Land/sea package question

[champagne27]

Does anyone know where the bus meets to go from Land to Sea and what time it leaves and arrives at the port.

We did not book the transportation with Disney and know I am 2nd guessing if we should...

Thanks for any info!

 

[kcashner]

The bus for the land/sea package leaves from the front of the various cruise hotels. You can add DCL transfers if you wish--just call DCL or your travel agent. If you are going from the ship to WDW, the bus is right outside the cruise terminal. You didn't say which resort you are staying in.....

 

[champagne27]

Thanks for the response.

We are staying at the Poly (with a few days at BWV before package) and I'm trying to decide if it's easier to rent a car and return it to the Car Care Center the day before the cruise and do the bus transfers or try to return the car somewhere near the port...

 

[clh2]

You could also take a town car service (i.e. like FL Tours). Then you get a nice quiet ride out to the port, based on your schedule! Depending on how many people you are transporting, it may be cheaper than the Disney bus.

 

[Mom949499]

We just returned from a land/sea trip sad2: I want to go back!!), and we stayed at the Poly. We had to meet at 11:15 and they had buses ready to go to bring us to port. I didn't notice what time we got to port (too excited), but we got on the ship and had time to book excursions, check out our room, have lunch and get in the Mickey pool before it got too crowded.

Last time we cruised we did the pick-up at Animal Kingdom at 12:45. It was nice to squeeze in a little more park time, but we got to the ship late, it was mobbed and we had to rush to lunch without even dropping our day bags at our room. It was much nicer sleeping in and enjoying the pool at the Poly and then getting to the ship without feeling rushed.

I personally love the Disney transfers. With three youngish kids it's nice not having to worry about the luggage. You have it ready by 8am the morning you board the ship and then it's delivered to your stateroom. My kids like riding on the bus which means I have an enjoyable ride too!

Enjoy your trip - I'm already trying to figure out how we can afford another trip

 

[champagne27]

Thanks for the info!

Mom949499 - can you tell me how you liked the Poly and which longhouse you were in? I think transfers may be the best way to go (especially with a 3 and 5 year old!) - glad to hear you got to the boat early enough - that was one of my concerns.

I am so excited. I am already wondering when we will do the next trip and we haven't even taken this one yet - how pathetic!

 

[Mom949499]

Champagne27: I loved the Poly. It was really nice being right on the monorail, especially with young children. We were in Fiji. It seemed like a nice location - close to the action, but still quiet. We had a slider with a patio over looking a beach with a patio swing and ducks. It was very relaxing. My kids LOVED the volcano pool and slide. I was travelling with my entire family, and the older kids (teens) preferred the other pool which was deeper. We had breakfast at the snack shop just about every morning. They had cereal, oatmeal, fruit, pastries etc. We went light on the eating knowing that we had the delicious meals on the cruise to look forward to. Let me know if you have any more questions. I'd be happy to answer them, that way I can keep reliving it!

 

[jlowejd5]

We've always done the DCL buses. We actually like the Disney transportation system, even though lots of people don't. We've gone from both the resorts and directly from MCO, and we were very happy both times. I'm the kind of guy who likes to lock the jeep when I pull into the lot at the airport, stash the car keys in the carry-on, and not operate a motor vehicle until I get back home.

It's an easy ride, they have a video presentation about the ship, and they usually fill up the rest of the ride with Disney cartoons or something. The last one we were on, I don't think there was a single kid under 7 who didn't sleep most of the way to the port.

And we've always gotten there early enough to get everything booked that we needed to, without having to stand in much of a line (either to check in or to board).

 

[kcashner]

The "best" way to the port depends on your desires. We've done DCL bus, driven ourselves, etc.

All of this is personal opinion.....
DCL transfers--you leave on their schedule, arrive at the ship on their schedule. Generally, you leave the parks about 11:30-12:30 depending on the resort. The bus is air conditioned, comfortable, and has about a 30 minute video about the ship which entertains the kids.

Driving yourself--parking is $10 a day at the port. You travel on your schedule. If you have a rental, you can turn it in near the port for no extra drop off charge. The rental places will shuttle you to the port. A hint...if doing this, have Dad drop Mom, kids, and luggage at the port. Mom can then get in line to check in. Dad returns the car (keeping his photo ID on his person), and shuttles back to the port. When Mom checks in, the CM will check Dad in too, but will keep his KTTW pending his arrival and showing his ID. Of course, if you booked land/sea as a package, you don't need the check in at the port.

