Has anybody been on the...

[Rapunzellover]

That's standard operating procedure with ABD these days. Downgrade certain elements of the trip or drop them all together but
charge the same as before. They dropped an entire day off the Scotland trip but didn't adjust the
trip price to reflect the change.

Actually, this isn't true. The price was lowered on the Scotland trip. That's why I did it. Plus, when they downgraded the France trip a day (but actually made it a better itinerary), the price was quite lower. When they downgraded the weekend trips, the prices also went down dramatically.

 

[Disney1992]

I was going to Waitlist for October 2017. I talked to ABD last week and I wasn't sure if I wanted to Waitlist or Not. I called back today to Waitlist and they told me they are no longer offering the Tour. I checked the Website and all the dates except for October 2016 are gone.

They also told me to keep checking back, as they are exploring options to make this tour a better experience. So, maybe it will be back in another shape and form. I think I'm one of the few folks who really wanted to do the tour, I just couldn't do it this year.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Actually, this isn't true. The price was lowered on the Scotland trip. That's why I did it. Plus, when they downgraded the France trip a day (but actually made it a better itinerary), the price was quite lower. When they downgraded the weekend trips, the prices also went down dramatically.

My impression is the same as Cinderella Slipper's. You have to look at the cost per day and compare what meals/hotels/etc. are being offered year to year. It's very hard to do because the prices are dynamic and the itineraries change so much (with no central place to see old itineraries). The Scotland trip definitely became more expensive if you look at the cost per day and take into account what has been eliminated (an entire day in Lewis, which included a private plane flight, a night at a very expensive hotel, meals etc.). When we booked the opening day price it was just under $5000 per adult for the 9 day/8 night trip (roughly $625 per night). The next year, the trip went up almost $1000, and up again the following year. The opening price for the trip without Lewis and eliminating a night I believe was over $5000. Today the cheapest is $5659 ($808 per night).

The most egregious case I remember of the monkeying with the cost v. the inclusions was the ABD add-on for Alaska. The eliminated a number of things the second year, including one of the most costly elements of the trip (dog sledding and helicopter ride) and tried to charge the same price. They eventually lowered it a couple hundred, which still didn't make up for what they'd removed, and then had to eliminate the trip entirely.

One of the things I wish I'd done was keep track of all the opening day prices and itineraries to have an easy place to look and compare. I have a few, but it's not comprehensive.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Shoot ... I meant to add that the price per night isn't always a perfect indicator because the activities/expenses are not evenly spread through the itinerary. So the $625-$808 "raise", while bad, isn't as bad as it looks when you take into account that they eliminated high cost activities (private plane ride, etc.) that price discrepancy would be even worse. They also moved hotels from the Balmoral to the Waldorf. I've stayed at both--the Balmoral is more expensive and the "grande dame" in Edinburgh.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Shoot ... I meant to add that the price per night isn't always a perfect indicator because the activities/expenses are not evenly spread through the itinerary. So the $625-$808 "raise", while bad, isn't as bad as it looks when you take into account that they eliminated high cost activities (private plane ride, etc.) that price discrepancy would be even worse. They also moved hotels from the Balmoral to the Waldorf. I've stayed at both--the Balmoral is more expensive and the "grande dame" in Edinburgh.

You also have to take into account the fact that the Scotland trip has an "On your own" day where you then have to "Pay" to do any of the activities at the manor that you may want to do. That adds on to the cost of the trip right there.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Oh, I see what you mean about per day costs. Very interesting. I think overall costs are more important, though, as that is what drives people in. I personally think ABD is doing their best to streamline overall prices to entice travelers. It's shady, but most companies operate that way. It's sorta misrepresentation, but.... I expect that from a huge Corp. like Disney. They keep hiking park prices, etc. too. It's not just ABD.

Oh, and there's no on your own day in Scotland. That's Dromoland castle in Ireland you're probably thinking of.

 

[tgeorge]

Oh, I see what you mean about per day costs. Very interesting. I think overall costs are more important, though, as that is what drives people in. I personally think ABD is doing their best to streamline overall prices to entice travelers. It's shady, but most companies operate that way. It's sorta misrepresentation, but.... I expect that from a huge Corp. like Disney. They keep hiking park prices, etc. too. It's not just ABD.

Oh, and there's no on your own day in Scotland. That's Dromoland castle in Ireland you're probably thinking of.

