Anyone ever done the ABD Grand Canyon tour?

[Dreamer2012]

My husband and I are thinking about trying this out for our family. Two of us & 5 grown children (youngest 16) thoughts?

 

[sayhello]

There are several of us who post on this Forum who have taken that trip. It used to be called "Southwest Splendors" and then "Cowboys and Canyons", so if you search the Trip Reports Sticky at the top of this Forum, you'll find several detailed Trip Reports covering it (including my report that I have linked in my signature)!

Here's a link to the Trip Report Sticky:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2167714

And here's a link to the Meets thread for DISers taking this trip:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2933946

I love this trip! It's the first ABD I took (I'm signed up for my 6th one for this summer!). The itinerary is a great mix of activities, and the American Southwest is an amazingly beautiful and diverse place, which really surprised me. And everyone should see the Grand Canyon!

I *highly* recommend this trip! I thin you'll love it!

Let us know if you have any specific questions; there are several people who will chime in, I'm sure!

Sayhello

 

[Dreamer2012]

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to reading EVERYTHING!! How was the cost? I got the book sent to me but NO PRICES....so a bit concerned...

 

[sayhello]

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to reading EVERYTHING!! How was the cost? I got the book sent to me but NO PRICES....so a bit concerned...

The prices are all on the ABD website. The prices go up as a departure fills up, so I think they like to keep the prices on the website where they can control that.

http://www.adventuresbydisney.com/north-america/grand-canyon-vacations/

Just click on the tab that says "Rates & Dates".

The prices currently look to be in the range of $3,649 to $4,629 per adult depending on the date. Your 16-year-old, I believe, should still be under the "child" price (I'm having trouble finding that, but you have to be 18 or over to go on the "Adult Only" trips, so I'm assuming anything under that is not an Adult...) The child pricing is currently running $3,469 to $4,409.

ABD's are definitely not cheap, but I've always found them to be worth the money. Whether it's worth it to you and your family is something you'll have to decide. There's a lot included in an ABD, and a lot of intangibles you can't arrange on your own.

Here's a post that has links to a few discussions on whether ABD is worth the cost or not.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3045636

Sayhello

 

[luv2sleep]

How can you figure out when they first offer the rates so you can get the lowest price? What's the lowest price seen on this per person?

 

[sayhello]

How can you figure out when they first offer the rates so you can get the lowest price? What's the lowest price seen on this per person?

Keep checking here on the ABD Forum. There will definitely be an announcement on this Forum when ABD tells us when the new trips are coming out. Currently, we're expecting it to be some time in late May or early June.

I don't know what the lowest price on this trip was. Since they don't publish the prices in the brochures any more, it's hard to know unless you were specifically tracking that trip. Maybe someone else has been keeping track of that. My guess would be the price for the Adults only trip ($3,479) is the original price. (But that's just a guess. ABD or your Travel Agent could probably tell you that.)

Sayhello

 

[twentyco]

My 13 year old is considered an "adult" for pricing purposes, so my guess is that the 16 year old will be as well.

 

[sayhello]

My 13 year old is considered an "adult" for pricing purposes, so my guess is that the 16 year old will be as well.

Thanks for correcting me. I couldn't find that on the website. Most Disney things consider 12 as the top of "child", but I just didn't know. Thanks again!

Sayhello

 

[luv2sleep]

Keep checking here on the ABD Forum. There will definitely be an announcement on this Forum when ABD tells us when the new trips are coming out. Currently, we're expecting it to be some time in late May or early June. I don't know what the lowest price on this trip was. Since they don't publish the prices in the brochures any more, it's hard to know unless you were specifically tracking that trip. Maybe someone else has been keeping track of that. My guess would be the price for the Adults only trip ($3,479) is the original price. (But that's just a guess. ABD or your Travel Agent could probably tell you that.) Sayhello

For 2015?
Releases tend to be in the summers generally?

 

[Dreamer2012]

Wow that's a lot per person! X7 ppl that's 21,000.00+ - YIKES!!!! I think that's out of our budget!!!