Private limo--In my experience, the cost "break even" point between a limo service and DCL transfers was 3 people. For a party of 3, the costs were about the same. For more than 3, private limo was cheaper. The advantage here is that the limo will run on YOUR time schedule. In addition, most limo services will allow a 15 minute stop at a grocery store or Wal-mart if you need to pick up something. Most are equipped with a DVD player and a couple of movies for the kids.

The Poly is a nice place--convenient due to the monorail. Personally, I like the DVC resorts better, but the poly is nice, especially since the pool remodelling.

 

[AndieB]

We just returned from a land/sea trip sad2: I want to go back!!), and we stayed at the Poly. We had to meet at 11:15 and they had buses ready to go to bring us to port. I didn't notice what time we got to port (too excited), but we got on the ship and had time to book excursions, check out our room, have lunch and get in the Mickey pool before it got too crowded.

Last time we cruised we did the pick-up at Animal Kingdom at 12:45. It was nice to squeeze in a little more park time, but we got to the ship late, it was mobbed and we had to rush to lunch without even dropping our day bags at our room. It was much nicer sleeping in and enjoying the pool at the Poly and then getting to the ship without feeling rushed.

I personally love the Disney transfers. With three youngish kids it's nice not having to worry about the luggage. You have it ready by 8am the morning you board the ship and then it's delivered to your stateroom. My kids like riding on the bus which means I have an enjoyable ride too!

Enjoy your trip - I'm already trying to figure out how we can afford another trip

So glad I found this thread! We're doing the land-sea pkg in October, 3 nights at the Poly and 4 on the Wonder. Would love to hear your experiences at WDW and on the ship! I had heard about the pickup at AK and was wondering about seeing it that Sunday morning. But was kind of luke-warm about the attractions there. My DS4 will be thrilled with MK and Epcot, but not sure about what else. It really sounds nice to get to the ship with time to have the pool relatively quiet.

Don't know where you were coming from, but how did Disney do on the transfers to the Poly? Did you have time to do anything your first day? I've read mixed reviews on the Disney transfers.

So many questions! Please share whatever you think might be helpful to us newbies - thanks again!

 

[Mom949499]

So glad I found this thread! We're doing the land-sea pkg in October, 3 nights at the Poly and 4 on the Wonder. Would love to hear your experiences at WDW and on the ship! I had heard about the pickup at AK and was wondering about seeing it that Sunday morning. But was kind of luke-warm about the attractions there. My DS4 will be thrilled with MK and Epcot, but not sure about what else. It really sounds nice to get to the ship with time to have the pool relatively quiet.

Don't know where you were coming from, but how did Disney do on the transfers to the Poly? Did you have time to do anything your first day? I've read mixed reviews on the Disney transfers.

So many questions! Please share whatever you think might be helpful to us newbies - thanks again!

AndieB:

We arrived Sunday around noon. We were a little disappointed with the Disney transfers this time. We did the Land/Sea last year, and there were no lines at the airport. Now that they've added the Magical Express, things are a little busier at the airport. I still like the transfers though since they handle the luggage for you. You just get on the bus, and your luggage is delivered to your room later in the day. We had day bags packed with what we wanted for the first day at the park, so we didn't even wait around for the luggage.

The first day we went to EPCOT since we had PS at Teppanyaki. I was travelling with a party of 15 and my kids are the youngest, so it wasn't necessarily geared toward them, but my daughter is really into Japan lately, so she was happy with that.

Monday we did Blizzard Beach then the Magic Kingdom for a PS at Cyrstal Palace, Tuesday MGM then Hoopee Dee Doo Review, Wednesday Animal Kingdom then Magic Kingdom, and Thursday we slept in, went for a swim and then headed for the ship.

Part of the reason we didn't do the AK transfer on Thursday, was because my DD11 begged us to spend longer at AK. I think she and my DS 5 would probably rate the parks MK, AK, MGM, EPCOT. They really like the Kali River Rapids at AK, as well as seeing all the animals.

My kids didn't do the clubs on the ship. I started working full time teaching this year, and I wanted to be around them. They loved the shows and the pin trading. We also had the 4 land/3 sea so we really weren't on the ship all that long.

In Nassau, we took a taxi to the Wyndham at Cable beach. We went through the hotel and went to the left and hung out at the beach and pool there. I think it was actually the beach and pool for the next hotel, and there was a sign saying for hotel guests only, but we went anyway and no one questioned us. The beach there was great - it was very shallow and there were a few rocks out on the edge of the swimming area (still very shallow). We had brought snorkel equipment, so my kids had a ball snorkeling around there looking at the fish. We forgot to order room service so we bought lunch there. It cost a small fortune, but I figured it made up for using the beach/pool.

I can't think of anything else. If you have more questions let me know. I've learned so much lurking around reading these threads; I don't mind giving back a little!

Wendy