Searching for Signature

[couture1]

Has anyone traveled on the Italy Signature trip? Any tips, thoughts?
I'm concerned that the August heat might be rough, or that the Europe vacation crowds would be difficult in August?

 

[WeLoveABD]

We did the Italy trip in 2007 (with Heidi and Marco--anyone know if Heidi is still doing ABD trips?)--it had many of the same elements that the Signature trip now has, including the hotel in Rome. We loved that hotel--very central, there is a subway stop nearby (I used it one evening--easy/efficient), and an interesting McDonalds in the same building (coffee section, dessert section etc--normally I avoid the American fast food chains on trips, but this was actually pretty interesting). We went in June--so crowds were not too bad, weather was warm (humid--fogged up the camera I had, causing it to stop working--right at the beginning of our trip! Ended up buying a camera at an electronics shop at the train station not too far away--have to use an adapter to charge the battery at home due to the European plug on the camera battery charger!). I imagine the weather will be hot, but Disney will get you into shade--and first class hotels--so I'd just pack a small portable fan to carry (one of those ones you hang on your neck). The pool at the Rome hotel is on the roof--so you swim and look over the Rome skyline! There are glass floors in the lobby area that you can look down into and see ancient ruins. We went in a couple of days early and stayed at a hotel near the airport that had a shuttle into town--so we took that in, roamed Rome on our own, then on the morning ABD was to pick us up we shuttled back to the airport and met the ABD folks.

Now...we try to book prenights or postnights with ABD and that resolves all of these complicated shuttle/hotel/transport arrangements!

 

[glassslipper2004]

We also did Viva Italia with Heidi and Marco (we love them!) a few years ago, in August. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I don't mind the hot weather, and it didn't get in our way. We didn't notice any particular crowds except for our day in Florence, when it did seem really packed.

The trip is absolutely fantastic, by the way - you will love it!

 

[CoolDisGuy]

Is there another thread for the Signature Italy trip?

Also, there are two day trips that I was hoping to fit in during the trip. The first would be to Pompeii to see the ruins and the second would be to Pisa to see the leaning tower.

Any advice on how best to do this or whether I should just stick to the Disney itinerary. Of the two, Pompeii is more important to me.

Thanks!

Looking to travel in May 2013

 

[sayhello]

Is there another thread for the Signature Italy trip?

Also, there are two day trips that I was hoping to fit in during the trip. The first would be to Pompeii to see the ruins and the second would be to Pisa to see the leaning tower.

Any advice on how best to do this or whether I should just stick to the Disney itinerary. Of the two, Pompeii is more important to me.

Thanks!

Looking to travel in May 2013

I didn't create a separate Meets thread for the Signature trip. I can if you want, but I figured it was close enough to the "regular" Viva Italia trip, that the info would overlap. Let me know what you'd like.

Here's a couple of existing threads discussing a side trip to Pompeii during Viva Italia:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2277565&highlight=pompeii

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44379515&highlight=pompeii#post44379515

Same thing for a side trip to Pisa:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44903976&highlight=leaning#post44903976

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2471113&highlight=pisa

Sayhello

 

[tufbuf]

My suggestion would be to fly in to Naples before the ABD if you really want to see Pompeii. It's a good distance from Rome and you need a full day at least to fully appreciate it. It's a large area and the tours cover a limited interesting area. While you're there, you might want to consider other nearby attractions as well. You can climb Mt. Vesuvius or take a day trip to Capri. From there, you can take the train to Rome before your adventure starts. Pisa is just the Leaning Tower and the Duomo. You might be able to wing it when you are in the Florence area. Half a day should be fine. It will be trickier if you want to climb the tower since they are very particular about booking it beforehand and the time you're supposed to climb it.

My thoughts...

 

[JWren1234]

We did the Italy trip in 2007 (with Heidi and Marco--anyone know if Heidi is still doing ABD trips?)

Heidi was one of our guides on the DIS Viva Italia this past May. I believe she said this is her last season with ABD, I think she has a few more Signature trips left.

Jason

 

[tufbuf]

Heidi was one of our guides on the DIS Viva Italia this past May. I believe she said this is her last season with ABD, I think she has a few more Signature trips left.

Jason

We had Heidi too in our VI 2008 tour. That's too bad, she's an excellent ABD guide!

 

[stenogoddess]

Heidi is an excellent guide. She's bought into her own food tour group company in Portland, OR called Forktown. She should have just this summer left with ABD. However, she did say she may reup her contract with ABD because she enjoys it so much. She's an awesome guide!

In case anyone is up Portland way and wants to give it a go:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/forktown-food-tours-portland