Welcome Aboard And Guest Intro

Intro 0:03

Please stand clear of the doors. Please stand clear of the doors. Because this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness.

Alicea 0:23

Hello everyone, I'm Alicea.

Nathan 0:25

I'm Nathan.

Shar 0:26

And I'm Shar.

Alicea 0:28

Welcome to episode 246 of Adventures and Mouse Capades. Our guest today is proof that one Disney vacation often leads to another. We met Shar and her husband Matt aboard the Disney Magic last November while sailing from San Juan to Galveston. And somewhere between great conversation and maybe a drink or two in the concierge lounge, we hit it off. Now Shar is back from a Disney adventure that sounds absolutely incredible, and we couldn't wait to have her on the show to talk about it. So without further ado, welcome.

Shar 0:59

Thank you so much.

Char’s Disney Story And 29 Cruises

Shar 1:00

It's so great to connect with you guys again.

Nathan 1:03

Yes, it's great to have you here. So let's start with our favorite opening question. What's your Disney story? How did Disney become kind of part of your life? And what kind of a Disney traveler are you today?

Shar 1:15

Okay, yeah. So it probably goes back even further than just me. My in-laws um had their very first date at Disneyland and their very first kiss on the Matterhorn. And so my husband is a Disney, Disney fan, and then I was as well, and then it's just continued. Um, we live in Arizona, so we're not very far from California. We've had um annual passes many years, and then a little over 20 years ago, Matt and I took our very first cruise on a different cruise line and it was horrible. And we had um somehow my in-laws talked us into taking a Disney cruise um with them shortly after that, and we thought, okay, we'll we'll give it a try. We had our daughters were five and seven at the time, and we just fell in love with the um the quality and service of Disney. So I

Shar 2:07

yeah, we we love Disney. We um I won't say that I'm a Disney adult necessarily, but um definitely, definitely love the quality and service of Disney. And so yeah, next month is our 29th Disney cruise. We , it's the we love the cruising aspect of it. Most our kids haven't even really been with us on most of those. Matt and I go by ourselves often. Um

Nathan 2:32

perfect, perfect,

Shar 2:33

exactly. And I always just say it's our favorite way to do Disney. It's it's all the magic at a more laid-back pace.

Alicea 2:40

Yes, it's an actual vacation.

Shar 2:42

Yeah, but we've you know we've done Disney World and Aulani several times and and whatnot, but we always come back to the cruises.

Nathan 2:49

Yeah. See, I knew we liked you guys for a reason. Yeah, speaking our language for sure.

What Adventures By Disney Does Differently

Nathan 2:55

Yeah.

Alicea 2:56

So we're talking about your Adventures by Disney trip today. Um, before this trip, what was your familiarity with Adventures by Disney? Have have you traveled with ABD before, or was this your very first adventure?

Shar 3:10

No, so this was our third adventure. And um interestingly enough, it was they've all been different. So our our first one was about 10 years ago. We did um an Italy land tour. And then for a few years, um, before COVID hit, Disney Cruise Line had an add-on that you could do with ABD where where all of your excursions and everything on the sailing were adventures by Disney guided and whatnot. So that was super cool. It we did that, it was a 12-night Northern European cruise. Um in 2019, it was the last of the sailings that overnight in Russia, you know, things have changed. You can't do that anymore. Um, so that was a super amazing cruise. Uh, you know, all the behind the scenes things that that Disney can do. Um, we were able to do on that cruise, and then um and then we decided to try the river cruise this time.

Nathan 4:12

So that so I don't know if I ever had clocked that before because we've been cruising since 2009, but I didn't realize that. So basically, you did a Disney cruise with like an overlay of adventures by Disney. And they did all the yeah, wow.

Shar 4:29

So, you know, one of one of the just to tell you, or you know, you guys know Disney and and the people listening, I'm sure, do too. But what yeah, whatever. But but um just to give an example of kind of the um the level of of access that you get with Disney, one of the things that we did is we had an after hours viewing at the Hermitage, and we had two um young art majors who were our guides, and they said the very first time they were guiding with Disney and they walked in after hours by themselves. They'd been going there for years, but they just wept to be able to be there with you know only the 30 people that were there with Adventures by Disney or whatnot.

Nathan 5:12

So I have goosebumps just thinking about that. That's incredible. It was wow,

Shar 5:17

it was wild and and so beautiful.

Nathan 5:20

So, how does a river cruise compare? I mean, you you've you've kind of done like all of the options at this point. Well, you haven't done the round the world flight with ABD yet. So

Alicea 5:31

maybe that's next.

Shar 5:33

But not quite

Nathan 5:34

so so comparing like the traditional adventures by Disney land tour versus a river cruise, like how do they compare?

