Need advice from all of you SMART people!

[hydster]

Ok...WDW/Disney cruising is TOTALLY new to me so I need HELP on this subject!

Here is my "dilema" if you will:

We booked through Dreams for the Land/Sea package on the Wonder from 11/14 to 11/21. We booked our own airfare due to free tickets on the airlines. We couldnt get a flight out of Salt Lake City, Utah until 5pm on the 14th (a day we were supposed to use as one of our 3 days in WDW) and we dont arrive in MCO until 11 pm local time. We are staying through DCL at the Poly and there are 4 adults and 3 kids going. We are thinking about using a car service to get us from the airport to the Poly. We will stay at the Poly the 14th, 15th and 16th and then board the Wonder on the morning of the 17th for our 4 day cruise. Thinking of using car service again to take us to the port since I think Disney transfers are comparable to getting our own transportation AND we can leave when WE want! (What time should that be too?) then we are on the cruise and then we get back on the 21st.
Can we use the day we were supposed to use on the 14th for the day of the 21st in WDW or are they only good for specific days? We are going to stay 2 nights after the cruise but did NOT book that part through Dreams and are going to probably do it ourselves....now comes more of the questions....

1. Should we rent a car at Avis at the pier to get us back to the hotel after the cruise??? Will Disney transfers if we do those take us back to a hotel and then 2 days later take us to the airport?

2. Where should we stay? I dont really want to fork out the $$$ involved at staying at the Poly and 2 adults are going home so it will be me and hubby and our 3 kids. We dont really want to get 2 rooms unless we can get them at a good price. We have seen some rates for rooms online at various places though not on site property through Disney for 60-100 dollars a night which is good. Is it necessary to stay on property at WDW??? We will go to the theme parks on Thur and Fri and then go home on Sat morning.

3. Is it crazy to use a limo service to pick us up at MCO, take us to Poly, pick us up at Poly, take us to pier, pick us up at pier, take us back to another hotel (not yet determined by you fine folks) and then from hotel to the airport. Would we be better off using Disney Transfers? Should we book it through Dreams and see what they can come up with? Is it cheaper to do the hotel and transfers or cars by ourselves??

I AM SO CONFUSED AND OVERWHELMED! LOL I am the Disneyland expert but never being in WDW or Orlando I am lost and fear of having decided the wrong thing to do. Can ANYONE help me figure this out???? I need the advice of all of you experts to help me!

Thanks in advance,
Heidi

 

[din]

Originally posted by hydster

Can we use the day we were supposed to use on the 14th for the day of the 21st in WDW or are they only good for specific days? We are going to stay 2 nights after the cruise but did NOT book that part through Dreams and are going to probably do it ourselves....now comes more of the questions....

Not sure what you are asking about using the day of the 14th for the 21st?

Originally posted by hydster

1. Should we rent a car at Avis at the pier to get us back to the hotel after the cruise??? Will Disney transfers if we do those take us back to a hotel and then 2 days later take us to the airport?

Can't answer about the disney transfer, but if you have that many transfer I would imagine it may be cheaper to get a car.

Originally posted by hydster

2. Where should we stay? I dont really want to fork out the $$$ involved at staying at the Poly and 2 adults are going home so it will be me and hubby and our 3 kids. We dont really want to get 2 rooms unless we can get them at a good price. We have seen some rates for rooms online at various places though not on site property through Disney for 60-100 dollars a night which is good. Is it necessary to stay on property at WDW??? We will go to the theme parks on Thur and Fri and then go home on Sat morning.

Other poster may say different but the best reason to stay at a designated DCL hotel is for the port transfer on the morning of your cruise. They will pick up your bags in from your room and it will appear in your stateroom. Also you only check in once at the hotel, assuming it is a package deal. Upon returning, the assumption is that you are staying additional, but it is not part of the package. There are pleanty of hotels in Disney that is moderately priced. Staying on Disney has it's advantage for transportation.

Originally posted by hydster

3. Is it crazy to use a limo service to pick us up at MCO, take us to Poly, pick us up at Poly, take us to pier, pick us up at pier, take us back to another hotel (not yet determined by you fine folks) and then from hotel to the airport. Would we be better off using Disney Transfers? Should we book it through Dreams and see what they can come up with? Is it cheaper to do the hotel and transfers or cars by ourselves??

We tried every combination and pick the best one. It may worth your time to do the combinations and calculation.

 

[myfairygodmother]

In response to where should you stay after the cruise... I'm probably in the minority here but having stayed way too many times to count both on and off property, I prefer to stay off property. It is sooooo.... much cheaper and I can spend that extra $$$ on extra park days, more souveniers, etc... Even the times that I've stayed on property I prefer to use my own transportation(at least to get to the TTC) unless I am at the Contemporary or Polynesian.

I just reserved my hotel for the night after the Sept. cruise as we will do a park on Saturday after the cruise. I usually stay at the Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista on Palm Parkway. My room for 9/14 is $35.96 which includes 2 double beds, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker. This hotel is just outside the Downtown Disney(Hotel Blvd) gate. It has two swimming pools and a resturant onsite as well as a game room and laundry facilities.

IMHO, this hotel is about the best deal you can find unless you want to spend mega$$$. An added bonus, you can see the fireworks part of Illuminations from the hotel. The hotel also runs a shuttle bus to the parks--the schedule varies by season.

 

[westjones]

Personally, I don't think the 'land' package is worth it. You can save money by going it on your own. There are less expensive hotels and you can buy the admissions package that is best for you. I don't know if the 'ultimate' park hopper is part of the package, but we never thought they were worth it because we just go to the parks and not the water park attractions. If we want to go to the water park, we will just pay for the day there.

