Special Offer from ABD - did anybody else get this?

Bobo912

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
These are 19 very special places stretched across the globe—from Alaska to Australia to China. And now, you can discover them like never before, with Adventures by Disney. VIP experiences. Amazing encounters with local experts. Special thrills designed just for kids. Every secret, revealed. Every detail, taken care of. Don't just go on vacation, become part of a story. A story you'll relive again and again, long after you return home.


Now through March 31, 2010,
a family of four can
save up to $1,600*
on select exotic itineraries.†
*Based on the combined savings of a family of four
comprised of 2 children and 2 adults when booked on
the "Safari to South Africa" itinerary under this credit offer.

South Africa—Join a jeep safari at first light—when the big cats are returning from a night of hunting, play with African penguins, and explore cosmopolitan Cape Town.

Other credit amounts are also available on the following itineraries:

The Galapagos—Everything from discovering ancient volcanoes to exploring lava tunnels and journeying to the "center of the Earth."

China—Explore the ancient mysteries of the Forbidden City, see the legendary Great Wall of China and have an up-close-and-personal encounter with giant pandas.

Costa Rica—Zipline through lush rainforests, soak in secluded thermal springs and conquer whitewater rapids with your family.

Australia—Experience everything from tossing boomerangs with Aborigines to sheepherding in the Outback and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.

Plus, a family of four can save up to $800** when you purchase select North American or European itineraries.† To learn more click here.

†Offer applies to the purchase at the non-discounted Regular Rate of select Adventures by Disney 2010 season departure dates of eligible itineraries when booked between 2/24/10 and 3/31/10. Travel must commence prior to 4/26/11. Offer valid only on the following itineraries and departure dates in the corresponding amount: Enchanted China ($160 per person): 5/30, 6/13, 6/27, 7/18, 8/1, 8/15; Discovery Down Under ($280 per person): 6/12, 7/17, 8/7, 9/4, 11/20, 3/26/11, 4/2/11; Treasures of the Galapagos ($300 per person): 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 8/3, 8/10, 10/5, 11/23; Path to Pura Vida ($160 per person): 6/5, 6/19, 7/3, 7/10, 7/24, 7/31, 9/18, 11/20, 12/20, 12/27, 2/9/11; Safari to South Africa ($400 per person): 7/18, 8/1, 8/29, 12/16, 4/12/11, 4/26/11; Alpine Magic ($200 per person): 6/6, 6/20, 7/4, 7/25, 8/5, 8/15; Once Upon a Fairytale ($160 per person): 6/11, 6/18, 7/2, 7/30, 8/13, 8/16,12/16; Rocky Trails & Mountie Tales ($200 per person): 6/16, 7/14, 8/7, 9/4; Spirit of America ($150 per person) 5/28, 6/11, 6/25, 7/1, 7/9, 8/6, 8/13, 10/8; Taming the Last Frontier ($160 per person): 6/9, 7/7, 7/21, 8/11, 8/18. Unique offer code must be mentioned at time of booking. Valid on new land package bookings made through Adventures by Disney Travel Services, Inc. only. Offer and code nontransferable. Cannot be combined with any other offer, discount or promotion or sold or transferred for commercial use. Terms, conditions and restrictions apply, subject to change without notice.
 
Yes, I received the same email. Those are some great discounts, but we've already booked the Alpine Magic trip, so we won't be able to take advantage of this offer. :sad1: I guess it's sometimes better to wait awhile before booking (with the exception of airfares)...
 
Too little, too late for me. We already have our plans made and this discount isn't significant enough to make us change them. Everything that ABD has done this year has convinced me not to book early next year (if we decide to do an ABD). They would need to reinstate a significant EBD to convince me. Beside eliminating the EBD, they announced the free cruise offer in Oct, the Med cruise add-on in late Dec, the Gateway trips in Jan and now they're sending out PINs. Previously when I booked early, I felt like I got a pretty good deal and didn't give it another thought. Now I would be wondering if something better was going to come along.
 
I'm thinking about taking the Germany ABD next year (late June) and with this offer coming at this relatively late date, I'm wondering when the best time to book would be. I guess I'm asking the experts if there's a rule of thumb about when the best airfares are offered. More specifically, would waiting this long for an ABD discount mean I'd probably pay more for airfare?

I'm taking my second Backstage Magic ABD in July and, because I live in California, I didn't have to worry about airfare. I made these plans in August 2009, but definitely won't be booking that far out for the Germany trip. The EBD isn't worth tying up so much money for so long.
 
Miss SD, I think it changes year to year, and there no longer seems to be a rule of thumb regarding airfare. I've always told my clients in the past to book early -- as the seats fill, the prices rise. For domestic, that's still very true; I rarely see prices go down for domestic air. However, this year I priced a lot of AbD trips (as well as trips through other tour companies) months ago, and for those who weren't ready to book then, I'm finding the same airfare or less now. For my Knights and Lights trip, it was $1,400.00 when I looked back in August, and I just got connecting flights through Icelandair for under $900.00.

I still think that for the summer months and the most popular trips, you need to grab your spot early. I have a few clients who couldn't get the summer Italy trips they wanted because they waited too long. Also, if you're connecting from a small airport (I have clients from Elmira, NY, for example -- one of their flights is on a turbo-prop), you might want to get something early so that small flight doesn't fill. For the off-season trips, my only worry is that folks all decide to wait and then the trip is canceled for lack of interest. It's hard to know what to recommend. I want the best price for my clients, but I also don't want them to miss out on their dream trip.

Well, that was a whole bunch of nothing and no real advice. Good luck with Germany!