Shar 5:44

I I would say that they're fairly comparable, uh different in that on a land tour, maybe there's only 30 people or so, um, 30 to 40 guests. On this one, they're on you know, AMA waterways is who we sailed with, and there are um 78 staterooms, I think Max about 150 people, and we only had about 120. So, so more people. Um, it was it's a lot more intimate, kind of the smaller um land tours. Um, but you know, again, the nice thing with cruising is you'd unpack once, right? We weren't we weren't repacking every day or two like you do on the land tours to have Tinkerbell take your stuff and whatnot. Um, we just unpacked that that one time and and sailed.

Alicea 6:28

So was the entire boat ABD or did they have non-ABD? Okay.

Shar 6:34

No, yeah, Disney just takes over the the whole sailing.

Alicea 6:38

Okay.

Nathan 6:39

So many fans think of the the parks or Disney Cruise Line first. What kind of originally attracted you to Adventures by Disney?

Shar 6:49

Yeah, so Adventures by Disney is um it is a lot more culturally immersive. And so we really liked that that piece of it. It you know, there really aren't there aren't Disney characters on it, but you you still get you know the the Disney service again and quality that I always talk about. And they do because it we have only ever done the the all ages adventures by Disney. So they do have adult only ones. Um but but in this situation, they like they'll have you know characters in in Italy that meet you that are you know whatever character in Venice or um so I I don't know if that happens necessarily on the the adult versions, um, but it's still you know it's it's storytelling, it's Disney storytelling. But they do so well, and um and we we really love to travel anyway and see new places. That's what was appealing about this cruise. We we kind of we were gonna be in Italy, not excuse me, not in Italy, we were going to be in Europe anyway. and um thought, well, once you fly over there, you gotta stay for two weeks or you know, at least kind of it's kind of our rule of thumb these days. So the timing on this just worked out, um, worked out beautifully. And then it was an opportunity for us, you know, there were four countries that we went to, and we had only been to Germany of the four so far. So it it was a great way to just see and be, you know, pretty um immersed in the culture with with the guides. There were two guides who were originally from the US, and then we had three guides who were

Planning Tips And Fast-Paced Days

Shar 8:30

from um the European countries that we were at.

Alicea 8:33

So let's talk travel logistics. So I knew I know you did um was it a cruise before this one that you were on as well? Okay. How long was that one?

Shar 8:45

That was a week long also.

Alicea 8:47

Okay. Okay. So you did a week cruise for that. How how long were you there before that? Like, did you did you come in like day before or a couple days before?

Shar 8:56

Yeah, we we came in two days before. And I especially for overseas, I always recommend at least two days before. We know, you know, everybody knows the way flights go, flights go these days. You never know. And I always want to um to get in and get a little bit adjusted to the time zone because you're you know, if Adventures by Disney's um any adventures by Disney, at least the ones that we've been on, are jam-packed. They're they're not restful vacations. So I'll make that caveat for anybody who's considering it. You know, they are they're fast-paced, you're doing a lot of things. Of of course, you could, you know, skip some things, but but why if not if that's what you're doing? So um, so we we always like to to be in country if a couple days early, at least two or three days early, so we can get adjusted to to time zones and whatnot.

Nathan 9:50

And you had a Disney cruise before the ABD River Cruise, or no?

Shar 9:54

No, it was actually a uh Royal Caribbean cruise.

Nathan 9:57

You cheated on Mickey?

Shar 10:00

yeah.

Nathan 10:00

Uh well Well, it was nice uh having you on the show, Shar. Thanks for joining us.

Alicea 10:05

Hey, we've done we've done Royal and Celebrity. I mean

Shar 10:12

I we are look we are a little bit bougie with Disney. And um I will there are people who love Royal Caribbean. It's not our favorite, and yeah, it's a little it's actually part of the reason that we added this on because we knew we we might really want something of Disney quality af after this sailing.

Alicea 10:32

Got it, got it, got it.

Nathan 10:34

That tracks that that makes sense to me. That makes sense.

Alicea 10:37

Everybody has their preferences, it's okay. I mean, yeah, we we've done Royal, it wasn't our thing. We've done Celebrity and we liked it.

Nathan 10:44

So but we like Disney more.

Alicea 10:46

Yes, for sure.

Nathan 10:47

For sure, for sure. So Adventures by Disney is really known for the adventure guides. It's that is who makes these trips just extra so extra special. What role did they play for y'all throughout the trip and and how did they impact your overall experience?

Shar 11:06

Yeah, I I don't know how these people are human, frankly. Like it's just you know, they go and go and go and they give and give and give. And um, there were five, five guides um for the 120 of us. Um, and and each day, you know, we had excursions and different things that we were doing, and it would change, you know, you would be assigned to different groups. And so, but we really felt like we got to know each of them pretty well. And um, they just, you know, they're they're welcoming, they're great at storytelling, they're you know, they have they each have kind of their own specialty in how you know one sometimes are you know spend more time with the kids or whatnot. Um, but they just the way that they um make everybody feel welcome and draw everybody in and then tell stories or help you understand, you know, the history and the culture and and where you're at is just yeah, it's amazing.

