ABD Backstage Magic 7/31 - 8/5/11

[Chropistopy]

Wow! Sold out already. You all will have some fabulous travel partners in Jeff, Stacy, Lisa, and Paul. I'm a little envious of everyone going on the trip(s) next year...ok, very much envious. You'll have a great time...its an amazing experience.

[jimmaher69]

Hi guys,

I'm Jim, my wife Laura and I will be making our first trip to DL and my first trip to the state.


This will be our 15th anniversary trip and our first time away from our kids (9 & 7).


We look forward to meeting everyone.

[Jeff & Stacy in NYC]

Originally Posted by ragtopday

Sold out - boo hoo!

Now I can sit back and live vicariously through Jeff, Stacy, Lisa and Paul who I'd love to travel with again, but will have to be another trip.

Can't wait to see some of those THOUSANDS of photos Lisa!

All those going on this trip - you are going to have an AMAZING trip! But you knew that!

Originally Posted by Chropistopy

Wow! Sold out already. You all will have some fabulous travel partners in Jeff, Stacy, Lisa, and Paul. I'm a little envious of everyone going on the trip(s) next year...ok, very much envious. You'll have a great time...its an amazing experience.

WE WILL MISS YOU SOOO MUCH!!! And we will follow you as you travel to London and Paris and/or the podcast cruise (trust me, we'd go if we could!). We will be thinking of you every single step of the way!! And someday when we are able to go on a podcast cruise, we will definitely get together!!

LOVE YOU!!

[sshaw10060]

We are so excited to be going. I was doing the math today and I think it is cheaper to buy the Disney Deluxe annual pass for next year. I feel so cool.

[paulasillars]

Originally Posted by sshaw10060

We are so excited to be going. I was doing the math today and I think it is cheaper to buy the Disney Deluxe annual pass for next year. I feel so cool.

I'm dithering over an AP for DL - we will use it for 2 days and maybe a bit in Oct and thought about going to Anaheim a few days before the ABD trip starts. I just not sure whether we would have had our fill of DL with just the ABD or not.

Is that a dachshund in your pic?

[WebmasterCorey]

Excited!! Julie and I are looking forward to the trip, even though we don't what we're doing with the kids yet. Sounds like there's going to be a very lucky nanny in Cali!!

[NitroStitch]

Originally Posted by paulasillars

I'm dithering over an AP for DL - we will use it for 2 days and maybe a bit in Oct and thought about going to Anaheim a few days before the ABD trip starts. I just not sure whether we would have had our fill of DL with just the ABD or not.

Having just been on the ABD Backstage Magic trip, I can say that you really don't have time to see all of Disneyland on the tours. It's more about backstage and behind the scenes opportunities, even though we did see a number of attractions during our ABD time. If you do a few days before or after the ABD trip, that will give you more time to do a relaxed tour of the full parks, rather than feeling like you have to close the parks every night to see everything you don't see with the group...like we did!

[NitroStitch]

Originally Posted by WebmasterCorey

Excited!! Julie and I are looking forward to the trip, even though we don't what we're doing with the kids yet. Sounds like there's going to be a very lucky nanny in Cali!!

We're all going to have so much fun on this trip! I'm sure we're all looking forward to touring with you and Julie and Pete and Walter and the rest of the group that's signed up!

[paulasillars]

Originally Posted by NitroStitch

Having just been on the ABD Backstage Magic trip, I can say that you really don't have time to see all of Disneyland on the tours. It's more about backstage and behind the scenes opportunities, even though we did see a number of attractions during our ABD time. If you do a few days before or after the ABD trip, that will give you more time to do a relaxed tour of the full parks, rather than feeling like you have to close the parks every night to see everything you don't see with the group...like we did!

Ah thanks that helps heaps! That answered my question perfectly! One AP coming up

Originally Posted by WebmasterCorey

Excited!! Julie and I are looking forward to the trip, even though we don't what we're doing with the kids yet. Sounds like there's going to be a very lucky nanny in Cali!!

We are so excited to have you and Julie joining us! YAY!

[NitroStitch]

Originally Posted by paulasillars

Ah thanks that helps heaps! That answered my question perfectly! One AP coming up

So glad I could help! We were really in a panic once we realized we wouldn't have time to see everything we wanted, and we really pushed ourselves til midnight every night to see more attractions after the ABD portion was done for the day. As it turns out, we were able to see a lot on our final day because we flew out just before midnight that night, but we were totally exhausted. Once I shifted my focus from trying to see it all to just thoroughly enjoying the things we saw in depth and catching whatever else we could, I was less panicked. Of course, we're getting an unexpected second shot at seeing what we missed in just under a year!

