Norway Itinerary Change: Impressions from previous ABDers?

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Since Japan isn't being offered in 2018, I'm trying to figure out what to do next summer. The leading contenders right now are Peru (probably with NatGeo or Thompson) and ABD Norway. I happened to have a brochure from the first year (dated 2013) of the trip to compare with 2018's version. There are a few minor changes, and what appears to be one significant one.

Minor changes:
--Loss of one paid for lunch
--Change Oslo hotel from Grand to Continental (looks to be a great change that was made a couple years ago)
--Different lunch place on Day 4 (not Hotel Mundel?)
--No movie night on Day 4 (or at least it's not mentioned)
--Day 5 and 6 activities switched
--No more junior pancake making (or at least not mentioned)--this is actually a little bit of a bummer as it sounds fun.

More significant changes:
--It appears that the visit to Briksdal Glacier has been eliminated (no troll cars or glacier safari either); replaced by a bike ride to another local glacier.

This seems like a pretty big/disappointing change--basically a full half-day's activities replaced by a bike ride--and I was hoping that anyone who has done the trip before could comment on what they think about it.

Thanks so much!

 

[disneyphx]

Hi


We did the Norway trip in 2016 and really loved it. Here are my thoughts on your questions


Minor changes:
--Loss of one paid for lunch – it looks like they took out the lunch on the train on Day 7. That was a little weird logistically as you had to walk to the snack bar on the train and order what you wanted.
--Change Oslo hotel from Grand to Continental (looks to be a great change that was made a couple years ago) We stayed at the Hotel Continental - beautiful hotel - nicest of the trip!
--Different lunch place on Day 4 (not Hotel Mundel?) I think it is the same place as 2016 – a café overlooking a glacier. The food was good – and some member of the Norwegian royal family had eaten there the week before!
--No movie night on Day 4 (or at least it's not mentioned) It was not a movie night, but a Junior Adventurer night with activities. The kids had a lot of fun – more than watching Frozen (we did that on a bus)
--Day 5 and 6 activities switched
--No more junior pancake making (or at least not mentioned)--this is actually a little bit of a bummer as it sounds fun. If it was in Geiranger, it wasn’t really something they got to do. There was a pancake griddle to make dessert, and the Norwegian guide basically did it as it was quite tricky.

More significant changes:
--It appears that the visit to Briksdal Glacier has been eliminated (no troll cars or glacier safari either); replaced by a bike ride to another local glacier. That is disappointing! The troll cars were fun, and so was going on the little boat on the glacier lake. (and I don’t like bike riding….)


It also seems like a ferry ride along the Geirangerfjord is missing……

It is still a fun trip – Norway is beautiful!


We did the Thomson trip to Peru and absolutely loved it!


Enjoy your decision making!

Michele

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Hi


We did the Norway trip in 2016 and really loved it. Here are my thoughts on your questions


Minor changes:
--Loss of one paid for lunch – it looks like they took out the lunch on the train on Day 7. That was a little weird logistically as you had to walk to the snack bar on the train and order what you wanted.
--Change Oslo hotel from Grand to Continental (looks to be a great change that was made a couple years ago) We stayed at the Hotel Continental - beautiful hotel - nicest of the trip!
--Different lunch place on Day 4 (not Hotel Mundel?) I think it is the same place as 2016 – a café overlooking a glacier. The food was good – and some member of the Norwegian royal family had eaten there the week before!
--No movie night on Day 4 (or at least it's not mentioned) It was not a movie night, but a Junior Adventurer night with activities. The kids had a lot of fun – more than watching Frozen (we did that on a bus)
--Day 5 and 6 activities switched
--No more junior pancake making (or at least not mentioned)--this is actually a little bit of a bummer as it sounds fun. If it was in Geiranger, it wasn’t really something they got to do. There was a pancake griddle to make dessert, and the Norwegian guide basically did it as it was quite tricky.

More significant changes:
--It appears that the visit to Briksdal Glacier has been eliminated (no troll cars or glacier safari either); replaced by a bike ride to another local glacier. That is disappointing! The troll cars were fun, and so was going on the little boat on the glacier lake. (and I don’t like bike riding….)


It also seems like a ferry ride along the Geirangerfjord is missing……

It is still a fun trip – Norway is beautiful!


We did the Thomson trip to Peru and absolutely loved it!


Enjoy your decision making!

Michele

Thank you so much for the awesome response! I really appreciate the feedback on the changes. I reread an old trip report and it does seem as if missing that glacier is kind of a bummer. Both the little cars and the boat ride look pretty fun. I hate when ABD eliminates things like this I wonder what the reason was.

Too funny because Thompson is when the other trips we are looking at for Peru . They have a family trekking trip that looks pretty cool.

 

[abbyjt]

The Norway trip was awesome. We went in 2014, the first year. Loosing the troll car activity is a shame, it was a great activity. The lake and boat ride were wonderful. The scenery in Norway was just breathtaking everywhere we went (except when we were shrouded in heavy fog while driving on mountain roads).
In the past, when I've asked guides and vacationistas why an activity was removed, they always answer "because of guest feedback"
I don't believe that. It's usually a great activity that is removed. We usually try to book the first year itinerary is available.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

The Norway trip was awesome. We went in 2014, the first year. Loosing the troll car activity is a shame, it was a great activity. The lake and boat ride were wonderful. The scenery in Norway was just breathtaking everywhere we went (except when we were shrouded in heavy fog while driving on mountain roads).
In the past, when I've asked guides and vacationistas why an activity was removed, they always answer "because of guest feedback"
I don't believe that. It's usually a great activity that is removed. We usually try to book the first year itinerary is available.

