Scotland Meets Thread (formerly Scotland: A Brave Adventure)

[calypso726]

They have now updated the PDF version as well to refer to the Signet Library. Writing my email to Ken Potrock now...

I have the other version with Stirling Castle saved on my desk top. I wish I would have thought to save the first one when we booked last year.

 

[wld]

so waited too long to get a prenight at the balmoral. wonder if any of our scotland friends have suggestions for a don't break the bank hotels for one night. also looking at airfare. How far out can you pick your seats? i am used to flying
to florida and pick my seat before i buy! thanks

 

[Calfan]

so waited too long to get a prenight at the balmoral. wonder if any of our scotland friends have suggestions for a don't break the bank hotels for one night. also looking at airfare. How far out can you pick your seats? i am used to flying
to florida and pick my seat before i buy! thanks

Just sent you a PM with the info for the hotel we are staying at for our pre-nights.

 

[calypso726]

so waited too long to get a prenight at the balmoral. wonder if any of our scotland friends have suggestions for a don't break the bank hotels for one night. also looking at airfare. How far out can you pick your seats? i am used to flying
to florida and pick my seat before i buy! thanks

We initially planned on arriving 2 nights before and booked a stay at Witchery by the Castle as a special treat. A few months later we decided to arrive 3 nights before and a 3rd night at WbtC was not in the budget. We used hotel points to book our arrival night at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa. So they extra night isn't costing money out of pocket. If you have hotel points or airline miles (you can convert them to hotel points) you would be able to do the same. When we fly home we have an overnight stay as we are arriving late. We are using a free night at the Marriott that is part of the benefits offered with their credit card. If you have a hotel branded credit card it may offer a free night each year.

With regards to flights, I guess that depends on the airline. We booked using airline miles several months ago and got our seats upon booking.

 

[calypso726]

I was just wondering what type of shoes we should be packing for this trip. Suggestions???

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I'd recommend something like these: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ne...&utm_campaign=PCGOOGLEP3&codes-processed=true for countryside trekking--especially on the Isles and around castles. I always wear some type of waterproof walking shoe. They come in handy in the rain as well.

I'd add a pair of comfortable flats for night that can be dressier if need be and maybe another comfortable pair of pseudo tennis shoes (not white "trainers" as they call them over there). In other words tennis shoes that don't scream tennis shoes. I call them "quiet" tennis shoes Something like these: http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-b...8?adtrack=pgr&term=Women's+Born+Ilisha&offer= or http://www.zappos.com/adidas-originals-dragon-mars-red-originals-nude-mars-red or http://www.zappos.com/saucony-originals-bullet-black-silver~2

 

[Stitchie74]

so waited too long to get a prenight at the balmoral. wonder if any of our scotland friends have suggestions for a don't break the bank hotels for one night. also looking at airfare. How far out can you pick your seats? i am used to flying
to florida and pick my seat before i buy! thanks

Can't really beat the location of Radisson Blu Edinburgh (Won't let me post a link due to being a new member)

It's slap bang in the middle of the Royal Mile.

 

[Calfan]

Can't really beat the location of Radisson Blu Edinburgh (Won't let me post a link due to being a new member)

It's slap bang in the middle of the Royal Mile.

That is where we are staying!

 

[Calfan]

I'd recommend something like these: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ne...&utm_campaign=PCGOOGLEP3&codes-processed=true for countryside trekking--especially on the Isles and around castles. I always wear some type of waterproof walking shoe. They come in handy in the rain as well.

I'd add a pair of comfortable flats for night that can be dressier if need be and maybe another comfortable pair of pseudo tennis shoes (not white "trainers" as they call them over there). In other words tennis shoes that don't scream tennis shoes. I call them "quiet" tennis shoes Something like these: http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-b...8?adtrack=pgr&term=Women's+Born+Ilisha&offer= or http://www.zappos.com/adidas-originals-dragon-mars-red-originals-nude-mars-red or http://www.zappos.com/saucony-originals-bullet-black-silver~2

You KNOW how easy it is to twist my arm into shopping I just bought the New Balance waterproof mid-hikers because I was struggling with whether to bring rain boots in addition to my walking shoes. Now maybe I will just bring these. I also ordered the Adidas trainers so I don't commit a faux pas with my white workout "trainers". The Bjorn ones were out in my size, but I might get those if they come in soon enough.

