Who is and who's not booking with ABD for 2010

[kjd469]

O.K...so we've all had a few days to digest the shock and disappointment in the not-so-new offerings from ABD. I sincerely hope that ABD will look at the sheer numbers of replies to my previous thread...posts and views...and realize that they have a serious problem on their hands! So...I'm curious...after all that we know, who is still going to book a trip with ABD...and who is going to try another tour company...or try something altogether different.

So, I'll start...definitely researching other tour companies, and have my eye on the Egypt tour with Thompson Family Vacations for summer 2010...waiting to see if ABD does some "damage control", but may consider Costa Rica for Christmas 2010.

Anyone else?

 

[Bobo912]

The only way I would book with ABD this year is if I got an offer equivalent to last year's EBD within the next 2 or 3 weeks while I'm still researching other tour companies. And that's not going to happen so I voted No. I was very excited at the prospect of another ABD trip and ready to book on day one if the EBD was offered. I'm pretty broken hearted about the whole thing.

 

[helenk]

I'm still considering a trip to Ireland in May 2010, but then I am a newbie so I am not so "aware" of all the discounts etc that were available in the past. And I would not have taken advantage of the early booking discount anyway.
The trip price from 2009 to this year actually went down $30 so I feel good about booking with ABD. I am just trying to firm things up before actually booking the trip.

 

[Diskidatheart]

My wife and I are going to book the Adults Only Italy trip soon. We've been wanting to go to Italy and ABD seems like the best option. I too am new to ABD, but still think it's a great value for everything you get. I've looked at other trips for comparison and they may be slightly cheaper ($100 if that), but I'd rather spend the extra $100 and get Disney's name behind my trip for peace of mind.

 

[Bobo912]

My wife and I are going to book the Adults Only Italy trip soon. We've been wanting to go to Italy and ABD seems like the best option. I too am new to ABD, but still think it's a great value for everything you get. I've looked at other trips for comparison and they may be slightly cheaper ($100 if that), but I'd rather spend the extra $100 and get Disney's name behind my trip for peace of mind.

I'm glad it's going to work out for you. The difference depends on which trip you're looking at. The trip I was planning to book went up $1300-1500 per person over ABD's early booking rate for last year. It's $1500-$2000 higher than comparable trips I've seen with other companies. If the rate had gone up two or three hundred per person this year, I would have still booked with ABD without hesitation. Hope you have a wonderful time in Italy. ABD vacations really are fantastic!

 

[Phil1019]

Hi, Unless ABD rethinks their new policy of no EBD, unfortunately I will not book with them. I have begun looking at other tour operators.

 

[DMcgill]

I discovered the Dis board today as I was searching the internet to see if anybody else is as bummed about the lack of early booking discounts as I am. We have been on the Costa Rica trip, really enjoyed it and was planning to book with ABD again. Without the EBD I can't manage it. We are a group of six, so for us the discount was significant.

 

[disneytraveler]

For now i am just planning to go to Disney World in 2010 .Not sure what else i will be planning.

 

[Nikisha421]

so yeah my dd and I are going to do are first ABD for Summer 2010...Ill give it a try!

 

[nunzia]

I had to vote not going with ABD for 2010, but maybe I shouldn't have voted, because I never had any intention of doing a trip this year anyway...

 

[Pakey]

No for us. We will travel on our own, the way we did before AbD.

 

[ADVMOM]

I just found this site yest and stayed up until 1 am reading all the information from all of you. I was so disappointed by the increase in costs that I was mourning the loss of my 2010 Italy vacation plans. I called ABD today and voiced my disappointment. The rep said they are documenting all the complaints and passing them along.

I went with my son to Backstage Magic last summer and had been saving up for Italy with my husband next summer. I had avoided tour co. like the plague but ABD changed my mind. Now I'm going to look into the other Tour Co everyone mentioned yest. Thank-you so much for listing other tour companies.

 

[Bobo912]

I just found this site yest and stayed up until 1 am reading all the information from all of you. I was so disappointed by the increase in costs that I was mourning the loss of my 2010 Italy vacation plans. I called ABD today and voiced my disappointment. The rep said they are documenting all the complaints and passing them along.

I went with my son to Backstage Magic last summer and had been saving up for Italy with my husband next summer. I had avoided tour co. like the plague but ABD changed my mind. Now I'm going to look into the other Tour Co everyone mentioned yest. Thank-you so much for listing other tour companies.

"Mourning" - that sums up the way I feel too. I sent ABD an email. I know they read them, at least sometimes, because I sent one earlier this year complimenting the way the CMs handled my trip cancellation and rebooking and I got a response the same day. Don't expect it to do any good, but still wanted to be heard.

