How is ABD for a couple?

[emilymad]

I am sure these questions have been asked before so I apologize in advance! Please feel free to point me in the right direction.

We are a fairly well traveled couple with no kids and have been considering an ABD trip. As amazing as it sounds I am not 100% sure ABD is for us or at least not for us for the cost involved.

Is there enough time to explore on your own? We really enjoy trying to find the local areas off the beaten path when we travel and not just the tourist destinations. We are interested in the new France trip or one of the other Europe trips. We would obviously want to see the highlights of every destination.

How is the social aspect? I have heard nothing but great things but we aren't the most outgoing people. On a cruise we always eat at a table for two. Does it get annoying traveling with so many people? DH isn't always the most patient person!

We aren't really sure if we can swing the cost of an ABD trip but if we can we want to make sure it is really for us. The idea of not having to deal with transportation and luggage sounds wonderful and I feel like we would see a lot more than we would on our own.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[sayhello]

I travel solo, and there have always been multiple childless couples on the 3 ABD's I've done so far.

As far as the time on your own, it really depends on the trip. Some of them are pretty intense with not a lot of time on your own, others are a bigger mix. Read through the daily itineraries on their website to get a feel for it. Personally, I always felt like I had enough time on my own. (I've done the Grand Canyon trip (Southwest Splendors), the Alaska trip, and the Med cruise add-on.)

You might want to look into taking an Adults Only trip.

As far as the social aspect is, that's one of the things I love about ABD. The Guides will really encourage you to mix & mingle & get to know each other. Just my opinion, but why bother to go on a group trip if you aren't going to enjoy the company of those you are traveling with? I've never found the group annoying.

I adore ABD. (I'd better! I'm leaving on my 4th one in a couple of weeks!) But only you can decide if it's right for you or not. Try checking out some of the Trip Reports in the Sticky at the top of this forum. They'll give you a really good feel for what it's like taking an ABD.

Sayhello

 

[Skatetigger]

Hi there-

DH and I did the ABD Germany adults only last year and had a great time. We too are a couple with no kids who like to travel. This was our first trip to Europe together and I don't think we'd do it any other way.

I'll be honest you don't get really whole days to explore on your own but we had enough time to hit really the "highlights" in each city but we also arrived early and stayed an extra day which helped.

We enjoyed chatting with all the other folks on our tour. You don't have to be overly outgoing just willing to be able to have conversations during meals and some of the activities. We had a lot of fun with the folks on our tour and really hope to see some of them again down the road on other ABD's.

We're already planning to do the Backstage Magic tour next year. If you are considering ABD I would highly recommend doing the adults only tour if you can work your schedule with it.

Hope this helps!

 

[Diskidatheart]

ABD is definitely a great tour for couples. Just because it's Disney, doesn't mean that there are characters everywhere...it just means that you are in good hands and the tours will have a little of that Disney magic everywhere.

As far as mingling, I agree with Sayhello...if you aren't into socializing with others, then a group tour to Europe might not be your cup of tea. You will be spending a lot of time with the group. You ride together, you tour together, you eat together... We loved that aspect of it and made some great friends on our trip...however, I enjoy the tables of 8-10 on a cruise.

 

[smep013]

It has been awesome for us. On both of our trips, there was at least one other couple traveling without kids. We had meals with them as frequently as we did with some of the families with kids. To us, the kids are a great part of the experience. And, a lot of times, the kids are all off in a group together (natural selection!) with the Guides and the parents are "couples" again, just like us!

We did not feel out of place in anyway and enjoyed every aspect of the adventure as if it was tailored to us and us alone!

 

[smep013]

PS: You have PLENTY of time to explore on your own, and can always add a pre-night or post-night to make sure of it.

 

[emilymad]

Thanks all for the comments! We are not antisocial as much as not ones to go up to people and introduce ourselves. I think the social aspect would be great but I have to convince DH.

I am glad it doesn't seem that we would be out of place as just a couple. I think we would try to do a adults only trip but we will see how the dates fall.

