ABD China 2017

[Karen Stevan]

Yes, all but one dinner included on NatGeo (both England Coast to Coast and Ireland hiking) and agree that all were excellent on our England trip other than the average first-night meal.

Personally, I don't like to have more than one or maybe two at the most on your own meals on a group tour. I don't like having to plan meals on my own and think that for the price of these types of trips, meals should be included. It seems like ABD keeps increasing the number of on your own meals in their itineraries, which is definitely a negative for me.

I totally agree, Calfan. I was surprised at the amount of planning required on this trip. The add-ons were plenty, but then I had to deal with organizing all kinds of dinners in remote areas where I certainly feel out of my depth. I'm OK with a couple of nights on our own, but this seemed excessive. I am definitely going to look at NatGeo in future because they sound like they have all the elements of a tour that Disney is doing away with.

 

[sayhello]

I totally agree, Calfan. I was surprised at the amount of planning required on this trip. The add-ons were plenty, but then I had to deal with organizing all kinds of dinners in remote areas where I certainly feel out of my depth. I'm OK with a couple of nights on our own, but this seemed excessive. I am definitely going to look at NatGeo in future because they sound like they have all the elements of a tour that Disney is doing away with.

Now you're making me worry, because, honestly, except for a few recommendations I've gotten, I have no plans for OYO meals for this trip. I was planning on relying on the Adventure Guides. I may end up eating a lot of meals alone!

Sayhello

 

[AlixaLock]

I totally agree, Calfan. I was surprised at the amount of planning required on this trip. The add-ons were plenty, but then I had to deal with organizing all kinds of dinners in remote areas where I certainly feel out of my depth. I'm OK with a couple of nights on our own, but this seemed excessive. I am definitely going to look at NatGeo in future because they sound like they have all the elements of a tour that Disney is doing away with.

This is an interesting question and discussion. I was very hesitant to book any kind of group tour because I didn't want to be completely constrained to always eating with the group. So crazy, right? Different strokes for different folks. I'll have to wait and see how it all turns out, but we've enjoyed the process of searching out restaurants and navigating the language, time and culture barriers to make reservations. The Chope app was great for Hong Kong and Shanghai ... less so everywhere else. Open Table was also great in Hong Kong. But you are correct, it definitely was time consuming and required planning that might not be a good thing for everyone...

 

[Cousin Orville]

I checked the OYO meals this year and how it compares to the old itinerary. The total number is the same, but it is spread out differently. FWIW, here's my thoughts on this year's ABD:

Day 2 - Dinner OYO at HKDL. I think this is a good thing as it allows you to decide how much time you want to spend eating. We didn't get much time in the park in 2014 before our final dinner - maybe 3 hrs. I would recommend the quick service restaurant next to Mystic Manor. I thought the food was ok, and all the different rooms themed to different regions of the world was very cool.

Day 4 & 5- Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Beijing. In 2014, we had 2 dinners (1- Welcome Dinner and 2- Royal House). Neither were particularly memorable. We had 1 dinner on our own. Some people went to a Peking Opera, some a Kung Fu show. I had reservations at Capital M which was very good. This year, we'll likely go to the Country Place at the Rosewood which has strong recommendations. I'm not sure if it needs reservations. We'll probably go back to Capital M the other night. That requires reservations.

Day 7 - Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Chengdu. We had an ABD dinner at the casual buffet restaurant at the Ritz in Chengdu. It was paid for, but you went on your own. I'm not a fan of buffets but it was ok. I'd probably look for something better unless you prefer a casual buffet.

Day 11 - Lunch OYO at SDL. Probably the same reasoning as Day 2.


I like to break away from the group and have an opportunity to go to restaurants that otherwise wouldn't accommodate a group. But I can certainly see the point of view of not wanting to plan those meals out. In Ireland, my DW and I actually declined an ABD meal to have a meal alone in the nicer of the 2 restaurants at Dromoland Castle.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I checked the OYO meals this year and how it compares to the old itinerary. The total number is the same, but it is spread out differently. FWIW, here's my thoughts on this year's ABD:

Day 2 - Dinner OYO at HKDL. I think this is a good thing as it allows you to decide how much time you want to spend eating. We didn't get much time in the park in 2014 before our final dinner - maybe 3 hrs. I would recommend the quick service restaurant next to Mystic Manor. I thought the food was ok, and all the different rooms themed to different regions of the world was very cool.

