ABD vs doing it on your own

[Kurby]

I've looked at a few of the europien ones and they are very expensive.

it would cost about 9000 - 12000 just for dh, dd and i without flights

do you guys think you could book these types of vacations on your own or is it really something that is better done in a group?

I love what they offer but even the Hollywood one would be about 6k+ just for a week.



I guess i'm just wondering if they really go above and beyond or if the price is that high because it's done through Disney.

 

[clarabelle]

I think it depends on what kind of traveler you are
We went to Ireland with ABD
Loved it

I felt like I was paying extra for:
1)other kids for my kids to hang out with
2)The Bus! The price of a rental car would not have bothered me -driving around with a map arguing with my husband would have.
3)The guides -always there to answer questions and give suggestions for free time.
4)Attractions -usually 2 or 3 things a day -so when you are considering the costs of the trips -add those in. Also -we never waited in line at the attractions. We just walked in.
5)Not having to make too many decisions. We never had to think about should we or should we not do something. Most of those decisions were made for us already.

If you were a pretty independent and adventurous traveler already -these things may not appeal to you. These trips are for someone who wants an active vacation (touring, maybe biking a little hiking) but not a lot of stress. The planning and grunt work has been taken care of.

Let me know if you have any questions

 

[Kurby]

ohhh i'd love to see ireland.

i know all the work is done for you and you're pretty much along for the ride (which i love) we did a Holand bus tour in 96 which was wonderful. it left from Scotland crossed the North Sea with a night on the ship then 6 days in Holland and yes i'd do it again in a heart beat.

i'm just looking at the cost aspect. no way was that bus tour the 2-3000 per person - which seems pretty high.

i would totally do these in a heart beat if i could justify the cost to dh

9000 for 1 trip plus air is a lot of saving

 

[airbear]

I had the same money concerns when I booked our southwest splendors trip. 5800 dollars to see the Grand Canyon seems pretty crazy but when I read all these trip reports and saw the awesome pics of everyone's trips it just looked like too much fun to pass up. Can you really put a price on fun? (that's how I got my hubbie to go for it)

 

[clarabelle]

Kurby
Have you read any of the trip reports?
I would look at those and do a little research. Price out how much it would cost to do it on your own meals, tickets, rental car , centrally located hotel.

There are a few little Disney surprises -but nothing terribly expensive.

It may not be worth it to you -it was for us -because I would have been stressed, snapping at the kids, getting lost etc ...

It was so easy!

Also there are some other companies that are cheaper. If it is way cheaper though - I would be a little worried

Here are some of my thoughts on the trip after we got back:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2212979

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Tozzie]

To me it is totally worth it, especially the European tours where I am in a foriegn country and don't speak the language. On some of the tours there are things that you simply cannot do on your own. I went on the backstage magic tour last year, some of the places you visit are not available to the public, if yo don't go on the tour you can't do it on your own, such as imagineering, Jim henson Studios and a few other places. I know on the Italy trip you don't wait in line to get into the Vatican and sistene chapel and I believe the same is true of the louvre in Paris.

There are a lot of things that you do on the trips that you can't possibly arrange on your own I know the cost seems steep but to not have to do anything but get on and off the plane to get to the tour is great as far as I am concerned.

 

[lakerz5]

It was worth it for our family as well!! With 3 children the price of traveling to LA for Backstage Magic was absurd for 6 days (we are actually paying less for our upcoming 10 day Med cruise) but very quickly we saw how many "backstage"events and special treatments we received.

With the age differences with our kids, the guides really made this a once in a lifetime trip for the kids. Each one of their interests were addressed. I was looking at our picture cd and had actually forgotten how many places we saw and all the things that were included. Throw in the fact that were were there for New Year's Eve, it was just absolutely wonderful!!

All the families were great and the kids were very well behaved and there was a nice mix of singles, older, younger travelers, etc.

If you have any questions specifically regarding Backstage Magic, please ask

 

[Traveling Tinkerbell]

We have been on 4 ABD trips so far. While we have enjoyed the ABD trips, we have also gone on trips by ourselves to some of the same ABD locations. We booked an Australia trip and the excursions on our own. We booked many of the same hotels and excursions that ABD were using for their Australia trips. We enjoyed our pace on that trip and saw a lot more things than the ABD version at a lower price. We are now sitting out any future ABD trips because the prices are too high based on our previous experiences. We are looking at other tour companies plus moving back to taking some trips with the Disney Cruise Line since they are repositioning the Magic to Europe this year.

 

[kristilew]

I'm with TravelingTinkerbell. We've done the ABDs and thought they were great. But we've also done European travel on our own and for a heck of a lot less. There's pros and cons to both ways, but we're sitting out this year as the ABD prices went so over the top.

Since you have an only child (I think, right?) you might find the same benefit we did with the ABD trips. It was great for our only to have other kids to interact and hang out with during the trips, and she made a connection with a particular kid on each one. It was also nice for DH and I to have other adults to talk to and sit with at meals.

OTOH, DD is a great little traveler and has never been bored on our trips where it was just us three (or just she and I for that matter.)

So much of it depends on your comfort level with the country you're considering. We chose ABD to go to Peru. We did Paris and parts of Germany on our own. We're doing London/Edinbourgh on our our own this summer. With the Paris trip, and the upcoming UK trip, we studied the trip reports from the ABDs in those places, and got a lot of great ideas. We also booked a private guide one morning in Paris, and plan to do so on this summer's trip.

ABD taught us how to travel, now we're implementing on our own at a fantastic savings. (For example, our 6 day Paris trip, with airfare and doing everything we wanted to do was under 5K for the three of us. Now, we didn't stay in a luxury hotel, but in a perfectly nice suite that had the one feature all our ABD hotels lacked: a door separating us from DD )

 

[kristilew]

oops! double posted!

 

[Kurby]

thanks everyone - maybe we'll do some of the less expensive ones first and with dd and save the far away and more expensive ones for when she's old enough and out of the house for us to do it just the two of us ie OZ and China

although by the time she's that age she could pay for herself LOL