SCDisneyDad02
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2026
- Messages
- 2
We went on the AbD London/Paris trip that ran from Dec. 26 to Jan. 2. The amount of issues we ran into and Disney’s response to them have been infuriating. I do have to preface this by saying that our guides were phenomenal! They did the best with what the had to work with. I’ll begin at the beginning. we booked this trip many many months out. because of the time of year, it was premium pricing.
We looked at the itinerary online (the same one still on the website) and looked forward to all of it. Two very specific things on it were archery in the countryside and macaron making. We were traveling with kids, and these hands-on activities specifically appealed to them. We planned to spend time in London on the front end of the trip and time in Paris on the back end. we planned all of the things the AbD wouldn’t provide so we could experience everything.
About a week before traveling we received an updated itinerary. Gone were the archery and macaron making. As far as London goes, there were several major changes. A private greeting with a Beefeater and a private guided tour of the Tower of London along with private early access to the Crown Jewels had been removed. A high speed boat ride on the Thames was removes. Our evening at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland also removed. As far as the Tower of London goes, our “blue badge guide” (not the Disney guides) didn’t know that the entrance at Tower of London had moved causing us to queue for 30 minutes. We were so rushed that we were encouraged to skip The White Tower. And what replacements were we given? a ride on the London Eye, a bus tour with tea to see Christmas lights. They did add Windsor/Windsor Castle but we were again told not to do the audio guided tour. We were also taken on Sunday, so St. George’s Chapel was closed.
Paris? Equally problematic. We were supposed to have early access to the Louvre and a tour of Opera Garnier. The Louvre was moved to a different day (the day we transferred from London to Paris) and was moved to 3:30 in the afternoon - I don’t know that it could have been more packed. Opera Garnier was under renovation and replaced with Sainte-Chappelle. But, when we got to Sainte-Chappelle, our tickets weren’t accepted because they weren’t timed entry and they were no longer accepting non-timed entry guests. Our pivot? The Conciergerie next door. There‘s no wonder we were able to get in there. Our day at Montmarte was replaced with a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. Our bike ride at Versailles? Nowhere to be found.
As it turns out, these changes were known by Disney months before the trip and well before final payment was due. Had we known about these changes we could have made different plans before and after or cancelled altogether.
Disney’s solution? After being bounced around from person to person, having it “escalated” then being ignored - a $250 future AbD credit. Disney promises VIP experiences, white glove treatment, and one of a kind experiences. What we got was a pieced together trip with great guides but terrible, run of the mill experiences. Itenerary changes happen. What we had was a rug pull bait and switch. Buyer beware!
We looked at the itinerary online (the same one still on the website) and looked forward to all of it. Two very specific things on it were archery in the countryside and macaron making. We were traveling with kids, and these hands-on activities specifically appealed to them. We planned to spend time in London on the front end of the trip and time in Paris on the back end. we planned all of the things the AbD wouldn’t provide so we could experience everything.
About a week before traveling we received an updated itinerary. Gone were the archery and macaron making. As far as London goes, there were several major changes. A private greeting with a Beefeater and a private guided tour of the Tower of London along with private early access to the Crown Jewels had been removed. A high speed boat ride on the Thames was removes. Our evening at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland also removed. As far as the Tower of London goes, our “blue badge guide” (not the Disney guides) didn’t know that the entrance at Tower of London had moved causing us to queue for 30 minutes. We were so rushed that we were encouraged to skip The White Tower. And what replacements were we given? a ride on the London Eye, a bus tour with tea to see Christmas lights. They did add Windsor/Windsor Castle but we were again told not to do the audio guided tour. We were also taken on Sunday, so St. George’s Chapel was closed.
Paris? Equally problematic. We were supposed to have early access to the Louvre and a tour of Opera Garnier. The Louvre was moved to a different day (the day we transferred from London to Paris) and was moved to 3:30 in the afternoon - I don’t know that it could have been more packed. Opera Garnier was under renovation and replaced with Sainte-Chappelle. But, when we got to Sainte-Chappelle, our tickets weren’t accepted because they weren’t timed entry and they were no longer accepting non-timed entry guests. Our pivot? The Conciergerie next door. There‘s no wonder we were able to get in there. Our day at Montmarte was replaced with a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. Our bike ride at Versailles? Nowhere to be found.
As it turns out, these changes were known by Disney months before the trip and well before final payment was due. Had we known about these changes we could have made different plans before and after or cancelled altogether.
Disney’s solution? After being bounced around from person to person, having it “escalated” then being ignored - a $250 future AbD credit. Disney promises VIP experiences, white glove treatment, and one of a kind experiences. What we got was a pieced together trip with great guides but terrible, run of the mill experiences. Itenerary changes happen. What we had was a rug pull bait and switch. Buyer beware!
