When do you realistically think ABD will start operating again?

[disneyholic family]

Is it just me, or does it seem overly optimistic that ABD is still planning March 2021 trips for Costa Rica and Arizona/Utah?

wildly over optimistic

 

[AquaDame]

Is it just me, or does it seem overly optimistic that ABD is still planning March 2021 trips for Costa Rica and Arizona/Utah?

Overly optimistic IMO. I could see them running domestic trips (if they want to do the wrong thing, again IMO) but I'm stumped on Costa Rica. I heard the trip after that one has also been cancelled which makes it even more puzzling.

 

[st40]

I agree, it seems that domestic travel will be possible before international. It'll be interesting to see the vaccine rollout, and how quickly populations get vaccinated across different countries. I'm sure that would be a consideration for international destinations for both ABD & most travelers.

 

[laceltris3]

We changed our trip from Switzerland to Yellowstone with Tauck because we weren’t confident that we could travel and or deal with any quarantine requirements and recently received updated info on the trip. Tauck is requiring people that they have had a negative COVID test within 5 days of departure.

I hope they will update that to no longer require testing if people have been vaccinated, once the vaccines are widely available, but it is interesting to see what is happening in advance of these trips starting up again.

 

[sayhello]

We changed our trip from Switzerland to Yellowstone with Tauck because we weren’t confident that we could travel and or deal with any quarantine requirements and recently received updated info on the trip. Tauck is requiring people that they have had a negative COVID test within 5 days of departure.

I hope they will update that to no longer require testing if people have been vaccinated, once the vaccines are widely available, but it is interesting to see what is happening in advance of these trips starting up again.

I've read that they haven't determined yet if having been vaccinated prevents you from spreading the virus. It just keeps you from getting sick, or *as* sick. No-one knows yet if you can still be a carrier if you've had the vaccine.

Sayhello

 

[lovetotravel]

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[lovetotravel]

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[leannak]

Has anyone noticed anything in the ABD website? Any new cancellations or additions, any hopeful blog posts, anything at all? Just curious. I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve heard anything.

 

[sayhello]

Has anyone noticed anything in the ABD website? Any new cancellations or additions, any hopeful blog posts, anything at all? Just curious. I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve heard anything.

Do you mean since they cancelled all departures up through March 31, 2021 (except for a couple of Arizona/Utah and Costa Rica trips) on December 21st? That's not that long ago.

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

^As @sayhello said, only the recent cancellations.

The last email I received was 10/20 for our May trip where they explained pushing back the PIF date and reaffirming deposits are non-refundable. Annoyingly, the exact same day they sent out another promo email emphasizing "Peace of Mind" booking with fully refundable deposits for NEW trips.

Yes, I understand they are a business. It sure feels like if they could afford to do this for a full year of bookings (from March 13th, 2020-March 31, 2021) they could extend that to those of us that were caught in their last release - we booked end of Jan 2020. They've told another guest that this was before it was a pandemic, but that seems disingenuous. It was already out of control in China and spreading - Shanghai and then Hong Kong shut down a few days before we booked. I wish I had given Disney less credit to do the right thing if things got bad - it is not a mistake I will make again. I've now had 9 months to stew on them doing us dirty and the earliest I can expect to get my money back is going to be the end of February if they keep doing these absolute last second after PIF cancellations.

 

[Skylarr29]

^As @sayhello said, only the recent cancellations.

The last email I received was 10/20 for our May trip where they explained pushing back the PIF date and reaffirming deposits are non-refundable. Annoyingly, the exact same day they sent out another promo email emphasizing "Peace of Mind" booking with fully refundable deposits for NEW trips.

Yes, I understand they are a business. It sure feels like if they could afford to do this for a full year of bookings (from March 13th, 2020-March 31, 2021) they could extend that to those of us that were caught in their last release - we booked end of Jan 2020. They've told another guest that this was before it was a pandemic, but that seems disingenuous. It was already out of control in China and spreading - Shanghai and then Hong Kong shut down a few days before we booked. I wish I had given Disney less credit to do the right thing if things got bad - it is not a mistake I will make again. I've now had 9 months to stew on them doing us dirty and the earliest I can expect to get my money back is going to be the end of February if they keep doing these absolute last second after PIF cancellations.

Agree with you 100%! Our trip was back to back Southeast Asia and CHINA and they refused to cancel before pay in full. We just couldn’t risk paying the balance so we chose new trips and will probably lose those deposits. Definitely bitter and it will certainly influence our decision for future trips.

