First time "Cruiser" (Maybe?)

[StirlingSilver83]

Ok so heres the deal. Last night we weren't even paying attention to the TV, honestly we had some random channel on just for some background noise. Then a show came on about the Disney Cruise line. I honestly have never seen my husband so engrossed in ANYTHING disney related, lol. He kept telling me that was his kind of vacation and why couldn't we do that instead of our normal disney trips. Then there is me going yeah it looks awesome and all until you hit that iceberg and then its all over. My husband told me I worry too much. Anyways we are planning Disney for 2017, and I was planning like a 10 day trip, but now I am thinking bc my husband really seemed to like the idea of the cruise, maybe to cut that trip a little shorter and then do a 3 or 4 day Bahamas cruise. My concern though is going on a cruise with special needs kids. My older son (he's 9) has ASD & ADHD. He's on meds for ADHD but will there be enough stuff for him to do while on the cruise to sort of curve all that energy? My other son he's 2 right now and while he has not been formally diagnosed I do see some ASD tendencies with him. He will be 3 1/2 when we do the trip in 2017, what stuff is there to do for him? I know he more than likely will not be allowed in the pool bc I don't see him being potty trained completely by then, so are the splash pads big enough that he would enjoy that just as much as going into the pool? Also would u recommend doing the cruise after our stay at the theme parks or before? I was thinking after might be better bc then we could relax and stuff after a busy time at the theme parks. Also we normally drive to Disney so is there like a parking lot at port to keep our car at while we are on the cruise? Any other information anyone can give me would be great since I am a total cruise newbie, lol

 

[tobikaye]

Hello, I cannot help with everything since I do not have kids. I will try to help with some things though. I think a 4 day cruise is the perfect first cruise. This is what my parents, sister and I took. It gave us 2 port days and 1 at sea day. We got the basics on going on a cruise and found out what we liked and did not like. We were glad the cruise was only 4 nights since my mom ended up getting seasick and once you are sick, it is too late for some. I tried to get her to start medicine before we got on the ship, but she wanted to try without. She still plans to try a cruise again sometime.

There are kids clubs with all kinds of activities. Even if you do not want to put your kids in the clubs, they do have open hours during the cruise that you can take the kids to see what is going on. There are also scheduled activities throughout the cruise that you can take part in. Check out some past navigators: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/.

I have read various points of view on doing the cruise before or after WDW. I can see both working out. I think it comes down to each groups thoughts on the matter. I know that there are some trips going before a cruise would be preferred and going after on other trips.

As for parking, there is a garage directly across from the terminal that is connected by a walkway. There is also a parking lot that is directly next to the terminal for a bit more money. We parked in the garage and walked across the walkway. It was great and we made a quick exit after the cruise. I think it was $75 for the 4 night cruise. There are off-site parking and shuttle sites, but the convenience of being right there made the cost worth it.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I think I saw the same show last night, was it the one about the Magic being renovated? We were on the magic after they did all that work. My 8 year old has ASD and ADHD and he loves the kids clubs there is plenty there to keep the kids entertained and burn off energy. His favorite is all the videogames. But they also have cooking, science classes, dance parties, and much more. Plus there's a Toy Story play area that was like an indoor playground with a slide. Those are just some highlights for our kids there is a ton of stuff for them to do. The splash area was a little small for a 3 1/2 year old and I think there might be an age limit on it. Also keep in mind that to use the kids club they have to be completely potty trained as well, but they do have family times in the club where the whole family can go in together and play. After our first Disney Cruise we fell in love with them, they are just so magical!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Thanks for all the great advice! I think as it stands right now in 2017 we might just do the theme parks and then we will wait for the cruise until my little 1 is potty trained. That way he gets more out of it! I also saw on that episode that they have adult only restaurants. Do the cruises offer baby sitting services or is that sort of what the kids club is. That way if my hubby and I wanted to go out for the evening in a kid free zone we would be able to do that. I don't know if we would though bc I honestly we don't go anywhere without the kids, lol...I don't even remember the last time my husband and I went on a real "date" lol. Just curious if the cruises offer something like that.

 

[ozliz]

The kids clubs are still open in the evenings while the adults only restaurants are open so you don't need to pay for baby sitting unless you have an actual baby that is too young for the kids clubs. You could also try brunch during the day if you don't want your kids up in the clubs that late depending on their sleep patterns.

 

[Jennifer777]

There is plenty to keep your kids busy and entertained, especially on a 4 night cruise. You would get more out of it if your child is potty trained but even if he's not, he won't be bored.

My son has Aspergers and Disney went above and beyond to accommodate his needs. They have a dedicated special services team you can call prior to your cruise to have special notes placed in your sons' files to help them. For example, my son does not like to be touched at all, so he would have hated going to the kids clubs if the CMs were greeting him by touching him. They were also able to make sure we weren't seated with another family at dinner because that would have been very uncomfortable for him and they took notes of many of his interests so the CMs could approach him about things he liked. If they don't offer this special services phone number to you when you book, whenever that may be, make sure to ask for it.

 

[MunFam]

My suggestion would be to go on one of the two larger ships because they are better equipped to handle special needs and requests. We had a lot of issues on the Wonder and were dumbfounded because we had read how accommodating DCL was with special needs. When I started digging, I realized it was on the Fantasy and the Dream that the people were so well taken care of and less so on the Magic and not much at all on the Wonder. We were on the Wonder for 15 days with a few special needs families in addition to ours, things could have been much worse, but they were not great either. If we cruise with DCL again, it will be on the larger two ships.