Disneyland at Christmas or Cruise at Spring Break?

[IBLarsen]

I know...what a tough dilemma! Starting to think about our next Disney Vacation. We did WDW in April this year (for the first time) and DLR for the previous 3 years. DH and I have 2 children, ages 6 and 8. We are torn between trying to DLR at Christmas (the week before) or waiting and doing the Cruise out of FL in March for Spring Break. We would love to see the Christmas decorations. And also can't wait to do the cruise. Xmas trip we would be able to do this Dec. And the Spring Break is obviously next March. The problem with doing a DLR trip in Dec means it almost makes a cruise the next year out of the question since it's so soon after and a more expensive trip. I want to be able to do both, but can't. So for any of you who have been on the cruise, which would you choose and why?

Thanks for your advice and opinions

 

[Ariel224]

Haven't cruised yet, but doing so Nov 2012 and can't wait! We're going to DL this November for a short trip, but it's the cruise that I'm most looking forward to, mainly because it's going to be so different than the parks.

Have you looked on DCL's site to see what is actually still available for this coming March? The Dream is sold out of all lower categories. For March, the Magic will be doing it's final Caribbean cruises before the Fantasy debuts at the end of that month. It looks like there's still availability there.

What about planning both like this.....Is there any way you could do DL later this year and then book a cruise in March 2013 as soon as those itineraries are released (sometime later this year)? Booking as soon as the dates release will get you the best stateroom selection and the best pricing, as it just gets more and more expensive (sometimes very rapidly so) as the ship fills. (But maybe you already know all this already?? If not, come hang out with us over on the DCL board.) It would be hard for me to book less than a year away knowing that I could have gotten a MUCH better rate had I booked sooner.

 

[IBLarsen]

Oh Wow, Thanks, I am clueless with the cruises! I had no idea that things would be full already for next March. I thought I was doing so good trying to plan now for either/or! I haven't hung out on the cruise side of the boards yet. I was trying to figure out which to do before I immersed myself into that world Hmmm... We also are in Texas, and I know they are starting to cruise from Galveston late 2012. That may be an option. And then do DLR this year. My first choice was to cruise out of FL to add on a couple days at the parks too....but now I have more choices!

 

[cyclenut]

It is hard to make a good recommendation without understanding more about what you want/expect out of your vacation. There are a whole lot of people who love cruising. I've been on two and the family is going on Disney to Alaska this August . I like cruising but I don't LOVE it. It isn't as expensive as it first looks. That price can be daunting, but you really can enjoy the cruise and pay no more than that initial fee. Especially if you choose to stay on the ship while in port or limit your excursions to self-guided tours. The cruise boards have all sorts of suggestions. The DIS community Disney Cruise threads are the most active for Disney that I've seen. If you want to learn more about cruising in general though, I suggest you check out the Cruise Critic website. They have extensive reviews of various ships, cruise lines, ports of call, etc.

Disney at Christmas really is a special place. You've probably already checked out the superthread. It is like a different park. However, the rides really don't change, just the scenery. What I mean by that is that Small World gets a complete makeover, but you still get in the same boat, down the same channel, in the same rooms, with the same characters. The scenery and the music in the ride changes. It is an amazing transformation and very much worth the view, but it is still Small World, and you've been on Small World before, but the cruise offers so many things you've never seen or done.

IF you can get a date on the cruise, I'd say go for that. Otherwise, do DL Christmas (you won't be disappointed!) and plan for the cruise in 2013 when you can do it early enough to book the exact dates you want with the stateroom accomodations you want.

 

[IBLarsen]

Thanks for the advice Cyclenut! We love DLR but really want to try the cruise also. Something different. But I was just curious as to if people who love DLR would give up a trip at Christmas for a Disney Cruise

Now I'm leaning towards doing DLR sometime this year (hopefully) and hold off on the cruise until late 2012 or Spring Break of 2013. I looked today for awhile at the cruises and the PP was correct, I'm out of luck for next Spring Break. So that kind of opens up my initial thinking. I guess the cruise will wait. Something to look forward to still!

