Adventures by Disney offers hassle-free, guided tours of various destinations around the globe, led by knowledgeable Disney tour guides. Adventures by Disney Paris Escape is a two-night tour of Paris, France that takes guests to major landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. In this episode, we discuss this particular tour, how it’s different than a traditional Adventures by Disney, and who should consider this vacation experience.
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What happens when Disney service meets an unforgettable Parisian vacation? In this episode, we’ll discuss adventures by Disney Paris Escape vacations. Welcome aboard Imagination Skyway, your guided tour through the worlds of Disney and Imagineering. I’m your host, Matthew Krul, and it’s my job to explore the stories and places we love and the people who bring them to life. Before we get started, remember that you can unlock ad free episodes and bonus content at patreon dot com slash skyway and get complimentary trip support from our sponsors at KMV travel dot com slash. Plus, be sure to follow Imagination Skyway on social media for even more content and ways to connect with the show. While this show traditionally focuses on Disney parks, you can also experience a Disney vacation at various locations around the globe with Adventures by Disney, which offer hassle free guided group vacations led by Disney cast members. In this episode, we’ll focus our conversation on Adventures by Disney Paris Escape, which includes a two night tour of the City of Light. We’ll discuss what you can expect from this adventure, who should consider taking the trip, and how to get started on your next tour? As we begin our journey, please remain seated. Keep your hands and arms inside the podcast at all times and enjoy your journey aboard Imagination Skyway. When you think of Disney and travel, the first thing that comes to mind for most people, including myself, is Disney Parks. We are planning trips to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, perhaps an international park Disney Cruise line. And what’s interesting is that Disney and Travel doesn’t have to physically be at a Disney destination, but Disney can tour and and show you different parts of the world through a program that I hope one day to be able to do, which is called Adventures by Disney. We haven’t yet done any episodes about Adventures by Disney. At least I don’t think so, Kelly. Have we? You and I haven’t. No. Yeah. So this would be a good entry point. And I think it’s probably worth the. The topic today I think is going to be worth that first discussion because adventures by Disney. You know, I’m getting my I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit. But first of all, welcome back to the show. Kelly. I did like soft introduced you there. Um, but we’re, you know, it’s interesting. We’re here recording at Disney’s Riviera Resort, which looks nothing like France, but is reminiscent of the French and Italian Riviera. And I thought it was an appropriate place to record. Originally, I was going to say, let’s do the France Pavilion at Epcot. But then I thought logistically recording there between the crowds, the sort of the rain that could happen. It’s the middle of the summer, the heat. Where do we sit? It’s just a lot more. This is a good thing. Yeah, it’s a lot better to record here. Um, and, uh, you did an Adventures by Disney Paris Escape, which we’re going to talk a little bit about adventures by Disney, a little bit about adventures by Disney Escape. And we’ll talk specifically about your particular tour with takeaways that you had from that. Any advice you offer for or you would offer for people who are thinking about doing something similar? But first, um, some rapid fire questions because I always love to start with those. We’ll keep these on theme. But first question is, have you done adventures by Disney before this? And if so, which ones have you done? So this was my first Adventures by Disney tour that I did myself. I’ve booked a lot of other ones. Um, so I feel like I’ve, you know, tried to kind of be like, hey, send me pictures so I could kind of travel along with them. So yeah, um, I’ve had people do Switzerland with the different river cruises, the, um, southern California, but this was my first one doing the Paris Escape. That’s awesome. What is your dream adventures by Disney? Oh, probably doing the Scotland Land tour. My family is Scottish and I just love everything. Scotland. Um. And after doing the Paris Escape, you know I won’t give too much away, but I, I don’t know how I can travel differently now. I’m definitely spoiled. So yeah. Amazing. Um, I’m excited to talk about this. Um, third question is about Paris itself. I have a few questions about Paris for you. Rapid fire as the helicopter passes over Riviera. As it does, um, favorite tourist attraction. I’m actually gonna split this into two, two different questions. Favorite tourist attraction? That is a, like, stereotypical cliche. Paris landmark or destination. So this is probably cliche, but the Louvre that is cliche. I would say it’s sort of like at top of everybody’s list. Yeah. Um, yeah, definitely the Louvre. I would say I love the Louvre too. Yeah. It’s a great, a great museum, and I learned, I don’t know how true this is, but if you were to spend 30s at every piece of art in the