Day 4 & 5- Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Beijing. In 2014, we had 2 dinners (1- Welcome Dinner and 2- Royal House). Neither were particularly memorable. We had 1 dinner on our own. Some people went to a Peking Opera, some a Kung Fu show. I had reservations at Capital M which was very good. This year, we'll likely go to the Country Place at the Rosewood which has strong recommendations. I'm not sure if it needs reservations. We'll probably go back to Capital M the other night. That requires reservations.

Day 7 - Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Chengdu. We had an ABD dinner at the casual buffet restaurant at the Ritz in Chengdu. It was paid for, but you went on your own. I'm not a fan of buffets but it was ok. I'd probably look for something better unless you prefer a casual buffet.

Day 11 - Lunch OYO at SDL. Probably the same reasoning as Day 2.


I like to break away from the group and have an opportunity to go to restaurants that otherwise wouldn't accommodate a group. But I can certainly see the point of view of not wanting to plan those meals out. In Ireland, my DW and I actually declined an ABD meal to have a meal alone in the nicer of the 2 restaurants at Dromoland Castle.

This is fabulous, Cousin Orville! Thank you so much. I'm going to print off and take with me

 

[AlixaLock]

Day 7 - Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Chengdu. We had an ABD dinner at the casual buffet restaurant at the Ritz in Chengdu. It was paid for, but you went on your own. I'm not a fan of buffets but it was ok. I'd probably look for something better unless you prefer a casual buffet.

We ended up booking Lixuan in the Ritz Chengdu. We booked at the recommendation of the concierge at the Ritz, we wanted to book Flair, but the concierge said that it would be too adult, which is probably not true, but we decided follow along. Will let ya know how it turns out!

 

[Cousin Orville]

We ended up booking Lixuan in the Ritz Chengdu. We booked at the recommendation of the concierge at the Ritz, we wanted to book Flair, but the concierge said that it would be too adult, which is probably not true, but we decided follow along. Will let ya know how it turns out!

We ate at Spices. It was fine. Actually, it was probably very good for a buffet. But looking up the other choices, I'd choose Flair or one of the others. I remember looking the Chengdu Ritz restaurants up in 2014 and being excited about where I naively figured we were eating on our own but paid for by ABD. I was remembering my previous ABD where they paid for any of the 3 very nice restaurants at the Hanoi Metropole. Sadly there was no option. It was the buffet. Whah whah.

 

[Calfan]

We ended up booking Lixuan in the Ritz Chengdu. We booked at the recommendation of the concierge at the Ritz, we wanted to book Flair, but the concierge said that it would be too adult, which is probably not true, but we decided follow along. Will let ya know how it turns out!

We did not eat at Flair but did go to the rooftop bar with our DD who was just under 14 at the time, and it didn't feel too adult to have her there. Fantastic views and a fun setting. I will say that the bar staff's English was surprisingly bad compared to the other staff we encountered at the Ritz, and it made for some memorable drink snafus that we are still laughing about.

We ate at Spices. It was fine. Actually, it was probably very good for a buffet. But looking up the other choices, I'd choose Flair or one of the others. I remember looking the Chengdu Ritz restaurants up in 2014 and being excited about where I naively figured we were eating on our own but paid for by ABD. I was remembering my previous ABD where they paid for any of the 3 very nice restaurants at the Hanoi Metropole. Sadly there was no option. It was the buffet. Whah whah.

We had an included dinner at the Ritz buffet on our trip as well, and I agree that it was one of the weaker meals of our trip.

 

[AlixaLock]

We ate at Spices. It was fine. Actually, it was probably very good for a buffet. But looking up the other choices, I'd choose Flair or one of the others. I remember looking the Chengdu Ritz restaurants up in 2014 and being excited about where I naively figured we were eating on our own but paid for by ABD. I was remembering my previous ABD where they paid for any of the 3 very nice restaurants at the Hanoi Metropole. Sadly there was no option. It was the buffet. Whah whah.

The Ritz definitely tried to hard sell the buffet, but I'm not s huge buffet person, so I passed. One of the funniest moments of this whole planning process was them telling us how adult Flair was and me having visions of go-go dances! ahahah!

