Wanderlust & Wishes
Welcome to "Wanderlust and Wishes," where two adventurous moms, Julie and Krystle, take you on a global journey, sharing their passion for travel, theme parks, cruising, and more!
Join us as we uncover hidden gems, explore bucket-list adventures, and dive into the sights, sounds, and stories of our favorite destinations. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or dreaming of your next getaway, let Julie and Krystle be your guides as we embark on this adventure together!
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Wanderlust & Wishes
Episode 69: Experience Adventures by Disney Peru - Part II
In Part 2 of our Adventures by Disney Peru journey, we continue the adventure with Jacob and Lindsay’s experience at Machu Picchu. From the breathtaking views of the Lost City of the Incas to the deep cultural connections formed along the way, this episode captures the magic and meaning of traveling with Disney.
But even the best adventures come with challenges—and when a stomach bug impacted part of the group, Disney’s legendary care and attention to detail truly shined. Hear how Adventures by Disney cast members went above and beyond to make sure everyone, including Jacob, felt safe, cared for, and supported—proving why Disney’s reputation for guest service is second to none.
Walt Disney's philosophy that emotional connection builds lasting memories lives on in every Adventures by Disney itinerary, where unforgettable experiences are paired with heartfelt storytelling.
Listen to Lindsay and Jacob’s ABD in Greece here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wanderlust-wishes/id1749012067?i=1000702830283
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Welcome to Wanderlust and Wishes, the podcast where we explore the world one destination at a time. I'm Julie. And I'm Crystal. As travel agents with Fantastical Vacations, we are here to share our passion for travel and help you turn your wanderlust into reality. From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us as we dive into the sights, sounds, and stories of our favorite destinations. So grab your passport, pack your bags, and let's embark on this journey together. So let's get started.
UNKNOWN:Thank you.
SPEAKER_02:Welcome to episode 69, part two of Wanderlust and Wishes. If you are new here, we have part one as the previous episode, and we're going to resume Lindsay and Jacob's Adventures by Disney Peru edition. We are starting off with Machu Picchu and the end of their trip. So if you'd like to hear the first half, just head back to the previous episode and listen before you listen to this one.
SPEAKER_01:So with Machu Picchu, you we had to get up early take the bus into town so the train literally goes by our hotel like really nearby that we could probably walk to and take the train but if we got on the train there we would have to get on it at like four in the morning or something crazy early so instead we got up at like six and took the bus a couple of train stops up and took the train from there and so that was I mean again that's the the Disney difference is they know we're gonna let y'all sleep an extra couple hours so they don't have to sit on this train for an extra couple of hours because they also have to take some local people between different stops and stuff. So we got to experience a train ride. That
SPEAKER_00:was so fun.
SPEAKER_01:Lindsay loves trains.
SPEAKER_00:I just don't get to go on them very much, you know? So it was like, we all had our own little compartments and it was like, there's, we're two and two sitting across from each other with a table between. So it was already comfortable. They had, they provided us these snack boxes that you could, you know, like when you can like buy like train or plane food, it was that they had provided. And then they were like, all of a sudden Rudy and Lauren, those were our two guides. They were like come on we're gonna go to the back of the train there's a party and we're like okay so we all run back there and there's like people in masks like peruvian masks and there's like a whole band there and they're like singing songs and we're all dancing and playing and you can stand at the back of the train and like take photos which is kind of like i mean you're like in the back of the train it's going so fast you're like like a wind tunnel but it's really cool just to see that we all just danced and hung out and played for like an hour we were all really tired and sweaty but it was really fun like just to kind of pass the time because there's a Also, we were able to see all the different, the water levels were real low. So it was really neat to see all that and see some rapids and the mountains, the glacier. We could see that really well. What's the name of the glacier? Veronica. Veronica was the name of the glacier we kept seeing. And so that was neat. It was like a whole thing. We're like, there's Veronica. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And the cool thing about the train is it was kind of like a big glass box. I mean, obviously it was structured better than that, but there's windows everywhere. So as you're going again through this valley, and as we get closer to Machu Picchu, that's kind of where it transitions. to like the Amazon rainforest. I don't want to say it's like desert-y mountain where we were, but it wasn't super luscious and green.
SPEAKER_00:Right, it wasn't like forest-y.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and so as we're getting deeper into this, like we just get more and more forest and then you're surrounded by these huge mountains that go straight up and down pretty much and there's trees like growing out the side of them. And again, you're down in the bottom of this valley just surrounded by mountains going through it. It's the same. I feel like I'm in a movie like just going
SPEAKER_00:through stuff
SPEAKER_01:like that. The scenery is... Incredible.
SPEAKER_00:And that's the thing is like with ABD, the transportation is so fun. It's fun. It's well done. It's efficient. There's always food and they're always teaching you something, you know, so you're never, you know, when you travel a lot of times, it's like, okay, we have two hours to drive. I just get your iPads out and figure it out. It wasn't that way. It was like, let's learn something. Let's be entertained. Let's do something. So it was never a big deal for us to travel within these locations because it was just really well done.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So we finished the train ride. Like she said, it was actually pretty enjoyable. Mm-hmm. Yeah. and don't realize that you have to buy tickets to go see Machu Picchu. And so they'll wait.
