Ireland: The Emerald Isle Meets Thread

[acndis]

Yes, we LOVED the Greece trip. My son was only 4 at the time but he really loved it. The guides (Landon and Elena) were terrific with him and he did everything (4 mile Lava Walk, Kayaking, Museums) except the Donkey Ride and the jump into the Aegean. He still says, "I miss Greece." He is excited about Ireland, too.

My husband and I loved not having to plan ANYTHING and we loved meeting the terrific people on the trip. Is this your first? If so, you will LOVE it. It is addictive. We've already booked Winter Wonderland for Dec 2013.

 

[JacksGirlz]

Yes, we LOVED the Greece trip. My son was only 4 at the time but he really loved it. The guides (Landon and Elena) were terrific with him and he did everything (4 mile Lava Walk, Kayaking, Museums) except the Donkey Ride and the jump into the Aegean. He still says, "I miss Greece." He is excited about Ireland, too.

My husband and I loved not having to plan ANYTHING and we loved meeting the terrific people on the trip. Is this your first? If so, you will LOVE it. It is addictive. We've already booked Winter Wonderland for Dec 2013.

We are doing back to back trips so, technically, our first ABD will be Germany from June 21-29. We plan on doing a daytrip to Salzburg from Munich then heading to Dublin on the 30th for a few days before the Ireland ABD. When dates for 2014 come out we'll probably sign up for either the Southern Cali or the Mid Atlantic trips depending on which dates work the best. The cost of airfare to Europe is something I can only afford every other year or so.

 

[acndis]

Well, you will love that! The Germany trip has also been on our radar.

I look very forward to meeting you in Ireland. I am already so excited about Dromoland. I am a big Downton Abbey fan and will look forward to the chance to pretend I am the Irish version of Lady Mary for a few days.

 

[kmc33]

We having been booking flights and making plans for a pre-trip ABD trip to London so it's starting to seem real.

We are going to go to the Harry Potter Studios and to see Wicked along with seeing some other London sights before flying from London to Dublin.

Oh and this is our 1st ABD trip.

 

[acndis]

We having been booking flights and making plans for a pre-trip ABD trip to London so it's starting to seem real.

We are going to go to the Harry Potter Studios and to see Wicked along with seeing some other London sights before flying from London to Dublin.

Oh and this is our 1st ABD trip.

KMC,

You are on the 7/2 trip, too, right? It is going to be such fun. A trip to London beforehand sounds terrific. Doing pre nights is the way to go. It gets rid of any stress about "getting there."

 

[kmc33]

KMC,

You are on the 7/2 trip, too, right? It is going to be such fun. A trip to London beforehand sounds terrific. Doing pre nights is the way to go. It gets rid of any stress about "getting there."

Yes, we are on the 7/2 trip as well! I was just telling my DS there will be a 5 year old boy on the trip. My DS turns 14 in May but he is good with young kids.

We wanted to arrive at least a couple days early to get acclimated to the time before the ABD starts. At first we were thinking of going to Dublin directly for a couple days early but then I read about the Harry Potter Studios! My son and I are big HP fans, so we decided London would be a good starting point.

We look forward to meeting you and the others on our trip! I called ABD about a month ago and they said it's 72% full, so no chance that it will be cancelled due to not enough people booked.
Kim

 

[acndis]

So far there are 8 kids on the 7/2-9 trip, their ages are: 5, 6, 12, 13, 13, 14, 15, 16. Yeah! I had my travel agent check.

Of course that's subject to change but I am glad we have a nice big group. We had lots of kids on the trip last year. My DS was by far the youngest but they all got along really well and traveled in a pack. They treated DS like a mascot and he LOVED the attention. He's looking forward to having another great group of kids this summer.

 

[JacksGirlz]

Well, you will love that! The Germany trip has also been on our radar.

I look very forward to meeting you in Ireland. I am already so excited about Dromoland. I am a big Downton Abbey fan and will look forward to the chance to pretend I am the Irish version of Lady Mary for a few days.

I'm with you on Downton Abbey. I had to keep my head down and my ears closed so I wouldn't see/hear any spoilers for the season finale.

 

[HollyH]

Done! Last payment made for our 7/02 trip! Now we need to decide what to do on our pre night in Dublin. ABD said we are 73% full 32 total so far with 7 kiddos. I know acndis said her TA mentioned 8 kids. Close enough. Maybe they're counting the 16 yr old as an adult?

