ABD Detailed Survey

[2PrincesseInTow]

I enjoyed pondering the possibilities of the Adventures.... but the prices! They made China look cheap. And then my fatal error at the end... somehow I hit enter prior to entering my entire email address so no gift card for me.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I received the survey as well, although I have not yet received the promised gift card. It was a very long survey.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

That’s interesting. I gave Disney and Marriott high marks, but rated American Airlines as poor. I guess they were OK with participants trashing AA, lol.

Too funny! I guess they were. I rated American just okay too

 

[CrazyZeus1]

I received the survey as well, although I have not yet received the promised gift card. It was a very long survey.

The gift card will probably take a few days is my guess.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

No survey for me either. With 6 ABDs under my belt I am surprised.

 

[Luv2trav]

No survey for me either. With 6 ABDs under my belt I am surprised.

Makes you wonder how they choose who to send them too? We have only been on one but I am always looking on their website. We are also DVC so maybe that is a connection? Or just totally random.

 

[laceltris3]

Maybe it’s just me but I’d be far happier about them listening to feedback and addressing complaints about their current system and policies rather than adding on even pricier trips, given their lack of competitiveness on that front.

Yes, Antarctica is on my bucket list. But if I had to choose between ABD and A&K for the same price, I would pick the A&K. And I think the chances that ABD would come in at significantly less cost are slim to none.

 

[OKW Lover]

No survey for me either. With 6 ABDs under my belt I am surprised.

Makes you wonder how they choose who to send them too?

Good questions. We've been on 7 ABD's. I know @Cousin Orville has been on at least that many.

 

[Grifdog22]

Looks like they're no longer interested in my opinion.

Sayhello

My DW got the survey - she was the "registered trip POC" on only one of our ABD some years ago. I've been the registered names on 5 of the trips. I also didn't get asked - but she did. Perhaps they are also reaching to those they haven't seen for awhile to see if they can entice them back?

I found their algorithm on the multiple trips and price points fascinating - as they were really testing to see how much you would pay for your favorite trip. My browser on apple wouldn't let me go back either to change an answer once I figured out what they were doing. (Oh for the days of Apple before Tim Crook when their software "just worked.") or perhaps this was built into the survey.

Some of their new trips might indeed entice us back to another ABD - these ideas were ringing my bells!

If they are looking at luxury train travel, I wish they would also look to India - not a place i am real comfortable on our own and I haven't found a good travel trip that I like, except the Royal Maharajas Express, but it would be nice to see an ABD chartered train with them!

 

[Cousin Orville]

No survey for me either. With 6 ABDs under my belt I am surprised.

Makes you wonder how they choose who to send them too? We have only been on one but I am always looking on their website. We are also DVC so maybe that is a connection? Or just totally random.

Good questions. We've been on 7 ABD's. I know @Cousin Orville has been on at least that many.

FWIW, I've been on 11. My most recent was in June.

I think it would only make sense to target guests that have been on at least a few ABD's. Within that group, it would have to be a random sample to be statistically significant. ABD nor the 3rd party group that ran the survey would be allowed to pick and choose certain guests. That would bias the sample and not yield accurate data. Given the complexity of the survey, I think ABD is pretty serious about obtaining meaningful survey results. I wouldn't take offense if you didn't receive it.

 

[OKW Lover]

Perhaps they are also reaching to those they haven't seen for awhile to see if they can entice them back?

Our most recent ABD was October 2017

 

[CaliKris]

We (my husband specifically) received the survey. We are a couple in our 50's who have only taken one ABD last year. We are definitely not their target market. However, we have another ABD coming up next month with our two adult children in their 20's and another with the four of us booked in 2019. I would suspect they see future business from us with potential grandchildren. We are also DVC owners and have been to WDW as well as DLR frequently, but never a Disney cruise. There is definitely some brand loyalty there if that is what they are looking for. Our children did not receive the survey, so I guess they know who is paying for the trips. LOL!

I found the survey to be repetitive with all the scenarios. I was excited about the Greece/Croatia and Tahiti/Bora Bora small ship cruises.

 

[WeLoveABD]

FWIW, I've been on 11. My most recent was in June.

I think it would only make sense to target guests that have been on at least a few ABD's. Within that group, it would have to be a random sample to be statistically significant. ABD nor the 3rd party group that ran the survey would be allowed to pick and choose certain guests. That would bias the sample and not yield accurate data. Given the complexity of the survey, I think ABD is pretty serious about obtaining meaningful survey results. I wouldn't take offense if you didn't receive it.

Agree-- we've done 10, but were not contacted. Might have something to do with our tag name on the disboards!

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I got the survey. Was very interested in a few of the options (Croatia, Bora Bora, and always looking for a better Ireland itinerary). Others had zero appeal. I found some of the questions hard to answer. I feel like many of these types of surveys assume you're vacationing with the same group of people all the time. We vacation with our kids - a mix of adult and under 18, sometimes with friends, sometimes with extended family, and all of our ABDs have been just my husband and me. So my answers to the questions would vary based on who I'm traveling with.

