Have always avoided tours- will we like ABD?

[rnorwo1]

Hi Everyone,
My family and I travel quite a bit, but we have always done the trips on our own. We research, plan, and keep an active pace once there. We have seen people on tours and have never thought we would like to be "stuck" with other people who may want to go at a different pace than us. However, we know that whatever Disney does, it usually does it extremely well, and some of the special perks/visits that I'm seeing in the itineraries seem very intriguing. The cost always makes me gasp, too, so I'm staying in analysis paralysis whenever I look at them.

I was just wondering if anyone else thought they'd never enjoy a tour or didn't enjoy other tours but ABD changed their minds? Thanks for any info!

 

[Steven G]

I've been on a few, and though normally I am not very outgoing and like to plan our trips, the tours, the guides and the other guests on the tours have always been awesome.

I did one tour from another vendor before ABD, and it was great too. I also did tours with my parents when I was a kid.

I think the only disadvantage of these tours is that, if you want the full experience, in many cases you have to get up very early, and you need to (in most cases) follow along with the tour (the guides I am sure would accommodate a family that didn't want to tour with the group).

The perks (both advertised and not advertised) are nice, but I don't think they make or break anything.
The only exception that I have been on is the Disneyland ones, where the perks are things where it is nearly impossible otherwise to experience.

The main disadvantage is that if there is something that you want to explore more of, or something that you don't really care about too much about, it could be difficult depending on where these are located.

For example, on our recent France and England tour: in Versailles, I would have rather continued exploring the castle and the paintings and rooms, instead of going outside to the gardens (it was in december so the gardens weren't that exciting anyway). I didn't bother asking, so I don't know if it was possible to do so.

 

[Jess_S]

I think the honest answer to this question is maybe it will be worth it for you. You are giving up the freedom to do things at the pace you want in exchange for having someone seamlessly handle the details for you. Since you said that you like to keep a fast pace, this may be less of a trade off for you than it is for my family, who prefers a slower pace. But we decided after our first trip that we would do ABD again if it was for a trip where there was a good reason to make the trade off. We are booked for Italy this summer and I think it will definitely be worth it given how crowded the major attractions are and how hot it is.

Overall, I think the downsides for ABD are the same as for any group tour. The upsides are excellent guides who are great with all age groups, a nice group of fellow travelers, lots of details from snacks to family photos taken care of, a worry free travel experience, etc.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Hi Everyone,
My family and I travel quite a bit, but we have always done the trips on our own. We research, plan, and keep an active pace once there. We have seen people on tours and have never thought we would like to be "stuck" with other people who may want to go at a different pace than us. However, we know that whatever Disney does, it usually does it extremely well, and some of the special perks/visits that I'm seeing in the itineraries seem very intriguing. The cost always makes me gasp, too, so I'm staying in analysis paralysis whenever I look at them.

I was just wondering if anyone else thought they'd never enjoy a tour or didn't enjoy other tours but ABD changed their minds? Thanks for any info!

I had always researched & done all of the trip planning, didn’t see myself as a group tour person. I’ve now done five AbD and have another coming up this summer. Things I like - AbD hits most all of the high points in a destination, guides are awesome, first class Hotels, most everything is taken care of once the adventure starts so I can enjoy the trip without having to worry about tickets, getting somewhere, parking, etc. In a place like Japan, where language might be a challenge, group tours are wonderful. As noted, maybe not as much time in some places as I’d do on my own, or limited free time, but that also allows for a return visit or ways to spend your free time. Some trips have more free time than others, so research the itineraries.

Also, as long as it’s not a day moving from point A to Point B, where you need to be with the group, you can opt out of any activities if you really want to do something not on the itinerary, just let the guides know so they are not trying to track you down. For example, in Japan, we wanted to do the Ghibli museum and the only day it worked overlapped with an afternoon activity in Tokyo, I booked the Ghibli, as it was a must Do for us, and let the guides know a couple of days ahead that we’d be leaving after lunch to do that. The guides helped us to get our transportation there and even texted us to see how we were doing and be sure we’d arrived for our ticket window. I saw similar guide help in NZ, when a couple of folks wanted to skip the afternoon activity in Rotorua to hit Hobbiton, guides made sure they got to their ride pickup OK after our lunch for their tour. This won’t always be possible, but guides will help when they can do so.