SPEAKER_00:Hours.
SPEAKER_01:Hours. And then sometimes you may get there and that may be sold out for the entire day. Yeah. And so people go there and then they're just stuck. They either have to go back or they have to find a hotel, which I can't imagine the prices of those hotels, and stay a day or two just hoping they get tickets to go see Machu Picchu.
SPEAKER_00:And then after you get tickets, you have to wait several hours for a bus to take you up unless you want to do the two-hour on-foot hike to get there, which is... No thanks. No. terrible we will do it it's like a whole thing but when we got there we had there there's like a lodge up there like a hotel type thing and it's just really really fancy but they have a restaurant so we had full access to the buffet at that lodge so like we were since we had to wait a couple hours we were able to eat and just kind of settle and they made sure we had water and one thing about it is that there's nowhere to go to the bathroom whenever you get up there so we went like whenever you get into Machu Picchu so they made sure we were all like we had water we were going to the bathroom all that kind of stuff so so this is kind of what everybody was waiting for whenever like we went to Peru because Chris told us we should and the price worked out but everybody went to see Machu Picchu and we were not obviously we're there we're excited about Machu Picchu but we didn't know much about it at all honestly
SPEAKER_01:it's like one of the wonders of the world seven new wonders you've seen you've seen pictures of it but
SPEAKER_00:but I see I thought of everybody thinks of it as being like the mountains and I didn't think of it as being like the ruins and so that was just incredible I mean we got to go we split up into two different groups and we had an extra guy with us that was like from Peru. And we got to, I mean, we got to go really in depth into the ruins. They told us about what everything was. I mean, they have done so much study on what, where everything was, where the palace was, where agriculture happened. It was just really, really interesting. I mean, we learned so much about the Incan culture and about their defense systems and why they put it there. I mean, it's so strategic what they did because they didn't find it for a really long time. I mean, they never even finished it because of the Spanish. But it took them a long time to be found. So just the way that they were able to get those rocks up there and just the systems that they use with like out what we love to talk about modern technology. I mean, it was just, it was a wonder. I mean, it is. It's insane. It is. Thinking about how
SPEAKER_02:they do it. Like it is like a mystery. Like how, seriously, how did they do this?
SPEAKER_00:It is. And just to see it firsthand, being there and seeing everything is, I mean, if we told you what we were, you don't know what you're looking at, but since we've seen it, I mean, it was just really, really inspiring.
SPEAKER_01:So to me, I will say before we even get all the way up into Machu Picchu, my new worst job ever besides it is now the people that drive the buses up and down this mountain. It's just a switchback. It's like maybe a 20-minute switchback journey.
SPEAKER_00:On these huge buses.
SPEAKER_01:Like the huge tour bus size buses, like the big Greyhound buses. And there's not really enough room to even pass each other when they pass. Oh my
SPEAKER_02:gosh.
SPEAKER_01:I'm going to have a heart attack. There's no guardrails. There's no anything. And I have developed a fear of heights in my later years, I guess.
SPEAKER_00:Since he's old now.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know where it came from. But yeah, it was just a flop sweat all the way up and down this whole time.
SPEAKER_00:And also people are waiting like hours for these buses. And we had a VIP bus just waiting for us already as soon as we were ready because we're with Disney. So we didn't have to even just standing there watching.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they're like, here's the line. We have to wait about four and a half hours for the
SPEAKER_00:bus. Or you're like, meh. They're like, Jessica. You're kidding. You're with Adventures by Disney. Like, I don't know. It's just hard. It's hard. We felt a lot of that in Greece, too, where we were like what we were looking at. We're like we're looking at Caldera and like looking at volcanoes. And it was just like, this is amazing. And that's like that's what travel is for us to see things that are worth seeing, you know, more than just our normal weekend trips. So that's kind of why we like to look at other countries.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So after that, we took the train back into town and it got I think it was maybe right at sunset or so whenever we got on. So it turned dark during our train ride and stuff. And they did the Same thing with the dance party. They had the dance party again. I don't think I did it this
SPEAKER_00:time. We didn't do it again. I was exhausted. We were all tired. We had been hiking and stuff.
SPEAKER_01:I did this little fashion train. This is my new job.
SPEAKER_00:I was asleep for them. Lindsay
SPEAKER_01:was asleep. I was like, this is me. And they had people like runway modeling on the train, all different like Peruvian clothes. Yeah. You could buy it
SPEAKER_00:and stuff.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you could. It was super expensive. But like Seth and Rebecca were sitting across from us, across the aisle from us. And they were doing this thing like every single time. Like they would walk down one way and then they would like flip the outfit around, like turn it inside out or like unzip part of it. And it was like a completely different outfit. And every time we were just like, oh, like this dress turns into a scarf and the scarf turns into a sweater and it's like transformation clothes. And we just like hyped it up really big. It
SPEAKER_00:was
SPEAKER_01:really. And I was like, you know, if I ever decide like engineering is not for me, my new calling is to be a train runway model.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I think I could do it, you know, maybe in my next life. That's what I'll do is be a train runway model. I didn't know that was an option for me. They didn't tell me that in school. My parents never taught me that.
