How do you decide on transfers?

[luvdamouse]

I'm struggling to decide on transfers. We're going WDW-Cruise-WDW.

So far, this is what I've deduced from reading your opinions:

DCL - Plus side: assurance of not missing the boat (in case bus was delayed for whatever reason). Down side: board with multiple resorts, huge crowds at arrival.

Rental - with dropoff/car return, I think it will be a pain in the butt for a single parent. I've decided not to consider it an option.

Town Car - there are only three of us, so I know it will be a bit more expensive than DCL transfers. However, we have door-to-door service, control over what time we leave WDW, and don't have to wait on others. Is the only real down side the chance that we could miss the boat if we were trapped in some unforseen traffic?

I greatly appreciate your opinions! Thanks!

 

[stamot]

Im have the same question! I dont know what to choose

 

[tastefullyjenn]

I'm struggling to decide on transfers. We're going WDW-Cruise-WDW.

So far, this is what I've deduced from reading your opinions:

DCL - Plus side: assurance of not missing the boat (in case bus was delayed for whatever reason). Down side: board with multiple resorts, huge crowds at arrival.

Rental - with dropoff/car return, I think it will be a pain in the butt for a single parent. I've decided not to consider it an option.

Town Car - there are only three of us, so I know it will be a bit more expensive than DCL transfers. However, we have door-to-door service, control over what time we leave WDW, and don't have to wait on others. Is the only real down side the chance that we could miss the boat if we were trapped in some unforseen traffic?

I greatly appreciate your opinions! Thanks!

We did the rental. We were at Coronado Springs--budget came and picked us up and took us to the doubletree (across the street from DTD) and we were on our way. Only two turns/45 minutes later we were at PC. DH did drop us and return the car on his own but we came with him on the return and the budget office is 5 minutes away and the shuttle was a breeze. For us it was a huge cost savings and not an ounce of headache. If money not an option, I'd do the town car.

 

[mom2brooke76]

I've always done the towncar. My past two cruises I've used Towncar Service of Orlando (www.tcsoforlando.com) and I've been very pleased. He's always taken us from MCO to the port, picked us up at 9 and we were at the port by 10. There were 3 of us, including my 6 year old dd and he provided a free booster seat. His price from MCO at least, was the lowest that I could find.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We fly in at least one night before and stay at a WDW resort and always use Disney's ME. And DCL transportation from resort to port. We love the 24/7 Disney.

I really dislike renting a car, they make it so painful. How many times do I have to say no to additional insurance, or the convenience of paying them a fortune to fill it up when returning it or paying a fortune near the airport before turning it in. Or driving the extra miles to pay the going rate. Telling them a zillion times that I do not need a larger vehicle the one we chose will work just fine. Sorry if you are in this profession but I really dislike renting. Just give me what I want and accept the first no to all the add ons.

 

[pilk706]

I'm a big fan of Disney's Magical Express for a number of reasons but first and foremost is the simplicity. I'm on vacation... so I don't want to be bothered with having to worry about the burden of renting cars or dragging my luggage around.

 

[kcashner]

I'm a single mom. Yeah, when they are young, just make your life easy and take the DCL shuttle bus. The rental car is cheaper, but with little kids, it's a pain. A towncar service is not cost effective for 3 people. Of course, if you decide to team up with another family on your dis-meet, it could be a good thing.

The DCL transfers are convenient. No question about that. The times from the resorts are a pain.

The rental car is a bit of a pain, but it costs a lot less and runs on your schedule.

 

[bamor]

I'm thinking rental car because it is cheaper and we can run on our own time.
We will likely fly down a day or two early, anyway.
Rental cars at MCO are a snap, so easy. Do online check in and I've never had anyone ask if we want to buy insurance.
Plus, with the rental car, we can make a stop at the liquor store for our items to carry onboard.

 

[luvdamouse]

Thanks all for your opinions! There's obviously no perfect answer, but I really appreciate your thoughts to consider... I may let the kids decide!

I did like the PPs thought of I'm on vacation and don't want to lug bags around - does anyone know if you do have towncar service how much "lugging" is involved? Does the driver drop off/pick up at the DCL porter or do you have to bring your checked bags inside?

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

For our first cruise on DCL...I was afraid DH (DF at the time and his first trip to WDW/DCL) would have gone nuts with some child kicking the back of his seat...(I was worried he wouldn't like the trip all together, so I tried to minimize as much chaos as humanly possible) And for fun...I got a limo and surprised him with it...

Our second cruise on DCL we got a shuttle that was recommended by Shirley. It was ok...but we ended up sharing a ride back to the airport with people we didn't know and it seemed to take forever for the car to get to port to pick us up.

Our third cruise in Alaska...We are using their transportation...We don't know the area and aren't going to risk it.

We have always used Disney trans to the parks and have always enjoyed it...They play movies and that always gets us ready for the magic!

I say use DCL transfers.

 

[oddman]

we have rented a car and parked it for the duration of our cruise, very easy and its there waiting for you when you get off the boat....

 

[luvdamouse]

we have rented a car and parked it for the duration of our cruise, very easy and its there waiting for you when you get off the boat....

Thanks for that suggestion! It is definitely cost-effective from doing a quick price check... My only question is, how do you handle your checked luggage? Do you have to drag it all in wtih you when you get to the port?

 

[madry2009]

Thanks all for your opinions! There's obviously no perfect answer, but I really appreciate your thoughts to consider... I may let the kids decide!

