Central Europe: Austria, Germany & Czech Rep. Meets Thread

[RSM]

If you book the pre- night on your own at the same hotel, do you still get the transfers?

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I'm not sure. I thought that you didn't get the transfer if you booked the hotel on your own. But, maybe that is if you are staying at a different hotel. When I send the logistics information in, I'll give them a call and ask.

 

[DisneyKevin]

If you book the pre- night on your own at the same hotel, do you still get the transfers?

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Transfers are only included on pre and post nights booked through ABD.

If you add a pre or post night on your own (even at the same hotel), transfers are not included.

ABD pre and post nights also include taxes and breakfast.

These costs should be added into your calculations.

The buffet breakfasts at some of the larger / finer hotels in Europe can be extraordinarily expensive.

If you paid for breakfast on your own at one of the hotels in Venice, the cost was 89 euros......EACH!

 

[Marthasor]

I just called to inquire about a pre-night stay and ABD quoted me $379 per night for 2 guests including ground transfers in Prague (we are going in July). It looks like I could save about $300 if I do this on my own (including booking our own transfer and we need two rooms). My DH will not be happy, though, if we have to switch rooms!

 

[carpenta]

......but the buffets are quite good.....not 89 euros good but a nice add to the room. The Euro hotels we have stayed have been quite nicely appointed with many having a spa and roof top pools. Not the Holiday Inn IMO. We book our per and post through Disney just to take the apprehension and worry out of the equation for we ARE on vacation. Disney has been flawless in all our trip with ABD and DCL. We took the Southwest tour with ABD this June and were delayed through Chicago. The group left without us for to keep with the schedule BUT ABD had a Town car waiting with driver took greet us as we deplaned. We met up with the group at the hotel.

 

[carpenta]

I just called to inquire about a pre-night stay and ABD quoted me $379 per night for 2 guests including ground transfers in Prague (we are going in July). It looks like I could save about $300 if I do this on my own (including booking our own transfer and we need two rooms). My DH will not be happy, though, if we have to switch rooms!

The cost for taxi from the airport to downtown Prague is about $25.00 bucks US. We paid in local currency (which I never figured out) but it wasn't much. Prague is a wonderful city and plan a few days to explore if possible.

 

[sayhello]

For me, it really depends. For my Greek ABD, the hotels were relatively reasonable (I don't remember the exact amount), so I booked through ABD. But for my Scotland ABD, it's like $700 per night. I just can't justify that! So I'll be booking Scotland on my own. For Southwest Splendors, pre-nights weren't offered, so it wasn't an issue (I stayed just outside of Phoenix, then went back to the airport to turn in my rental car & join the group transfer). For Knights & Lights, I was staying in Winchester for the first couple of nights, then taking the train into London for 3 days, so the transfers were kind of a moot point, so I booked on my own. (I just took a taxi from the hotel I was staying at to the hotel where the ABD started). And pre-nights on the Med cruise add-on were through DCL, not ABD, and transfers were extra. So I booked on my own. For Alaska, the pre-nights were fairly reasonable, plus I couldn't get a room myself at the same hotel (it was sold out) and I was arriving after midnight, so I decided to book with ABD.

I think you really have to judge on a case-by-case basis. Booking pre- or post-nights through ABD is definitely easier, but sometimes it's just not practical.

Sayhello

 

[Calfan]

For me, it really depends. For my Greek ABD, the hotels were relatively reasonable (I don't remember the exact amount), so I booked through ABD. But for my Scotland ABD, it's like $700 per night. I just can't justify that! So I'll be booking Scotland on my own. For Southwest Splendors, pre-nights weren't offered, so it wasn't an issue (I stayed just outside of Phoenix, then went back to the airport to turn in my rental car & join the group transfer). For Knights & Lights, I was staying in Winchester for the first couple of nights, then taking the train into London for 3 days, so the transfers were kind of a moot point, so I booked on my own. (I just took a taxi from the hotel I was staying at to the hotel where the ABD started). And pre-nights on the Med cruise add-on were through DCL, not ABD, and transfers were extra. So I booked on my own. For Alaska, the pre-nights were fairly reasonable, plus I couldn't get a room myself at the same hotel (it was sold out) and I was arriving after midnight, so I decided to book with ABD.

I think you really have to judge on a case-by-case basis. Booking pre- or post-nights through ABD is definitely easier, but sometimes it's just not practical.

Sayhello

Sayhello, I highly recommend the Radisson Blu Edinburgh for Scotland pre-nights. It is in a great location right on the Royal Mile and is within walking distance to the Balmoral. We just pulled our luggage on over on the day we switched hotels. We found really reasonable rates too.

 

[sayhello]

Sayhello, I highly recommend the Radisson Blu Edinburgh for Scotland pre-nights. It is in a great location right on the Royal Mile and is within walking distance to the Balmoral. We just pulled our luggage on over on the day we switched hotels. We found really reasonable rates too.

Oooo, thanks for the recommendation! That sounds great! I'll check it out.