 

[luv2sleep]

Wow that's a lot per person! X7 ppl that's 21,000.00+ - YIKES!!!! I think that's out of our budget!!!

And this is one of their cheapest ABDs. The Scotland one is $5K pp.

 

[sayhello]

For 2015?
Releases tend to be in the summers generally?

Yes, May/June will be the release for the 2015 season. Early on, they used to announce the next year's trips in August! May is a big improvement. It's only been May for a couple of years, but it looks like it will be that again for this year.

Sayhello

 

[luv2sleep]

Yes, May/June will be the release for the 2015 season. Early on, they used to announce the next year's trips in August! May is a big improvement. It's only been May for a couple of years, but it looks like it will be that again for this year. Sayhello

Thanks! I'm planning on using DVC points to pay for one person. I need 2.5 years worth of points so I need to plan.

 

[carpenta]

I have to agree about future pricing of ABD. We are signed to take the ABD trip to Germany this summer and reserved on opening day. Next year we are researching Tauck Bridges tours which are very similar yet less pricey and are all inclusive including the tips. IMO the Disney company has let the stock price success "go to their head" and under the illusion that higher prices can be justified by their Wall Street success.....In our household we don't have unlimited budgets so we have to look at the price also and that is a factor in our planning....

 

[luv2sleep]

I have to agree about future pricing of ABD. We are signed to take the ABD trip to Germany this summer and reserved on opening day. Next year we are researching Tauck Bridges tours which are very similar yet less pricey and are all inclusive including the tips. IMO the Disney company has let the stock price success "go to their head" and under the illusion that higher prices can be justified by their Wall Street success.....In our household we don't have unlimited budgets so we have to look at the price also and that is a factor in our planning....

I've heard though that the Disney service on these is superior. Do people agree?

 

[Tozzie]

I've heard though that the Disney service on these is superior. Do people agree?

I think the service and attention to detail are phenomenal, but be warned they are addictive, I have taken 4 so far and I have 5 & 6 booked for this year. One difference between ABD and other higher end companies is they have 2 guides that are employed by Disney and in many places they also pick up a local guide.
They also limit the number of people on the tour, no more than 40-44


Since you are DVC, just so you know DVC members get opening day prices regardless of when you book, you just have to tell them when you book that you are DVC. I booked my Italy tip about 4 months after the 2014 dates were realeased and saved a lot by being a DVC member as the trip had gone up substantially in those months

 

[luv2sleep]

I think the service and attention to detail are phenomenal, but be warned they are addictive, I have taken 4 so far and I have 5 & 6 booked for this year. One difference between ABD and other higher end companies is they have 2 guides that are employed by Disney and in many places they also pick up a local guide. They also limit the number of people on the tour, no more than 40-44 Since you are DVC, just so you know DVC members get opening day prices regardless of when you book, you just have to tell them when you book that you are DVC. I booked my Italy tip about 4 months after the 2014 dates were realeased and saved a lot by being a DVC member as the trip had gone up substantially in those months

Wow, really! Is that even if you pay cash and don't use points?

 

[Tozzie]

Wow, really! Is that even if you pay cash and don't use points?

Yep I paid cash for italy and got the opening day price just had to give them my DVC member number.

 

[luv2sleep]

Yep I paid cash for italy and got the opening day price just had to give them my DVC member number.

Wow that's awesome!!! Thank you!

 

[abdgeek]

I think the service and attention to detail are phenomenal, but be warned they are addictive, I have taken 4 so far and I have 5 & 6 booked for this year. One difference between ABD and other higher end companies is they have 2 guides that are employed by Disney and in many places they also pick up a local guide.
They also limit the number of people on the tour, no more than 40-44

I totally agree. I'm doing my fourth ABD trip this year and am already planning my fifth. They are really addictive. Before I chose ABD, I had researched going to Europe with Perillo Tours. What I like about ABD are the experiences you have. Any tour can take you to a country, but very few allow you to experience the people, country, and the culture like ABD does. When I did the Greece ABD, I didn't see any tours making cheese, kayaking to Spinalonga, hiking a volcano in Santorini, making Kolombi, or doing the other things we did. That's the ABD difference.