This would be our first trip to Europe together so I feel that it would be a luxury to go on ABD. DH really likes to explore but if you are going Paris with or without a group I think you are going to be seeing the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc.

Thank you for the trip report suggestion. I am going to spend some time reading those to get a better sense of things.

 

[smep013]

Regarding being "not as social" - we have had people on our trips that stay to themselves, and that worked out just fine. There is no need to be anything but yourselves on the trip. The only time you might have to be "social" is if you are all seated at a table larger than a table for 2 Even then, quiet is fine. People will get the drift.

 

[Skatetigger]

Regarding being "not as social" - we have had people on our trips that stay to themselves, and that worked out just fine. There is no need to be anything but yourselves on the trip. The only time you might have to be "social" is if you are all seated at a table larger than a table for 2 Even then, quiet is fine. People will get the drift.

Very true-and you could get someone like me that doesn't stay quiet so you wouldn't have to worry....

Seriously though, I found on on our trip that many of the travelers were DVC members and generally Disney lovers so there was always something to talk about without the focus being too personal.

 

[emilymad]

You all are making me feel so much better! We are just people who are quiet when first getting to know people. Once I have been around people for a bit I probably fall into the can't get me to shut up category!

Now just to work on affording a trip....

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I just cannot say enough about ABD. I think it'd be great to do as a couple (or solo, as I did last week).

 

[beansf]

Hello emilymad!

You sound a lot like us. We always get a table for 2 on our cruises, too. We are a bit on the shy side, but we just returned from our second ABD trip last week. We did Australia a couple of years ago and Knights/Lights this time.

I always feel a bit of trepidation when heading to the opening night dinner, because introducing us and having to interact aren't my favorite things, but honestly on both trips I have met great people. Our fellow travelers have really enhanced our experience.

We had more time to explore in London than we did Paris, but our energy was starting to lag at that point...so it was okay! We had to save some fuel for the Disneyland Paris trip once the ABD was over!

If you decide the $$ is worth it for you, I think you will have a great time.

 

[emilymad]

Hello emilymad!

You sound a lot like us. We always get a table for 2 on our cruises, too. We are a bit on the shy side, but we just returned from our second ABD trip last week. We did Australia a couple of years ago and Knights/Lights this time.

I always feel a bit of trepidation when heading to the opening night dinner, because introducing us and having to interact aren't my favorite things, but honestly on both trips I have met great people. Our fellow travelers have really enhanced our experience.

We had more time to explore in London than we did Paris, but our energy was starting to lag at that point...so it was okay! We had to save some fuel for the Disneyland Paris trip once the ABD was over!

If you decide the $$ is worth it for you, I think you will have a great time.

Thanks so much for sharing! It does make me feel better. I am getting a better feel for how the trips work and I think we would have a great time. Now just to wait for the 2012 info to be released!

 

[prmucha]

I completely agree with all of smep013's comments. We had a great trip in Peru this 2011 summer with two other couples (one of which was smep013), and certainly it was a great experience. The kids just bring a nice balance to the trip, watching how they experience it is something as much fun as doing it ourselves. Plus, it brings a little bit of life to the trip, and that's something that's a lot of fun.

I think that families do enjoy themselves as well, but again, as she said, the couples certainly had as much fun as the rest. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[tracyz]

It has been awesome for us. On both of our trips, there was at least one other couple traveling without kids. We had meals with them as frequently as we did with some of the families with kids. To us, the kids are a great part of the experience. And, a lot of times, the kids are all off in a group together (natural selection!) with the Guides and the parents are "couples" again, just like us!

We did not feel out of place in anyway and enjoyed every aspect of the adventure as if it was tailored to us and us alone!