Nathan 12:04

Are they kind of on the continuum? Are they are they more like tour guides or cruise staff or cast members, Disney cast members? Like how how do you

Shar 12:12

think they're like they're a mix between cast members and tour guides, yeah. So there are um AMA Waterways has their own staff, and um that's who Disney uh chooses to partner with for their river cruises is is AMA. And we hadn't been on, we'd have been on a Viking uh cruise before, but had never been on AMA. And we actually were very impressed with the quality and service of um of AMA as well. So all of you know, from the stateroom host to the you know uh servers at dinner and our cruise director Agnes was just amazing, also. So I there's a reason I think that Disney picks AMA.

Nathan 12:53

Yeah, I mean it's it's such a different scale and and type of uh venue, but is it kind of as comparable as you can get to a Disney cruise line kind of experience, but just scale down to a river cruise?

Shar 13:07

Yeah, I I think so. That you know, one of the things with river cruising is there's not as much entertainment aspect. You're you're spending most of your day out and about in you know, different excursions and countries and and whatnot. And so then you come back for dinner at seven or eight or whatnot. Um, but they did have they had a couple of nights, you know, they brought on people that um taught, you know, taught you dancing or you know, were in character costume and and did some you know, singing, opera singing, you know, those kinds of things. Um, but it's a it's a lot less entertainment oriented.

Alicea 13:43

Okay. That makes sense. So for this cruise, you started in Budapest and um boarded the ship there. What were your first impressions of the ship? Did and and what did embarkation look like compared to DCL? Did they announce your family name?

Shar 13:58

No, they didn't, but um so they so Adventures by Disney meets you at um baggage claim, basically. They have somebody there who meets you there. We were taken in a private car. As soon as we got out, one of the AMA staff was there to grab all of our bags, and then they had everybody lined up um, you know, in the entry, just there, ready to take you to your room immediately and and whatnot. So um that you know, it felt very though it wasn't they weren't announcing your name and whatnot, it did it did feel like you were very special getting on the the ship too, the boat.

Nathan 14:36

Yeah. Did it have that level of bouginess that you were you were hoping for?

Adventure Guides And AMA Waterways

Shar 14:40

It did, yeah. Yeah. By the time we got to dinner, it definitely was was better.

Nathan 14:46

So awesome. So for listeners like us who have never considered or or been on a river cruise, what's daily life on board like?

Shar 14:58

Yeah, so you wake up and you have breakfast, it's a it's a beautiful breakfast, hot, you know, items that you can order, and then all kinds of you know, buffet things and whatnot, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served. But um, usually there are um a morning and an afternoon type of excursion. So um most mornings you would meet 8 or 8:30 to be paired off into your bus and figure out where you're going for your excursion. There were um, I think generally just two, two to three options um for excursions. And and they were all included. So that's something to keep in mind too. That on some of the other cruise lines, there are included options, but for some of the better ones, you have you pay a little bit more or whatnot. But this was all of these were just included, so pick which option she wanted, which was pretty cool.

Nathan 15:53

Yeah. And that's definitely different from an ocean cruise where all of your shore excursions.

Shar 15:58

Right, nothing's included.

Nathan 15:59

Right.

Shar 16:00

So you'd you'd get off, you would go um do your tour, you'd come back for lunch. Generally, you might sail a little bit in the afternoon, depending on the repositioning and and where the boat needed to be. Sometimes your um bus would meet you or would take you from that excursion to the next uh to meet the to meet the boat. Sometimes it would sail as you as you were excursioning, if you will.

Alicea 16:26

Interesting. Um for the excursions, were you able to choose from them ahead of time or was it okay. How far ahead did they let you know what the options were?

Shar 16:36

Um That's a good question because we booked late. So I mean they let they let you know on the you know Disney's website it's there. And I don't remember how far out you can pick them. We we were able to pick. And you know, they say, Oh, you can't make changes, but once we were on there, there were there was a little bit of changing able to be made, you know. So yeah.

Alicea 17:00

And I'm I'm guessing that there is a cap on how many people can go on the on certain excursions, or do they just okay?

Shar 17:08

No, there there were a couple there was one that like we wanted, but because again, we booked fairly late, we we weren't able to get into that one.

Nathan 17:16

Got it. But got it.

Shar 17:17

But none of the options were you know bad. We we had a great time in that room. So yeah.

Nathan 17:22

Right.

Alicea 17:23

They pull quality stuff, I'm sure.

Shar 17:25

Yeah, for sure.

Nathan 17:26

What's it like being on a much smaller ship? You know, you're going from you know, a 3,000 guest, you know, ship on the ocean with you know 12 or 15 or 17 decks down to like what three decks and like 156 total, like max. Like how what was that like?

Shar 17:45

Yeah, it um again, a lot more intimate. They're um uh the walk to dinner is a lot shorter, you know. The pool's a lot smaller than you know, the site, but they did it did have a pool, it had a walking deck, it had a it had um one masseuse who, you know, so we had a we had a massage, you know, one afternoon, it it had a um, they had a fitness instructor. So I I feel like they did a good job of you know having everything, but just just a lot smaller scale.