I’d suggest not booking your “once in a lifetime Dream trip” as the first one in case you find you don’t like it, because you don’t want bad memories. Stay in the US, I started with a U.S.-based long weekend (NYC, not currently offered) or do something like the Disneyland trips, where you’d like destination or are more familiar with it, so if it’s not what you like, it’s still a destination you enjoy. You’re also maybe not spending as much money to get to your adventure. If you like it, branch out International on your next one.

 

[aggiedog]

I'm the main travel planner for my family, and we usually travel in a multigenerational group of 8. I enjoy the planning, and we like to do our own thing. My 4 kids enjoy each other and don't need access to other kids to have fun on vacation.

We haven't done an ABD, and TBH, haven't done a family group tour, but I have started doing tours with DH and others with a couple friends with another company, and I also really enjoy the aspect of I'M NOT IN CHARGE. LOL. I get up and I go where I'm told. No worries about making sure everything is set, how do we get to the next location, where will we eat, etc. I do sometimes go off trail, and bow out for a day to do my own thing. I just let the guide know ahead of time. I have found that I usually really enjoy the other travelers in the group, which surprises me because I'm a pretty firm introvert.

I do like smaller groups vs larger ones. Much over 25 and there is a chaos and time factor of just getting everyone in and out of a restroom stop, seating for meals, etc.

 

[rnorwo1]

I think the only disadvantage of these tours is that, if you want the full experience, in many cases you have to get up very early, and you need to (in most cases) follow along with the tour (the guides I am sure would accommodate a family that didn't want to tour with the group).

The perks (both advertised and not advertised) are nice, but I don't think they make or break anything.
The only exception that I have been on is the Disneyland ones, where the perks are things where it is nearly impossible otherwise to experience.

The main disadvantage is that if there is something that you want to explore more of, or something that you don't really care about too much about, it could be difficult depending on where these are located.

For example, on our recent France and England tour: in Versailles, I would have rather continued exploring the castle and the paintings and rooms, instead of going outside to the gardens (it was in december so the gardens weren't that exciting anyway). I didn't bother asking, so I don't know if it was possible to do so.

These are definitely some of my worries, being stuck on things we'd rather not do or not getting to spend as much time as we would like at others. Getting up early is fine with us, though. Thanks for the information, this was very helpful!

 

[rnorwo1]

I think the honest answer to this question is maybe it will be worth it for you. You are giving up the freedom to do things at the pace you want in exchange for having someone seamlessly handle the details for you. Since you said that you like to keep a fast pace, this may be less of a trade off for you than it is for my family, who prefers a slower pace. But we decided after our first trip that we would do ABD again if it was for a trip where there was a good reason to make the trade off. We are booked for Italy this summer and I think it will definitely be worth it given how crowded the major attractions are and how hot it is.

Overall, I think the downsides for ABD are the same as for any group tour. The upsides are excellent guides who are great with all age groups, a nice group of fellow travelers, lots of details from snacks to family photos taken care of, a worry free travel experience, etc.

I was honestly worried that it would be too slow going for us, so that's great to hear. The worry-free experience and the little details/perks are the things that keep drawing me back to looking at them. Perhaps I should look at one of the trips that seems more overwhelming to plan vs. the ones that I can easily plan. Very helpful info, thanks!!

 

[rnorwo1]

I had always researched & done all of the trip planning, didn’t see myself as a group tour person. I’ve now done five AbD and have another coming up this summer. Things I like - AbD hits most all of the high points in a destination, guides are awesome, first class Hotels, most everything is taken care of once the adventure starts so I can enjoy the trip without having to worry about tickets, getting somewhere, parking, etc. In a place like Japan, where language might be a challenge, group tours are wonderful. As noted, maybe not as much time in some places as I’d do on my own, or limited free time, but that also allows for a return visit or ways to spend your free time. Some trips have more free time than others, so research the itineraries.

