Southern California and Disneyland Adventure

[mikeishere]

Why on ABD site why for the shorter (4 days) backstage magic tour do they not have dates as far in advance/out as the longer 6 day trip? The longer 6 day trip as dates all the way till March next year

 

[starwarsdad]

Hey @starwarsdad and @Lmillette hope you had a safe journey home and great to make new friends like yourselves! I love this photo so much

Hope you are still having a Disney blast!

 

[starwarsdad]

Why on ABD site why for the shorter (4 days) backstage magic tour do they not have dates as far in advance/out as the longer 6 day trip? The longer 6 day trip as dates all the way till March next year

Pure guess. I suspect ADB is either scrapping shorts or putting them on hold for now and the ones you see are the remaining Escapes for 2023.

 

[mikeishere]

Pure guess. I suspect ADB is either scrapping shorts or putting them on hold for now and the ones you see are the remaining Escapes for 2023.

Awww makes sense was sort of considering doing the shorter one next year or year after as now done the longer one as it’s still good to do the parks with a group of people

 

[jimmymc]

Why on ABD site why for the shorter (4 days) backstage magic tour do they not have dates as far in advance/out as the longer 6 day trip? The longer 6 day trip as dates all the way till March next year

I'm not sure. They should've announced at least fall dates by now.

 

[DianaMB333]

This year there are still some dates saying that there is a waitlist, but they have never been open … I have been tracking Oct 16th week..

Any thoughts on the possibility of that date being open later in the year?

 

[Lmillette]

Why on ABD site why for the shorter (4 days) backstage magic tour do they not have dates as far in advance/out as the longer 6 day trip? The longer 6 day trip as dates all the way till March next year

Mikeishere - You read my mind! I was about to post and ask here when the shorter escape would post for March 2024. I’d like to go again next March to catch the stuff that I missed due to this never ending laryngitis (which I still have!!)

 

[Lmillette]

Pure guess. I suspect ADB is either scrapping shorts or putting them on hold for now and the ones you see are the remaining Escapes for 2023.

Oh I hope not! Sammy and I decided we pretty much want to tour with a group going forward- it made visiting the parks so much more fun!! Plus you might have the amazing luck of running across an amazing family that will include your kiddo in their family if you happen to be stuck in with laryngitis ;-)

 

[mikeishere]

Mikeishere - You read my mind! I was about to post and ask here when the shorter escape would post for March 2024. I’d like to go again next March to catch the stuff that I missed due to this never ending laryngitis (which I still have!!)

I’m sorry to hear you still got laryngitis and you can’t get rid of it I’m the same it’s better touring with a group of people which is why was considering it again. I was looking even further ahead to Christmas 2024 (late nov) as I think going at Christmas time would be fun.

 

[mikeishere]

Oh I hope not! Sammy and I decided we pretty much want to tour with a group going forward- it made visiting the parks so much more fun!! Plus you might have the amazing luck of running across an amazing family that will include your kiddo in their family if you happen to be stuck in with laryngitis ;-)

I think touring as a group instead of solo was very fun too and better also

 

[irlapes]

Reading you all only increases my excitement about this trip!!
I'm still a little concerned about my almost 6 years old son, hopefully he will not get as bored. In any case, as this is the travel of my dreams, DH will take care of him if needed. They might join later in the morning or leave earlier in the afternoon if they're tired.
Have you ever had small kids (5-6 yo) in your groups?

 

[Steven G]

Reading you all only increases my excitement about this trip!!
I'm still a little concerned about my almost 6 years old son, hopefully he will not get as bored. In any case, as this is the travel of my dreams, DH will take care of him if needed. They might join later in the morning or leave earlier in the afternoon if they're tired.
Have you ever had small kids (5-6 yo) in your groups?

the first time we went on the trip, my son was 6. He had a blast, although he was very much exhausted at the end. The tour guides were definitely a help in keeping the kiddos engaged.

 

[Steven G]

Why on ABD site why for the shorter (4 days) backstage magic tour do they not have dates as far in advance/out as the longer 6 day trip? The longer 6 day trip as dates all the way till March next year

I think the Escapes in general (not just Disneyland) are just not as popular. There are only 3 or so of the escapes that have 2024 dates yet. The Escapes are relatively new, so it's possible it's just an experiment that they may be phasing out, except for 2 or 3 of them.

