MCO DCL Shuttle to Port Canaveral Quetsion

[jenc842]

Hi! Staying at the Hyatt MCO before our lovely first cruise. For the DCL transport... how do I ensure I get on the first shuttle out? Do I reserve the shuttle in advance or I just sign up the morning of? I arrive the night before so not sure if the "registration desk" would be open still.

 

[princessmommyx3]

There are no reservations for the shuttle. When you check into the hotel, tell the person that you will take the DCL shuttle in the morning and they will give you a paper with instructions on it. The paper will tell you what time the DCL desk opens in the morning and where to find it. It will also give instructions for what to do with your luggage if you want DCL to transfer it from your hotel room to the ship. Just be at the DCL shuttle desk a few minutes before it opens and you should be on the first shuttle to the port.

Also, before you cruise, be sure to purchase DCL transfers to/from the port through either DCL or your travel agent.

 

[jenc842]

Gotcha THANKYOU!

 

[bumbershoot]

The registration desk is at the Hyatt and it's just the main front desk. Let them know you bought transfers, they put you on the list for luggage pickup and give you a letter with all the info you need, and you can go to sleep.

If you're letting them take your bags, have the checked bags ready by about 8 am as that's the earliest if I recall correctly that they'll come by for them.

 

[wilkeliza]

Hi! Staying at the Hyatt MCO before our lovely first cruise. For the DCL transport... how do I ensure I get on the first shuttle out? Do I reserve the shuttle in advance or I just sign up the morning of? I arrive the night before so not sure if the "registration desk" would be open still.

Also pick the first port arrival time. A friend didn't choose hers because they said since she would be at the terminal on Disney transportation it wasn't needed. That is true and she was allowed in but her boarding group was about 5 behind us even though she got to the port 45 minutes before us. I guess they do assign some boarding numbers based on port arrival time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Also pick the first port arrival time. A friend didn't choose hers because they said since she would be at the terminal on Disney transportation it wasn't needed. That is true and she was allowed in but her boarding group was about 5 behind us even though she got to the port 45 minutes before us. I guess they do assign some boarding numbers based on port arrival time.

They assign numbers to those reservations who didn't select PATs in the order of availability. For example, each PAT window has XX number of boarding numbers assigned to it. If not all boarding numbers are taken within a given PAT window, those would be the first numbers issued to people arriving without a PAT. Since most early PATs are desirable, most of those numbers are gone, but not necessarily, meaning that some arriving at the same time as you (without a PAT) could be issued a boarding number that was actually "assigned" to a PAT window much later.

Yes, arriving via DCL transfers means you will be allowed to enter the terminal when you actually get there, but chances are you will still get the same PAT you would have received if you actually arrived at your selected PAT. There have been reports that CMs at check in have manually, changed some boarding numbers of people arriving via DCL transfers way before their PAT (and higher boarding number), but not a lot.

 

[VS85]

The first busses begin loading up with passengers at around 9am. They leave as soon as they fill up. We also stayed at the Hyatt on our last trip. We were out of our room by 8:15, stopped at the front desk to make sure our room was on the list for our bags to be picked up, made a stop at Starbucks for a little breakfast to hold us until lunch, and were in the waiting area for the bus at around 8:30. Right at 9 they started asking people to line up. We were on the bus within ~10 minutes and left shortly after. I think we got to the Port right at 10am. Checked in and got our boarding number (5 - we had the 2nd earliest PAT) and were on the ship by 11:30-11:40.

There was a lot of waiting around at the terminal, but we were one of the first to complete our check-in, took pictures on the observation deck, by the ship model, and with the characters. Then we just found a seat and relaxed until they called boarding. It got very crowded around 11am.

Follow the advice of other posters and make sure that you choose the earliest available PAT when your online check-in window opens up.

Have fun!