Our family of four (2 adults, 23 and 20) recently returned from our first ABD tour and unfortunately it will be our only ABD. While our guides were great, the tour itself was memorable for the number of misses and perhaps even worse, ABD's total lack of interest in trying to address those misses. If you, like us, ask if ABD is worth the "Disney premium" it charges, the answer is an unmistakable "no." Below are a few of the "highlights" of our experience, but by no means a comprehensive list.
Great Barrier Reef and Cairns
Our tour consisted of 8 families, each with four members. We started in Cairns where the Great Barrier Reef is located. Our "adventure" started with the substitution of an aquarium and public dinner for the scheduled private crocodile adventure and dinner. While the food was decent, the restaurant was so loud no one could communicate such that we ended our first day without really having the opportunity to meet any of the other families. Next, on Christmas day, we took a commercially available boat tour to the Reef with 250 of our closest friends. It offered nothing beyond what we could have purchased on our own at a lower price point. Upon returning we learned that despite being scheduled for dinner on our own, every restaurant was closed for Christmas. Disney decided to "surprise" us by buying us a dinner of pizza and burgers at the hotel where we were staying. If not so sad, the wait time for the food, limited choices and confusion at the restaurant would be comical. The following day we traveled to the rain forest, but the village in which we were supposed to spend a significant amount of time was all but closed for Boxing Day. And to top off the day, the cable car over the rain forest was cancelled due to weather, so it was an early return to the hotel for us with no substitution offered.
Meals
We had significant food issues throughout the tour. One of our daughters is vegetarian and the options for her on Christmas night and during the entire ten days were limited at best and sometimes just not available. Oftentimes we had to order meals in advance and there was simply no vegetarian option. When we asked what would be available, the answer we generally received was "there will be a vegetarian option." No sense of what it would be and certainly no options from which to choose. The most disappointing was the lunch at Din Tai Fung in Melbourne. The food was terrible, the time allotted short and the wait times long. It made for a very chaotic and unenjoyable experience. While that was the worst, the other options were by no means "great." First class food it was not and most days I would rate it as barely second class.
New Year’s Eve
By far the biggest disappointment was New Year's Eve in Sydney. For months leading up to our trip, we were talking about being in Sydney for New Year’s Eve. Having heard that Disney is known for packing special surprises into the tours, we, and most of our tour, thought that Disney would surprise us with something special that night. As several of our tour’s earlier activities had been cancelled due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances, we thought for sure ABD would find a place for us to watch the fireworks. Not only was there nothing planned, but we were basically left to ourselves to try to make last-minute plans for a night that was “sold out” months in advance. Trying to make New Year’s Eve plans just days in advance while traveling during our trip added an incredible amount of stress to our vacation. Staying at the hotel was also not an option because our room did not face the harbor despite having made this specific request months in advance. While we can now say we were “in Sydney” for the fireworks, we were able to see only a small portion of the fireworks show and what little success we did enjoy from dinner that night was the result of a suggestion from another family on the tour who contacted a friend in Sydney. What we thought would be the highlight of our trip due to Disney’s connections and planning turned out to be nothing of the sort.
ABD Response
Upon returning home we sent a detailed letter to ABD about our trip and expressing our concerns. We know that at least three other families did the same (so 50% of the tour). An ABD representative spoke with us "to gather more information," but ultimately told us that while they appreciated our feedback and would use it to possibly make future tours better, there was nothing to be done for us. I found this the most disappointing aspect of our experience. Having now travelled to the Parks for over 40 years, purchased annual passes and bought into DVC, it is Disney's emphasis on customer service and quality that keeps us coming back and singing its praises multiple times a year from New England. The only way for me to describe ABD's response is to say that it must not really be part of Disney or is just paying to use the name. To take no ownership for this situation and be willing to dismiss concerns raised by at least 50% of the participants is simply not what I expect from Disney. Tellingly, we were the only family on our tour for which this was their first ABD. When we asked the other families how the Australia tour compared to their other ABD tours, every family said it was their worst. This was the most expensive family vacation we have ever taken. We never thought it would be the one we remember for all the wrong reasons.