I suspect that sounds better than "Disney wants to make more money off the trip," which is why I think they change things, LOL. I completely agree with you about booking first year--I've been saying that to my DH and fellow travelers for years.

It sounded like a big removal to me, which is why I was disappointed. I *hate* when they start chipping away at trips. Even though the trip is listed as 8 days, it seems as if there are really only activities on 4 of those days (days 4 and 7 seems to be mostly travel, day 1 and 8 are arrival/departure) so eliminating a big half day plus activity like this is a big bummer. Those cars look really fun and the cruise sounds lovely. It's fallen off the top of our list now. I'm leaning toward Peru with another company or Tokyo on our own. Too bad.

Thanks so much for the feedback--I really appreciate it!

 

[TeeKo]

We did the Norway trip this summer (2017) We loved this trip because Norway is so stunning, the guides were wonderful, and the group was just really nice and fun.


Minor changes:
--Loss of one paid for lunch – it looks like they took out the lunch on the train on Day 7. That was a little weird logistically as you had to walk to the snack bar on the train and order what you wanted. I agree with Disneyphx. This is a weird one. I don't know if Disney could do it any differently. The train food car is tiny, the food is kind of like you would expect on an Amtrak, and the line is long. I suppose they could give us meal vouchers or maybe Tinkerbell could deliver box lunches before we got on the train?

--Change Oslo hotel from Grand to Continental (looks to be a great change that was made a couple years ago) We stayed at the Hotel Continental - beautiful hotel - nicest of the trip! Agree again. I tried to upload a picture of my room but it says the file is too big. I'm kind of new to this posting business...earning my ears and all.

--Different lunch place on Day 4 (not Hotel Mundel?) I think it is the same place as 2016 – a café overlooking a glacier. The food was good – and some member of the Norwegian royal family had eaten there the week before! Lol. Either the Norwegian Royal family eats there all the time or they tell everyone that story. The owner even brought out a picture to show me how I was sitting right where the princess had sat just the week before....

--No movie night on Day 4 (or at least it's not mentioned) It was not a movie night, but a Junior Adventurer night with activities. The kids had a lot of fun – more than watching Frozen (we did that on a bus) The kids LOVED this night. Not to ruin any surprises (in case you decide to go) but it was a lot more interactive. The kids on the trip really bonded on this night. We have a 17 year old and 10 year old who are both introverts and they both enjoyed it.

--Day 5 and 6 activities switched
--No more junior pancake making (or at least not mentioned)--this is actually a little bit of a bummer as it sounds fun. If it was in Geiranger, it wasn’t really something they got to do. There was a pancake griddle to make dessert, and the Norwegian guide basically did it as it was quite tricky. This wasn't like scone making in Scotland. It was kind of difficult and the kids just poured the batter. It wasn't a highlight.
This hotel dinner in Geiranger was really wonderful. It was in a unique location and really a lovely meal. It seems like ABD has a BBQ on every trip and it can feel a bit forced. This night, the hotel owner came and told wonderful stories about the hotel's history and the food was delicious.

More significant changes:
--It appears that the visit to Briksdal Glacier has been eliminated (no troll cars or glacier safari either); replaced by a bike ride to another local glacier. That is disappointing! The troll cars were fun, and so was going on the little boat on the glacier lake. (and I don’t like bike riding….) So I don't know how often this happens but on our day, it was a little windy. It was otherwise a beautiful day though and I wouldn't have even noticed the wind (that's how slight it seemed) if it didn't affect our afternoon.
We got into our boat and tried to paddle for probably less than 5 minutes. A horn sounded and the guide said, We have to go back because its too windy. We went the shortest way back to shore and carried our boat back. Obviously, ABD can't control the weather but I did hear some grubblings about a long bus drive for not much.
The troll cars felt a bit like riding a tram. It felt more like transportation than an event. But I am sure my kids would rather ride the troll cars than go on a bike ride. The bike rides have been their least favorite ABD activity.

It also seems like a ferry ride along the Geirangerfjord is missing……This ferry ride was meh. I think they just had to get us back to the hotel somehow.


It is still a fun trip – Norway is beautiful! I agree. For any shortcomings, we still just absolutely adored this trip. We had a mediocre experience on an ABD to Italy/Switzerland and this renewed our belief in the Disney magic.


We did the Thomson trip to Peru and absolutely loved it!


Enjoy your decision making!

Michele[/QUOTE]

 

[disneyphx]

Glad to hear you loved Norway too! Who were your guides?
I agree on the ferry - I think it was mainly a change of pace from windy roads on the bus.
We just did ABD Italy/Switzerland this summer and had a great experience, so sorry to hear yours was mediocre.

 

[TeeKo]

Glad to hear you loved Norway too! Who were your guides? .

Mike Hage and Oline Saether
This was Olines's first year. They were both wonderful, fun, organized, kind.
We met the famous Torgier on RIB fjord safari day but he was not our guide.