Laurie

 

[calypso726]

DH got the survey yesterday. We just completed our 10th AbD and number 11 is booked. I thought the survey didn't take into account people who had already traveled with ABD. When asked to select which itineraries one would choose there wasn't an option to explain why an itinerary wasn't chosen. I think the China trip was amazing and worth choosing. If we had taken this survey a couple of years ago we would have chosen it. However, we have already done that itinerary so we would not chose it today. The same with Japan. We are already booked for Japan with ABD so it isn't one we would choose, not because it less desirable but because we are already going.

I am all on board with small ship cruises for Greece/Croatia and Tahiti/Bora Bora. That sounds cool! I love the idea of overnight train travel. This has been on the bucket list since reading The Christmas Train by David Baldacci. I second Royal Maharajas Express suggested by @Grifdog22

Arctic Circle sounded really interesting and if we weren't already going to Antarctica for my 50th I would have been beyond ecstatic seeing it as a consideration too.

I do hope they repeat the South Africa with Joe Rohde down the line. Hopefully well after we've recovered from China, Antarctica and Japan all within a 16 time frame It will be interesting to see what they do.

 

[scottmel]

I received a detailed one all about Hawaii from them. What activities works I like to see on a trip how long would I stay what were my interests etc.

 

[calypso726]

I got the survey. Was very interested in a few of the options (Croatia, Bora Bora, and always looking for a better Ireland itinerary). Others had zero appeal. I found some of the questions hard to answer. I feel like many of these types of surveys assume you're vacationing with the same group of people all the time. We vacation with our kids - a mix of adult and under 18, sometimes with friends, sometimes with extended family, and all of our ABDs have been just my husband and me. So my answers to the questions would vary based on who I'm traveling with.

Laurie

I felt the same. We've traveled on ABD with just the two of us, sometimes with my mom included and sometimes with our friends.

I also had a hard time with how much we spend per person on average per trip that included an overnight stay that we've taken in the last 3 years. Of course we were over the max choice of 36. We do multiple trips every year. There are at least 10 - 20 weekend trips to WDW per year, a few long weekend getaways domestically or internationally, a Disney cruise or two and an ABD. A weekend getaway can easily cost us as little as gas and food for WDW trips since we have APs. Even with long weekend getaways internationally, I fly on points and miles and stay in hotels using points so that can be very little out of pocket per person. Meanwhile, the China ABD last year was significantly more, plus we added a post stay to Japan. So, depending on the trip it could be $200 per person or $12,000 per person.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I felt the same. We've traveled on ABD with just the two of us, sometimes with my mom included and sometimes with our friends.

I also had a hard time with how much we spend per person on average per trip that included an overnight stay that we've taken in the last 3 years. Of course we were over the max choice of 36. We do multiple trips every year. There are at least 10 - 20 weekend trips to WDW per year, a few long weekend getaways domestically or internationally, a Disney cruise or two and an ABD. A weekend getaway can easily cost us as little as gas and food for WDW trips since we have APs. Even with long weekend getaways internationally, I fly on points and miles and stay in hotels using points so that can be very little out of pocket per person. Meanwhile, the China ABD last year was significantly more, plus we added a post stay to Japan. So, depending on the trip it could be $200 per person or $12,000 per person.

Agreed. It seemed an overly vague question asking how much we spend per person per trip. If you average all my trips together, I'm not spending ABD $$$ per person on each. The more I think about it, the more useless or misleading that question seems. They probably should have first asked if you've visited Europe before, and then if so about how much per person did you spend? Do you take domestic short trips? If so, how much do you spend? Something more specific. Nevertheless, they didn't dwell too long on that question. The last series of questions seemed to get to the point. How much are you willing to spend on an Arctic Cruise? ....and now how much are you willing to spend on the same cruise? ...and now how much?

 

[Calfan]

Really interesting. I did not get the survey either. We happen to have just had our welcome dinner for Backstage Magic, but this is our first ABD since 2015 (4th overall). Not having seen the questions, it’s hard to follow some of the trip ideas they seem to be exploring, but I’m excited in general that ABD is exploring new directions. Did any of the questions focus on group size and preferences for larger or smaller groups?

 

[calypso726]

Really interesting. I did not get the survey either. We happen to have just had our welcome dinner for Backstage Magic, but this is our first ABD since 2015 (4th overall). Not having seen the questions, it’s hard to follow some of the trip ideas they seem to be exploring, but I’m excited in general that ABD is exploring new directions. Did any of the questions focus on group size and preferences for larger or smaller groups?

Not that I recall. The survey described ABD as group travel with up to 40 guests. It asked if you had heard of or traveled with other group tour operators. I recall ABD, Tauck, A&K, NatGeo, Globus, Trafalgar, Apple and Collette as choices on how familiar one was with them as a tour operator.