 

[sayhello]

You KNOW how easy it is to twist my arm into shopping I just bought the New Balance waterproof mid-hikers because I was struggling with whether to bring rain boots in addition to my walking shoes. Now maybe I will just bring these. I also ordered the Adidas trainers so I don't commit a faux pas with my white workout "trainers". The Bjorn ones were out in my size, but I might get those if they come in soon enough.

You know, I've worn my white tennis shoes all over Europe, and I've seen tons of Europeans wearing them, too. I've never felt out of place wearing them, and they are super comfortable. Besides, you'll be walking behind an Adventure Guide holding a wooden paddle that says "Adventures by Disney", so blending in won't really be an option anyways.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

You KNOW how easy it is to twist my arm into shopping I just bought the New Balance waterproof mid-hikers because I was struggling with whether to bring rain boots in addition to my walking shoes. Now maybe I will just bring these. I also ordered the Adidas trainers so I don't commit a faux pas with my white workout "trainers". The Bjorn ones were out in my size, but I might get those if they come in soon enough.

LOL! I basically live in my NB hikers over there. I wouldn't bother with rain boots but that's me. The friend I travel with usually wears her Hunters, but I like breathability

 

[SingingMom]

You KNOW how easy it is to twist my arm into shopping I just bought the New Balance waterproof mid-hikers because I was struggling with whether to bring rain boots in addition to my walking shoes. Now maybe I will just bring these. I also ordered the Adidas trainers so I don't commit a faux pas with my white workout "trainers". The Bjorn ones were out in my size, but I might get those if they come in soon enough.

"Faux pas with my white workout trainers..."

Really? Do they really care what shoes/clothes we wear ;-) ? I didn't notice anything like that in London & Paris last year. Hope Germany doesn't mind my sundresses! LOLOLOL ;-).

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Calfan]

For those on the Aug. 4 trip, I called ABD today because I needed to provide updated passport info for our kids. (We bit the bullet and got new passorts for them even though I still think we would have been fine with their old passports that would have expired in Dec. of this year -- I decided it would be supremely stupid (not to mention so disappointing) to get turned away from the airport over the 6-month rule.) Anyway, I also asked about the private tour of Edinburgh Castle to make sure that is still a go with our trip. The rep confirmed that is the case. It is only the farewell dinner that is being moved to the Signet Library. I expressed my disappointment with that venue and was told that ABD is aware of the sentiment. She also told me that Stirling Castle is not available on our date and maybe one of the other 2013 dates. I will be curious to see if any of us gets a response to our emails, etc. I do feel a bit better that we are still getting our private tour of Edinburgh Castle.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I will be curious to see if any of us gets a response to our emails, etc. I do feel a bit better that we are still getting our private tour of Edinburgh Castle.

They are definitely getting the emails. I sent my letter this morning and they accidentally cc'd me on the forward to the ABD group with something along the lines of "Here's another one." I'm sure the woman who sent it is mortified. But at least we know the letters are being read

 

[2BNDisney]

What a fantastic tour I thought that was!! Though I am worn out as I just got back and need some Zzzzz's. But I will throw in a couple of other things. It only rained on us once during that time, but we did take a hike in that slight rain. Someone was wearing tennis shoes and they got soaked. I had my waterproof mid-ankle boots on and never felt it. There are quite a few times when you are hiking through grass so I would not wear white on those days, especially if expecting rain. And you never know when the rain could pop up. And it is so strange there as it gets dark about 10:30 pm and light again around 4:30 am.
As far as hotels, I had a discount rate at the Apex Waterloo which is extremely close to the Balmoral so I just walked my one piece of luggage over there on check-in day. And it was much cheaper. I also saw a Travelodge near the Apex. I took the bus in to the hotel from the airport rather than taxi, and I believe it was only 3.50 pounds. They have a place to store luggage on the bus and if you are not carrying a lot, I found this rather convenient and less costly than a cab (of course if you are staying at the Balmoral or coming in the day of the tour, Disney handles all this transportation for you). The bus driver was very helpful, and I got off at the last stop (Waverly Station). I would say the walk to the hotel was 5-10 minutes. Plus it was not raining.

