Just back from the Southwest!!!

[3littlepeas]

Well, I wasn't going to post anything, but I tought this isn't fair for other travellers!

I won't go into all the little details, only the basic stuff.

We had an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G time, this is definetly the best family vacation ever!!
Our group was quite large, 35. One couple with no kids, who took this adventure b/c they knew they couldn't go wrong with Disney.
3 families of 5, a couple of families of 3 and 4.
We had 16 kids ranging from 6 to 17. All very well behaved, no crying, whining or complaining on their parts, which I think is incredible.

DH and I had been to Sedona and the Grand Canyon before but being there with Disney was wonderful!
The hotels in Sedona and Moab are gorgeous, I wish I could say the same about the GC...it is not awful by any means, it is not just up to Disney's standards that's all...I think Disney is working on that.

On our free time at the GC we booked a helicopter ride over the canyon, it was gorgeous. In Moab we took the hummer tour, quite interesting if I can say...
We could not horseback ride b/c my youngest is 7 and it is 8+ but people that went really enjoyed it.

We loved our adventure so much we are eagerly waiting for Disney to release their new adventures so we can book another one for next year

We were very sad on our last night when the trip ended, we met all these nice people that we probably won't see again. The kids made new friends.
What made it "magical" is all those little details...luggage being right in your room even before you get there...the nice "surprises" Disney had prepared for us and local guides. The Disney guides we had were incredible, both with kids and adults.

For those of you going:
Be prepared, it is HOT and I mean HOT! like 115F hot. Drink plenty of water and eat salted snacks. Wear confortable shoes with good walking socks as there is a lot of that. Clothes that are made with "dryfit" (I know this is a trade mark but you know what I mean...) since you don't sweat as much in them and you can wash and dry in an evening. A good hat. Sunscreen, SPF50. Bathing suit (obviously) if you have a waterproof digital camera, it would be nice for the great water fights we had during the rafting trip!
There is no need to pack anything fancy. I had packed only one very simple skirt that I wore once, on our second night in Sedona there is an evening on our own and it turned out it was my birthday . We had dinner at the hotel, those of you wanting a fancy meal, this is the place!
The restaurant has a Wine Spectator award and the food was delecious, in fact it is the nicest (ie fanciest) meal I had all week.
There is also the adult night night at Red Creek, while the kids have their own BBQ, which was nice but you definetly don't need to dress up for that.

Well, if you have any questions, don't hesitate! I'll try and answer the best that I can!

Julie

 

[amsae]

What dates did you go? We were on the June 23 to 30th with Mike and Rhea ... it was hot!!!

 

[cjsbmiller]

We were on your trip on June 23-30th with Mike and Rae too. We had an excellent trip- my 9 year old said it was the best vacation of his life!

 

[3littlepeas]

We were right after you guys, June 30th until July 7th with Chris and Tiffany!

 

[ppiew]

Thank you so much! I hope our European travelers get on board and start telling us about their trips! I don't want every nitty gritty detail either - just the high points and low points will do. The menu of every meal really isn't necessary to me, but quality of accommodations, tours, guides helpfulness in booking additional stuff if you want it. This is what interests me. Thanks again.

 

[WeLoveDVC]

We just returned from the July 3rd through July 10th trip with Mike & Rae, we just got home late last night. They were great, we couldn't have asked for anything more. We have never been out west and this was a great way to see several of the highlights !!

We have taken lots of Disney vacations at Disney World and on Disney Cruise Line. While this is a different experience it is every bit Disney quality all the way. Mike and Rae were great, my younger daughter got attached to Rae and was very sad after the vacation ended. I think we are hooked on Adventures by Disney, bring on the new destinations !!

We stayed in Phoenix for a couple of days before the Adventures by Disney portion of our trip and we are so happy we did. It gave us a chance to adjust to the heat (if that is possible) and adjust to the time change.

 

[bicker]

Welcome back!

Could you provide some details about the hotels, especially the one at the Grand Canyon? Were you satisfied with the accommodations?

 

[3littlepeas]

Accomodation wise:
Sedona: The Amara resort is nice. Surrounded by the red rocks. The welcoming reception is on a nice lawn, by the pool. The pool is kinda small but it's OK. The rooms are great, nice duvet on the beds, a patio with 2 chairs. Like I said, the restaurant at that resort is amazing, try and have dinner there if you can. It is better than the cowboy club if you ask me.

GC: pfffffffffffff, I don't want to sound snobish or anything. Most people in our group tought the hotel was a bit of a downer, some said I've slept at worst places, and I agree. But compared to the other two....it just doesn't mesure up. The lobby is beautiful, kind of like wilderness lodge...but the pool is indoor, so that sucks. The rooms are very basic. The carpet was old and worn. The restaurant was not very good. There are no business center or anything else for that manner. They are very short staffed, our room was not cleaned during our stay....By the time they came to our room it was 5:30PM and we just asked for clean towels, that's it.

Moab: Great setting, at the bottom of a canyon, along the Colorado river amongst the vineyards.... all rooms are in cabin-type settings. All have a small kitchenette and the pool is fantastic. The restaurant here is good...
Don't worry too much about the GC, it didn't ruin our vacation by any means, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it just doesn't meet the standards of this adventure...you'll have a great time!!! I wish I was going again!!!!

