ABD - Wait List and Travel Agent

[Tsunami]

Hello! My family has recently taken a few organized vacations through Backroads, but we are new to Adventures by Disney. I called ABD a couple weeks ago and put our names on the waitlist for Australia in December 2017. Today, I received word that our trip became available! In between that time, I've seen that discounts are available by booking through a travel agent/Costco. Wondering if anyone knows if/how I could take advantage of this in a waitlist situation. They are holding the reservation until Sunday. Thanks in advance!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Welcome to ABD!

I had this same experience before. It was the one time that I went direct with ABD instead of using my regular travel agent. If it's a trip you are definitely interested in, then I'd stick with ABD and pay the deposit to secure your date. Then going forward you can book with a travel agent to get a small discount.

I have been looking at a few Backroads trips. I'd be very interested to hear how you liked them and which ones you went on.

I did the ABD Australia trip with my daughter in June, 2015. It was fabulous. You will have a great time!

 

[Tsunami]

Thank you so much for your reply! Very helpful. We will stick with ABD directly this time!

We LOVE Backroads and I'd be happy to answer any questions. We've done two full family trips - Costa Rica and Big Island of Hawaii. My kids are only 9 and 11 now and those are the trips they recommend for younger children. My parents have been on 11 or 12 other Backroads trips - Ireland, Italy, Croatia, New Zealand, France, etc.

They do a wonderful job. With the family trips, there are several nights/days where the kids will do one activity and the adults will do another. For example, on the Big Island, we biked part of the Ironman course while the kids had a beach day, complete with a private leader and private lifeguard. Their trips are smaller, generally 18ish people for 3 leaders. How old is your daughter?

Let me know what questions you have!

Thanks again for the info on Australia! We are excited! I see you did the China ABD too - that is our second choice!

 

[DisneyKevin]

Hi Tsunami,

You can book directly through ABD and transfer your reservation to a travel agent.

My name is Kevin Klose and I work with Dreams Unlimited Travel. we are the sponsor of this board.

We offer each guest a booking discount based on the cost of your Adventure. You can see the discount schedule here:

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/abd/specials.htm

You could save up to $1300.00. This is money that just comes off the top of your cost.

If you have questions about our agency, I would encourage you to ask ABD about us.

If you have questions for me, I can be reached at Keving@DreamsUnlimitedTravel.com

Please keep in mind that bookings can only be transferred for 30 days.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Tsunami]

Thanks so much for the info! It's great to know we can transfer the reservation! We have until Sunday to decide so I will contact you both if we decide to go forward.

Acndis ~ This would be the trip that leaves 12/20! How fun! How old are your kid(s)? I have a girl, currently 11, and a boy, currently 9. Our son has some special needs, but is a fun little guy and LOVES animals. Our daughter is a typical middle schooler , and is very excited to surf!

 

[acndis]

Thanks so much for the info! It's great to know we can transfer the reservation! We have until Sunday to decide so I will contact you both if we decide to go forward.

Acndis ~ This would be the trip that leaves 12/20! How fun! How old are your kid(s)? I have a girl, currently 11, and a boy, currently 9. Our son has some special needs, but is a fun little guy and LOVES animals. Our daughter is a typical middle schooler , and is very excited to surf!

THAT'S SO COOL! My son is currently 9. He'll turn 10 the week before the trip. He loves all the active items on the itinerary but his favorite part is meeting the other Juniors. I hope you decide to join us!

 

[Tsunami]

Our son turns 10 at the end of October! It would be so cool for him to "meet" someone in advance!

 

[ajw28]

We did ours through costco. It is a pretty good discount ( in the form of a giftcard) from costco. When you call the costco abd number it actually connects you directly to abd. They should see that they are holding the place for you. I would give it a try.

 

[BluesTraveler]

If you book directly with ABD, all you have to do is tell them you are a Costco member and give them your number. The discount comes in the form of a Costco gift card after your trip is complete. I believe it is 8% of the cost of the trip. I received $1400 in Costco gift card after our Alaska trip, which was around $18,000, so I think that's the right percentage.

 

[acndis]

I just got a note from the moderator (whoops!) that it's better just to mention the agency rather than ask for a PM (sorry DIS). Our agent is Sandy Bevolo at Small World Vacations. She is awesome!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Definitely work with an agent. When we arrived in Germany last year, there was no driver waiting for us. Having an agent at that time was particularly helpful. I was well taken care of. @DisneyKevin with Dreams Unlimitted books my ABDs.

 

[tgeorge]

Definitely work with an agent. When we arrived in Germany last year, there was no driver waiting for us. Having an agent at that time was particularly helpful. I was well taken care of. @DisneyKevin with Dreams Unlimitted books my ABDs.

This is exactly why I like to book with an agent. I like to know there is someone who really is going to help me if I need it. I had an incident once and was very, very lucky to have a great TA in my corner. But, I also know that everyone is different and has different expectations/needs.

 

[Tsunami]

THAT'S SO COOL! My son is currently 9. He'll turn 10 the week before the trip. He loves all the active items on the itinerary but his favorite part is meeting the other Juniors. I hope you decide to join us!

WE ARE JOINING YOU!!! WAHOO!

Thanks for all the info everyone! We will make the contacts next week!