$115,000+ Disney Around the World Private Jet “Adventure” Returns for 2024
‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ is returning for 2024. This bucket list international trip spans 24 days, 6 countries, all 12 Disney theme parks worldwide, and other destinations all for the low, low starting price of $115,000. This post shares details about the second year of this exclusive offering along with our commentary. (Updated June 1, 2023.)
Here’s the overview from Adventures by Disney: Embark on a bucket list adventure for 75 ultimate Disney fans! This dream vacation spans 24 days and covers 6 countries, visits to 12 uniquely magical Disney theme parks, as well as 3 iconic landmarks: the Taj Mahal, Pyramids of Giza and Eiffel Tower.
Throughout the ‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ trip, you’ll stay in world-class accommodations and travel in luxury aboard a VIP-configured Boeing 757, operated by Icelandair, with long-range capabilities that allow for direct flights to maximize your time in each destination. You’ll also enjoy personal access to experts and staff, who provide fun and fact-filled stories enabling you to be immersed in every location you visit.
Booking for the 2024 ‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ will begin on the following dates:
- June 12, 2023: Previous Adventures by Disney Guests who have traveled on 3 or more Adventures
- June 14, 2023: All Previous Adventures by Disney Guests
- June 16, 2023: Golden Oak Members
- June 19, 2023: General Public
Dates for the ‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ are as follows:
- July 9 to August 1, 2023 – SOLD OUT (see below)
- June 16, 2024 to July 9, 2024
- July 28, 2024 to Aug 20, 2024
Note that there are two 2024 itineraries for the ‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ instead of one this year. That’s presumably because the inaugural voyage sold out before ever even opening to the general public.
Last year, pre-sales for the worldwide trip to all Disney theme parks went on sale on June 20 for Adventures by Disney “Adventure Insiders” and most slots were booked at that point. The remaining ~5 slots booked first thing when availability opened for Golden Oak and Club 33.
We were told at the time by a credible source that demand among those residents and members far exceeded available slots, and there was a lengthy waitlist for guests who are interested in booking the experience. The general public on-sale date never happened last year as a result.
In other words, if the 2024 ‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ is something that “speaks to you,” then you better decide ASAP whether you want to do this or a 5-night stay at Pop Century for your big trip next year. (We’re opting for the ‘middle ground’ and doing Caribbean Beach. To each their own, though.)
As you can see from our critical commentary below, this Disney Parks Private Jet Adventure holds no appeal for us. We also question why those with the means would do this as opposed to something by an actual luxury brand or a do it yourself trip. However, we never questioned whether this would sell out last year. With so few slots and so many affluent Disney fans, that much was always a foregone conclusion.
While it’s not for me, I’m curious what level of demand exists for this and how much of that is due to its perceived exclusivity. In other words, if there were 5-10 dates from the outset, would it have booked much more slowly? How many dates could be added before there’s a drop-off?
Perhaps we’ll find out for 2024, but probably not. A grand total of 150 slots still makes this exceedingly scarce. There are literally hundreds of thousands of diehard Disney fans, and all it takes is a tiny fraction of them (we’re talking the 1% of the 1%) to make the 2024 ‘Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure’ viable.
In the meantime, let’s begin with basics for our readers who are heirs to frozen banana stand empires and thus will want to book this new Adventures by Disney itinerary if more dates are added. The trip starts at Disneyland in Anaheim before traveling north to Los Angeles and San Francisco. From there, it heads to Tokyo Disneyland via Alaska, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney World.
Between stops the Asia parks and Disneyland Paris, the private jet will make several detours to 3 iconic landmarks: the Taj Mahal, Pyramids of Giza, and Eiffel Tower. Throughout the trip, you’ll stay in world-class accommodations, including the rare opportunity to be a guest at Summit Skywalker Ranch. Naturally, you’ll travel in luxury via a VIP-configured Boeing 757, operated by Icelandair, with long-range capabilities. Presumably, it also has efficient WiFi for casually gloating about the posh experience via realtime Instagram updates. If not, well…that’s a dealbreaker for me!
During the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure, guests will also enjoy personal access to experts and staff, who provide fun and fact-filled stories at every location you visit. This includes tours guided by representatives from Imagineering, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Co., and more.
