Back From Our Back to Back Tours!

[PatriciaH]

Well we had a blast and I will just ramble on with some thoughts as they come to me If you have any questions just ask!

Italy was amazing. We flew into Rome 2 days early so we could see Pompeii and the Amalfi coast one day. We used AP Tours (saw them recommended on the cruise board) and they were great. The driver was $360 Euros for 9 hours. He met us at the Napels train station (1 hour and 27 minutes ride from Rome.) He took us to Pompeii, Ravello, Amalfi and Positino. The coast is breathtaking and Pompeii words can not describe! I am so thankful we were able to walk there.

Rome was our favorite city of the whole trip! The first time I saw the Coliseum and the Forum, it was like going back in a time machine. They took my breath away. It is unbelievable that these things are still here today. Thousands of years old... The fountains are gorgeous, the art is incredible. There are churches everywhere you look with beautiful art. The parks are great. The food is wonderful.

There was a ton of walking on the Viva Italia tour. Hours a day! It was 90 and humid every day too. The sun is very strong. Be prepared if you are not used to the heat or hours of walking! The walks are on uneven cobblestone much of the time as well. Some people had a hard time and took a cab back to the hotel mid day. You will sweat through all of your clothing and underwear if you are going in the summer. Bring extra! Saw lots of shorts all over Italy. On Americans as well as many Europeans The food on the tour was OK-quite basic. Some stood out. The pizza restaurant for lunch is great! One dinner place they used had bugs (roaches) crawling on the wall I guess they leave the doors/windows open so it happens. Kind of gross though. LOTS of wine on this trip. We did wine tastings, toured a wine cellar and had wine included at dinner most nights. It was great for wine lovers!

The views in Tuscany are wonderful. Orvieto was so amazing. Frozen in time. The pool in Tuscany was nice and cold. Great views! I was not a huge fan of Florence. Saw the most pickpockets and grafiti here. Even more than Naples! CRAZY drivers! Very stressful walking around so we went to the Boboli Gardens in our free time. Amazing views of Florence. David will bring tears to your eyes! People do get queasy on the buss ride to/from the Tuscany hotel. It is on a thin road that should not really have a bus on it and is nerve racking but fun The driver was amazing. I would never do it. Sheer drop offs! The villa is very high up.

Venice is like a storybook. What a unique city! Wish we had an extra night here. Air does not work well in the Dei Dogi but it is a beautiful hotel with beautiful gardens out back. Great stores and unique shopping. LOTS of mosquitoes. I still have the scars Bring bug spray!

People do get dressed up for dinners so bring a few nice things.

Mask making is so much fun! Do not miss even though the walk is long to get there!

Our guides were wonderful! They had worked in Epcot/Italy together and had a blast on our tour. Our group was large (37-8 kids) and rowdy-lots of fun Lots of families even with older kids and a few couples.

As for Knights and Lights.... Small group of 18 couples. Very reserved and quiet group. Total opposite of the Viva Italia trip Our guides were new to Disney and it showed. Very sweet but kept touting the "disney extras" and all the "VIP stuff" we would be getting. Kept saying we would be "getting in before other people" etc. I don't need to have the trip pumped up- I already booked it They did not know a ton about the areas and were not as good at giving directions in free time, etc. The food was better on this trip and the Chancery Court in London is a beautiful hotel! The Hilton in Paris was nice but the hallways smelled of mold badly. The local guide in London was wonderful but the one in Paris annoyed a lot of the group. She kept quizzing us in French history and was very annoyed when we did not remember several things. I thought she knew a ton and was just very proud, but one lady wrote ABD a letter about her she was so annoyed! She would pause in certain areas to talk about something for 20 minutes plus! DH and I just started wandering off to see other things and come back and then others did the same. Our local guide in Rome was so much better.

Disneyland Paris was beautiful! We went two days and had a great time. Needs a bit of paint touching up in areas (Alice's maze, etc.) but in all well maintained. The French seem to love the park. Lots of people buying merchandise. Not too hard to get to once you figure it out. About 45 minutes from the Hilton. We figured it out on our own-guides knew the stops but not details on RER tickets, etc.. LOTS of smokers walking around. Smoking in Italy and Paris is pretty bad so if you have allergies or asthma be prepared.

In all a trip of a LIFETIME! We both love Italy and hope to go back. London was like an older, cleaner NYC to me Paris is a beautiful city everywhere you look and the people are wonderful. It was just too much city for me on the last K&L trip. I grew up in NYC and prefer the country. Rome was a city more my speed.

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

Sounds like you had a great time! I'm leaving for our Viva Italia on Saturday and your post has me even more excited if that is possible!

Thanks for the tips - I will be sure to bring bug spray and suntan lotion!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

Great report. We leave for Viva Italia on SATURDAY! Can't wait. Hope it's not as hot there now. We hope to do knights and lights in the future- was the tunnel open through the channel? I heard there was a fire there recently and all traffic was closed off. Thanks for all the info!

 

[Ivory]

Thank you so much for your report, we have booked to do the exact same back to back as you did for next summer (09).

The question I have is how did you get from Venice to start the K/L in London. Did disney book it for you or did you get a TA to do it for you. Would you mind if I asked what you where charged for it?

Also we have a few days inbetween the 2 tours and was wondering if you would suggest to stay in Venice longer or London?

Thanks in advance, any info you can give me would be great

 

[Ivory]

Sorry, forgot one more thing, how did you find packing? As Disney advises only 1 suitcase and it is a worry wondering how to pack for so long when you cant bring extra (other than a carry-on) did you do any laundry at a laundromat while there? As you where saying you do sweat through alot of your clothes so I'm assuming that you have to change quite a bit.

Thanks again!

 

[PatriciaH]

Great report. We leave for Viva Italia on SATURDAY! Can't wait. Hope it's not as hot there now. We hope to do knights and lights in the future- was the tunnel open through the channel? I heard there was a fire there recently and all traffic was closed off. Thanks for all the info!

We just missed the Chunnel fire! Our guide had to wait until Monday (tour ended Friday) to try and get back to London.

Thank you so much for your report, we have booked to do the exact same back to back as you did for next summer (09).

The question I have is how did you get from Venice to start the K/L in London. Did disney book it for you or did you get a TA to do it for you. Would you mind if I asked what you where charged for it?

Also we have a few days inbetween the 2 tours and was wondering if you would suggest to stay in Venice longer or London?

Thanks in advance, any info you can give me would be great

We flew from Venice to London. It was a short flight-less than 2 hours. ABD would not book our air since we had multiple cities. I booked it on my own. It was about $1,300 total pp (w/ taxes) on British Airways (great) Orlando-London-Rome, Venice-London, Paris-London-Orlando.

I think I would do an extra night in Venice to see Murano (glass) and an extra night in London to see Bath and Stonehenge!

Sorry, forgot one more thing, how did you find packing? As Disney advises only 1 suitcase and it is a worry wondering how to pack for so long when you cant bring extra (other than a carry-on) did you do any laundry at a laundromat while there? As you where saying you do sweat through alot of your clothes so I'm assuming that you have to change quite a bit.

Thanks again!

BA allowed 1 checked bag at 70 lbs or 2 checked bags at 50 lbs each. I think that is changing in November. We each had a large rolling checked bag at about 55 lbs each. Then we each had a small carry on. No problems with baggage at all. Waited 5 minutes on all flights to get bags! We had to do a load of wash in Tuscany since we took 2 showers a day in Italy and had to change for dinner! We also did 2 loads of laundry in Paris (5 min walk from the Hilton.) Wash takes a long time in Europe. 1 hour+ on the wash loads!