SPEAKER_02:But here it is.
SPEAKER_01:But here it is.
SPEAKER_02:Great marketing because you're stuck there on the train watching that. People are
SPEAKER_00:buying stuff. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:They have to look at me. Yeah, they do. Unless they're asleep like Lindsay.
SPEAKER_00:I was. I got out of it. Well, anyway, we got back and we had a little bit of a bus ride by the hotel, but it was the same thing as like, here's some restaurants in the hotel. Just go eat what you want and it's taken care of. So that was nice. But this is when everything went downhill a bit because Jacob was like, he wasn't feeling great. And I was like, I'm going to go on down to dinner and I'll just come down when you're ready. And by the time he got down there, he was like not feeling good. So he didn't really eat. So we kind of cut it short and just went back to the hotel and tried to get him feeling better.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah,
SPEAKER_00:this is
SPEAKER_01:where the whole trip went drastically downhill for
SPEAKER_00:me. But just for Jacob. So I'll have to recap the last two days. But he wasn't feeling good. So he wasn't able to participate in the next day but I will say that like we we were changing hotels because we were in the Sacred Valley this whole time in Cusco so we were going to go to the city of Cusco the next day and it was about an hour and a half bus ride which it was just bad timing because Jacob couldn't just stay in the room all day and sleep because he had to switch hotels we checked out like eight but he was able they were him and another guy were both sick and we don't know if it was water we don't really know what it was or if it's just like a traveling something so they were able to stay till 12 and then they had a private bus a private like van come get Jacob and the other guy his and take him back to the next hotel and get him settled and checked in and then like be good to go. I mean, they told us that every single day somebody gets sick from the altitude or something. So like they even have a whole menu for like gastro issues or for like altitude sickness, like in all the hotel room services. So like they're prepared for people to get sick because it's a different altitude. But I just went on ahead because, and that's, that is this, like even as an agent, this is like my selling point for ABD because I would not have gone out into Cusco by myself if, We were on a trip together, just the two of us planned out together. I just stayed in the room with Jacob and just missed it. You know what I mean? Because I just, I'm just not, I'm not big on just as a, as a girl. I'm not just out like, you know, exploring by myself with no map, you know, no matter what I'm a reason. So that was, but ABD, you know, they were like, we'll take care of Jacob. Come on with us. Like I'd made all these friends. So like Nellie and Young, they were like, yeah, you're, you're our kid for the day. We'll just, you'll be with us. And I was friends with all these people already. So it was like nothing for me to just pick up and, you know, continue the trip. And every hour they were checking on Jacob and Rick and seeing if they were feeling better. They were sending food to the room. You know, they were really like taking care of them.
SPEAKER_01:With the sickness stuff, it was brutal. I'm not going to go into a bunch of details because I know this is not what the fans have signed up for to listen on your podcast. But just to give you an example of it, like, it was so bad. I was, I had to stay within walking distance of a toilet for hours straight. For two straight days. For two straight days, pretty much. And so the reason I didn't go with Lindsay and them on the tour is because they were making two or three stops on the way to the toilet. And I was like, I don't think I can physically make it. Like, I was like, I almost asked, like, is there somewhere I can buy like adult diapers or something? Because I don't know how I'm going to move. And I will say the only thing that practically saved my life there is they have the bidet toilets. And so it literally life changer for me was being able to have that. But when we got to the new place, I couldn't eat and drink. I hadn't been able to keep anything down. And I was like, I have to see a doctor. Like, something is wrong. And so they brought the doctor in to take my vitals and they're like, you just need to come into the hospital. And
SPEAKER_00:they took him to, they brought the doctor to the hotel and our Rudy, our guide, I mean, he translated and made sure we weren't being like, that we knew what we were getting and what was going on. It was really helpful.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So they took me to the hotel. They put an IV on me. They gave me oxygen. They gave me a bunch of different medicines and kind of got me back up to speed enough that I could start to drink like their electrolyte mixture that they gave me just to try to survive. And so they ended up getting me back to like living. And then I went back to the hotel.
SPEAKER_00:I wasn't going to die, but yeah, it was really bad.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, honestly, like I was so dehydrated. It could get there.
SPEAKER_00:It was like six or seven bags of fluids I put in him.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I couldn't drink or eat or do anything. And so I went back to the hotel and then I hung out there the entire next day while Lindsay again went out with the group and I would just order food, electrolytes. The guys are checking on me the whole time. Yeah. It was, it was a really rough experience. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we were alone.
