Hello from New York, where we are home and trying to get used to busy city life after such an amazing week in red rock and canyon country.
First, the official picture count was 1,359. We watched the slide show on the computer late last night, with Rhinestone Cowboy in the background, of course. A few of the Grand Canyon actually manage to keep you a small sense of its vastness and majesty. What's neat is looking back at the early group pictures and seeing how we were all standing with our families and looking happy but sort of formal and then looking at the later pictures and seeing not only how loose and casual and relaxed we look but also how we're all scrambled as it clearly didn't matter who we were standing next to. The evolution is very obvious when you go through the pictures chronologically.
Second, I've been trying to figure out what the components were that made the trip so truly terrific. I think it's a lot of things. To begin with, there's the scenery. I don't think it's an accident that almost every family on our trip was from the East Coast. The difference in the landscape is so incredible and it never gets boring or old. Everywhere you look it's so unusual compared to what we're used to back home. And unusual in a stark, intense and magnificent way. In looking at the pictures, it's clear that they can only give you a taste of what the rock formations and canyons and plant life is like. Being there is really something.
And after the scenery, there's how easy everything is. I've never done a tour vacation before. Having someone else handle virtually all the logistics really adds to the relaxation factor of your vacation. Apart from having to show up on time and get your bag packed on time, pretty much everything else is taken care of for you. Even when you have "on your own" time, the guides suggest restaurants and activities and help you make plans. Speaking as someone who is a major planner, it felt pretty good to give the responsibility to others for a change.
All the hotels are good to great without being fancy. I would rank Red Cliffs as my favorite (because the rooms were so big and the setting so spectacular), the Amara second (very comfortable) and the Grand third, because it's the most plain, was third, but it really was fine. The food is fine, and occasionally quite good. But the trip is not really about the hotels or about the food. There was plenty of food and comfort for a good night's sleep and a safe home away from home. And that was what all the places needed to be. I really am not aware of any hotel in any of the places we stayed that was nicer than the ones Disney chose for us.
Of course a lot of what made the tour so great was the way our group connected, and that is something that changes from tour to tour. But I do think that it's a certain fun-loving and friendly kind of family that is drawn to Disney and to an Adventure by Disney, so I think for all the tours, there will be really good people who like to laugh and are interested in the sights and who want to meet other people (otherwise, why do a tour). The age differences among the kids mattered less and less every day, so that at the end, they were just all playing together. And the more the kids hung out together, the more the grown-ups were free to hang out together and get to know one another. I believe this has to happen on every tour. There's a lot of togetherness, and a lot of shared "WOWs" and a lot of laughter. These things bring people together.
And finally, there were the guides. I take it as a given that it takes a certain kind of person to be a tour guide, to begin with, and to be a Disney tour guide even more so. So, out of the box, I suspect that all the guides who do these tours are really terrific. But we only had 2, Tiffany and Geraldine, and they were really special. It was clear how much they liked each other, which of course helped. They were definitely in sync with each other, and while I won't share a lot of the stuff they did that is worth waiting to be surprised by, I will tell you that there were several times that I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Of course they were really knowledgeable, about the areas we visited, about the things we would see on the drives, about the hotels, about the activities, all that stuff. And of course they were really personable and terrific with the kids. These are things that we all would expect from anyone Disney would trust with us. But the two of them had something extra, something that I think Disney can't teach, that is just in who they are, and their warmth and genuine interest in getting to know us and watch us experience this part of the country for the first time pervaded our whole adventure. The consistent themes on our last night were how sad we were that the trip was over and how big a role Tiffany and Geraldine played in making the week so great.
And I would be remiss not to mention Freddy, our driver. Freddy is very cool, knew his way around the roads really well, has 3 kids and 10 grandkids and seemed to get a big kick out of all of us, especially all the kids. We looked forward to seeing him every day too.
So that's it really. To reiterate a point I made before, if you are interested in seeing this part of the country, take this trip. You will have a blast and I think you will come home changed. I know we are now eager to see even more of that part of the country, maybe Bryce and Zion Canyons and also are considering Quest for the West, just because it must be gorgeous in Wyoming too. It's true what they say: the memories will last a lifetime.
