Going to DisneyWorld before the cruise

[halfmonkey]

We're currently looking at the Sept 24th Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy and was thinking about spending a few days at DisneyWorld as well. This would be our first time on the Fantasy, first time cruising anywhere through the Caribbean, and first time at DisneyWorld.

We're thinking maybe 3 full days at DisneyWorld. Since we've never been to DisneyWorld let alone trying to wrap a DisneyWorld trip with a cruise, do you have any advice on our plan. Any tip and all tips are welcome from which hotel to which TA to whether we should get the meal packages or not. Anything will be helpful. Thanks.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We're currently looking at the Sept 24th Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy and was thinking about spending a few days at DisneyWorld as well. This would be our first time on the Fantasy, first time cruising anywhere through the Caribbean, and first time at DisneyWorld.

We're thinking maybe 3 full days at DisneyWorld. Since we've never been to DisneyWorld let alone trying to wrap a DisneyWorld trip with a cruise, do you have any advice on our plan. Any tip and all tips are welcome from which hotel to which TA to whether we should get the meal packages or not. Anything will be helpful. Thanks.

1) Make peace with the fact that 3 days at WDW won't be enough. Just plan to enjoy what you can get done.

2) We prefer Port Orleans resort. But Caribbean Beach is nice with young kids.

3) Don't try to do "everything" once onboard the ship - you can't. Read the Navigator each night to plan on what to do the next day, and don't fret about the things you can't fit in.

4) Take some time on the cruise to just sit on deck and watch the sea go by.

 

[mevelandry]

Depending on your budget, I would say: stay in a deluxe hotel (look for special offers!) if you can afford it since it gives you easier/faster access to some of the parks (monorail for MK or walking distance for Epcot/HS) ... I love the Grand Floridian, Polynesian (close to MK and you can see the Fireworks from the resort) and Beach Club & Yacht Club (they have the best pool IMO and are walking distance to Epcot and HS). And you will most likely get a private balcony, which is not the case with Value and Moderate resorts.

If you want to spend a little less but still feel a certain amount of comfort/tranquility Port Orleans Riverside is my favorite Moderate. I love it.

I've only stayed in one value which was Art of Animation. Wasn't a fan of their soundproofing (bring earplugs!) but the landscaping was fantastic and the room quite comfortable.

As for the park days, I would keep at least a whole day for MK... The other parks are a bit smaller. I suggest you take a certain amount of time to take a look at the attractions of AK and HS or Epcot (depending of your ages and interests) that you really don't wanna miss and concentrate on them (if you need suggestions, Disboards is the right place). Take park hopper so you can visit two parks in one day. Go to the park early, it is more quiet and the waiting lines are usually shorter. And use your FP+ in the afternoon when it gets more busy.

Dining plan = meh. It was a good value a few years ago but these days, unless you are doing 100% buffet or characters dining, you do not save much money.

 

[Scillycruisers]

We combined our first ever cruise with a visit to WDW - we did 5 nights at WDW, 7 night cruise, then 3 more nights in Orlando (we are from the UK so making the most of the TA flights and it was when DS was still in pre-school!). It was a great holiday and we have done 4 more since, though our time is now more limited with time off school.
We prefer to stay on site, have enjoyed Art of Animation, Port Orleans and our favourite Caribbean Beach. We can't afford the deluxe resorts unfortunately! We don't use the dining plan unless we get it free and even though we have park hopper tickets (it comes as part of a really good deal for UK travellers) we have rarely visited more than 1 park a day - it takes up too much time getting in and out the parks and travelling between them.
We don't rent a car, but use the ME from the airport and the resort buses. We then use the DCL bus to get to the port - a very relaxing way to get there!

 

[pvangordon]

We did this last year. We had originally just planned on the cruise only, but it's hard for a Disney fan like me to come to Orlando and not visit the parks! So we tacked on two days, one at MK and one at Epcot. Our daughter was just a couple weeks short of being two and it was her first visit to a Disney park, so we didn't want to overload ourselves with too much activity. It worked out just fine - we arrived on a Wednesday, stayed at SSR and took the ME from the airport and then to PC on Saturday. They took our bags from the hotel room early Saturday morning, so we didn't have to wrestle with them, and then we had to hang out for awhile in the hotel lobby waiting for our pick-up (I think check-out was 11 am and our pick-up wasn't until 12:30 pm). Not a huge deal, as we were able to eat lunch and there were other cruisers also waiting there.

You might have to do a little creative packing, so the things you need for the park days are in your carry-on/day bag or on the tops of your suitcases. Formal wear, pirate gear, etc. all went on the bottoms of our big suitcases so we didn't have to dig through everything.

The best thing was knowing the whole time at WDW that our trip didn't end on Saturday, and getting onboard the cruise for a week was a huge relaxer for me. We also did laundry the night of embarkation, when no one else was even thinking about it! After a cruise, I usually feel ready to come home and the thought of doing the parks after would probably wear me down (also based on the way I pack when I finish a cruise - it's a mental thing). So going a few days before the cruise is perfect and we would definitely do it again.