Nathan 18:18

How about your your fellow guests uh compared to like a normal Disney cruise? Is it still lots of families? Is it more older uh generations or more generational families altogether? Like what's the composition clock?

Shar 18:33

It it was very much multi-generational. So there were there definitely were a lot of or you know, a fair number of people that were, it was just old kind of maybe older couples too, but certainly you you saw a lot of multi-generational families where maybe grandma and grandpa were paying for it and the you know kids and grandkids were there.

Nathan 18:53

Right.

Shar 18:54

Um we taught we had lunch one day with grandparents who had three sons and their spouses and their grandkids were all there. And I had overheard them the day before it was it was just such a sweet little moment. I had overheard them. Um, each of the or two of the adult sons had been kind of walking along with us with the grandpa, and I I watched them kind of slow up and back up with him and and say, Hey dad, you know, how what was your favorite part of today? Or how are you having a good time? And it was just really sweet to to see that, you know, the family time together. And yeah, um, and they, you know, and then other times they broke off and they did different things. They went to, you know, on different excursions or and then they get together for dinner or whatnot.

Nathan 19:43

So sure. Hey mom and dad, if you ever are interested, we're up for this, you know, as you're listening. Yeah.

Alicea 19:51

Yeah. So I know the Adventures by Disney, it's a lot of busy, like there's something every day. Because of that, how how is the relaxation? Is there any relaxation? Is it just in the evenings when you're not doing anything, or how does that work?

Shar 20:06

Yeah, so there were a couple of afternoons that where we would be sailing from one place to another. Um, you know, one afternoon we sailed through the Wache Valley, which is a World UNESCO heritage area. Um and so they, you know, our cruise director then was explaining, you know, Dornstein Pass, their castle is off this direction and and whatnot. So that was relaxing, right? You'd grab a drink and sit outside and watch watch the beautiful world just pass you by on the river. There were swans and um and whatnot. Like I said, we did have massages one afternoon, but it is it's not super relaxing, right? We we would we would grab a nap, you know, if we could if we had an hour or two, several days, we grabbed a little nap before our next round of excursions or whatnot. So and that's we didn't necessarily mind not having an

Daily Life On A Danube River Ship

Shar 21:00

entertainment every night because we were pretty pretty beat, even you know,

Nathan 21:07

so you've done dozens of Disney Ocean cruises, you've done a Viking cruise, so you kind of knew, you know, another uh Viking river cruise that is, so you kind of were familiar with the format. What what maybe surprised you the most about the ABD experience or or AMA waterways?

Shar 21:26

Well, we hadn't done the river cruise with the multi-generational situation, and so um, you know, that that was a lot of fun seeing, you know, there Disney recommends or AMA Disney, whoever recommends no younger than or doesn't allow younger than five, and they recommend I think about eight. Um, but it it it was fun to see the um adventure guides, you know, doing things for the kiddos. So they'd they'd have maybe a buffet for the teens this night. Um And a buffet for the juniors the next night or whatnot. So while we didn't have our kids with us, it we enjoy watching other people's kids have a good time too and and not have to deal with them or whatever. So um, you know, it and and we're uh Matt and I are kind of our family motto is take the trip, make the memories. Um, and so I really enjoy just other people watching other people do that as well, knowing that these are the memories that their family's gonna cherish for the rest of their lives.

Nathan 22:32

Yeah.

Alicea 22:33

You visited several incredible destinations along the Danube. Was there one port city or excursion that became the highlight of the trip for you?

Shar 22:45

Yeah, I would say that uh Vienna was it was such a long, full day. Actually, one of the things that Matt and I have joked about is that every port day could be like all the excursions, all the activities could be spread out over an entire week. Just one day's worth of activities could be spread out over. So for instance, in Vienna, we you know, we got on the bus about eight o'clock, we drove through the city with you know a tour and whatnot. Um, we went to um Schoenbrum. I probably don't say that right, but the castle, it's the it's the Versailles of Austria. So and as as soon as we got there, we went right into a an apple strudel making demonstration. And the the chef was entertaining and amazing and um you know just gregarious and fun. And then it was the best apple strudel that we've ever tasted. And then we hadn't even gotten into the palace yet. So then you go into the palace and you see all of the beautiful rooms and and whatnot, and hear a history of you know, the Habsburgs, it was their summer residence, one of their and then the gardens in the back. I I will say if you've if you've been to Versailles, it's not quite as nice as Versailles, but it's still amazing and fabulous. Um, so we did that, and then um we went we went straight from there to um, or as part of that, to a marionette show. So not something I ever thought necessarily that I would want to see, or you know, I see the the intricacy with which the marionettes are done is just fabulous. And so it was, you know, maybe a 10 or 15 minute little show, and it was super cool. We got to hold them and kind of manipulate them a little bit ourselves. Um, and then we went back and had free time. We we just had lunch in the in town and then went to another cathedral, and then we took took the bus back, and I think we took a nap. Um and then we had um had dinner and then we went back to the to the palace for a concert that night.

