We have recently been thinking about an Adventures by Disney vacation. We have gotten the brochures, DVD and looked at the site. has anyone done one of these? Any opinions or info at all would help, Thanks.
Is Adventures by Disney worth it?
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Mon, 03/02/2009 - 19:18
Is Adventures by Disney worth it?
Mon, 03/02/2009 - 19:57
We haven't done one, but that's mostly because of two reasons:
1. We don't know enough about them and
2. We're usually not "group tour" lovers, and Adventures by Disney strikes me as a bit too planned out for my taste.
I get the same fear when I think about it as I do when I think of being sat with the same people every night for dinner on a cruise!
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2005 Port Orleans Riverside
2006 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2007 Wilderness Lodge
2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2009 CBR/Polynesian
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 01:00
I haven't done one of the trips, but I have surely checked them out. It can be stressful to research a new place thoroughly enough to know that the hotel, meals, and transportation you're booking are of good quality (I've booked hotels that look beautiful on the website and turn out to be horrible, falling-down structures in bad parts of town). Adventures by Disney does all of that homework for you.
That said, I think I would reserve booking a trip like this for when I want to go somewhere I'd feel unsafe or unsure about visiting on my own, or if I don't trust the internet's reports on the quality or availability of accommodations.
Where are you guys thinking of going?
I think the costa rica trip looks great, but my picks would be:
Ecuador and Galapagos Trip
The South African Signature Trip 
(Assuming I won the lottery of course)
Here's some more research I dug up:
Mousesavers link for ABD
Some reviews of the trips on AllEars
Jim Hill Media review of the London/Paris trip
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Tue, 03/03/2009 - 03:33
I would want to start with the Hollywood, Disneyland trip. It has lots I want to see and is one of the cheapest ways to see if I like ABD.
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 14:55
SpaceAce wrote:
2. We're usually not "group tour" lovers, and Adventures by Disney strikes me as a bit too planned out for my taste.
That's my take as well. You're paying for it, so you should do it, but what if you want to break away from the group and do something else for that particular day or meal?
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 16:40
When you go threw the itineraries there is a lot of free time built in. on average for a 6 day trip only 4 of your lunches are covered and 3 of your dinners. The rest of the time you are on your own. I see it like taking a long tour at Disney world. The whole group is together to 4 or so then see you tomorrow.
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 16:48
marzyar wrote:
When you go threw the itineraries there is a lot of free time built in. on average for a 6 day trip only 4 of your lunches are covered and 3 of your dinners. The rest of the time you are on your own. I see it like taking a long tour at Disney world. The whole group is together to 4 or so then see you tomorrow.
Disneyland/Hollywood sounds great! How long have you guys been considering? Any idea when you'd go?
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Tue, 03/03/2009 - 17:16
SpaceAce wrote:
I get the same fear when I think about it as I do when I think of being sat with the same people every night for dinner on a cruise!
Been there, done that, although its not THAT bad.
On most of our cruises, we've either been with some groups or with other couples, so we haven' had that much of this, but we did have one cruise where the couple we were seated with (although very nice), had NOTHING in common with us.
Makes for a long trip when you're apples, and they're oranges, and never the twain shall meet.
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Tue, 03/03/2009 - 17:59
bali wrote:
marzyar wrote:When you go threw the itineraries there is a lot of free time built in. on average for a 6 day trip only 4 of your lunches are covered and 3 of your dinners. The rest of the time you are on your own. I see it like taking a long tour at Disney world. The whole group is together to 4 or so then see you tomorrow.
Disneyland/Hollywood sounds great! How long have you guys been considering? Any idea when you'd go?
We have been seriously considering it since Sunday when we went to the local travel show and got a ton of information on it. We have always considered a 6K trip out of our price range but this year we were able to book 2 Disney trips, World in May, and Land in October. When we added up the cost of these 2 trips we realized that AbD may not be so out of reach after all. We would probably go May or October 2010 (Since 2009 is kinda booked up.)
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 22:52
marzyar wrote:
We have been seriously considering it since Sunday when we went to the local travel show and got a ton of information on it. We have always considered a 6K trip out of our price range but this year we were able to book 2 Disney trips, World in May, and Land in October. When we added up the cost of these 2 trips we realized that AbD may not be so out of reach after all. We would probably go May or October 2010 (Since 2009 is kinda booked up.)
Sounds great to me! I'd very much like to hear your experience with booking and taking the trip.
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2006 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2007 Wilderness Lodge
2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge
2009 CBR/Polynesian
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 23:45
I totally hear this logic, but I'd be hard pressed to trade in two WDW trips for one Hollywood adventure.
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 03:04
Brad wrote:
I totally hear this logic, but I'd be hard pressed to trade in two WDW trips for one Hollywood adventure.
Hmm...interesting point.
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Thu, 03/05/2009 - 14:44
Yea that is a point of discussion. The trade off is all the things you could never see otherwise. Backstage Tours of Disneyland, Jim Henson's Shop, A Hollywood studio and of course Disney Imagineering. Has anyone ever toured or wanted to tour any of these?
I trade a Day at Disney for a long tour every trip. I give up some park time but I've walked around the Utilidors. Stuck my head in parade floats. Seen the top bottom half of a Jungle cruse hippo, and saw where your hat ends up behind Splash Mountain.
So, Who thinks it would be worth it?
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 15:12
marzyar wrote:
Jim Henson's Shop
That alone would make it worth it for us.
