New Disney Tour Company Stretches Magic Kingdom's Border to Costa Rica
By Jodi Mailander Farrel, MiamiHerald.com

Arenal Volcano loomed smoking in front of us. Trees rife with orchids, ferns and bromeliads stretched for miles below our wooden platform in the clouds. But my attention was glued on my 8-year-old daughter, Annie, as she was strapped into a harness more than 660 feet above the rain forest floor on our third day in Costa Rica. A thin, steel zip line was snapped to her gear.

She jumped. As her pulley sped down the first line linked to a platform 2,475 feet away, my first-born receded into the distance with a heart-sinking zzzzzzing. My solace: This was a Disney-sponsored trip, part of a new series of family adventures taking place around the world. I knew this was no theme park, but surely Disney safety inspectors and a team of tort-minded lawyers had examined every bolt and screw in this series of platforms and cables. Right?

Not many in our pack of seven families were Disney die-hards, but more than a few of us thanked The Mouse for accompanying the group in name and spirit on our seven-day journey that took us from San Jose to the Arenal Volcano region to the country's Pacific coast. Walt Disney Co. -- its worldwide brand recognition and its tendency to fiercely protect its reputation -- was the security blanket many of us parents were looking for in unfamiliar territory. The trade-off: Spontaneity and independence flew out the window of our 54-seat tour bus.

But at least Mickey himself wasn't seated among us.

EXPANDING KINGDOM

Yes, the Magic Kingdom continues to expand, this time in the form of guided vacation tour packages for families called Adventures by Disney. Costa Rica is one in about a dozen international locales the tours introduce to five to 10 families at a time; a total of 224 tours will run this year. The all-inclusive packages have gold-slipper prices that start at $1,769 per person. But they promise memory-making experiences -- think dining in the Eiffel Tower or watching a private gladiator match in the Roman Coliseum -- with two guides who are trained to be not just informed experts on their regions, but entertainers as well.

The trips' orchestrated activities are sprinkled with unexpected Disney-esque perks like gold achievement pins that delight the generation raised on reward stickers. Even though the family tours are still new, practically every aspect of the six-night package had been carefully researched and planned. We hardly ever thought about our luggage, what to do next -- or if our kids were safe.

I didn't hesitate when it came to tossing my two daughters around on Class 2 white-water rapids in a rubber raft on the Sarapiqui River or hiking the outskirts of a 4,527-foot waterfall in Varablanca or climbing into a 19-passenger Twin Otter plane for a 40-minute flight from the center of the mountainous country to its Pacific coast.

On the zip lines that day, I wasn't the only one praying for some of Walt's old magic. ''Oh my god! My daughter just took off! She's gone!'' The New York radiologist in our group went berserk, hopping up and down as her 11-year-old became a distant speck on the green horizon. ''I'm afraid of heights,'' the mother of two confessed before she calmed down and zipped off, too.

While there's a strong American presence in Costa Rica, it's still a foreign country. With kids in tow, it was reassuring to know Disney had scouted it out ahead of time, narrowing the overwhelming choices and hand-selecting the most family-friendly experiences and hotels. A spurt of violent crimes in the usually peaceful country and an attempted tourist mugging in the Caribbean port of Limón earlier this year were prominent stories in The Tico Times when we took the 2 ½-hour flight from Miami to San Jose in April.

SAFETY STANDARDS

Disney reports that, yes, as suspected, it does investigate activities and hotels to make sure they meet safety standards and expectations. There are ''detailed site inspections of all towns in all countries to be visited, as well as in-depth, first-hand research into the activities, dining venues, museums, parks, etc.,'' says Ed Baklor, senior vice president of Adventures by Disney.

''That's why I came with Disney!'' Eileen Parente, a Fort Lauderdale mother of three, shouted half-jokingly as our group passed a uniformed man standing with a rifle outside a bank near Quepos one afternoon. The adults laughed nervously.

Call it American bravado or naiveté, but there was a certain comfort and cachet in those Disney ID tags stuck to our bags. Workers at the four- and five-star hotels where we stayed greeted us with fruity drinks and cool washcloths. On our third night, after passing numerous hot springs crawling with tourists at the base of Arenal Volcano, we cruised through an unmarked gate into private, pristine thermal springs on a farm owned by the Hidalgo family, who only books to private groups and later prepared an alfresco dinner for us.

Of course, gone was the joy of stumbling upon that amazing café or discovering a breathtaking view on our own. There were no chance encounters with locals. Instead, we were largely isolated in the safe-yet-sterile cocoon of our group, 28 gringos bloated on rice and beans from too many buffets.

I cringed when our guide popped the Disney movie Atlantis into the bus' audio-visual system for the two-hour ride from La Paz Waterfall Gardens to the Arenal area. Costa Rica's rich ecosystems and the bustling town of La Fortuna glided by out the window. When a folk dance group of local teenagers in peasant skirts and sashes surprised us at dinner that night, I couldn't help feeling as if we were part of an Epcot moment.

''I knew that because it was Disney, it would be too organized,'' Fort Lauderdale's Mike Parente, 17, shrugged good-naturedly. ``But that's what my parents wanted.''

