A Review of the All-New Adventures by Disney Switzerland Tour

Our excitement started almost a year before our vacation, when Adventures by Disney announced its newest itinerary: an 8-day tour of Switzerland. We called up some friends, told them we had to go, and we all booked the very first ABD Switzerland tour together. This was an adults-only trip.

We spent the next year dreaming of our itinerary: seeing the famous Matterhorn, watching the alpenglow illuminate the mountains, snow tubing, toboggan riding, and, of course, indulging in cheese and chocolate.

Last month, it was finally time for us to pack our bags and head out.

Being the first to experience anything—and reviewing it afterwards—is tough. Whether it’s a new travel itinerary, a restaurant grand opening, or a stage show, there will always be kinks to work out for future guests. But ABD  has been creating unforgettable guided vacations for 21 years, offering itineraries to 40 destinations around the world. We had been on 3 previous adventures: Scotland, Ireland, and Southern California. We trusted that things would go as smoothly as possible.

So let’s get this trip started!

Day 0: Arrival in Zurich

We landed in Switzerland the day before the official tour started, which I highly recommend for any guided tour. Yes, it costs extra, but given how unpredictable air travel can be, we wanted to make sure we had a comfortable time cushion before the main event began. ABD will book your pre-night for you and still meet you at the airport. 

We took an overnight flight that landed in Zurich at around 8 a.m. Like any great Disney adventure, it started with a line—a 45-minute wait at Border Control. Fortunately, this would turn out to be the longest line we would have to wait on during the entire trip.

After passing through customs, we headed to luggage claim and found that our bags had already been pulled aside. A representative was waiting for us with an Adventures By Disney sign. (How did they recognize our bags? ABD sends official orange luggage tags in your pre-trip preparation packet.)

We were escorted over to the Radisson Blu Hotel at the airport. Because our room wasn’t ready, and I wasn’t planning to pay an extra fee to get into a room early, we stored our bags and headed out for a day exploring Zurich on our own.

(Budget note: Switzerland is very expensive. With $1 US only worth about 0.80 Swiss Francs, be prepared for sticker shock when dining out. Imagine a $12 grande drink from Starbucks, or $65 for dinner for 2 at Five Guys. Sadly, we don’t have to imagine.) 

Day 1: Journey to Grindelwald

After breakfast, we met our two tour guides, Colin and Martin, in the lobby just ahead of our meeting time to introduce ourselves.

ABD’s tour guides are always excellent. They are there to make sure you get the most out of your trip, organizing activities, keeping everyone together, and sharing local history. Because this was a brand-new route, Colin and Martin had done a full dress-rehearsal run-through the week before. They were ready to take 30 guests—along with a manager who always accompanies an inaugural trip—on an 8-day journey from Zurich to Lausanne.

After breakfast, our luggage was picked up directly from our room to be transported to our next destination. For guests who had just landed that morning, their bags were tagged and collected right in the lobby.

Next, our group headed to the train station to catch our ride to Grindelwald.

Trains, trams, and buses are the primary modes of travel throughout Switzerland. The public transit network is phenomenal and incredibly easy to navigate. However, some of the transfers we experienced on this inaugural route were tight.

Imagine taking 33 people—some of them older or traveling with children—and giving them exactly 5 minutes to deboard a train, walk down a crowded station ramp, head two tracks over, walk up another ramp, and board the connecting train.

During one of these tight connections, a guest missed the train. Because we had two guides, one stayed behind with the guest while the other led the group ahead. The guide and guest caught an express train shortly after and made it to the next connection with 5 minutes to spare. It’s a testament to how quickly the ABD guides handle hiccups, though it’s definitely an area the planners will likely reevaluate for future trips.

We ended the day in Grindelwald at the gorgeous Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof, with a view of the north face of the legendary Eiger peak, one of the most celebrated and challenging climbs in mountaineering.

It was raining and cool when we arrived, which left us a little nervous because we were scheduled to go kayaking the next day.

With every ABD trip, you can expect a lot of local flavor, and not just in the food. Before heading out to our welcome dinner, we enjoyed a reception with a musical performance from a local legend, Sami Zumbrunn, “the yodeling bus driver,” accompanied by an accordion player. The reception was also a chance for us to start to get to know each other, with each adventurer introducing themselves and sharing what drew us to the trip. 

