Help! Which option would you choose?

[stickeymouse]

Can't make up my mind! Both choices would be for the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Choice A:

Fly to Miami on Saturday. Depart Sunday on a 5-night cruise on the Magic to Cozumel and Castaway. Leave the ship on Friday morning and drive to Orlando. Stay 2 nights at WDW or Universal and leave on Sunday.

Choice B (same week as above):

Fly to Orlando Friday evening. Stay at WDW or Universal for 3 nights (Thanksgiving weekend, so crowded!). Depart Monday on a 4-night cruise on the Dream to Castaway and Nassau. Leave ship on Friday and spend another 2 nights at WDW or Universal. Leave on Sunday.

I think choice B would be a little more pricey (more days at resorts/parks) but would spare us from having to rent a car and drive from Miami to Orlando. Both choices would allow us to hit up either Mickey's VM Christmas Party OR the Disapalooza party in Diagon Alley.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MouseMomx2]

Choice A - no question. We really dislike Nassau and love the Magic.

 

[plutos1fan]

Can't make up my mind! Both choices would be for the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Choice A:

Fly to Miami on Saturday. Depart Sunday on a 5-night cruise on the Magic to Cozumel and Castaway. Leave the ship on Friday morning and drive to Orlando. Stay 2 nights at WDW or Universal and leave on Sunday.

Choice B (same week as above):

Fly to Orlando Friday evening. Stay at WDW or Universal for 3 nights (Thanksgiving weekend, so crowded!). Depart Monday on a 4-night cruise on the Dream to Castaway and Nassau. Leave ship on Friday and spend another 2 nights at WDW or Universal. Leave on Sunday.

I think choice B would be a little more pricey (more days at resorts/parks) but would spare us from having to rent a car and drive from Miami to Orlando. Both choices would allow us to hit up either Mickey's VM Christmas Party OR the Disapalooza party in Diagon Alley.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I think I would pick option A because you get a longer cruise and you would avoid the Thanksgiving weekend crowd. Plus, the magic has been refurbished. You might get to see the new Tangled the Musical on the Magic if you go with option A.

Best of luck making a decision!

Plutos1fan

 

[Dug720]

I would go with the Dream simply because I have no desire to go to Cozumel and I'm not into either the AquaDunk OR the brazillian-themed MDR on the Magic.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Hmm that's a tough one but I would probably choose A to avoid CRAZY crowds at the parks.
I would also prefer a Caribbean to Bahamas cruise. The other thing is that option B would be a bit choppy, you would be packing and unpacking 3 times.

 

[ldo]

I think parks will be much less crowded for A. Flights likely to be cheaper for B-maybe enough to offset extra hotel/park days. But, I think more hurricane/bad weather is in the Gulf vs. Bahamas at that time of year. We have been in Cozumel right before Thanksgiving and waves were crashing on top of beach huts and all beaches were closed and very rough seas.

 

[stickeymouse]

How busy are the parks the Sunday after Thanksgiving? Do they die down that day?

 

[Flossbolna]

We sailed (on the Fantasy) the week after Thanksgiving. The weather in Port Canaveral was really chilly, certainly not pool weather. When we got into the Caribbean it was lovely and warm. Our day at Castaway Cay was also very nice, but people told us that the three days before they had a cold front coming through that made it rainy and chilly. I think that time of year if you want warm weather, the Caribbean is your safer bet.

Also, I have been to Cozumel twice with DCL and really liked it. We did a snorkel excursion one year and then the Playa Mia excursion the next year. I thought it was quite a beautiful island!

 

[SevenWonkas]

Choice A. Longer cruise and further south.

Do you have to do WDW or Universal afterwards? (I know, I know, I'm asking this on a Disney message board). Is there something in Miami you can do instead so you don't have to drive to orlando?

 

[stickeymouse]

Choice A. Longer cruise and further south.

Do you have to do WDW or Universal afterwards? (I know, I know, I'm asking this on a Disney message board). Is there something in Miami you can do instead so you don't have to drive to orlando?

I think we are Orlando-bound no matter what. I think a 3 hour drive is worth 2 days in the park.

 

[Justacruiser]

I checked the cruise prices for both and they are really pretty close in price. I would probably pick Option A, but I am not a fan of hitting the parks after the cruise. But after the days at the park in option B you would need a cruise!

 

[JimGA]

I would do option B, I like the Dream ship. Also, I would either fly in on Saturday or Sunday, stay at a Disney resort, enjoy the pools, Disney Springs, walk around the Boardwalk grab a bite to eat at a restaurant.

Maybe if you flew in on Saturday, do a day at the park of your choosing for Sunday, but buy enough days on your park tickets to allow you to return after the cruise so you will save some money on multiple day tickets.

 

[darkwing818]

I'd go with Option B, wouldn't want to drive from Miami to Orlando after cruising. Also for what's worth we always do a few days at the parks before & after our Disney cruises.

 

[pgroom48]

That is a tough one. I like the reimaged Magic but am not a fan of Cozumel. On the other hand you get an extra day on the ship. The Dream is scheduled for Dry Dock in October so it will also have some new things that will be neat and it's the one we have sailed most often. Do you have kids? Are they going with you? How old are they and what are they into? I'm not big on Universal etc but my kids are a little young for it. Then again, I would take a Disney Cruise over any of the parks including WDW. That's just me. As for the drive from Miami to Orlando, it really isn't bad at all. Yes, it's farther than Port Canaveral but it's pretty much all Turnpike.

 

[stickeymouse]

Would be going with 8 family members, including a 3 y.o. and a 7 y.o.

 

[ktate82]

That would be a tough one. If it was our family, we would go with option B just because my son is Star Wars crazy, and the Dream would be the big draw. If you don't have any kids into that, then I would go with option A. In January, we flew into MCO and drove to Miami the next day for a 4 day cruise, then afterwards, drove back to MCO all because flights were much cheaper. It's not a bad drive. We got a minivan on the way down that had a DVD player so watched movies on the way down. I think it is going to depend on what your group's wants are.

 

[dmetcalfrn]

I would go with option B for the Dream drydock enhancements and go to MVMCP either way!

 

[k3chantal]

Choice A - no question. We really dislike Nassau and love the Magic.

I'm with you. The minute I read Nassau I thought "Choce A". We had a 'good' time on the Dream with that exact itinerary but not the over the moon, oh my goodness isn't this the best thing on the planet, we have had on our other two trips on the Fantasy and Wonder. I found Nassau incredibly expensive for what you received.

 

[ajgardner]

• Funny, I read the two choices and thought to myself - obviously, without a doubt choice B, not even a question. Then I read the comments; it just goes to show how very different everyone's opinions are. My reason for choice B is the extra time in the parks, and I prefer the Dream over the Magic - especially with some of the new areas the Dream will have after dry dock. I'm not a fan of Nassau, but could either find something to do that I would enjoy or better yet, enjoy the ship while others are gone ( our family always tries to find an opportunity to stay on the ship will everyone else is in port. ). The ports don't really matter much to me. It's really such a personal choice, so think about what is most important to your family and what you all enjoy the most.

 

[stickeymouse]

Think we will stick with Option A. Less expensive, more time on the ship, and we'll get to experience the Magic for the first time. Not sure I'd want to be in the parks over Thanksgiving weekend anyway. Thanks, all, for the wonderful input!