Dotti
 
I got this message too. The discount, while perhaps pushing someone who was just on the edge of booking anyway into doing it before March 31, is not enough to incent me to book with AbD this year. (Perhaps double or triple this discount would have me considering AbD). Interesting that these discounts are still more than the lousy $100 for repeat customers, though. I think we will still be booking Tauck Bridges this year.

I'll throw in my experience with booking flights to Germany as well, although I agree that it probably varies year to year. I booked my AbD in November, and flights were outrageously expensive, so I waited. By April, when they hadn't gone down (and I checked VERY often!), I got nervous and booked, paying $1400 pp which was about the best that could be done, and still about double what I thought I would have to pay booking that early. In May, they came down below $1000; however, I'm not sure if the specific times/flights, etc that I wanted would have qualified. My nerves would not allow me to wait till May to book flights for a July trip - April was bad enough!

I always thought booking earlier was better, and it always is for assuring you'll get the flights/seats you want, but am not sure it's true from a price perspective these days. Think it all boils down to - How much of a gambler are you??
 
Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it. We'll probably be flying from JFK since we go to NY to see family every year in mid-June. I'm not much of a gambler, especially when it comes to travel. I guess, if we go, we'll just bite the bullet and book earlier rather than later.
 
The flights that I booked for our Italy trip in May would have been around $800 per person when I booked them (we used FF miles, so it was a no brainer to book early, but I was checking the prices to determine whether to save miles for a future trip). Currently, a similar flight is a little over $900 and I'm not sure that flight is doable because the first layover in the US is only 2 hours and my understanding is that you should allow yourself 3 hours for customs. The flight that i am on is almost $1,000. The interesting thing to think about too is your seats. I noticed that there are no window seats available on my flight so we would be in the center of the plane. Our plane has 2 seats on each side and 4 in the middle. My wife and I can have a window and aisle seat with nobody bothering us if they want to get up. Just something to think about on a 12 hour flight.
 
It's so impossible to plan flights. I made domestic flight plans in September for December flights - perfect times, nonstop, great seats. Then a few weeks before the airline cancelled our flight and we had to rebook on a late night flight with a stopover... and then that the night the second flight got cancelled and we wound up sleeping in the Milwaukee airport. Almost makes me want to stop traveling altogether!
 
I didn't get the discount "offer", but maybe that's because I'm already booked on the Central Italy ABD. It looks like neither of the Italy itineraries are included in the discount anyway. I did get in on the free cruise deal, however, which will end up being at least equal (if not more) than the discount).

Now, I guess I should really start planning out airfare. . . . The uncertainty there is worse than the changing ABD prices.

:confused3
 
Too little, too late for me. We already have our plans made and this discount isn't significant enough to make us change them. Everything that ABD has done this year has convinced me not to book early next year (if we decide to do an ABD). They would need to reinstate a significant EBD to convince me. Beside eliminating the EBD, they announced the free cruise offer in Oct, the Med cruise add-on in late Dec, the Gateway trips in Jan and now they're sending out PINs. Previously when I booked early, I felt like I got a pretty good deal and didn't give it another thought. Now I would be wondering if something better was going to come along.

I completely agree. This is our first ABD trip and we booked it as soon as it opened. We are very excited about our trip, but a little bummed that we're not getting anything extra (and, in fact, seem to be losing out on things) just b/c we booked early. Seems backwards to me.
 
And this offer is non-transferable, so I guess Disney only wants money from a select group of guests... :confused3
 
I received that email. We have never been on one of these vacations. Not sure if we will ever go as they are pricey.
 
Interestingly, this offer didn't come to the email that ABD has from my past trips. It came to the one I used when I requested the e-brochure this year. When you request the brochure, they ask you which trips you are interested in and I'm sure I mentioned a couple of the ones that are on the list. So maybe that is why I got it.
 
I got the same offer through snail mail today. I've never gotten anything through the postal service from ABD before, except when I've ordered a brochure or booked a trip and received travel documents - never promotional material, until today. It's much more WDW like.
 
I got the same offer through snail mail today. I've never gotten anything through the postal service from ABD before, except when I've ordered a brochure or booked a trip and received travel documents - never promotional material, until today. It's much more WDW like.

I received the same thing. Again, there is a PIN attached to the promo, so the offer is non-transferable. At least Disney is doing more in their marketing efforts...
 
If you've previously booked with a travel agent, there is a chance that AbD does not have your email address on file. If that's the case and you are interested in the promotion, contact your agent and they should be able to work with you. If not, PM me and I'll tell you what to tell them. (And no, I didn't mean anything nasty.) ;)

Dotti
 
I received the pin. I'm thinking about South Africa. Has anyone combined this offer with the Costco one? If not, which one is better? I'm also a repeat customer but the $100 wouldn't be enough to make me book at this time.
 
I received the pin. I'm thinking about South Africa. Has anyone combined this offer with the Costco one? If not, which one is better? I'm also a repeat customer but the $100 wouldn't be enough to make me book at this time.
Actually, unless they've changed it recently, the $100 for repeat customers was only good through November. Sad, but true.

Sayhello
 
So the pin was, for me, the best deal. I'm going to South Africa and saving $800 for the two of us!:banana: With no early booking discount this year, I briefly considered the $100 discount for repeat ABDers, but that was not enough. I didn't even consider the free cruise offer last year because I want to go on ABD, not a cruise. Frankly, the cruise would have ended up costing me more money, not saving money. The pin was $100 more than the Costco rebate and I won't have to wait until after the trip to enjoy my discount. ABD finally came through, but they shouldn't have waited so long, I was almost on my way to Bhutan.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top