Disneyworld and then Cruise?

[RuthieT]

Has anyone done this before???

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Has anyone done this before???

Yes, lots of people have.

 

[Namsupak]

It's better to do it this way because WDW kind of gets you in the Disney mood and the cruise is a great way to end the vacation. Doing it the other way is always a disappointment. You question why room service isn't included, you aren't always greeted by towel animals, and your view just isn't the same.

 

[mmouse37]

Tons of people do this each and every week. Some like to do WDW before the cruise and some like to do WDW after the cruise. We prefer to do it before the cruise as we tend to heavy park time so the cruise is a great way to relax after the hustle ad bustle of WDW.

We book everything separately. WDW on one reservation, cruise another reservation. We ususally just rent a car from MCO and keep it with us at WDW and then drop it off near the port morning of the cruise. Some opt to take the DCL bus ($35 pp each way) from WDW to the port.

MJ

 

[Jennifer777]

We actually did both for our last cruise. 2 days at Disney pre cruise and 2 days post cruise. The pre-cruise was a nice way to kick off our vacation and get us excited. Disney World can be exhausting so we definitely looked forward to relaxing on the ship afterwards and when you fly in like we had to, you really should arrive at least a day before your sail date anyway so if you're having to shell out money for a hotel room pre-cruise, why not stay at Disney. Staying pre-cruise generally makes more sense IMO, but it was also nice to have something to look forward to when the time came to get off the ship. Debarkation is always such a sad day and knowing we had another couple days at Disney made it so much easier to leave. It also worked out great not having to worry about any of the character meet and greets for our post cruise stay because we were able to take care of those on the ship. We were not able to make it to Disney by the time they opened the doors post cruise so if being there for the opening ceremony is important to you, keep that in mind. I do agree that after a week of being catered to on the ship, Disney world seems less magical and could be more disappointing than a pre-cruise stay.

 

[MPS516]

Yep, have done post cruise once and pre cruise multiple times. Doing 4 days pre cruise over New Years and catching Fantasy on Jan 2nd.

 

[RuthieT]

In the early stages of planning for 2017 and just trying to figure it out and how much time to plan vacation for.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

In the early stages of planning for 2017 and just trying to figure it out and how much time to plan vacation for.

Our preference is WDW first (any where from 3-5 days), cruise second (nothing less than 7 nights).

 

[RuthieT]

Do you feel like 5 days at the parks is enough?

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We have done 7 days WDW and then a 4 night cruise, and then three years later we did 4 days before (Universal, IOA, Blizzard Beach, and an amazing Florida park where we saw manatees. and then a 7 night cruise. We just did 2 days in Seattle, 3 days in Vancouver and then 7 night Alaska cruise. I would recommend cruising second.

 

[tinkerone]

I like to stay at wdw before because its soooo busy and on the cruise we can just relax and sit back. I like to stay after because I am ready for some great adventure after having relaxed for a week. I like to stay before the cruise and then stay again after the cruise. I like it any way I can get it.......

 

[buzzrelly]

We are staying both before and after the cruise next April, so it's a cruise sandwich! We booked PVB for 4 nights, then the Dream for 4 nights and then BLT for 2 nights. The kind of just worked with our Spring break dates and I am not worried about the parks being less magical since we will be staying in a 1 bedroom at BLT with a MK view…doesn't really get more magical than that!

 

[MPS516]

Do you feel like 5 days at the parks is enough?

We usually plan 4 days prior to cruise for parks, gives us chance for 1 day in each park. We do not always get to all 4 and instead may decide to double up or one day not at all, but leaves us a chance. We don't do any water park or beach given we will be cruising for the following week, yes we rarely sail less than 7 days. Because we prefer the Wonder and Magic that sometimes means doing 5 and 4 day back to backs, although in January we will sail the Fantasy for the first time and perhaps not be so focused on the classic ships.

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

Do you feel like 5 days at the parks is enough?

You can never have enough days - lol. A few years ago we did one week at Disney followed by B2B cruises on the Fantasy ... afterwards was Universal. It was certainly a "shock" to the system experiencing Universal after 3 weeks of Disney to say the least. This year, we're doing Universal first followed by the cruise and then Disney so looking forward to it ...

 

[bethy]

We have done 7 days WDW and then a 4 night cruise, and then three years later we did 4 days before (Universal, IOA, Blizzard Beach, and an amazing Florida park where we saw manatees. and then a 7 night cruise. We just did 2 days in Seattle, 3 days in Vancouver and then 7 night Alaska cruise. I would recommend cruising second.

Hi there - slightly off topic - but which park did you visit where you saw manatees? We are looking for a great spot to visit and see wildlife - especially manatees if at all possible!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you feel like 5 days at the parks is enough?

Not if you really "want to see everything". But it give us plenty of time do many things we enjoy. If you really want to see all the parks, and whatever else is offered (at your resort, water parks, etc) I'd say you probably need at least a week.

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

We like the WDW before route, but in reality, we go with whenever the flights are the cheapest. Sometimes before, sometimes after, sometimes both! I usually wait and book the WDW portion until after I book the flights.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

Hi there - slightly off topic - but which park did you visit where you saw manatees? We are looking for a great spot to visit and see wildlife - especially manatees if at all possible!

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Homosassa-Springs

Homosassa State Park - it was a bit of a drive (we had a rental car), but it was an awesome day.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

Do you feel like 5 days at the parks is enough?

We used Ride Max (pre FP+), and our days worked out perfectly. Did we see everything probably not, but we saw and did everything that we wanted to during that time. It was in July and are a group of 10 (at that time we ranged from 5-65) if that helps at all.

 

[chirurgeon]

I'm on a four day cruise on the Dream. It's Monday - Friday, so bookending with weekends at WDW. And my first F&W. And the last year for Osborne.