Adventures By Disney?

[Alacrity]

Does anyone have any experience with the Adventures By Disney tours? My wife and I are considering some European travel and like the idea of using a tour but haven't used a tour company or traveled in Europe before. We like some of the tours offered but note ABD can be a little (or a lot) higher than other tour companies. Is it worth it? We trust the Disney name and assume the trips would be up to "Disney Standards" but is it worth, sometimes, a notably higher price? We're talking %25-%50 higher, sometimes more.

[DisneySpin]

I don't have experience with the Disney travel company, but I try to get to Europe once a year. Where are you interested in going and what type of travel do you like? Would a cruise work better, nothing like unpacking once and doing a bit of a "sampler" trip for your first time. Vacations to Go and Crucon are both good websites for checking cruise prices, many good deals and frequently give onboard credits. A tour company that does a very nice job is Collette Vacations, good prices, lots of little extras. I did glance at the Disney prices and yes, they are quite high. I take the view that Europe really isn't that hard to do and I would rather use that money for other aspects of the trip. I do mainly independent travel with an occasional tour to a more out-of-the-way location.
Guess I'm hitting alot of points quickly, I'd be happy to share any specific info I might have. There are a number of other Subsonic members that have travel experience, so be patient, they'll find your post too.

[Amy]

I don't have any experience with Adventures by Disney either. I'm sure you would have a consistently high quality experience with Disney, but it might not be worth the additional cost. There are lots of travel companies that conduct the European tours. Your best bet might be to check in with a travel agent. When I traveled around the world in 2003, I did most of the travel on my own, and then joined a few tours here or there in countries where it wasn't really safe to travel alone.
I think if you shop around, you might find it is better to spend a little less on the tour and have more money to spend when you are actually in Europe. Certainly doesn't hurt to check out your options. Adventures by Disney might be what you end up wanting to take after you consider the different choices...

[cy1229]

I don't have experience with the Disney travel company, but I try to get to Europe once a year. Where are you interested in going and what type of travel do you like? Would a cruise work better, nothing like unpacking once and doing a bit of a "sampler" trip for your first time. Vacations to Go and Crucon are both good websites for checking cruise prices, many good deals and frequently give onboard credits. A tour company that does a very nice job is Collette Vacations, good prices, lots of little extras. I did glance at the Disney prices and yes, they are quite high. I take the view that Europe really isn't that hard to do and I would rather use that money for other aspects of the trip. I do mainly independent travel with an occasional tour to a more out-of-the-way location.
Guess I'm hitting alot of points quickly, I'd be happy to share any specific info I might have. There are a number of other Subsonic members that have travel experience, so be patient, they'll find your post too.

So, when you go to Europe, how do you choose your lodging? Do you work with a travel agent? Read tour books? This interests me because I would much rather plan my own trip and do my own thing, and feel confident about navigating public transportation and such, but the lodging thing is a little daunting. It's a balance between decent rate and decent place to stay.

[DisneySpin]

So, when you go to Europe, how do you choose your lodging? Do you work with a travel agent? Read tour books? This interests me because I would much rather plan my own trip and do my own thing, and feel confident about navigating public transportation and such, but the lodging thing is a little daunting. It's a balance between decent rate and decent place to stay.

Nope, no travel agents, nothing against them, I just enjoy doing my research. I choose my hotels, mainly, using the internet. I factor in price, location (including proximity to places I might want to visit), and reviews. Now with reviews, I take things with a grain of salt of course, but I do like a general impression. I really don't need to stay at 5-star hotels, but I do want clean, courteous, and A/C.
I have yet to be "surprised" by any of my selections. I especially love using Google Maps street view and "walk around" the area of my prospective hotel a bit. That has worked really well; I like using public transportation too, when possible, but also want to know I can head out any time of day and not end up next to 3-4 alleys.
So, I rely on sites like that along with Kayak and Tripadvisor, to start, then branch out from there. Another nice site, you have to create an account, but it's free, is SniqueAway; amazing deals worldwide, every week.

[Alacrity]

My wife and I did go with Adventures by Disney on the Viva Italia Signature trip this past May (Rome, Tuscany/Florence, Venice). It was top notch all the way! We've already talked about where to next...but have yet to decide!

Some pics if ya wanna: http://dbeedle.com/Photos/ABD-Italy2013/

[Amy]

My wife and I did go with Adventures by Disney on the Viva Italia Signature trip this past May (Rome, Tuscany/Florence, Venice). It was top notch all the way! We've already talked about where to next...but have yet to decide!

Some pics if ya wanna: http://dbeedle.com/Photos/ABD-Italy2013/

Wow ~ cool! I'm off to see some Italian fotos!

[sfein]

So, when you go to Europe, how do you choose your lodging? Do you work with a travel agent? Read tour books? This interests me because I would much rather plan my own trip and do my own thing, and feel confident about navigating public transportation and such, but the lodging thing is a little daunting. It's a balance between decent rate and decent place to stay.

Just got back from a trip to Paris. What we did was to research using some books (really liked Lonely Planet - Discover Paris). Then we went on Trip Advisor and compared some hotels with what we read. Then, not feeling comfortable booking the hotel itself, we took that information to AAA travel agent and they booked the hotel and flight for us (we did not use their package as the hotel rooms did not match with what we wanted to do). They just booked everything and then offered insurance (recommended for the cost of traveling to Europe with 4 people in our case). After we got to Paris we realized we could probably have booked the whole thing ourselves as the hotel staff spoke English fine. But it was nice having someone with booking experience handle it.

For the original poster, I have no experience with Disney Adventures either but am looking forward to reading some responses as I am also looking at possibly using them.