Also, as long as it’s not a day moving from point A to Point B, where you need to be with the group, you can opt out of any activities if you really want to do something not on the itinerary, just let the guides know so they are not trying to track you down. For example, in Japan, we wanted to do the Ghibli museum and the only day it worked overlapped with an afternoon activity in Tokyo, I booked the Ghibli, as it was a must Do for us, and let the guides know a couple of days ahead that we’d be leaving after lunch to do that. The guides helped us to get our transportation there and even texted us to see how we were doing and be sure we’d arrived for our ticket window. I saw similar guide help in NZ, when a couple of folks wanted to skip the afternoon activity in Rotorua to hit Hobbiton, guides made sure they got to their ride pickup OK after our lunch for their tour. This won’t always be possible, but guides will help when they can do so.

I’d suggest not booking your “once in a lifetime Dream trip” as the first one in case you find you don’t like it, because you don’t want bad memories. Stay in the US, I started with a U.S.-based long weekend (NYC, not currently offered) or do something like the Disneyland trips, where you’d like destination or are more familiar with it, so if it’s not what you like, it’s still a destination you enjoy. You’re also maybe not spending as much money to get to your adventure. If you like it, branch out International on your next one.

Oh, this is great to hear! I just assumed you had to all stay together! I was actually thinking of Asia for one of them, which, for some reason, gives me a bit of an anxiety to plan, just for the reasons you mentioned. Super helpful information, thanks so much!

 

[rnorwo1]

I'm the main travel planner for my family, and we usually travel in a multigenerational group of 8. I enjoy the planning, and we like to do our own thing. My 4 kids enjoy each other and don't need access to other kids to have fun on vacation.

We haven't done an ABD, and TBH, haven't done a family group tour, but I have started doing tours with DH and others with a couple friends with another company, and I also really enjoy the aspect of I'M NOT IN CHARGE. LOL. I get up and I go where I'm told. No worries about making sure everything is set, how do we get to the next location, where will we eat, etc. I do sometimes go off trail, and bow out for a day to do my own thing. I just let the guide know ahead of time. I have found that I usually really enjoy the other travelers in the group, which surprises me because I'm a pretty firm introvert.

I do like smaller groups vs larger ones. Much over 25 and there is a chaos and time factor of just getting everyone in and out of a restroom stop, seating for meals, etc.

Yes! I've planned many extended family trips and have had to do things like create color coded spreadsheets for everyone, so not being in charge sounds wonderful! I can certainly meet and talk with new people, but, likewise, my kids like each other, and I don't know how they'll do mingling with others (one is a serious introvert, one a serious extrovert, and one in the middle!). You mentioning bathrooms, though... we hardly take time for things like that, so I didn't think about having to spend a good deal of time with all that. Ugh. Great tip to look for smaller groups, I would have never thought of that. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[calypso726]

Hi Everyone,
My family and I travel quite a bit, but we have always done the trips on our own. We research, plan, and keep an active pace once there. We have seen people on tours and have never thought we would like to be "stuck" with other people who may want to go at a different pace than us. However, we know that whatever Disney does, it usually does it extremely well, and some of the special perks/visits that I'm seeing in the itineraries seem very intriguing. The cost always makes me gasp, too, so I'm staying in analysis paralysis whenever I look at them.

I was just wondering if anyone else thought they'd never enjoy a tour or didn't enjoy other tours but ABD changed their minds? Thanks for any info!

Introvert here that never that I'd like group travel. We had sticker shock too before pulling the trigger on our first ABD back in 2012. Our 12th ABD is booked and we have loved every single ABD. I have no problem booking and planning our own trips both in the US and overseas. Besides the amazing guides and not having to do much other than show up I think my favorite thing about ABD is having experiences that I never thought I'd like, didn't really want to do and then being surprised and delighted when those same experiences wound up being highlights of the trip!

 

[rnorwo1]

Introvert here that never that I'd like group travel. We had sticker shock too before pulling the trigger on our first ABD back in 2012. Our 12th ABD is booked and we have loved every single ABD. I have no problem booking and planning our own trips both in the US and overseas. Besides the amazing guides and not having to do much other than show up I think my favorite thing about ABD is having experiences that I never thought I'd like, didn't really want to do and then being surprised and delighted when those same experiences wound up being highlights of the trip!

What a great perspective!

 

[JRM815]

Before I retired a short while ago, my job involved sweating the details so everything ran smoothly. I really appreciated the ABD trips where they took care of everything and I could just relax and have fun. I know some people really like doing their own planning, but for those I would suggest adding a pre- or post-trip stay at the trip starting/ending points so that you can do your thing on those days and then let the Disney folks take care of everything in the middle (if your budget/time off allows).