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 16:07
marzyar wrote:
Yea that is a point of discussion. The trade off is all the things you could never see otherwise. Backstage Tours of Disneyland, Jim Henson's Shop, A Hollywood studio and of course Disney Imagineering. Has anyone ever toured or wanted to tour any of these?I trade a Day at Disney for a long tour every trip. I give up some park time but I've walked around the Utilidors. Stuck my head in parade floats. Seen the top bottom half of a Jungle cruse hippo, and saw where your hat ends up behind Splash Mountain.
So, Who thinks it would be worth it?
I think for someone as experienced like you it makes a lot of sense to start seeing the behind the scenes stuff. I've never regretted any tours I've taken at Disney. I certainly doubt that you'll regret getting all those experiences, however the big question is, while you're going the rest of the year without a trip, will your cravings cause you to break down?
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 16:30
Wow, you make it sound like I straight line Pixie dust.
Actually this is the first 2 trip year for me, so 1 a year isn't too much of a change, and as long as I have one on the books I have something to work for.
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 17:04
marzyar wrote:
Wow, you make it sound like I straight line Pixie dust.Actually this is the first 2 trip year for me, so 1 a year isn't too much of a change, and as long as I have one on the books I have something to work for.
It's much more likely to be a "Stand Out" trip if you do the Adventure. Some Disney trips are awesome and some are just nice, but I bet if you go on the Adventure it will be awesome.
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 17:05
marzyar wrote:
Wow, you make it sound like I straight line Pixie dust.
I thought that was what brought us all together like a big family...?
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 22:24
Annie wrote:
marzyar wrote:Wow, you make it sound like I straight line Pixie dust.
I thought that was what brought us all together like a big family...?
Seriously! We're all Disney addicts. We've just gone through stage 1, admitting we have a problem.
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 00:21
marzyar wrote:
Wow, you make it sound like I straight line Pixie dust.Actually this is the first 2 trip year for me, so 1 a year isn't too much of a change, and as long as I have one on the books I have something to work for.
marzyar,
i'm having trouble remembering have you been to dl before?
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 13:12
Nope, First trip this October.
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 15:17
dsoup wrote:
Annie wrote:marzyar wrote:Wow, you make it sound like I straight line Pixie dust.
I thought that was what brought us all together like a big family...?
Seriously! We're all Disney addicts. We've just gone through stage 1, admitting we have a problem.
I shall admit nothing of the sort! Disney's just a...hobby...yeah...that's it...
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 17:15
You can quit whenever you want?
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 22:53
cdub wrote:
You can quit whenever you want?
Sure! We can all quit whenever we want. We just don't WANT to... 
Mon, 03/09/2009 - 22:35
marzyar wrote:
Yea that is a point of discussion. The trade off is all the things you could never see otherwise. Backstage Tours of Disneyland, Jim Henson's Shop, A Hollywood studio and of course Disney Imagineering. Has anyone ever toured or wanted to tour any of these?I trade a Day at Disney for a long tour every trip. I give up some park time but I've walked around the Utilidors. Stuck my head in parade floats. Seen the top bottom half of a Jungle cruse hippo, and saw where your hat ends up behind Splash Mountain.
So, Who thinks it would be worth it?
I vote for it being worth it. It will probably make your other trips more fun and it will definitely be a stand out vacation.
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 00:35
yeah we're all much better off if you go marzyar. we've all been to wdw, so you going on 2 disney trips doesn't do us much good, but i'd love to hear a review of the adventures by disney. go scout it out for us!
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 13:55
greebil wrote:
yeah we're all much better off if you go marzyar. we've all been to wdw, so you going on 2 disney trips doesn't do us much good, but i'd love to hear a review of the adventures by disney. go scout it out for us!
I like that theory. If I can't go, I definitely want to hear about it from someone else
Marzyar--aren't you going to Disneyland this fall? Will the Adventures by DIsney thing happen for you guys next year?
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Tue, 03/10/2009 - 16:21
Yep, It's Disneyland trip No# 1 In October. The earliest We would do the Adventure by Disney is next year, However I was also considering the 4 Land/3 Sea Disney cruse. My Wife has never been on a cruse.
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 17:46
marzyar wrote:
Yep, It's Disneyland trip No# 1 In October. The earliest We would do the Adventure by Disney is next year, However I was also considering the 4 Land/3 Sea Disney cruse. My Wife has never been on a cruse.
I've never been on a cruise either. You should talk to DH for me.
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 01:41
marzyar wrote:
Yep, It's Disneyland trip No# 1 In October. The earliest We would do the Adventure by Disney is next year, However I was also considering the 4 Land/3 Sea Disney cruse. My Wife has never been on a cruse.
How exciting! DL is totally different than WDW, but still my most favorite place on earth!
Regarding Adventures by Disney, from what I have seen the trips look amazing! I would love to do one someday...if we could afford it...they are pretty pricey!
But I think they are wonderful if you are going to an area where you don't speak the language. The Adventure in China would be very interesting to me as Chinese is a tough language, even to learn the basics!
We saw a 10-15 minute piece on it on the Travel Channel. The family went to Costa Rica and the whole experience looked amazing. The tour guides are from the area, so they know how to show you around and speak English!
While it may not immerse you like going on your own, I think it is a fabulous option for a tour...just a little expensive for us!
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Wed, 03/11/2009 - 02:09
Annie wrote:
marzyar wrote:Yep, It's Disneyland trip No# 1 In October. The earliest We would do the Adventure by Disney is next year, However I was also considering the 4 Land/3 Sea Disney cruse. My Wife has never been on a cruse.
I've never been on a cruise either. You should talk to DH for me.
Maybe we ought to start a thread on here. "How to talk the spouse into a cruise" thread!
We could list all the little things you can say that 'sell' a cruise to an unwilling partner. I've gotta give this some thought! 
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