Parks pre/post cruise or not at all?

[mhingher]

We will be going in our 2nd cruise in November. Our first one was out of Miami, and this one is out of Port Canaveral so we were planning to fly down a few days earlier to spend in the parks. I've been watching flights and it looks like we can save money if we fly down just 2 days before (an evening in DTD and a day in a park) and then fly home the night after the cruise. Did anyone ever go into a park right after coming off the ship? We would also have until about 4pm the next day before leaving for the airport.

My other thought is that this is too much, and we should just fly down the day before our cruise. I'm not sure how my kids will handle staying near the parks and not going in? They will be 5 and 8.

 

[ewerstruly]

We did parks with Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party after our last cruise. Everyone was wiped out pooped. And, I still felt seasick (for several days after debarking). This time, we're doing parks first.

 

[vinotinto]

I would say no parks. It's expensive to buy 2-day tickets for everyone (the first. 2 days are the most expensive) and you are going to just feel rushed.

We're driving down the day before and just ah going out at the hotel (Hilton).

The last day, you have to get up early (they want you out of there), so everyone may not be that energetic at the parks to take advantage of it.

 

[owensamo]

We've done this kind of trip - with a cruise bracketed by park days - and it was fine. I would try to make the post-cruise days as laid-back as possible, and remember that you actually have to pay for food (DH almost walked out of PC's food court with milk once after a cruise because he was so used to just going to grab it for our DD!). We've also stayed before and after at DVC resorts with our DD (around 7 at the time) and done no parks - we hit DTD, did some mini golf and resort-hopped and had a lot of fun.

We try to squeeze as much out of our vacation as possible, so I would probably add the days myself. Since you'll be there in November (I can't tell when - your signature was cut off), look for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party dates for tickets (which can help with park time), and plan to enjoy the holiday decorations across the resort.

 

[Goofylou]

I was just looking on here to find out about getting info about getting from fantasy to WDW in august - what is the earliest we can get off the ship? - how long do the DCL transfers take? we have a full day we day we get off the ship and would like to spend it in epcot after dropping bags at beach club.

Do you think it will be too much to cope with? I was going to leave fantasy before breakfast due to travel sickness!

 

[basketlacey]

The best park day we've ever had was after getting off a three day cruise. We went straight to our resort, checked in then hit the parks. It was a weekday and we managed to hit three parks including going back to our resort to bring in luggage and grab QS dinner. It was fabulous!

 

[Autumnslight]

I'm struggling with the same dilemma! We're going on our first cruise (3 nights from Port Canaveral), and the way the flight times and prices worked out, we're actually spending two nights at a Disney resort before the cruise, plus two nights after the cruise. Our plan is to spend our arrival afternoon and night at the resort, swimming and having dinner, then the next day we'll have breakfast at Chef Mickey's, go to Disney Springs, more swimming at the resort, and dinner at the Boardwalk area. When we get back from the cruise, we'll spent that day swimming and hanging out at the resort, then dinner at 1900 Park Fare, and then watching the fireworks from the GF or Poly. Our last full day, we're planning more swimming, going over to AKL to check out the savannah view points and have lunch at Saana, then back to the resort to hang out and swim, and dinner at 'Ohana.

I'm still trying to restrain myself from buying park tickets and trying to cram park time into the trip too. I'm sure we'll have plenty to do without the parks, and planning park time is probably just too much. Plus the cost for a 2 or 3 day ticket is ridiculous. But I'm having trouble fathoming being RIGHT THERE and not going to the parks, LOL. I've heard from tons of people who've done no-park trips though, and it was all positive, so I'm going to try to give it a shot!

I had the same concerns about my kids being upset about not going to the parks as well (mine are 4 and 8). I just explained to them that we could go on a Disney Cruise and stay at the resorts, but that we wouldn't also be able to go to the parks. I made sure they understood that we would be right by the parks, and we would be able to see them, but we would NOT be able to go in, or go on the rides. They both claim to be okay with them, and as we approach our trip, I'm reinforcing the idea of a no-park trip every now and then. I guess we'll see how it works out when we're actually there.

Good luck with your decision, and have a great trip!

 

[Sir William]

We've visited the parks both pre and post-cruise. I prefer the pre-cruise as it allows you to expend some of that pent up excitement and energy, and then relax and rejuvenate on the cruise. Added benefit is that you arrive a few days before the cruise so don't have the stress of worrying if you'll make the ship in time. We had plenty of time on embarkation day to do our last minute packing, have a leisurely breakfast at our resort, and then catch the DCL bus to the port.

 

[Drusilla99]

We've done both. Hubby, dd15 & dd12 prefer before cruise, I prefer after. They like to do parks & relax on the cruise. I'm still on edge from packing & getting everything together, so I enjoy the relaxation on the rise, & then I'm ready to attack the parks.

 

[Sir William]

I was just looking on here to find out about getting info about getting from fantasy to WDW in august - what is the earliest we can get off the ship? - how long do the DCL transfers take? we have a full day we day we get off the ship and would like to spend it in epcot after dropping bags at beach club.

Do you think it will be too much to cope with? I was going to leave fantasy before breakfast due to travel sickness!

The ship usually starts disembarkation between 7 and 7.30. The DCL bus to the resorts takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Each bus generally goes to 2-3 resorts, so if you're the first resort, about an hour. If you're at the last resort plan about 90 minutes. We check in, leave our bags in the room or with bell services if it's not ready, then head for the parks. We're usually there by 10 or 11 at the latest, and we usually like to go to Epcot that day as that is about when World Showcase opens.

