It's official...ABD is going to Japan!

[bearsgirl]

Am I crazy or does the ABD site only mention the Disneyland Hotel...? I don't see them saying anything about Miracosta in their packages....

https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/asia-africa-australia/japan-vacations/tokyo-disney-resort/

Yes, only Disneyland Hotel option.

 

[tgeorge]

It looks like we will be going for the September/October date on booking day and will do a post stay in the parks as well. Pictures of the fall scenery in Japan look amazing! Ideally, I’d like an adult exclusive but April cuts it too close on our vacation time allotments and travel hacking the flights. Besides, some of the most awesome people we’ve met were on family trips, so it’s all good. Let the countdown to booking day begin!

My husband is really into photography and one of my selling points is the fall scenery I’ll be very eager to read your report. I’m hopeful there will be a n option for October in 2020. So excited for you guys!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We are booking the June 2nd departure and doing the 2 night HKDL add-on. Also thinking about staying in Tokyo for 2 days before the trip and heading to Kyoto by bullet train. We will leave Tokyo on June 14th and arrive home on the 14th. Giving us the day of the 15th to drive 3.5 hours to the wedding with possible jet lag! Not ideal as I would have liked more time in Japan, but I am sold on the itinerary so I am doing what I can to make it work.

 

[Mathmagicland]

We are booking the June 2nd departure and doing the 2 night HKDL add-on. Also thinking about staying in Tokyo for 2 days before the trip and heading to Kyoto by bullet train. We will leave Tokyo on June 14th and arrive home on the 14th. Giving us the day of the 15th to drive 3.5 hours to the wedding with possible jet lag! Not ideal as I would have liked more time in Japan, but I am sold on the itinerary so I am doing what I can to make it work.

Glad to see you were able to find a way to make it work for you, good luck calling in Monday!

 

[bearsgirl]

We are booking the June 2nd departure and doing the 2 night HKDL add-on. Also thinking about staying in Tokyo for 2 days before the trip and heading to Kyoto by bullet train. We will leave Tokyo on June 14th and arrive home on the 14th. Giving us the day of the 15th to drive 3.5 hours to the wedding with possible jet lag! Not ideal as I would have liked more time in Japan, but I am sold on the itinerary so I am doing what I can to make it work.

Are you scheduling the 2 night HKDL add-on yourself or was that one of the options that I missed? Would love to tie in HKDL and Shanghai Park visits in addition to Japan ABD.

 

[calypso726]

Am I crazy or does the ABD site only mention the Disneyland Hotel...? I don't see them saying anything about Miracosta in their packages....

https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/asia-africa-australia/japan-vacations/tokyo-disney-resort/

No it isn't on their itinerary. I was commenting on my own MiraCosta booking experience.

We are booking the June 2nd departure and doing the 2 night HKDL add-on. Also thinking about staying in Tokyo for 2 days before the trip and heading to Kyoto by bullet train. We will leave Tokyo on June 14th and arrive home on the 14th. Giving us the day of the 15th to drive 3.5 hours to the wedding with possible jet lag! Not ideal as I would have liked more time in Japan, but I am sold on the itinerary so I am doing what I can to make it work.

That is a great idea. Glad you shared it. Now, if I can't figure out a way to travel hack my way to KIX or ITM airports, then I have a plan B. I'll fly into NRT early and then take a bullet train.

 

[sayhello]

So what dates are people considering??

Sayhello

 

[Mathmagicland]

I've read through it quickly once. My initial disappointment that parks weren't included was somewhat lessened by the inclusion of Hiroshima and the add-on. Does anyone have pricing info for the resort addition yet? Agree with @BlueTraveler though about the pricing compared to other tour companies. The private NatGeo is still much cheaper. I also wonder if the resort addition is just for ABD or can be arranged in conjunction with another tour (i.e. like Nat Geo). It's nice to have a package without the 6 month stress.

I called AbD to ask some questions & one was the Pricing for the Tokyo DLR add ons. The person said they did not yet have any estimated pricing & wasn’t sure what they might have on Monday.

I also saw that their $500 off early booking offer will not apply to the Japan 2019 trips.

 

[sayhello]

I called AbD to ask some questions & one was the Pricing for the Tokyo DLR add ons. The person said they did not yet have any estimated pricing & wasn’t sure what they might have on Monday.

I also saw that their $500 off early booking offer will not apply to the Japan 2019 trips.

Thanks for bringing that last to my attention. That's really good to know!

Sayhello.

 

[Mathmagicland]

So what dates are people considering??

