ABD bus info

[JJPCheers]

What are the seating arrangements on the bus for ABD? We have done Tauck Bridges tour and all the kids sat anywhere in the back of the bus and the parents were assigned seats each day in the front of the bus. This worked out pretty good so each day you were next to a different couple and the kids had a good time in the back. There were a few empty seats in the middle and sometime adults would lay down across two seats.

 

[Bobo912]

What are the seating arrangements on the bus for ABD? We have done Tauck Bridges tour and all the kids sat anywhere in the back of the bus and the parents were assigned seats each day in the front of the bus. This worked out pretty good so each day you were next to a different couple and the kids had a good time in the back. There were a few empty seats in the middle and sometime adults would lay down across two seats.

Kids and adults can sit wherever they like. The kids usually congregate together.

 

[sayhello]

Kids and adults can sit wherever they like. The kids usually congregate together.

Although, on both ABD's I've done, I've noticed people tended to sit in the same seats every day. I kind of like the idea of them "forcing" the adults to mix it up!

Sayhello

 

[clarabelle]

We sat where we wanted -however
We had a full trip
Lots of kids (It was a great trip BTW) but we had some loud kids who were a little rowdy. The worst offenders parents got to the bus early every day and sat right up front! While their kids sat in the very back!

We always sat close to the kids. Partly cause we wanted to- but partly because there were not usually seats up front by the time we got to the bus.
I would have liked to sit up front some of the time -but we never got there early enough.

 

[marcemch]

I like the idea of mixing it up a bit every day too. People seem to claim certain seats (normally in the front) then get a little irritated if you take them.
I also think that ABD could do a little better job explaining bus etiquette up front to both parents and kids. I have a child, and I want all the kids to have fun, but not to the extent that it interferes with other's enjoyment. When the rowdiness and noise from electronic games keeps me from hearing the guides, I say it needs to be addressed. This has occasionally happened on the trips I was on. I think the parents have a responsibility to manage this, but it's up to the guides to lay down the guidelines. Kids can play all the games they want, just mute the sound!

 

[Bobo912]

So far I haven't seen any video games on the buses or kids that were rowdy, so I guess we've been lucky. We leave the video games at home. I let DS bring the iPod, but I told him he could only use it in the airport and on the plane. But I really didn't have to tell him that because he enjoys the company of the other kids and guides and he has never even asked for it during the adventure. There's nothing wrong with bringing games, since some of the bus rides are long and some children are more introverted than mine, but it just seems like common courtesty to bring along some ear phones so everyone doesn't have to listen to it.

 

[Phil1019]

On my last trip to Costa Rica there were several teachers on the bus including my daughter.It was our summer vacation and ALL the teachers decided to sit on the bus without children. I can't say I really blamed them, we all need a break at some point from our chosen occupations. We usually were provided with two buses for any road portions of the trip. One day, our guide kind of knew the teachers wanted a break and played a joke on them by telling all the kids to sit with the teachers! Now that was a good laugh! They all started shouting NO! NO! Our ABD guide quickly escorted them off after a great laugh was had by all.

 

[abbyjt]

We have been on 4 ABD's. We always sat where we wanted, the kids end up toward the back (on one trip they ended up in the front) and we never had a rowdy kid on any ABD.
I could see it being a problem on a full trip. I would hate to have to jockey for seats away from the rowdy kids.
We have been on an adult Tauck tour and you are assigned and moved constantly. The others got angry at us when we accidentally sat one seat behind where we were assigned, and we only did it once!

 

[clarabelle]

I feel like I may have overstated it. At the time it was a minor nuisance in an otherwise great vacation.

I don't think my husband even noticed. I think I am a little up tight.

We had not one empty seat -so that probably made it a bit more noticeable

 

[JJPCheers]

I think each of the tours (ABD and Tauck Bridges) both have there good and bad. Having only been on Tauck Bridges in the past I did really like the assigned seating for adults in the front and kids anywhere in the back. This gave the adults a chance at sitting on each side of the bus as well as the front and the middle. There was always a large cooler in the back with water and juices and our guide always passed around a basket full of candy, chips, crackers, etc. while on the bus. I felt like we got to know all the other couples better this way. The guide also had arts and crafts for the kids and games if they wanted them. Some of the kids would sit together and play hand held video games or watch movies. I think the two tours companies are very similair and we will definately try an ABD tour soon.

 

[DisFan10]

I think each of the tours (ABD and Tauck Bridges) both have there good and bad. Having only been on Tauck Bridges in the past I did really like the assigned seating for adults in the front and kids anywhere in the back. This gave the adults a chance at sitting on each side of the bus as well as the front and the middle. There was always a large cooler in the back with water and juices and our guide always passed around a basket full of candy, chips, crackers, etc. while on the bus. I felt like we got to know all the other couples better this way. The guide also had arts and crafts for the kids and games if they wanted them. Some of the kids would sit together and play hand held video games or watch movies. I think the two tours companies are very similair and we will definately try an ABD tour soon.

