Traveling Tinkerbell
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2008
Just returned last night from the first Disney Signature South Africa trip (July 6 start) and it was wonderful! I agree with everything that Abbyjt has already posted so I am not going to write a trip report (it would be way too long!).
Reflections:
South Africa is a beautiful country and not just a safari country. Cape Town is a jewel and Knysna has so much to explore. I wish we had more time there. The 6 safaris (3 in the early morning and 3 in the evening) were fantastic at Kapamas Reserve. We will share those pictures later. Our safari guide, Colin, and our tracker were the best. We saw every animal we wanted to see and more. Once again, we had a great time getting to know many families and build new friendships. The total number of people on this trip was 35 which 18 of those were children.
Signature vs. Regular
This is the first time Disney has offered a signature trip and we wanted to see the differences.
Hotels The 2 upgraded hotels were 5 stars. They were similar in some ways to staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (for the Cape Grace Hotel) and the Grand Floridian (for the Kapama) verses the moderate at WDW.
Itinerary The only additional site is the Elephant Park on day 8. We did not get to ride the elephants but we got to feed, pet, take pictures, etc with the elephants. The dinner was very nice. The best malva pudding of the whole trip (malva pudding is dessert offered frequently throughout our South Africa trip).
Entertainment Many of our dinners had singing and some dancing performances by local South Africa artists.
Spa All adults were given a free Swedish massage offer and we used it 30 minutes after arriving at the Cape Grace Hotel. That was a great way to start the trip!!!
Gifts I can not really compare because I do not know what was given out in the regular South Africa trip. However, we were given a few special gifts and I do not want to spoil any surprises for other travelers on future South Africa Signature trips.
Disappointments
Not much of anything. I do think Disney needs to tweak a few days. My family was not used to the low pace of this trip. On several days, we did not meet until 9:30am to start out for the day or sometimes we were waiting for something to start. Disney should include a visit to Robben Island (a must see!) to day 4.
Finally, would we do a signature trip again? If I can afford it, I would in a heart beat. My DH is not sure it is worth it.
Reflections:
South Africa is a beautiful country and not just a safari country. Cape Town is a jewel and Knysna has so much to explore. I wish we had more time there. The 6 safaris (3 in the early morning and 3 in the evening) were fantastic at Kapamas Reserve. We will share those pictures later. Our safari guide, Colin, and our tracker were the best. We saw every animal we wanted to see and more. Once again, we had a great time getting to know many families and build new friendships. The total number of people on this trip was 35 which 18 of those were children.
Signature vs. Regular
This is the first time Disney has offered a signature trip and we wanted to see the differences.
Hotels The 2 upgraded hotels were 5 stars. They were similar in some ways to staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (for the Cape Grace Hotel) and the Grand Floridian (for the Kapama) verses the moderate at WDW.
Itinerary The only additional site is the Elephant Park on day 8. We did not get to ride the elephants but we got to feed, pet, take pictures, etc with the elephants. The dinner was very nice. The best malva pudding of the whole trip (malva pudding is dessert offered frequently throughout our South Africa trip).
Entertainment Many of our dinners had singing and some dancing performances by local South Africa artists.
Spa All adults were given a free Swedish massage offer and we used it 30 minutes after arriving at the Cape Grace Hotel. That was a great way to start the trip!!!
Gifts I can not really compare because I do not know what was given out in the regular South Africa trip. However, we were given a few special gifts and I do not want to spoil any surprises for other travelers on future South Africa Signature trips.
Disappointments
Not much of anything. I do think Disney needs to tweak a few days. My family was not used to the low pace of this trip. On several days, we did not meet until 9:30am to start out for the day or sometimes we were waiting for something to start. Disney should include a visit to Robben Island (a must see!) to day 4.
Finally, would we do a signature trip again? If I can afford it, I would in a heart beat. My DH is not sure it is worth it.