SPEAKER_00:And also like Nellie and Young, they like came and picked me up from the hospital because I didn't want to Uber by myself. And so like they came and checked, even though the guides would have done that, but they were, everybody was like, how's Jacob doing? What can we do? And like some of the kids had gotten sick. Like there was, I think five people total that got sick while we were there. So we're all just taking care of each other, like a little community, you know, making sure everybody's okay. People are asking me if I'm good. People are getting, I missed dinner because I was at the hospital with Jacob. So they're like bringing me food. You really make friends with these people. I at the end of it when you're it's a different type of experience because people really really care and they're all there they're all there to see something and to experience something really amazing it's not just to see the sights it's to like develop relationships and get immersed fully into the culture so that was really really cool
SPEAKER_01:yeah so that was the end of the trip for me waddled to the airport and just survived to getting home
SPEAKER_00:I was like I don't care what happens you were getting on that plane we were going home
SPEAKER_01:yeah so that was that was a rough end for me
SPEAKER_00:and when we got home he went to the doctor and we got all sorted out and it was fun Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:it still took me a couple of days after I got home to get back to normal, but.
SPEAKER_00:But he didn't miss water water rafting. He didn't miss Machu Picchu, so. Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:I got to see the stuff that I really wanted to do. I'll let Lindsay fill in all the gaps, but that's it for me. So I'll let y'all, if y'all have any questions specifically for me.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, maybe we should answer those.
SPEAKER_01:We can do that and then I'll let Lindsay finish it out.
SPEAKER_02:I think he kind of answered it earlier on. We had a question about, you know, the first trip, Lindsay kind of had to talk you into, or, you know, she had to do some schmoozing to get you to go, you know, on the Greece trip. And for this one, you know, did your perspective change where it was, you were all in, like, yeah, we're going. And there wasn't any kind of having to talk you into it this time around to go to Peru.
SPEAKER_01:No, this one, it was just figuring out where we were going to go, not whether it was going to be ABD or not. Like I was, there wasn't any hesitation because I guess all my hesitation was answered in the first trip. So to me, it like actually being a good trip that has everything that I wanted in it that was confirmed I think the only hesitation was like I kind of had this weird doubt like maybe Greece was special maybe that's not how it always is and maybe that's the best trip that they've ever done we happen to be a part of it and now we're suckered in always chasing that trip but this one was just as good in different ways
SPEAKER_00:you made probably more connections this trip
SPEAKER_01:yeah maybe more connections this trip it was really good so I didn't have any hesitations going into this one I won't have any hesitations about ABD into the future ones either just a matter of when where and if we can get the price to match mm-hmm
SPEAKER_02:If you could do any of the itineraries, what are your top two on your list now?
SPEAKER_01:Right now, really, I think South Africa and Egypt are some of the top ones on us. South Africa, I think we're trying to plan for like 2028 with some friends. That
SPEAKER_00:have kids already. They're our kids' ages.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, trying to get the kids old enough. I would love to do that one. I actually just talked to a guy that I play pickleball with, and he said he went to South Africa, not with ABD, but he was telling us how amazing it was. Seth and Rebecca just did the
SPEAKER_00:ABD. With their kids, yeah, and they were 10. They said that like, the lodges you stay at are like the nicest hotels I've ever been to because you know people worry about that like going on safari and being like intent but it's not like Disney has it all ready for you also we were talking about like Iceland or Switzerland because everybody we know that's been to Switzerland for like a quick cruise stop has been like it's amazing breathtaking so we just we like we like going to we liked that we went to a new continent this time so we're kind of interested in hitting a new continent which is why we're so big on Africa as far as Egypt or South Africa goes yeah Egypt might be one that the kids may not care about as much So they're much, much older. And
SPEAKER_01:I would love to eventually hit Asia, but I think...
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we're going to go to China because it hits both of the Disneyland's. That's a great place. That's a great way to go to the China Disneyland.
SPEAKER_01:That is not my intention.
SPEAKER_00:It is my intention.
SPEAKER_01:You
SPEAKER_00:need to get on the adventure cruise ship, Jacob.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah,
SPEAKER_00:yeah. He promised me already, we will go on every single cruise ship in our lifetime. So I'm ready. I want to do it like this year, but he's like, in our lifetime.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I eventually want to do Asia, but I think that's a little bit out of our travel culture and what we're ready for.
SPEAKER_00:ABD would be the way to do that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, ABD would be it. I want to do that, but probably not until we do like another one or two. That's not in the immediate future, but in the distant future.
SPEAKER_02:Cool. Well, thank you, Jacob.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, thank
SPEAKER_01:you. Sorry, I have to cut it short. Y'all enjoying your time
SPEAKER_00:with Lindsay? That's okay. I'm famous anyway.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, you're no Tupac.