We just did the ABD med cruise add-on, and this post really struck a cord with me. I don't know why it's the first time I've looked back on our experience and really noticed it, but it's true that almost from the beginning the kids were sitting at their own table during meals (by choice) leaving the adults at a table as couples. We had one couple without kids in the group, but the kids bonded so well that most of the time you couldn't even tell which kids were with whom.
DH and I had our own vacation, and much of our time was adult time while we had the comfort of knowing our daughter was nearby having the time of her life. We got to just be a couple again sometimes, vacationing with other adults. So thankful for the atmosphere created by ABD that made that possible!

 

[disneymath]

We just came back from a DCL Alaskan Cruise which included the ABD add-on. Our ABD trip was small (only 16 people - 5 families). We were a group of 3 adults, all the other families had kids ranging from 9 to 15 or so.

Even though my parents and I enjoy the company of children (I'm a teacher, my mom is childcare provider), we were slightly apprehensive about doing the ABD without any kids. Turns out there was no need to worry ... everyone bonded and got along well.

Sometimes family groups stayed together, somtimes it was more a kids group and an adults group, sometimes it was a mix of adults and kids from different families. (One of my unexpected favourite moments from the trip was watching my mom playing "I Spy" in the Alaska State Museum with one of the pre-teen girls from our ABD group ... they played for at least half an hour!)

I think as long as you are okay with touring with children, you would appreciate all that a regular ABD has to offer. If the thought of interacting with other people's children isn't your cup of tea, then an adults only departure would be a great alternative.

 

[Dennie]

Hi,
All the previous posts are full of great info and I hope it has encouraged you to give AbD a try. We've done Viva Italia (adults only, just my husband and I), Ireland (adults only, myself, hubby, daughter-in-law and family friend-would you believe my son didn't want to go?), Wyoming-Yellowstone (family groups, just the 2 of us) and American Southwest (adults only, the 2 of us). We're going to Greece in fall, 2012 with another couple on an adults only AbD.

The accommodations are always the best and it is such a relief to have someone else schlep the luggage!

We've always found a wonderful mix of personalities among the guests, some quieter than others but, with the exception of one particular child, everyone has gotten along and been comfortable just being themselves. The guides make sure no one feels left out while still respecting "personal space". They are amazing!

We have found it very helpful to do some "homework" pre trip to decide whether or not we want to extend our visits to these places and what we would like to experience when we have time on our own. In Italy, we got there a day early (which we highly recommend when traveling to avoid jet lag and starting off exhausted) and saw a museum Disney wasn't visiting. We also knew we wanted to get into the Uffizi gallery in Florence during our free time, and our guide arranged for us to get coveted tickets. In Ireland, we got to Dublin 3 days ahead and saw many things we knew weren't in the AbD itinerary. We even planned ahead for where we wanted grab lunch in Cashel. The Wyoming trip was a last minute decision so we made no special plans but the time in Yellowstone inspired my shutterbug husband to take a photography course that included a winter trip back there. We started the Southwest tour with a few days in the Phoenix area and, while in Sedona, arranged for a private jeep tour and Medicine Wheel ceremony for our afternoon/evening on our own. As for Greece, we've already bought a ton of books on the sights, history and language. Hey, we only have a year to get ready!

Oh, and I should note that I have some mobility issues but have managed to keep up and even been white water rafting twice. (bad shoulders too, they put me in the middle of the raft for stability {whose?}, but at least I didn't have to bail)

Hopefully we'll see your on a future Adventures by Disney! Happy traveling!

 

[dunbarfamily]

I'm not a regular here on the ABD boards by any means, so I hope you don't mind me jumping in.

This thread is great! Being shy myself, I hesitate to even eat at Biergarten, and the social aspect of ABD has prevented me from looking into it much. (Plus, because I always have little ones, it'll be a bit before we can go adults-only, which would be the only way to make it work financially).

I'm glad to read that ABD allows one to be just oneself. I'm always afraid I come off "snooty" because I am so shy, however, just let me get warmed up and I'll never shut up!!!

I'll be sure to look at other threads on here and trip reports as well....it's never too early to start planning, right?!

Peace to all.