Quest for the West

[AnnMarie3]

We are thinking of the Quest for the West Yellowstone tour for July 2010. Our kids ages at the time of the trip will be dd6 and ds14. I worry that my ds, being too old for the junior adventurers, will be stuck with only the adults for company. For anyone that has done this tour with young teenagers, how did they enjoy it? And for my dd6, I hope she is able to do the hikes , rafting, and horseback riding. I would appreciate any info.

Thanks

 

[Tozzie]

We are thinking of the Quest for the West Yellowstone tour for July 2010. Our kids ages at the time of the trip will be dd6 and ds14. I worry that my ds, being too old for the junior adventurers, will be stuck with only the adults for company. For anyone that has done this tour with young teenagers, how did they enjoy it? And for my dd6, I hope she is able to do the hikes , rafting, and horseback riding. I would appreciate any info.

Thanks

Happygrumpy went on this trip and hopefully will be able to answer your questions. A word of caution before you book this trip call ABD and find out if any of the activities are age restricted, While ABD sets a minimum age for the trips they also deal with outside vendors who have age restrictions that are higher than the age ABD allows on the trip. I know on one trip and I don't remember which one, there is an activity where the minimum age is 8 yet the age for the trip is 6.

 

[sayhello]

Happygrumpy went on this trip and hopefully will be able to answer your questions.

HappyGrumpy went on an Adults Only trip, however. Don't know how well she'll be able to answer questions about young teenagers...

Good advice about checking out the minimum ages for the activities!

Sayhello

 

[HappyGrumpy]

SayHello is correct I did do the adults only!

Ok, so here are my thoughts!

Looking at the minimum and suggested age requirements I have to say I am kinda shocked that the recommended age is 6.

I say that b/c there were parts of the trip that were VERY physical. I am not even thinking about the WWR I am thinking of the couple of hikes we did in Jenny Lake and Artist Point. Not extreme but if your not a physically active family couple that with the altitude changes it could prove to be more than what you bargained for!

Our weather was also perfect! Not too hot and not too cold. If you guys go during the summer you have now added heat as a factor on top of the physical and any potential altitude changes you may or may not be used to!

The guides were very good about giving alternatives for those who maybe were not up to it. Landon and Daniel are GREAT guides and their personalities lend themselves to being at the ready when a kid on the trip may need another alternative!


You obviously know your kids best and what they can deal with!
If I had kids I would most likely wait until they were at least 8 or 9. I feel Due to the physicality of the trip and the beauty and location, they would appreciate it a little more. Thats my personal opinion!! Take it for what its worth! Here is the link to our trip report! Regardless you cannot go wrong with ABD!

http://gallery.me.com/samashsound

 

[HappyGrumpy]

I worry that my ds, being too old for the junior adventurers, will be stuck with only the adults for company. For anyone that has done this tour with young teenagers, how did they enjoy it? And for my dd6, I hope she is able to do the hikes , rafting, and horseback riding. I would appreciate any info.

I am a dork!! Let me say I woke up from an unexpected nap and was half awake when I read this! Your 14 year Old would be FINE!! You 6 year old .....
I am a little more "iffy". That just seems so young for this trip! If you were my sister who wanted to take my 6 year old niece I would say wait.

Again my opinion....

 

[glassslipper2004]

I haven't been on the Quest trip but the Southwest one seems similar. My girls this summer were 10 and 11, and they had a fantastic time, as did kids in the group that were older. There were definitely a few 14-15 year olds in the group, they seemed to enjoy themselves too. I think the youngest kids were about 8 - the one I have in mind was perfectly happy except for on the horseback riding trip, but that might have had more to do with horses than with her age (some 8 year olds would love horseback riding, some wouldn't).

You might want to consider how much you and your family would be willing to cart around your 6 year old - on our Viva Italia trip, the youngest boy had a teenage brother who did a fantastic job of letting him ride on his shoulders and generally entertain him.

Disney will do as much as they can to help you with any problems that arise, and the guides are great at making the kids happy - a super part of the ABD experience.

 

[Turtlemom]

We did Qfor theW last summer with dd9 and dd14. They ablsolutely loved it. Although some parts of the trip are physical (the hiking), the younger kids usually scampered up those trails like mountain goats while us adults were lagging behind. I agree with HappyGrumpy, Landon and Daniel were wonderful guides--but I've never had a bad guide in the 3 ABD trips that we've been on. As for your teen--try to pump the ABD reservations agent to find out the approximate age ranges of kids on the trips you are considering. On our trip, there was a group of teens from different families that bonded together. Also, there was a group of younger kids (7-9) and tween kids (11-13) who bonded together. As long as there are other kids in the age range of your kids--they should have a wonderful time.

Just my opinion! Good luck!

Turtlemom

 

[AnnMarie3]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and advice. It seems we may should wait until dd is a little older before we attempt this. She is a tiny little thing who still needs a stroller to make it through a long day at the theme parks!