Louvre, you would take. I think it was two months to see everything. It’s that large. And it is. It’s huge. It’s tremendous. Yeah. Museum. It is insane. And again, I don’t want to give too much away, but it is. That was definitely one of the benefits of this tour, I will say. All right. Well that’s great. And um, so obviously I asked about the cliché or stereotypical Paris attractions. Do you have a favorite like non cliche hidden or lesser known Paris destination or attraction? This is going to really show my bougie side. Okay. And how much I love literature. That’s okay. You’re talking to the right person. Exactly right. Um, so bar Hemingway is in the Ritz in Paris. Um, and it’s named after, of course, Hemingway. Um, he used to go to this bar and he would write there, and it’s just this little hole in the wall. Um, you have to, like, stand in line to get in and all the drinks are very, um, very Hemingway esque, as you would think. So a lot of martinis, different things, which if you know me, you know, I love a gin martini. Um, so and it’s also, you know, Ritz pricing. So you go in for one drink and then you, you enjoy the atmosphere and then head out. But of course. Yeah, if you were a literature lover, it is definitely something to check out. Well, that’s exciting to hear. I have not been to the Ritz anywhere, so I’ll maybe have to add the Ritz in Paris to my list. But let’s talk a little bit about Adventures by Disney and adventures by Disney Escape. For those who I feel like most people listening probably understand the basics of adventures by Disney. But in summary, what is Adventures by Disney and by extension, what is Adventures by Disney escape. Yes, so Adventures by Disney is basically Disney’s tour company. You can think of it like that. But when you say tour company, you think, oh, okay, great, I’m getting on this motorcoach. I’m going around. It’s really guided travel and it’s going to be curated by Disney. Um, so big focus on storytelling everywhere that you go and everything is to those standards that you have of a Disney vacation. Um, they go to destinations across the globe and they have land tours. They have river cruise tours. Um, if you’re looking for more adventure, you know, adventure, like, uh, let’s say like Antarctica, they have kind of a sister company, Nat geo that they work with on those. Um, so there’s really very much kind of like something for everybody type of thing. Um, the escapes are really just a type of trip that they do. So they have, you know, several different types, but they’re going to be land tours and they’re escapes, just quick getaways. They’re kind of like the best of, of those cities. So I think there’s like five cities that they have them in, um, London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Munich, I think that’s all of them. Um, but they’re just quick, you know, two to four nights, and you’re kind of just getting the best of within that city. So I’d imagine if you’re choosing that latter category, adventures by Disney Escape, whether it’s the Paris Escape like you did, or the Rome Escape, this is probably not a traveler who’s flying in doing the tour and flying home, especially coming from the US. Yes, very good point. And I think what’s so good about these is you can kind of do it in any way that you want. So, um, they really were created, at least from my understanding, to really pair with some of the other adventures that are out there. So, um, a big, you know, area that you kind of go out of if you’re doing a river cruise is going to be the Paris area. So they can kind of get you from Paris to that location. Um, so a lot of people will pair this with maybe a, um, Rhine River cruise or, you know, wherever they might be going to or Rhone river cruise. Um, the other option too is a lot of people pair them with a Disney cruise. So if you’re going out of Southampton and you know you’re in going to be in England already, getting into London is a lot easier than going right to Southampton. So you’re going to get that. Um and then you have a lot of people that do exactly what me and my sister did, which we spent a few days at Disneyland Paris. And then we hopped over to Paris and we did the escape with that. So it’s definitely most people are not going in for the kind of two nights, um, they might be using this to start off their time in Paris. Maybe they’re doing other land tours, but it definitely is something that’s going to be paired with something normally. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I’m thinking even they have adventures by Disney. Like you said, the the river cruises, they also have I don’t know how many adventures by Disney tours they offer in France. They have at least one that I can think of. There’s a few different types. So they do have one where it’s like Paris and they’ll do like France and um, England. So you kind of have that where you go across. Um they do have one that’s just France. So you do kind of areas around, but you start in Paris. Um, so there’s a lot of different options depending on what you’re looking for there. Yeah, that makes sense. Before we get into the itinerary, what I’m starting with logistical questions, but what is included in adventurous buys? Because I know that some touring companies, especially when you talk about like whether you’re riding a motorcoach or doing like a Rick Steves, you know, there are things