Hi all,
I am brand new to the DISboards so this is my first post ever. I have been reading all the trip reports for
Adventures by Disney as I am going on my very first
ABD (Viva Italia) with Allears next September and cannot wait!
I have not been to Europe in years so I am a little bit apprehensive. If anyone has any tips for this trip, I would so appreciate it! Thanks!
Congratulations on taking the plunge with ABD. You won't be disappointed! I finally did Viva Italia in July(my 4th ABD) and had a great time. It was my third time in Italy, the first two were
DCL cruises. As OP have said, you really won't have any language issues unless you are somewhere where only Italian is spoken. Everybody in the ABD hotels you stay in and in the tourist areas know several languages, including English. I also know a limited amount of Spanish and had no problems communicating with native speakers. As Rick Steve's says, always try to learn a couple of phrases. The guides will probably give you an Italian cheat sheet(Marco S. and Cathleen did) which was helpful and I got the Rick Steve's Italian phrase book before I left to be on the safe side.
I would recommend reading Rick Steve's book on Italy and going on Tripadvisor to see what there is to do in Rome, Venice and Florence and then look at the free time you will have. ABD does the major things, but you may have some things on your bucket list, like I did, that you want to do.
I came in a day early to Rome and went to Galleria Borghese(museum) and gardens. I got my ticket for the museum online well in advance because they only have timed entry. I also took the train to Florence to see the Uffizi Gallery the day the tour started. Again, I bought my train ticket and my ticket to the Uffizi(timed entry) online well in advance based on recommendations from Rick Steve's book. You do have between 2 and 4 hours of free time in Florence, but I wanted to spend that time shopping and not feel rushed in the museum. However, we did have one or two families who were able to get tickets to the Uffizi around 4pm after their tour of the Palazzo Vecchio by telling the ticket agent they had to catch the bus at 6pm. I believe our bus back to the hotel in Tuscany was at 6pm and 8pm. However, the Italian shops close around 6 or 6:30, so keep that in mind(I think the American ones stay open). Only one family in our group opted to come back at 8pm.
I love Italy and have never had a problem on my trips. I think the key is to research where you are going ahead of time. ABD takes a lot of the guess work out of traveling and the only thing you need to do is show up and they do the rest. I always book my pre and post nights through ABD. That way I know I'm in a safe area of town, have someone to pick me up at the airport, and breakfast is included(and sometimes wifi depending on the hotel). If you decide on a pre/post night, you can decide what works best for you. Enjoy your trip.