As always, I'm happy to answer any questions. Thanks for reading.
First, the official picture count was 1,359. We watched the slide show on the computer late last night, with Rhinestone Cowboy in the background, of course. A few of the Grand Canyon actually manage to keep you a small sense of its vastness and majesty. What's neat is looking back at the early group pictures and seeing how we were all standing with our families and looking happy but sort of formal and then looking at the later pictures and seeing not only how loose and casual and relaxed we look but also how we're all scrambled as it clearly didn't matter who we were standing next to. The evolution is very obvious when you go through the pictures chronologically.
Second, I've been trying to figure out what the components were that made the trip so truly terrific. I think it's a lot of things. To begin with, there's the scenery. I don't think it's an accident that almost every family on our trip was from the East Coast. The difference in the landscape is so incredible and it never gets boring or old. Everywhere you look it's so unusual compared to what we're used to back home. And unusual in a stark, intense and magnificent way. In looking at the pictures, it's clear that they can only give you a taste of what the rock formations and canyons and plant life is like. Being there is really something.
And after the scenery, there's how easy everything is. I've never done a tour vacation before. Having someone else handle virtually all the logistics really adds to the relaxation factor of your vacation. Apart from having to show up on time and get your bag packed on time, pretty much everything else is taken care of for you. Even when you have "on your own" time, the guides suggest restaurants and activities and help you make plans. Speaking as someone who is a major planner, it felt pretty good to give the responsibility to others for a change.
All the hotels are good to great without being fancy. I would rank Red Cliffs as my favorite (because the rooms were so big and the setting so spectacular), the Amara second (very comfortable) and the Grand third, because it's the most plain, was third, but it really was fine. The food is fine, and occasionally quite good. But the trip is not really about the hotels or about the food. There was plenty of food and comfort for a good night's sleep and a safe home away from home. And that was what all the places needed to be. I really am not aware of any hotel in any of the places we stayed that was nicer than the ones Disney chose for us.
Of course a lot of what made the tour so great was the way our group connected, and that is something that changes from tour to tour. But I do think that it's a certain fun-loving and friendly kind of family that is drawn to Disney and to an Adventure by Disney, so I think for all the tours, there will be really good people who like to laugh and are interested in the sights and who want to meet other people (otherwise, why do a tour). The age differences among the kids mattered less and less every day, so that at the end, they were just all playing together. And the more the kids hung out together, the more the grown-ups were free to hang out together and get to know one another. I believe this has to happen on every tour. There's a lot of togetherness, and a lot of shared "WOWs" and a lot of laughter. These things bring people together.
And finally, there were the guides. I take it as a given that it takes a certain kind of person to be a tour guide, to begin with, and to be a Disney tour guide even more so. So, out of the box, I suspect that all the guides who do these tours are really terrific. But we only had 2, Tiffany and Geraldine, and they were really special. It was clear how much they liked each other, which of course helped. They were definitely in sync with each other, and while I won't share a lot of the stuff they did that is worth waiting to be surprised by, I will tell you that there were several times that I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Of course they were really knowledgeable, about the areas we visited, about the things we would see on the drives, about the hotels, about the activities, all that stuff. And of course they were really personable and terrific with the kids. These are things that we all would expect from anyone Disney would trust with us. But the two of them had something extra, something that I think Disney can't teach, that is just in who they are, and their warmth and genuine interest in getting to know us and watch us experience this part of the country for the first time pervaded our whole adventure. The consistent themes on our last night were how sad we were that the trip was over and how big a role Tiffany and Geraldine played in making the week so great.
And I would be remiss not to mention Freddy, our driver. Freddy is very cool, knew his way around the roads really well, has 3 kids and 10 grandkids and seemed to get a big kick out of all of us, especially all the kids. We looked forward to seeing him every day too.
So that's it really. To reiterate a point I made before, if you are interested in seeing this part of the country, take this trip. You will have a blast and I think you will come home changed. I know we are now eager to see even more of that part of the country, maybe Bryce and Zion Canyons and also are considering Quest for the West, just because it must be gorgeous in Wyoming too. It's true what they say: the memories will last a lifetime.
As always, I'm happy to answer any questions. Thanks for reading.