SPEAKER_00:That's true. See y'all. Have a good one. Bye, Jacob. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. So since you heard all of Jacob's situation, he did not come on the next few days. So I'll just kind of cover those. But again, I felt really comfortable going because I was with my friends, you know, and I was with the guys and it was, everything was still planned out. So, I mean, just like our friend Melissa went to Greece by herself, you don't have to have a big group to make it work. So that was really cool. So this is one I was really sad Jacob missed because it was, the whole day was like called Loco for llamas. So he went to this. Oh, he missed the llamas. He missed the llama, but we had seen llamas. was a thousand times on the trip. But it was, I think it was called like the Camelid Center. And it was basically where like you got to go see another place where they use the different wool to do the weaving and the demonstration. So we got to see that. But we also had like a Kipu representation ceremony where they just, it just talked about like, it's more religious as far as Peru goes. And we got to see kind of how they worship. They call it Pachamama. And that's like their mother nature version. And so you're supposed to give back every time. So like if you take a sip, you just give a little back to another nature or if you're cooking in the ground that's part of giving back to mother nature it was just that was their big kind of ceremonial just their religion i guess but it was just part of it so their spiritual circumstance i guess so that was neat to just be able to see that they gave us these souvenirs and it's just like yarn but it's not yarn but it's made out of something but they've like tied knots so like every time they would experience something cool they would like tie a knot and it would represent something that they experienced kind of like our way of taking like having like photo albums it's like a kind of an ancient ritual that they would do so you know you have this like keeping and it's like this is this this represents this trip to Greece and this is this not represent this stuff so it's just like a really neat way for them to just savor their experiences and then we went to a restaurant in Peru in Cusco and it was just like a restaurant they've gotten to know really know the owners of the restaurant and they were able to just feed us all this different food I mean it's a lot of it's always going to be like a bunch of different meats a bunch of different vegetables that are all like local to Peru and then they would have like tamales or all the different breads and desserts and stuff like that so it was just All the food was really, really good. These last two days were very much just like exploring the city and doing little experiences. So I kind of told Jacob, if you had to miss two days, these were probably the days to miss. They weren't like lesser by any means. They just weren't like, it wasn't Machu Picchu. You know what I mean? It wasn't whitewater rafting, stuff like that. So we did a lot of that as far as like sightseeing, going into different restaurants, going into this bar to kind of see some of the drinks that they drink. And a lot of times they do bars during the beginning of the day. So it's like they kind of just sit there and drink all day and then because they all go to bed early so they have a big dinner and go to bed so nobody's like hung over the next morning it's just a different type of culture similar to Greece and how all their meals are like it's a it's a it's an event the meal is the event for the day it's not just like a quick you know eating at your counter getting the food in your body real quick so you can move on to the next thing it's a much more it's a very hard working culture but they are a savoring type culture if that makes sense yeah okay so there was a city called it's called Saxomon I can't remember exactly how to say it but Rudy would say And it literally sounded like he was saying sexy woman. And he was kind of doing it on purpose because it was like sexy woman. And but it's like we kept joking. So we found a sign that said that's all the girls like took a photo in front of it, you know. And it was like there are those like 200 ton stones. They were they were like moving them miles and miles of no modern machinery. And they were explaining like the ruins. And we were able to see like panoramic views of it. And we even got to there was there was like an old amusement park type thing with like slides and stuff. And we got to like. actually get up there on the rocks and slide down and just like play and have fun. So that was a cool way of seeing the ruins. They always like, they really incorporate what the people were doing, what they did for fun, what they were doing to eat and to sleep and how they, just how they lived. So that was really neat to see that. And then we wandered around over to a man's house where they had, they have just like a contract with him. He played like over 26 different instruments and he had made, he made instruments. And yeah, like his whole life he did that. His son was with him because he didn't speak English, but he would like show us an instrument He made and he would play it for us. And it was just anything from like shaking something to like hitting it a little bit to a drum to like these huge flutes and guitars. I mean, just all these things. And then we got to make these flutes. They were had like five different little sticks. And then there's someone on top and they showed us how to play like happy birthday. And just that was really, really neat just to sit there and kind of have like a mini concert with a man who had taught himself how to create and play all of these different instruments. And that was just neat. It was in his home. It was just on the terrace of his home. And although That's so interesting. Yes. How do they find these random people? They just do so much. I mean, because Disney just goes into these cities and they really find the experiences that are going to actually make you feel like you were a part of it or a part of the culture. You know, I feel like it's nothing that I would ever just you can't just Google like Peru. It's like ChatGPT is not going to throw you this man's house to go. Right. Yeah. And it's so great like being a travel agent because it's like it makes me look deeper into these destinations and it makes me really seek out experiences that are once in a lifetime because we may never go back to Peru but we will always have these memories and we really feel like we we went there we saw we did and we experienced you know and that's that is so meaningful when you're when you're paying the money you're paying you want it to be you want to feel like you got the whole package you know
SPEAKER_02:yeah
