Southwest Splendors - activity question

[glassslipper2004]

Hi. Can anyone give me some more information on the activities that we can do on Southwest Splendors -- specifically horseback riding, and any other add-ons? I know the jeep tour and rafting is part of the included plan, but are there other things you can add, and do you do it through Disney, or through a hotel? My kids would like to go horseback riding but I didn't see it mentioned in the itinerary. Someone also mentioned a helicopter ride, but I'm not sure I'm up for that!

Any details would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jenbadeaux]

Glass Slipper,
There is so much to do and we did it all! Your guides will arrange everything for you. They will make a presentation during lunch at the Sedona Heritage Museum after the jeep ride throught the red rocks. You will then tell them what you want to be scheduled for. You do not need a credit card or anything for them to make the reservation. Just tell them what you want and they make it happen and you know it will be scheduled at a time that you are free. Your option in the Grand Canyon is a helicopter ride over the canyon. There is a 30 minute ride or a 1 hour ride. The helicopters hold 7 passengers. This was AMAZING. I was very fearful, but it is gentle and easy and way less frightening than a plane. My kids loved it.
In Moab, you have 3 options--horseback riding, ATV rides, and Hummer rides. We did the ATV as a family. 19 of our group did this. SO MUCH MUDDY FUN! If you can only do one thing, this is it. Unanimously the favorite.
My 7 year old was too young for the horseback riding(you have to be 8). So I took her on the Hummer tour. Can't begin to explain where these hummers can go! We went to Hell's Revenge--very steep with actual dinosaur footprints in the rocks. We had a great time. 8 people can fit in the hummer with the driver.
My husband and other 3 kids did the horseback riding. It was okay. Orientation is 1-1/2 hours for an hour trail ride. Probably the least exciting thing. You have 2 days in Moab for activities on your own, so the ATV's were one afternoon, and the other two activities were the next morning.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[sayhello]

I can't really add much to jenbedeaux's excellent answer. Just let your guides know which options you're interested in, and they will arrange it all for you. It snowed & was very cloudy our morning at the Grand Canyon, but Chris knew that 3 of us were very interested in doing the helicopter ride over the Canyon. He was on the phone on & off all morning, and when it cleared up, he was able to arrange it all for us. He really went above & beyond.

Sayhello

 

[glassslipper2004]

Thank you both for the info. Can you give me an idea of what the activities (helicopter ride, horseback riding) cost?

The whole trip sounds like so much fun - wish it wasn't so far away!

 

[sayhello]

Thank you both for the info. Can you give me an idea of what the activities (helicopter ride, horseback riding) cost?

The whole trip sounds like so much fun - wish it wasn't so far away!

The helicopter ride was around $180 per person. I didn't do any of the other optional activities.

The trip is *marvelous* fun! I know it's hard to wait, but it will be *SO* worth it!

Hewene

 

[nordkin]

There are two different helicopter rides for both the one hour and the half hour trip. The difference is the helicopter. The cheaper of the two has three seats that face forward and four that face backwards. For $25 more you go on the helicopter that all the seats face forward. For two of the second option was $370, but worth every penny.

The horseback riding was $69.95 person. Our orientation and outfitting everyone with horses was about an hour and the ride was a little over an hour and half. We had a wonderful time and saw some beautiful scenery. A warning though - you get very dusty on this trip and I would recommend a bandana to put over your mouth at times.

 

[jenbadeaux]

We went on this tour in August of this year. The helicopter company had just instigated a fuel surcharge because of the rising cost of gas. I don't know if that has changed now or not. But for family of 6(3adults, 3 kids) we paid a total of $1410. As the previous poster stated, the hour tour uses the nicer helicopters that all seats face forward and the back seat is raised like in stadium seating. There is also more glass around you so more visibility. In the hour tour you go all the way to the north rim. We had 2 fellow adventurers who did the 30 minute tour and wished after that they had done the hour.
In Moab, the hummer ride is $69/adult and $45/child. The tour lasts 2 hours.
The ATV is $99/driver and $59/passenger. The tour is 2 1/2 hours.
Nordkin gave you the horseback information.
The cost of the extra activities is high and I was waffling on whether to do them. All in all, for the 6 of us, we spent right around $2300 for the extras. But my husband was insistent that we not miss any experience the area had to offer, as we probably won't pass that way again. And now that we are home (and the checks are all written), I am glad we got to do so many neat things and make so many great memories. Whatever extras you choose, you will so enjoy them. I hope you and your family have so much fun.

