Best way to add WDW along w/ 7 night cruise?

[goofyfordisney]

HELP!

We are trying to plan our next WDW vacation--we want to do the 7 night cruise AND a few nights at WDW. This will be our second trip to WDW. Last time we spent 6 days at WDW and did the commando-style park hopping.

I know this is probably going to cost us a fortune! We just want to make the long and costly air flight worth it!

I have a few questions:

1) Which would you suggest: WDW first, then cruise or cruise first WDW last?

2) What is the most economical way of doing this? We don't have AP's (but would consider buying one to get a better deal)

3) Any travel agencies that you would suggest to help me plan this out?

I have been reading all of the posts on this board for awhile now...I wish the search function was working now!


Thanks in advance for your help!

Sue

 

[minnieandmickey]

I would say do WDW first then the cruise. You have so much more walking at WDW vs relaxing on the ship..Try using Dreams Unlimited Travel, they are great, I used them last year for my cruise and had the best service.
www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com

 

[MindydLeon]

I agree with "minnieandmickey" --- definitely do WDW first then finish with the 7 day cruise ... as you can see from my countdown ... that's what we are doing! ... I have been planning this trip for ages and I must admit ... I am absolutely obssesive about planning and have done an enormous amount of reading and research on the web, and from everything that I have read, WDW then the cruise is the way to go! I, too am from the west coast so I understand when you talk about the cost of airfare! (and we are a family of five ... so it certainly adds up!) One other piece of friendly advice ... do everything you can to go in the "off" season --- we were forced to travel in the summer this year and the cost is ridiculous when I think of how much we spent last year when we were able to go during the spring ... add the cost of your WDW leg of the trip and you are practically talking about a second mortgage! anyway, what is it that they say?

Ultimate Hopper Tickets to WDW? $250 per person
5 Nights in a Savannah Room at AKL? $1,000
7 Night Western Caribbean w/ Mickey? $7,500

Magic-al Memories to treasure for a lifetime? priceless

 

[CRSNDSNY]

1) Which would you suggest: WDW first, then cruise or cruise first WDW last?

We've done it both ways and much prefer going to WDW pre-cruise. We find that we get ourselves so worn out park hopping that we NEED a cruise after all of it! The cruise is the ideal way to relax after days in the park.

What is the most economical way of doing this? We don't have AP's (but would consider buying one to get a better deal)

In many cases, if you are planning on visiting WDW's parks more than five days it is more economical to get APs. You'll save on the price of park hopping, PLUS you'll be eligible for countless discounts and savings on Resort stays (visit www.mousesavers.com for numerous AP discounts, including resort discounts).

Another thing you may want to think about in order to save money on Resort stay is renting points from DVC members. We are renting points to stay two nights pre-cruise this coming December. Overall, we are paying $400 to stay in a Studio at the Boardwalk Villas when it would have normally cost 644.48. All I did was visit the DVC Rental Board on this site to put my bid request out and a member accepted.

ºOºBEST OF LUCK TO YOU!ºOº

btw, goofyfordisney, I LOVE your signature!!!

 

[anitad]

We are cruising in August for the first time, staying at the Swan for 3 days before the cruise and Portofino Bay 3 days after the cruise. Having spent many vacations in WDW we are planning to spend most of our time at the Swan relaxing. I would suggest that you look into the Swan and Dolphin. These two hotels offer fantastic discounts (government, teachers, nurses, entertainment, etc. rates) and the best location on the property. You can call the hotels directly (800.227.1500), use their website, or get a quote from DU. One time I made a reservation using the goverment rate with DU after the hotel told me that they no longer had availability at that rate. Just this week, I added a second room at the Swan (govt. rate) using online booking through the owner of the hotels starwood (try www.starwoodhotels.com). Good luck.

 

[anitad]

Also, as indicated above, try the mousesavers website for discount information. Also, ticketmania.com offers discounts on park tickets.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by anitad
I would suggest that you look into the Swan and Dolphin. These two hotels offer fantastic discounts (government, teachers, nurses, entertainment, etc. rates) and the best location on the property. You can call the hotels directly (800.227.1500), use their website, or get a quote from DU.

