ABD Rhine trip

[Jaylie]

My husband and I have been DVC members for the over 20 years and have visited WDW many times together, then with our four kids, and also with our twelve grandchildren. Currently we have about 400 points in our September Use Year and want to do something different. We like cruises and land trips in Europe, and I wondered if ABD would work for us. I’m just not sure how to get to information about those vacations. I’d appreciate any info or suggestions fellow Disboarders might have. Thanks!

 

[abdgeek]

My husband and I have been DVC members for the over 20 years and have visited WDW many times together, then with our four kids, and also with our twelve grandchildren. Currently we have about 400 points in our September Use Year and want to do something different. We like cruises and land trips in Europe, and I wondered if ABD would work for us. I’m just not sure how to get to information about those vacations. I’d appreciate any info or suggestions fellow Disboarders might have. Thanks

I am a DVC member and always use my points for ABD and DCL trips. As long as you bought your points directly from Disney, you should be able to use them for ABD. If you’re unsure, call DVC and they will let you know if you qualify.

To determine if you have enough points for an ABD trip, go to the DVC website, click on Plan Vacation, and Points Charts. The points charts that have been released are found there. The ABD points charts are listed under the Disney Experiences tab and will tell you how many points per person are needed to take the trip. Unfortunately, you may need to use more than one year’s worth of points for a regular ABD trip. You can also call DVC and they will tell you how many points you need for a particular trip. This helps you plan and the number of points needed each year typically increases.

For information on the trips themselves, you need to call ABD. They can answer any questions about the itinerary and the trip itself. When you go to book the trip with points, you call DVC and they book the trip with ABD using your points. I believe you can also use points for one person and cash for the other person, but the person who is doing cash has to be paid in full when the reservation is made. Again, DVC can let you know your options. You can also book the reservation with ABD for cash and convert it later to a points reservation. The deposit you paid will be refunded when the reservation is converted to a points reservation.

You will hear various thoughts on whether using your points for ABD and DCL is worth it vs renting out your points and using the cash to book. You will need to decide what works best for you. Good luck with your decision.

On another note, if you don’t have enough points for ABD, you can also use your points for an Interval International vacation or hotel exchange.

 

[Donalyn]

I can't speak to how to use DVC points for ABD. But for general ABD information:

1. Adventures by disney website - lots of information.
2. Calling ABD.
3. Ask your questions here. Lots of activity on this board.

Our family went on the ABD Rhine River cruise, summer of 2023 - it was great. (My kids loved it so much, that younger DD is planning the Danube cruise for her graduation trip in 2 years.)

Good luck on your planning.

 

[jimmymc]

Aside from the Adventures by Disney website, plenty of people have trip reports on this site or Youtube. You have to call or use a travel agent to book AbD, so they will explain the specifics on how to book and travel logistics when you call.

 

[sayhello]

I'm also going to mention here that if you decide to just book the trip for cash directly with ABD, not using any points, that DVC members get the perk of booking ABDs at opening day prices no matter what the current price for a trip is. I'm not positive if your DVC points have to have been purchased directly from DVC or not for this to be available to you, but I believe they do.

You have to call or use a travel agent to book AbD, so they will explain the specifics on how to book and travel logistics when you call.

Just a little clarification here, because I found your wording a little confusing. You have to call *ABD* or use a travel agent to book an ABD.

But also, that's not the case if you're booking with DVC points. You have to book through DVC for that. ABD themselves can't book you using points.

Sayhello

 

[ngl]

We did the ABD Rhine this past summer with our two teenage kids and loved it! We are DVC too. As someone mentioned above, the conversion rate to use DVC points for things other than DVC stays is not very advantageous. For instance, according to the chart, it would take a minimum of 500 points to get one person paid for the River Cruise in the lowest cabin category. If you are not going to use them in any way or do not want to rent them out, this could be an option but the minimum amount for one person's fare appears to be 500.