We are now home and wanted to do a thorough review of our
Adventures by Disney Private Adventure to London and Paris. We were two families- 4 adults and 4 kids.
We built in a pre-day to do the Harry Potter Studio tours and it was well worth it! A must do if you are a fan. We purchased tickets in advanced and used ATN cars for transportation to the studios and back to the hotel.
Day 1- Hotel Check-in Kimpton Fitzroy- We were told by our
travel agent that we would be able to get rooms that are adjoining when we were planning the trip. That was not the case….we were put into two separate rooms thankfully on the same floor but down and across the hall from each other.
That evening, our guide Lisa met us at the Kimpton Fitzroy for our welcome dinner. She was very professional, had a Disney name tag and filled us in on what to expect in London. My daughter has allergies to tree nuts so she took note and was very alert when any food was given to my daughter. We had a lovely dinner and we offered her a glass of wine- but she said that she was not able to drink while on a tour.
Day 2- Met our blue badge guide named Steve. He was an amazing wealth of knowledge and super engaging. They brought us to Windsor Castle, had afternoon tea, and Buckingham Palace. Both Lisa and Steve guided us through each location, got the van ready to transport us timely from location to location. We always knew where we were headed and what to expect. They used the whisper headsets so we could always hear every single detail- which we loved!
Day 3- Tower of London, Speed boat on the Thames was amazing, lunch at a pub, and Westminster Abby. Both Lisa and Steve were the best guides- always offering us water and checking on us if we needed anything. They would also slow down if we got into large crowds and try to maneuver us to quieter areas.
Day 4- Lisa prepped us for what to expect at the Train station. She also gave us a bag full of English treats to take with us on our trip. She talked each step of the way with us to prepare us to getting on and off the Eurostar smoothly. As soon as we scanned into the train, we were waving like we were saying goodbye to our mother- as she graciously took care of us so well. We were so happy with our London experience we could not wait to do the same in Paris!!!
The train was smooth and we got off to find our new guide Kristian. At first glance, he was rough around the edges, a bit scruffy, and not as welcoming. My kids even doubted that he was the guide as he did not have a Name tag or anything to distinguish that he was a real guide. He looks at our luggage and says “wow you have so much luggage you must be rich”. We thought it was odd but brushed it off. His accent was thick so we had to really listen to understand what he was saying. Once we got to Montmartre area, it was time for us to get off the bus. Unfortunately since we had all our luggage with us, some of us had to repack and take certain things with us. Kristian was annoyed as we weren’t ready to get off the bus and we had to go around again. If he had prompted us and given us a few minutes and tell us to be ready, we would have been.
We get off the bus and Kristian runs off and we are all trying to keep up with his pace. Once we get to Sacre-Coeur he just leads us through the busy areas not stopping or telling us anything. We basically did a quick walk through- no history or details of what we were seeing. He didn’t have the whisper headsets that we were accustomed to either.
After Sacre-Coeur we are led to Montmartre. Then he tells us to go explore- we weren’t comfortable exploring on our own so we told him he needed to come with us. He reluctantly walks us around- still not telling us much of anything. Next he walks us to the wine tasting at La Boheme. He leaves us there and says he will see us in one hour.
We are left in the restaurant trying to figure out my daughter’s tree nut allergy as all they give the kids are a chocolate soufflé. Keep in mind we just got off the train from London and have been walking so the kids are starving. We ask the restaurant if we can order off the menu as only the chocolate soufflés and the wine/cheese plates for the adults were included in the Disney tour package. The waiter says no we can not order anything else. We figured we were in France and people were a bit more impatient a rude-but this was shocking. My complaint here with Disney is why is there only a chocolate soufflé given to the kids? A cheese and cracker plate would have been much more appreciated and needed at the moment. We did give the kids our cheese and crackers off the adult plate but were also annoyed as this was a simple request!
An hour goes by and Kristian returns to take us to the bus. He walks quickly as we continue to try to keep up and are so thankful to finally check into the Paris Vendome hotel for the night. Since dinner is not included we went out for dinner on our own to reflect on the day. We decided to contact Disney that night to share the events of the day and to request for a new guide for the next three days. A manager named Mike calls me to say that they will contact the company they use (basically a 3rd party) and will get back to me. The 3rd party manager named Mickey calls me and says he will do his best to get us a new guide by the next afternoon. We were very grateful to hear this.
