Do you prefer LAND first, or SEA first?

[Kim&Chris]

We're 99% sure we'd like to do a land/sea vacation next year, and I plan on booking them seperately to save money.

Do you do the land portion first, or the sea portion first? Why?

 

[mmouse37]

I know you mentioned that you are booking them separate...but in case you were to go with the L/S package....the land will always be first.

Even booking separately I would do land first....WDW is so much more stressful with long lines and running around from morning till night, standing in hot lines, meal planning, etc....that I love the relaxing part of the cruise to follow!!! Don't have to think about planning meals, or which park to run to, etc.

Some may feel other way. We try to get a late flight the day we get off the ship and spend it in downtown disney to get our last WDW fix before ending the vacation.

 

[BethC1952]

I like both...so that's what we usually do--a few days before, and a few days after!

Beth

 

[Castillo Mom]

Haven't gone on the cruise yet but, based on our experience at WDW last August, I'm planning to do the land portion first for our upcoming trip in '07. I'm hoping the cruise will be the relaxing part of the trip!

 

[232271]

I am always so exhausted after doing WDW that I cant imagine doing it first and enjoying my cruise.

we are going 6/5 cruise first then 5 days of WDW after.

 

[diznefan76]

I agree with the previous posters....do WDW first! We did a Land/Sea cruise in 2001 and did the land portion first then the cruise, we then decided to spend a couple more days after the cruise at WDW....we were sooooooo exhausted from the cruise that we spent the first day back in our rooms sleeping! and the rest of the time we had to drag ourselves to the parks! next time we will definently do the parks first and then finish our vacation with the cruise!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

It sounds that either way is exhausting, but what better way to get exhausted than a Disney trip!

 

[Mandabella]

We did Sea first followed by 5 days on the land. I'm glad we did it that way. The Land part wiped us out!

 

[jacobatt1]

Just another opinion--

We did Land/Sea in October, 4 days WDW first, then cruise. Let me start by saying we had a great time!!! We booked it that way for the reasons everyone has already said--get exhausted at WDW and then relax on the cruise.

Well, now that I've done it, I have to say that we felt like sleeping through our whole cruise!!! We were so tired every night we didn't even do the buffets at night and just went back to the room after dinner. (BTW, we are night people!) It didn't ruin our trip, but I think we would've gotten so much more out of it if we had cruised first, and then had the energy to do the parks.

Think of it like we do the beach: when you get there, all you want to do it sit on the beach all day!!! After a couple of days, you're more interested in seeing the area and snooping around (at least that's the way we are!)

I think it will help with packing too, since the more important packing issues are with the cruise; it was hard to keep all that out of the way and make sure we had everything together after the parks in order to get on the boat. But if you got all your dress stuff out of the way, you just have your t-shirts and shorts to mess with at WDW!

JMO

Amy

 

[AspiringCindy]

We have done cruise/Disney 4 times and always do the land portion last! I love relaxing on the cruise knowing that in a few days, I will be in the happiest place on Earth!

 

[RKB]

I would also do the land portion last. Getting off the Cruise and going straight home is very depressing! Going to the Magic Kingdom will ease you back into reality. Also another aspect - with all of the people from all over the country running around at the parks there is better chance of catching a cold or getting sick. You certainly don't want to take any chances on anyone catching anything before the cruise. I may be paranoid, but I rather go straight onto the cruise first thing!

 

[westjones]

I remember reading that many like the cruise last to relax after being at WDW, but we have found that going to WDW works good for us. For one, the schedule works better for us (we have to go all within one week).

Here is what we do:

Sat. Fly into Orlando
Sun. Board the Wonder
Mon-Wed. Sailing on the Wonder
Thurs. Disembark and head to WDW (You can be there that morning from port).
Fri. WDW
Sat. DTD in the morning and fly out late afternoon or evening.
Sun. Recovery day

The other good part of going to WDW after the cruise is it helps the 'depression' you feel when you get off of the ship. It helps to know there are more Disney adventures ahead. Then you are so tired after a couple of days at the park, you are ready to go home by Saturday (or Sunday if you want to skip the recovery day).

DJ

 

[newholidayx2]

Next Aug DS & I will be at WDW Aug 12-18 and then the
Western Cruise Aug 19th

 

[jkovick]

We did land and see in January and honestly, we won't do it again. It just isn't enough time at WDW or on the ship.

 

[mbw12]

Here is our "schedule" for our upcoming wonder cruise/WDW vacation:

Saturday-fly in, go to Downtown Disney
Sunday-Thurs: Wonder cruise
Thurs- disembark and head to Wilderness Lodge Villas to check in, than off to MK
Fri and Sat- WDW
Sun-fly home

Our kids go to WDW once a year, so my hubby and I decided that we would do the parks after the cruise....but we don't need to race around like crazy. We will just hit their fave parks and rides.

No matter which you do, I am sure it will be a great trip regardless!!!!!

Bobbi

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Land first! After being so worn out from WDW, the cruise is a nice way to relax and recover! Although next time I go, I'd like to do a week at WDW, followed by the cruise, and then one or two more days at WDW afterwards, to make that transition back to the "real world" from cruise life a little easier, and leaving the ship less depressing!

 

[april2005]

Both of my daughters, ages 6 and 9 at the time, enjoyed the cruise more than WDW. I'm glad we did the land portion first. I think they would have been dissapointed with the land portion of our trip otherwise.

 

[Stinasmom]

This is reminding me of the "early vs. late" seating question and why one is better over the other! I am so glad to hear the benefits of both land first and cruise first.
We will be cruising 7-nights West Coast in June prior to Legoland and DL/DCA for 5 days. But we will be at WDW 7 nights prior to a 4-night cruise in 2006. If you all can wait until 1/07 I will let you know which we liked better!!

 

[dreaming of BCV]

We've done it both ways. I liked it better when we went to WDW after the cruise. When the cruise was over it was nice knowing that our vacation wasn't. The kids liked it better too, my ds(5) doesn't understand why we can't live in WDW. The first time when we did the cruise after WDW, we felt rushed on the day we were leaving for Port Canaveral, because we didn't know what to expect at the terminal and getting all of our reservations when we first boarded. At the end of that cruise we worried about getting to the airport/security and just time in general.

Either way, you'll have a blast. It's just an excuse to book another cruise and try it the opposite way!

Lisa

 

[donaldsgal]

I remember reading that many like the cruise last to relax after being at WDW, but we have found that going to WDW works good for us. For one, the schedule works better for us (we have to go all within one week).

Here is what we do:

Sat. Fly into Orlando
Sun. Board the Wonder
Mon-Wed. Sailing on the Wonder
Thurs. Disembark and head to WDW (You can be there that morning from port).
Fri. WDW
Sat. DTD in the morning and fly out late afternoon or evening.
Sun. Recovery day

The other good part of going to WDW after the cruise is it helps the 'depression' you feel when you get off of the ship. It helps to know there are more Disney adventures ahead. Then you are so tired after a couple of days at the park, you are ready to go home by Saturday (or Sunday if you want to skip the recovery day).

DJ

We are thinking of going to WDW after our 7 day cruise for one night... from your experience westjones, about what time should we expect to get to WDW?

Jenny