 

[sayhello]

jenbedeaux, I'm thinking that because of the weather, maybe our guide set us up with a different company, because there was only one choice of tour, and all the helicopters were the type that face forward, with the seat in the back slightly raised. Or maybe they weren't offering the other tour because of the weather? We went with Grand Canyon Helicopters. Who did you use?

Sayhello

 

[jenbadeaux]

We used the same helicopter tour company that you did. I never saw the other type of helicopter--just heard it described by our adventure guide!

 

[sayhello]

We used the same helicopter tour company that you did. I never saw the other type of helicopter--just heard it described by our adventure guide!

Ah, OK, that makes sense. They did a really good job. Did you guys buy the picture?

Sayhello

 

[glassslipper2004]

Thanks again.

Not that I have a chance of getting my kids to pass up one of these activities, but if for example you didn't want to spend that much money, were there activity options for that time period which didn't cost extra? It feels a little more like a cruise itinerary (needing to pay for excursions) than I expected (although, again, not knocking it, just want to be prepared).

 

[jenbadeaux]

In Grand Canyon, you can hike down into the canyon. We also got IMAX tickets from the guides for free, but now that they are changing hotels for that leg of the stay, I don't guess they will be doing that. (The IMAX was across the street from our hotel. The new hotel is 20 minutes away.) We also had an indoor pool at that hotel that the kids swam in.
In Moab, there is free wine tasting in the evenings for the adults. There is an outdoor pool that most the kids swam in the evenings and nights. My oldest played tennis with another teenager that was on our tour. The tennis courts are nice and they provide the racquets. I think you can get a croquet set and there is a horseshoe pit if you want to play that. Also a tether ball was up. There are some tepees that my younger kids played in with some of the other guests. Also a small fitness room. There is a movie museum, but we never made it there. The rooms are also VERY spacious and comfortable.
Hope that helps.

 

[jenbadeaux]

Did you guys buy the picture?

Say Hello,
Heck yeah I bought the picture! As frightened as I was to get in the helicopter, I felt like that was one picture I needed to have! (Actually probably wouldn't have done the helicopters if it wasn't for the people on these boards encouraging me to do it. So thanks y'all!)

 

[sayhello]

Not that I have a chance of getting my kids to pass up one of these activities, but if for example you didn't want to spend that much money, were there activity options for that time period which didn't cost extra? It feels a little more like a cruise itinerary (needing to pay for excursions) than I expected (although, again, not knocking it, just want to be prepared).

There's TONS of stuff to do at the Grand Canyon if you don't want to pay for the Helicopter. Hiking down the Bright Angel Trail into the Canyon, taking the loop shuttle to the various lookouts along the South Rim, checking out the lodges in the Village, a couple of museums, etc.

At Red Cliffs Lodge, I didn't do any of the alternate activities. I wandered the Resort and took pictures (gorgeous!), hung out on the porch of my wonderful room and read, did some wine tasting, went to the Movie Museum, and then spent the free morning hiking the hiking trails up behind the Lodge.

*Most* of the activities are included. Not everyone did the alternate ones. A lot of folks swam at the Lodge and played tennis. There's only a few times where these activities are offered, and I imagine it's so that people don't feel like they *have* to take "down time". Or so that people who *did* want down time didn't feel like they were wasting money on included activities.

Say Hello,
Heck yeah I bought the picture! As frightened as I was to get in the helicopter, I felt like that was one picture I needed to have! (Actually probably wouldn't have done the helicopters if it wasn't for the people on these boards encouraging me to do it. So thanks y'all!)

We all got the picture, too (they were cheaper the more you bought!) I pulled out the picture, and realized I had one of their brochures. Looking at it, I think that, because of the weather & the late start, they gave us a sort of "half-way in-between" tour. They charged us $180 (between the normal $159 for the shorter tour & $219 of the longer tour). We didn't go quite as far as the long tour, but definitely did more than the short tour! And had the nicer helicopter. Sort of customized for the situation!

