Rapunzellover
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
Just came back from Knights and Lights, for the second time, as well as France only. Thought I'd post a quick review of each trip.
Quick thoughts:
1. The Knights and Lights adventure has changed quite a bit since I took it five years ago. Most of the changes were very good. They involved adding archery, scone making, and more time in Windsor. No Stonehenge but that's okay, I think. They also involve adding a great food tour in the Marais District of Paris, a wonderful trip to the chocolate museum with a cool chocolate making activity, and a walking tour of Montmartre with a cool winetasting. All in all, I think it's a much better itinerary. The only change I did not like was the change to the Paris hotel. The Hilton Paris Opera is nice, but the previous hotel, Hotel du collectionuer , was closer to the Champs Elysee, which made it to me a better location. However the Hilton is close to the Galleries Lafayette which is better shopping, imo. Also it seems like the landmark has a lesser quality breakfast now, which was disappointing. And the Hilton's breakfast was nothing compared to the other Paris Hotel. Also, the timing of the Louvre tour is such that you won't get in as in-depth a tour because it will be later in the day and much more crowded in the museum. This was a huge downer to me. All in all, I'd say B+ in changing the itinerary. Mostly good, but a few things were better previously.
2. The France only itinerary will not be offered anymore to make way for the Seine River cruise. This is a huge mistake, imo. This itinerary is absolutely fabulous. The hotel in Deauville in particular is absolutely amazing. And every excursion is fantastic. I would add a couple days to the tour to give more time in some of the locations, and maybe some more time in Deauville, but it was a great, great trip. My only issues with the itinerary were that I wanted more time on my own in Deauville, plus more time in the little villages that we stopped in like Honfluer, and Arromanches-les-bains. I also thought more of the D-Day beaches could've been added, plus maybe Chartres. I really love how this itinerary went to Château Vaux le Vicomte instead of Versailles, as it's actually much less crowded. I also really loved the wine tasting at the Louvre cellars, which I saw had been put on the Knights and lights adventure at one time and then taken off. That's unfortunate. It's a cool tasting. I also really like how they modified the itinerary to go to Musee d l'Orangerie to see the Waterlilies before going to Monet's house. That's a really cool addition to the previous itinerary. Plus, Mont St. Michel is amazing. That will not be a stop on the new river cruise. Which is a shame because it's a must-see in that area . This itinerary gets an A from me.
3. As to the tours themselves: ABD excels at picking their adventure guides and local guides and bus drivers. Plus their restaurants. ABD also excels at little special touches like ice cream when it's really hot and a free beret, or keychain. But as a longtime adventurer, I have noticed that ABD is starting to skimp on certain things. There seemed to be less pins and less photo taking. Less stops for family/group photos. Which I don't mind but some might. There also seems to be a lot more on your own dinners. This seems unnecessary. I would love more special dinners and special locations. A dinner at the shard for example would be cool. Or a Paris dinner at a great French restaurant. I was disappointed that I felt like I spent a lot more out-of-pocket for food on these Adventures than previous ones. Just some little quibbles that I thought some folks might be interested in.
4. Some things to know if you're going to these areas: parliament and big banner under renovation so you will not get that cool shot in the Parliament Square. Westminster Abby is also under construction so you will see a lot of scaffolding there as well. The speedboat ride is not for the faint of heart, in my opinion. Versailles has some rooms closed, so you mayn't see as much inside, plus you may not see Queen Mary's Dolllhouse at Windsor. It was closed.
That's all for now. Feel free to ask questions.
Quick thoughts:
1. The Knights and Lights adventure has changed quite a bit since I took it five years ago. Most of the changes were very good. They involved adding archery, scone making, and more time in Windsor. No Stonehenge but that's okay, I think. They also involve adding a great food tour in the Marais District of Paris, a wonderful trip to the chocolate museum with a cool chocolate making activity, and a walking tour of Montmartre with a cool winetasting. All in all, I think it's a much better itinerary. The only change I did not like was the change to the Paris hotel. The Hilton Paris Opera is nice, but the previous hotel, Hotel du collectionuer , was closer to the Champs Elysee, which made it to me a better location. However the Hilton is close to the Galleries Lafayette which is better shopping, imo. Also it seems like the landmark has a lesser quality breakfast now, which was disappointing. And the Hilton's breakfast was nothing compared to the other Paris Hotel. Also, the timing of the Louvre tour is such that you won't get in as in-depth a tour because it will be later in the day and much more crowded in the museum. This was a huge downer to me. All in all, I'd say B+ in changing the itinerary. Mostly good, but a few things were better previously.
2. The France only itinerary will not be offered anymore to make way for the Seine River cruise. This is a huge mistake, imo. This itinerary is absolutely fabulous. The hotel in Deauville in particular is absolutely amazing. And every excursion is fantastic. I would add a couple days to the tour to give more time in some of the locations, and maybe some more time in Deauville, but it was a great, great trip. My only issues with the itinerary were that I wanted more time on my own in Deauville, plus more time in the little villages that we stopped in like Honfluer, and Arromanches-les-bains. I also thought more of the D-Day beaches could've been added, plus maybe Chartres. I really love how this itinerary went to Château Vaux le Vicomte instead of Versailles, as it's actually much less crowded. I also really loved the wine tasting at the Louvre cellars, which I saw had been put on the Knights and lights adventure at one time and then taken off. That's unfortunate. It's a cool tasting. I also really like how they modified the itinerary to go to Musee d l'Orangerie to see the Waterlilies before going to Monet's house. That's a really cool addition to the previous itinerary. Plus, Mont St. Michel is amazing. That will not be a stop on the new river cruise. Which is a shame because it's a must-see in that area . This itinerary gets an A from me.
3. As to the tours themselves: ABD excels at picking their adventure guides and local guides and bus drivers. Plus their restaurants. ABD also excels at little special touches like ice cream when it's really hot and a free beret, or keychain. But as a longtime adventurer, I have noticed that ABD is starting to skimp on certain things. There seemed to be less pins and less photo taking. Less stops for family/group photos. Which I don't mind but some might. There also seems to be a lot more on your own dinners. This seems unnecessary. I would love more special dinners and special locations. A dinner at the shard for example would be cool. Or a Paris dinner at a great French restaurant. I was disappointed that I felt like I spent a lot more out-of-pocket for food on these Adventures than previous ones. Just some little quibbles that I thought some folks might be interested in.
4. Some things to know if you're going to these areas: parliament and big banner under renovation so you will not get that cool shot in the Parliament Square. Westminster Abby is also under construction so you will see a lot of scaffolding there as well. The speedboat ride is not for the faint of heart, in my opinion. Versailles has some rooms closed, so you mayn't see as much inside, plus you may not see Queen Mary's Dolllhouse at Windsor. It was closed.
That's all for now. Feel free to ask questions.