Alicea 25:04

Oh wow.

Shar 25:05

And so that was amazing. So we had a a concert in the grand ballroom of of the palace, and the it was just it was amazing. The acoustics, I I said to Matt, I was like, they they're not, they don't have mic, there's no microphones or anything. No, the acoustics were just fabulous. Um, so you know, there was all sorts of instruments, and then you know, a pair of singers, and you know, then typical Disney quality and style in intermission, they had um sparkling wine for us, and they had um snacks and water and whatnot. It was a very it was a very hot night. It was very hot in Europe while we were there.

Nathan 25:49

Oh yeah.

Shar 25:50

Um, but they they had you know snacks and whatnot. And then when we got back on the boat, they had snacks again for you know, you you don't go hungry, that's for sure. So it was a very long day, but just once in a lifetime, it feels like yeah, it was fabulous. Yeah, but many of the days were just like that, you know, lots of different things, yeah.

Nathan 26:14

In addition to Vienna, you hit you know, it's time in Budapest, Bratislavia, Dernstein, uh, Salzburg, Monzi, all sorts of like little German and villages and things like that along along the route. I've never been to mainland Europe. I've spent a couple weeks in England for work probably 20 plus years ago. Alicia and and our daughter Kaitlyn got to spend some time over around Paris. Uh actually Alicia did a uh what you did a month in high school as part of an exchange thing uh in in France. But I I've never been to old Europe. Like it seems like you're going right through the heart of it. Like can you talk about at least making throw me on this trip? You're not you don't have to do too hard, but like what what is it like going through all these different cultures? It just that just seems incredible to me.

Shar 27:08

Yeah, it was. I mean, it was fabulous. It was so many different little picturesque cathedrals or cobblestone streets or you know, just anything that like that that you you picture. But then Dis Disney did a great job of interweaving, you know, some other we went to an apricot farm, we went to another little place where they taught us to to dance and then make apricot jam. And so it was, you know, they interwove some of the nature in with it as well. And yeah, it yeah, it was just all the things, all the all the pictures that you that you see or might imagine or whatnot, that you know, it was it was all over. We um cathedrals all over the place, and and each one had you know something a little bit different that made it beautiful and um unique.

Nathan 28:01

You mentioned you know, you're going through four different countries. Do you really get a sense of four different cultures?

Shar 28:07

Um a little bit, yeah. It you know, and that was nice with the adventure guides to to kind of you know um draw out each of those those kind of differences. And yeah, you know, uh Slovakia wasn't somewhere I probably thought I'd ever go. And so to, you know, then to learn more about even Budapest. I I had no idea that that they're two different sides, you know, Buddha and Peshed, and you know, that they're I had no idea that they're different, you know.

Nathan 28:38

It's like Minneapolis and St. Paul, like the they're just the opposite side of the river. Yeah.

Alicea 28:45

Was there anything that exceeded your expectations?

Vienna Palace Day And Concert Night

Shar 28:50

Um, I mean, I I think that Adventures by Disney, uh, but even the AMA piece, I wasn't necessarily expecting. And I should have known better because we know that Disney aligns themselves with with quality. But um the I'm always blown away at the cast members, at the you know, the adventure guides, um, their ability to just keep going with a smile on their face, and you know, drawing you in, telling you stories, um, you know, connecting with the people that maybe are harder to connect with or whatnot. Um and then again, AMA did the the AMA staff did the the same thing. They were, you know, the food was top-notch, the service, the, you know, the the state rooms, uh, all of it.

Alicea 29:42

Yeah.

Nathan 29:43

Yeah. Sounded like just about everything exceeded expectations.

Shar 29:46

Yeah, yeah.

Alicea 29:48

So you just mentioned it. Let's talk food. Uh, how would you describe the dining experience on board the boat?

Shar 29:55

It was high, it was good quality. We're we're pretty um pretty again, bougie, but pretty good foodies. Um, and that I was everything, even even the hamburger, they have an AMA hamburger that is that they're kind of known for. And it was, I'm not usually a big hamburger person, but it was fabulous. And then they also AMA offers um what they call the chef's table. And so one night per sailing, you can go to the it's a restaurant in the back of the boat and with amazing views. Um, and then the chef is right there. There's only four or five tables, maybe, and he's making the food right in front of you, and then there's a wine pairing and whatnot. It it was top tier. It yeah, it was fabulous.

Nathan 30:44

So, chef's table that's included in the the cost of the the cruise as well, right?

Shar 30:50

It's not an upcharge, no, not no upcharge at all. In fact, um, all gratuities, even the adventure guides, everything was included. The only thing we paid extra for was for our massage.

Nathan 31:01

Okay. Wow.

Shar 31:02

That was nice. That's because usually you wind up with a pretty good sized bill at the end of a cruise.

