MCO Ground Transfer to Port Canaveral - Port arrival time?

[Jessirip]

Hello all! We are sailing on our first Disney Cruise in October. Staying at the MCO Hyatt the night before and I have already booked ground transfers through Disney. I found this excellent blog post on how ground transfers work from the Hyatt to the port, and she mentioned that the port arrival time you choose upon online check-in doesn't really matter, because you can basically just go to the Disney buses when you are ready, and they will put you on the next one to the port (after those ahead of you in line of course).

Has anyone found this to be the case? I ask because it is pretty important to our 4 year old that she do the princess meet and greet, and I understand that an earlier port arrival time means most likely an earlier boarding time...which means more likely to snag a ticket for the meet and greet at Guest Services upon boarding. Long story short, I was planning to be up at midnight as soon as I could do online check-in in order to get as early a port arrival time as possible... but if I don't have to do that since we are taking the Disney ground transfer I sure as heck won't. We'll just be sure we are in line for the buses right after breakfast.

Any advice appreciated, thanks very much.

 

[danajay]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you book the princess meet and greet online now (so you don't have to worry about standing in the long line I stood in in April....)

 

[Weedy]

They have recently changed and you can now book the Princess and Frozen meet and greets prior to your cruise. If this is your first cruise you can do this 75 days prior to your cruise. You must be paid in full. Just log onto your reservation on the Disney cruise site. It will be under "my cruise activities". This also opens at midnight.

 

[RafikiTiki21]

Yes, the character greeting tickets are under "Explore Activities" and "Onboard Fun". You can also now book character breakfasts this way.

I've been told what you understand regarding the MCO transfer and PAT (both on this board and via calling DCL about something else). You should select a PAT as part of the online check-in process, but IF you are taking the bus from MCO you simply line up and they leave when full. Apparently (my first cruise too) when you arrive at the terminal you will not be turned away if you have a later PAT than you physically arrive. This may not be the case with all methods of arrival, and the disclaimer with the online check-in clearly states you may have to wait if arriving before your PAT. But apparently in practice, when using the MCO transfer, you don't need to stress about exact timing of boarding that bus to align with your PAT.

Also note if your online check-in date is soon, most people are having issues right at midnight. You are able to book the character greetings, Adult Dining, Spa, excursions at midnight. But there is a bug or technical issue whereby the online checkin is not activated until 2-3am or so. So be patient with that portion, or try again in the morning. I got everything at midnight but wasn't able to check-in until around 6am when I tried again.

 

[Jessirip]

Well you all have just made my day! Being able to pre-book the meet and greets is just awesome. Thank you!

And thank you for the info on the transfer and midnight issues. I'll probably be too excited to sleep and will give it a go, but this is really good info. Thank you again.

 

[rantnnravin]

Also, your boarding group # is tied to your PAT (which is determined when you do your online checkin) - so even if you arrive at the port first thing via DCL transport, you will still board with the group corresponding to the PAT assigned during online checkin process.

EDIT: Of course, if you take care of those M&G's ahead of time, it doesn't matter when you arrive at the port ;-)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Also, your boarding group # is tied to your PAT (which is determined when you do your online checkin) - so even if you arrive at the port first thing via DCL transport, you will still board with the group corresponding to the PAT assigned during online checkin process.

Generally, this seems to be true. Regardless on when you actually arrive and check in, boarding numbers are tied to your actual PAT you select during online check in.

However, sometimes the CM checking you in can override a high number and reassign a lower number. Don't know the criteria they use for determining who to do this with, but it does happen. And, those who don't have to select a PAT (people booking pre-cruise stay at MCO Hyatt or WDW resorts through DCL) will get the next available boarding number after they check in at the port.

 

[MinnieMouse64]

I found this excellent blog post on how ground transfers work from the Hyatt to the port, and she mentioned that the port arrival time you choose upon online check-in doesn't really matter, because you can basically just go to the Disney buses when you are ready, and they will put you on the next one to the port (after those ahead of you in line of course).

To answer your post; yes, basically you just head down to where the buses when you are ready and they will put you on the next bus heading over to the port. Call me crazy, but when we stay are the MCO Hyatt and have our luggage picked up at our room, I will not leave until I know our luggage has been picked up and on its way. Then we head down to the buses. Normally, we are on the 3rd or 4th bus.

 

[Jessirip]

To answer your post; yes, basically you just head down to where the buses when you are ready and they will put you on the next bus heading over to the port. Call me crazy, but when we stay are the MCO Hyatt and have our luggage picked up at our room, I will not leave until I know our luggage has been picked up and on its way. Then we head down to the buses. Normally, we are on the 3rd or 4th bus.

Oh that's a good thought. Do you just know when they come pick it up from your room?

 

[Heart82381]

To answer your post; yes, basically you just head down to where the buses when you are ready and they will put you on the next bus heading over to the port. Call me crazy, but when we stay are the MCO Hyatt and have our luggage picked up at our room, I will not leave until I know our luggage has been picked up and on its way. Then we head down to the buses. Normally, we are on the 3rd or 4th bus.

What time do the busses begin departing MCO? We are also staying at the Hyatt.

 

[cruizincathi]

Buses begin departing around 9:15(loading begins around 9:00).

As for your luggage at the Hyatt, they have a contract with Disney and are required to transport your luggage to the ship if they miss any bags. This requires a helicopter to the ship the first evening. Needless to say, that is expensive for the hotel and they make sure nothing is missed. The biggest thing is to make sure you fill out the form at check in and give it to the cast members in the transportation check in to be sure they have your info. This is how they know which guests are cruisers and have luggage to collect.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

Buses begin departing around 9:15(loading begins around 9:00).

As for your luggage at the Hyatt, they have a contract with Disney and are required to transport your luggage to the ship if they miss any bags. This requires a helicopter to the ship the first evening. Needless to say, that is expensive for the hotel and they make sure nothing is missed. The biggest thing is to make sure you fill out the form at check in and give it to the cast members in the transportation check in to be sure they have your info. This is how they know which guests are cruisers and have luggage to collect.

LOL, ok. There is no way they would ever helicopter luggage to the ship absent a life and death situation. The hotel is not going to pay for that, and Disney is not going to allow it -- there is too much risk involved. The luggage would meet you at the next stop.

 

[cruizincathi]

LOL, ok. There is no way they would ever helicopter luggage to the ship absent a life and death situation. The hotel is not going to pay for that, and Disney is not going to allow it -- there is too much risk involved. The luggage would meet you at the next stop.

This is the information I was told by the Hyatt front desk at my first stay with them pre cruise. If you question the accuracy, take it up with them. If you can PROVE I am incorrect, feel free to post. These boards are for sharing info and experience, which is what I did. If it is inaccurate, I'm sorry. I'm sure I'm the first to post outdated or incorrect info here.

 

[jenc842]

And by the way, just to ease your worries - boarding for the shuttles is a very stress free process. The line was never long and buses came one after another. We got there early because we were nervous about having a long line for the shuttles/not getting there for our early PAT, but that really was not the case. Boarding at PC was also not as crazy as I anticipated...in fact, it was very smooth...they stagger it so well. Once we got on the ship we didn't feel rushed at all, and felt like we had some empty areas of the ship to explore on our own! Disney is MAAAAAGIC.