As with any well-run tour, there were benefits to the careful coordination. There was no negotiating or waiting for drivers or guides, and no worries about tipping at restaurants and smaller tours inside parks. There was little down time. Each day had a theme and at least two major activities: zip lining and hot springs, hiking and swimming, rafting and a pineapple plantation tour. There were no chances for kids to fight over TV channels or parents to gab on cellphones.

''If we were on our own, we would wake up around 11 a.m. and we'd debate over whether to have breakfast or where to go next,'' said New York's Ariadne Bach, who came on the trip with husband Mark, daughter Christina, 11, and son Matthew, 7. ``We wouldn't be doing half this stuff. With Disney, I figured everything would be first-class and our kids would be happy.''

At Hotel Parador, an elegant resort built into ocean-side cliffs outside of Quepos, a father from Chicago approached us, his three little ones in tow. ''I don't really do well in groups,'' he said dismissively, nodding at our kids' Adventures by Disney backpacks and baseball caps. ``Has Mickey appeared?''

I felt the sting of embarrassment. It quickly faded as he told us that due to a mix-up with a local guide, his family had missed a hike through stunning Manual Antonio National Park, where we later encountered capuchin, howler and spider monkeys. His kids stared longingly at the mock passports our guide was stamping for the youngest in our group, now a happy gaggle of buddies.

OK, so it was a bit corny. But, as I've discovered, so is parenthood.

AUTHENTICITY

Despite my fears, Mickey did not pop out of the rainforest, Cinderella did not greet us at breakfast. As part of its family and travel trend research, Disney trip developers decided early on to omit traditional Disney characters. Instead, the emphasis is on ''creating immersive and authentic experiences that focus on the destination,'' said Leslie Feraro, senior vice president for Disney Parks marketing, strategy and planning.

That doesn't mean historical or costumed characters don't appear on occasion. In Italy, Marco Polo reportedly shares some of his experiences. On a ''Spirit of America'' trip through Philadelphia, Washington and Williamsburg, Va., guests dine with Ben Franklin and tour George Washington's house with a costumed Martha Washington. Still, the play-acting is kept to a minimum, something the teenagers in our group of kids, ages 6 to 17, surely appreciated.

'When I told people about our trip, they'd say, `Isn't Trevor a little old for this?' '' said Patricia Prosser of Calgary, Canada, who came on the tour with husband Keith and three of their kids, ages 12, 14 and 17. 'I had to qualify, `Yes, it's Disney, but there's no Mickey Mouse.' ''

Although they were all referred to as ''Junior Adventurers,'' the older and younger kids were able to diverge. Families with little children could choose a placid float trip instead of white water rapids. (The teenagers took off with their own raft and guide.) Zip-line guides deemed my youngest daughter, Lucy, 6, too young for the highest lines. Instead, she zoomed down two shorter practice lines and descended from the first platform in a gliding sky tram, along with a boy who was 7 and a 12-year-old girl who opted out.

Our guides were not overly perky Disney fanatics (although one of them, Aimee Epps, a petite, athletic 35-year-old from Wyoming, confessed to a Disney World wedding five years ago). Our other guide, Federico ''Fico'' Chacon, 30, was a Costa Rican skilled at spotting sloths in trees and demonstrating how certain Mimosa plants curl to the touch, among other natural wonders. More than once, a child grabbed the guides' hands as we hiked or curled into their laps to nap on long bus rides. One of my girls' fondest memories is running around popping balloons with Fico on our final night, when parents were given a two-hour reprieve to have dinner on their own.

Like Fico and Aimee, some of the Disney guides on other tours come from the guiding industry. But many are from the company's theme parks, resorts and cruise ships. They are trained in Disney rhyme and rules, as well as field experience in their location.

IN THE KNOW

''Our Adventure guides can not only name and tell the stories behind the kings and queens of England, but they can do the same for the Seven Dwarfs,'' said Baklor, the Disney executive. ``Just last week in Spain, a tourist in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona saw our guide holding up the Adventures by Disney sign and approached us to ask where the steps were that the Cheetah Girls ran down in Barcelona in the movie Cheetah Girls 2. Our guide was able to direct that person to Park Guell.''

Even local guides who jump in for mini-tours of national parks and other places are trained by Disney, and it shows. A machete-wielding pineapple plantation guide who called himself ''The Pineapple Slayer'' kept us in stitches with stories during a surprisingly entertaining tour of the plant and fields. Our river raft guides treated us to a mid-journey snack, slicing watermelon and pineapple with flourish on an upturned raft at the river's edge.

''We all just became a big family with the guides,'' said Lexi Rothermel, 10, of Gettysburg, Pa., on our last night in Costa Rica. ``I really want a reunion.''

Most families agreed they were game for another Disney tour, even to familiar American sites such as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. We had grown fond of the exclusive access, kid-friendly adventures and royal treatment.

But the greatest measure of success came on our last full day, when we spent hours on an isolated, 100-yard beach in a cove flanked by cliffs. On the rocks nearby, a hotel chef grilled burgers, chicken, mahi mahi and vegetable kabobs as the group surfed, kayaked and tumbled in the four- to six-foot waves. The small digital camera I had been carrying beeped three times in my hand. Then the three words that signify a satisfying vacation popped up on the screen: memory card full.