Nathan 31:07

Right. Right.

Shar 31:09

And I I should mention um beer, wine, sodas at lunch and dinner, and then there's a like a sip and sale type of thing um each night too. So

Alicea 31:20

nice.

Shar 31:20

Yeah. I one thing I didn't I didn't mention earlier when you talked about like kind of what does the day look like.

Nathan 31:26

Yeah.

Shar 31:26

Each um each night before uh dinner, about a half an hour before dinner, you would go down into the kind of the main area and um the adventure guides or Agnes, your cruise director, whatever, would kind of explain what the next day would look like. And so that was super helpful just to have kind of a picture of what time are we meeting and you know what does the flow of the day look like.

Nathan 31:48

Yeah.

Shar 31:49

How to dress or whatnot. Yeah.

Nathan 31:52

That's super helpful. Yeah. Super helpful. From a food perspective, how did it compare to Disney Cruise Line?

Shar 32:00

Um, I would say it was as good or better than um Disney Cruise Line. Uh, you know, somewhat even Palo type, you know. Okay. Especially at the chef's table. Yeah.

Nathan 32:13

No complaints from me then.

Shar 32:15

No, no.

Alicea 32:16

Yeah. So um you you said a little bit about it. Like before dinner, you got called down or met with them, the adventure guides about the next day. Um, what else was there in the evenings? Was there um you mentioned that there wasn't quite as much entertainment. Did they have other stuff going on, or was it just have dinner, y'all are on your own?

Shar 32:38

No, there there would usually be, you know, something going on even for the kids, right? One of the adventure guides would have, you know, bingo get to know unite, or you know, um, sip and sail, where they have drinks and you sail paths, and they'd talk about, you know, whatever was going on past you. Um, or a couple of nights again, there were there was some entertainment that was brought on, you know, singers or um or whatnot. Um so there there certainly were things that you could could do um in the afternoons too. I didn't mention there were some you know craft type things for the kids or color, I mean not even for the kids, adults were doing some of those things

Food Highlights And What’s Included

Shar 33:20

too, you know, or different coloring things or whatnot. There was there was something that you could be doing, you know, probably until 10 or 11 most nights.

Alicea 33:29

So nice. But you'd be exhausted.

Shar 33:32

Yeah, we we didn't do you know as many of the the later night things as I'm sure some some did, but yeah.

Nathan 33:42

I actually want to circle back to food for just a second. What about when you were uh on some of your excursions or if you had some time uh in some of the cities on your own? Any highlights of meals that you you had there in in Europe?

Shar 33:57

Yeah, so um the first day actually in in Budapest, we one of the things we did that was a favorite was we did a walking food tour. And so um I that's become one of our favorite excursions or ways to you know to check out a city is because you get the you get the history and and whatnot, and you get the food, which is always such a great way to to learn about a culture and whatnot. Um, so on that one, again, you know, this tour could have been a a week-long thing. So we did it. We we had chimney cakes in the market. Um, I I will mention if anybody does this tour and they go to the do that walking food tour, it's a it's a fast-paced tour, and in the market, uh, there's not time to go shopping later. So if like we wanted to get Hungarian paprika is you know, all the it's the souvenir to get, and we didn't get it because I thought, oh, we'll just have time to get it later. No, no, I should have grabbed it quickly while I was there. But we had um chimney cakes there, and then we went to a little chocolate place where we made our own um chocolate molds and decorated those and had a little chocolate museum that we went through, and then we went to uh or I skipped a spot we had like a wine and charcuterie type break quote unquote breakfast because it was like 10 o'clock, 10 o'clock in the morning. It was fabulous, um, but but so much so much food, and then we did the chocolate, and then we went to another restaurant where we had goulash and paprika chicken, which is you know they're known for, and um cake and whatnot. We were just stuffed by the time, and then we went back and had lunch on the boat. So um, anyways, a lot that was that was a a fun excursion and a great way to but but all the way through, you know, the week. Either if you were stopping to, you know, have your own lunch while you were out and about, the guides would have great recommendations of places to go to, um, or you know, be sure to try this while you're you know in Vienna or whatever. So yeah.

Alicea 36:15

Well, ABD trips are they're definitely a a premium vacation product.

Shar 36:21

They are.

Alicea 36:21

Uh looking looking back, what what aspects of the experience kind of make it feel worth the investment?

Shar 36:27

Yeah, so the Adventures by Disney piece that we are um drawn to is kind is really kind of that access that Disney gets you. It's the um it's the concert after hours in the Shamburne Palace. Um, you know, there were there were other groups there too, but it's not something that everybody does. Or, you know, in in Russia or on our Italy tour, you know, we had after hours at the Sistine Chapel. Those those types of things where you're not elbow to elbow with everybody else who's visiting whatever city you're in. Right. Um that's that's the premium. And so it to us it it's worth that.

