Going to Magic Kingdom worth it?

[QueenTrident]

Our flight out of MCO is at 5:55 p.m. on Saturday after our cruise. We already have a rental car, but don't know what to do. Do you think going to Magic Kingdom would be worth it? How far is it from the Port? How crazy do you think it'll be there? I'd hate the ruin the laid back feel of the cruise with the hectic nature of Magic Kingdom.

We could always just go to Downtown Disney, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to go on vacation again, so I'd hate to be so close and miss the Kingdom.

If we do decide to go, can we dictate what time we get off the ship? We have late seating right now, so that means we get off later, right? Can we change that?

Thanks!

 

[mariamard]

one more week.... is it possible to change either your in or outbound flight??? being from chicago, we couldnt stand the thought of being sooooo close to the magic kingdom without stopping there.even trips to miami were considered "too close" for us not to stop for at least one day. with a 5ish pm flight, no i dont think its worth it. going home sunday night after the cruise (if you can do it $$ wise), absolutely. you can get a $39 sat night hotel at www.priceline.com close to the park and get to MK by 10 am sat and stay till close and relax at the hotel sun afternnon before your flight home . we are going to wdw thur and fri before we leave for the port sat am , a little hectic and a little madness before we cruise........if you need help or suggestions on where to stay, pm me
see ya in a week!---maria

 

[Cruisin]

You can get off the ship at any time after it has been released by customs/immigrations and the announcement is made that you may disembark. You don't have to go to breakfast if you don't want to.
Depending on the time of year, you could do a theme park if it won't be too busy. It takes about 1 hr -1 1/2 hr to get to Magic Kingdom from the port.
You have to remember to arrive the required time before the flight at the airport and to leave about 45min-1 hr to return your rental car.
So it would probably be a short day at the parks. You would have to decide if it was worth it to you or not.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Here's my canned answer to your question...

www.dcltribute.com/faq/timetovisitparks.htm

 

[tkd lisa]

We did this after our first cruise (but we stayed over on Saturday night, so stayed til park closing). I can't tell when your cruise is, but if it's MLK week, there are many people who take advantage of that short week for vacations, so it might be more crowded than a typical January Saturday.

MK is the most crowded of all the parks on Saturdays. For us, we didn't get to ride very much because there were sooooo many people (we went in late May, and the Florida schools had just gotten out, so there were lots of FL residents).

It was fun, but if you can't change your flight, you need to understand that probably the earliest you'll get into the park is 10, and you'd have to leave by 2 or so to catch your flight. Is the $50+ per person for admission worth it for 4 hours of fun? Only you can predict that. Good luck!

 

[disneyfan551]

Oh yeah it's worth it! Even for a short visit! Otherwise you'll be beating yourself up mentally for not doing it. You've already said, you aren't sure when you may be able to go back...

JUST DO IT!!!

 

[soccermom22]

We have been debating the same thing, although we aren't flying out until Sunday so we can stay until the park closes. Our other choice is the Friday before the cruise, but our flight doesn't land until 10am. I figure we won't get to the parks much before noon.

Still can't decide which way to go - Friday would probably be less crowded, but not open as late as Saturday, but Saturday it will be more crowded.

Such decisions - although I do know that I can't be that close to WDW and not visit MK, whichever day we chose.

Tammy

 

[DMOMof3]

We arrive at MCO before noon, will check in if room is ready at the Hyatt, getting a rental car and heading over to Epcot to ride Mision Space. Then taking the monorail to MK to visit Mickey's Philharmonic and then back to Epcot for dinner until it closes (we have unused park hopper passes).

On disembarkation day our flight leaves at 6:15 pm so we got a day room at the hyatt to relax.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Maybe it's just me but the last thing I want to do after a nice relaxing cruise is hurry to the parks, fight the crowds and walk around getting blisters! Let me hang around the ship until they kick me off, take a relaxing towncar or limo ride back to MCO, get a day room at the Hyatt and reflect on my vacation.

We had our cruise last fall, this year it's our turn to go to WDW then back to the Wonder next year. It's always either/or for us.