Day 2: An Overcast Morning & Alpine Waters

We woke up the next morning to find a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains under an overcast sky. We headed by bus to Ballenberg, the Swiss Open-Air Museum, which turned out to be an unexpected delight.

This 163-acre museum is more like a park, with more than 100 original rural houses and farm buildings rescued from every region of Switzerland. Whenever a historically significant building is threatened with demolition, the museum disassembles it entirely and reassembles it here.

We split into groups for guided tours of a few select buildings, went inside to sample authentic food made on-site, and encountered numerous farm animals—ranging from regular cows and pigs to some seriously adorable bunnies. As part of the tour, we even got to try our hand at a traditional folk art project: painting a small wooden cow to keep as a souvenir. Local crafts are another ABD signature activity for kids and adults alike.

After a somewhat hectic lunch—the museum restaurant was hustling to accommodate such a large group—we headed out for kayaking on Lake Brienz. Following a quick bus ride to the shore, a little over half of the group braved the water. I chose to sit this one out. It was so cold that everyone had to suit up in full drysuits just to stay warm and dry.

From what I heard later, my decision was a mistake! The kayakers were divided by skill level (first-timer, intermediate, and experienced), and despite initial hesitation about the freezing weather, everyone absolutely loved the experience. No one got wet, no one got too cold, and they reported that the views from this 8.7-mile-long, turquoise alpine lake were fantastic.

We wrapped up the evening with dinner at the hotel.

Day 3: Zermatt

On day three, we traveled toward what would become my favorite destination of the trip: Zermatt, one of Switzerland’s legendary car-free towns. High in the mountains, it required four trains to reach, and the journey itself was extraordinarily beautiful. Our arrival rewarded us with a view of the crown jewel of the tour, the Matterhorn.

Anyone who’s ever visited Disneyland has seen a 1/100th scale version of the Matterhorn. The real mountain stands at an imposing 14,700 feet, while the Anaheim version towers at 147 feet. It also served as the perfect setting for a groundbreaking new roller coaster styled after a bobsled—another favorite Swiss pastime.

It was Walt Disney’s frequent travel to Switzerland that inspired the attraction. 

According to the Walt Disney Family Museum: “While visiting the set of Third Man on the Mountain in Zermatt in 1958, Walt became fascinated with the peak which towered over the ski village, the same mountain around which the film was centered. That mountain was the Matterhorn… The striking alpine summit captivated Walt’s imagination and inspired him to create his own version, a scale model in Disneyland.”

I highly recommend watching Third Man on the Mountain on Disney+ before you take this trip. During the movie, you will see the town of Zermatt and its historic wooden houses. After lunch on our own, we joined a walking tour that took us past many of these ancient structures, which are still standing today (some can even be rented out as vacation homes, though I didn’t get a look inside to see their modern amenities).

We capped off the day with a traditional winter meal: fondue. We headed to a local restaurant for our first real taste of Swiss cheese on the trip, starting with a selection of cured meats.

If you are used to American-style fondue parties with an array of vegetables, tart fruits, and meats for dipping, prepare for a reality check. This is a traditional mountain village, so the meal is strictly authentic: bread and potatoes to dip in the cheese. The only vegetables in sight were gherkins and pickled pearl onions. While the experience was fun, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a highlight of our culinary journey.

Day 4: High Altitude & A Glacier Blizzard

We knew it was going to be cold on the mountain, with temperatures in the teens Fahrenheit, so we bundled up like Shrek, in many layers (forgive me for mixing intellectual properties!).

It took a sequence of 3 gondolas to reach our destination: Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Standing at 3,883 meters (12,575 feet), it is Europe’s highest mountain station. On a clear day, it offers unparalleled panoramic views of the Matterhorn, 14 glaciers, 3 different countries, and over 3 dozen peaks.

Alas, we didn’t get to see any of it. A full-blown spring blizzard rolled in, dropping heavy snow and forcing the outdoor observation deck to close.

We were, however, able to head down to Testa Grigia, where you can stand with one foot in Italy and the other in Switzerland. We tried some snow tubing there, which was a blast, though it did reveal one of those first-tour growing pains; after a collision between two tubes, the staff adjusted the rules to ensure everyone went down one at a time.