 

[leannak]

Do you mean since they cancelled all departures up through March 31, 2021 (except for a couple of Arizona/Utah and Costa Rica trips) on December 21st? That's not that long ago.

Sayhello

i guess I’m frustrated that ABD is so silent except for official cancellation press release type things. I get Tauck emails and they talk about all kinds of things, destination information, hope for the future, etc. I don’t hear anything like that out of ABD. I just want something to be excited about. I wish they’d tell us what their guides are up to etc. Maybe they are doing some of that and I’m just not seeing it because I’m not on a lot of social media. I was just curious what other news people might have been hearing.

 

[TravelJunkieHubby]

I hear what you’re saying... I suspect this is part of ABDs playbook: to avoid giving too many details when things are uncertain so as to avoid disappointing customers down the road. I feel like I’ve seen the same approach from our guides on trips when something doesn’t go as planned.

I reached out to two of the destination managers we had met to wish them Happy Holidays and they were optimistic about ABD resuming at some point... but no details.

 

[sayhello]

i guess I’m frustrated that ABD is so silent except for official cancellation press release type things. I get Tauck emails and they talk about all kinds of things, destination information, hope for the future, etc. I don’t hear anything like that out of ABD. I just want something to be excited about. I wish they’d tell us what their guides are up to etc. Maybe they are doing some of that and I’m just not seeing it because I’m not on a lot of social media. I was just curious what other news people might have been hearing.

I hear what you’re saying... I suspect this is part of ABDs playbook: to avoid giving too many details when things are uncertain so as to avoid disappointing customers down the road. I feel like I’ve seen the same approach from our guides on trips when something doesn’t go as planned.

I reached out to two of the destination managers we had met to wish them Happy Holidays and they were optimistic about ABD resuming at some point... but no details.

Honestly? Communication is not one of ABD's strong suits at any time. You really don't hear much from them, period. You hear a lot when they release the new season and/or new trips, and on rare occasions when they have a special going on. And some paperwork when you first book. Other than that? Not much. I've always heard that Tauck and Thomson and other companies are much better at that than ABD is. Should they be keeping people (especially people still booked) apprised on what's going on? Probably. Will they, until they have to? Probably not.

Sayhello

 

[TravelJunkieHubby]

Check out today's Dreams podcast... ABD discussed ~minute 29 - 38... not looking good for international travel or even BSM in 2021

 

[TarotFox]

I've been thinking of canceling my October BSM. I'm going to wait and see, but, the thing is I don't want a trip where things aren't normal. I don't want to wear a mask. I don't want things to be canceled. Just being open isn't good enough for me.

 

[MiddKid]

First ever ABD was booked for Norway July 2020. Got cancelled and we re-booked July 2021 Norway in May. Just called and cancelled that for a full refund (booked during the window when full refunds were offered). Not only are we not going to feel confident going to Europe in less than 6 months (assuming we're allowed to) but living on the opposite coast from my parents, we haven't seen them in over a year. No way we can justify going to Europe when they haven't seen their grandkids in over a year!

Hopefully 2022...

 

[Mathmagicland]

My PIF date for my May departure is next month. I’ve got about six weeks to see how far into 2021 the AbD cancellations continue or where things are at with the virus in Europe as well as vaccines here. Based on the vaccine priority hierarchy in my county, I won’t have received or started the vaccine process soon enough in order to feel comfortable & be able to go unless supplies increase. I’ve always given it approx 50% chance of going, and it gets a bit less for me with each passing week. I’ve gone from cautiously optimistic to likely won’t be happening this year for that one. I’m still very hopeful for the October trip.

 

[disneyholic family]

My PIF date for my May departure is next month. I’ve got about six weeks to see how far into 2021 the AbD cancellations continue or where things are at with the virus in Europe as well as vaccines here. Based on the vaccine priority hierarchy in my county, I won’t have received or started the vaccine process soon enough in order to feel comfortable & be able to go unless supplies increase. I’ve always given it approx 50% chance of going, and it gets a bit less for me with each passing week. I’ve gone from cautiously optimistic to likely won’t be happening this year for that one. I’m still very hopeful for the October trip.

where are you scheduled to go in May and October?
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[Mathmagicland]

where are you scheduled to go in May and October?
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May - Central Europe (Poland, Czech, Austria)
October- New Zealand