Adventures By Disney in Peru: A Remarkable Experience Begins

How do you describe a fine piece of chocolate? Or try to communicate the sight of a beautiful sunrise? How do you attach words to an experience that is so unreal that it defies words? An experience where the sights, sounds and interactions are so remarkable you stop taking pictures because you know there’s no way to capture it? These are my thoughts as I attempt to describe my family’s recent summer vacation with Adventures by Disney.

It’s important to relay, before I go any further, that my family has had the great fortune to travel around the world. We also take our vacations very, very seriously. They are an important time for us to reconnect with each other, learn about history, discover different cultures and enjoy time away from everyday chaos. Our vacations aren’t always relaxing. We have been known to explore seven countries in Europe in seven days or backpack via train. Last year we covered the entire country of Ireland in a minivan which eventually overturned on a back road thanks to a tractor running us off the road. (Thankfully no one was hurt other than the totaled van.) My children have always refused to do an all-inclusive club vacation or cruise where they are shuffled off to a camp because as they say, “vacations are a time to be together.” Thankfully, they still like me and my husband enough to want to vacation with us.

All of this I had in mind when we booked our Adventures by Disney trip to Peru. We have never vacationed with others, never had someone else plan our travel, never allowed ourselves to be bound to a group. All of this made me apprehensive about booking a tour. However, I was comfortable with two things. First, I loved the destination of Peru. My children had never seen South America or the poverty that I knew existed there and I felt it was important to allow them to experience it firsthand. Secondly, I trust Disney. Even my husband, who is not a very big Disney park fan voiced his trust. “Disney doesn’t do anything half-baked.” I don’t say this often, but my husband was more than right on this account. Disney showed our family the most remarkable experience we have ever had on any vacation and that’s what makes it so difficult to describe.

The Disney touch started in the booking process when Mary, our travel consultant, took care in every detail from coordinating frequent flyer tickets with paid fares and room arrangements. Throughout the six months leading up to the trip, we received mailings with updated flight times, changes and itineraries. Two weeks prior to the trip, the kids opened boxes from Disney that contained backpacks and a countdown calendar. Disney told us what to pack, what to wear and where we were going each day. We were excited to see so many active activities such as river rafting, hiking and dancing. I can honestly say that I have NEVER prepared so little for a vacation. And you know what? It was great. I didn’t even pack a map! The kids laughed that this would be the first time my head wouldn’t be looking down constantly into a tour book.

When the day finally arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by an upgrade to Delta Business Class. That didn’t have anything to do with Disney, but it started the trip off right. We traveled all night and were delighted to find the Adventures by Disney guide waiting right at the gate for us. They whisked our luggage off to a waiting bus and truthfully, we NEVER touched our luggage again until we were departing to return home. It was wonderful. The magical luggage transfer from bus to hotel and back again seems a small detail but it was a nice bonus! We simply left it outside our door and each day it found its way to our new room.

We arrived late because of lines at customs in Lima. However, our Adventures by Disney guides stayed up and met us in the lobby. Alexandra was a local Peruvian and Kory was an energetic high school teacher who did guide work during the summer. We went to bed feeling good about our choice. Little did we know, it would only get better every single day of the trip.

Stay tuned…Part 1: The Bailey’s Trip – Adventures by Disney:Peru.