ABD China

[Kestryl]

If anyone has any experience with an ABD to China, whether in the past or coming up, I’d love to hear it! For a variety of reasons, it appears that the best way for me to visit Shanghai and Hong Kong Disneyland will be a part of an organized tour.

 

[OKW Lover]

We did the China ABD several years ago as part of the DIS organized trip. Really enjoyed seeing the asian parks. We decided that since we were flying all that way, we might as will stop at Tokyo to visit the parks there too.

We've traveled in Europe a bit and would be comfortable doing an unescorted trip there. But I think China/Japan area is a different beast. Especially China. So, I'd highly recommend doing ABD or other organized trip there.

 

[abdgeek]

I did ABD China in summer 2019 and loved it. I did pre & post nights to spend more time in the parks and see other things. I’m glad I did because there wasn’t time to see everything in the parks during the ABD(even with their version of fast pass). I visited HKDL before we did as a group and spent an extra day at SDL after the tour ended. I couldn’t imagine visiting China without the benefit of a tour. The visa process is really involved and you have to list who is sponsoring your trip to the country and give a very detailed itinerary. You don’t need a visa for Hong Kong.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

China and Scotland (original itinerary) are still my favorite of our 7 ABDs. I can't imagine going to China without a group, and this is the type of trip where I think ABD really shines. The parks were all awesome, although VERY hot especially in Hong Kong (early June). I haven't looked at the itinerary for a while, but it was great.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Dd and I thoroughly enjoyed our China ABD. ITA with others -- navigating a China trip on your own would be a very daunting task. We had a number of flight delays due to weather and the guides took excellent care of us. Restaurants in hotels stayed open for us when we arrived well past dinner time (I think we arrived in Chengdu around 9pm and the entire restaurant stayed open for us). We arrived in Beijing 4 days early (hired private guide to take us around) and flew from HK back to Shanghai to visit Disney, though the logistics of the trip are different now. We did have a major issue with ABD at the end of our trip (which I've detailed previously on this board), but I hope that ABD has fixed their communication by this point (who am I kidding -- it's probably gotten worse). Having said this, I do think this is a stellar ABD and would def recommend it.

 

[kaseyC]

We did the China ABD in 2019. It was a fantastic trip. I couldn't imagine trying to cover all of the ground we covered by myself. The guides were awesome. Loved every minute of it.

 

[sayhello]

I agree with everyone else. I did the China ABD in 2017 with @CaliforniaGirl09 and really loved it! It's a bit of an exhausting trip due to all the internal flights, but they are totally worth it to see all the amazing things you see there. But I totally cannot IMAGINE trying to navigate all of that and all the other logistics of this trip on my own without the benefits of a tour. ABD does a really wonderful job with the logistics, and has some really wonderful activities on this trip, also. I would highly recommend it!

I also agree that you need pre-and post-days to really have enough time for the 2 Parks.

Sayhello

 

[Kestryl]

We did the China ABD several years ago as part of the DIS organized trip. Really enjoyed seeing the asian parks. We decided that since we were flying all that way, we might as will stop at Tokyo to visit the parks there too.

We've traveled in Europe a bit and would be comfortable doing an unescorted trip there. But I think China/Japan area is a different beast. Especially China. So, I'd highly recommend doing ABD or other organized trip there.

Yes, I think an escorted trip would be much easier! We did Japan over the summer, and it actually was pretty easy. Everyone was really friendly and helpful. Several apologized for not knowing a lot of English, and we were like no, please, this is our fault, we are the visitors here!

 

[Kestryl]

I did ABD China in summer 2019 and loved it. I did pre & post nights to spend more time in the parks and see other things. I’m glad I did because there wasn’t time to see everything in the parks during the ABD(even with their version of fast pass). I visited HKDL before we did as a group and spent an extra day at SDL after the tour ended. I couldn’t imagine visiting China without the benefit of a tour. The visa process is really involved and you have to list who is sponsoring your trip to the country and give a very detailed itinerary. You don’t need a visa for Hong Kong.

Yes, the visa process is so daunting! I've only needed a visa once, and it was because the travel involved school (and we probably didn't need it in the first place). The ABD itinerary for the parks seems so limited- basically a half a day each. What! There's no way that's enough time!

 

[Kestryl]

China and Scotland (original itinerary) are still my favorite of our 7 ABDs. I can't imagine going to China without a group, and this is the type of trip where I think ABD really shines. The parks were all awesome, although VERY hot especially in Hong Kong (early June). I haven't looked at the itinerary for a while, but it was great.

I mean, at this point I've just accepted that wherever we go will be blazing hot and humid. It makes my life easier!