that are included or things that are not included. So when someone is, is choosing to do this, what’s included in their package? Yeah. So a little different. Obviously, if you’re going to do a river cruise versus a land tour. Yeah, but pretty much the same general things you’re going to have included is transport from the airport to the destination and then back to the airport. And that’s private transportation that you get. Um, you’ll have your accommodations for however amount of days that you’re there. Um, you’ll have certain meals included. And that’s all noted in the itinerary, which is nice. So, you know, okay, maybe I’m going to have breakfast and lunch this day, but I’m gonna have dinner on my own, whatever it may be. Um, you also will have your tour guides. So every tour has two adventure guides. You kind of have your adventure guides who’s like your destination, um, expert. Um, we had Laura and she was like our key to the cities, but they called her, which was very true. Um, and then you kind of have like your logistical guide who we have Michaela. And she said she was the personality hire and she was hysterical. So she did fit her, she fit her title, she gave herself. Um, but you have both of them that are kind of working with you the whole time. Um, and then you also have all the activities that you do. So, um, it might be museums. So you have your admission included. Um, or it could be kayaking areas, whatever it is, all that’s included, plus any guides that you have that are with those locations. So normally you’re going to have a local guide no matter what activity you’re doing. So you may have, you know, both your adventure plus your local guide throughout this whole time. Um, gratuities for the local guides are all included. So you don’t have to think about any of that. Um, the only things that really aren’t included is going to be if you want to add on travel protection. Um, and then gratuities for your adventure guides. Um, and obviously that’s not, you know, it’s, it’s not expected, but it’s of course appreciated. Um, and then any of those extra dining experiences that you may want to do when you’re not with the group. Yeah, that’s good to know that it includes so many things with the escape that you did. Let’s talk about the itinerary. What was included in the or not, what was included, but what was the itinerary from? You know, walk us through the that first day when you arrived. Um, I imagine you probably came in or you said you were at Disneyland Paris, so you were not coming in on the red eye. You were you were already there. Um, so walk us through from, you know, departing Disneyland Paris to the, the last day of your adventure. Yeah. So the way that we did it exactly like you said when we were in Disneyland Paris first, um, we got ourselves to Paris because if you’re not coming in from the airport, um, adventures by Disney isn’t going to be able to pick you up from. Of course. Yeah. So, um, we kind of just, you know, forfeited that first one because we knew we wanted an extra day in Paris. And, you know, we had had our other plans. Um, but if you were coming in to the airport from, um, you know, wherever your, your home was, you would have your transportation from the airport to the hotel. So we stayed at the Hilton Paris Opera, which is stayed there when I went to Paris. That was literally the hotel I stayed in. It’s a great location, I will say. It’s right by the train station. It’s a nice hotel too. Yeah, it was very nice there. Definitely. That’s the thing too, when you’re doing this, this is um, you know, it’s going to be more luxury experience. So if you’re a little worried because you know, you don’t have different hotel maybes to pick from or anything, um, trust Disney. You know, they’re going to make sure it’s a good hotel. We enjoyed our stay there. We were happy we picked that. Yeah, it was really wonderful. Um, so you will check in there. Um, and your adventure guides are there that day as well. Kind of. They have a whole table set up with a little Mickey there. And, you know, they kind of give you a little orientation with them, you guys to introduce yourself and everything. So, um, that was kind of that morning and then the afternoon for us, this was a very short tour. So, um, we kind of got right into it. They said hello to us in the lobby. We kind of, you know, mingled, met the other um, guests. There was thirty different guests on our tour. Um, and then we went right into our first exploration adventure. So, um, we started by going over to Notre Dame, um, and getting to see Notre Dame and then did a quick walking tour. Um, now the Paris escaped normally is going to have a much longer walking tour, but because it was like ninety eight degrees. Oh, you went. That’s right. So you went in July when Paris was going through that. Incredible in the worst way. Uh, that really bad heat wave. Yeah. And we were, I mean, we were actually lucky because our, our guides were exceptional at making sure that we were as comfortable as possible, knowing that they have a group of Americans to that, you know, we’re so used to our air conditioning and that’s just not the reality there. Yeah. Um, so they did a bit of a modified tour for us where they took us around the city, um, a little bit more on the motorcoach. Um, and then brought us over to Notre Dame. We kind of got to get our pictures there. And