Boy do they ever keep hiking up park prices! I agree, they all do it and it isn't great for us, the consumer. However, I do understand there is a price to operate and they want to maximize profit (as any company wants to do). So, I just have to be prepared to pay more. I definitely don't have to like it,but, if my option is to go on a trip or not go, I know which one I will choose.

I can say that I also wouldn't necessarily break it down per day. It is a great way to think about it,but I think I'd just look at what I'm getting for the price their asking. Probably best I work in the sciences and not finance, right

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Oh, I see what you mean about per day costs. Very interesting. I think overall costs are more important, though, as that is what drives people in. I personally think ABD is doing their best to streamline overall prices to entice travelers. It's shady, but most companies operate that way. It's sorta misrepresentation, but.... I expect that from a huge Corp. like Disney. They keep hiking park prices, etc. too. It's not just ABD.

Oh, and there's no on your own day in Scotland. That's Dromoland castle in Ireland you're probably thinking of.

The day at Rothiemurchus Estate is essentially an "on your own" day. Other than a tour of the estate, what is there really for adults to do? I can tell you there is nothing for my mom to do there. She's not interested in Archery and they don't offer the highland pony rides for the adults and I can tell you, those highland pony's are more than capable of carrying adults. I rode horses and ponies for over 20 years so I know that they are capable of carrying adults so why is this activity only offered to children? If we wanted to do this during our time here, we would have to go off on our own and do it.

Here's an interesting comparison for you. If you look at the South East Asia trip. It starts at $5,599/per adult and Disney has it "listed" as 12 days/11 nights. But when you actually really look into the trip details. You are only getting 9 days of actual guided touring time. You have no official guided tour time on your arrival or departure day and you have an on your own day in the middle of the trip with no guided touring that day. Break that down and it works out to a cost of $622 per guided tour day, since that's what I'm paying to go on this trip for, guided touring time. I'm doing South East Asia with Nat Geo. We're paying $6,495/per adult and it's a 13 day adventure. We have activities with our guides on our arrival day and we are touring with our guides on our departure day. We have no on our own days anywhere on the trip. We have on our own time but no full days of on our own time. That breaks down to $499 per guided tour day. I think even though we have the bigger sticker price, we're actually getting the better deal for our dollar overall.

 

[Bobo912]

When Tauck announced their 2016 itineraries in spring of 2015 they lowered prices on some 2016 European itineraries, due to favorable US dollar to Euro exchange rates. They didn't drop any activities or meals or change the accommodations. Their costs were less and they passed at least some of the savings on to their customers. And their trips sell out, so it's not because they needed to lower the price to fill them up.

 

[carpenta]

The day at Rothiemurchus Estate is essentially an "on your own" day. Other than a tour of the estate, what is there really for adults to do? I can tell you there is nothing for my mom to do there. She's not interested in Archery and they don't offer the highland pony rides for the adults and I can tell you, those highland pony's are more than capable of carrying adults. I rode horses and ponies for over 20 years so I know that they are capable of carrying adults so why is this activity only offered to children? If we wanted to do this during our time here, we would have to go off on our own and do it.

Here's an interesting comparison for you. If you look at the South East Asia trip. It starts at $5,599/per adult and Disney has it "listed" as 12 days/11 nights. But when you actually really look into the trip details. You are only getting 9 days of actual guided touring time. You have no official guided tour time on your arrival or departure day and you have an on your own day in the middle of the trip with no guided touring that day. Break that down and it works out to a cost of $622 per guided tour day, since that's what I'm paying to go on this trip for, guided touring time. I'm doing South East Asia with Nat Geo. We're paying $6,495/per adult and it's a 13 day adventure. We have activities with our guides on our arrival day and we are touring with our guides on our departure day. We have no on our own days anywhere on the trip. We have on our own time but no full days of on our own time. That breaks down to $499 per guided tour day. I think even though we have the bigger sticker price, we're actually getting the better deal for our dollar overall.

We are doing Nat. Geo. to Iceland in 2017 and find similar pricing favorable per day per person. Actually Thompson is ruining this trip for Nat. Geo and is limited to 24 people. Also we are looking at Tauck to Costa Rica for their cost / value combined with smaller group size. Maybe ABD should "entice" some big wig from these companies to oversee their operations. ??????

 

[Rapunzellover]

The day at Rothiemurchus Estate is essentially an "on your own" day. Other than a tour of the estate, what is there really for adults to do? I can tell you there is nothing for my mom to do there. She's not interested in Archery and they don't offer the highland pony rides for the adults and I can tell you, those highland pony's are more than capable of carrying adults. I rode horses and ponies for over 20 years so I know that they are capable of carrying adults so why is this activity only offered to children? If we wanted to do this during our time here, we would have to go off on our own and do it.

