ABD Online Event Invitation

[Tozzie]

I am seriously annoyed, you can ask questions but the ones I asked they aren't answering, it isn't that they are overwhelmed because they are on the third loop of the same questions and answers.

The person said the discount for the North American trips is $300 per reservation for 2011/2012 but ends May 24 or 25 great but how are they discounting the 2012 trips if they aren't announced until the summer?


I love the trips but the info/misinformation is quite annoying.


Edit, they make it seem like they are going to answer questions during the webcast they actually are answering them at the end. I wonder if my question about a loyalty program is going to be answered

 

[WeLoveABD]

Well, we tried--I asked questions about new trip release date, going to Greece,doing an interior of England...but no deal. Guess we will have to wait until August! (They did like that we were going to Peru--as do we,so I'll focus back on that!)

 

[Grifdog22]

Tozzie:

My guess is that this special incentive is designed only to cover this year's trips (2011). Remember, many of the 2011 trips carry over into the 2012 calendar year. I'm leaving Sunday April 24, 2011 and returning May 7, 2011 to Africa on a 2010 trip. I believe their statement of 2011-2012 is for the 2011 "season." I hope that clarifies the matter - it would be meaningless to obtain a discount on a trip in which the price has not yet been set!

 

[Tozzie]

Tozzie:

My guess is that this special incentive is designed only to cover this year's trips (2011). Remember, many of the 2011 trips carry over into the 2012 calendar year. I'm leaving Sunday April 24, 2011 and returning May 7, 2011 to Africa on a 2010 trip. I believe their statement of 2011-2012 is for the 2011 "season." I hope that clarifies the matter - it would be meaningless to obtain a discount on a trip in which the price has not yet been set!

I am well aware of some trips carrying over to 2012, but the none of the North American trips carry over into 2012 and those are the trips they are offering the discount on.

 

[Bobo912]

One of the first things she said on the webcast was "we recently announced" discounts on the US trips. But where was it announced? Did she mean the earlier webcast or what? It's not on their webpage or facebook page. I got bored and logged off before the webcast was over. Did they give any more information later?

 

[Tozzie]

One of the first things she said on the webcast was "we recently announced" discounts on the US trips. But where was it announced? Did she mean the earlier webcast or what? It's not on their webpage or facebook page. I got bored and logged off before the webcast was over. Did they give any more information later?

I asked the question about the trips and while they didn't answer it during the webcast, I did receive an email regarding it. The discouny is for the 2011 trips, it is $300 and can be combined with the $100 discount for attending the webinar. They said in a few days I would receive an email with all pertinent information.

 

[Christyvoltron]

If we had known that it was just going to be guides reading past itineraries they had done and then doing a big old sales job we would not have participated. In our opinion it was just a gigantic infomercial -- they gave two "discounts" which had to be used right away (two weeks and by the end of May) and nothing about new trips or plans for the future -- mostly discussed the Mediterranean, China and Southwest Splendors trips and rehashed what they felt were the "highlights" of each trip. The "questions" that they answered were the same questions which continually scrolled across the bottom of the screen, over and over and over. And the "questions" were completely innocuous. Can a family of five go? Can you go without kids? Can you go on your honeymoon? Uhm, what? And the questions at the end where they said they were going to address the questions which were asked during the webcast were exactly the same questions that scrolled along the bottom of the screen. Very very disappointing to us. We won't be attending another one.

 

[Bobo912]

I felt the same way. It was just a few guides reading from a script. I dropped off after about 15-20 minutes, since I didn't figure I was going to learn anything I didn't already know. And I thought the questions scrolling across the bottom of the screen couldn't be real questions submitted by attendees. All of the questions were things you could find out by looking at the ABD website.

 

[sayhello]

Oh, that is really sad! I was really thinking it was going to be something cool like what Lindblad does for their webcasts. I missed the one last night, so I had signed up for the one next week. I may not bother now...

I hope they at least send you guys a survey asking how you liked it!

(How much would you guys care to bet that someone with DCL came up with this idea?)

Or then again, it may have been designed by the same person who came up with their *lovely* Official ABD forum...

Sayhello

 

[Christyvoltron]

I thought the questions scrolling across the bottom of the screen couldn't be real questions submitted by attendees. All of the questions were things you could find out by looking at the ABD website.

We could not agree more. Completely canned questions and completely canned answers. We are very familiar with ABD, we have been on many trips, we have read the website and watched the DVDs. There was nothing new presented although the e-mail that was sent out implied that it was going to be a discussion. A huge waste of time.

And why ask for questions if you have no intention of addressing them? Just say this is a lecture.

 

[Bobo912]

Oh, that is really sad! I was really thinking it was going to be something cool like what Lindblad does for their webcasts. I missed the one last night, so I had signed up for the one next week. I may not bother now...

