Coasting the Golden State, Anyone?

[jlou]

I just booked my flights for Southwest Splendors with ABD for next year. Their price was the same as the ones I found with Travelocity and Expedia. The reason I had them do the booking even though the price was the same is so it would be covered with ABD's trip insurance in case something should happen.

I asked ABD about their insurance covering flights. The insurance that you buy from ABD covers the following:

Your ABD adventure
Any 'pre-stays' or 'post-stays' that you book through ABD
Any flights to and from your adventure. Note that the flights do NOT have to be booked through ABD.

Excluded is:
Any add-on days that you do not book through ABD

Also note that unless you pay for your entire trip within 14 days of booking, you do NOT get the pre-existing condition waiver as part of your coverage. The coverage is not purchased until you make your final payment, and the waiver is in effect only if you purchase the insurance within 14 days of the inital booking. This is a common clause in trip insurance. I spoke with an ABD rep about paying for the insurance up front, and they are looking into how to do this, but as of now, there is no way that you will have the policy until you pay for your trip in full.

I hope this helps someone.

 

[Pixmaus]

Thanks for the additional info, jlou....

Hi Marco!

I just got my paperwork last night. Since I was so excited, I had to look through everything right away. I signed the agreement and it's going back this morning.

The 2008 Destinations brochure is very nice. I saw numerous other trips that I would be interested in for the future. Whew, I may have to start working extra jobs if this trip turns out as well as I hope it will.

Talk to you again soon,
Chris

 

[violeo]

im seriously considering adding a day at disney and staying in one of there hotels....

 

[Pixmaus]

So are we. I was wondering what kind of price we would get for one night at the Grand Californian or at the Disneyland Hotel, plus an additional day of Parkhopper. The one day we've got scheduled on the trip just doesn't seem to be enough, especially since I'll probably never get back to Disneyland.

Chris

 

[violeo]

Hello
I called ABD today and asked them about extending our trip one extra day by staying at one of the Disneyland Properties with an extra ticket to Disneyland and transportation. The representative Maurice said he would do some research and call me back. 15 mins later he called back and said because we are staying at the Hyatt Regency (on the final days of the trip) and not on actual Disney Property it would be better if i called one of the disney hotels directly and booked my stay along with the ticket and finding my own transportation...i was a little confused because that really didnt seem like the disney i know. I had my partner call 1 hour later and they pretty much told him the same thing...so if anyone plans on staying an extra day on disney property...plan on doing the work yourself.

sorry chris

well looks like im gonna doing some research on my own ciao for now

 

[Pixmaus]

I also called this morning and got the same response

I was pretty disappointed because I was hoping for a better rate at one of the Disneyland hotels for the add-on day. I also asked if we could upgrade the one day parkhopper that we have for our Disneyland day and the agent said that was also not possible, since that was a special AbD ticket with no specific value attached to it . We would have to purchase our own tickets for that extra day.

I'm certainly not satisfied with this response. I realize they may be separate companies within Disney, but better coordination and cooperation between these separate entities under the Disney umbrella should be possible.

By the way, an extra night at the Hyatt would cost $229....just FYI....I really don't want to stay there for the extra night. I want Disneyland!

 

[violeo]

if i stay an extra day im staying at disney. the only thing im really worried about is transportation. sorry to hear you had the same luck as i.

 

[Pixmaus]

We are going to stay that extra day and I'm leaning toward the Grand Californian. If you guys decide to stay also, maybe we can come up with a transportation option for all of us and split the cost. I know it's too early for any definite decisions on that, but it's a thought....

Chris

P.S. I still think this is one aspect where Disney could most certainly improve, but I'm over my earlier rant...

 

[dingoballs]

I also called this morning and got the same response

I was pretty disappointed because I was hoping for a better rate at one of the Disneyland hotels for the add-on day. I also asked if we could upgrade the one day parkhopper that we have for our Disneyland day and the agent said that was also not possible, since that was a special AbD ticket with no specific value attached to it . We would have to purchase our own tickets for that extra day.

I'm certainly not satisfied with this response. I realize they may be separate companies within Disney, but better coordination and cooperation between these separate entities under the Disney umbrella should be possible.

By the way, an extra night at the Hyatt would cost $229....just FYI....I really don't want to stay there for the extra night. I want Disneyland!

While I'm not doing this tour (we're doing Enchanted China), it is certainly very disappointing to read about how unhelpful ABD was with booking you guys into one of the DL hotels. I hope you filled out the feedback survey form that you received with your confirmation package. I know it won't help you with booking the DL hotel room, but at least you can let ABD know how you felt about this issue.

Also, after reading the daily itinerary, I wonder how ABD expects you guys to get back to the Century Plaza Hotel from Hollywood after lunch if you decide to tour Hollywood? It's definitely NOT within walking distance!

 

[Pixmaus]

Thank you for reminding me about the feedback form I'm going to fill it out and send it in today.....