 

[bicker]

How many days do we spend at each hotel?

 

[53disfan4life]

Two wonderful nights at the Amara- even the breakfasts are very good. The staff there is extremely accommodating and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We asked for just one more towel and received a stack of towels, extra robes and bag full of extra toiletries followed by a call to make sure we had everything we needed- those are folks who want to provide some Disney magic!

Two nights at the Grand Hotel- our room wasn't cleaned either- it is very ordinary but we slept well and had plenty of hot water. The best news is that this is the location where your room is just not that important- stay and enjoy the Canyon as long as you can. I still can't adequately describe the way I felt upon seeing it. My family explored the Canyon until we gathered for sunset with the whole group and then enjoyed a very good pizza with another family and one of our adventure guides after we returned for the night. Many folks enjoyed fine dining at the El Tovar- but the company, pizza and beer were great to us! As an aside- the singer at the Grand when we were there was Kevin Johns- he is very friendly and knows a lot of great songs- make a request and go talk to him if you have a chance. He'll even play some Doc Watson if you're a fan of traditional Americana. He was the hotel highlight of our stay.

The Red Cliffs Lodge for 3 nights wraps up the trip. This is like the Amara in that the staff is really glad to see you and wants to make your trip special. Spacious rooms and a relaxing setting- and a night sky that is simply beautiful to us urban dwellers. Not as fancy as the Amara but a great, special place to stay!

 

[ga9497]

GC: pfffffffffffff, I don't want to sound snobish or anything. Most people in our group tought the hotel was a bit of a downer, some said I've slept at worst places, and I agree. But compared to the other two....it just doesn't mesure up. The lobby is beautiful, kind of like wilderness lodge...but the pool is indoor, so that sucks. The rooms are very basic. The carpet was old and worn. The restaurant was not very good. There are no business center or anything else for that manner. They are very short staffed, our room was not cleaned during our stay....By the time they came to our room it was 5:30PM and we just asked for clean towels, that's it.

Have the guides mentioned anything about a possible change to this hotel?
Just wondering because it hasn't gotten any good reviews

 

[3littlepeas]

all the guides said is that "it is hard to come to this hotel after the Amara..." I have to agree. They also said that the only hotel up to Disney's standart in the GC is El Tovar and that El Tovar has only been working with one tour company for the longest time and they don't want any other tour company at their hotel....I wish Disney would use their "weight" to have the Grand hotel renovate a few of their rooms....

 

[dingoballs]

did you have any difficulty with your flight out of Grand Junction Airport?

 

[3littlepeas]

GJT is a really tiny airport...try and have lunch before the security gates as there are no other restaurants on the other side. We were scheduled on the 12h46 United flight to Colorado, half of our group was, the other half left 20 min prior on the Pheonix flight...All flights were on time, if that's what you mean.

 

[dingoballs]

Thanks 3little peas! That was the info I was looking for. Our tour is in mid-September...

 

[bicker]

Gosh, I wonder how many of us mid-September folks will have electronically met each other before the trip!

 

[zogzig]

Is there anyone out there going on this trip? We are going on this trip as an extended family get-together. There will be 12 of us, and I was wondering who else was going? My other questions concern the logistics of the trip. We have some members of our party that will not be able to hike or engage in strenuous activities. What happens to accomodate anyone that cannot participate in the planned group activities? We are really looking forward to our trip. Thanks for any information you can give.

 

[3littlepeas]

Good morning zogzig!
Don't worry about streanuous...this is Disney after all!
The "hike" in Sedona is more of a nature walk...on flat paved roads, so this is fine. The guides will warn you about arches National Park, if you want to go to delicate arche it is a quite a hike and people that did it were saying that it was quite something but they were glad they did it. It is hard mainly b/c of the heat.
The other option on this tour is a bus ride trough the park with Dave the local expert. We opted fo that, I was not feeling so great on that day, I think all the heat got to me...we had an amazing time, we got to see delicate arche (from a distance, but it was still very clear) and we also saw alot of different arches, we saw were Indiana Jones was filmed, which was nice. I'm actually glad we opted for this tour, we got to see more of the park!
As for the rafting, honestly, it is VERY smooth...but great water fights!!!
Have fun!

 

[tickledtink33]

Is there anyone out there going on this trip? We are going on this trip as an extended family get-together. There will be 12 of us, and I was wondering who else was going? My other questions concern the logistics of the trip. We have some members of our party that will not be able to hike or engage in strenuous activities. What happens to accomodate anyone that cannot participate in the planned group activities? We are really looking forward to our trip. Thanks for any information you can give.

Hi, I'm a newbie to the forum and this is my first post. As soon as I saw that there would be more big Disney fans on my upcoming trip, I knew that I had to reply. I'm excited and a little bit nervous all at the same time. This will be my first tour type vacation ever and I'm traveling solo. I've traveled solo to WDW many times, but never taken a tour. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and hope that we all have an awesome time!

Kim

 

[zogzig]

Hello Kim,

We look forward to meeting you on this trip. From your list, you are a Disney addict! We have not quite made it every year, but have been on and off since 1986. This is our first tour also with Disney, but we are hearing great things about the trips. We will have 7 adults and 5 children in our group - ages 7-14. It should be wonderful.

See you on the 28th.
Kathy