Nathan 37:14

Yeah. Yeah. We are actually we have we have been debating whether or not to do an ABD in Europe, probably a land tour of maybe like I think they have like a what I forget what it's called. It's like a London and Paris.

Alicea 37:29

Oh, a London and Paris one, and then there's a London Italy and Paris one. But I was looking at the London and Paris one.

Nathan 37:35

Yeah.

Shar 37:36

I think that would be fabulous.

Alicea 37:38

Versus a transatlantic.

Shar 37:40

I mean the transatlantic is is also fabulous. Those, but but again, two two different trips, right? So lots of sea days and relaxation on the transatlantic and lots of you know, just go, go, go.

Nathan 37:53

Yeah. Or win the lottery and do both.

Shar 37:56

Yeah, like take the transatlantic over to do your adventures by Disney.

Nathan 38:01

I mean, I think that's I don't know. I I think I would rather do the ABD and then the Transatlantic because I would need the Sea days to recover. Right.

Alicea 38:13

That's true. Yeah. Maybe during your sabbatical. Yeah.

Shar 38:16

Yeah. When we did our Italy tour, one of the couples and family, we've become friends with so many of these people that you meet, right? And then you you have this shared history.

Nathan 38:28

Yep.

Shar 38:29

Um, but one of those families had also done the London Paris tour, and they they talked about the junior adventurers, the the kiddos. The last night they had a big fancy dinner. You know, they do a farewell dinner on most of I think on all of them.

Nathan 38:45

Right.

Shar 38:46

And the farewell dinner included the kids running around doing a scavenger hunt at the Louvre, right? Like, who what kind of story is that that they, you know what I mean, that they're gonna get to tell.

Nathan 38:58

So does ABD do that kind of like you know, we've heard with a land tour, there's usually like a welcome dinner and and like the the final night dinner and things like that. Same thing on the river cruises?

Shar 39:12

Yeah, so the last night after we had come back from our excursions, there was a big tent set up, and it was uh they had an Oktoberfest night for us. So, you know, as you might imagine, all the revelry and craziness of Oktoberfest and beer and pretzels and dancing, and yeah, it was it was a great send-off and um just lots of fun with the people that you've gotten to know over the last week.

Nathan 39:38

Sign me up.

Shar 39:39

Yeah.

Who This Trip Fits Best

Alicea 39:41

If one of our listeners is considering an adventures by Disney River cruise, who is the ideal traveler for this kind of vacation? And uh, what advice would you give someone planning their very first ABD adventure?

Shar 39:55

Um so I really think that ABD can be multi-generational. So it can be, you know, us in our 50s, um, going by ourselves or grandparents in their 70s with you know multi multi-levels. I you certainly want your kiddos to be old enough to not there was one little guy who was pretty frustrated by the kind of the end of the week, like, oh not another, you know, not another castle, not you know, whatever. I just I just want to go swimming on the boat. And and you know, he was probably six. And so, you know, understanding your kids and you know what the week is gonna look like. It's it's a lot of culture, it's a lot of you know, walking, really. So, um . And then I, you know, I always recommend work with a a travel guide, a uh travel agent who is familiar with both the product and the area who's you know done these types of things too.

Nathan 40:57

So what would you say your kind of core memory is from this this ABD on the on the Danube? I mean, it it sounds like there's so much that you did that was just incredible. Um and I'm I get a feeling that you've only shared a fraction with us uh today just because we don't have forever and ever to chat. But like what still you know brings a smile to your to your face when you think about it right now?

Shar 41:25

You know, we Matt and I had a moment at the apricot farm where you're just overlooking this beautiful valley of, you know, we're from the desert, so we don't see a lot of you know as much greenery and whatnot. And we were just standing there kind of with a glass of wine and really soaking in that moment of like we're in Europe and we're having a glass of wine and we're looking at this, and you know, and really that's a memory that we'll take with us forever.

Nathan 41:55

Yeah, yeah. That's that sounds amazing. All right, I'm sold. I'm sold. Put this one on the put this one on the list for sure. For sure. Yeah. All right, well, Shar, you are an experienced Disney traveler. You've you've you're closing in on 30 cruises with the mouse, you've been to the parks, you've done three adventures with Disney, but you haven't faced Alicea's patented Disney torture test yet. So unfortunately, it is that

Disney Favorites Lightning Round

Nathan 42:30

time. Good luck.

Alicea 42:32

And here's where I say it's not patented at all. It's not torture. Maybe a little bit, but not a little. This is just your Disney favorites from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, everything you can choose from anything under Mickey's umbrella. Your favorite character.

Shar 42:49

Oh, Maleficent.

Alicea 42:51

Oh yes.

Shar 42:52

I my my alter ego is yeah, a little little villain in me, maybe.

Nathan 42:59

I love it.

Alicea 43:00

Your favorite movie.

Shar 43:02

Um, I oh, out of everything. That's hard. But the first thing that jumps at at me is Moana.

Alicea 43:08

Okay. Your favorite ride.

