land/sea questions

[coppermom]

Well we booked our cruise for April, 2006. Thanks to the good advice here, we got a Cat 9 mid ship. I chose the package so we don't have to mess with a rental car, we don't know our way around Orlando. I am planning on arriving on Wed night, and staying at Port Orleans, so that we get the full day at the parks on Thurs. Is this a good idea? Also, what time do we leave the parks for the ship on Sun? Is it possible to hold on to that WDW pass and use it on another visit, (in a couple of years) rather than use it on a day that we are leaving early? I hate to spend all of that money to get into the park, and miss half the day, when I am sure we will be back as soon as we can afford it !! Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[zeldacruiser]

I've never gone to the parks the day I arrive (except once to Pleasure Island in the evening, if that counts), so I definitely think it's a good idea to arrive the day before. Whether or not you can use part of your pass another year depends on what kind of passes you buy. I believe WDW recently changed the rules so few (if any) new tickets are good in the future if not used on a current visit, so I would check on what kind of tickets you're getting.

We like to leave WDW area by 10 a.m. on cruise day so we can get checked in and be ready when they start boarding, usually around noon. There's a mandatory lifeboat drill at 3:45, so you definitely need to be all settled in your staterooms by then.