WDW after makes more sense...to us.

[kfamilylovesdisney]

We have tried both.

Cruising first was a better experience for us for a couple of reasons:
- packing: You need more formal wear, more of a variety of outfits and shoes, and you need to pack wisely for the cruise. For WDW we just need shorts and bathing suits. We are also DVC members so we have a washer and dryer in case we are running low on clothes towards the end of vacation. When we went to WDW first I was stressing (while on vacation at WDW) to make sure I repacked and organized everything correctly for the cruise. I prefer to pack and worry about this before vacation not on vacation.
- the disembarkation blues hit us hard, so we like looking forward to WDW
- We need the exercise! Lol! After eating all that cruise food we need to walk it off in WDW.

We had fun with both experiences, but it is unanimous for our family that we prefer to cruise first

 

[Linda67]

As others have mentioned; if you have visited the parks plenty of times before and aren't going full on commando, I think it's wonderful to have WDW to look forward to when you get off the ship

That's what we always do

DH says that he couldn't stand getting off the ship and heading straight back to the airport

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We prefer the opposite. We like to go to WDW first and then the cruise. We go fast and furious through the parks so we look forward to some R&R on the cruise.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We prefer the opposite. We like to go to WDW first and then the cruise. We go fast and furious through the parks so we look forward to some R&R on the cruise.

Agreed. Also packing is no problem. We have a separate bag just for the wdw leg of the trip and don't even have to bring in the cruise luggage... This has been the case for our two DRIVING trips.

We also didn't have formal wear this time for the 3 day (did for the 7 day but just left in the car until cruise day.)

The Disney freak inside me tells me the ideal is one or two days to get your Dis vacation started and then at least one if you can to keep it going after debarkation
Hit Orlando coming, hit Orlando going. I loved that for the first trip!

But I'll never forget sitting under the castle for Wishes with my mom n dad after we just all had surprised them at the contemporary Wave for dinner. (They had no idea we had booked the cruise to go with them until that night before at Disney!) Mom had watched all the families at MK all day and was sad seeing all the lil princesses. Then they go to dinner, and their 3 grown up princesses from 3 different states were all there! And then they monorailed back to MK with their Twinkies to watch Wishes and Monsters and Elect Parade together as a family. The next day, we all embarked together on our very first fam DCL for any of us! Disney is a really strong tradition in our family. It just didnt seem right not to be with them when they took thier first Dis anniversary cruise! (I know, what a sacrifice.)

My point is that starting the cruise together at WDW, I just can't imagine it any other way!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

This will be our first cruise, but we chose the parks first because we have to go a specific week (kids school schedule dictates our vacation) and the cruise we wanted, a 3 night, sails from Thurs-Sun, which ended up being perfect since I would MUCH rather run around the parks during the week than a weekend. So, it's 4 nights in WDW then a 3 night cruise for us!

 

[pipertoad]

We are doing a 4 night on the dream aug 25. We will stay at pop the night before the cruise and then AoA for three nights after during the labour day weekend. We did't have much choice when to do WDW (before or after) as we wanted the 4 night cruise not a 3 and it had to be that week. We are hoping it all works out great as I expect it will. We have been to WDW couple of times before so looking to get a Disney fix and have a relaxing time so i think after will be great. Like a previous poster said it will give us something to forward to as we disembark! Just need something to look forward to after WDW.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[franluvsbubba]

One of the many things I see on the DCL threads is that people enjoy going to WDW first then the cruise instead of WDW after the cruise. We booked our first Cruise/WDW trip for this September - 4 night aboard the dream. The WDW before or after issue got me thinking. So I analyzed it.

Cruise then WDW
Sat. - leave house about 6am and drive down to Downtown Disney. Do dinner and other things and then head to hotel by port.
Sun - cruise starts
Thur - cruise ends, drive over to WDW, check in and be to park by 11.
Friday and Saturday - parks
Sunday - a 2-3 hours in park then head home.
So in the above we do a 4 night cruise and 3 nights at WDW. We get two full days at WDW, one mostly full day and then one with a few hours. In this scenario I would only need to take 5 days off from work.

WDW then Cruise.
Thurs - leave house about 6am and drive to WDW. Check in and at parks probably about 3pm.
Friday & Saturday - parks
Sunday - park for 2-3 hours and then to port.
Sunday - Thurs - cruise.
Thurs - leave cruise and then head home.
So in the above we do a 4 night cruise and 3 nights at WDW. We get two full days at WDW, 1 half day, 1 day with a few hours. In this scenario I would need to take 6 days off from work.

Doing the Cruise then WDW seems less rushed and gives us more time plus that little extra time at DTD.

Love to hear comments and other people's experiences.

I think we're doing the same Cruise as u!!! We go the 8th of Sept thru 12th. We are thn going to WDW thru the 20th after. We always do WDW after cause it gives us something to look forward to as we sadly leave our ship.

 

[franluvsbubba]

This is what we have found to be the case for us after 8 cruises combined with WDW or DL. After not having to deal with the crowds or lines on the ship, WDW kind of ruins the relaxing mood we have after the cruise. We have planned WDW after twice. The first time we went with friends and it was okay, but DS had strep the morning we got off the ship so wasn't quite as fun for him. The second time we never made it to the park. The kids fell asleep on the way to Orlando after a delayed departure after the PC cruise, so we just went to the hotel and were able to get an early check in so we could nap, then spent the evening at DTD before our flight out the next day.

You don't say what kind of tickets you have. We only go to the parks on days we can stay from opening until closing. We use 10 day NE passes. You would be using four days worth of tickets but only spending three days worth of time in the parks.

I don't know. I guess we r just very active and fit as well as used to the go, go, go of Dis cause it was never a big thing for us to go Frm the relaxation of the cruise to the "chaos" of Dis. We are always just thrilled tht r vacation is not fully over yet. I say it depends on ur personality.

 

[ChristineandLiv]

This is such a helpful thread. We have a 4-day Dream cruise booked for Nov 2014. We are also trying to combine our first ever WDW trip with it. In order to minimize DD's days out of school, we will have to do a bulk of the days after the cruise. However, I've come off of our last two cruises completely exhausted, so doing Disney after scares me. Maybe I will relax a little more on the ship this time since I've been on her before, and save the energy for WDW.

 

[Zeppelin]

This is such a helpful thread. We have a 4-day Dream cruise booked for Nov 2014. We are also trying to combine our first ever WDW trip with it. In order to minimize DD's days out of school, we will have to do a bulk of the days after the cruise. However, I've come off of our last two cruises completely exhausted, so doing Disney after scares me. Maybe I will relax a little more on the ship this time since I've been on her before, and save the energy for WDW.

honestly- that was my big concern for the longest time...we actually did nothing, except laundry, the day we disembarked (Sat) then went to WDW the next day (Sun)....fatigue was definitely not an issue...