If we'd had the ability to schedule extra days, we wouldn't have felt so rushed, and we will probably try to do that in July.

[AllyGirl_79]

I can't wait for this trip!! I received an envelope full of forms and info from ABD today -- I was so excited I did a little dance by the mailbox.

Looking forward to meeting Corey, Julie and the rest of our travelling buddies!

[paulasillars]

Originally Posted by NitroStitch

So glad I could help! We were really in a panic once we realized we wouldn't have time to see everything we wanted, and we really pushed ourselves til midnight every night to see more attractions after the ABD portion was done for the day. As it turns out, we were able to see a lot on our final day because we flew out just before midnight that night, but we were totally exhausted. Once I shifted my focus from trying to see it all to just thoroughly enjoying the things we saw in depth and catching whatever else we could, I was less panicked. Of course, we're getting an unexpected second shot at seeing what we missed in just under a year!

If we'd had the ability to schedule extra days, we wouldn't have felt so rushed, and we will probably try to do that in July.

There would definitely be some advantages not rushing though - I love the parks but tend to rush from attraction to attraction so knowing we have the luxury of an AP and time, we can stop and smell the roses and enjoy all the little things that make a Disney trip so special. We'd probably leave late on the last day too, flights from LA to Auckland are usually around 9.30pm or 11pm so it gives us another almost full day of it.

Originally Posted by AllyGirl_79

I can't wait for this trip!! I received an envelope full of forms and info from ABD today -- I was so excited I did a little dance by the mailbox.

Ooooo mail too! Better keep a watch on my letterbox - though dare say it'll take a little longer to get to me!

[mr. figment]

Originally Posted by NitroStitch

So glad I could help! We were really in a panic once we realized we wouldn't have time to see everything we wanted, and we really pushed ourselves til midnight every night to see more attractions after the ABD portion was done for the day. As it turns out, we were able to see a lot on our final day because we flew out just before midnight that night, but we were totally exhausted. Once I shifted my focus from trying to see it all to just thoroughly enjoying the things we saw in depth and catching whatever else we could, I was less panicked. Of course, we're getting an unexpected second shot at seeing what we missed in just under a year!

If we'd had the ability to schedule extra days, we wouldn't have felt so rushed, and we will probably try to do that in July.

Nitro,

I'm thinking of leaving on Sunday after the ABD portion. That should give us all Friday and Saturday to catch up on what we missed on the prior days and tour/soak in the parks. Do you think that sounds like enough time?

[NitroStitch]

Originally Posted by mr. figment

Nitro,

I'm thinking of leaving on Sunday after the ABD portion. That should give us all Friday and Saturday to catch up on what we missed on the prior days and tour/soak in the parks. Do you think that sounds like enough time?

That should probably be enough time for most people. I think Pete was saying on the podcast that they stayed 3 extra days this time, and 2 were probably enough. You really do get exhausted after all the touring and all the incredible experiences! It's a good problem to have.

[Jeff & Stacy in NYC]

Originally Posted by NitroStitch

We're all going to have so much fun on this trip! I'm sure we're all looking forward to touring with you and Julie and Pete and Walter and the rest of the group that's signed up!

Originally Posted by NitroStitch

So glad I could help! We were really in a panic once we realized we wouldn't have time to see everything we wanted, and we really pushed ourselves til midnight every night to see more attractions after the ABD portion was done for the day. As it turns out, we were able to see a lot on our final day because we flew out just before midnight that night, but we were totally exhausted. Once I shifted my focus from trying to see it all to just thoroughly enjoying the things we saw in depth and catching whatever else we could, I was less panicked. Of course, we're getting an unexpected second shot at seeing what we missed in just under a year!

If we'd had the ability to schedule extra days, we wouldn't have felt so rushed, and we will probably try to do that in July.

We agree with you on both of these posts! We are so excited to see Pete and Walter again, as well as meeting Julie and Corey!

We also feel the same about making the most of our time in the parks. Years ago we gave up the "commando" plan in favor of leisurely touring and saving something for the next time. This time we enjoyed being with the ABDers so much that we wanted to do as much with them as possible. So now we are contemplating adding at least one night to the end of the trip. We haven't decided yet. Lisa, what are you and Paul going to do?