Southern California and Disneyland Adventure

[jimmymc]

Can anyone here tell me how much this trip might “spoil the magic” for younger kids? I’m sure they know the characters are costumes but we sort of don’t talk about that to keep it special. It might be weird for them to see Mickey walking around holding his head under his arm. I am also wondering about any scary rides or backstage things… like scary villains jumping out at us. I remember something like that when we did a backstage tour at some Hollywood lot when I was a kid.

Thanks for any help you can give!

Most of the backstage stuff centers around attractions. They might see how some of the animatronics or ride vehicles work. As mentioned earlier, the closest thing we saw to characters was the storage room at Henson Studios where they keep a lot of the puppets. We did briefly see some face characters backstage right as they were exiting the park, but they kept up their character walk all the way through the doors, past us, and around the corner.

I think if your kid has ever asked questions like "How does this ride work?" then they will be good to go.

 

[jenmiller114]

Pure guess. I suspect ADB is either scrapping shorts or putting them on hold for now and the ones you see are the remaining Escapes for 2023.

I am fairly certain that the escapes are timed to match up with the cruises. If you look at the dates for Barcelona, Rome & So. Cal, they are limited and the description will show pick up or drop off at the cruise Port. I first learned about ABD from a friend on the Panama Canal Cruise in 2019 who did this prior to the cruise. In fact, there were several people who were in that group who also joined the cruise.

When we did the full So Cal tour in February, we timed it with a 5 night cruise which ended the day before this tour started. But we had to provide our own transportation from San Diego. If I were to do it again, I would definitely do the cruise AFTER the tour so I could catch up on my sleep! But having it as a true extension of the cruise would have been great because then they transfer your bags and they do the driving! I am not sure why they don't offer them as much in California. I suspect they are more popular for the specialty cruises. That's probably why they are also popular in Barcelona & Rome. Great way to take on a bonus trip to your cruise without having to do any of the planning.

There are a few other destinations that obviously don't line up with cruises but they probably have a different type of demand for those.

 

[jimmymc]

I am fairly certain that the escapes are timed to match up with the cruises. If you look at the dates for Barcelona, Rome & So. Cal, they are limited and the description will show pick up or drop off at the cruise Port. I first learned about ABD from a friend on the Panama Canal Cruise in 2019 who did this prior to the cruise. In fact, there were several people who were in that group who also joined the cruise.

When we did the full So Cal tour in February, we timed it with a 5 night cruise which ended the day before this tour started. But we had to provide our own transportation from San Diego. If I were to do it again, I would definitely do the cruise AFTER the tour so I could catch up on my sleep! But having it as a true extension of the cruise would have been great because then they transfer your bags and they do the driving! I am not sure why they don't offer them as much in California. I suspect they are more popular for the specialty cruises. That's probably why they are also popular in Barcelona & Rome. Great way to take on a bonus trip to your cruise without having to do any of the planning.

There are a few other destinations that obviously don't line up with cruises but they probably have a different type of demand for those.

The short escapes almost all line up with cruises, except the Winter Wyoming one. The concern is that while all of the European escapes have been announced through 2024, the Southern California ones are only announced through this May (even though cruises have been announced into 2024). We're only a few months away from final payment for trips lining up with fall 2023 cruises out of San Diego and nothing is scheduled, so it seems like they definitely would've announced them by now.

 

[jenmiller114]

The short escapes almost all line up with cruises, except the Winter Wyoming one. The concern is that while all of the European escapes have been announced through 2024, the Southern California ones are only announced through this May (even though cruises have been announced into 2024). We're only a few months away from final payment for trips lining up with fall 2023 cruises out of San Diego and nothing is scheduled, so it seems like they definitely would've announced them by now.

Your guess is as good as mine as to why they haven't announced future escapes. I was just pointing out that they are designed to line up with cruises. I don't think a lot of people know that so I was just putting that out there as an explanation as to why they don't have as many escapes vs. the longer 6 day itinerary. My guess is they are not that popular and really only sell when attached to select cruise itineraries. After doing the 6 day, I can't imagine doing the shorter tour. You miss out on so much! But as an addition to my cruise, I can definitely see the value for some extra magic without the extra work.

 

[mikeishere]

Can anyone here tell me how much this trip might “spoil the magic” for younger kids? I’m sure they know the characters are costumes but we sort of don’t talk about that to keep it special. It might be weird for them to see Mickey walking around holding his head under his arm. I am also wondering about any scary rides or backstage things… like scary villains jumping out at us. I remember something like that when we did a backstage tour at some Hollywood lot when I was a kid.

Thanks for any help you can give!

We went from a character breakfast straight to a backstage tour of how Indiana Jones ride worked. I doubt they’d take us from the enjoyment and interactions of characters at breakfast to potentially seeing characters out of costume 5 mins after breakfast with some. Also I got the impression they where prepared for guests (from on stage as they call it) coming backstage as quite a few cast members lined up and waved to us, not sure if that was random or planned?

 

[mikeishere]

Very late to post this and first post on the forum....We had such an amazing trip as well! Agree it was full on but would do it all again in a flash! So many special touches, terrific guides (still finding ralphies in our photos), great fellow adventurers, and so many wonderful memories. Was having withdrawal so booked a DCL short cruise out of San Diego next April and hope to pair it with a DL trip as well....but now you have us thinking about Christmas....hmmm

Hope you had a great time on DCL!

Omg I have so many Ralphies on my phone haha

 

[Rowlf the Dog]

I'm thinking about booking the 6day trip during my first visit to LA in October. As I understand from their website I cannot book via Adventures by Disney as an European (they only accept Canada and USA as country), so I should book with an travel agent. Or am I wrong?
Besides as I understand from your posts, ABD does send packages before the trip to you with some goodies, the lanyard and luggage tags. Do they also send these to those not living in the US or Canada?