Here are some of the trip highlights:
Here are the accommodations for the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure:
- Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
- Summit Skywalker Ranch
- Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
- Shanghai Disneyland Hotel
- Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
- The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra
- Marriott Mena House, Cairo
- Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
All 9 locations for the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure:
- Anaheim
- San Francisco
- Tokyo
- Shanghai
- Hong Kong
- Agra
- Cairo
- Paris
- Orlando
Food for the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure:
- 68 MEALS TOTAL
- 23 Breakfasts
- 22 Lunches
- 23 Dinners
We’re guessing most of you reading this are curious about the Disney Parks Around the World – Private Jet Adventure but not serious about booking it. For those who are, you should really consult the official Adventures by Disney page for the full itinerary and pricing.
Our Commentary
There are two ways to approach this commentary. The first would be treating this trip seriously, breaking down the estimated costs on a line-item basis in order to analyze whether the the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure is “worth it” from an objective perspective or, if not, how much Disney is marking up the indulgent itinerary. The other would be dismissing it out of hand as ridiculous, and critiquing it from the perspective of optics.
Obviously, we’re going to choose the second route. As much as I’m curious about how much an Around the World trip to Disney destinations might actually cost (perhaps we’ll do the math in a separate post), I don’t think anyone reading this post is seriously sitting in their La-Z-Boy, thinking: “I’m on the fence about this private jet adventure thingie, sure hope Tom does the math so I can decide whether to book!”
The thing is, I don’t doubt that there’s a market for this type of trip. Honestly, many of Disney’s recent moves have felt like someone inside the company is asking, “how can we be more like Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton?” First came the company-branded residences, now comes the private jet around-the-world itinerary.
I guess you could even say the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure is a steal of a deal, since the Four Seasons Private Jet Experiences all appear to be priced above $150,000. While both feel like they’re in “Monopoly Money” territory, I’d imagine the target consumer for this type of trip has more trust in Four Seasons to deliver a luxury experience commensurate with the cost. Four Seasons has the experience and expertise with actual luxury offerings.
For those of you banana stand heirs who are planning on booking this, it’s probably easy to write off criticism as jealousy. While my curiosity has been piqued by past Adventures by Disney itineraries (and we’ve done one long weekend in San Francisco), I honestly struggle to see the appeal in a trip like this even when setting aside the exorbitant cost.
If we had a couple hundred thousand dollars to dedicate to an around the world trip, I’d rather put it together myself. That would give me complete control over the itinerary and, critically, not be subject to sharing the experience with 73 strangers. (The odds are not in your favor that of 73 wealthy people, they’ll all be perfectly tolerable and well-adjusted.)
That’s the sticking point for me. (Well, that and the WiFi situation. And I guess the cost, if we’re being totally honest.) With other Adventures by Disney itineraries, the argument can be made that there’s value in the ease and efficiency of a group trip for affluent individuals. After all, vacation time is limited and their time has, in theory at least, tremendous value.
The same argument is a harder sell for a month-long trip. These people clearly have time on their hands, and could easily put this together themselves–or hire someone to do it for them.
Speaking of which, at this point I should plug my own travel planning services, which are actually launching today (total coincidence). For the bargain basement price of $54,997.50, I will take you on a tour of these same places. Please note that won’t feature a private jet but it will include us getting lost on the Tokyo Metro and seeing rats at one of my favorite spots near the Eiffel Tower.
But did you really visit Tokyo and Paris if you didn’t get lost in one and see rats in the other? Joking aside, it’s absolutely the imperfections that make travel and exploring new places memorable. Now that is an actual adventure and where the magic of travel truly happens.
To that point, I’d also humbly suggest that an around-the-world trip is absolutely the wrong way to explore and experience these destinations in meaningful ways. None of them will be done justice by such cursory and superficial visits. If you have no shortage of time and resources, do these places the right way.
This Adventures by Disney itinerary feels like it’s less about ease and efficiency and more about coddling people who want to travel the world without really experiencing the world. Those who need the comfort and safety of Disney just to see international theme parks so they can check off every park on their bucket list and boast about the accomplishment.
My reaction was more or less the same to that new subdivision Disney is attaching its brand to on the outskirts of Palm Springs. The main appeal of that area is its rich history, culture, and stunning mid-century modern architecture. It’s a truly amazing place with tremendous charm and appeal. You endure the desert heat and everything else because all of that is so cool. A new subdivision there comes with all of the downside and none of the upside–literally missing the point entirely.
Setting all of that aside, my bigger concern is one of optics. Disney had to have known that this new Adventures by Disney itinerary would get picked up by every blog and vlog. It’ll become outrage fodder, racking up millions of views on videos and posts–not from people planning on doing the trip, but from those disgusted by its very existence.
