How many days at WDW before the cruise?

[JanyJan]

We're booked on the Dream in Nov 2011 and I want to do a few days at WDW beforehand. I'm trying to decide what would be a reasonable number of days at the parks. I don't want to be so burnt on Disney out that I don't enjoy the cruise. Here are some facts that might help:

1) This will be our first trip to WDW and our first cruise.
2) DD will be almost 2 yo and DS will be 5.
3) DH is a college professor, so t would be best if he didn't miss teaching too many classes. He has to miss two the week of the cruise anyway. If we did 2 full days at WDW he wouldn't have to miss anymore. If we did 3-4 days he would have to miss one more class. If we did 5 days he would have to miss 2 more, which I think is too much.

Is two full days enough for a taste of Disney? Or should I try to push for 3-4 days, even if it means DH has to miss more work?

 

[CruznLexi]

I would go with at least 3-4 days.

 

[disneylove69]

Since the kids are so young you could do 1 day at the Magic Kingdom and 1 at Animal Kingdom (which I don't like but the kids might) or another park.

 

[skiingfast]

If you only do two days you will get half the experience, may as well just go to MK one day and call it good. Make WDW a separate trip.

Seriously I would do 4 so you have a designated day for each park. AK may be the best for 2yo as she will recognize some animals. Epcot will have a few things. I went when I was 4 and again at 15 and couldn't believe how much of Epcot I remembered.

 

[lisamarch]

I agree with the others - with kids that age, one day at MK might be enough. Then in a couple years when they are older and no longer napping, go back and do WDW for 7 days (minimum) and do it all.

 

[canabrits2]

If you haven't done WDW before, you'll be really tired if you try to do as much of it as you can "commando style" in a few days before the cruise. I'd pick one or two parks and spend 3 or 4 days. It's really nice to spend a day at the resort itself and use/enjoy its facilities. Good for rest too, especially if you're taking children.

 

[PearlySwan]

We just did this in June-July. We went to WDW for 5 days then on a 5 night Disney Wonder cruise. However, this was our kids' second trip to WDW as well as their 2nd time on a Disney cruise. Both our kids are ambulatory and only DS4 still takes a nap. I would recommend not to do WDW before the trip this time; or if your heart is really set on going to WDW I would recommend leaving two days before the cruise, spending a day at your resort on the day you travel to Orlando, then visiting Magic Kingdom for one day only. Your children are still very young so the cruise is the best bet for your family at this time. Our children cruised on the Disney Magic for 7 nights when DD was 5 and DS was only 3.5 months old! However, we didn't attempt to go to the parks during that trip. It would have been way too much to handle. Going to WDW for the first time before your cruise will tempt you to try to "do it all" adding unecessary stress to your vacation. Just doing the cruise, or going to Magic Kingdom for just one day, will afford you a more relaxing vacay and will also eliminate the need for missed time at work. Whatever you decide to do, you'll have a wonderful time with Disney!

 

[Disneydreamer5]

I would say 2 days would be plenty for a taste of Disney.
With your chlidrens ages you will need naps and breaks for sure.
For someone who has never been there we really can't explain to you how much there really is to see and do in the world. We try to tell newbees but until you experience it for yourself you won't truly understand.
Do your research and see what parks have things your children would be interested in and then plan to spend a day in each of them. I would say 2 parks at the most considering your childrens ages and the amount of time your DH can take off from work.
If you stay @ DW for 2 nights and 3 days you could visit a park early on arrival day, head back resort for a rest and then head back to the same park at night.
Then the next day you could do the same with another park.
Honestly, even that may be too much for you while the little ones. You know your children better then anyone and how much excitment they can take in what amount of time.
I agree with other posters. Get a taste of the world by perhaps just doing MK and then head off to your cruise......
You really want, at the very least, 7 days for your first time in DW in order to see as much as possiable and regardless you will still have a hard time seeing and doing everything. There are people here on the boards who go every year and they can tell you there is always something new to see or do so its difficult to get it all in within a short period of time.
Hope this helps you, but please know,It's Disney and you are in for the time of your life.