SPEAKER_00:and then pretty much the rest of the afternoon was kind of on our own so we went we went swimming at the hotel and hung out and just did a few did a few of those things just to kind of hang out with each other and Jacob was so I'm just really not feeling good so I was checking on him and everybody was checking on him we were like they were coming we had people were bringing him like Zofran in the middle of the night I mean it was just oh that was huge I mean and I hated they got sick I mean it was terrible but if he had to be sick on a trip Disney taking care of you on that trip was I mean it was just there's no words to describe how much I appreciate people checking on us and taking care of us and the same with like Rebecca and Seska had been got sick and we're all like is he good everything fine like how are we doing you know it's just they had oxygen at the ready for people that needed it it's just they know that we're like we're from the United States so like the altitude I mean there's altitude issues places in the United States but nothing like this you know nothing like this 11,000 12,000 feet and they just prepared us so much even the first few days they were like drink a ton of water don't drink any alcohol I mean they prepare you for the trip yeah so that I mean this is pretty that's pretty much what we did when he was gone and then the last night was our our big dinner it was our Peruvian feast but it was like in the hotel and it was in this huge like conference area and they brought in like dancers and there's there's always like there's always like god type dancers and like kings or queens and like prince and princess and warriors and like they came in and they did all these dances and this production for us just for us it's like a private show we got to like take pictures with them afterwards they pulled all of us up to dance and do a limbo and just play you know and it was just a big celebration of our trip and that's the same the thing they did in greece they we had this a bunch of dancers and performers and then we got to interact and play and dance it was just a big celebration of our time together and there were a relationships we had built and the culture we had experienced and just I mean it's just a whole different setup and the food was buffet style so it was just amazing any kind of meat you think of huge salad bars vegetables and just something for everyone I mean you could and we were just bursting at the seams we were never even hungry for meals it was like we had just eaten so much at the beginning at the meal before but it was like yeah let's do this let's experience but it's also such it's such whole it's they're all whole foods and it's all organic and it's just like locally sourced and grown. So you just don't feel like trash. You feel very full, but you don't feel like you're preserved, like the body, your body's preserved with processed food. You don't feel
SPEAKER_02:like inflammation, like
SPEAKER_00:that. Absolutely not. No, no. And it goes away and then you're ready for the next thing, you know? So it's just a different way of eating. And there's just, there's a health factor there. That's as far as our food goes, as far as like just eating the whole foods that that's something that I missed. Like, and I, me and Nellie were joking. Like I was like, I only gained one pound while I was gone and I ate enough food for like 10 people every day. And it was just, it's just cause it's different. I mean, it's the pace here is just different in America than it is in other most other countries so that was really neat then one of my favorite parts of ABD is we went to this they had this other room with like a projector set up the same thing as in Greece so Lauren and Rudy had taken pictures and videos of us the entire time and like they'll go off and they make this video it's like a 10 minute video maybe 15 minutes but it's got all the pictures all the videos all the experiences and we get to just watch our whole trip all together as a group you know we're all crying and we're like laughing and loving each other and we're cheering when somebody comes up on the screen and like we're oohing and aahing when the cute people because they have the couples kissing a lot you know just being sweet and the kids playing and having fun so we just got to like see a recap of our trip and they give you that video at the end so we got home and showed our kids immediately and they wanted to see everything and they're a little too young to go on a lot of them but they love watching the videos and that's they do every I mean as far as I know they did it for every ABD because we did it in Greece and we have that so I mean it's a huge keepsake I mean not having to take your own photos and the photos are good quality I mean they're professional photographers and they they just I don't know how they guide us take care of us make these videos put it all together in the end for us to do it on the last day but they do and they do it flawlessly and it is it's so special but we stayed in there an extra like two hours Jacob did come to dinner because he didn't eat but he came down they brought him some like special like specific soup and some like um keiko tea just to kind of like see if he could get something in his system because he didn't want to miss the last day and he struggled through that last meal because he was so sick I mean he wasn't taste or anything so you could hang out and it was it was just really great and we stayed another like two hours to just talking to people and not wanting to say goodbye not wanting to leave and we were getting up the next morning like really early on the first bus with everyone and then there was a big group that stayed and took like a later flight because I will say with Peru you have to fly either overnight like seven at night like to the next morning or you have to fly like super super early and then get there so like it's basically like I mean we didn't have a time difference we're central time and they are too but like we had to fly from Lima from Cusco to Lima then Lima to Atlanta then Atlanta to Birmingham because we always do Delta and they are Atlanta's their hub so we had a whole day of flying so we left and then a lot of them stayed after and we're all in our WhatsApp group and they're talking about lunch and we're like oh we have FOMO we wish we were still there you know and so now every time like I was at HomeGoods the other day and I saw like a couple of like Peruvian things and I like I was just like send a picture to the WhatsApp group we all start going off and talking to each other and oh there's one more thing I didn't talk about before the dinner we had gone to this other market it's not a farmer's market it was more like a goods market like a little Chinatown and we they were like we're gonna play white elephant so here's 20 soles and he was like just find something like some kind of souvenir and we'll do it and then at the at the farewell