As I said above, I have not tried to capture all of the problems and issues we had on our tour. If you have specific questions, I am happy to try to answer them. If you are reading this and considering ABD's Australia tour, I strongly urge you to consider alternatives.
Great Barrier Reef and Cairns
Our tour consisted of 8 families, each with four members. We started in Cairns where the Great Barrier Reef is located. Our "adventure" started with the substitution of an aquarium and public dinner for the scheduled private crocodile adventure and dinner. While the food was decent, the restaurant was so loud no one could communicate such that we ended our first day without really having the opportunity to meet any of the other families. Next, on Christmas day, we took a commercially available boat tour to the Reef with 250 of our closest friends. It offered nothing beyond what we could have purchased on our own at a lower price point. Upon returning we learned that despite being scheduled for dinner on our own, every restaurant was closed for Christmas. Disney decided to "surprise" us by buying us a dinner of pizza and burgers at the hotel where we were staying. If not so sad, the wait time for the food, limited choices and confusion at the restaurant would be comical. The following day we traveled to the rain forest, but the village in which we were supposed to spend a significant amount of time was all but closed for Boxing Day. And to top off the day, the cable car over the rain forest was cancelled due to weather, so it was an early return to the hotel for us with no substitution offered.
Meals
We had significant food issues throughout the tour. One of our daughters is vegetarian and the options for her on Christmas night and during the entire ten days were limited at best and sometimes just not available. Oftentimes we had to order meals in advance and there was simply no vegetarian option. When we asked what would be available, the answer we generally received was "there will be a vegetarian option." No sense of what it would be and certainly no options from which to choose. The most disappointing was the lunch at Din Tai Fung in Melbourne. The food was terrible, the time allotted short and the wait times long. It made for a very chaotic and unenjoyable experience. While that was the worst, the other options were by no means "great." First class food it was not and most days I would rate it as barely second class.
New Year’s Eve
By far the biggest disappointment was New Year's Eve in Sydney. For months leading up to our trip, we were talking about being in Sydney for New Year’s Eve. Having heard that Disney is known for packing special surprises into the tours, we, and most of our tour, thought that Disney would surprise us with something special that night. As several of our tour’s earlier activities had been cancelled due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances, we thought for sure ABD would find a place for us to watch the fireworks. Not only was there nothing planned, but we were basically left to ourselves to try to make last-minute plans for a night that was “sold out” months in advance. Trying to make New Year’s Eve plans just days in advance while traveling during our trip added an incredible amount of stress to our vacation. Staying at the hotel was also not an option because our room did not face the harbor despite having made this specific request months in advance. While we can now say we were “in Sydney” for the fireworks, we were able to see only a small portion of the fireworks show and what little success we did enjoy from dinner that night was the result of a suggestion from another family on the tour who contacted a friend in Sydney. What we thought would be the highlight of our trip due to Disney’s connections and planning turned out to be nothing of the sort.
ABD Response
Upon returning home we sent a detailed letter to ABD about our trip and expressing our concerns. We know that at least three other families did the same (so 50% of the tour). An ABD representative spoke with us "to gather more information," but ultimately told us that while they appreciated our feedback and would use it to possibly make future tours better, there was nothing to be done for us. I found this the most disappointing aspect of our experience. Having now travelled to the Parks for over 40 years, purchased annual passes and bought into DVC, it is Disney's emphasis on customer service and quality that keeps us coming back and singing its praises multiple times a year from New England. The only way for me to describe ABD's response is to say that it must not really be part of Disney or is just paying to use the name. To take no ownership for this situation and be willing to dismiss concerns raised by at least 50% of the participants is simply not what I expect from Disney. Tellingly, we were the only family on our tour for which this was their first ABD. When we asked the other families how the Australia tour compared to their other ABD tours, every family said it was their worst. This was the most expensive family vacation we have ever taken. We never thought it would be the one we remember for all the wrong reasons.
As I said above, I have not tried to capture all of the problems and issues we had on our tour. If you have specific questions, I am happy to try to answer them. If you are reading this and considering ABD's Australia tour, I strongly urge you to consider alternatives.