 

[Marthasor]

We are a family that, typically, likes to tour on our own. I look at ABDs on an itinerary-by-itinerary basis. There are some itineraries I have looked at and discovered, for our family, it was best and more cost-effective to book with local tour companies and put the trip together ourselves (Greece, for example). However, there are other itineraries (SoCal/DL is a prime example) where ABD will have access to places you wouldn't be able to go on your own and they just knock it out of the ballpark. We are about to embark on our third ABD - Arizona - we chose this itinerary because ABD is taking care of a lot of things I did not want to do on my own - renting a car and driving on our own, primarily - and I could not find a local operator that could cover the ground they will cover on the trip. Also, when pricing it out, it was about on par with what it would cost if we pieced the trip together on our own. On the ABDs themselves, you get a lot of time to do things on your own, so, if you don't completely jive with your tour mates, I never found it to be a big deal. On our last trip (SoCal/DL) we really enjoyed the other families we traveled with and have stayed in touch with one of them. We also find the ABD Adventure guides to be extraordinary and always make the trips really special. We also typically do some pre- or post-nights to do some things on our own as a family. I would definitely keep ABD on your radar!

 

[Donalyn]

We have done one ABD, with our second this coming summer. I loved it for the following reasons:

1. My family are not joiners and pretty severe introverts. I am the opposite. It was great to have others to talk to during the trip, who were not random strangers (which is who I normally have to talk to after a few days traveling alone with my husband, god love him). And it worked for everyone. My kids generally didn't have to get too chummy with the other kids, and my DH could just rely on me to do the talking in adult groups, as is typical. And I was happy.
2. I didn't have to worry about everything. Where to be, what time, how to get there, do we have the tickets, are we running late, how to address food allergies, etc. It was nice to know all those things were being taken care of by people who knew how to do it and I could just enjoy the amazing things we were seeing/doing. (And I say this as a person who loves to plan vacation itineraries, and does it for fun in my free time. But I also know that travel, particularly international travel, can be stressful.)
3. Special access and skip the line stuff. Again, I think that this is itinerary specific, but for some, there is a lot.
4. The itineraries have been pretty well planned - mixing it up, generally trying to see the best of everything. And they add in a lot of experiences - things that I likely normally would not have done, but which were pretty fun. Like for our Italy trip - pasta making in Tuscany. It was a fun family activity, followed by wine tasting and lunch overlooking the country side. Just a lovely day and one that I would not have planned (as I'm more of a go-go tour guide). Also dinner in the castle and the boat ride at the end of the trip.
5. The itineraries worked for us to do pre-days and post-days mainly as we wanted to.
6. Disney handles the messes. Like when my DD left her phone in the shuttle on the way from the airport to the hotel - we got it back. When the entrance to David get delayed - guides addressed. When we needed bathrooms, the guides figured it out.

Downsides: But not all roses, of course.
1. Cost - I've seen lots of examples of how you could recreate similar experiences for lower costs.
2. Lack of control - flip side of not having to be in control. Again, my thoughts generally on this were to do pre and post days to fill in with extra additional things that you may want to see/do.
3. Food - Food was good, but not great. We aren't foodies, so not a huge issue for us. And we were never hungry.
4. I didn't love everyone on our trip. (But it was possible to avoid those people easily enough.)

There are people who are definitely not group tour people. (For instance, I recall a thread a number of years ago from a man discussing his family's "issues" with the Alaska trip, which seemed to boil down to his DW's inability to go with the flow, and expecting some special treatment versus everyone else.)

Really, only you can determine whether you are group tour people. Good luck.

 

[chuff88]

4. I didn't love everyone on our trip. (But it was possible to avoid those people easily enough.)

I’ve only done one ABD (Norway in July 2022) and I have one planned for this August (Germany), but this was my big concern going in. Our group ended up being great, though there were a couple people I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I felt it was easy enough to avoid having to spend a lot of time with those people. I do think sometimes the success of the trip can hinge a bit on the make up of the group.

I will echo what a lot of others have said - I love not having to do a lot of planning. It’s the main reason why I’ve also really embraced cruising. In 2024 my mom and I are opting to do a DCL British Isles cruise in order to save money for a bigger ABD in 2025.