YES! We've stayed at each Swan and Dolphin our last two trips (prefer the smaller scale Swan, but both are wonderful!). I get the teacher's discount and it is an AMAZING discount! I'm also a Starwood Preferred member and have been saving up points. They are really great Deluxe resorts in a prime location. The Boardwalk/Epcot area is our favorite part of WDW. We LOVE being able to walk to MGM and Epcot and the Boardwalk is so much fun!

 

[Bronco Joe]

Originally posted by goofyfordisney
1) Which would you suggest: WDW first, then cruise or cruise first WDW last?

I'd agree - WDW first, then Cruise.

2) What is the most economical way of doing this? We don't have AP's (but would consider buying one to get a better deal)

We looked for the best deal we could going through a number of different places and found a travel agent that got us a great deal.

Also, we got park hopper passes for the days we were there because we wanted to take a day off from the parks to relax. 4 days out of 5 at the parks was enough for us. We needed the down time. If you are going to get a "length of stay" get an offsite the last day to "break up" the cruise and WDW. Here's why: The LOS is good through the day you check out at midnight. If you go straight to the cruise the morning you check out, you lose out on an entire day. By going off site the last day at WDW, you get to use that day at the park. Then the next morning you get up to go to the cruise. I think this would preclude using Disney transportation, though. We rented a car through Avis and dropped it at the Radisson at Port Canaveral and took the shuttle over.

If you really want to save, I'd stay off site. Yes, you have to pay for parking, but if you can save any money on eating it will more than make up for it.

3) Any travel agencies that you would suggest to help me plan this out?

We used Tim Larison for our last trip and our upcoming trip - his email is timL@cruisingco.com. He has been great - answers all our questions quickly, helped us get the best deal possible, etc. He is what I would call a "full service" travel agent. I 100% recommend Tim. We were lucky to find him.

 

[confal1]

Definately Disney 1st then the cruise. Also we did this in Nov. and did the B.C. for 5 nights and the 4 night cruise. We did go through a travel agent but I would suggest going straight through Disney because if and when a code comes out you can call Disney direct at 7 AM E.S.T. and are more likely to get the code applied instead of waiting for your travel agency to open and then if your travel agent is out for the day you may be out of luck as far as getting the code at all. Any way that you do it you will have a great time, after all its DISNEY!!

 

[goofyfordisney]

Thanks for all of the great advice!

Just what I was looking for!

We were actually looking into the Swan or Dolphin--we have some points saved up (Starwood members). This might be the best time to use them!

I have received a quote from John at Dreams Unlimited and I'm waiting for allseastravel.com to give me their quote. Once I have that, we will probably put our deposit down and start counting the days!

We are trying to figure out when to go...we have a high-schooler and really can't take him out of school too long. I just hate to go in the summer--too hot and humid! Looks like it might be in November--around Thanksgiving. I don't know if I can wait that long--I want to go now!

Thanks again!
Sue

 

[Bronco Joe]

This year we checked what week our school was having parent teacher conferences. They have half days scheduled for three days of the week in our school district and the kids often have a lower work load while the teachers are prepping for talks with the parents.

I love traveling at times when others aren't - November and December (aside from the school vacations and holidays) are our favorite times to travel.

 

[aprilgail2]

I agree with going to Disney first then the cruise. Last year we did 10 days at Disney then took the cruise and it was great that way! We actually rented a house with an private built in pool for 100.00 a night for half that time and then stayed at the Poly the rest of the time.

 

[disneyliz]

If you are just going to book the hotel and stay in Disney I would recommend booking through disney. But make sure when you call you ask to be transferred to the REservation center. When you call you are directly connected to the travel company of disney. Their terms are different than disney directly. One of the big benefits I find is I just have to pay for the first night and pay for the rest of the stay when I get there. So you will have more time to save up for the trip. I save up Disney dollars and also get them as gifts so it doesn't hit the wallet as hard. Also, disney is also offering advanced ticket purchasing where you can save on hopper tickets.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by Bronco Joe
I'd agree - WDW first, then Cruise.
We used Tim Larison for our last trip and our upcoming trip - his email is timL@cruisingco.com. He has been great - answers all our questions quickly, helped us get the best deal possible, etc. He is what I would call a "full service" travel agent. I 100% recommend Tim. We were lucky to find him.

We're using Tim for next year's May 7-day Western. He is super nice and accomodating -- and I haven't been the easiest customer (read: changed dates, stateroom categories, and plans a MILLION times and he was still nice to me!!!)