We explored the Glacier Palace, an incredible chamber carved roughly 50 feet beneath the surface of the ice. It is filled with glistening ice crystals, an ice slide, a natural glacial crevasse, and detailed ice sculptures that make for fantastic photo opportunities. We finally warmed up during lunch, which was hosted in a private room at the mountain restaurant.

A warning on altitude: Spending extended time at 12,500 feet can take a toll if you aren’t acclimated. It is common to experience headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, or a loss of appetite. Fortunately, you should feel better almost as soon as the gondola takes you back down.

Our guides had originally planned a scenic hike down the mountain from the second gondola station into Zermatt, but rainy conditions lower on the peak made the trail too treacherous. Instead, we enjoyed a free afternoon of shopping and exploring the village on our own, followed by dinner back at our hotel.

Day 5: Toboggans, Cheese and Chocolate, Oh My

Our final morning in Zermatt required a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call courtesy of my wife, who wanted to watch the Alpenglow spilling over the Matterhorn as the sun came up. It was absolutely worth losing the sleep. The storm had passed, leaving a perfectly clear sky, and we marveled as the shifting colors of the sunrise slowly illuminated the mountain.

Following breakfast, we boarded our morning train, transferred to a tour bus, and kicked off a full day of adventures. Our first stop was a summer toboggan ride in the Fribourg Alps.

Returning to the Disney connection: Disneyland’s Matterhorn is famous for being the world’s first tubular steel roller coaster, sending riders plunging through dark caves, past waterfalls, and right by the Abominable Snowman. The real-world Swiss counterpart has none of those special effects, but it makes up for it in pure speed. It moves fast enough that you are given your own handbrake to slow yourself down if you get nervous. I kept the brakes off until the very end, and it was a total thrill.

The biggest takeaway comparing the real Alps toboggan to the Anaheim classic? The Swiss version is a whole lot easier on the spine.

Once our heart rates returned to normal, we boarded the bus and headed toward the historic medieval village of Gruyères for lunch of raclette, which, I am told, is Switzerland’s ultimate national cheese experience. (They also have it at the Swiss Global Marketplace during Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, so that must be true).

A large slice of cheese is placed under a tabletop broiler. As the cheese starts to bubble and brown, you scrape it on to your plate and eat it with the now-familiar sides: potatoes, bread, pickled pearl onions, and gherkins. 

The cheese is made on-site in a small kitchen, which we visited for a brief explanation of the process.

After some time exploring the town on our own and trying to walk off lunch, we headed back on the bus for some dessert—I mean, for a tour of Cailler, Switzerland’s oldest chocolate manufacturer.

Here we were split into 2 groups for our activities: chocolate making, and a tour of the museum. 

We started with chocolate making. We had a delightful instructor who explained how chocolate is made and how dark, milk and white chocolate differ. (And yes, she insisted white is a chocolate, though some in our group were not convinced.) 

We were each given some chocolate of our choice and were able to make additions like almonds or coffee, and as well as toppings and a pastry bag to decorate the 6-inch chocolate medallion. Here, I found there was a lot of artistic talent in the room, none of it was mine. 

The chocolate was put in a freezer to harden while we took the museum factory tour. At first, I wasn’t keen on taking the tour, but it turned out to be a creative approach to the history of chocolate and the company itself. It ended, of course in the tasting room, where you had the opportunity to try as much chocolate as you liked. There were about 10 different varieties to choose from. 

Our busy day ended at our hotel, the Lausanne Palace, with a buffet dinner. 

Day 6: The Lake, The Castle and Wine

After breakfast, we headed to the water for what was one of the highlights of the trip: A steamboat trip on Lake Geneva, or Lac Léman for the locals. 

We had now moved from the German area of Switzerland into the heart of the French side. We boarded the Italie, a small paddleboat built on authentic historical hulls but run on modern diesel-electric paddle wheel systems. While you can watch the paddle wheels do their work, it’s the views of the Swiss Riviera are breathtaking. The two-hour boat ride goes fast as the boat makes a number of stops. While this was a leisure trip for us, it’s mass transit for the locals. 