dinner we like we played the white elephant or the secret Santa whatever you want to call it and so everybody would pick a gift and we would steal and so everybody got like a little keepsake that somebody else had purchased and some of them were like funny like a bull like we like we bought like a bull and like a mirror and then somebody people bought like a Cusco hat and some people bought like a mug I I mean, so you've got like a cool souvenir and that was like just like a fun game. It was like having Christmas with your family, you know. So we have all those little keepsakes to remember. And I mean, we probably talk. I mean, I talk to a couple of people separately, but like all the time. But we probably talk in that group at least once or twice a week still. And it's I mean, it's been several weeks since we left. So I think it'll be we were all talking about where we all want to go. We're all going to try to do it together the next one if it works every schedule. So it'll be cool just as we do these ABDs to just, you know, we have friends all over the United States now. And from there, we have them from Greece. Now we have more. So it'll be cool to get our Greece friends and our Peru friends, you know, just mesh people because it's kind of my thing. I
SPEAKER_02:think it's very, I don't know what the word, poignant maybe, that the whole like dinner at the end and one of Walt's things was tying emotion to, you know, your memories. And that's how you make great memories. And that's how you keep people coming back to whatever it is. whatever the experience is that you're offering. And that although it's not Disneyland or Disney World, it's still using that foundation that Walt Disney set that he wants to tie emotion into the experience so that you truly enjoy it and you truly remember it forever. It's
SPEAKER_00:true. And that's what they do. I mean, that's why the price tag doesn't scare us anymore. I mean, because we know that there's value there. And I will say that I have priced out different ABD trips like hotel and because you stay at like five-star hotels, so hotel versus food versus everything. And I mean, it's not worth it to me to save$500 to$1,500 and not do the Adventure by Disney experience. You know, it's just, it's definitely worth it to me to upgrade to something that's going to be, that's going to change our lives, not just going to entertain us for a week, like you said.
SPEAKER_02:Do you have any favorite
SPEAKER_00:moment or
SPEAKER_02:pinch me experience?
SPEAKER_00:I think that when we, when we thought we were buying food for ourselves to cook and we were trying to be funny, like what will go, what will we not go together at all and be silly and then we ended up it was taking care of that lady and getting to know her I think that was just huge like that has stuck with me that the difference in a tourist and a traveler has just really stuck with me since then you know and even in my life like I don't want to be a tourist in my own life you know I want to travel through my life and make a difference and impact people in a good way so I just thought that was a really good just I mean Disney gives back so much I mean say what you want to say about whatever you don't like about Disney or whatever you do like but they do give back and they do so many things that impact communities and impact people. And so that I just, it was just a really good reminder of that for me, that, that pinch me experience. And then, I mean, just seeing Machu Picchu, I mean, we've seen, we've seen several of the wonders where we shouldn't realize it, but that, I mean, it's almost like you're seeing, it's almost like you're in like a secret, you know, because it's like, it was a hidden city for so long. And then it's like, how does this work? And it's like, you're part of this community of people who've seen it, but still don't understand it, you know? So it's just neat. I mean, it really is a wonder. So those moments were really Incredible.
SPEAKER_02:Also about the makeup of your group, like how many people, were there a lot of kids, just a couple of kids, were there single travelers?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so there was 21 of us, not including the guides, so 23 total. There was two guides. And then, so we were, Jacob and I were a couple without our kids with us and Nellie and Young didn't have their kids with them. There were, there was a family, Seth and Rebecca with their two kids and they were 10 and 12. And then there were Rick and Anita with their son, Sean. He was 15. That was one thing. He was a little bit, he was wishing there were more teenagers there and he was the only one. But like our Greece trip, there were like four or five teenagers that were friends. So it kind of, they kind of try to put you with them. It just depends. We were a small group. And then there was a family, two sisters with their, with their niece and her son. So like just a different mixed family. And then there were two other couples. They were kind of a family. It was like two sisters with their dad and then one of the sister's husbands. So like that, there was just like a little bit of a multi-generation there. So that was kind of our makeup. I would, say there's you know there's three families that had kids with them and then like several of us just couple you know so it was a really good mix of people but that's why we hit it off so good with Nellie and Young because they were 55 but they were by themselves their kids weren't there and we're their kids are like 26 and 28 so there's they're like we're Jacob and I are 36 and 38 so just a good dynamic they're just like good just like high energy people so it was really fun group none of the kids were obnoxious they were all really sweet and fun and they were they were all interested in what we were doing did and cause problems. And that's a big deal. You know, no parent wants to take their kid on a trip like that and then have an issue. So once they told us that, you know, our kids are, you know, our kids are, well, Chloe just turned six last week, so six and seven. And they're like, we would accommodate your kids, even though if it says eight and up, they'll still let them come. It's just, you know, your kids. So they'll take care of your kids. But, you know, it was kind of nice for me to know that, especially for different clients to say like, you know, your kid's seven, it says eight, we'll figure it out. You know, like Disney wants kids, they really want kids immersed. And Lauren even said, you know, look at it, Look at your parents and tell them thank you because everybody doesn't get to go on trips like this. Every kid doesn't get to experience something like this. And it was really moving for the kids to realize that just because they have that life doesn't mean everybody else does. And so having that cultural immersion, I think that'll be really good just as they grow.