I hope they at least send you guys a survey asking how you liked it!

(How much would you guys care to bet that someone with DCL came up with this idea?)

Or then again, it may have been designed by the same person who came up with their *lovely* Official ABD forum...

Sayhello

Since you're already booked and can't take advantage of the $100 discount, I wouldn't bother, if I were you.

 

[Tozzie]

The thing that floored me the most was when they talked about how much time they devote to choosing the menus for the included meals and how they have something for everyone. If they are actually paying someone to develop the menus the person needs to be fired and they need to start over. The one bad thing about ABD is the included meals, some are okay but some of them, lets just say if I gave the food to my dogs they wouldn't eat it. When there are only 2 choices for dinner that is not a well planned out menu taking everyones tastes into consideration that is taking the easy way out.

 

[Judyat]

It was an infomercial and not a very good one. I listened to see what the incentive would be a book. That wasn't very good either.

 

[Bobo912]

When I decided to stop watching the webcast last night, I left the browser open and just closed my laptop and left it. I just opened it back up, and the webcast started up again just where it left off last night. And it's just a regular video and I can pause and navigate through it. I went back and looked at the email and it doesn't say anywhere that it was a "live" webcast. So no wonder they didn't answer any of your questions during the webcast.

 

[Tozzie]

When I decided to stop watching the webcast last night, I left the browser open and just closed my laptop and left it. I just opened it back up, and the webcast started up again just where it left off last night. And it's just a regular video and I can pause and navigate through it. I went back and looked at the email and it doesn't say anywhere that it was a "live" webcast. So no wonder they didn't answer any of your questions during the webcast.

That is interesting I wonder if the first one was live and then they just taped it and replayed it.

 

[Bobo912]

Link to the discount is on Facebook now. These are the itineraries and dates:

Quest for the West
06/15/11, 06/22/11, 06/29/11, 07/04/11, 07/13/11, 07/18/11, 07/20/11, 08/22/11

Rocky Trails & Mountie Tales
06/18/11, 06/25/11, 07/09/11, 07/16/11, 07/23/11 08/06/11 09/03/11

Southwest Splendors
07/05/11, 07/16/11, 07/19/11, 07/26/11, 07/30/11, 08/06/11, 09/24/11

Spirit of America
07/08/11, 07/19/11, 08/09/11, 09/16/11

Taming of the Last Frontier
06/24/11, 07/03/11, 07/13/11, 08/10/11, 08/19/11

Here's the link: http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/index?name=SpringOffer2Page&cid=15580&CMP=SOC-ABDFY11Q3ABD_SocMedFB0053

 

[mrosen]

I also listened to the web cast. During the webcast I submitted a question on where I can find out about the special offers on these North America trips and was on the adventures by disney site and couldn't find anything. After the webcast I got an email telling me to come back to the site today. I have done so and I cannot find any details on what of the North America trips. Does anyone know does it apply to all of them, some of them or other trips?

I have emailed back to the same id at disney that followed up with me privately after I submitted my question during the webcast. In parallel, I thought I would ask here if anyone has more information that can be shared.

I have never been on ABD trip. They seem expensive to me particularly for a family of 4.

 

[flexsmom]

That is interesting I wonder if the first one was live and then they just taped it and replayed it.

I've been seriously researching ABD as a possibility for us for next summer, but this whole thing really puts me off. I agree - it was a video that I could have watched at ANY time, as opposed to staying up until 11pm for the "webcast". That really annoys me. Why send a special invitation for a specific time if it isn't real? What a way to lose complete credibility.

 

[sayhello]

I also listened to the web cast. During the webcast I submitted a question on where I can find out about the special offers on these North America trips and was on the adventures by disney site and couldn't find anything. After the webcast I got an email telling me to come back to the site today. I have done so and I cannot find any details on what of the North America trips. Does anyone know does it apply to all of them, some of them or other trips?

I have emailed back to the same id at disney that followed up with me privately after I submitted my question during the webcast. In parallel, I thought I would ask here if anyone has more information that can be shared.

I have never been on ABD trip. They seem expensive to me particularly for a family of 4.

The details of the offer are up on the ABD website now. I don't know when they were put there, I only just now looked for it.

Here's a link, but you can access it off the main page.

http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/general?name=SpringOfferPage

Sayhello

 

[Bobo912]

I've been seriously researching ABD as a possibility for us for next summer, but this whole thing really puts me off. I agree - it was a video that I could have watched at ANY time, as opposed to staying up until 11pm for the "webcast". That really annoys me. Why send a special invitation for a specific time if it isn't real? What a way to lose complete credibility.

Oh, don't let that stop you. They are great trips. But I totally agree with the way the webcast was misrepresented. I too stayed up to watch it and I'm a little peeved that it wasn't live and disappointed that they didn't give us any information that we couldn't have gotten from the website.