We ended in Montreux, home to the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, for lunch. There, we visited the Freddie Mercury statue on the lakefront. The 10-foot bronze statue depicts his iconic 1986 Wembley Stadium pose, with his fist raised high. Nearby is  Queen: The Studio Experience inside the Montreux Casino, a free museum. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant, but many of our fellow adventurers grabbed food at a grocery store so they could spend the time walking the lakefront or visiting the Queen exhibit.

Our tour then headed to Chillon Castle, the most visited historic monument in Switzerland. The castle is built directly on a limestone rock island near the waterside and is connected to the mainland by a wooden bridge.

Our medieval storyteller, the king’s cook, took us on a tour of the castle, explaining how people lived in the day and how the region changed hands over the years. This is another fun stop we might not have discovered on our own.

As we exited medieval times to return to the present day, we headed to the  UNESCO World Heritage Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, with a private visit to a fifth-generation family estate. 

The small estate had a sweeping view of the lake below, and we were taken on a brief tour before a wine tasting. The wine and—especially—the cheese was delicious, and the view from the top of the terrace took our breath away. 

We ended the day back in Lausanne, with dinner on our owns a the world’s most expensive Five Guys meal.

Day 7: Lausanne Tour and More Chocolate

The day began with a walking tour of Lausanne, known as the Swiss San Francisco because of its many hills. Along the way we stopped at 3 unique chocolate boutiques, one of which served a rightfully legendary hot chocolate, which was more like a warm pudding and was the best treat of the day.

Our guided tour gave us a historic overview of the city, and our timing couldn’t have been luckier. We wrapped up right in the heart of Lausanne’s Old Town at the pedestrianized Place de la Palud, arriving just in time to catch the performance of the famous Palud Clock. Every hour on the hour between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., a set of mechanical wooden shutters swings open, a music box melody begins to play, and a parade of animated wooden puppets emerges to march along the track, acting out key scenes from local history.

We then had some time to explore Lausanne on our own before our visit to the Olympic Museum and our farewell dinner.

When you think of the Olympics Lausanne is probably not the first place you think of. The museum is here because the city has been the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1915, when IOC founder Pierre de Coubertin relocated the administrative headquarters to the shores of Lake Geneva during World War I. 

To reach the museum you ascend a set of steps with the years of Olympic games inscribed on them, past grounds dotted with sculptures and a 100-meter track.

The museum’s collection blends cinematic montages with the archive. It contains the world’s most complete set of official Olympic torches, original stadium models, and gold medals spanning more than a century. Sports fans can view iconic memorabilia from legendary, including Usain Bolt’s running shoes and Simone Biles’ Team USA leotard.

For the kids there is an Olympic Spirit zone where junior adventurers can test their physical agility, try psychological focus games used by professionals, and feel the grand scale of an opening ceremony on panoramic screens.

The evening ends with the farewell dinner, where we all shared the personal highlights of the trip and the guides showed a slideshow they had created. 

Martin and Colin brought a lively “first-date energy” to the trip. Martin, a Swiss native, served as our local guide, offering rich commentary on the history, geography, and hiking trails of the mountains we passed. Colin brought exactly the vibrant energy you would expect from someone who started his career on Broadway. As an experienced Adventures by Disney guide, he kept the tour seamlessly on schedule while sharing fascinating insights into Disney’s historical ties to Switzerland.

The duo not only worked tirelessly in front of the group, but they also handled all the logistics and problem-solving behind the scenes. They were easily one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip.

Day 8: Going home

Many of our fellow adventurers headed home first thing the next morning. We spent an extra day walking on the Swiss Riviera and checking out some things we missed in Montreaux. ABD lined up our ride to the airport the following morning. 

In the end, being part of this inaugural Adventures by Disney expedition was entirely worth it. Not only was it a spectacular destination, but the experience was completely hassle-free. Having experts handle the logistics, train schedules and seamless room-to-room bag transfers meant we could simply relax and absorb the magic of the Alps without any of the vacation stress.

By showcasing the absolute highlights of the country, this itinerary gave us the perfect, curated taste of Switzerland. Now that we’ve seen what it’s really like to stand in the shadow of the Matterhorn and cruise the Swiss Riviera, we are already talking about when we might want to go back to explore even deeper on our own.

They are booking now for 2027 and the prices range from $8,699 to $9,399 per adult.