Day at Disney after the cruise

[Lampman]

I will be using Disney transportation to and from the airport. If my flight is at 4 or 5 can i still get a day in at the park? Will/can disney hold onto my luggage somehow/somewhere? I would hate to kill a day doing nothing or something I dont really care for like cape canaveral.

 

[ll_california]

We were thinking of the same issue and decided not to visit the Disney park on the day after cruise.

The reason - we'll probably arrive the Disney park around 10-11am after the cruise, and we'll have to leave the park for the flight around 1-2pm. We don't have AP, so it's too expensive to use the 1 day pass for just 2-4 hours.

We're thinking of visiting downtown Disney or some other places like Gatorland instead.

 

[jrabbit]

I'd cancel my transfer back to MCO from the port and rent a car for the day. Then you would have a place to store the luggage and it's much cheaper. FOr 3 people it's about $100 round trip from MCO to WDW and back again. FOr 1/2 half of that you can get the rental car.

If your flight leaves at 5, I would be in the car and heading back to the airport by 2:30. If you get off of the ship right away, you can make it to WDW by 10am (opening time most of the year).

Other options would be Sea World - it's closer to MCO so you wouldn't have to leave so early (and it's "relaxing" compared to any WDW park). You could go to Kennedy Space center - it's pretty interesting. We have gone to Downtown Disney. It's a way to "ease back into reality" after the cruise ... someone else is cooking for you and cleaning up afterwards, but you have to pay for each meal.

 

[Kalypso]

We went to Disney right after our 9/30 Wonder cruise - we had to spend the night someplace because we couldn't fly out until the next evening - so I got us a room at Port Orleans.

The Disney transportation to the park didn't leave PC until around 9:30 or so - we didn't get to the park until around 10:30a.m.or so. If you're going to be at the airport an hour before your flight - and you should really be there two hours before - we still waited in a long line and we were flying first class on the way home - the lines through the scanners were very slow - I never like to push that issue, you know?

That said, I wouldn't spend the money on the park for that short of a time. Another option is to get a "day" room at the Hyatt in the Orlando airport - you can check in at 10am and use it until you leave - use the pool, take a nap, get room service etc - it's $75 for the day.

 

[westjones]

I wouldn't try it if you have to be on a flight by 4:00. You should be at the airport a couple of hours ahead of time to check in and it isn't cheap to get into WDW (something like $55-$60 per adult--we use park hoppers so I am not up to date on the current gate prices).

Now if you do decide to rent a car, you could go to Down Town Disney for awhile and do some shopping and have lunch and then head back to the airport by 1:30 or 2:00 to check in.

The day room option at the Hyatt sounds good. We stayed there one night, but never used the day room option yet, but might in the future. They have a pool and there is a food court near by, and a Disney Store!

DJ

 

[Donnainnj]

We are going to Disney Quest on our "short" travel day at the end of our trip. I got reduced price tickets, so for the 4 of us it was under $100. We have never done DQ before because we normally have regular annual passes that don't include it. This will be something new, and I don't feel we will feel rushed as our plane doesn't leave until after 7pm. A few hours there might be worth it to you. I to would look into renting a car. The price is better, and it should be quicker then the buses.
Donna

 

[MM2U2]

Are there car rental facilities near the port? If so, how far away and how do I get there? That's a great idea to visit the space center. Thanks for all of the wonderful options.

 

[DisneyElf]

I picked up a car at Budget -- they have a Van that will pick you up at the parking area at the port - just tell the porter (I tipped a little bit extra since it was a longer walk).

Budget was great - we were on our way back to Orlando by 8:30 AM.

 

[westjones]

We took Budget from the airport to port and it was very simple (and they didn't charge extra for leaving the car at port). Someone said there is some sort of 'deal' with many of the rental car places that lets you rent a car one place in Florida and leave then another place in Florida. I know with Budget you can do this from the airport to port. It was much less expensive than using the bus or a limo service for the 4 of us.

We didn't get to try it out the other way (because of Hurricane Jeanne, all plans were changed), but we had reserved a car from port and planned to leave it at the airport the next day (we were spending the night at WDW). Again, they didn't charge extra for picking it up at port and leaving it at the airport.

My DH was the one who took it back to Budget at port and used the shuttle to return to the terminal (he dropped us off first) and he said it worked great and he wants to use them again.

If you rent the car the day you get off the ship, they will charge you for a 'full' day anyway, so just take it over to WDW or DTD (if you decide to check out Disney Quest--my family loves that place) and then drop it off at the airport when you are ready to go for your flight (Budget is right at the airport, so you don't have to shuttle in from their site).

It really is a great option when you have more than 2 people (I think with 2 it is almost as cheap to just take the DCL busses).

DJ

 

[westjones]

I just saw this thead on the Transportation board. Sounds like some people are having problems with Budget. We didn't have any problems, but you may want read this thread if you are considering them:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=662054

DJ

 

[Sarahsal]

Remember to stay flexible about your plans-we had planned on a day at MK, as our flight wasn't until 8 that night. However, we were up so early for breakfast (early seating) and we were still worn out from CC-we decided to go to the airport and catch an earlier flight! I know cruises are supposed to be relaxing, but my dd's and I were tired!