 

[Icemann]

Well I called ABD and put my two cents in also about the loss of EBD and price hike.But I'm still going to book with them for Alaska in 2010.I'm a newbie here and have been getting alot of good information and tips. Thank You everyone who has ever posted. We just did a trip with them are first and were very impressed with the outcome.I'm doing a staycation now for us booking hotels and the such what a pain it is.Checked the other companys everyone has mentioned and I'm sorry Disney seems to be the best fit for us.I have not heard one bad experience posted here about any trip just what's happening next year.We don't plan on any European trips just yet we want to see what's in the good ole USA first then we will think about Europe later.Maybe Costa Rica in a few years

 

[Momof3greatkids]

We had thought about London/Paris next year. However, $12,000 plus for 3 is just too much. We are going on DCL the week before Christmas. We are paying $3100 for 3 people in a category 9. The Magic and Castaway will be decorated for the holidays, great kids programs, parasailing, doplphin encounter, jet boat, great shows. Major price difference!

 

[HappyGrumpy]

We had thought about London/Paris next year. However, $12,000 plus for 3 is just too much. We are going on DCL the week before Christmas. We are paying $3100 for 3 people in a category 9. The Magic and Castaway will be decorated for the holidays, great kids programs, parasailing, doplphin encounter, jet boat, great shows. Major price difference!

What a great choice and a great time! We always do the 4 day the 2nd week of Dec! My absolute favorite time to go the World is xmas! Its AMAZING!

You made a great choice as the alternative!

 

[aspen37]

I didn't vote. I'm going on a group ABD trip. We were guaranteed a price for the trip. It is much lower than the 2010 price. We are very lucky. I would not be going if it wasn't for the guaranteed price.

 

[SLK1]

I just did Viva Italia in June and saved a significant amount of money with EBD. I wasn't planning on an ABD this year, but was shooting for the following year (Quest for the West with my DD). It'll be interesting to see if they change their policy due to the responses. Maybe, just maybe, they have been reading these posts on how fabulous their tours are and figure they'll sell them whether or not they offer EBD and they're just maximizing their dollars!

 

[Diskidatheart]

I'm glad it's going to work out for you. The difference depends on which trip you're looking at. The trip I was planning to book went up $1300-1500 per person over ABD's early booking rate for last year. It's $1500-$2000 higher than comparable trips I've seen with other companies. If the rate had gone up two or three hundred per person this year, I would have still booked with ABD without hesitation. Hope you have a wonderful time in Italy. ABD vacations really are fantastic!

We're going to do the Viva Italy trip. When I looked at the price per person, this trip is $3,859 now compared to approx. $3,550 last year. I realize with the EBD, the cost was less, but since they didn't offer it this year and I didn't discover ABD until after all the EBD's were gone, the comparison of apples to apples is $300 per person more in 2010. Did the EBD really give a $1,000 - $1,200 discount per person? If so, then I can see why everyone is so upset. I thought the EBD was about $300 - $500 per person. Maybe the Italy trip you are talking about isn't the same one as I'm planning on going on. Sorry for all the questions, but maybe I'm not realizing how significant the EBD's were last year. Also, I've looked at comparable tours online with Tauck, Austin Lehman, Trafalgar, and Globus. If the 2010 rates are out for these tours, they were very comparable to ABD for this trip, or in some cases, they were even more expensive. Many of the prices were still 2009 pricing and many of those were more expensive than the 2010 ABD rates. I doubt if those prices will drop over $500 pp for 2010, if at all. These companies are all in the business to make money. With all the positive reviews of ABD on this board and all the research you can do due to all the posts on this site, it's a no brainer for me...it's worth the extra $200-$300 per person (if it's even that much more).

 

[Bobo912]

We're going to do the Viva Italy trip. When I looked at the price per person, this trip is $3,859 now compared to approx. $3,550 last year. I realize with the EBD, the cost was less, but since they didn't offer it this year and I didn't discover ABD until after all the EBD's were gone, the comparison of apples to apples is $300 per person more in 2010. Did the EBD really give a $1,000 - $1,200 discount per person? If so, then I can see why everyone is so upset. I thought the EBD was about $300 - $500 per person. Maybe the Italy trip you are talking about isn't the same one as I'm planning on going on. Sorry for all the questions, but maybe I'm not realizing how significant the EBD's were last year. Also, I've looked at comparable tours online with Tauck, Austin Lehman, Trafalgar, and Globus. If the 2010 rates are out for these tours, they were very comparable to ABD for this trip, or in some cases, they were even more expensive. Many of the prices were still 2009 pricing and many of those were more expensive than the 2010 ABD rates. I doubt if those prices will drop over $500 pp for 2010, if at all. These companies are all in the business to make money. With all the positive reviews of ABD on this board and all the research you can do due to all the posts on this site, it's a no brainer for me...it's worth the extra $200-$300 per person (if it's even that much more).

I was looking at the Galapagos trip for 2010. Our EBD for Alaska was $400 per person. I checked the EBD for Galapagos last year and depending on the travel date it was from $400-$680. The big difference on that trip is that the price increased by $1000 per person this year. If it has only been the $400 EBD, I would have booked anyway. There are just two of us, so $800 wouldn't have been a deal breaker. But for a big family I can see how that would be much more significant. $1000 increase plus the $400 EBD is a big difference though, even for just two. Too bad we had our hearts set on that particular trip.