Although my commentary above might suggest otherwise, I hold no disdain towards those who can afford to do this. I also don’t begrudge the company for trying to capture some of this lucrative market share. Not that you care, but I am very much pro capitalism–about as far from “eat the rich” as you can get. The analysis here is less taking offense to the existence of this itinerary, and more why any reasonable person would want to do it given what it costs, entails, and the alternatives.
With regard to corporate optics, there’s probably never a good time to announce a $100,000 private jet tour of the global Disney parks. However, I cannot conceive of a time that’s worse than right now. The company has already nickel and dimed park-goers so much over the last few years, increasing costs and segmenting its theme park offerings in ways that have given rise to backlash from pretty much everyone–but especially those who believe Disney only “caters to the rich” now.
As I’ve stated before, that is categorically false. One-percenters are not booking motel rooms with exterior hallways at the Value or Moderate Resorts. Beyond that, they are largely not visiting Walt Disney World at all, save for rite of passage trips. When they do, they’re more inclined to stay at the Four Seasons Orlando or Ritz-Carlton, although some undoubtedly do stay at Grand Floridian and the Poly.
I’m so confident in this assertion because it’s a simple numbers game. Sure, there are wealthy Disney fans and casual visitors. However, there are not enough of them to fill the parks and resorts on a daily basis. It’s gotta be the middle and upper middle class, splurging or going into debt. These consumers are literally the only way Walt Disney World can stay in business. The upper class cannot sustain the parks and resorts.
It’s one thing to sell 75 of these $100,000 private jet trips in a year. It’s another entirely to book over 100,000 guests per day in resorts and theme parks, every single day of the year. It’s a matter of scale–if the number of these private jet trips were increased to 1,000 or even 10,000 (again, in a year–not a day), the company would probably have trouble filling them, too.
Regardless of that truth, it often feels like Walt Disney World doesn’t care about anyone but the wealthy. There are countless recent examples of this, from simple things like Extended Evening Hours only for Deluxe Resorts to extravagant new VIP tours to Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser’s price tag. (On the plus side, the Halcyon now feels like a downright bargain as compared to this!)
The totality of these recent offerings and changes is alone is enough to alienate many lifelong Disney fans. They understandably have the perception that the company no longer cares about them, and has left behind the middle class in its lust of higher-spending affluent guests. This is not easily quantifiable, but it’s long-term brand damage that very well might outweigh the short-term financial gains of selling under 100 private jet world tours.
It probably will offer little reassurance, but currently it seems to feel like Disney doesn’t care much about anyone. We recently talked to Club 33 members who were beyond frustrated about service, telephone hold times, and a range of other issues. Disney Vacation Club members are reporting the same, and we’ve also heard from those who booked Adventures by Disney itineraries this year who have had their plans unilaterally changed or cancelled at the last minute, among other things.
This cuts to the crux of my issue with Disney rolling out this and other premium offerings right now. It would be one thing if the company’s parks & resorts division were firing on all cylinders and delivering an exemplary guest experience. That’s not the case. The top priority in the near-term should be fixing what’s broken and improving its customer service before expanding into new horizons and price strata.
Ultimately, that’s my take on the new Adventures by Disney itinerary, Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure. I understand why Disney is offering this and won’t be the least bit surprised if it sells out quickly. No real issues with any of that on its face.
I do wonder whether Disney should even be going down this path in the first place at a time when they’ve already eroded so much goodwill. This will only accelerate and exacerbate that. My question for the company is essentially the same as for those planning to book this trip: at what cost?! There’s the straightforward monetary component, but also the opportunity cost and so much more.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this new new Adventures by Disney itinerary? Will you be booking Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure? Would you do an around-the-world trip, or would you rather take several vacations to each individual destination? Think this will be a big hit, colossal flop, or something in between? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
ABD is crazy expensive from the outset for all trips. As I planned an Italy trip one year, I used their itinerary as a guide. I reserved private excursions (just our family). We stayed in amazing hotels. We had private, guided experiences every day that were simply amazing. We flew business class and stayed longer than the ABD trip. Our 14 day trip with the business class flights cost less than half of the 10 day ABD price tag and we did exactly what we wanted to do every day. I cannot imagine who the market actually is for this trip, but one appears to exist.
The Disney compass is broken.
Or maybe more accurately they need a new captain to right the ship and save its goodwill.
It would be a pity to throw away a lifetime of work in such a short time.
Well articulated article Tom.
For that price, Patrick Warburton had better be on board narrating the itinerary.
Now that might make it worth it! Squeaker squeakin’ squeaker.
There are people who do a marathon on every continent adventures where they run a marathon each day, each time on a different continent. If I had endless resources and wanted to use it on a gimmicky around the world trip where I see very very little, I’d choose this one.
