Adding park days AFTER dcl...

[Clojel]

so the last time we cruised, we added 2 park days before our 4 night on the Dream and it worked out well bc the parks can be crazy hectic and the cruise is more relaxing. But, this time, we’ll have more time available after the cruise than before. Can anyone talk me into adding days after?

 

[mernin]

We did both in Feb 2017. Had 2 days before, 2 after. Before seemed better because the cruise was more relaxing but the timing after seemed to work easier for our schedule. It didn’t seem odd to have it after, and have it planned for a few days after the cruise we have planned in early 2019.

 

[FigmentSpark]

When I got off the ship, I was choking up a bit. It was "over". But we had 2 days in WDW to look forward to next. We drove over to Disney Springs in the morning, checked into our hotel just after lunch, spent the afternoon in the pool and dinner at Narcossee's. Fireworks from our balcony rounded out the night. Then, we made RD the next morning and did Magic Kingdom hard. By the time dinner was over, we were ready to say goodbye to the Mouse. That last bit of touring just gave us our final fill and it was enough.

I think if we'd gone home right after the cruise, I might have felt like I missed something, but the pace of WDW touring made me grateful to be done, even though I loved every minute of it.

 

[Ravenne]

We did park days after a 4 nighter on the Dream, and were really, really glad we did. The 4 night cruise (our first one) felt too short, and felt like it ended abruptly. It seemed like a buzzkill to have to get off the ship. Going to the parks helped ease the withdrawl. We're parks veterans so we didn't feel compelled to rush, run, and do everything, plus we were pretty tired from the cruise so we were going at a much slower pace than usual. The nice thing about that was we slowed down and saw the parks in a way we hadn't before, experiences, rides, activities we didn't do before, while still getting in our usual must-do rides.

 

[mousefan73]

Our trip is such. 5 night before cruise ( 4 night bahamas) and one night post cruise. Our home flight is a late evening/ international so we wanted a day of “rest” after cruise as a buffer. We are then buying a package but adding additional days ( 2 for after cruise). Tickets are valid for 14 days so we are good. The cost per day fir our post cruise is then cheap.

 

[Poncey]

We went to a park hotel for 3 nights with one full day in the parks & then on a 7 day cruise. After the cruise we stayed at the Contemporary for a night without going in to the parks. It was a nice restful day where we slept off the cruise before we had to fly home early the next day.. If I had to do it again, I would do it that way. Your mileage may vary.

 

[mkh531]

I much prefer going to the parks after a cruise to handle the “re entry” to life better. They kick you off the ship so early in the morning that it seems so grim to go straight home. Staying one night at a Disney hotel with time to eat a fun character meal at a leisurely pace before going to the airport is so much better. You don’t even need park tickets, just a day at the pool/resort.

 

[anricat]

We thought doing the parks after was great. I would definitely do it that way again. As another said, it was so early when we got off the ship, it was nice to look forward to going to the parks.

 

[phinz]

We always add three days after. It allows my wife to walk off her sea legs, and if you're going to go to The Happiest Petri Dish on Earth to get sick, it might as well be *after* your really expensive cruise.

 

[RedSox68]

so the last time we cruised, we added 2 park days before our 4 night on the Dream and it worked out well bc the parks can be crazy hectic and the cruise is more relaxing. But, this time, we’ll have more time available after the cruise than before. Can anyone talk me into adding days after?

We've done both. We prefer days at the parks before the cruise, but we enjoyed our time post-cruise also. At least you get off the ship refreshed and ready to hit the parks for a different kind of experience. Just pace yourself that first day

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We tried it both ways, doing a 6 night stay at WDW before the Eastern Caribbean in 2016 and a 6 night stay after the Western Caribbean in 2017. Based on this small sample, we decided that we prefer post-cruise park visits so we did our WDW stay after our b2b cruises on the Magic last month. One of the major things for us was the fact that as DVC members who are part of the senior generation, we are now very low-key park visitors. The cruise seems more hectic than our resort stays so we actually unwind from the higher activity level of the cruise. Another factor is that we enjoy our dining experiences, both during the cruise and at WDW. When we did the park stay prior to the cruise, I felt like I should avoid eating things that I might get “for free” on the ship. With the post-cruise visit, we found that we were ready to eat a little lighter after 10 nights on board and so didn’t feel deprived when we only booked half as many dining reservations as we would typically do during a WDW stay and I didn’t feel like I really needed a soft serve ice cream fix every day like I need one on the ship.

