Adventures in San Francisco

Recently I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in an Adventures by Disney  trip in San Francisco. Adventures by Disney has been one of those travel products that sounds amazing but I could never quite justify the cost of the adventure. Now that I have experienced the service, inclusions and luxury associated with Adventures by Disney I am not sure that I will ever look at guided tours the same way again.

Disney has long been known for two hallmark traits – service and attention to detail and both of those characteristics shine brightly in their Adventures by Disney products. A tour guide can make or break a vacation and Disney knows that so they are extremely selective in who becomes Adventure Guides – making sure they are personable, well-informed, quick-thinking, service oriented and work well together. Why do they have to work well together? Because one of the main differences between Adventures by Disney and other tour companies are the two adventure guides on each Adventure by Disney trip. I always thought this was more of a gimmick than a benefit, until you are walking along a path at the back of the group trying to hear what the guide is saying. When you have two guides, there is no “back of the pack”, there is no shouting over the group if you have a question, there is no feeling left out because you walk slower or like to take a ton of pictures.

The Adventure Guides amazed me right from the beginning of our adventure. We were supposed to begin our adventure with a bike ride along the bay but 30 mph headwinds shut that idea down. Our adventure guides were quick to explain the back-up plan and settle everyone and explain the things we would be able to do now that we couldn’t do on our bike tour. They regaled us with stories and anecdotes about famous landmarks as we took our motor coach through the city. We heard about the history, the legends, and the myths. Their ability to bring stories to life and provide unique, little known facts was amazing. Like – did you know that the Palace of Fine Arts was the inspiration for the famous droid R2-D2? This Star Wars super fan didn’t know! The adventure guides also got to know the guests, after only a few hours together they knew everyone’s name and when it was time to lunch, since they are familiar with the menu at the welcome lunch we had at M.Y. China, they knew who to steer towards the spicy dishes and where to warn people about seafood dishes or things make with nuts. All based on conversations we had that morning. I was beyond impressed!

The other part that I mention that makes Adventures by Disney unique is the attention to detail. While a lot of tour companies will take you on a bus over the Golden Gate Bridge, we took our bus over and walked out onto the bridge (there is a pedestrian walkway if you have never been there), we got a geography lesson on where things were situated, we learned the history of the bridge and even how to order the color (International Orange) if you ever wanted to paint a room that color! I mentioned earlier that I am a huge Star Wars fan – so getting to see Lucasfilm, the famous Yoda foun>tain and see actual props from the Star Wars movies – pretty darn cool. And while we were at the Palace of Fine Arts that we learned about it being the inspiration for R2-D2, we got to see that same view of the Palace from Lucasfilm to have the same vantage point as George Lucas when he was creating the lovable little droid. And of course with it being an Adventures by Disney trip, it wouldn’t be complete without a tour of the Walt Disney Family Museum. This spot houses many of Walt’s early drawings, the artwork from many of the early Disney films, the cameras that were used to create the animation, and even a bench from the park that Walt took his daughters to (it was at that park that he drew the inspiration for Disneyland)!

Service and details – they are the hallmarks of Disney and Adventures by Disney doesn’t disappoint. From fabulous hotel accommodations to farm to table fine dining, from physical adventures to emotional journeys, and all the steps along the way – Disney shows you the world from a new lens. “Let’s adventure together” is their tagline and after having experienced my first Adventure by Disney I am sure when I say that my family and I will definitely adventure together soon!