 

[tinkmom2]

If you've never been to Disney and want to see all the parks you need 4-5 days. The first day is normally spent as a travel day. By the time you get to the hotel and settle in it's usually after 3. (that's with a 10am arrival at air port) On the first day we usually go to Downtown Disney.
If you wanted to do only 2 parks I would suggest Epcot and MK. They are my favorite. We went to WDW 3 days before our bounceback 3 day cruise. We also attended MVMCP. 3 days at Disney is my minimum to get a taste. We also went during free dining this past November. Disney is a lot of walking and it relaxing to have the cruise afterwards. You can click on my trip report to see what Disney and the cruise are like at the bottom of my signature.

 

[ocean134]

I agree with the rest. As an experienced Disney Addict, I have to agree that there is so much to see and do. I too, given the concerns you have about your spouse missing work, take 2 days, visit Magic Kingdom (since that's the biggie) and give yourself some down time.

Since your children are so young, you know how much they can take. You will be traveling to FL, getting settled, hitting the parks and a cruise. That's alot. I bet that you will be back to WDW again in the future. Make that trip the big one. I always suggest to first timers to take no less than 4 days (as WDW as four parks). That's the bare miniumum in days. To really get a feel for the parks...7 days would be great...or more.

 

[CherylA]

If you haven't done WDW before, you'll be really tired if you try to do as much of it as you can "commando style" in a few days before the cruise. I'd pick one or two parks and spend 3 or 4 days. It's really nice to spend a day at the resort itself and use/enjoy its facilities. Good for rest too, especially if you're taking children.

Totally agree with this. Give yourselves 3 or 4 days, leave your travel days as non park days and do only one or two theme parks. I agree that Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are good picks with kids the ages yours are.

 

[DisneyDreamer09]

With kids that young, a single day at Magic Kingdom would make plenty of memories for them. I also agree that using your first day at your resort to just relax and go to the pool is a great idea. You could even do a character dinner experience your arrival night to get the kids excited for the next day!

When the kids are older, they will enjoy the other parks more, in my opinion.

I am also a teacher and schedule our WDW trips and cruises around the school year. It's hard for those who don't teach to understand.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide what is best for your family!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I agree with the rest. As an experienced Disney Addict, I have to agree that there is so much to see and do. I too, given the concerns you have about your spouse missing work, take 2 days, visit Magic Kingdom (since that's the biggie) and give yourself some down time.

Since your children are so young, you know how much they can take. You will be traveling to FL, getting settled, hitting the parks and a cruise. That's alot. I bet that you will be back to WDW again in the future. Make that trip the big one. I always suggest to first timers to take no less than 4 days (as WDW as four parks). That's the bare miniumum in days. To really get a feel for the parks...7 days would be great...or more.

 

[DisneyMagicMommy]

We are going to be booking a 7 night cruise for 2012 and we have already decided we will be going to WDW for 2 days beforhand and visiting the MK on both days. My 3 older kids have all been to Disney 2 times before but our youngest (who will be 2 and a half when we cruise) was in my tummy the last time we went. Since he is going to be so young still and since the others have been to all the parks we decided to just do a couple of days at MK to give him a taste of Disney. Then a few years after that we will go back and do a full blown week at WDW (with no cruise).

 

[JanyJan]

Thanks for all the input! We're definitely not commando-style people, so we definitely won't be pushing it with the kids. It sounds like 2 days would be plenty to get just a bit of WDW without overloading ourselves. We wouldn't try to see all the park in that time, in fact, we might just stick to MK for both days, with maybe one character meal. Plus, I think DH would really prefer to not take so many days off. I just wish the ticket prices weren't so high for the shorter stays! Oh well, at least we won't be playing for as many nights at the resort.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

I am doing 3 nights at AKV (12/26-12/29) and then onto our Dream Cruise (12/29-1/3/2011) next year. Just enough to do the parks and look at the the xmas decorations.

 

[GrumpyBelle]

2 days isn't enough to experience each of the parks. I would try for at least 4 so you could spend 1 full day in each park.

 

[Love_to_travel]

143 days

 

[disneychic]

2 days isn't enough to experience each of the parks. I would try for at least 4 so you could spend 1 full day in each park.

I agree -- at least 4 days.

 

[tinkmom2]

425 more days!