Having taken both AbD and Tauck this year, I can say that having assigned seating is better. You don't have to try and get to the motor coach before the others and risk creating animosity when you sit in "their seat". Or, people start leaving personal belongings on "their seat" and they get mad when you move them.

I'm not sure why Disney doesn't assign seats to make it more democratic for everyone to get a good seat during the tour. Maybe they don't want to offend their guests???

 

[JJPCheers]

Since you have been on both tours which do you like better? What were the differences?

 

[Bobo912]

I think each of the tours (ABD and Tauck Bridges) both have there good and bad. Having only been on Tauck Bridges in the past I did really like the assigned seating for adults in the front and kids anywhere in the back. This gave the adults a chance at sitting on each side of the bus as well as the front and the middle. There was always a large cooler in the back with water and juices and our guide always passed around a basket full of candy, chips, crackers, etc. while on the bus. I felt like we got to know all the other couples better this way. The guide also had arts and crafts for the kids and games if they wanted them. Some of the kids would sit together and play hand held video games or watch movies. I think the two tours companies are very similair and we will definately try an ABD tour soon.

What if your child wants to sit with you? Is it a problem for him/her to sit in the adult section of the bus? My DS usually wants to sit with the kids, but occasionally he likes to sit with me. He sat with the guides a few times on our last trip. Most of the kids took a turn sitting up front with the guides. My son told me yesterday that he wants to go to Yosemite, so the Tauck Bridges Northern California trip is now (at least temporarily) at the top of the list.

 

[JJPCheers]

The kids can sit with the parents if they want to. On the tour there were extra seats in the middle of the bus so you can sit there with your son or send your hubby to the middle section and have your son sit in the front with you. On the tour I went on people moved around through the day - sometimes my hubby and some of the other men would go to the middle of the bus and take naps across 2 seats and the women would move around and sit together to talk.

 

[sayhello]

The kids can sit with the parents if they want to. On the tour there were extra seats in the middle of the bus so you can sit there with your son or send your hubby to the middle section and have your son sit in the front with you. On the tour I went on people moved around through the day - sometimes my hubby and some of the other men would go to the middle of the bus and take naps across 2 seats and the women would move around and sit together to talk.

What about adults travelling alone or without a spouse? Were they paired up with another solo? It'd be harder to send someone you're not married or related to to the middle of the bus...

Sayhello

 

[JJPCheers]

People travelling alone were not paired up with someone else. Therefore the child can either sit next to that parent or in the back with the kids. We had a single mom on our last Tauck Bridges trip and her son was 15. Sometimes he sat with his mom and sometimes he sat in the back with the other teens.

 

[WeLoveABD]

We did a non-ABD tour in Ireland, which rotated the seats daily. It was OK, took the momentary "where do I sit" anxiety out of the equation. But then, that was a tour that showed a lot FROM the bus, so seating was pretty important. My experiences with ABD so far is that the tours happen outside of the bus--nice scenery on the way, of course, but more experiences away from the bus.

With each of our ABD tours, most of the kids end up in back and just love it--and the guides are pretty good at keeping things relatively settled. (Heck, it is a vacation for the kids too, so I'm glad they are enjoying it--I can't tell you how many times I had to nudge our kids awake on the bus in Ireland!). Our daughter and other girls her age did capture seats closer to the front (when she was 7 she wanted to be closer to us--and since there were other girls her age, people kindly let them set close to the front as a group). We rotated around a bit and caught up with others on our tour.

If we had a vote, I'd vote for letting folks find their own seats each day--go with the flow!

 

[DisFan10]

Since you have been on both tours which do you like better? What were the differences?

Without a doubt, the AbD guides are THE BEST!!! However, Tauck is better when it comes to their liberal meal policy. We really enjoyed being able to order from the restaurant menus instead of AbD's limited choice of 2 or 3 entrees. Tauck even allows you order from the menu during breakfast if you don't want the buffet.

The hotel selections are pretty similar, although Tauck's hotels are a bit more deluxe on their international itineraries. And we've already discussed the pros and cons of the motor coach seating policies.

When you compare pricing, Tauck has the edge. However, you really do get what you pay for. Tauck has one Tour Director without all the special Disney moments, surprises and swag, while AbD has 2 guides who really make your Adventure the most memorable and amazing experience.

It's difficult to say which company I like better. They both have good points, although Tauck has a lot more foreign itineraries to choose from. I don't think you can really go wrong with either...