Very silly question about electronic devices on the buses....

[aimathy]

Can anyone tell me if there are any "rules" about having to use headphones while using gadgets (iPhones, video games etc) on the buses for ABD tours? I know it seems silly, but my biggest pet peeve is having to listen to someone's kid show out loud or a video game in a contained space. I want to take our family on one of the tours, if we can swing it financially, but it would seriously ruin my trip if we had to listen to these types of things on the bus all the time. I have a five year old and I'm sure she'd want to watch or play something on my iPhone now and then to pass the time, but she would 100% have headphones on. It drives me nuts to go out to dinner, only to hear Elmo or Call of Duty blasting away at the table next to me. Okay, rant over just wondering!!! Thanks!

 

[lovetotravel]

Can anyone tell me if there are any "rules" about having to use headphones while using gadgets (iPhones, video games etc) on the buses for ABD tours? I know it seems silly, but my biggest pet peeve is having to listen to someone's kid show out loud or a video game in a contained space. I want to take our family on one of the tours, if we can swing it financially, but it would seriously ruin my trip if we had to listen to these types of things on the bus all the time. I have a five year old and I'm sure she'd want to watch or play something on my iPhone now and then to pass the time, but she would 100% have headphones on. It drives me nuts to go out to dinner, only to hear Elmo or Call of Duty blasting away at the table next to me. Okay, rant over just wondering!!! Thanks!

There are no rules. Some kids played without earphones and the volume loud. But I always carry earplugs so when I wanted to sleep, I used them. The guides talk on the bus and sometimes there is a movie. You can pick where you want to sit so you can definitely avoid this situation when you start to get to know who uses such electronics loudly.

 

[Bobo912]

I don't remember if this was the case on every ABD we've taken, but on the latest one the guides told the kids that if they wanted to use electronic devices to turn the volume off or use headphones. I've taken four ABDs and I've never heard any noise from any electronics on the bus.

 

[RSM]

Our experience is that the kids tend to flock towards the back of the bus. There tends to be a mix of talking, looking at sites/scenery, and playing video games. I don't recall game volume being an issue on the first 2 ABDs we took, but on this last one there was one kid that sporadically had the volume pretty high (we were sitting towards the back of the bus). It didn't really disrupt anything and if we had moved up 2 or 3 rows we probably wouldn't have been able to hear it. In general though, I don't recall any rules or policies.

 

[carpenta]

Our experience is that the kids tend to flock towards the back of the bus. There tends to be a mix of talking, looking at sites/scenery, and playing video games. I don't recall game volume being an issue on the first 2 ABDs we took, but on this last one there was one kid that sporadically had the volume pretty high (we were sitting towards the back of the bus). It didn't really disrupt anything and if we had moved up 2 or 3 rows we probably wouldn't have been able to hear it. In general though, I don't recall any rules or policies.

On our three tours with ABD (in the U.S.) never had a problem with loud music nor rowdy kids. All were well behaved.

 

[Bobo912]

You can't always count on being able to move away from anyone you don't want to sit near. On our last trip the bus was full.

 

[sayhello]

Personally, if it was me and that was a problem (which it would be if I didn't take Adults Only trips) I would mention it to the Adventure Guides when you first meet them (don't wait until you're on the bus) and ask them if they could ask the kids to use headphones. They really want you to have a good trip, and that seems like a simple enough request for them to honor. But that's just guessing on my part. You could call ABD and ask them if there's a formal policy, but I still think requesting it from the Adventure Guides is the best way to go.

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[lovetotravel]

Personally, if it was me and that was a problem (which it would be if I didn't take Adults Only trips) I would mention it to the Adventure Guides when you first meet them (don't wait until you're on the bus) and ask them if they could ask the kids to use headphones. They really want you to have a good trip, and that seems like a simple enough request for them to honor. But that's just guessing on my part. You could call ABD and ask them if there's a formal policy, but I still think requesting it from the Adventure Guides is the best way to go.

Sayhello

Excellent advice!!!

 

[Tozzie]

Actually there is a rule about using them so they dont disturb others I don't emember where i read it possibly in a pre arrival guide

 

[SingingMom]

Our trip last year only had two children and our almost 19 year old daughter. It was also a relatively small group. I am a little apprehensive about this week's tour, since it s larger and has more children. The dates didn't work for us to do an adults exclusive trip this year. We had such a wonderful experience last year - hoping this trip is equally terrific!!

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

 

[aimathy]

Thank you everyone, for your input. I think the suggestion to bring it up to the guides at the start of the trip is a good idea. Thank you for the advice!

 

[DisneyCruisin']

Our last ABD had a bunch of kids on it and we had no issues with electronics. A couple of the kids had Nintendos but we never heard a peep out of them. Our NYC trip had kids but no electronic issues either (we weren't on the bus more than a half an hour at any point).

I would just wait and see what happens and if there is noise let your guide know. I go with the flow person until there is an issue.

Our NYC trip, the issue was folks getting to the meeting points on time. We had a family 15 minutes late the first morning and evening and then 40 minutes late for lunch the second day. It really got on people's nerves worse than any noise on the bus.

 

[carpenta]

Our last ABD had a bunch of kids on it and we had no issues with electronics. A couple of the kids had Nintendos but we never heard a peep out of them. Our NYC trip had kids but no electronic issues either (we weren't on the bus more than a half an hour at any point).

I would just wait and see what happens and if there is noise let your guide know. I go with the flow person until there is an issue.

Our NYC trip, the issue was folks getting to the meeting points on time. We had a family 15 minutes late the first morning and evening and then 40 minutes late for lunch the second day. It really got on people's nerves worse than any noise on the bus.

Yes Kimberly being late does annoy everyone who had been on time. Our group(s) were not only on time but mostly early. It makes the trip more pleasant when people are not in their seats fuming.

 

[sayhello]

Our last ABD had a bunch of kids on it and we had no issues with electronics. A couple of the kids had Nintendos but we never heard a peep out of them. Our NYC trip had kids but no electronic issues either (we weren't on the bus more than a half an hour at any point).

I would just wait and see what happens and if there is noise let your guide know. I go with the flow person until there is an issue.

Our NYC trip, the issue was folks getting to the meeting points on time. We had a family 15 minutes late the first morning and evening and then 40 minutes late for lunch the second day. It really got on people's nerves worse than any noise on the bus.

Wow! I've felt horridly guilty being 2 or 3 minutes late! 40 minutes? How very, very rude!

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