Earlier boarding time for Wish and Magic starting in September

[happycamper47]

Starting on September 2, 2024, guests must be onboard by 3 p.m. on the first day of their sailing instead of 4 p.m. Guests who arrive after 3 p.m. will be denied boarding. Wonder why the change?

 

[OKW Lover]

I found that curious as well. I wonder if there is some issue with congestion at the port? As in too many ships leaving at the same time?

 

[MomOTwins]

I noticed an uptick in my facebook groups of first time cruisers who would post something along the lines of "I see in the itinerary that we can start boarding at 3:45pm..." I am wondering if the actual sailaway is not changing, but they are seeing an uptick in people who get confused between "departure time" and "boarding time" and they're trying to nudge those people to arrive earlier by posting an hour earlier all aboard.

 

[happycamper47]

I noticed an uptick in my facebook groups of first time cruisers who would post something along the lines of "I see in the itinerary that we can start boarding at 3:45pm..." I am wondering if the actual sailaway is not changing, but they are seeing an uptick in people who get confused between "departure time" and "boarding time" and they're trying to nudge those people to arrive earlier by posting an hour earlier all aboard.

But then why only 2 ships?

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Starting on September 2, 2024, guests must be onboard by 3 p.m. on the first day of their sailing instead of 4 p.m. Guests who arrive after 3 p.m. will be denied boarding. Wonder why the change?

To get to LC faster . Sorry, joking, could not resist.

I thought maybe it was port related, but the Magic is going out of the Everglades and the Wish out of Canaveral. Maybe they haven't mailed out the notices to the Dream (out of Ft. Lauderdale) and Fantasy (Canaveral) yet? Or maybe they are staggering their own ships, as they have divided up 1 in each port...

All is well, means champagne time starts earlier for me

 

[DisneyPrince22]

Sounds like they’re testing this, which is why one ship from each of their main two ports is partaking. Gives them some new data to look at, while having the other ships to continue comparing to.

 

[Cfabar1]

I'm not complaining, but I am curious if this will create a little more congestion around 1:30...

I also don't have to worry about catching flights...

Will be curious to see if people get kicked off the boat earlier....

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

I'm not complaining, but I am curious if this will create a little more congestion around 1:30...

I also don't have to worry about catching flights...

Will be curious to see if people get kicked off the boat earlier....

given how early already debarkation starts, its dubious they will try to kick guests out sooner without really messing with the chill lol...and the start is not 100% in Disney's control...but custom's plays a roll so... dont see them jumping to Disney's flute. All of which means, I really doubt debarkation is going to be influenced. the embarkation time might also reflect they think they have optimized things enough to go a bit faster and get the boat back to some regular operations. I do think this is as someone else said, a trial.

 

[Dmbookzz08]

To get to LC faster . Sorry, joking, could not resist.

I thought maybe it was port related, but the Magic is going out of the Everglades and the Wish out of Canaveral. Maybe they haven't mailed out the notices to the Dream (out of Ft. Lauderdale) and Fantasy (Canaveral) yet? Or maybe they are staggering their own ships, as they have divided up 1 in each port...

All is well, means champagne time starts earlier for me

We got the email regarding our Magic sailing- but we’re sailing out of Port Canaveral in May (so it’s not just specific to Magic’s sailings in Everglades)

 

[happycamper47]

given how early already debarkation starts, its dubious they will try to kick guests out sooner without really messing with the chill lol...

It's only "all aboard" time so it should have no affect on disembarkation. Embark will still start at the same time and it just means more people will board sooner.

 

[Goofy1932]

As long as I am on the ship I don't care. We are coming in a day early to make sure we are not late.

 

[MalvernPa]

We are on the Magic for the Oct 7th sailing. Our plane lands at 11:08 am that morning in Fort Lauderdale. There is no earlier flight from Philadelphia. Will we have enough time? We will be using DCL transfers.

 

[OKW Lover]

We are on the Magic for the Oct 7th sailing. Our plane lands at 11:08 am that morning in Fort Lauderdale. There is no earlier flight from Philadelphia. Will we have enough time? We will be using DCL transfers.

As long as the plane is on time you will have plenty of time. The airport there is only a few miles from the port.

 

[MalvernPa]

As long as the plane is on time you will have plenty of time. The airport there is only a few miles from the port.

Thank you. I do have insurance.

 

[Mommb]

We are on the Magic for the Oct 7th sailing. Our plane lands at 11:08 am that morning in Fort Lauderdale. There is no earlier flight from Philadelphia. Will we have enough time? We will be using DCL transfers.

Disney Cruise Line recommends arriving in Fort Lauderdale no later than 1 pm for domestic flights and 12 noon for international flights.(https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/ground-transportation/)

So, a flight arriving around 11 am should be fine, barring major weather or equipment delays.