Sayhello

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

We just returned from the DIS ABD Germany trip and added a day in Salzburg and a day in Vienna on to the end. I posted some pictures on p33 of that thread for those of you who might be interested. We loved Austria and wish we had more time!!!

Shonbrunn was beautiful! We didn't have time to explore the gardens or visit the zoo, but they looked wonderful. I don't think the ABD itinerary includes Hofburg Palace. If not, I definately recommend visiting the Imperial Treasury, even if you don't have time for the silver collection, Sisi museum, or imperial apartments. It was quite something!! St Stephen's Cathedral is amazing as well.

I am glad to see that you get to tour Hellbrunn Palace. We did a Sound of Music Tour that visited the grounds but did not get to go inside. The SOM tour was lots of fun. The scenery is so beautiful that you would enjoy if even without being familiar with the movie. Salzburg was charming. There were gorgeous churches on every corner, lots of interesting shops (delicious chocolate!) and it had a large outdoor market with tons of street food.

Also, regarding the pre-night booking on your own issue, if you are a Marriott Rewards member, it is possible that breakfast could be included. We stayed at the Vienna Marriott on points and their amazing breakfast buffet was completely free. Also, we had access to the Executive Lounge where they served pastries in the afternoon, cocktails, and "snacks" from 5-7 which turned out to be enough for a meal for us - also completely free! Not sure if the one in Prague is similar. It might depend on what level you're at, because DH travels alot for work so he is Gold member. Just something to check out.

Laurie

 

[Calfan]

Any Amazing Race watchers out there? In tonight's episode, they went to Vienna and had to do a task at the Schonbrunn Palace. It definitely whet our appetite for this trip. My kids are hoping we get to do the maze as part of our guided tour at Schonbrunn.

 

[west&east]

Any Amazing Race watchers out there? In tonight's episode, they went to Vienna and had to do a task at the Schonbrunn Palace. It definitely whet our appetite for this trip. My kids are hoping we get to do the maze as part of our guided tour at Schonbrunn.

Oh I hope I can find it On Demand!
My 9th grade daughter has a World History Project on castles from the middle ages and is doing the Hohenwerfen Castle which is where we will have the falconry demo. We are all getting super excited!

 

[disneyphx]

Cool - this is my daughter's first season watching the Amazing Race, so she will be excited!
They went to Vienna a few seasons ago too - there was an eating challenge on the ferris wheel at the Prater

 

[Calfan]

Cool - this is my daughter's first season watching the Amazing Race, so she will be excited!
They went to Vienna a few seasons ago too - there was an eating challenge on the ferris wheel at the Prater

I remember that challenge! Had forgotten it was in Vienna.

 

[distravel]

Hooray! My DH and I just got off the waitlist for the adults only trip for September 13. The activities on this trip look like a lot of fun and the hotels are awesome. We hope that our guide from Germany, Stephanie, is assigned to this trip. She was wonderful. Does anyone have any suggestions for Prague if we arrive a few days early? Thanks.

 

[sayhello]

Hooray! My DH and I just got off the waitlist for the adults only trip for September 13. The activities on this trip look like a lot of fun and the hotels are awesome. We hope that our guide from Germany, Stephanie, is assigned to this trip. She was wonderful. Does anyone have any suggestions for Prague if we arrive a few days early? Thanks.

Congrats! It does look like a great trip! I'm really looking forward to folks coming back & telling us all about it!

Sayhello

 

[SingingMom]

Hooray! My DH and I just got off the waitlist for the adults only trip for September 13. The activities on this trip look like a lot of fun and the hotels are awesome. We hope that our guide from Germany, Stephanie, is assigned to this trip. She was wonderful. Does anyone have any suggestions for Prague if we arrive a few days early? Thanks.

Stephanie is a gem! We had such fun with her and hope to cross paths again!

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

 

[Calfan]

The July 5 trip leaves six months from today! Yesterday, I bought tickets online for Tour 2 of Karlstjen Castle for one of our pre-days. We plan to do Tour 1 in the morning, have lunch and check out the village and then do Tour 2 in the afternoon. We will take the train from Prague. A while ago, I also booked a day trip to tour the Pilsner Urquell brewery and nearby caves for another of our pre-days. The other two and a half pre-days we will spend exploring Prague. Getting more and more excited now that 2014 is here.

 

[hilarys]

Yikes only 6 months from today. I really need to book our flights. I think we are only going to come in one day ahead as much as I would like it to be several.

Has anyone on this trip found any guidebooks that they would recommend?

Hilary

 

[Calfan]

Has anyone on this trip found any guidebooks that they would recommend?

Hilary

I picked up the lonely planet Pocket Prague, and I am quite pleased with it. It is small, so it will be easy to take with us on the go. It also has a pull-out map of Prague. It is organized by neighborhood and includes sites, places to eat, shopping, etc. It provides tips for how to approach certain cites and also how to get to each one. It also provides a bit of historical background.

 

[west&east]

OMG I am getting so excited! I also need to book flights. Probably arriving one day early as well unless the flights are way cheaper to come in another day early.
Just checked in for our April 12th cruise on the Disney Fantasy so too much planning to keep up with!