Can I pick you brain about your previous trip with your son and food. When you were at the ABD hotels did you eat freely, i.e fruits and salads or did you avoid those things. Or maybe you didn't avoid them at all in China? I'm trying to wrap my brain around the advice I keep receiving and trying to imagine 18 days without fruits or uncooked vegetables. What was your experience with food safety and what "rules" did follow or avoid?

 

[AlixaLock]

We did not eat at Flair but did go to the rooftop bar with our DD who was just under 14 at the time, and it didn't feel too adult to have her there. Fantastic views and a fun setting. I will say that the bar staff's English was surprisingly bad compared to the other staff we encountered at the Ritz, and it made for some memorable drink snafus that we are still laughing about.

Ha! Thank you ... I really want to try the menu at Flair and I'm pretty sure my daughter is up to it! LOL!

 

[Calfan]

Ha! Thank you ... I really want to try the menu at Flair and I'm pretty sure my daughter is up to it! LOL!

You should go for it!

I realize you didn't pose this question to me, but we ate fruits and vegetables freely at our hotels and the restaurants that were part of our trip, and we had no issue whatsoever.

 

[Karen Stevan]

I checked the OYO meals this year and how it compares to the old itinerary. The total number is the same, but it is spread out differently. FWIW, here's my thoughts on this year's ABD:

Day 2 - Dinner OYO at HKDL. I think this is a good thing as it allows you to decide how much time you want to spend eating. We didn't get much time in the park in 2014 before our final dinner - maybe 3 hrs. I would recommend the quick service restaurant next to Mystic Manor. I thought the food was ok, and all the different rooms themed to different regions of the world was very cool.

Day 4 & 5- Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Beijing. In 2014, we had 2 dinners (1- Welcome Dinner and 2- Royal House). Neither were particularly memorable. We had 1 dinner on our own. Some people went to a Peking Opera, some a Kung Fu show. I had reservations at Capital M which was very good. This year, we'll likely go to the Country Place at the Rosewood which has strong recommendations. I'm not sure if it needs reservations. We'll probably go back to Capital M the other night. That requires reservations.

Day 7 - Dinner OYO on the 2nd night in Chengdu. We had an ABD dinner at the casual buffet restaurant at the Ritz in Chengdu. It was paid for, but you went on your own. I'm not a fan of buffets but it was ok. I'd probably look for something better unless you prefer a casual buffet.

Day 11 - Lunch OYO at SDL. Probably the same reasoning as Day 2."

 

[Karen Stevan]

Thank you for all the great info. Couple of questions/comments:

HKDL "shopping in different lands": is there something we pick up at each of the gift shops? (I hope)
(yes, Explorer's Club looked like the best restaurant there, next to Mystic Manor)

Day 7 - I don't think this dinner is paid for any more, by the looks of it.

Day 9 - I wanted to go bike riding in Yangshuo. Any thoughts about that?
White elephant exchange - how does that work?

Day 11 - confusing. It says lunch is included, but then it's "OYO" in the description. Are we OYO but paid for?
Any idea what time dinner at Club 33 might be?

I know you're comparing this trip to the previous itinerary so I don't expect you will know anything specific, but asking anyway.

Thanks Cousin Orville!!!

 

[Cousin Orville]

The Ritz definitely tried to hard sell the buffet, but I'm not s huge buffet person, so I passed. One of the funniest moments of this whole planning process was them telling us how adult Flair was and me having visions of go-go dances! ahahah!

Can I pick you brain about your previous trip with your son and food. When you were at the ABD hotels did you eat freely, i.e fruits and salads or did you avoid those things. Or maybe you didn't avoid them at all in China? I'm trying to wrap my brain around the advice I keep receiving and trying to imagine 18 days without fruits or uncooked vegetables. What was your experience with food safety and what "rules" did follow or avoid?

I didn't avoid fruits or uncooked veggies. I don't remember eating a lot of it though. Most of the veggies were cooked from what I can remember. The only sliced fruit in China I remember is watermelon after many a meal - let just all agree that the Chinese are not known for their desserts. I'd avoid ordering a salad in a random Hutong hole in the wall, but otherwise I wouldn't be too concerned. Standard precautions should apply for anyone who may be pregnant, older, immunocompromised, etc.

