How many people do these trips without being time share members?

[Bete]

I just can't see these trips being worth it if you are paying out of pocket for them. Convince me I'm wrong.

How many of you have done these trips OOP? Please stand up and be counted, now.

I can see this being very hands free and you doing very little but showing up at your destination, but I can do most of these trips for 30 to 50% less and probably customize more to our liking by doing a little research, etc.

I just can't see it.

 

[Bobo912]

I just can't see these trips being worth it if you are paying out of pocket for them. Convince me I'm wrong.

How many of you have done these trips OOP? Please stand up and be counted, now.

I can see this being very hands free and you doing very little but showing up at your destination, but I can do most of these trips for 30 to 50% less and probably customize more to our liking by doing a little research, etc.

I just can't see it.

I am not a DVC member. I've been on 2 ABDs so far and will definitely do more in the future. In my opinion, it's worth every penny.

 

[Pluto 2]

i never been on a abd hopefully sometime in the future. im a dvc member but i will not use my points for this unless i had to unload a lot of points. you are still paying for it maybe even more. you have your points that you pay maint fees on every year around 5 dollars a point give or take a little depending where you own.

 

[Tozzie]

I just can't see these trips being worth it if you are paying out of pocket for them. Convince me I'm wrong.

How many of you have done these trips OOP? Please stand up and be counted, now.

I can see this being very hands free and you doing very little but showing up at your destination, but I can do most of these trips for 30 to 50% less and probably customize more to our liking by doing a little research, etc.

I just can't see it.

Most of the people who post on this board and go on the trips pay cash for them. I am a DVC member but I pay cash for the trips, the points needed for one person for a trip are high anywhere from 400-700 points for 1 so it is not a good use of points to begin with.

As for being able to do it for less money, you can but you won't have the same experience and on certain trips there are things that you just can't do as they aren't open to the general public. I think it is worth it not to have to do anything but show up. I think it is worth it not to have to wait in line to get into any of the popular tourist attractions/exhibits/museums. The attention to detail is phenomenal and if things go astray ABD will make it all right or they will try their hardest. There is a poster who went to china last year and ended up being quarrantined due to someone they were sitting near on the plane had a fever and the whole swine flu thing, abd counldn't get them out of quarrantine but stayed in touch with them the entire time and did whatever they could to help, you wouldn't get that if you were on your own.

I have looked into other tour groups and the things they offer, yes many are less money but they don't offer many of the things ABD does. Only you can decide if it worth the money I think they are.

 

[Miss SD]

You wouldn't be able to get access to most of the activities on the Backstage Magic tour on your own. That's why we signed up for this tour--twice. And we paid cash.

 

[Bobo912]

On some of the other tours, you get to visit the attractions when they are closed to the public and others you bypass the lines. Because of this you can do much more in a day than you could on your own. But the biggest advantage is that you can just relax and enjoy yourself knowing that everything will be taken care of for you.

 

[WeLoveABD]

WEll! I had plenty of orders to respond to in my military days, but that was THEN...however, to respond to the inquiry--we have been on 4, and are not DVC members. We looked into the DVC and concluded it didn't work with ABD--and we don't want to be locked into a time share of any sort. I grew up with Disneyland, and we live 2 hours away--so too far for DisneyWorld to make it worthwhile, and too close to Disneyland to stay on site overnight.

As you may see from other posters, there is a wide variety of travel interests--and some love love love ABD, others not so much (although I think the guides are universally praised and appreciated--a BIG selling point). True you can do trips on your own, you can do guided tours for far cheaper--and you may be able to find a better itinerary for certain destinations (some are trying Tauck this summer, for example).

But unless you've done one of these trips--and if your mindset is strictly fiscal (I've been there--only recently have we taken the plunge into bigger trips), then the trip may not be for you--it is hard to describe the sheer joy and relaxation we have encountered with the Disney program. I was uncertain about it all before we did our first trip with ABD to Italy--but being able to leave the details (a LOT of details) to our guides and just go along for the ride, with the kids active and busy, and down time and family time...well, when we got back we figured out all of the costs and benefits and determined it was well worth the cost. I still hold to that.

I'm not a die-hard on this--we'll be doing other trips with other groups--but these have been great trips. To hark back to the military: attention to detail!

 

[monydave]

I'm not a DVC member but have been on two trips with ABD. I must admit they are expensive but I feel they are worth it. Each of the trips has been an incredible adventure with great guides, spectacular hotels and wonderful food and activities. I'm not sure there are any words that I could type here that would make you change your mind. I feel lucky to have been on these trips with my family and we will continue to be able to share these memories for the rest of my life. Coupling that with the incredible feeling of not having to worry about a thing when I'm on the trip, and that to me makes it worth the cost.

 

[figmentfan2009]

been on 2, heading out on the 3rd. We paid out of pocket... I'm not sure you could get (booking on your own) some of the wonderful experiences you get going with ABD. China... not a prayer. Won't spoil some of the magic, for those Beijing Bound this year... but there are WAY things that you wouldn't be able to do if it were to be self booked and there are things that weren't booked that we loved... ABD is kind of the best of both worlds... We are weird, we make the MOST of every minute of the "free time" by experiencing a lot of what isn't on the itinerary, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it a 4th time (10 weeks from now we will be in Rome).

