beginner adventurer here..........could anyone who doesn't mind sharing tell me......

[TENIA66]

Where did you go?
What did it cost per person?

What did it cost per person, the disney paid portion only?
Did you pass out when you found out the total amount?
Would you do it again?
What would you do differently?
How did you choose the particular adventure?
I have a family of 5, myself, dh, and dd 14, ds 8 and ds 3......
We don't want to go crazy with costs but are very interested in the traveling this way

Thanks so much for your help

I did search the adventures by disney website and the only pricing information i saw was to call..........................

 

[jacksparrowfan]

Where did you go?
=====Backstage Magic -Hollywood/Disneyland behind the scenes
What did it cost per person?
=====See the Adventures by Disney website for the different prices (depending on adventure/time of year)
What did it cost per person, the disney paid portion only?
=====?
Did you pass out when you found out the total amount?
=====No -I pretty much knew what to expect from their website.
Would you do it again?
=====Absolutely
What would you do differently?
=====Nothing -enjoyed everything from start to finish
How did you choose the particular adventure? I have a family of 5, myself, dh, and dd 14, ds 8 and ds 3......
=====Disney fanatic and wanted to see everything they had to offer. It was fabulous!
We don't want to go crazy with costs but are very interested in the traveling this way.
=====We didn't regret it. A Disney trip of a lifetime. Had a great time and met some very nice people. They take care of you from the start. Take care of your luggage, most of the meals and help you in any way you need. Lots of surprises. Fun! Fun! Fun!!!!

 

[awatt]

Our family of 4 did Rome and La Costa Bella last summer.

It was somewhere between $11K and $12K, I think. Don't remember exactly. It was alot. Bu I knew this from teh website.

Yes I would do it again. In fact by day 2 of the Italy trip DH and I were already talking about booking Ireland for this year, which I did as soon as teh dates came out.

Th eonly thing I would have done differently is stay in Italy a few days more independently after the tour.

We chose this tour because I have always wanted to see the Amalfi coast. My family is from there and I saw such beautiful pictures of it i aalways wanted to get there.

ABD did not disappoint. It was the trip of a lifetime for us.

 

[MJGirl]

Hi .. I went on the London/Paris tour as both cities are on my must see before I die list (only Athens left to go and I'm hoping for a future ABD on that ). I went with my 16 year old daughter and it was a great bonding trip for us. We are actually still friend

For the two of us it was 2000 for the airfare plus the cost of the tour, you would have to check out abd website for the exact cost, but I would say it was around 2500 each so you are looking at around 7000. The trip was fantastic. I loved every minute. Only thing I would change was to not bring relatively new shoes. You definitely need comfortable shoes. Would I go on another one? I leave in 99 days. I'm booked on the Backstage Magic tour. I chose this tour because I love everything Disney. I used DVC incentive points so this was a lot cheaper!

With your family, I would wait until your 3 year old is at least 6. There is a lot of walking in these tours and a lot of history and sites. You don't spend time with princesses and Mickey (except on the Backstage Magic tour)! In 3 years your kids will be 17, 11 and 6. Great ages!

Yes these trips are expensive, but everything is top notch and planned for you. The Disney service is always the best!

 

[KLondon]

Where did you go?
=====Cities of Knights & Lights (London/Paris) - July 2007
What did it cost per person?
=====The ABD website has details. Costs vary between adult and child - and there are early booking discounts to be had. I think the tour cost for my family of 4 (wife and kids - 14, 11) was somewhere around $12K. Add some dollars for souvenirs, free time, and a few non-ABD meals - and then add airfare.
What did it cost per person, the disney paid portion only?
=====Not sure what you mean (see above)
Did you pass out when you found out the total amount?
=====Initially, yes. It seemed expensive. I then priced out the ABD hotels, meals, and itinerary on my own and the cost was MUCH higher. Add to that the convenience factor and the trip was reasonably priced. There are threads on this board that talks about this in more detail.
Would you do it again?
=====Absolutely
What would you do differently?
=====We enjoyed it and would not have changed a thing.
How did you choose the particular adventure?
=====We had always planned to go to Europe once my youngest turned 10. We also planned to include a tour for such a trip. ABD was the best family-friendly tour we encountered.
We don't want to go crazy with costs but are very interested in the traveling this way.
=====The costs are high dollar-wise. But you travel first-class all the way and the customer service is excellent. There are cheaper ways to travel, but we found the ABD tour amazing and money well-spent. In fact, we've booked a second ABD tour for this year - Costa Rica.

Follow the link below for a trip report on our Knights & Lights tour. Also, the previous poster (MJGirl) has an excellent trip report, too!