then we walked around the Latin Quarter, um, with our local guide. So that was the first thing that really stuck out to me was how exceptional these local guides are. Um, and of course, you know, you’re like, well, of course it’s Disney. They’re gonna make sure. Of course, you know, I’ve been on other tours and it’s like, okay, this is kind of I got it. Like, these are the basic facts. Um, but this tour guide, Celine was just exceptional. Um, she really, you know, she brought in different Disney things. Like she was talking about why Ratatouille is Ratatouille and that this happened in the Latin Quarter. This is where it’s all based on. So, um, she, she definitely played to the group, which was really nice. Um, and then we were. It would normally take a water taxi from Notre Dame area to the Eiffel Tower. But because it is so hot, they gave us those tickets to use another day. Um, and kind of took us on the bus over there. Uh, had a little bit of time to take pictures at Eiffel Tower. They kind of helped us get through security because there is a few spots that you have to do that. Um, and then we had dinner on the first level, the Eiffel Tower at. Oh yeah. Yes, at Madame Brasserie. Um, so that was really nice. That was kind of like our first group dinner together. Um, and then we, they gave us berets at the end of the night and because they told us we’re officially Parisians now. Um, and then that was kind of the end of our first day, got us back to the hotel. And then the next day we went to the Louvre in the morning and then did a, we had a lunch, um, and then did a food tour in Saint-Germain. Um, and that was kind of everything for that tour, but we did have some breakfasts in there and things like that. But um, Everybody either was getting ready who was on this tour to go on to the Rhone River cruise, or a lot of people did exactly like what we did, where they were doing either at Disneyland Paris before or Disneyland Paris after. Yeah. And that is a quick tour. I mean, just hitting those, those few little landmarks and destinations. I’m sure it felt like a very quick went by in a blur. It was an experience. Yeah, it was a whirlwind. And they said that they are ones. Hawkeye said this is a sneeze of a tour. And I was like, you know what? That’s a really good way to put it. So who would we kind of talked about the fact that like, it makes sense if you are maybe looking to add on to something that you’re already doing besides that, who would make for a good fit to do and adventures by Disney Escape and then by extension, who would make a good fit to do an Adventures by Disney? Yeah, so I, I think it’s good that you kind of differentiate them too, because they are a bit of a different experience. Um, my sister that I went with. She had um, the month or two months before had done Switzerland with adventures by Disney and that was a seven night land tour and then did this and um, you know, she had said it’s a very different experience just because of the length of the tour. So, um, with the escapes, I think the one thing that you don’t get as much as you do on the lengthier tours is the relationship building with the group that you’re with and the adventure guides. Um, I will say everyone was wonderful and you know, so great, you know, you all have something in common because you’re doing adventure by Disney. So, um, there’s a lot to talk about, but you know, she still talks to people from the last tour and still follows her tour guide on, you know, Instagram and everything. So, um, there is a distinction there. So I think that’s good to make. But I think for the escapes, I really would recommend it to someone that is doing a trip similar to what we did. So where maybe you’re going to, uh, you know, Paris for the first time or like me the second time, and you just are like, I want to learn a little bit more this time. Yeah. Um, and you might be going for Disneyland Paris, but it’s so easy to get over there. Or maybe you are going for a Disney cruise out of Southampton and you can kind of tack this on. Um, the nice part of this was that we got to see all those kind of, you know, the must do’s, but we also did have time that they built in for us to do other things. So you get to do you know, the Eiffel Tower, the go to the Louvre. Um, and do you know these, these things that are a little bit different than you might do on your own? Um, but then you do have your time to go to bar Hemingway if you want to or do something that might be a little bit outside of, you know, what the group would be picking to do. Um, they are a bit more expensive, of course, doing a guided tour like this. Um, so it is going to be a family that’s looking to, you know, spend that additional amount because they want that more luxury experience. Um, but I would also say when you’re looking at the price, think about how much is included in it because it was, you know, I told one of my friends I was doing it and it was like sticker shock to them. But then when we went through everything and she was like, oh, well, you know what I mean? It’s all the convenience of this too. And that’s a big part of it. And granted, for some people, this won’t be the right trip. But if you are that family that’s looking for that convenience, that level of service, it’s a great option to do. Um, I think with the adventures, if you know, river cruise or land, same type of thing. Um, and