Number and Ages of Children on Trips

Cippers

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
We are going on the Southwest Adventure on Aug 14 with our 14 and 11 year old daughters. They, to put it mildly, are not happy about this (they are more the theme-park/cruise types than the outdoor adventure types). I was wondering how many children, and of what ages, are on the tours, and how hard the guides work to make them happy. Part of the reason that we are doing this with Disney is the hope that the "Disney difference" will make it more palatable to them
 
We are going on the Southwest Adventure on Aug 14 with our 14 and 11 year old daughters. They, to put it mildly, are not happy about this (they are more the theme-park/cruise types than the outdoor adventure types). I was wondering how many children, and of what ages, are on the tours, and how hard the guides work to make them happy. Part of the reason that we are doing this with Disney is the hope that the "Disney difference" will make it more palatable to them

Disney's Adventures have two guides that are with you at all times exactly for the reason you are asking about. One guide does more with the children for things on their level and one guide is with the adults. You will be together but on certain activities you may be split into adults and children so that the children are kept entertained

Here are some of the items they list in their brochure that are marked fun for the "junior" adventurers

Make handicrafts at Sedona's Heritage Museum
Survival skills - themed scavenger hunt
See Native American Artifacts during a jeep tour of Sedona's Red Rocks
Learn about Native American heritage through interactive entertainment
Join a Navajo guide for a jeep tour of Monument Valley
White Water rafting on the Colorado River
Screening of a Disney film in a special setting
Western themed cookout and entertainment
Experience up-close and personal discoveries with live desert animals

This is not for the Southwest adventure but think this is a great description of how they cater to the children
On the London / Paris adventure when they are in Paris at the Louvre one guide takes the kids on a scavenger hunt through the Louvre while the other guide takes the adults for a tour that is more geared for adults this way the children aren't bored hearing about the art and history on a grown up level if they aren't interested in that
 
Hi!

We just returned from the London / Paris ABD tour. There were 14 children on our tour. (That was pretty much half!) I gathered that this was an unusually large crew of kids, but it seemed to work out well for the children. Unfortunately for my son (who is 11), 11 of the children were girls. Only three were boys. But the boys bonded. Their age ranges were vast. The youngest child was five, and the oldest was 16. (The 16 year old chose to travel with the adults as did several of the older children -- ages 12 - 14 ish.) The kids really seemed to provide their own entertainment much of the time -- becoming fast friends and deciding on which tables to sit at during dinner, which seats to take on our Eurostar adventure, etc. The guides were very accommodating, but it was difficult for them to arrange "adventures" for such a wide variety. (One guide would take the youngest children while the other would attend to the older children, for instance, at places like the Louvre. The local guides took the adults through places like this.) If your children are fairly social and bond easily with other kids their ages, then they'll do fine and enjoy themselves immensely. (Our son is not a particularly social animal. He enjoyed his interactions with one or two of the kids, but he spent a lot of time with us. That was fine because he likes it that way. He is also a history buff and loved all the places we went and hearing about the history behind each thing. He loved the tour and can't wait to do another. I told him he has to wait for a few years and finish his world history series!)

Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with. I haven't been on the Southwest tour, but I have traveled extensively in the Southwest, and I truly loved our ABD tour.

Julie
 
We were on the June 12 trip with two children- boy (12) and girl (17). They were more than a little apprehensive about the trip but thought, at the very least, they would see a part of the country they had never seen. Our guides, Mike and Rae, were incredible at making all members of the group comfortable and happy. Our group was made up of 39 folks and I think 12 were Junior Adventurer's and another 4 or 5 were in the 15 to 17 age range- it was a great group of people and despite our being a family of introverts- we loved traveling with those folks and our guides. Our 12 year old was not very interested in some of the Junior activities and it was fine- no pressure. The most amazing thing to me was the fact that our guides got to know each family and each person in that week and they really worked with everyone to make the trip a positive experience. The jeep ride in Sedona, the rafting, and the hike to the arch are as fun as any of the Disney rides we enjoy so much. You might consider an optional Hummer trip in Moab- a little pricey but both our kids consider it a highlight of the trip.

To sum up- it's Disney from a quality standpoint- but you have just a great balance of organized activities and free time. It has some Disney surprises- but it's not too Disney and I mean that in the nicest way. We've had some great theme park vacations but this was our best vacation ever.
 


Hi ... I'm posting from Paris ... currently on Day 6 of the London/Paris adventure. We have 45 people on our tour, 20 junior adventurers, 5 teens, and 20 adults. The junior adventurers range in age from 6 to 14, with 10 being the average age. Hope this helps!
 
We just returned from the Fiesta Espana trip. There were 26 people (12 kids) the youngest was 6. The guides are great at getting everyone involved. My 13 year old daughter bonded with another 13 year old girl and I think she make a lifelong friend (luckily we live about 1 hour drive away from her). My 10 year old son was very happy with another 10 year old boy. My 9 year old daughter made friends with the 6 year old girl. Only one family with a 12 and a 15 year old kept mostly to themselves. There is no way not to have a great time on these trips. The kids do really find one another after a day or two. They end up sitting on the bus together and walking with the other kids in the group. Stop worrying. Have fun.
 



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