing that you do has been screened so its appropriate for the "general family tour group." If you have an issue, your guides are there to get it resolved for you. Most meals are covered - so there isn't necessarily a lot out of pocket.

I've done the "show up and go somewhere" - its really nice, but its challenging with kids in a place you don't know or haven't spent a lot of time researching. I'm fine in a hotel in a part of town that I might not choose had I known better. I'm not fine with my kids in that hotel.

I won't say that the guides "babysit" your kids - they don't (although I think all trips include a kids movie night - where the guides babysit your kids). I will say that with our tour, the kids formed a "kids table" pretty quickly at meals, hung with the other kids in the back of the bus, and there were moments that our kids were being watched by another guest - especially by the end of the tour "all kids belonged to everyone." Which creates an atmosphere a little like the cruise with the kids club - you get family time - as much as you want. But you can also enjoy some time where your kids aren't right on top of you.

We own DVC. We did one ABD trip and are considering a second. We paid cash. I don't own (and don't choose to afford) nearly enough DVC points to make paying for ABD on points the least bit attractive. I've also done Europe by myself - and if we do a second ABD trip, will probably add days onto the front and back to hit some spots the ABD trip doesn't go.

[mhawk4]

We became DVC members in May of this year after our trip to WDW. We are going AKV for 7 days in December. My husband wants to go to the ABD to the Grand Canyon for summer 2011. Here is the dilema after reading all of the posts: we cannot afford to go to WDW and the Grand Canyon next summer, both in terms of time and money.

I know that a lot of people say not to use points to go on ABD, but if I read the chart correctly, we will have enough for 1 adult trip and one child trip. We would then need to pay for 1 adult trip and one child trip. The other option would be to rent our points and use the money for the trip. But, would we make enough money to make that worth it. If we don't do this it would be a very expensive trip.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

[gayleaboone]

To answer the first poster's question: My 10 yr old dd and I have been on 3 ABD trips (Costa Rica, Germany, and Alaska) and are ready to go on our fourth in a couple of weeks: Peru. We have enjoyed them all so far.

We are not DVC members---I looked into it, but for the kind of trips we were taking, the economics of DVC didn't work for us.

[tksbaskets]

Most of the people who post on this board and go on the trips pay cash for them. I am a DVC member but I pay cash for the trips, the points needed for one person for a trip are high anywhere from 400-700 points for 1 so it is not a good use of points to begin with.

As for being able to do it for less money, you can but you won't have the same experience and on certain trips there are things that you just can't do as they aren't open to the general public. I think it is worth it not to have to do anything but show up. I think it is worth it not to have to wait in line to get into any of the popular tourist attractions/exhibits/museums. The attention to detail is phenomenal and if things go astray ABD will make it all right or they will try their hardest. There is a poster who went to china last year and ended up being quarrantined due to someone they were sitting near on the plane had a fever and the whole swine flu thing, abd counldn't get them out of quarrantine but stayed in touch with them the entire time and did whatever they could to help, you wouldn't get that if you were on your own.

I have looked into other tour groups and the things they offer, yes many are less money but they don't offer many of the things ABD does. Only you can decide if it worth the money I think they are.

I agree with Tozzi. We are time share members but paid cash for our ABD. We also took a great DL vacation ON our points that same year :goodvibes

[KLondon]

We've done 2 ABD trips and are about to take our 3rd - and we are not DVC members.

In terms of absolute dollars, these are expensive trips, for sure. I know that when we were considering our first trip (Knights & Lights), we were really hesitant to fork over such a large amount of cash for our family of 4.

Then I calculated a few scenarios:

Time - Follow the ABD itinerary, but do the trip on our own. The result - we simply could not jam the same activity into the same 'time' if doing the trip on our own. First - if you're taking care of all your own logistics for touring, hotels, meals, transfers, etc. - you cannot fit in all the same fun stuff into your day. Second - some things we just could never accomplish on our own - e.g. backstage tour after a performance of Mary Popppins.

Cost - Analyze every hotel, tour, attraction, etc. list in the ABD itinerary and figure out the overall cost of doing it all on your own (assuming you could solve the Time problem). The result - the rack rate pricing came out well above the ABD rate. So to make it all affordable on your own, you'd have to cut corners somewhere.

The bottom-line is that ABD is for folks who want to make maximum use of their time with high levels of convenience and comfort. For my family, it's been worth the money - but I agree it can be a (too) large chunk of a family's vacation budget.

[cheer4bison]

We just returned from Germany on our first ABD trip as a family. We are DVC members but did not use our points. We wouldn't be able to go to WDW for a VERY long time if we used our points. We just don't have that many points.

I will admit that I was hesitant about spending that much money out of pocket for a family vacation for three (me, DH, and DS10). We have never spent that kind of money on one vacation, but now that we have had the experience I can attest that it was worth WAY MORE than we paid. It was simply THE BEST vacation I have ever taken. You can't put a pricetag on these kinds of memories. If we can make it possible in the future, we will travel with ABD again. :thumbsup2

[WebmasterPete]

Okay, I have to chime in here.

I was one of the people who said "these aren't worth it", which is why Dreams Unlimited didn't really start selling ABD until last year - after I'd experienced a trip (for those who don't know me, I'm the owner of the DIS and part owner in Dreams Unlimited Travel).

On the surface, I dismissed it as expensive and overpriced, not hard to imagine with anything that has the Disney name on it. If you judge these trips by the price point alone, you're doing yourself, and these trips a disservice. My suggestion - read the trip reports. These people have no axe to grind - no reason to praise something that's not worth it. The vast majority of those who do ABD trips come back and do another one. That's what happened to me. I did the Australia trip last September and had my 'come to Jesus' moment with ABD. I was stunned by how good it was. Yes, those are expensive trips (between $4k and $5k per adult), but I got the chance to experience Australia in a way that very few people do.

As for the prices, Dreams Unlimited has a calculator where all the prices for the current itin's and dates are loaded in. You can price out trips and see exactly what they'll cost without having to put in a quote - http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/abd_input.cfm

There's a thread at the top of this forum with links to many of the trip reports that have been written on ABD adventures. Take some time and look them over - that will give you good insight as to what's included and what the reaction of other DISBoards members has been to these trips.

Pete

T-Minus 9 days and counting until Backstage Magic tour #2 !!!!!!