it, I think it’s just such a great way, especially for Disney fans who, you know, we, we love Walt Disney World Disneyland, whatever it may be, because it becomes our second home. And I think a lot of us feel so comfortable in our little bubble here that sometimes when we think about going other places, we’re a little nervous. So you kind of have that like added level of comfort because you’re traveling with Disney, even though you’re going to a brand new place, you know, kind of what to expect the level of service you’re going to get, the accommodations, you don’t have to kind of guess anything because you just basically show up and they take care of everything for you. Um, and you know that you’re getting the best cultural experiences there. You know, it’s not just them, the adventure guide and nothing against them, but you know, them telling you a scripted information about the place that you’re going to, they’re taking people that have lived there their whole lives and having them be the ones that are telling you these stories and really getting you engaged in these surroundings. So I think it’s for everybody, but it’s for the family that really is looking to have that level of experience and has the budget to put towards that. Let’s double tap on that for a second. We talked a little bit. You said about the convenience, the service, and even in the beginning, you know, you talked about or hinted at the Louvre. So for someone who’s visiting the Louvre, um, maybe even, you know, reserved ahead of time. And they now are they’re not waiting in the long line outside. They’re still getting in in a relatively short amount of time. How does going alone to the Louvre differ from this experience? Yeah. So I’ve done both. So I can speak to this. Yeah. Um, and I will say I am a person who loves museums. Um, I’m the one who like will sit there and be there for hours. And the first time I went to the Louvre one, I couldn’t even figure out which entrance to go in. And we did have reserves huge, like we said. Yeah. And you know, you’re, you’re in a place where obviously there’s a language barrier. Yeah. Um, and I know very little French, but enough to get by. So I did feel like, okay, this is, this is pretty rough even for me to kind of try to figure this out. Um, as someone who does this for a living too. So there was that aspect of it, of just the logistical aspect of getting into the museum and everything. Um, but then once you get in there, there’s, it’s just so vast and there’s a ton of people. I mean, it is just it’s packed. Yeah. Um, and it doesn’t matter when you go, but, um, you know, you kind of become like, okay, well, I guess I’ll just walk this way and then, you know, you become so overwhelmed that you’re basically just like, okay, well, let me go see the Mona Lisa. And then I’ll just, I guess that’s it. Like the throngs of people all going to see the Mona Lisa. Um, so it becomes very overwhelming, I think, in that aspect. And when we did it this way, we came in, they parked our bus, you know, right underneath the Louvre. We walked up into this, um, area that’s specifically for groups. They had lockers for us if we wanted to keep things in there. Um, then we kind of broke up into three groups. So we had, you know, smaller groups of people with our local guides who were experts on the Louvre. Um, and they had given us some initial information before we went kind of the history of the Louvre and different things like that. But then they gave us like the best of tours. So it was like an hour and a half that we were with just them. And then we did have some time to kind of walk around our own. Um, but they knew the exact path to go in. There was never a time where we were waiting. There was, you know, never a moment where it was, well, I don’t even know. I can’t see what this picture is or, you know, whatever, what the sculpture is. Um, and they kind of made sure to that we saw the highlights. Um, it was just, you appreciated it so much more because you weren’t just like, okay, well, I don’t know where to go from here and what to do next. And you know what I should be aware of or whatever it is. Um, so it just takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. And I felt just overall, I appreciated Paris in general way more doing it this way because I kind of knew where I was and understood the, the cultural aspects of things and different things like that, um, than I did when I traveled on my own. Yeah, that totally makes sense. We also glanced over and completely ignored actually talking about the itinerary, you know, because when I asked you that question, uh, naturally you would gravitate to the attractions that you saw, but in between, you had to eat. And I feel like we can’t, you know, dismiss talking about food in Paris. Yes. So Remy would not appreciate it if, um, so thinking about the food, um, can you talk a little bit more about the places you ate? Um, sort of the, the, maybe the, if you know, the reasons why they chose those locations or anything that made them interesting or just your general thoughts about the food and the experience dining on the tour. Yeah. So we didn’t have, of course, because it was a shortened tour, um, a ton of different experiences. But I think the experiences that we did had they tried to make them as, um, cultural as possible, but also make sure that people who maybe