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It’s his fist Adventures by Disney vacation!
My son, Kelly, recently had the opportunity to experience his first Adventure by Disney vacation. Mommy and Daddy visited Peru with Adventures by Disney in 2014. Mommy took Hunter to the New York City long weekend Adventures by Disney in 2015. Kelly was the only one left out.
He made up for it, big time, with the Southwest Splendor Arizona and Utah itinerary with his first Adventures by Disney vacation.
Table of Contents
What’s an Adventures By Disney Vacation?
When we say “Adventures by Disney vacation,” many of our friends think we’re just going to Disneyland or Disney World and having an adventure. That’s not an Adventures by Disney trip.
Adventures by Disney is a guided, group travel option offered by Walt Disney Travel Company. Most people are familiar with the guided group trips that families take in Europe. That’s essentially what you have with an Adventures by Disney trip, but they take it to a whole new level with the Disney Difference and go to many more destinations than just Europe.
Adventures by Disney Vacation Adventures
During our recent ABD (Adventures by Disney) trip, we experienced Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and Arches National Park. My son and I went mountain biking, whitewater rafting, hiking, and took a UTV off-road adventure.
With each new “adventure,” I saw my son come out of his shell more and more. The confidence he gained from taking on each new challenge or experience was awesome to see. It reminded me of the trip we took to Minnesota, last December. I don’t think he would have tried many of these adventures if it weren’t for the Adventure Guides pushing him to try it out or even just asking, “So, you going to go mountain biking, this afternoon?” It makes a big difference when it’s not Mom and Dad saying you have to go.
Adventures by Disney Vacation Beginning
Your Adventures by Disney vacation begins by meeting those guides. Two of them. The industry standard is one. Just the beginning of the Disney Difference on your Adventures by Disney vacation.
Our guides both already knew about us. About our vlogging. About our recent travels. You’re immediately friends with your Adventure guides. Right from the start, you can tell this isn’t your standard guided group travel experience.
On our trip, we would visit 3 area that were part of the National Park Service. Every NPS unit has a unique “passport” stamp or three that you can put in a National Parks Passport book. We have 3. We forgot them at home. At our first stop, Montezuma Castle National Monument, our guides handed us a Passport for the family to ensure we could “get our stamp” at each of our NPS destinations. It was a little thing that made a HUGE difference to our kids.
Adventure by Disney Vacation Check-In
When we arrived at our first resort in Sedona, many of us had already had very long travel days followed by a stop at Montezuma Castle National Monument. To say we were beat is an understatement.
I fully expected to wait a while to check in to our room and finally get to relax for a bit. Instead, we were greeted by resort staff as we exited the bus with our room keys and escorted to a golf cart to take us to our room. Seamless. Relaxing. Easy.
Check out how the first day of Kelly’s first time on an Adventures by Disney Vacation went.