 

[jimmymc]

Your guess is as good as mine as to why they haven't announced future escapes. I was just pointing out that they are designed to line up with cruises. I don't think a lot of people know that so I was just putting that out there as an explanation as to why they don't have as many escapes vs. the longer 6 day itinerary. My guess is they are not that popular and really only sell when attached to select cruise itineraries. After doing the 6 day, I can't imagine doing the shorter tour. You miss out on so much! But as an addition to my cruise, I can definitely see the value for some extra magic without the extra work.

Yeah, the big downfall of the 4 day tour for me is only having one full day in the park. You could add a pre-night to use your ticket all day, but at that point you might as well do the full tour.

 

[jimmymc]

I'm thinking about booking the 6day trip during my first visit to LA in October. As I understand from their website I cannot book via Adventures by Disney as an European (they only accept Canada and USA as country), so I should book with an travel agent. Or am I wrong?
Besides as I understand from your posts, ABD does send packages before the trip to you with some goodies, the lanyard and luggage tags. Do they also send these to those not living in the US or Canada?

It would be easiest to find a travel agent who books Adventures by Disney. If you get an American one they should still be able to book you, as long as you're OK making payments in US dollars. Even in the US it's easier to use a travel agent, since ABD doesn't have a good online portal.

 

[mikeishere]

I'm thinking about booking the 6day trip during my first visit to LA in October. As I understand from their website I cannot book via Adventures by Disney as an European (they only accept Canada and USA as country), so I should book with an travel agent. Or am I wrong?
Besides as I understand from your posts, ABD does send packages before the trip to you with some goodies, the lanyard and luggage tags. Do they also send these to those not living in the US or Canada?

Yes they do send to people outside the USA as I live in the Uk and got my package. I didn’t book direct with ABD but I’m sure they still let people in Europe book through them.

 

[sayhello]

I'm thinking about booking the 6day trip during my first visit to LA in October. As I understand from their website I cannot book via Adventures by Disney as an European (they only accept Canada and USA as country), so I should book with an travel agent. Or am I wrong?
Besides as I understand from your posts, ABD does send packages before the trip to you with some goodies, the lanyard and luggage tags. Do they also send these to those not living in the US or Canada?

I can't imagine they would send the "goodies" directly to you due to customs and other issues, but since you'd have to book through a Travel Agent, I'd assume they'd send them to your TA, and the TA would send it to you. But that's just a guess on my part. Whatever ABD specialist TA you book with should know the answer to that themselves. If they don't, book elsewhere!

Sayhello

 

[Duck In Blue]

I'm thinking about booking the 6day trip during my first visit to LA in October. As I understand from their website I cannot book via Adventures by Disney as an European (they only accept Canada and USA as country), so I should book with an travel agent. Or am I wrong?
Besides as I understand from your posts, ABD does send packages before the trip to you with some goodies, the lanyard and luggage tags. Do they also send these to those not living in the US or Canada?

I live in the UK and booked the trip through Dreams Unlimited (sponsor of this site). They had the added advantage of giving a booking credit which reduced the cost of the trip.

I can't imagine they would send the "goodies" directly to you due to customs and other issues, but since you'd have to book through a Travel Agent, I'd assume they'd send them to your TA, and the TA would send it to you. But that's just a guess on my part. Whatever ABD specialist TA you book with should know the answer to that themselves. If they don't, book elsewhere!

Sayhello

ABD did send the goodies to me in the UK, they didn't come from the TA, It was a pleasant surprise when UPS turned up as I wasn't expecting them!

 

[irlapes]

I'm thinking about booking the 6day trip during my first visit to LA in October. As I understand from their website I cannot book via Adventures by Disney as an European (they only accept Canada and USA as country), so I should book with an travel agent. Or am I wrong?
Besides as I understand from your posts, ABD does send packages before the trip to you with some goodies, the lanyard and luggage tags. Do they also send these to those not living in the US or Canada?

I have booked this trip for August 2023 and Iive in Spain.
I got in contact with one of the Dreams Unlimited TAs and he's answering all my questions as soon as possible (due to time difference). In my case, I selected an spanish speaker TA as i wanted to avoid any language barrier misunderstandings.
About the goodies, I expect to receive them. I was told they are shipped no matter the country.

Regards

 

[Rowlf the Dog]

I have booked this trip for August 2023 and Iive in Spain.
I got in contact with one of the Dreams Unlimited TAs and he's answering all my questions as soon as possible (due to time difference). In my case, I selected an spanish speaker TA as i wanted to avoid any language barrier misunderstandings.
About the goodies, I expect to receive them. I was told they are shipped no matter the country.

Regards

I've now also booked this trip with Dreams Unlimited and will go in October

 

[irlapes]

Hey this thread is a ghost town lately...
Anyone going on this trip in the near future?

 

[jimmymc]

Hey this thread is a ghost town lately...
Anyone going on this trip in the near future?

Just made my final payment for August.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

We were going in September but the departure was cancelled. Now we're going in December. Never seen DL during the holidays so we're excited.

 

[irlapes]

Just made my final payment for August.

When in August?! We're going on the 13th!!

 

[OKW Lover]

We were going in September but the departure was cancelled. Now we're going in December. Never seen DL during the holidays so we're excited.

You'll love DL decorated for the holidays!!! They seem to do so much more out there in terms of decorating, and attraction overlays, than you'll find in the Florida parks.

 

[irlapes]

We were going in September but the departure was cancelled. Now we're going in December. Never seen DL during the holidays so we're excited.

Holidays must ba a magical moment to go to DL.

You will enjoy it very much