aren’t, um, adventurous eaters have a lot of options. Um, I will also say my sister has celiac so she cannot have, you know, gluten. And also that means like any cross-contamination of gluten. Yeah. Um, and they were exceptional with dealing with that, um, both on the Switzerland tour that she went on and then on the France tour, um, and obviously in France, I was gonna say that’s really challenging. It is. And they did a really great job with it. Um, and also always made her feel very comfortable. Um, so the first one that we went to was, uh, Madame Brasserie, which was the, um, on the first floor. That’s right. We did, we didn’t completely ignore it. Yeah. I forgot that you talked. I said Eiffel Tower and I forgot you mentioned you ate the Eiffel Tower. Yeah. Um, but you got the berets and everything. Yeah. Yes. Um, it was a very French. You know, it’s a, I will say, of course, that that’s a tourist location. Um you mostly you’re getting people that are coming because of the views and that’s why they pick that location. You’re looking out onto the city. It’s really a gorgeous view at night. You’re kind of starting to see the sunset and you do a four course meal. And they had our adventure guide said, you know, they hear that the menu is French, but it’s not going to be so French that people are kind of nervous. Um, so it was nice because there was definitely people that were a little bit concerned about, oh, I don’t know what I’m gonna eat. Yeah. Um, and then there was, you know, some of us that were like, bring everything on the most adventurous things. Um, and they found a happy medium with that, which was nice. Um, the breakfast that we had was, you know, just kind of a buffet in the um hotel, but very different from like a buffet that we’re used to. Um, so you have just, you know, like plates and plates of cheese and, uh, you know, fresh pastries and things like that. So, um, that was still have the, uh, the oui yogurt. Yes, yes. Yeah. I remember because we ate the same place. And, you know, I always, I’m not a big buffet person until I go to Europe. And then I’m like, it’s a different great, it’s a different beast there. Yeah. They just have, you know, it’s basically like putting together charcuterie in the morning. Sign me up. That’s great. Yeah. Um, and then the next place that we went for our lunch was, um, just a local boulangerie that was, uh, near the Louvre. Um, so we kind of ate upstairs there and that was probably more of the American feel. We did have cheeseburgers. So, um, but you know, again, they’re trying to accommodate so many people and so many different types of, uh, you know, levels of exploration. So, um, it was, the food was always good. And again, they really were so wonderful with allergies. And that’s something that I appreciated just traveling with my sister. But I know that she appreciates incredibly because that could really ruin her trip in an instant. Yeah. Of course. Did did you find that the other guests on the tour were, I don’t want to say exclusively Disney fans, but predominantly Disney fans. Um, everyone had a Disney connection. Okay. But not um, there was different, definitely different levels. Um, the majority of people that were there had done adventures prior. Um, and there was a lot of them that were kind of doing this either as part of the Rhone River cruise. So they were going on to do another adventure after this, or they were doing Disneyland Paris. Um, so I think two, you might get different different groups depending on what location you’re in. Um, but then there was other families that, you know, they just, they had children. So they thought this was going to be a great, uh, tour for them to do. But you know, they weren’t ultra Disney fans either. Yeah, that makes sense. Uh, kids, you know, because I, I know some people will bring kids with them, especially older kids. Um, you know, it’s, we are definitely interested in taking our daughters to these locations. Um, as many as we can. Do you find that this is something that you should. First of all, did you find that there were other families there with kids? And second of all, as you’re advising families, is there an age restriction or an age guideline that you feel maybe this is not the right age to take them? Um, or any other thoughts you have in general about bringing kids on an experience like this? Yeah. So generally the age requirement for the Avengers is five years old. So, um, it’s pretty low, you know, considering, um, I normally think that it is really dependent on your child’s, um, my parents and I were talking about this, that, you know, we as kids would have loved this because we just, you know, I don’t know. Do you remember Disney Institute when you. Of course. Yeah. And you could like free Saratoga Springs. Yes. Yeah. And we were the kids that, you know, loved that we would be like, begging our parents to sign us up for those different activities you could do there. Um, so if you’re a kid like me, you know, you’re kind of, you’re kind of crazy. Um, you probably your child would love it. Um, I think it really depends too on the adventure itself. Probably one like this. An escape where it’s, you know, you do have not a ton that you’re kind of doing and across seven days. Um, that might be a good one to start with and see how, you know, how does that go for your child? Um, it moves very quickly, so they’re definitely never