New here...looking at the Greece trip

[Brtb]

My husband and I were looking at the Greece package, but we've never done an Adventures by Disney trip. It is kind of pricey, but is it worth it? We like the idea of a guided tour.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[sayhello]

My husband and I were looking at the Greece package, but we've never done an Adventures by Disney trip. It is kind of pricey, but is it worth it? We like the idea of a guided tour.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

Welcome to the DISBoards, and to the Adventures by Disney Forum! If you search through this forum, you'll see LOTS of discussions of the very thing you're asking about.

"Worth it" is such a subjective thing. I've been on 4 ABD's so far, and am seriously considering the Greece trip for 2013. This is the first year for the Greece trip, so no-one has done this one yet. But I can answer you in a general sense, also from the POV of someone who has done 2 ABD's to Europe.

There are so many things that make ABD "worth it" to me. First and foremost for me are the Adventure Guides. They make your trip seem effortless. They take care of your transportation, your luggage, your entry to wherever you go, tours, local guides, etc, etc. It is so wonderful to have someone else worry about getting you and your luggage from point A to point B. To have someone else worry about what to do if something goes awry. And the Disney name gets you entry to a lot of places and activities you just couldn't arrange on your own. Plus, you don't stand in line. At the Eiffel Tower, the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, or going to see The David, we zipped past all the people standing in line.

If you have some specific questions about ABD, feel free to ask questions. I and the others here would be happy to help!

If you want an idea of how great ABD's are, please read my trip reports (links are in my signature!) Also go to the Sticky at the top of this forum and read some of the Reports posted there. As I said, there won't be any for Greece yet, but you can get a feel for what ABD does, and what makes them worth the price.

The Greece itinerary looks really wonderful. And it is one of the longer trips, also.

Sayhello

 

[WeLoveABD]

Ok, bad pun. But we are booked for the June 22 trip (the first family trip--there is a May 2012 trip for adults only: anyone on that PLEASE do a trip report when you get back!!). This is our 6th ABD, and we keep coming back because of the total package: the kids have a lot of attention paid to them (thanks to the two guide system) and on trips with large buses will take over the back, leaving the adults to hang out up front, relax etc. My think too is time to relax--leave the worries re baggage, hotels, tips, side trips, history etc--to our guides (and the additional local guides), plus there is something to be said for the Disney "magic" that crops up (unexpected small surprises etc). We once did a spreadsheet of sorts for an ABD and what you get (feeling like you that the price was on the high end)--but it worked out that it was a good value (especially with high end hotels, head of line privileges etc). Now, when I am telling friends about ABD they initally think this is a land "cruise" with Disney characters on the bus etc--but it isn't at all. There is the Disney attention to detail and its knack for storytelling--and emersion into culture.

Back to Greece: I called ABD a couple of weeks ago and was told that the June 22 trip was full--might be a waiting list, or someone might have since changed reservations...so if you are going to do it, call soon!

 

[kelleigh1]

I am very interested in the Greece trip too. I have always wanted to go to Greece and when I saw new cruises that start in 2013 have a stop in Greece, I was very excited. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2014 and I'm starting to think about what we'd like to do and Greece is on my mind.

Then I attended the AAA Travel Show yesterday and met Courtney who is one of the ABD tour guides. It sounded amazing! She obviously hasn't done the Greece trip yet, but when she was talking about the other trips she has done and showed photos, I was hooked. And I looked through the ABD book and saw the Greece trip. It does seem a bit pricey and I'm not sure we could swing it, but it is 2 years away so anything is possible.

I'll be very interested to read some upcoming trip reports on the trip.

 

[tufbuf]

Back to Greece: I called ABD a couple of weeks ago and was told that the June 22 trip was full--might be a waiting list, or someone might have since changed reservations...so if you are going to do it, call soon!

So they don't remove the dates if it is considered full? Did you find out how many there are on that date?

 

[nordkin]

We are going on the May 25 adults only trip and when I talked to them last week I was told there were 30 people on our trip. It looks like it is a popular trip this year.

 

[WeLoveABD]

So they don't remove the dates if it is considered full? Did you find out how many there are on that date?

Not sure why it isn't removed unless there are tentative spots being held etc--but as I recall the number was right around 40. I do see on the Egypt trips that there are a number of "call for waitlist" trips--so not sure what that means either other than assuming it is full. Maybe our moderator can help with the whys and wherefores re keeping a trip listed vs taking it off the list or noting "waitlist"...

 

[sayhello]

Not sure why it isn't removed unless there are tentative spots being held etc--but as I recall the number was right around 40. I do see on the Egypt trips that there are a number of "call for waitlist" trips--so not sure what that means either other than assuming it is full. Maybe our moderator can help with the whys and wherefores re keeping a trip listed vs taking it off the list or noting "waitlist"...

I can't help with the keeping it listed vs taking it off the list thing (unless maybe they think some of the people are "iffy" and might cancel?) But, in general, when there is a "waitlist", it's because a Travel Agent or some other group has reserved that date as an exclusive trip, but have not actually booked enough people yet to guarantee it as an exclusive trip. If they end up not booking the agreed upon minimum, then ABD will open the trip up to outsiders on the "waitlist".

Sayhello

 

[stenogoddess]

My husband and I were looking at the Greece package, but we've never done an Adventures by Disney trip. It is kind of pricey, but is it worth it? We like the idea of a guided tour.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

Welcome to the Dis! I wanted to mention that the Dis podcast recently did an ABD segment with one of the guides. You can find it on itunes. You might find that helpful. We've done two trips with ABD and have a third for this May. We love it!

 

[jaggman]

Reminds me of the time when we went to Egypt. It was awesome.

 

[abdalums]

We are booked on the 07/20/2012 adventure. This will be our 5th ABD trip. The biggest question you need to ask yourself is "Am I a tour person?" If the answer is yes, then ABD is worth it IMHO. My DH and I had traveled extensively before havings kids, and I hated the idea of tours. When we decided to take an international family trip, we went with ABD because we felt confident they would do it right. Quite frankly, I didn't want to be the tour guide. I can't say enough good about ABD. (We usually tag on a trip to another country that we feel comfortable in touring on our own. Example: Before Viva Italia, we spent a week in Paris. London after Germany. We will spend 4 days in Barcelona before Greece. It gives us the best of both worlds--tour and non-tour.) ABD is not cheap, but I can honestly say we have more than gotten our monies worth. The other thing to think about is: are you traveling with or without kids? On each of our trips, there were people without kids. I think if we didn't have kids I would do an adults only trip. The 07/20 trip is 75% full as of a month ago, and there are a lot of kids (I think the age range was 10 to 16.) My kids, DD15 and DS13, are thrilled to have lots of
potential buddies. So, that was a long way to say, "Yes, totally worth it." Hope that helps.