 

[sayhello]

What a fantastic tour I thought that was!! Though I am worn out as I just got back and need some Zzzzz's. But I will throw in a couple of other things. It only rained on us once during that time, but we did take a hike in that slight rain. Someone was wearing tennis shoes and they got soaked. I had my waterproof mid-ankle boots on and never felt it. There are quite a few times when you are hiking through grass so I would not wear white on those days, especially if expecting rain. And you never know when the rain could pop up. And it is so strange there as it gets dark about 10:30 pm and light again around 4:30 am.
As far as hotels, I had a discount rate at the Apex Waterloo which is extremely close to the Balmoral so I just walked my one piece of luggage over there on check-in day. And it was much cheaper. I also saw a Travelodge near the Apex. I took the bus in to the hotel from the airport rather than taxi, and I believe it was only 3.50 pounds. They have a place to store luggage on the bus and if you are not carrying a lot, I found this rather convenient and less costly than a cab (of course if you are staying at the Balmoral or coming in the day of the tour, Disney handles all this transportation for you). The bus driver was very helpful, and I got off at the last stop (Waverly Station). I would say the walk to the hotel was 5-10 minutes. Plus it was not raining.

Welcome back, Blake! Thanks for the note, and looking forward to seeing your fabulous photos!

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

I did receive a very nice e-mail in response to my e-mail and am expecting a follow up phone call this afternoon. It was nice to see that the letter was very thoughtful and considerate and not some canned response. I did get confirmation that we will still be getting the private tour if Edinburgh castle.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

What a fantastic tour I thought that was!

So great to hear! I can't wait to get all the details. Catch up on the z's fast and report back, LOL.

I did receive a very nice e-mail in response to my e-mail and am expecting a follow up phone call this afternoon. It was nice to see that the letter was very thoughtful and considerate and not some canned response. I did get confirmation that we will still be getting the private tour if Edinburgh castle.

That's good. I'll be interested to hear what they had to say. Hard to believe this wasn't a case of hide the ball though. They had to know when they set the tour up that some of the dates were going to be affected by the Tattoo. We should have been made aware at the outset to choose our dates accordingly.

 

[calypso726]

That's good. I'll be interested to hear what they had to say. Hard to believe this wasn't a case of hide the ball though. They had to know when they set the tour up that some of the dates were going to be affected by the Tattoo. We should have been made aware at the outset to choose our dates accordingly.

I did receive a call from Bruce at ABD and we discussed the itinerary change. I asked for permission to share his e-mail with the DISboards and he said I could. We had a very pleasant conversation and it was quite apparent he truly cares that each guest has an amazing experience and wanted to address all concerns. He plans to call/write each person who expressed disappointment over the change. Per our phone conversation, he did say that an * was indicated for a few dates that coincided with the Military Tattoo with a change to Stirling Castle for the farewell dinner. It was realized recently though, that Stirling Castle would not be a good choice logistically for a farewell dinner on day 8. We leave Inverness early that day and spend a good amount of time on coach to get to Glamis Castle and then back to Edinburgh. By the time we arrive at The Balmoral, we'd be looking at another hour and a half each way to go have dinner at Stirling Castle. Below is Bruce's e-mail.