Shar 43:12

Um I'm an Incredi- coaster fan.

Nathan 43:15

Yes.

Alicea 43:17

Disney World or Disneyland?

Shar 43:19

Oh, Disneyland, because that's what I know, and everything you can walk back and forth. It's all right there.

Nathan 43:27

Yep.

Alicea 43:28

Out of all of the individual parks that you've been to, which one is your favorite?

Shar 43:32

Um, I I think I have to just go with Disneyland proper. Yeah.

Nathan 43:38

Alright.

Alicea 43:40

Do you have a favorite hotel or resort?

Shar 43:43

Um Aulani.

Alicea 43:45

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about DCL ship?

Shar 43:50

So we haven't been on a lot of the new ones yet. We've been on the the OG four and then we uh we're on the Wish finally for the first time this year. So I know the the wish gets a bad rap and but we really actually liked it just maybe because it's a little different. Um but but we enjoyed it quite and then we like the well that's not my favorite I mean I'll say the wish for right now how's that

Nathan 44:17

okay fair enough

Alicea 44:19

your favorite Disney restaurant

Shar 44:22

uh Palo

Nathan 44:24

You read my mind that's what I was like you know what I bet she's gonna say Palo

Alicea 44:30

And do you have a favorite Disney snack?

Shar 44:33

Oh I'm a churro girl, yeah.

Alicea 44:35

Nice.

Nathan 44:36

Yes, churros for the win. I love especially the Disneyland cart churros, they're exquisite, they're just the best. Uh the don't do a cart churro in Florida, they're horrible. The humidity just like oh yeah, it's it's not good for a churro.

Shar 44:52

Yeah, me either. I don't like the humidity for me.

Nathan 44:55

Yeah, exactly. It doesn't do good for us either. Shar, you survived.

Shar 45:01

No, it wasn't bad. Thank you. You you must have gone easy on me.

Nathan 45:07

No, no, no. It's because you're that much of an expert.

Alicea 45:09

Yep.

Next Up Four-Generation Disney Cruise

Nathan 45:10

So you mentioned earlier you've you've got another cruise coming up. So what's next? Are we doing another ocean cruise? Are we are we back on the river?

Shar 45:19

No, we're on the we're on the wonder. We're so this one is super exciting because it's um it's a four-generation cruise. And so it's our first time taking our grandsons. So we have two daughters, their husbands are going, and we have three little guys, they're four, two, and one. This will be their first cruise. And then we talked our parents into going as well. So my parents and my in-laws and my sister are going. So um four different things. So we're um it's a Halloween on the high seas, it's over Halloween, sailing out of San Diego. So super excited about that for so many different reasons.

Alicea 45:56

Yeah, that sounds really cool.

Nathan 45:57

Yeah, that's amazing. Uh, how how long is that one? Is it uh uh four or seven? Or yeah, okay.

Shar 46:04

Six night. So Ensenada and cabo,

Alicea 46:06

right in between your guess, right?

Shar 46:07

Right, right.

Nathan 46:08

I tried. That sounds amazing. Yes. I I hope you guys just have the best time. The wonder is such a fabulous ship.

Alicea 46:18

It is, yeah. I think The Wonder is Nathan's favorite, and it's my second after the treasure. The treasure's my favorite.

Nathan 46:24

They're good. They're they're all so good. They're all so good.

Alicea 46:27

Or should I say any ship that I'm on?

Shar 46:29

That's what I was gonna say. That's my favorite, is whichever one I'm on.

Nathan 46:32

Yep. There you go. Shar, thank you so much for joining us today.

Shar 46:37

Thank you so much for having me. I always love talking Disney.

Nathan 46:40

You've you've definitely inspired us to spend more money with Disney, so thank you so much.

Shar 46:44

I I know not that. I know you needed more help there.

Alicea 46:47

Yeah.

Nathan 46:47

Yeah. Twist my arm. Right, great. All right. We'll be in touch. Thanks, Shar.

Shar 46:53

Thank you. Thank you.

Nathan 46:54

Well, as we wrap up and enjoy a freak Pacific Northwest thunderstorm outside,

Final Disclaimers And Listener Callouts

Nathan 47:00

a reminder that we are not affiliated with Disney or any of its subsidiaries. Everything you hear on the show is based on personal experiences, opinions, and questionable snack choices. We are, however, proudly affiliated with fun.

Alicea 47:16

And lightning Ka-Chow! If you're planning a Disney vacation, we always recommend working with a travel advisor or reaching out to Disney directly to help make the magic happen. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please take a second to rate and review the show. It really helps other Disney fans find us.

Nathan 47:34

If you have a question, a topic suggestion, or a Disney story you'd love to share, please shoot us an email at podcast at our mousecapades.com.

Alicea 47:44

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads at Our MouseCapades, and on YouTube at Our MouseCapades Pod. And don't forget to share us with your friends, your family, and Disney fans of all ages.

Nathan 47:55

Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back in your ears next week.