 

[rnorwo1]

Before I retired a short while ago, my job involved sweating the details so everything ran smoothly. I really appreciated the ABD trips where they took care of everything and I could just relax and have fun. I know some people really like doing their own planning, but for those I would suggest adding a pre- or post-trip stay at the trip starting/ending points so that you can do your thing on those days and then let the Disney folks take care of everything in the middle (if your budget/time off allows).

I used to enjoy it a lot; vacation planning was one of my favorite downtime-activities. It's losing its appeal for me more and more though, which is why I keep coming back to ABD!

 

[rnorwo1]

I’ve only done one ABD (Norway in July 2022) and I have one planned for this August (Germany), but this was my big concern going in. Our group ended up being great, though there were a couple people I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I felt it was easy enough to avoid having to spend a lot of time with those people. I do think sometimes the success of the trip can hinge a bit on the make up of the group.

I will echo what a lot of others have said - I love not having to do a lot of planning. It’s the main reason why I’ve also really embraced cruising. In 2024 my mom and I are opting to do a DCL British Isles cruise in order to save money for a bigger ABD in 2025.

I tend to attract people I don't always want to hang out with and have a hard time escaping them The British Isles cruise sounds wonderful, I hope you have a blast!

 

[chuff88]

I tend to attract people I don't always want to hang out with and have a hard time escaping them The British Isles cruise sounds wonderful, I hope you have a blast!

I seem to have the same issue of attraction! I fancy myself an introvert but I’m also too much of a people pleaser to not carry on a conversation and I think people sometimes mistake that for genuine interest. I will say everyone on our tour in Norway was VERY nice, there were just a few who weren’t my personal cup of tea.

I am incredibly excited for the British Isles cruise, and definitely recommend DCL to people who are unsure about cruising. I travel with my mom (I’m in my 30s, she’s in her 70s) and we love the Disney cruises and all the activities they offer. I feel like they can also be kind of an easy way to test the waters of tour-style traveling. There’s still some planning, but not as much as doing things entirely on your own.

 

[rnorwo1]

I seem to have the same issue of attraction! I fancy myself an introvert but I’m also too much of a people pleaser to not carry on a conversation and I think people sometimes mistake that for genuine interest. I will say everyone on our tour in Norway was VERY nice, there were just a few who weren’t my personal cup of tea.

I am incredibly excited for the British Isles cruise, and definitely recommend DCL to people who are unsure about cruising. I travel with my mom (I’m in my 30s, she’s in her 70s) and we love the Disney cruises and all the activities they offer. I feel like they can also be kind of an easy way to test the waters of tour-style traveling. There’s still some planning, but not as much as doing things entirely on your own.

Yes! I feel so terrible to brush people off!
My in-laws treated the entire family to a 7 day cruise on Royal Caribbean about 10 years ago. It was the largest ship at the time and had so much to do, we took great excursions, and it was wonderful..... for about 4 days. My husband woke up on the 5th day and said, "I'm so glad we are getting off tomorrow" and was devastated that we had 2 days left! So, we have not even considered a cruise since then. I think we are just go-go-go on our trips so much that it was a little too relaxing! But the older we get, the appeal is starting to be obvious again. I'm definitely reconsidering, and these river cruises seem great. Hope you come back and tell us about it when it's done!

 

[chuff88]

Yes! I feel so terrible to brush people off!
My in-laws treated the entire family to a 7 day cruise on Royal Caribbean about 10 years ago. It was the largest ship at the time and had so much to do, we took great excursions, and it was wonderful..... for about 4 days. My husband woke up on the 5th day and said, "I'm so glad we are getting off tomorrow" and was devastated that we had 2 days left! So, we have not even considered a cruise since then. I think we are just go-go-go on our trips so much that it was a little too relaxing! But the older we get, the appeal is starting to be obvious again. I'm definitely reconsidering, and these river cruises seem great. Hope you come back and tell us about it when it's done!

The British Isles cruise we’re doing is actually just a regular Disney Cruise Line itinerary on the Dream, but the river and expedition cruises do sound fantastic. We really want to do the Adriatic expedition cruise with ABD sometime in the future. I’ve come to really love the “at sea” days on the cruises, I like the forced relaxation