Dear Terrie,

Greetings from sunny Burbank, California! My name is Bruce and I'm the Regional Manager for Adventures by Disney's trips in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. One of my other claims to fame is that since ABD's inception in 2005 I've had the privilege to be the trip developer for many of our trips worldwide, including Scotland. Scotland is near and dear to my heart , as I had spent time visiting the sights in Edinburgh and the fabled Highlands with my family when I was a teenager (I have Scottish heritage through my father's mother, the Drummonds of Perthshire!). A number of years later as a young man I had quite an adventure riding my bicycle around the country for several weeks. That trip happened to coincide with Heather Season. You might've heard this but there's no more stunningly beautiful place on the planet than Scotland on a sunny day with the landscape carpeted from one horizon to the other in blooming purple heather. That's when I truly became captivated by all things Scottish, it's history, people and culture as well as the unforgettable landscapes.

And that's why it was all the more exciting for me in early 2012 when I and a few others on the ABD team became engaged in the development of our new trip in Scotland. That process was initiated when we caught wind that Pixar's Brave was nearing completion and would have it's theatrical release in late June, 2012. We had one of those "Wow" moments  a Pixar film themed around the life of a young woman in ancient Scotland. How cool was that? And how amazing would it be to build a trip around that concept? Well, one of the many thrills for me in bringing our trip to life was flying up to Emeryville in the Bay Area, to Pixar's headquarters, and interviewing the amazing Mark Andrews, Brave's director with his room-busting outsize personality, to get his take on all the best places to visit in Scotland, and how we could build an itinerary that would fulfill the dual goals of assuring our guests would see the classic sights of Scotland and deliver a magical experience that connected our trip in significant ways to the stories, images, fun and drama of Brave. Oh  we also had to deliver ABD's fabled quality of experience from start to finish, that was critical too. Never before in ABD'S history did we have an opportunity to design an itinerary around the story lines in a movie, in fact a movie which in itself was a work of true creative genius. So this was one very fun, challenging and extraordinary experience for us. And such will it be for the fortunate guests who join us for the adventure.

In any event, because of my involvement with our Scotland trip, and also because of my role as Regional Manager, your email was forwarded to me, and, well, I will confess, it broke my heart a little bit. Mostly because I understood how upset you were, and that I was the reason behind that (I'll explain why in a minute), but also because the essential feeling expressed was one of complete disappointment with ABD, rather than expressing, well, maybe intrigue or curiosity over the choice of venue we had made for our farewell banquet. Obviously, your heartfelt concerns have grabbed my attention, and I am absolutely committed to addressing them as best as I can.

Probably the most important thing I need to mention - and this is the reason why I'm the one responsible for your being upset  is that I wrote the letter you recently received that discussed the change of venue for the farewell event. I clearly see now  in reaction to your concerns, and the same concerns now coming to us from other guests as well  that the letter wasn't clear or specific on the vital question as to why we abandoned Stirling Castle  the original venue we had selected to replace Edinburgh Castle during the period of the Tattoo  and why we would instead be featuring a "library" in Edinburgh. Which  fair enough  at first glance doesn't sound like the least bit of an even swap. So that lack of clarity, that lack of my telling a complete and compelling story, was decidedly a critical "miss" on my part. I apologize for that.

With that said, I want to reassure you that our commitment to our guests' experiences on our adventures is without question a world class commitment. It's one that I believe we deliver almost without fail in destinations across the globe. First of all, we are part of the Walt Disney Company, with its brand promise of heritage, traditions, safety, fun, family values and Magical Moments. At ABD we have an inherent commitment to delivering on everything TWDC stands for, and we are very clear what that is. But even beyond that, we are Adventures by Disney, which has since our very beginning, when we only operated two trips, in Hawaii and Wyoming, garnered the highest accolades from our tens of thousands of guests, many of whom have enjoyed a host of other Disney experiences against which they compare our "product" - and consistently find us to be the Best, and their Favorite Disney experience of all. I trust you will believe me when I say that ABD's unwavering goal is to always exceed our guests already high expectations. This is not an idle boast, it's not an easy plateau to reach, and I'm not saying we do this 100% without fail, but I will say we are pretty doggone good at it.

All of which is to say that we would not ever consciously take away something wonderful  for example, a gala dinner in a real castle in Scotland - and offer a pathetic substitute that is woefully inadequate compared to the original promise of an extraordinary experience. This commitment to "always exceeding our guests expectations" also applies to the case of the Military Tattoo, the Castles and the Signet Library.