In the end, any time at WDW along with a DCL cruise makes for a great vacation, so enjoy your holiday whichever you decide!

 

[mmmears]

We've done a few days before and after and it's much, much easier to get off that ship in the morning knowing you are goig to Disney World instead of getting on an airplane and going home. We were surrounded by sad-looking people but having a few days at WDW definitely made us feel better about the cruise being over.

 

[mmouse37]

We have done it both ways....while I prefer to do WDW before the cruise I have no problem booking after the cruise if that is the only way to get some more Disney time!!!

MJ

 

[bumbershoot]

We’re a little different because we like to go to Universal rather than Disney after a cruise.

The Happiest Petri Dish on Earth

Now that’s funny.

 

[econwiz]

We always took the advice from others and did the sea portion after the land portion. One thing that was always depressing to us was how abruptly the vacation ends on the cruise. Pack the night before, wake up crack-of-dawn, rush through breakfast, and get escorted off the ship. It led to a lot of withdrawals.

We decided to change it up two years ago and started with 4 days on the cruise before 4 days at the park. It was so great! It always takes me 2 days to wind down from work anyway. The cruise was perfect for that. Then, instead of dreading disembarkation day, we had 4 days at WDW to look forward to!

 

[fhtpdw20]

I did 4 days before and 4 days after a 3 day cruise. I enjoyed it because: A. I was solo and did not have a schedule, B. My focus was not doing commando rides but tours and experiences, and C. The cruise allowed the parks time to change over from Halloween to Christmas. I liked having what seemed like different 3 trips in one.

 

[Halefamilyof6]

We did cruise than WDW...it made paying for food so much harder, because everything was already paid for on the cruise, LOL! But, this time, we are sandwiching the cruise between our WDW trip. We'll see how that works out.

 

[mmmears]

We did cruise than WDW...it made paying for food so much harder, because everything was already paid for on the cruise, LOL! But, this time, we are sandwiching the cruise between our WDW trip. We'll see how that works out.

We have always "sandwiched" our cruise and I'd happily do that again. Funny about the food, but after the cruise we were so stuffed that we didn't want to eat much at all the following days and I ended up canceling a few ADRs. So I guess it saved us money that way.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We were going to do WDW pre cruise, but when the itineraries came out, we switched from a July cruise to the 8 day June 22 cruise, which will mandate WDW post cruise.

If we stay at WDW, will DCL collect our luggage from out stateroom, and have it delivered directly to our resort room if we book the DCL transfer?

 

[elvispursley]

Our first cruise we didn't do any WDW days. It was SO depressing hearing our table mates talk about how they were going to spend 1-week at WDW and then to disembark and see everyone getting on buses heading to the resorts and we were heading toward the airport (I teared up literally). So the next cruise we spent 3 days at a WDW resort and went to Univ. Studios and decided to surprise our kids by adding an additional week to our 7-day cruise. We got on a bus headed to the airport but instead of heading into the terminal, we crossed the street and headed to the rental car agency. The kids had no clue what was happening. I told them I forgot something and needed to drive back to get it. They were so surprised when we crossed under the Welcome to Disney World sign.

I personally would always do the parks after the cruise for one big reason...time zone! Coming from the West Coast, it is so hard to get up early 3 hours earlier than what you're used to. We used those first few At Sea days to get adjusted. By the time our cruise was over, we were relaxed and ready to hit the parks! Granted, we have only ever taken 7-night or longer cruises, so it only really works well for us with that length of cruise. Otherwise, I think we'd do the park touring first and save the precious little cruise time for relaxing (but honestly, cruising less than 7-nights will likely never happen...we love it too much)!