going to be bored, but are they going to be into, you know, the way that this is kind of structured? Um, the Southern California one is a great one to do if you are big Disney fans, of course, because you get to, you know, go to the studios and then you do have that time in the parks as well. So that’s a nice one with kids. Um, but we did have children on the tour. Um, they were probably, you know, there was kids that probably ranged from about eight to like sixteen. Um, and they all were very respectful and, you know, clearly they, they were prepared for this and they kind of, you know, got very into it. But the adventure guides really leaned into that too. So, you know, they would talk to them and kind of get them excited about what we were going to do. And, you know, they learned what their interests were. And that was only over two days. So I’m sure over a seven day period, there’s a lot more that happens. Um, and I know with the Switzerland tour that my sister had gone on, there was one little girl that was on it and she was eight years old. Um, and she really liked to draw. So every day they would have her do a drawing and then they would show it at dinner time. And then the last day they had them all framed and put them up around where everyone was having dinner. So she had her little showcase and she loves plushies. So they gave her a plushie. That’s nice. Thank you. Yeah, so they do. Those are the things that you just can’t be, you know? And I can just imagine how much that family’s hearts were just, you know, so full with that. Yeah. Very memorable moments. Yeah. Logistically pivoting a bit into the planning part of this, how far in advance should somebody think about booking this? And again, I know we’re talking about two different experiences here. I would imagine booking and adventures by Disney. The full blown one is probably a longer period because that’s going to make up a larger portion of your vacation experience, whereas the escape is probably tagging on to something else. So maybe it’s once you have the other pieces in place, this is something you would add on to it. Um, so how far in advance can you or should you book something like this? Because I know when we talk about, you know, Disneyland, it’s usually within a year, Walt Disney World, it could be a year or more. Disney cruise line could be like a year and a half or so. So like with Adventures by Disney. What’s the appropriate or best time to start booking this? It’s going to be more similar to like a Disney cruise. Um, it’s actually very similar to that. Uh, the biggest thing is that they’re going to release their dates and it’s dynamically priced. So you are, you know, the pricing when it first comes out is going to be the least expensive pricing. As those tourists start to book up, you’ll see different tour dates are going to be different costs. Um, and a lot of that may be seasonality, but it also may be how many people have booked that. Um, so that’s a really important piece of it. Um, they’re normally booking out that they kind of do theirs in seasons as well. Similar to Disney cruise line. Um, so right now all of twenty twenty seven is out. They are starting to have some twenty twenty eight. Um, that’s available too. So there’s definitely a benefit to booking ahead of time. Um, they do also normally have discounts when you book ahead of time. That was my bag. Sorry. My little like face went crazy. Um, so they normally do have some discounts too for certain itineraries when you book ahead of time as well. So like right now, um, the Rhone River cruise is a newer one. Um, so they have some discounts if you do want to book that. Um, but it’s, I would say if you’re thinking about it and you know, you want to reach out to a travel advisor, definitely reach out to me and let me know that you are interested because I can at least take a look and see where it stands for dates or just give you a heads up, hey, they’re going to be releasing dates. This is the time we should try to start to really look into it. And outside of the experience itself, what other logistical pieces can you help families with and should families be thinking about? Yeah. So there was the element of if you know, you’re going to fly in and just get there and, you know, basically Disney’s gonna meet you at the airport and then you’re gonna leave when Disney drops you off at the airport. Um, most of that is going to be handled by Disney. Um, but if you are trying to do other things, so like, you know, you want to do similar to what I did, Disneyland Paris over to, um, the Paris Escape. Um, those were all elements that I obviously was able to do for us. But that’s also what I do for my clients. So getting that transportation from Disneyland Paris over to the, um, to Paris itself, um, or if you are, you know, adding this to a cruise, that element of kind of having that all be kept together. Um, and then obviously just kind of working through the process of it. I think, you know, it’s for Disney for a lot of us. And I’m sure a lot of the people that are listening when they do Walt Disney World or Disneyland, their home resort, they’re like, I got this. I know, you know, I could do this in my sleep. Um, but these other locations, they work differently. There’s different policies, different things like that. So even just that element of kind of making sure, okay, we know what’s the cancellation