Sayhello

 

[cindy18]

GlassSlipper2004, don't forget that there will be lots of kids with your kids. Especially by the time you get to Moab, the kids will all have bonded. On our tour, there were always kids knocking on our door, asking for my daughters to come hang out. Especially in Moab, the kids spent as much time as we would let them hanging out at the pool. Whatever unscheduled time we had on the tour passed by very quickly, and I don't think my kids were bored for one second. The free afternoon in Sedona was easily spent just checking out the town and then swimming in the pool (and resting, as we weren't over the jet lag). The free afternoon at the Grand Canyon passed by so quickly. We did do IMAX and the helicopter ride, but I know we would have been equally enthralled just to spend the afternoon at the Canyon. You have two unscheduled times in Moab, the afternoon after the hike and the next morning. After the hike, although most people did horseback or ATVs or something like that, we were TOTALLY exhausted and were happy to rest and swim. The next morning, the kids slept in (a lot of families did that). I did the horseback ride, and DH hung out with the kids when they finally got up. They were very happy for some downtime. Not to worry at all: whether you want to pay for stuff or not, there will be plenty to do and not nearly enough time.

 

[Turtlemom]

I agree completely with Sayhello and Cindy18--you will have a blast whether you do the extra activities or not. We did end up doing the helicopter tour at the grand canyon, and it is definitely a "once in a lifetime" experience. Yes, it is expensive, but you cannot get that kind of view in any other way.

As for Moab, we initially signed up for both horseback riding and the ATV tour, but ended up doing only the ATV tour. I would say the ATV tour was one of the absolute highlights of the trip and the one thing that the kids (DD8 and DD11) talk about the most. The scenery is spectacular and it is hard to describe how dramatic the view is. The path takes you on old mining roads where you see red cliffs, cross streams, and take hairpin turns around amazing cliffs. You won't be sorry if you do this activity.

As for horseback riding, the people who when really enjoyed themselves, but we went in August when it was really hot. We just decided that we wanted to sleep in for a day (it is vacation after all), and when we did get up, the kids headed to the pool immediately after breakfast to play with all their friends, and DH and I had some wonderful down time to enjoy the view and talk about all our experiences. There were plenty of others hanging out that morning as well, so if you decide not to take every opportunity for optional activities, you will not be alone.

One other activity that was not mentioned before was a canyon hike and rapelling off a 200 ft. cliff. Those that took this excursion could not say enough good things about it. However, it involved a long hike (1 1/2 hours) into the canyon, and after rapelling off the cliff, you had to hike out the same distance. Remember, this was August and it was HOT, so this activity would not be recommended for the faint of hart or the out of shape.

Whatever you do, you will have a great time. Enjoy your trip and tell us all about it when you return!

Turtlemom

 

[glassslipper2004]

Thank you all so much for these comments. You just can't get this kind of information anywhere else, and it is so much fun to anticipate all of the things we can do.

We are going in August, so I suppose the heat will be an issue, and perhaps a good reason to convince my kids that one of the other activities (and/or swimming) would be preferable to horseback riding (which sounds similar to torture to me, at least in August).

Glad there's a pool at the hotel(s) - we all love to swim, and had a lovely time in Tuscany when the kids got a chance to swim and play with their new friends. I can't wait!

 

[dizneyfan23]

I see that there are a lot of "add-on" things that you can do that cost extra and are not included in the ABD trip. My question is:

Would there still be stuff to do, and would you still be able to enjoy the trip, if you didn't spend the extra money to do those "add-on" items?

 

[sayhello]

I see that there are a lot of "add-on" things that you can do that cost extra and are not included in the ABD trip. My question is:

Would there still be stuff to do, and would you still be able to enjoy the trip, if you didn't spend the extra money to do those "add-on" items?

Absolutely, positively! There are tons of fabulous activities included in the trip. The "add-on" activities are just that, something to add on if you would rather not have down time. I only did one add-on activitiy (the helicopter over the Grand Canyon) and would have been fine even if I hadn't done that one. We didn't know until the last minute if we were going to be able to do it because of the weather, and I knew there'd be plenty of other things to do if we didn't go, so I was not worried. I did no add-on activities in Moab, and still felt like I had plenty to do. The trip, as is, without the add-ons is a fabulous, varied itinerary, with lots to do, but without that rushed feeling.

Sayhello

 

[dizneyfan23]

Thanks for the info.