 

[MeLaNie9]

We've also done both.
1st time on the Dream was just me and my boys, we had planned to get off the ship and go to a park that day but the kids ended up choosing to stay at the resort and swim that day (We stayed for 4 days but had purchased 3 day tickets) and we hit the parks the next day. However, it was exhausting for me - it was August and so hot and humid (we never go to WDW in the summer), the kids ended up begging incessantly for a double stroller which I ended up pushing, of course. And my older son was 7! It was that experience that led me to do the opposite on our next Dream cruise (this time with DH) - parks first then relaxing cruise.
We have done one cruise with no parks - it was a surprise for the kids and was over a weekend were the kids had Friday off of school, we flew in early morning, took DCL bus to port and boarded, then back to airport after disembarkation (we were very lucky that Cleveland weather cooperated). My older son was somewhat incredulous at being so close but not visiting the parks, however he quickly understood that we were fitting the trip in around their school schedule and parks just could not happen.

 

[ludari]

I say if you have the time I would definitely suggest visiting the parks before cruise. IMHO I feel spoiled by the entire cruise staff when on a cruise and when I visited the parks afterward my cruise I feel less special.

 

[ForMyBoys]

We didn't have time to hit the park pre-cruise but our flight after the cruise was at 7:55 pm so we decided to hit MK that day. We had late dining so we ate at cabanas and kept our luggage and did the early walk off. We were off the boat by 7:15, got picked up by the Avis shuttle and had our car rented and were on the road by 8am. We were standing on main street at 10am. We have non-expiration tickets (except for my 4 year old who didn't need tickets when we bought the 10 day non-expiration tickets) so we just used one of our days. I bought the one day ticket for my 4 year on on my phone on the drive to MK and was able to reserve fast pass plus on my phone, except it kept picking times after we had to leave (we had to leave at 5pm) so I went to a fast pass plus location and they helped me move it around to get the 3 fast pass plus items moved to the afternoon, which was really nice because it wasn't that busy in the morning but got super crowded in the afternoon so we were happy we had picked our fast pass plus times from 1 to 4pm. Overall we had a nice day. I will say we didn't even worry about what rides or whatnot since we had limited time. The kids wanted to do sorcerer's of the magic kingdom so we picked up extra cards for that first, went on the jungle cruise and hung out on that side of the park. The weather was really nice and we had a nice time.

Give yourself some extra time to get out of the park. We should have left at 4:30 instead of 5. When we got outside we were told the monorail to parking was down so we had to wait for the ferry and we didn't get on the road to the airport until almost 6 so I was a bit stressed out as I've seen long lines at the airport before. Luckily there weren't long lines that day and our flight ended up being delayed by 45 mins so it all worked out. I would say though, if you have the time I would go before your cruise and on the last day I would just enjoy downtown disney. Rent the boats there, that is a lot of fun!

 

[lin7]

We did cruise first then parks after and it didnt work out well for us. we did the fantasy cruise then two weeks at disney. THe first week back at the parks some of us were still recuperating from motion sickness. I heard about others mentioning this, that some feel motion sickness once they hit land, and that's exactly what happened to my mom. So for our next trip we're likely going to do back to back cruise or parks first then cruise after.

 

[HookdonWDW]

We sandwich cruises between park days, and go to the parks both before and after. Good times!

 

[anricat]

Last June we did a 3-day on the Dream, then two days in the parks upon return. We got off the boat, went straight to the resort (POR) and then on to Epcot. We were at Epcot by 11:30 and had a fantastic day. The next day we did MK and we were there at rope drop. Had a great day (with a nap break). We flew home the following morning. It was a wonderful vacation. I was a little land-sick (just vertigo, no nausea) the first day at Epcot, but not enough that it really bothered me a lot. I noticed it LESS on the rides and when walking and more when we were just standing in line. I would do it that way again in a heartbeat! We felt really relaxed after coming back from the cruise and it was nice to feel relaxed and rested up.

PLUS we were able to skip pretty much every character interaction because DD had just met them all on the ship. Well, we did Gaston, A&E and Woody and Jesse, but they aren't on the ship. (Well, A&E weren't at the time.)

 

[alldiz]

If time allows I try to do parks before and after a cruise. After flying I try to milk it as much as I can!
If I had to choose one I would do precruise....no chance of missing ship
Happy planning
Kerri

 

[mhingher]

Thanks for all the input! I forgot to mention another factor which some of you mentioned, and that's the ridiculous high cost of 2-3 day tickets! As a family of 4 we are already spending over $3000 for the flights and cruise. As much as I want to make the most of our trip, visiting the parks doesn't seem realistic. Maybe a day at the pool and DTD will be the best option? A nice dinner at California Grill wouldn't hurt either

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks for all the input! I forgot to mention another factor which some of you mentioned, and that's the ridiculous high cost of 2-3 day tickets! As a family of 4 we are already spending over $3000 for the flights and cruise. As much as I want to make the most of our trip, visiting the parks doesn't seem realistic. Maybe a day at the pool and DTD will be the best option? A nice dinner at California Grill wouldn't hurt either

I'll just point out that there's massive reconstruction going on at DTD currently, due to be finished in 2016. There are reports that it's a real mess over there. Some feel it's not so bad. So be forewarned.

 

[alldiz]

I'll just point out that there's massive reconstruction going on at DTD currently, due to be finished in 2016. There are reports that it's a real mess over there. Some feel it's not so bad. So be forewarned.

Good to know thanks. Thought the walkways were done.... What are they doing?
Thanks.... Haven't been on the boards until recently... Feel out of the loop lol
Kerri