Pricey? yeah... but worth every single cent.

 

[Bete]

I appreciate the comments. I'm not against these trips; they just seem so pricey. If you feel it's worth it then Disney has done their job.

 

[LTFrench]

We travel a lot, usually not with a tour group. That being said....
We are not DVC members and do not ever plan on joining.
We do not enjoy spending more time standing in long lines, trying to understand tour guides that don't speak *our* English, waiting for public transportation....... This does not happen with Disney, and in our opinion is well worth the money vs time and frustrations.... We just returned from a second AbD trip and see more in our future.

 

[helenk]

I am a DVC member but did not use my points for this trip. I researched several other companies before I booked the ABD trip. ADB was just a tad more than Tauck but ABD had everything I wanted and I booked with Dreams Unlimited and I got a $400 gift card. So in the end I really felt like I was getting a good deal.

 

[brewcrew]

I would rather save up and spend more to have everything taken care of for me. I have not done an ABD trip yet but I will! Hopefully sooner than later!

 

[It's always cold]

We are DVC members but are booked on our first ABD China adventure this summer. We are not using any points for this trip, and yes it is very expensive but would not ever consider doing a trip to China without ABD. It is too foreign and the language barrier too big for us to do it on our own. We also like being spoiled, treated well and eating good, so this is just the obvious choice for our family.

 

[clarabelle]

We paid out of pocket -and will do it again someday I hope

Most group tours at this level are expensive.
Yes I could have done it cheaper -but the transportation was a big deal for us.
There is no way we could have seen as much on our own. We would have spent a large percentage of our time trying to figure out how to get there and where to park.
We would see often 3 or so attractions a day -so figure your entrance to those into the price- and we never waited in line.

This was such an easy trip- It was worth the extra money to me.

 

[beachbunny]

Done one ABD trip and will be doing another soon. I don't use DVC points, and I never will. Like others have said, it really isn't a very good use of points.

Looks like you've already made up your mind about ABD. For those still thinking about ABD, you need to compare apples to apples - tour companies to tour companies - guides to guides - hotels to hotels - paid admissions to paid admissions (some tour companies include a place on the itinerary but you just drive by in your bus and don't get to enter). ABD really is a step up from Globus or Tauck. It's no Abercrombie and Kent, but something in-between.

I've done almost 20 tours (my parents were big on tours). And truth be told, I prefer traveling on my own. But there are just some places in the world where a tour is the preferable means of travel, for example, on my two ABD trips to the Galapagos Islands and South Africa.

 

[Diskidatheart]

Just got back a week ago from our first (but not last) ABD trip. I know they are quite expensive, but after getting back from this trip, we felt like it was a great value for everything that you get. You do everything on the itinerary, but what it the itinerary doesn't show you is all the little surprised that you get with the trip, which I won't get into the surprises. I can't express enough how wonderful it was to have 2 guides and in Rome, you essentially had 3 because the local guide was just was wonderful. You had a local guide in Florence and Venice, but not for the same amount of time. If you do it on your own, good luck checking on your flight back when the Iceland Volcano erupts again. Our guides were right on it and reported back to us a few times to let us know the status. You literally get off the plane, walk you luggage a couple of hundred yards and then just start enjoying your vacation without any worries. They ARE that good!

 

[abbyjt]

I'll jump on the bandwagon. We have been on 4 ABD's. Each was better than the one before. We have travelled extensively without tour groups. We've done the research, made the arrangements and gone on trips. They were great too. Not as great as ABD. We are not dvc members and never will be. There are 5 of us, and the this summer our youngest will be 12, so we are paying for 5 adults. It's worth every penny. You cannot do a lot of the things Disney does on your own. The guides are the best. Two guides is so wonderful. Other companies have one guide. This summer we are going with a different group, only because Disney doesn't go where we are going.
There is something fabulous about your kids being doted on and making friends with other kids while you are enjoying yourself too. Good luck with your decision.

 

[WeLoveABD]

This may not be the best description but...when we went on a driving trip we got a GPS, and what a world of difference! I wasn't pulling out maps all of the time, looking up streets and phone numbers or trying to find a Starbucks or a restaurant...it was all done for me. I could sit back (well, I did have to drive!) and enjoy the scenery and the trip itself.

So, in a way, ABD is my foreign country GPS--easy, comfortable, reliable and lets me relax!

 

[Grifdog22]

This may be a slight bit off topic - my wife is exploring the DVC (I just discovered) and argues that it's a great deal because it includes ABD trips.

I haven't even read the DVC materials or prospectus yet; I would be curious to hear from those who are in DVC and why they do or do not use DVC points for ABD trips.

We've been on 2 ABD trips - and thought very highly of them. We were a bit shocked at this year's price increases/elimination of EBD, etc., but agree with all the comments about the access, tour guides, and attention to detail.

I am leery of locking in anything long term now - and would appreciate hearing from those who are in DVC and their experiences with ABD. Thanks!