Imagine that the other 73 passengers are the casts of every iteration of “real housewives” ever made…
Disney, I mean. I’d choose Disney parks to running a marathon in Antarctica.
We have been nonstop to Disney almost yearly. It would be nice for a longer trip. Lets do it.
You are correct about those able to afford it stay at Four Seasons and don’t necessarily do the parks. I had a friend going and had booked 3 VIP days and a character breakfast plus some universal VIP days. When Disney gave their reaction to the bill in Florida recently they immediately cancelled all their Disney park days and VIP added more Universal days and Sea World.
It’s the opposite for my family. We had soured on WDW once their political donations became public, but Disney leadership’s subsequent decision to speak out in support of LGBTQ+ children, parents and teachers, and to funnel part of the profits from their Pride merchandise to associated charities, made us realize that we, too, had to put our money where our mouths are. Will be staying at a Deluxe resort for a week and spending all our time on property (eliminating all avoidable off-property spend). While I still dislike many of their nickel-and-diming policies of late, their support for my family despite knowing it will cost them thanks to DeSantis’ retaliation, means more to me.
No stop at Aulani, huh? That must be on the premium package they roll out next year…
No Aulani is the deal breaker for me. They clearly are not taking this Disney trip seriously by skipping it.
Tom…..thank you. So very well said.
My husband and I are two very frustrated, long time Disney fans and vacationers. And, you said exactly what we have been feeling…..only better. Thank you so much for your candor.
Great thoughts. The things that I thought were neat on the trip itinerary (yes I’m lame and looked at every day) were the unique experiences that you can’t buy normally. I think the exclusive stuff is what is cool about it. Obviously if you have 100,000 to spend on vacation its probably not going to be this. I think this is whatever miniscule portion of the population is also completely obsessed with Disney (overpaid influencers? Twitch streamers? Single Disney podcasters who have already done everything and need something new to do)? Let’s face it, the suites on every single Disney cruise and at every single Resort (where available) are generally booked solid.
I agree, the timing really couldn’t be worse, though. Fix what’s broken, don’t offer random crap that no one needs. Like you said, who do they care about anymore? Answer has to be their bottom line. (Which pains me to say as a hardcore disney fan and ta).
Let me first say that I am a huge fan of all things Disney. But, this is crazy talk. Who in their right mind, whether they can afford it or not, would pay this kind of money to visit all of Disney’s theme parks. Anyone who has this kind of money laying around already has their own private jet and doesn’t want to share it with people they don’t know. The optics of this is horrible. I just hope we are not experiencing the beginning of the end. It was a good run.
I’ve actually priced this trip for us prepandemic. I love a good spreadsheet and my average was 28 days and around $35,000 to $40,000. It’s a fun exercise to just dream if nothing else. Happy to share if anyone wants my math. However it’s probably going to need tweaking for 2023. For example I have an overnight in Moscow on the Shanghai to Paris leg.
“Heirs to frozen banana stands” great reference most wont get!
Think there’s any money in those?
“It’s one banana, Tom. How much can it cost? $109,995”
I wonder.. is this per person, or per family? Either way, completely out of reach. Just wondering.. I totally agree that they should work on customer service that they used to provide above everything else!!
The fact that Iceland Air is managing this with their 757’s is an automatic ‘no’ for me (not that I have $110k lying around anyhow). But seriously, from one whe has flown their planes many times, and always first class, they are miserable. Unless they gut the jet and completely replace the seats with all lie-flat seats, it will be a mess at any price.
Their service is great, but their planes are very uncomfortable
First of all – love the Arrested Development nod and second- I took my kids on a trip to St. Louis a few years ago and the thing they talk about the most? The huge rat we saw in the park one night. So the Paris reference made me chuckle. All that aside I completely agree with your post. We used to visit every other year and have stopped doing that. They have eroded all my good will as you said.
If I had an extra $110,000, I would figure out some way to use it to give 12 or 15 families the Disney World trip of their dreams.
I’ve visited Disney Florida for the last 28 years at Christmas. I thought I already was paying 109K per person ….
Crying laughing at this comment……sure as heck feels like that, doesn’t it?
It’s funny for a second and then I feel a bit nauseated. Lol!
Great post. Looking forward to your complete review.
If I was interested in visiting all of the Disney parks for a bucket list trip (absolutely not at this price, but “ad argumentum”, as you might say), I’d be concerned about the possibility of the Shanghai and/or Hong Kong legs being derailed due to China’s zero COVID policy.
So…a charter plane. Not a private plane, right?