policy, what’s the deposits? When do all these things need to be done? And what can you expect from this? Plus, what kind of special things can we kind of, you know, put in there to make sure you’re getting the most magic out of it. Yeah, that’s all really helpful. And for people interested in looking at the different itineraries beyond even this escape, where should they go? So Adventures by Disney dot com is going to have everything over there. Um, and I can actually share a link with you. Uh, Matt, I want you to send, send that over to you so you can put it in the information for this episode. But, um, that’s a really great place to start. And, um, I do have to apologize in advance because you’re going to go there and you’re going to be like, well, now I’m doing an adventures by Disney because you’ll be planning all your different trips. Um, and there’s just, there’s so many different options. Um, and really, basically, no matter where you want to travel, there’s probably something that’s there. Um, so that’s a good place to start and kind of do some armchair armchair traveling and figure out what’s, you know, you’re most interested in. Yeah. It’s a dangerous thing to do. It leads me to doing so many trips that were unplanned in the beginning and ended up being worth it, but oh yeah, my wallet does not thank me, that’s for sure. Um, is there anything that we haven’t spoken about in this conversation that you think is worth sharing, um, or any story that you wanted to mention or anything else that we haven’t gotten to? I think the only other thing I would mention, um, you know, we talked about the allergies, which I think for me, if you’re someone who has anyone who has medical concerns or anything like that, um, and you travel with, you know, how much that becomes a stressor, um, and they just do such a great job with it. So I just, I can’t more highly recommend them if you do, you know, you are kind of nervous about that, um, because they will try to work with families as much as they can. Um, the other thing I would say too is if you’re a solo traveler and you’re trying to, you know, you want to go do things, but maybe you’re just not super comfortable traveling on your own. Um, consider something like this. It does. You know, there is a single supplement cost. So you are going to pay a little bit more to, you know, have basically a double occupancy room to yourself. Um, but one of my travelers who I’ve booked ABG for was a single, uh, individual who wanted to go to Europe but didn’t want to do it on their own. Um, and they’ve now done two more abgs after that and brought other people along, made friends, um, on the adventure. So it’s a, it’s a really nice way to travel and feel very secure and safe and just know the, the level of accommodations, activities, comfort that you’re going to have. Yeah. That’s great. Well, of course, we’ve been on the show so many times, but I’m gonna make you say it again. Where can people go to follow you? And if they are interested in adventures by Disney or anything else, it could be Disney Cruise Line, it could be just coming to Riviera where we’re sitting right now. It could, could be anything. What, um, where should people go? Yes. So CMV travel dot com slash skyway is going to be the best place to go If you do want to reach out about a trip, that will let me know that you’re a listener of the podcast. Um, and then if you’d like to follow me on Instagram, um, my personal is Kelly’s magical vacations. And then you can also follow the company at Kmv travel co. Um, and we’re across TikTok, Facebook, all these different places. Um, and I have to share too that we were just voted for the second time, best travel agency in Orlando. So we’re very excited about that. So you’ll see that all over the place. I am so looking forward to updating my, my message in every single podcast episode because I’m like, when can I say twenty twenty six? Kelly when it’s coming out. Um, so yeah, probably starting this episode, you’ll hear voted best in twenty twenty six. Uh, that’s great. Congratulations. Thank you. And so, so not surprising. Um, but thanks for joining me, uh, in person. I love doing these in-person conversations and I hope we’ll get the opportunity to talk again about adventures by Disney. That’d be so much fun. Definitely. Welcome back to Imagination Central. Before you exit this episode, remember to follow Imagination Skyway on social media and share the show with anyone who might enjoy listening to our program. Remember that you can access ad free episodes and bonus content at patreon dot com slash Imagination Skyway, which is also a great way to support the show. When you’re ready for your next vacation, remember that listeners of Imagination Skyway can get rewarded for booking a trip to Disney in twenty twenty six through k m v travel voted the top travel agency in Orlando in twenty twenty six. Simply fill out the form at KMV travel dot com slash skyway and make sure that you select Imagination Skyway under the how did you hear about us? Question. To be eligible for a special gift from the team. Terms and conditions apply as you disembark. Please remember to remain fully seated until the podcast comes to a complete stop. Then gather your belongings and watch your head in step as you exit. Thank you for joining me aboard Imagination Skyway. And remember, if we can dream it, we can do it.