 

[eva]

Where did you go?
Viva Italia Tour
What did it cost per person?
We used DVC points. But it would have cost $2,639 per person in Value Season with Early Booking.
What did it cost per person, the disney paid portion only?
Same Question. But I will say that our flights are nearly $1,300 per person and we are figuring $2,000 extra for the two of us to cover the meals that Disney doesn't and all the other little extras.
Did you pass out when you found out the total amount?
I figured Disney would be quit a bit more than other tours. Pretty much the same with DCL.
Would you do it again?
I will have to answer that in about 4 months. But I am predicting a big yes.
What would you do differently?
How did you choose the particular adventure?
It was tough. We listed all the tours that interest us and then took some time decide which two or three are our biggest must do's.
I have a family of 5, myself, dh, and dd 14, ds 8 and ds 3......
I believe that most adventures have minimum age requirements. So you might check that out first. A number of them require children to be 6. That could help you decide for now. I hear there is a lot of walking and I doubt that the tour is able to work well with strollers and such.
We don't want to go crazy with costs but are very interested in the traveling this way

Thanks so much for your help

I did search the adventures by disney website and the only pricing information i saw was to call..........................
Go to each individual tour, on the left you will see a link that says Rates and Dates. This wil give you the info you are looking for.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[TENIA66]

Hope that helps a bit!

I found the rates!!! Thanks so much, so it looks like the most inexpensive vacation in value season will cost $2000 per adult, $1500 per child............

THanks for all the great responses, now I"m going to buy a lottery ticket!

 

[pipch]

We have booked this year to travel to Costa Rica - I have been waiting for my four year old to be old enough to take part in one of these tours and enjoy it!! I am a holiday freak and research for hours - hence finding this site and despite the money still think that the disney attention to detail is worth every penny......you get what you pay for!! My husband and I are extremely well travelled and wish for our son to enjoy travel as much as we do, but we appreciate that family travel is different. Hence the disney way!!

We booked Costa Rica because it is not sooo much walking, fewer historical sites and more animals and nature - a volcano whooo!!! says my son!!

We travel in July my son will be just 5 - he can do everything except the zipline and to be honest even if he was 6, I doubt he would do that then anyway, so he and I will get to watch his father come down and we will be in the sky tram. They are happy for my son to travel knowing those conditions.

The other trip which was our second choise for the younger age was the quest for the west, with loads of animals and a ranch and horses etc

If we enjoy this as much as we hope we are planning the rome and costa bella next year as once again not QUITE so many historical sites as the Viva trip and then stay on in Sorrento fo a couple of extra days.
I think as long as you know your child and their capabilities and you pick your trips carefully then the whole family can have a great time.

I would love Disney to come up with a safari - other companies do it for children with shorter drives etc. My husband and I have done several and loved it - But it would be fabulous to do That the disney way!!

Good luck with your planning.

 

[eva]

We have booked this year to travel to Costa Rica - I have been waiting for my four year old to be old enough to take part in one of these tours and enjoy it!! I am a holiday freak and research for hours - hence finding this site and despite the money still think that the disney attention to detail is worth every penny......you get what you pay for!! My husband and I are extremely well travelled and wish for our son to enjoy travel as much as we do, but we appreciate that family travel is different. Hence the disney way!!

We booked Costa Rica because it is not sooo much walking, fewer historical sites and more animals and nature - a volcano whooo!!! says my son!!

We travel in July my son will be just 5 - he can do everything except the zipline and to be honest even if he was 6, I doubt he would do that then anyway, so he and I will get to watch his father come down and we will be in the sky tram. They are happy for my son to travel knowing those conditions.

The other trip which was our second choise for the younger age was the quest for the west, with loads of animals and a ranch and horses etc

If we enjoy this as much as we hope we are planning the rome and costa bella next year as once again not QUITE so many historical sites as the Viva trip and then stay on in Sorrento fo a couple of extra days.
I think as long as you know your child and their capabilities and you pick your trips carefully then the whole family can have a great time.

I would love Disney to come up with a safari - other companies do it for children with shorter drives etc. My husband and I have done several and loved it - But it would be fabulous to do That the disney way!!

Good luck with your planning.

I totally agree. But they do have a minimum age requirement of 4 for the tours. Then each tour has a recommended age as well. Like the one we are going on is 6. That doesn't mean that a 4 or 5 year old would be denied.

Here's what is on the website for Viva Italia:
While we welcome children ages 4 and up at the time of travel to discover the stories of the world with us, we recommend that children be at least 6 years old at the time of travel on our Viva Italia trip. This is based on several factors, such as flight time and jet lag, time zone differences in the destination, duration of the vacation, extended hours of daily activity programming and amount of physical activity (e.g., walking) involved. Because each child is different, call a Concierge Agent to discuss whether this is the right trip for your little ones.