Here's an interesting comparison for you. If you look at the South East Asia trip. It starts at $5,599/per adult and Disney has it "listed" as 12 days/11 nights. But when you actually really look into the trip details. You are only getting 9 days of actual guided touring time. You have no official guided tour time on your arrival or departure day and you have an on your own day in the middle of the trip with no guided touring that day. Break that down and it works out to a cost of $622 per guided tour day, since that's what I'm paying to go on this trip for, guided touring time. I'm doing South East Asia with Nat Geo. We're paying $6,495/per adult and it's a 13 day adventure. We have activities with our guides on our arrival day and we are touring with our guides on our departure day. We have no on our own days anywhere on the trip. We have on our own time but no full days of on our own time. That breaks down to $499 per guided tour day. I think even though we have the bigger sticker price, we're actually getting the better deal for our dollar overall.

There was almost zero on your own time at Rothiemurchus on my trip. We divided into two groups, while one did archery, the other did the tour. Then we switched. If you don't want archery/can't do the pony ride, there's still no time to do anything else. And there were no additional activities to purchase or anything. Maybe this has changed from the older itinerary?

As for your break down, and what you get for your money, that's a fascinating debate. I agree, heavy on your own time should lower the price, and it's probably better value to have more money overall spent for more guiding. BUT... also consider that not everyone looks at things like you do. ABD, like any Disney product, is trying to appeal to the masses. They are damned if you do, damned if you don't. They have too little on your own time, people complain, they have too much, people complain. This is not a justification for price gouging though.

Frankly, I'm just playing Devil's advocate here, as I'm feeling the same way you are. ABD is in many ways not worth the price. I've LOVED LOVED LOVED all 5 ABDs I've been on, and have two more planned for next year. But I go by itinerary alone in making my decisions. Not price (unless extremely prohibitively high... or I'm comparing two similar trips). So, I doubt I will be staying with them exclusively. I'll be looking into some different companies with different itineraries if I decide to return to places ABD has already taken me.

 

[tgeorge]

Excellent points! I need to start looking into that a bit more. I've already ruled out SE Asia and Australia with ABD, as I've found the trips I want to take with another group. China still holds some interest for me with ABD due to the parks and the Rhine River Cruise because of the unique itinerary. But, when comparing two different options with similar itineraries I definitely need to look more at value add. Thanks everyone for pointing this out!

 

[sayhello]

The day at Rothiemurchus Estate is essentially an "on your own" day. Other than a tour of the estate, what is there really for adults to do? I can tell you there is nothing for my mom to do there. She's not interested in Archery and they don't offer the highland pony rides for the adults and I can tell you, those highland pony's are more than capable of carrying adults. I rode horses and ponies for over 20 years so I know that they are capable of carrying adults so why is this activity only offered to children? If we wanted to do this during our time here, we would have to go off on our own and do it.

The problem is, there is definitely a weight limit for those ponies, and a lot of adults were getting insulted and upset that they weren't allowed to do the pony rides. So they just decided to limit it to Junior Adventurers only, and not have to deal with it.

There was almost zero on your own time at Rothiemurchus on my trip. We divided into two groups, while one did archery, the other did the tour. Then we switched. If you don't want archery/can't do the pony ride, there's still no time to do anything else. And there were no additional activities to purchase or anything. Maybe this has changed from the older itinerary?

No, this was always the case. They have never charged for the activities at Rothiemurchus.

Sayhello

 

[ConstanceHatchaway]

I think I'm one of the few folks who really wanted to do the tour, I just couldn't do it this year.

After they cancelled our November dates (and we rescheduled to the October dates this year) they told us including us there were 10 people registered to be on our Adventure. Looks like there's just not the kind of interest in this trip they expected.

 

[tink1970]

Value may also be in the eye of the beholder...many on this board like to go go go and do do do whereas others of us like to stop and slow down a bit even on vacation. So a day on your own time might be a welcome respite for introverts like myself, children who need a day of recovery, in unexpected weather (heat, rain, cold conditions) etc. I suspect even an on your own day the guides are available for suggestions/questions. On tours I personally bail out on a day or two just to wander and get away from the organized tour--perhaps ABD has received feedback regarding that in addition to cost cutting (so win win for them).

Returning to the Central Florida trip-hopefully ABD will retool it to a tour appealing to Disney lovers and those wanting things they can't do on their own in FL. Time will tell.