 

[Ariel224]

Oh Wow, Thanks, I am clueless with the cruises! I had no idea that things would be full already for next March. I thought I was doing so good trying to plan now for either/or! I haven't hung out on the cruise side of the boards yet. I was trying to figure out which to do before I immersed myself into that world Hmmm... We also are in Texas, and I know they are starting to cruise from Galveston late 2012. That may be an option. And then do DLR this year. My first choice was to cruise out of FL to add on a couple days at the parks too....but now I have more choices!

For 2012 Galveston is only getting the Magic in the fall/winter. She is sailing out of FL through March 2012, at which point the Fantasy takes over the Caribbean sailings. Magic will then move to New York for the summer. The only downside (and the deciding factor for me in choosing Fantasy vs. Magic for Nov) of the Galveston sailings is that there is no stop at Castaway Cay.

I would suggest reading some of the trip reports and photo threads on the cruise boards side. It will give you a better idea of what to expect, kids activities, itineraries, etc. A lot of people scan and post the daily Navigators, which are the printed daily schedules of all of the activities on the ship, and the menus from the restaurants.

I got a taste of DL at Christmas in December 2009. I was flying home from my grandmother's funeral and had a 12 hour layover in LAX...so I took a bus to DL and spent 5 glorious hours. It was amazing. So last November I took the family. The decorations had been scaled down quite a bit from the previous year. They were still gorgeous, and had I not seen them the year before, I would have never known the difference. (But it made me wonder what they might take away this year. There's already been speculation that the Christmas parade and fireworks might become separate ticket events similar to WDW.) The Holiday Tour was a definite highlight that I would strongly recommend if you do go.

I'm not a good one to help you choose really. My stock answer is to somehow plan both!

 

[Sherry E]

This is off-topic, but I just had to chime in and agree with Ariel224 about the scaling down of the holiday decorations! I'm so glad someone else noticed it too! It's not a massive scale-down, and the holidays are still my absolute favorite time to be at DLR (hence, the Christmas Superthread), but being there for so many holiday seasons and especially over the last several years in succession, I could see things that were missing here and there around DLR.

I would notice a little something here, a little something there that was gone. I would say to myself or to my friend, "Didn't there used to be a wreath in this spot?" The New Orleans Square decor, while still beautful, was scaled back dramatically when it lost its holiday light canopy. Roger Rabbit in his Santa suit was missing from the top of Car Toon Spin because the ride wasn't open. ElecTRONica in DCA totally wiped out any decorations in the Hollywood area of DCA. And there were other little things too.

I think that what will make a huge impact this year is the loss of the candy cane-striped CALIFORNIA letters at the DCA entrance and probably the lights and garland on the Golden Gate Bridge too (I know the GGB is going to come down, but I am not clear on the timeline for that), which will greatly reduce the already minimal holiday adornments in DCA.

Okay, sorry for the OT comments...back to your regularly scheduled programming!

 

[specialks]

It is true (based on the DCL forum) that booking early gets you the best price. Only if they are having trouble filling the ship do they start running promos to get more people on certain sailings. Since you are wanting to go on SB (a popular cruise time) you would most likely benefit from booking early (as the PP said). The 2013 itineraries should be released in the fall. I think there is also a lot of speculation about what DLR will do for the Holiday season. Will they begin making it a ticketed event?.. I personally think they will wait for DCA to get up to par before they test the Christmas crowds, so in my opinion I think we will see a ticketed event in 2012...bu that is purely my speculation. Therefore, this might be your one shot (or not, they could add Christmas party tix this year) to go to DLR for the Christmas stuff with just a park ticket. Make sense?
Then again, 2012 would see Cars Land open and that might be something worth waiting for if you don't make it to DLR often...