Of course, I could be proven wrong, and the Escapes for 2024 are announced soon

My recommendation is that if you really are interested in something that is not showing up, that you call them and let them know.

 

[starwarsdad]

Oh I hope not! Sammy and I decided we pretty much want to tour with a group going forward- it made visiting the parks so much more fun!! Plus you might have the amazing luck of running across an amazing family that will include your kiddo in their family if you happen to be stuck in with laryngitis ;-)

We were happy to adopt him for a day and a half!

 

[Lmillette]

Reading you all only increases my excitement about this trip!!
I'm still a little concerned about my almost 6 years old son, hopefully he will not get as bored. In any case, as this is the travel of my dreams, DH will take care of him if needed. They might join later in the morning or leave earlier in the afternoon if they're tired.
Have you ever had small kids (5-6 yo) in your groups?

We had two little girls in our group last week. I’m not sure how old they were - probably 7 or 8 - but they had a blast and got treated like Royalty by our guides and the group. They were adorable and I think they had a great time. I know we all loved having a few younger kids!

 

[irlapes]

the first time we went on the trip, my son was 6. He had a blast, although he was very much exhausted at the end. The tour guides were definitely a help in keeping the kiddos engaged.

We had two little girls in our group last week. I’m not sure how old they were - probably 7 or 8 - but they had a blast and got treated like Royalty by our guides and the group. They were adorable and I think they had a great time. I know we all loved having a few younger kids!

Thank you both for sharing your experiences about young kids in your trips. Seems like the guides go the extra mile for every situation. It's going to be hard to travel again without the Disney touch haha

 

[C&C1]

Just finished this trip and it is AMAZING, loved every minute of it, actually can’t put it into words how amazing it is and met some great people from this forum also!

The trip is full on and early mornings but it is all so worth it, definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of doing it!

Very late to post this and first post on the forum....We had such an amazing trip as well! Agree it was full on but would do it all again in a flash! So many special touches, terrific guides (still finding ralphies in our photos), great fellow adventurers, and so many wonderful memories. Was having withdrawal so booked a DCL short cruise out of San Diego next April and hope to pair it with a DL trip as well....but now you have us thinking about Christmas....hmmm

Hope you had a great time on DCL!

 

[leannak]

Can anyone here tell me how much this trip might “spoil the magic” for younger kids? I’m sure they know the characters are costumes but we sort of don’t talk about that to keep it special. It might be weird for them to see Mickey walking around holding his head under his arm. I am also wondering about any scary rides or backstage things… like scary villains jumping out at us. I remember something like that when we did a backstage tour at some Hollywood lot when I was a kid.

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[OKW Lover]

Can anyone here tell me how much this trip might “spoil the magic” for younger kids? I’m sure they know the characters are costumes but we sort of don’t talk about that to keep it special. It might be weird for them to see Mickey walking around holding his head under his arm. I am also wondering about any scary rides or backstage things… like scary villains jumping out at us. I remember something like that when we did a backstage tour at some Hollywood lot when I was a kid.

Thanks for any help you can give!

I've taken this ABD five times now and have never seen characters partially out of costume while back stage. No, there won't be any scary villains jumping out at you either.

Also, you can talk to your guides about your concern and they will let you know if anything you might consider inappropriate for your children is on the day's agenda . They will also help you work around any such activity.

Really though, I don't think there is anything on the tour that would be a problem.

 

[dt14890]

Can anyone here tell me how much this trip might “spoil the magic” for younger kids? I’m sure they know the characters are costumes but we sort of don’t talk about that to keep it special. It might be weird for them to see Mickey walking around holding his head under his arm. I am also wondering about any scary rides or backstage things… like scary villains jumping out at us. I remember something like that when we did a backstage tour at some Hollywood lot when I was a kid.

Thanks for any help you can give!

The only backstage aspect I can think of that might be a shock for your kids is learning that Kermit the Frog actually is an extension of the puppetier hand and not real. Meaning, the Jim Henson studio part shows how they operate the puppets. As far as Disney backstage, we just learned the mechanics of the Radiator springs racers and Indiana Jones ride. Nothing to spoil magic for young kids there.