Sorry to keep you waiting, but here it is...............
Day 1-We were greeted at the airport by our guides. Then boarded a beautiful coach with all the amenities and driven to the Wort hotel in Jackson Hole. Beautiful cozy clean hotel in the heart of town. The first view of the Tetons just takes your breathe away! We had a nice surprise waiting in our room. Don't want to spoil it for others who may go next year, so I'll leave it at that. The tour group met for dinner and dined outside with a solo cowboy playing guitar. We were all given lanyards with an Adventures By Disney pin. Each night we recived another pin with the day's theme on it. Great collection only available if you go on a tour. On the back they have inprinted "Preview year 2005".
Day2- Float trip down the Snake River-BEAUTIFUL! Picnic box lunch,then a drive to the middle of Teton park for a wonderful afternoon of horseback riding. By now we were all getting to know everyone and wow, what a great group of folks.
Day3-Ferry across Jenny Lake and a hike to Inspiration Point-another beautiful place. Another picnic lunch next to the Tetons (did I say how BEAUTIFUL!!!!) Then a boardwalk tour of West Thumb Geiser. We had a park ranger educating us on the coach on the way there and Disney supplied us with headphones to walk around with so we could hear all about it. When we arrived at Yellowstone Lake Hotel we were greeted by 2 bison at the front lawn. No lie, they wanted to get on the coach, who could blame them . It was magical and oh so Disney, just by coincidence. In my opinion this grand old hotel, other than it's location and bison siteing did nothing for me, and don't be surprised if they tweek it off the itinerary in future Quests For The Wests.Day 4- Ride to Artists point-Wow! Could this be real, it's like a dream.........soooo beautiful!!!!!!!! Great Kodak picture site. Stop for lunch and off to Old Faithful Inn. Wow she is grand! We had a champagne reception at check in. There was also another surprise waiting for us in our rooms.
Day 5- Bike tour around the upper geysers, oh so cool, so much to see. Great lunch at hotel. Free time afternoon. Then after dinner a scavenger hunt in the beautiful hotel. The kids and adults were having a blast!
Day 6- Drive back to Jackson with a stop at the Continental Divide, lunch at a saloon and playhouse. Oh so fun and authentic! Then whitewater raft trip ...........WOW!!!!!!! Did I say how much fun we were having!!!!!!!!! When we got out of the river they were waiting for us with towels, once again only Disney. They think of everything. Half of which I haven't mentioned only because I don't want to spoil the surprise for future adventurers. Then we checked into a dude ranch. They saved the best for last , if you can imagine that. Awesome accomodations and the whole ranch to ourselves. Did I say how BEAUTIFUL it was. Lots of little extras- storytellers and entertainment etc. WONDERFUL FOOD!!!!!!!!!!! The next mornong early we all gathered to watch the dogs go up in the mountains to round up the horses and come down to greet us. An awesome and unique experience. That morning after breakfast we went for a horseback ride in heaven. It just took my breathe away. I had to keep pinching myself, almost just brought tears to your eyes to have such a wonderful peaceful experience in such a BEAUTIFUL place. So glad we got to see that, something I recommend to everyone before you depart this life. Anyway I'm getting all caught up again. That afternoon we did a little fly fishing, the kids enjoyed that too. Our last night was a big party- an outdoor cookout with live music , dancing and great fun with our new friends. Sad to say good bye the next morning. But here I am back to reality.
We had many wildlife siteings along the way- 2 grizzlies, elk, bison, eagles galore, moose, coyotes and more. We loved all the little details that Disney added. To me details are BIG.
All in all I know this is a condensed version, but I hope it is enjoyable. If you have the opportunity, it's the trip of a lifetime and to us worth every dime.
I'm told that this seems to be a huge success, and Disney plans to expand their Adventures to other destinations next year, like the Canadian Rockies, Costa Rica, France and Italy. Keep your mouse ears open later this fall. -Dizma
