7 day vs. Land/Sea

[workinmom]

Made our 1st trip to WDW last October & the kids & I are ready to go again. DH would rather not spend the money, but I think he's outvoted! Anyway, I am really thinking about the 7 day Western in Oct 2003 or Jan 2004, but then I'm afraid that we will really miss WDW. If we do the Land/Sea is it better to make ressies through DU or just let them do the Cruise portion & book the WDW part myself. I did everything myself before & got a good rate w/codes, etc.... Also, any comments on cruising in Oct vs. Jan? We went om somewhere in the water & the day we spent on the private island was a complete washout. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[mivvers]

Hi there!
We did a land/sea in January and are going again in December. The first time we booked through Disney, the second through DU. I found the package to be really convenient, and I was ready for the boat after three days (oh, my aching feet!)

I'm not sure if this is typical, but it was CHILLY on our Jan. cruise. Couldn't get into Castaway Cay on the day we were supposed to have docked there, but luckily the next day (the last of our cruise) it warmed right up and the sea calmed down and we were able to dock. Had a GREAT day!

It was right at the beginning of January and so another bonus is that all the Christmas decorations were still up.

And BTW, my DH isn't too keen either about going again so soon, but that's what I said -- you're outvoted! I know he'll have a great time once we get there...and yours will too!

 

[kellyb2000]

I haven't done the 7day cruise yet, but have done the land/sea and both husband and I agree that if we could do it all over again we would skip the land portion and spend all week on the boat because the cruise was SO great. Of course, we didn't have children then, either...

 

[prymsu]

I would opt for the seven day cruise. If you have been to the parks before, then I don't think you will feel deprived if you skip the parks in order to do a seven day cruise. just my thoughts...

 

[randytenn]

Another vote for skipping the land portion. We did the Land/Sea in 2000, and felt extremely rushed in the 4 day land part. You just can't do WDW in 4 days. We almost ran from ride to ride, and were completely exhausted by the 4th day. By the time we got on the boat, the relaxation was great, but we were so tired, we didn't do too many activities.

We are less than 2 weeks away from our first 7 day cruise. I'm not really missing the park part. I'll save another 7 days for a park vacation, where we can stroll much more leisurly!

 

[Gitz]

OK OK, I'll buck the trend! I can't imagine being in Florida (not to mention anything Disney) where I could not ride Splash Mountain, have a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar, enjoy the daily parades, or wait in line excitedly for our turn on Test Track. The parks were my first taste of Florida and would be the reason to return.
Don't get me wrong, we took a 3 day Disney cruise a few years ago and really enjoyed ourselves, but I would need to do the whole "Disney Experience".

The good thing about however you choose - is you'll have a great time!