It's A Small World After All
 

Looks like Disney is getting into the tour business, infecting not only Europe, but Costa Rica!

Very high rates averaging out at about $3,500 per person for a week to ten days. The Italy trip includes such Disneyesque touches as "dinner at a gladiator school" in Rome, and an evening on an "authentic" pirate ship in Venice. Who knew?

http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/index

Never understood the appeal of Disney, Inc., but there must be a market.

Those people-size mice and dogs and ducks with huge, immobile plastic heads freak me out.

Disney is appealing because of their thoroughness. I have been to Disney World twice: 1 as a kid with my mom and brother, 1 as a teenager on my first 'solo' trip with my best friend. Both times the experience was different and really a lot of fun. As a 20-something, I am not interested. However, when I have kids, I am sure that the idea that a trusted company would plan some kind of fantasy vacation for my children and I where we will be able to go somewhere desireable and know that the tour won't fall apart will be welcome. Good thing I like a challenge, though! I feel like even with kids I would avoid this specific kind of thing.

Since when do Disney parks become uninteresting after the age of 20?

I went to DisneyWorld at 25 and enjoyed it far more than I did as a kid or a teenager. I wasn't so whiny and impatient.

I live a little over an hour from disney world and go once or twice a year.

And I'm 34. ;-)

When you stay on one of the Disney properties, particularly in one of their more upscale resort hotels, you'll begin to understand the "appeal."

And to put it quite bluntly, Pausanias, some of us can afford it and willingly do so.

Please. lets not turn this into a Disney debate.

I visit Disney with my kids. I find they do an excellent job of smoothing the rough edges (clean parks, G rated, etc.) There are many who swear by their cruises. Thirty years ago, if you had said 'Disney cruises' would get significant market share, people would have laughed.

They research a new business venture before they do it. If they are offering this, they clearly think there is a market and a price point.

For those who 'get' Disney, great. For those who don't, feel free to do your own thing.

YMMV

We stayed in one of Disney's Tree House Villas with our 3 young boys and loved it.
Europe it ain't but it's still fun!!!
Don't knock Disney World!! ;)

I'm 24 and I'd still like to see Disney World. I've gone to Disneyland several times since I live close to it.

I've heard that touring Disneyworld is pricey....

I didn't knock Disneyworld. Went once and plan to go back to celebrate my 150th birthday.

I just thought the tours sounded tacky, inappropriate (in the case of Costa Rica), and ludicrously overpriced, even if, like Intrepid1, you can afford it and would willingly do so.

I posted about the Disney Costa Rica tours over on the Latin America board. Folks were much more outraged over there than they are here. That makes sense...we've all encountered large tour groups in the major European cities, but I think most of us hope to avoid them in the rain forest!

I will say that there are plenty of people who would not consider touring Europe on their own. If you have a young family, Disney would probably be a pretty good option if you feel you must be part of a guided tour.

By the way, I'm intrigued by the "authentic pirate ship" in Venice. If the tour comes with Johnnie Depp as an authentic pirate, it would be well worth the money!

I am almost cringing as I write this because I'm not a huge Disney fan, but after having a quick look at the website, I have to say the tours don't look that bad if you're a family with little kids and you want to get away without having to deal with the details. There are a couple times when the kids have a separate dinner and this gives the adults a chance to be on their own - on an independent trip with kids this would not be an option. So I have to say, while I traditionally am not in favour of tour groups, I see the demographic they are targeting and I think the tours are structured fairly well (minus the pirate ship of course). I guess they are just trying to make places like Europe and CR more accessible to families where the parents want to see those places but aren't sure how to make the trip fun for both kids and adults....

I encourage everyone to go to Disney, that way they aren't bothering me while I'm on my vacation. Seriously, I can take my whole family to Europe for a month for what a week at Disney would cost. I've been trapped there for conferences, I'll never willingly return.

I'll never forget a waiter in Budapest when we told him where we were from showed us his Mickey Mouse tattoo and said, "I love zee Mickey!"

Unfortunately, Pausanias, using terms such as "infecting" makes it seems as if you are "knocking" Disney.

If you never understood the appeal then nothing any of us can say or do will probably change your mind which I'm sure you already know.

So why post in the first place unless you were hoping a bunch of people would chime in and agree with you. Somehow you don't really present yourself as the neutral type and as you found out, neither are a lot of other folks.

Thanks a lot! Now I am humming that tune!!! grrrrr

Though I am not a Disney fan myself, they clearly know what they are doing. Adults (the ones who make the decision whether to pay the $) vote with their feet, and it's a landlside in favor of Disney. From the inside, it is a scary operation (Big Brother has nothing on them in terms of surveilance operations) but for thousands of willing customers it's a pleasant if expensive and not exactly authentic experience. Wouldn't spend my hard earned on it, but also don't feel like it's my place to judge those that do so.
Now Vegas, THAT's a totally unnatural and inexcusably tacky destination... ;-)

$6,000 base price for 8 days and 7 nights in CR for two people, NOT including airfare! That is such a total rip-off--not just a high rate, but outrageous. Or did I misread something?

Someone would have to be totally ignorant of Costa Rica to pay that price.

Group limited to 35--that's a limit? I can see these mobs tromping through the rain or cloud forest ensuring that no one gets to see any wildlife.

Lord knows I've made a big effort on this forum to defend American tourists (the bulk of us) from the "dumb," and "ignorant," and "loud" threads, but if this is a success I'll have to give in on at least the dumb and ignorant ones.