 

[Kestryl]

Dd and I thoroughly enjoyed our China ABD. ITA with others -- navigating a China trip on your own would be a very daunting task. We had a number of flight delays due to weather and the guides took excellent care of us. Restaurants in hotels stayed open for us when we arrived well past dinner time (I think we arrived in Chengdu around 9pm and the entire restaurant stayed open for us). We arrived in Beijing 4 days early (hired private guide to take us around) and flew from HK back to Shanghai to visit Disney, though the logistics of the trip are different now. We did have a major issue with ABD at the end of our trip (which I've detailed previously on this board), but I hope that ABD has fixed their communication by this point (who am I kidding -- it's probably gotten worse). Having said this, I do think this is a stellar ABD and would def recommend it.

That's amazing- and so luxurious! We've never been on group tours before, but it sounds like it makes the planning so much easier, especially when things go wrong.

 

[Kestryl]

We did the China ABD in 2019. It was a fantastic trip. I couldn't imagine trying to cover all of the ground we covered by myself. The guides were awesome. Loved every minute of it.

Yes, it would be nice to have everything laid out and ready to go, with people who know where they're going!

 

[Kestryl]

I agree with everyone else. I did the China ABD in 2017 with @CaliforniaGirl09 and really loved it! It's a bit of an exhausting trip due to all the internal flights, but they are totally worth it to see all the amazing things you see there. But I totally cannot IMAGINE trying to navigate all of that and all the other logistics of this trip on my own without the benefits of a tour. ABD does a really wonderful job with the logistics, and has some really wonderful activities on this trip, also. I would highly recommend it!

I also agree that you need pre-and post-days to really have enough time for the 2 Parks.

Sayhello

I'm curious about the changes that have happened since pre-covid, and how the trip will evolve over time! This is probably not for another few years, but I'm just trying to understand all the options!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We did China 2019 and absolutely loved the trip. The guides were excellent. The sites were amazing, especially the Great Wall and the pandas! Would definitely recommend the trip to anyone who is thinking about it. As someone mentioned, it is very tiring with all the internal flights - we covered a lot of ground! I would also recommend adding a day in the beginning in Hong Kong (we did Disney Hong Kong before the tour), and at least a day, maybe 2, on the end of the trip to enjoy Shanghai Disney - that was a really amazing park. For us, it was a bucket list trip that we planned and saved for - and loved all of it!

 

[Kestryl]

We did China 2019 and absolutely loved the trip. The guides were excellent. The sites were amazing, especially the Great Wall and the pandas! Would definitely recommend the trip to anyone who is thinking about it. As someone mentioned, it is very tiring with all the internal flights - we covered a lot of ground! I would also recommend adding a day in the beginning in Hong Kong (we did Disney Hong Kong before the tour), and at least a day, maybe 2, on the end of the trip to enjoy Shanghai Disney - that was a really amazing park. For us, it was a bucket list trip that we planned and saved for - and loved all of it!

Pandas! I've only seen pandas once (in San Diego), that must have been really cool!

 

[Kestryl]

I am curious- for anyone from the US, given that mainland China has a travel advisory on it, would it still be a location you would feel safe traveling to? I would being a on a group trip (vs solo) influence that decision?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Pandas! I've only seen pandas once (in San Diego), that must have been really cool!

Nothing like seeing them in the wide open spaces they have there. Plus, they don't have them in SD anymore!

 

[sayhello]

I am curious- for anyone from the US, given that mainland China has a travel advisory on it, would it still be a location you would feel safe traveling to? I would being a on a group trip (vs solo) influence that decision?

I'm pretty sure China always has some sort of travel advisory on it. The current new advisory ("Reconsider travel") is due to “the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.” If you still want to go, going with a company like ABD, who will try to insulate you from such things is probably your best bet. But ABD really cannot do anything for you if the government detains you, except likely try and get you in contact with the US consulate and the people who *can* help you. Personally, given the current animosity between the US and China, I'm not sure that I'd be going until that situation has improved. While I *loved* the trip, there are so many other places to go that aren't quite so risky at the moment.

Sayhello

 

[Kestryl]

I'm pretty sure China always has some sort of travel advisory on it. The current new advisory ("Reconsider travel") is due to “the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.” If you still want to go, going with a company like ABD, who will try to insulate you from such things is probably your best bet. But ABD really cannot do anything for you if the government detains you, except likely try and get you in contact with the US consulate and the people who *can* help you. Personally, given the current animosity between the US and China, I'm not sure that I'd be going until that situation has improved. While I *loved* the trip, there are so many other places to go that aren't quite so risky at the moment.

Sayhello

Which is such a bummer. My expectation is that it would look REALLY BAD for a tour company to have one of their tourists get detained, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

I'm just feeling the itch to go and "check off" the last two Disney parks, ha. Even though I wouldn't have plans for at least two years (if not more).

 

[sharktums]

I will say if your only goal in China is to visit Shanghai and HKDL that's pretty easy to do on your own. I've done it several times and helped others as well. If you want to do Beijing, Great Wall, out to Chengdu for the pandas, etc. then by all means I would suggest an organized group tour, but just Shanghai and Hong Kong are easy on your own. (Assuming you've at least traveled outside of the US a few times)