I would be delighted to have an opportunity to discuss all this with you further if you would care to do so. I would love to share the story behind our choice of the Signet, and describe for you why the Signet is in fact a wonderful, an amazing, a perfectly suitable choice for our farewell banquet. Let me put it this way: there are "libraries" and then there is  The Signet Library. This is without question a Disney-suitable, ABD-sanctioned, first class venue, and one that's fully worthy of the promise of ABD's Scotland trip in all regards.

Please let me know a good time to reach you.

Thanks Terrie, and I'm looking forward to discussing ABD's Scotland: a Brave Adventure with you!

PS  Before we chat, please imagine having dinner in this rather exclusive, magical setting. There is somebody quite famous who had a posh luncheon there with 80 or so of her closest friends and family not so long agao. Her name is Elizabeth II, Queen of England. She hosts this luncheon in the Signet Library every year, as she spends the first two weeks of June in Edinburgh every season - staying at her home there, Holyroodhouse Palace, which we will be taking you to see along with other sights in Edinburgh. Among many other interesting things, we'll be sharing the engaging story of the Order of the Thistle, and what that means for Scottish history, and for the noble and royal families of Scotland. And the role played in this by the Signet Library as the venue for the Royal Gathering of the Order of the Thistle. We (ABD) have engaged the same chef and catering service for our event. I assure you this is quite exclusive and, well  maybe even on a par with dining in a castle (our dining venue in Edinburgh Castle, while sumptuous, is not nearly so posh as this, although it is, admittedly, in a castle).

And here is Elizabeth, all Pomp & Circumstance, exiting the Signet Library on her way into St. Giles Cathedral (13th century Gothic masterpiece, which stands next to the Signet Library, which is connected to Scotland's original Parliament building, so it's all terribly dripping with Scottish history in the most prime spot on Edinburgh's fabled Royal Mile to attend a ceremony commemorating the ancient Order of the Thistle, in the company of her husband Prince Phillip, her grandson Prince William and sister Princess Anne. You too will be walking in this very spot. I love the plumed hats! And note the astroturf style Red Carpet, well done!

A final observation: we will be taking you to see Edinburgh Castle on a privately guided tour, in the afternoon of Day 2 of the ABD trip, following our activity at Dovecot Studios.

Cheers, -Bruce

 

[calypso726]

What a fantastic tour I thought that was!! Though I am worn out as I just got back and need some Zzzzz's. But I will throw in a couple of other things. It only rained on us once during that time, but we did take a hike in that slight rain. Someone was wearing tennis shoes and they got soaked. I had my waterproof mid-ankle boots on and never felt it. There are quite a few times when you are hiking through grass so I would not wear white on those days, especially if expecting rain. And you never know when the rain could pop up. And it is so strange there as it gets dark about 10:30 pm and light again around 4:30 am.
As far as hotels, I had a discount rate at the Apex Waterloo which is extremely close to the Balmoral so I just walked my one piece of luggage over there on check-in day. And it was much cheaper. I also saw a Travelodge near the Apex. I took the bus in to the hotel from the airport rather than taxi, and I believe it was only 3.50 pounds. They have a place to store luggage on the bus and if you are not carrying a lot, I found this rather convenient and less costly than a cab (of course if you are staying at the Balmoral or coming in the day of the tour, Disney handles all this transportation for you). The bus driver was very helpful, and I got off at the last stop (Waverly Station). I would say the walk to the hotel was 5-10 minutes. Plus it was not raining.

So glad you are back! I can't wait to hear all about it. I know that there is supposed to be a surprise on the final night and that the surprise is still on the itinerary, even for those of us that have the itinerary change. I for one, do NOT want to know what that surprise is I love surprises so please, please, please keep it a secret, at least from me. My inner child thanks you

I did buy some waterproof shoes as CaliforniaGirl suggested. I'm glad to see they will definitely be coming in handy so thanks to you both for the feedback!