I did like the PPs thought of I'm on vacation and don't want to lug bags around - does anyone know if you do have towncar service how much "lugging" is involved? Does the driver drop off/pick up at the DCL porter or do you have to bring your checked bags inside?

I am a single mom and took my two children alone on the disney cruise last year. I rented a car drove down to the port the night before and got a hotel right by the port which included parking for the entire cruise which cost $99 dollars, then my rental car was $170 for the entire week. When you added it up it was cheaper as I was going to be paying for a disney hotel the night before anyways. I woke up and the shuttle took me to the port and we were the fifth family on the boat. Worked out great.

 

[tastefullyjenn]

I'm thinking rental car because it is cheaper and we can run on our own time.
We will likely fly down a day or two early, anyway.
Rental cars at MCO are a snap, so easy. Do online check in and I've never had anyone ask if we want to buy insurance.
Plus, with the rental car, we can make a stop at the liquor store for our items to carry onboard.

I purchased our car rentals online and also never got "upsold" at all at either pick up. I had fears about renting being as hassle but it was really super simple!

 

[Sleepyluke]

I am a vote for the simplicity and convenience of the DCL transfers. Yes it is costly, but with 3, it will be fairly close on price I believe and you don't worry about lugging anything or parking, or thinking for that matter. I am not a single mom, but have helped carry things for them, and depending on the age of your kids, they may help carry their stuff, they may not. Lugging a carry on is one thing, but lugging a carry on, and all of your 5 suitcases for the cruise is quite another. They do seem to pick you up a little later than some people like, but in our experience, we have not had to even pause between the check in line and getting on the ship. Again, no hassle and no big lines from our view anyway. Always still had plenty of time for food, getting stuff put down in the room and get to the parties. No you will not be at the port by 10 AM to hurry up and wait, but the cruise seems to start when you get on that bus with other folks that are ready to start the fun.

 

[pixarmom]

I am a vote for the simplicity and convenience of the DCL transfers.

They do seem to pick you up a little later than some people like, but in our experience, we have not had to even pause between the check in line and getting on the ship. Again, no hassle and no big lines from our view anyway. Always still had plenty of time for food, getting stuff put down in the room and get to the parties. No you will not be at the port by 10 AM to hurry up and wait, but the cruise seems to start when you get on that bus with other folks that are ready to start the fun.

This is what our family of five plans to do in August after reading all the reports here. We feel the same about rental cars as MinnesotaMouseketeers, we don't want to wait at the port in the morning, and it seems so easy to have DCL transfer our luggage. So we plan to do a character breakfast at Cape May and then swim at Luna Park pool before the DCL bus picks us up from BWI. Might even pick up CS lunch before getting on the bus. After the cruise, we'll take the DCL bus to BC.

My husband is with us most of the time, but I've also traveled with our kids on my own several times (and as recently as last month!) Either way, but especially on my own, I vote for anything convenient! And the DCL bus seems to fit that description!

 

[Minniemouse07]

I didn't like any of the choices so for our family of four we opted to drive down from Philly (have always flown before).

Reasoning:

DCL is $$ for a family of four.

Renting a vehicle is $$ as well. We will be in Florida for 14 days and will have too much luggage for a sedan...and a van is just too $$.

A town car was the most likely possibility but again, more $$ than we wanted to spend.

By having our own vehicle, we are now able to arrive a few days early, spend a day w/ the ILs locally, a day at Kennedy Space Center, enjoy our cruise and then drive ourselves over to WDW for the last portion of our trip. We will be staying at a hotel near the port the night before the cruise and taking advantage of their free parking.

A few months ago we ended up changing our mind about driving and got tix for the Auto Train ..so we will still have the van with us but will be able to relax instead of drive!

 

[tamsocal]

we are variable on when we will get cruiseline transfers or make arrangements on our own. It all just depends on convenience, timelines and price.
Our most recent cruise coming up: DIsney Air was cheaper than the airfare I could get independently-- so we ended up getting transfers, prenight hotel all for less $$ than me booking my own air. Extra bonus that we have never flown in to MCO and do not know the area, it is last minute planning, so now we are completely taken care of from the time we leave our home and have the convenience of not worrying about anything else.

BUT I had thought the same thing when I flew to RIo last year with my 7 yr old thinking I would just go with the Ease of Princess transfers-- retrospectively, we could have easily made arrangements on our own but cost would not have been too different

 

[auntlynne]

Thanks for that suggestion! It is definitely cost-effective from doing a quick price check... My only question is, how do you handle your checked luggage? Do you have to drag it all in wtih you when you get to the port?

Pretty much any way you go, you don't have to hassle with checked luggage.

There is a drop-off curb, luggage out of the trunk/shuttle, taken by the porters (not an option to skip). People and day-bag go through to the terminal. You will have your day-bag with you from that point until staterooms are ready after 1:30. Which means in the terminal and at lunch. There is no storage area at this time. You can bring a stroller if one of your kids is that size.

 

[ksloane]

I'm also a single mom and my vote is for Disney transportation. It really does make it so simple, and for my girls it's part of the experience. I'm considering (because of saving money) using hotel shuttle to get there this time and my daughter is not happy that she might not ride the Disney bus and watch the Disney video on the way to her Disney cruise...

At this time we are flying in the day (well evening) before and staying at the Hilton Garden Inn MCO. It's $169 for the night. They pick you up from airport, provide breakfast, and then take you to port and bring you back afterward. This also seems super super easy to me, and cheaper than another hotel and then paying for Disney transportation.