 

[BluesTraveler]

On meals - one thing I like about the Iceland itinerary is only 1 lunch OYO and 2 dinners OYO, so only 3 meals the whole week. That feels like a good balance. Alaska was 3 lunches, 2 dinners OYO. That was too much for me.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thank you for all the great info. Couple of questions/comments:

HKDL "shopping in different lands": is there something we pick up at each of the gift shops? (I hope)
(yes, Explorer's Club looked like the best restaurant there, next to Mystic Manor)

Day 7 - I don't think this dinner is paid for any more, by the looks of it.

Day 9 - I wanted to go bike riding in Yangshuo. Any thoughts about that?
White elephant exchange - how does that work?

Day 11 - confusing. It says lunch is included, but then it's "OYO" in the description. Are we OYO but paid for?
Any idea what time dinner at Club 33 might be?

I know you're comparing this trip to the previous itinerary so I don't expect you will know anything specific, but asking anyway.

Thanks Cousin Orville!!!

I'm not sure if this is specifically addressed to me, but I haven't done the new itinerary. I'm going on a modified version this Fall.

Yes, Explorer's Club. Thanks! I enjoyed it. Take time to look around in the different rooms. It's Lord Mystic's collection that has spilled over...

I'm not sure how you could fit in a bike ride in Yangshuo although it does sound lovely. The morning and early afternoon are on the Lijiang boat ride. This was spectacular and I wouldn't miss it. Probably my favorite activity in China. I can't remember the Trip Report off the top of my head around ~2012 that had amazing pictures from the Gumdrop Mountains. Maybe @sayhello remembers? That's what convinced me to do the China ABD in the first place. It didn't disappoint. From there you're in Yangshuo shopping for your white elephant gift. We might have had 1-2 hrs. I doubt it would be enough time to squeeze in a bike ride. Sounds cool, but you'd have to work out the logistics of when to start the ride and how to get back to the hotel. Then we bussed back to the hotel and met up later that night for a white elephant gift party. Standard White Elephant. Family friendly cool gifts and gag gifts. I purchased a fan and had the guy paint Adventures by Disney in Chinese calligraphy.

Not sure about Day 11. During my ABD in 2014 we ended in HKDL. We had dinner around 6ish and then stepped out for the fireworks. I'll lean on y'all summer travelers for this info for my Oct trip

 

[CaliKris]

I'm not sure if this is specifically addressed to me, but I haven't done the new itinerary. I'm going on a modified version this Fall.

Yes, Explorer's Club. Thanks! I enjoyed it. Take time to look around in the different rooms. It's Lord Mystic's collection that has spilled over...

I can't remember the Trip Report off the top of my head around ~2012 that had amazing pictures from the Gumdrop Mountains. Maybe @sayhello remembers? That's what convinced me to do the China ABD in the first place. It didn't disappoint.

I have read as many China trip reports on these boards as I could find. Both Cousin Orville's and I believe you are referring to @pxlbarrel's report form 2012. It was called "In China Now on an ABD and...". She posted it in the Dis Unplugged Podcast forum. I have never posted a link, so I hope this works:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/in-china-now-on-an-abd-and.2903121/

 

[AlixaLock]

I realize you didn't pose this question to me, but we ate fruits and vegetables freely at our hotels and the restaurants that were part of our trip, and we had no issue whatsoever.

I didn't avoid fruits or uncooked veggies. I don't remember eating a lot of it though. Most of the veggies were cooked from what I can remember. The only sliced fruit in China I remember is watermelon after many a meal - let just all agree that the Chinese are not known for their desserts. I'd avoid ordering a salad in a random Hutong hole in the wall, but otherwise I wouldn't be too concerned. Standard precautions should apply for anyone who may be pregnant, older, immunocompromised, etc.

Thanks to you both. I'm really happy to hear those answers. I'm fine with being smart, but I'm glad we can eat fairly regularly in the hotel and recommended restaurants.

 

[Cousin Orville]

I have read as many China trip reports on these boards as I could find. Both Cousin Orville's and I believe you are referring to @pxlbarrel's report form 2012. It was called "In China Now on an ABD and...". She posted it in the Dis Unplugged Podcast forum. I have never posted a link, so I hope this works:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/in-china-now-on-an-abd-and.2903121/

Yes, perfect! I really didn't have an interest in China before @pxlbarrel's report. It quickly went to the top of the list.

 

[Karen Stevan]

Yes, perfect! I really didn't have an interest in China before @pxlbarrel's report. It quickly went to the top of the list.

Great trip report. Helped a lot. Thanks!!