She also said they redesigned the backpacks to be lighter and more water resistant. That will be coming in "the box" about a month before with the itinerary, packing list, luggage tags, luggage spotters, etc.

Very.... exciting.....

 

[acndis]

Can't wait! We are getting closer and closer. As you come up with ideas for your pre-days, please post. We are totally undecided on what to do. My 5 year old loves Museums and the rest of us prioritize eating great food very high on the list. Dublin seems to have lots of options! The problem is what to choose!

We will be arriving fairly early on the morning of 7/1.

 

[HollyH]

acndis... my kiddos are drinking age so they are wanting to do a pub crawl on our pre night, whereas my DH & I would like to find a pub/restaurant with music/storytelling, etc. Still searching for common ground!

 

[emesmom]

Anybody else on the 7/13/13 trip?

 

[acndis]

We are PIF! Can't wait. We have decided to go to the National Museum of Ireland on pre-day Tuesday (it's closed Monday) before the Welcome Dinner. Am I missing something or is it NOT on our tour? Just making sure.

We would love to do a pub crawl, too, but it's not really appropriate for our 5-year old! However, we'd love to hear about where folks are thinking of dining on their pre-nights. We are total foodies!

Also, I highly recommend the DVD The Story of Ireland with Fergal Keane. It's a great primer for the history of the country. It was fascinating! It made me realize how little I knew about Ireland and what a unique place it is.

Does anyone know who our guides are? I saw that Jennae had posted a picture of Ireland on the ABD site but does anyone know anything for sure?

 

[JacksGirlz]

We are PIF! Can't wait. We have decided to go to the National Museum of Ireland on pre-day Tuesday (it's closed Monday) before the Welcome Dinner. Am I missing something or is it NOT on our tour? Just making sure.

We would love to do a pub crawl, too, but it's not really appropriate for our 5-year old! However, we'd love to hear about where folks are thinking of dining on their pre-nights. We are total foodies!

Also, I highly recommend the DVD The Story of Ireland with Fergal Keane. It's a great primer for the history of the country. It was fascinating! It made me realize how little I knew about Ireland and what a unique place it is.

Does anyone know who our guides are? I saw that Jennae had posted a picture of Ireland on the ABD site but does anyone know anything for sure?

From what I can tell the National Museum of Ireland is not on the tour.

I haven't thought about dining too much so I second any recommendations from DISers.

And thank you for the information on the DVD. Will check it out before we go.

 

[sleevesend]

Are we going alone?
"We" is: Mary and Terry 50ish and our daughter Sarah 18. We're from south Florida. This will be her graduation trip ... Ireland is her choice and we could't be happier. Her first time and my husband's first time, I had a layover at Shannon airport on my way to Germany years ago ... but my first time too!

Who else is going?

 

[sayhello]

Are we going alone?
"We" is: Mary and Terry 50ish and our daughter Sarah 18. We're from south Florida. This will be her graduation trip ... Ireland is her choice and we could't be happier. Her first time and my husband's first time, I had a layover at Shannon airport on my way to Germany years ago ... but my first time too!

Who else is going?

The beauty of ABD is that you *won't* be going alone! Just maybe not with other DISers!

Sayhello

 

[couture1]

Hi, my three children and I just booked the 7/23/13 Ireland trip.
It will be our 2nd ABD. Last August we loved Italy Signature.
When we booked we got the last slots, anyone else on the boards going?
Any tips for the trip?

 

[JacksGirlz]

Hi, my three children and I just booked the 7/23/13 Ireland trip.
It will be our 2nd ABD. Last August we loved Italy Signature.
When we booked we got the last slots, anyone else on the boards going?
Any tips for the trip?

Welcome to the thread.
I am eagerly counting down the time until our trip.
The biggest tip I've read about Ireland is to have a light rainjacket as it rains quite often.

 

[couture1]

Hi we are going to Ireland July 22 2013, any others out there?
Any "Not to be missed" tips from any prior travelers?

 

[Jack'sGirl5]

Hi!
Frequent WDW and DL visitor and sometimes cruiser -- just booked our first ever ABD trips, so excited!

It will be me and my DD15. I used to travel internationally for business and have been to much of Europe but it will be my first trip for fun -- for her it is the very first European trip ever.

We are going to London for a few days first -- big Dr Who and Harry Potter fans so must do appropriate tours and then also want to see a couple of plays. Then train to Edinburgh and the Scotland ABD starting June 21, 2014. We have an extra day in Scotland and then fly to Ireland for an extra day in Dublin before joining our Ireland ABD on July 1st.

Can't wait!