Land before Sea?Sea before Land?

[Mouse Maineac]

My family is going on our first ever Disney Cruise in July 2010. Hooray! It is a four day cruise to the Bahamas. We will be staying at BLT the night before (we live far in Maine and we don't want to risk missing the boat due to a delayed flight or connection.) We would like to spend 2 additional days in the parks. My question is...would it be better to spend those days before the cruise or after the cruise? I thought having a couple of days in the park would lessen the let down of the cruise being over...or should we front load the park days and fly home relaxed??? Any help is appreciated as this is our first cruising experience. THANKS!

[Tigger98]

When we did a land/sea (in 07), it was nice to have the cruise after the parks. Even though it was 4 days in the park (the land/sea package), it was still nice to relax on the ship and be relaxed for the long trip home.

[MagicMe]

Well you actually stated both sides and it's really up to you. If you do the parks first, you'll get all the running around done and can relax on the ship but there is a bit of a let down when leaving the luxury and pampering on the ship (you could lessen this by booking your next cruise while on board and giving you something to look forward to!). OR, you can do the cruise first and then spend a couple of days running around WDW. It does give you something to look towards as your cruise is ending but unless you can relax while running around WDW, that relaxed feeling from the ship will dissipate.

Sorry, it really comes down to your personal choice.

[Skyw]

It really is personal choice!!! I have read that many people enjoy the cruise after 4 days of pounding the parks. I am thinking about 1 day before the cruise at AKL, 3 day cruise and then 2 days at the all stars. It is really nice to arrive at least one day prior to you cruise. Then you don't have to stress about missing your cruise due to late flights......OK..I think I answered it. Go to the parks 1st. Then if you flight is late, you wont miss the cruise, you will be just getting late to your resort.

[renda460]

We have done the cruise after Disney and love ending the vaca all relaxed. This trip (next week), we will do Disney after the cruise because we felt the crowds may be less at Disney after the cruise (later in Aug). Plus we have BLT reserved for the Disney portion so that is something to look forward to.

If you did Disney before the cruise, could you get BLT for an additional 2 days? If not, would you stay someplace else and then switch to BLT for the 1 night? That may be a pain, but I wouldnt give up your BLT ressie. It looks so nice there.

The downfall to flying home after the cruise is that you have to time your flight with the time you get off the cruise. You cant book a flight too early to avoid the chance of missing it. Last time for us, we had about 4 hours to kill. We didn't want to drive out of our way to Disney to hang out there, so we ended up finding a McDonalds play area and hung out there. It ended up being the longest day and at that point we just wanted to get home. If you do Disney after, you should get a full day in at the parks that day. So there are advantages to both ways.

[mikerry]

We did the Land and Sea package where the parks were first, cruise was second. It worked out well, but to be honest, we were so excited to go on our first cruise, that we kind of zipped through the parks adventure time waiting to board.

This time we are doing our own "land and sea" in March 2010, but we are doing the cruise first. We thought we would prefer to fly out the day before, then board the ship. Let's get this party started!

Last time, it was kind of a let down to get off of the ship and have to fly home right away. Another thing is that we didn't have our "land-legs" back yet so I had to take a Dramamine to fly home (which I don't have to do to fly usually). I had that groovy, "I'm on a wave feeling" for about 6 hours after disembarking.

[kcashner]

We've done it both ways, and I seriously prefer parks first.

At the parks, mom is still "on duty" making sure everyone is fed and gets to do some of what they want to do, etc. On the cruise, MOM is on vacation too!

You do a lot of walking in the parks, the cruise is more relaxing. The kids get really spoiled on the cruise--Mickey Bars on demand, leave your PJs on the floor and you'll find them folded on your bed when you return, etc. We find it easier to deal with the idea that MOM controls food and snacks at the parks, no room service, etc...then move to the "full service" of the cruise...then re-entry into the "real world." When the parks come after the cruise, kids are too used to service, and I'm not going to wait on them!

Finally, you're going to stay at the World the night before anyhow. Save yourself the driving and shuffling back and forth by doing ONE stay at the World. If you have a rental car, this is less of an issue, but you'll still save a trip. MCO to WDW to Port Canaveral to MCO if you do parks before.
MCO to WDW to Port Canaveral to WDW to MCO if you do before and after.

[HappyGrumpy]

We have done 2 December L&S. We do 4 days in the parks and then the 4 day cruise. Even though I cry every time I get off the boat cruising after the parks is the perfect way to end your vacation! Its like a big red bow on the end of your vacation!

[Macavity]

Our group just finished a cruise then land... never again!

We were so relaxed after the cruise, and then to go into commando mode (i.e. WDW aprks) was just not cool!

If there is anyway you can swing it, do the land first, then cruise.

[Slark]

Agree with most here. We've done it both ways, but land first is the best.

[We Luv Disney]

We just finished our land and sea adventure and we love going to the parks first. We spent 8 days visiting the all of the parks and ended our vacation with a four day cruise on the Wonder. It was fun and very relaxing.

[shoes99]

Land first, then cruise, then lunch at DTD before we head back to the airport for our flight home after our 4 night cruise on the Wonder.

[Waltworshiper]

Definitely land before sea. You will be tired doing the parks, and it is nice to sit back and relax the rest of your vacation!

[Mouse Maineac]

Thank you for all the wonderful advice. I think we will go with the parks prior to the cruise!

[amynic]

Hello fellow Mainer. We are planning our third park/cruise vacation, will always do the parks first as they can be exhausting, much more so than the cruise. We like to fly down a day early whenever we cruise because we like to allow for inclement weather. Just flew back from Vegas 2 weeks ago and got held up on the east coast for nearly six hours because of bad weather in Atlanta. Winter is even less predictable. The hotel at the Orlando airport...Hilton I think, is great to stay that first night then head to the parks or port the next day, rested and ready to go.