Sayhello

Waiting for my son to sort out his schedule as he wants to go also, which would be great. If it works out, we’d be looking at late June, September, or April. Not sure how quickly dates might fill so I want to be set with multiple options,

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Waiting for my son to sort out his schedule as he wants to go also, which would be great. If it works out, we’d be looking at late June, September, or April. Not sure how quickly dates might fill so I want to be set with multiple options,

I've got a lot of big ifs I'm trying to deal with, too. Having kids in college is actually making my life more difficult. None of the dates are great. I'm also continuing to look at different options. Wish they had the pricing of the add-on. I was finally able to access the package info online, but I tried a few dates and Disneyland hotel was sold out. I haven't had time to play around with it and find any open dates to get actual prices, but the homepage says the 2-night/3-day package at the Miracosta ranges from $962 per person to $1300. This was the "more attractions" option, which was more expensive package and includes 8 Fastpasses. This one also allows guests to enter both parks on the first day (which is different than ABD). So maybe they went with the cheaper one? Anyway, add the transportation and the ABD premium and my guess is $1299 a person. We'll see.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

oops. meant to include this:

 

[AquaDame]

So what dates are people considering??

Sayhello

The first one is tempting due to the time of year (though that would be at the end of cherry blossoms if not already over) but probably the waitlisted October one if its with the group I think it might be... I am going to crunch some numbers now that I know the itinerary and do some soul searching as I already have two expensive once-in-a-lifetime trips in the works for this year and next. Going with a group would be more fun than going alone but the price would be easier to swallow if I wasn't solo. No one else I know would even pretend to be interested at this price point.

There aren't any special things with the Disney parks at all which was going to be my deciding factor. I didn't expect them to have an itinerary that went so far off my beaten path though and its interesting in a different way now. They magically hit the temples I did NOT see in Kyoto on Day 2 but I've been to Miyajima & the museum in Hiroshima on day 3. Day 4 would be new, but I've done most of 5 except sumo... I haven't been to any of the restaurants they call out anywhere. Day 6-8 until they hit Tokyo would be all new and is my main draw... I chickened out of doing a small village as I'm barely functional in Japanese (and we didn't have time) and I really want to but am still nervous I'm not conversational enough for it. There is a LOT of on your own time in Tokyo but I can easily spend days and days on my own there (or with new friends) and be totally happy. But would that sort of thing be worth a 14K price tag (with the single supplement)? And then more to go to Disney after..?

I think I have my answer unless I get in on a special itinerary with a group of people that has a bigger hook.

 

[Mathmagicland]

The first one is tempting due to the time of year (though that would be at the end of cherry blossoms if not already over) but probably the waitlisted October one if its with the group I think it might be...

Are you able to share what that group might be, or is is not even an option for most of us....

 

[AquaDame]

I think its OK? I'm suspicious its http://www.wdwradio.com/ because the guy who does it has been talking about doing a trip when they start for a long time and his TA sponsor has mentioned it also (though no official announcement or date yet of course). He has set up other ABD trips in October a few times already. Maybe Kevin has plans for us here too though...if its us I wouldn't know before anyone else.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I give it an A! On an A-F scale. it covers everything you will want to see in the country. The hotels are fine. Including the 'regional ones' Would have preferred the Four Seasons for the Hyatt. But its fine. You can add the parks as an ad on. Much better than the other ABDs.

The actual sights they see a key highlights.

I would prefer to eat at Michelin starred venues like Den. But that will not fly with kids.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I do wonder though if kids. Would like a day with a Japanese Video Game developer!

 

[sayhello]

SO torn about dates. Want to do Adults Only. But not sure about April. (Plus it's $1000 more expensive.) May might be nice, it would be over my Birthday, but it's not Adults Only. October would be great, but waitlisted.. And I'm on vacation and won't be able to contact my TA. so I'm booking myself, on Monday. Decisions, decisions!!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

SO torn about dates. Want to do Adults Only. But not sure about April. (Plus it's $1000 more expensive.) May might be nice, it would be over my Birthday, but it's not Adults Only. October would be great, but waitlisted.. And I'm on vacation and won't be able to contact my TA. so I'm booking myself, on Monday. Decisions, decisions!!

@sayhello while I can't speak for kids everywhere, I think most of the Canada and US-based kids will still be in school for the May date, so chances are pretty good that the trip will be primarily adults. My daughter gets out of school super early and she's not done until the end of May next year (technically early June but I'm pulling her early for the trip).

@AquaDame, I'd be very interested to hear your overall thoughts about the itinerary (since you've visited Japan before). Are they missing any key sites in Tokyo? What would you recommend on the 2 free afternoons in Tokyo? Do they spend enough time in Tokyo? I'd like to spend more time in Tokyo but that doesn't seem likely (unless I can get there a few days before the trip starts).

 

[kbmartin]

The itinerary looks great, but the price is WAY too high for us! I can't justify that at all. Looks like I'll be making my own plans for our trip to Japan next year.