SPEAKER_02:Would you recommend Peru as a first-time ABD experience? Or do you feel like going to Greece first or doing another type of trip first and then doing the second? was really kind of the better way to do it
SPEAKER_00:for me since I'm not outdoorsy I think that it was better for me to do Greece you know it's just a little bit easier to be in Europe because they speak a little more English and it's you know it's just everybody hears about Europe that's where we want to go in the United States we all want to head to Europe you know and I think for me it was really good to see Greece if you're looking to do something out of your comfort zone like South America and you just don't know how to do it then yeah I mean that's the best way to do it because you're you're they just tell you where to be and what to do so that's For me, though, yeah, going to Greece first, I was just like, if we only get one, I want to make it a big one. And Greece was a big one. And Greece was a good bit more expensive and it was longer and stuff like that. So I would say Peru is a second or later trip for sure. Unless you're like, because if you're like real outdoorsy and like, I would almost say National Geographic is so similar to ABD, I would say, hey, if you're down for whatever and you're real active and stuff, then like, I mean, hit that up. Because that's where you're going to like be hiking and being all, being in the terrain where they don't have to hold your hand, you know, because, you know, they got to make sure you're good and ABD, more family
SPEAKER_02:oriented. I did have a question about with Jacob getting sick. Did you guys have travel insurance?
SPEAKER_00:So we don't have travel insurance and it ended up, it was like$375 for the IVs and all the different, the oxygen and all the stuff he had to do. And they told us that ahead of time. They were like, here's your menu of options on how to treat this. I think we will get travel insurance going forward just in case because it could have been really bad that he had to be admitted to hospital and things like that. Because we were in Peru, the conversion rate is in our favor. So it wasn't as expensive. Then we've never gotten travel insurance. But also when we got back, our doctor, we have a primary doctor, and he said our insurance would have worked there. Our health insurance would have worked. It would have just been a process to get it figured out, you know. So I think we're probably going to buy like an annual policy. I mean, we fly three or four times a year. We, especially me, I mean, I'm on like my 10th or 11th trip of the year, you know. So it probably will make sense for us to go ahead and get a travel policy just annually. I would probably not get travel insurance on an ABD because it's really expensive for one trip. It just says, if I'm just being completely honest. Do
SPEAKER_02:you have one piece of advice for someone choosing between destinations or planning their first ABD now that you've seen a couple?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, use a travel agent. I think it matters. Price matters a lot because we looked at this trip. I mean, it came down to about$1,000 a person from when we first looked at different stuff to when we booked it, you know? So I think price is a big deal, especially for your first one. Like you don't want to, you don't want to just like break the bank. And then, you know, it's for something you're not, you're not ready for. Like we would pay whatever because we know it's worth it now. But I think that price is a huge difference, a huge difference. And then time of year, like we went to Greece in the heat of the summer and it was miserably hot. Like had Greece not been so amazing, that would have taken away a lot of it. So I think just realizing that like, like Peru, we were there at the end of winter so we could wear like jackets and pants. Like it was nice to know that we weren't going to like just sweat profusely. If you're going to do a bunch, price and time of year. If you're going to do one, then it's destination. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, it does. Absolutely. Thank you so much. This has been such a fun conversation. I love hearing about all of the experiences. I have an undergrad degree in Spanish, and so I had a lot of classes that were South American history. So all of the things that you were talking through, it just sounds so interesting to me. And I would love to be able to go and experience South America in general. And to be honest, I've always been a little hesitant because they have a lot of political unrest in general. And going with Adventures by Disney, I would feel comfortable going.
SPEAKER_00:We even asked that about Egypt because there's a lot of political unrest in Egypt. And they were like, we have a security team. They'll go with you anytime there's an issue. It's just like they are not going to let anything happen to you.
SPEAKER_02:Where can people find you on social media? Just as a reminder.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. On social media, on Facebook, I am fantasticalvacationsbylindsay with an A-L-I-N-D-S-A-Y. And then on Instagram, I'm castlesandcoastlinestravel. And then I have a website. It's castlesandcoastlinestravel.com. And that's where I do recaps of different trips and just explain different things. So that's a good resource as far as reading. And apparently on your podcast.
SPEAKER_02:We love having visitors. We love having other agents come on and talk about their experiences. I feel like we have such a family culture you know at our agency and we
SPEAKER_00:love that reminds me of these ABDs is like the financial vacations group because like we're all friends all over the United States and it's like same thing with Adventure by Disney just extending your friend group you know real people not just followers you know
SPEAKER_02:well we love you guys and we appreciate you so much for coming on and recapping your trip and thank you we appreciate it of course it was fun can't wait for the next one we hope everyone enjoyed this episode as much as we did and everyone have a fantastic week. We'll talk to you next week. Bye! Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Wonderlust and Wishes. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting to be explored. Until next time, happy travels. Bye for now.