Montana & Alberta, Canada: Roaming the Rockies Meets Thread

[Allabouthemouse]

Thank you so much for your reply. This is so helpful! We have taken similar trips to Yellowstone and Costa Rica, but with a different, smaller, high-end tour company. This would be our first time with Disney. Our Yellowstone trip sounds a lot like yours and we bonded so much with the other families that we all booked a trip the following year together to Costa Rica My biggest concern with Disney is the number of people on the tour. They say max of 40, but I was wondering how many were on your trip, and if it was that many if that was too large of a group? The tour company we went with before had a max of 18 and we had only 11 on both of our trips, which was awesome! I'm sure I will have more questions, but I wanted to address the number of people before we booked. Thanks again!

I think there were 35 of us. It never felt too big or unwieldy. It was great because we could hang out and meet different families throughout the trip. Our guides were so good at their jobs that we always felt like we had one on one attention. Funny thing happened our last day- I overheard one of the little girls making plans with DD9 to be on the same trip next summer! We are actually going to see them at Disney this fall.

BTW, what company are you using for Costa Rica?

 

[acndis]

What were some of your favorite activities in Banff? We are staying there for four days next summer after our Alaska ABD.

 

[cma0512]

I think there were 35 of us. It never felt too big or unwieldy. It was great because we could hang out and meet different families throughout the trip. Our guides were so good at their jobs that we always felt like we had one on one attention. Funny thing happened our last day- I overheard one of the little girls making plans with DD9 to be on the same trip next summer! We are actually going to see them at Disney this fall.

BTW, what company are you using for Costa Rica?

Ok thank you. I could see how it could be good to have a group of 30 or so in case you had nothing in common with the others in a small group - more opportunity to find people to "bond" with in a bigger group
We used Austin Adventures for Yellowstone and it exceeded our expectations in every way. 3 families, 2 guides, just awesome! (Except that the accommodations were very basic - but no fault of theirs - it was the only thing available in the park itself and location was everything)We loved the other families and all booked with the same company the next year for Costa Rica and had a VERY different experience. We had only one guide who was local and not really affiliated with the company and gave us a very basic tour and none of the service and extras that we received on our Yellowstone trip. Costa Rica does have laws that they have their own local guides, but I believe Disney sends one of their own as well, and most likely trains the local guides, too. This was not the case on our trip and it was a total disappointment.
When reading about ABD, it sounded so much like our Yellowstone experience and the scenery looks amazing!

 

[cma0512]

Does the ABD website say the maximum number of guests is 40? It did several years ago, but then they removed that and there was no indication of the maximum. One of my ABDs had 44 guests. Other posters have had as many as 49. IMO 40 is too many for the price ABD charges. Even somewhat lower-end companies like G Adventures only allow 18-24 depending on the itinerary.

I thought that 40 was still the max?

 

[RSM]

What were some of your favorite activities in Banff? We are staying there for four days next summer after our Alaska ABD.

Hi Acndis--We spent about 8 days in the Canadian Rockies this past summer. Didn't do ABD, we did it on our own. Not sure if you have a car, but if you do, it will make it much easier. I'll break down the Banff area into three different areas: Banff, Lake Louise (about a 45 minute drive from Banff), and the Icefields Parkway.

Banff:
1.) Hundreds of shops and restaurants on the Main Street of Banff
2.) Banff Gondola-more than just a ride up. Some easy hikes and walks you can do at the top.
3.) Banff Hot Springs Sulfur Baths-Rated highly on tripadvisor. We thought it was just ok. It was like 100 people crowded into a hot pool.
4.) Lake Minnewanka cruise (great commentary about the area) or you can rent canoes/boats/paddleboats.
5.) Cave and Basin-ok, but if you've seen other caves it was pretty similar
6.) Johnston Canyon hike-this was really a great hike
7.) Bow River hike or bike ride

Lake Louise:
1.) Go to the Fairmont Lake Louise and you can look around or canoe on Lake Louise.
2.) From the Fairmont, you can hike to the Agnes Tea House. The trail is right behind the Hotel. Note; it is about 1400' of elevation and ~8 KM round trip. But, it is absolutely worth it. You can also do part of the trail on horseback.
3) On the Road to the Fairmont Lake Louise, there is a sideroad that will take you to Moraine Lake. There you can hike around the lake, rent canoes, or hike the "rockpile"-a large rockpile with some trails up. It is pretty easy.

Icefields Parkway: The Icefields Parkway runs from Lake Louise to Jasper and is one stunning vista after another. From Banff towards Jasper, the following are the things we either stopped at for a view or hiked:
1.) Peyto Lake/Bow Summit hike-this is the iconic photo you often see of the Canadian Rockies. The one where a person is sitting on a rock high above the lake.
2.) Weeping Wall (pull over for a view)
3.) Bridal Veils (pull over for a view)
4.) Columbia Glacier Ice Explorer-recommend you get tickets in advance unless you book a coach tour up there. If you get a combo ticket, a shuttle will take you to the Glacier Skywalk

The Columbia Glacier is about the midpoint of the Icefields Parkway. As you head towards Jasper, there are a number of other vistas to see, the most spectacular being Athabascar Falls (but this is pretty close to Jasper).

If you have or can rent a car, it is really easy to get around. I had a GPS, but really didn't need it. The other advantage is the ability to pull over to see the wildlife. We saw elk, moose, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain goats, and others. Much of it was simply driving from one place to another. It didn't take alot of looking, when there are about 30 cars pulled over, you know there is wildlife .

We got to know the area a bit. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. Hope you have fun. It truly is a spectacular area.

 

[Bobo912]

I thought that 40 was still the max?

I don't believe ABD states a maximum number of guests, but if you call them someone may tell you that it's 40. But if they have the demand, they will book more than 40.

Like RSM we did this trip on our own a few years ago, starting at GNP and then going to Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. It was super easy. We stayed at the Fairmont properties at all 3 locations. Although the other two buildings are more impressive, the Jasper Park Lodge was my favorite. The marketing director for all 3 hotels happened to be on our Uniworld cruise this past summer and she told me that Jasper Park had just been renovated, so it even better now. If I were planning this trip again, I would stay in one of the hotels in downtown Banff and just visit the Fairmont Banff Springs. It's a beautiful hotel and it's a short walk to town, but it's still more convenient to be right in town and the extra cost to stay there isn't worth it IMO.

 

[carpenta]

On my trip with ABD we did stay at a downtown hotel in Banff and it was a glorified Holiday Inn. Not that inviting and for the money paid kind of disappointing.

 

[Bobo912]

On my trip with ABD we did stay at a downtown hotel in Banff and it was a glorified Holiday Inn. Not that inviting and for the money paid kind of disappointing.

I remember earlier ABD stayed in a different hotel. At ABD prices, I would expect to stay at the Fairmont too. But now that I've stayed there, if I were doing this trip on my own again, I would save the money and just visit the Fairmont. It's a tourist destination unto itself and there are a lot of people wandering around who aren't guests. The outside and public spaces are beautiful, but the rooms are not all that great. Better than a Holiday Inn though.

 

[RSM]

We stayed at the Fairmont in Jasper and Lake Louise. In Banff, we stayed at the Delta. Good size room and clean. Nothing too fancy, but it was fine and about a 10 minute walk to all the shops and restaurants.

 

[kdegour23]

We have just booked this trip for Aug 6, 2018. Would be fun to connect with other families who might be doing the same?