Day 5- Kristian meets us at the hotel walks us over to our CV2 car tour guides. They were amazing and we had the best times with our drivers that gave us some history as they drove us through the city. We had so much fun in the one hour compared to the rest of the time with Kristian. They drop us off at the Eiffel Tower and Kristian accompanies us to our Lunch at the Eiffel Tower. I was surprised that he was joining us for lunch as I thought it would just be our party. He drinks champagne and wine (which I thought was against the rules of being a tour guide. Our guide Lisa didn’t drink with us). He makes numerous comments regarding people with money and the impression is he doesn’t care for people who have money… he also comments on how the rich don’t have to pay taxes only poor and middle class. He talked about a mayor who he didn’t like but then ended up liking her because she tells everyone we don’t need tourism. Comments that “true Paris” people want they city to themselves and don’t like tourists. His overall demeanor is very unhappy and rude. Yes we are suppose to be enjoying the views of the Eiffel Tower but instead we get an earful of politics.
After lunch we do the chocolate making which the kids enjoyed (and we didn’t have Kristian there so it was enjoyable).
At this point I haven’t heard back from Disney about getting the new tour guide but since it was already the end of the day I figured I would hear from them soon. We have dinner on our own and I haven’t heard back from Disney so I called to leave a message again for the manager. Mike returns my call and says they are having a hard time finding a replacement guide last minute but will still try. He says he will talk to Kristian to correct his attitude. I told him that nothing will correct his attitude at this point. I understand but am hopeful at this point. I also include my travel agent at this point to keep her in the loop to see if she can also reach out on her end to Disney.
Day 6- Kristian meets us in the morning so at this point we knew we were stuck with him for at least another day. He takes us to Sainte-Chapelle. He leaves us to explore which is fine for us now- we are used to it. We would rather have him leave us alone then guide us at this point.
We get to the Louvre and he pulls out the whisper headsets. We were like why didn’t you use this the past few days? He said it wasn’t needed. We thought they were very much a necessity as we couldn’t hear what he was saying when he was racing in the streets of Paris with us lagging behind him! He also gets into an argument with a Louvre Museum Employee. I'm not sure what was said as they were speaking in french, but when I asked him he said that the Museum Employee was having a power trip and needed him to display his "guide badge" where they could see it. He had it hanging on a lanyard and supposedly he was suppose to have it pinned to his shirt so it could be seen easily. It was just an awkward situation.
In the evening I call Disney again but no response. My travel agent said she is now talking to a manager but she is on the west coast time so there’s a huge time difference and delay in getting information.
Day 7- Our last day of Paris and we can not wait to leave and never see Kristian again but unfortunately he shows up again. I had given Disney the benefit of a doubt to rectify this situation but they let the ball drop.
Kristian takes us to Versailles. He eats lunch with us at La Flotille and drinks wine. (Again!). For our farewell dinner I inquired why the location changed. He does not know why it changed from Laduree to Maison de L’Aubrac. I always like to know where we are eating so I can get a first look at the menu since my daughter has treenut allergies.
We get to the hotel to rest before dinner and I get a missed call from another Disney Manager named Michelle McIntyre. We return her phone call but only get her voicemail. It’s our last night so I wanted to get some sort of help from her and to the very end she let us down by not returning our call.
We get to Maison de L’Aubrac for dinner. For dessert my daughter orders a vanilla ice cream. The waiters are made aware of the allergy. When the dessert does come out- there are SPRINKLED NUTS on top of the ice cream. My daughter saw and rejected it right away. Where is Kristian? Sitting at the end drinking wine and chatting. The waiter was very sorry and knew he made a huge mistake. He genuinely apologized so I let it go.
Kristian was never once engaging to the kids. We booked an Adventures by Disney trip to get the experience of a guide that loves kids and Disney. He was none of these things. The amount of money we spent for the private tour was definitely not with it at all for our Paris adventure. We were disappointed, scolded at, and given attitude the entire time. He doesn’t give clear directions on what we are doing. He seems annoyed all of the time. He never checked any of the food before it was served to my daughter with nut allergies (Lisa our London guide ALWAYS double checked the food before it was presented to my daughter).
The next day we leave for
Disneyland Paris we we couldn’t have been more happy! I get a TEXT MESSAGE- not even a phone call from Michelle the Disney manager. She apologies for not being able to do anything and that I should reach out to Guest Communications when I return home. I was hoping they could sprinkle some Magic for Disneyland Paris, but NOPE we got nothing. I had no idea that by booking a Private adventure by Disney we were paying more for less qualified 3rd party guide.
Are we disheartened by Disney? YES. Did I expect more? YES. Would we book another adventure? NO!!!