Can you 'cancel' the land/sea package and go with just the 'sea'. Then make reservations at the hotel you want to stay at (and if that is one of Disney's that is great--personally we LOVE the 2 bedroom cabins at Fort Wilderness). If you plan to be at the parks all the time, then the All Star hotels are fine. Not fancy, but fine for a good night's sleep and still get to use the Disney bus system.

Just MHO. No matter what, you will have a great time. I NEVER thought I would repeat a vacation---there is just too much to see in this world. But after one Disney Cruise I just couldn't imagine not going back. We have our third one booked now, and DH and I have decided to make this an annual trip for our twin daughters' birthday (we have always gone over thier birthday). You will love it.

Debra

 

[Irishmom23]

I booked with DU for our last land/sea, but we booked the land portion of our trip separate from our sea portion. Dreams is VERY good at offering you suggestions for making your trip as stress free as possible. I wouldn't hesitate to e-mail the TA you are working with to answer some of your questions.

 

[hydster]

Not sure what you are asking about using the day of the 14th for the 21st?

In our package we were given a passport type thing to go to the theme parks for 3 days which would be the 14th, 15th and 16th in my assumption anyway. Since we dont arrive until 11 pm on the 14th but we want to stay after our cruise for 2 days instead of coming home right after the cruise ends can I use the day that we would have technically used on the 14th on the 21st day instead? I know it is difficult for me to get out what I am asking but basically since we should get 3 days on a park hopper pass but will only use 2 can we use the 3rd day after we go on the cruise or are they only good for the 3 days before we get on the ship. Hopefully that asks the question right! LOL Thanks for trying to understand me by the way!

We bought the land package just because we got a great deal on it and we dont like to have to worry about things (Like I am doing now with booking hotel and stuff after a cruise) so we like someone else to handle it all for us and we show up. This staying 2 days after the cruise was an afterthought so we are trying to go it alone even though we know NOTHING about Orlando! LOL I dont mind the $$$ involved in staying before the cruise with the package because I think we got a great deal but I wonder about the money afterwards staying at the poly when we arent on a deal! We are cruising in November for about 1000 per person which is the hotel, the passes into WDW stuff and the cruise which for us we think is a great deal (maybe not to some but to us it is a great deal for a family suite and a room at the poly for 3 nights) so that isnt the issue but I wondered about where to stay after the cruise and if we needed a car or if it would be worth it to check into other means of transportation! Thanks for your suggestions though!

I just reserved my hotel for the night after the Sept. cruise as we will do a park on Saturday after the cruise. I usually stay at the Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista on Palm Parkway.

That sounds like a great deal...do we have to have a car to get into WDW or can we use some other means of transportation? We are TRYING to not have to rent a car to get us around down there but us being "novice" at WDW have no idea if that is possible! I have seen rates there for our time around 59 which I thought was great but wondered if we could get away without a rental car if we had the car service drop us at our hotel...can we get a decent hotel with shuttle service to take us to WDW area?

I understand about staying at the Poly before the cruise but is it completely necessary after the cruise when we are just "killing time" before we go home 2 days later??? Can we get around Orlando and to the parks without a rental car??? Does anyone know if we can use Disney transportation and have them take us from the ship to one of their resorts (if we decide to stay there) and then pick us up on Saturday and take us to the airport?
So many problems and with never going there before I have no idea!
Thanks for your patience...and any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Heidi

 

[myfairygodmother]

The Comfort Inn that I mentioned earlier does have shuttle service to all of the theme parks. I believe that they also have a shuttle to the airport although there may be a fee for that since it is a longer drive. You will find that most of the off-site hotels do have a shuttle to the parks although not as extensive as the Disney shuttles that run to the hotels on Hotel Blvd. which is technically Disney property.

In regards to using one of your "land" days after the cruise--check with your TA. When I did the land/sea in Dec. 1999(or was it 1998???), the dates for the "package deal" were on the KTTW card and it was only good for that time period. We went down a day early and stayed at the Comfort Inn then transferred to our on property resort the next morning so that we would not lose any park time.

If you choose not to stay on property after the cruise, Happy Limo may be a good option for transportation from the port to the parks. Good Luck!!!

 

[yvettpal]

We are also doing a land/sea vacation and decided to fly in one day early (since we are coming from CA) so we wouldn't "lose" our 1st day in the parks. I just booked an extra night at POR separate from the package.

 

[mcnuss]

I am not a cruise vet but I am the queen of planning WDW. As others have mentioned, the "land" portion is usually not the most economical way to go to WDW & cruise. You will certainly do better yourself, even if you book the Poly (which I love) yourself.

For transportation, I would take a private vehicle from MCO to Poly, DCL transfers from Poly to cruise (the kids will love it) and a rental car after the cruise.

Ok, what to do the 2 days you have post-cruise? Staying off-property with a car rental makes sense! You will more than cover the cost of the car with your savings. Also, you get freedom with the car, and don't have to rely on Disney transport. Unlike DL, WDW is disperse and it's good to have a car with little ones to get around. We stay at the Vistana resort in Lake Buena Vista. It can be pricey, though during an off week you can do well. The attraction is that you get a condo for the price of a hotel. You have a FULL kitchen and laundry in the units, and you are less than 3 miles from WDW. Having laundry facilities after your cruise will be nice. We also stay at the Doubletree in Kissimee for the same reason; condo for hotel price. If you like a hotel, the Hilton is about the closest to DTD but the rooms are small-ish. I think the wildcard on pricing for you is that Nov. 21 is right before T-giving. I don't know how that affects pricing/availability.

Last, if you got a "passport" called a "Hopper", then your days do not have to be consecutive. You can use them on the 15th, 16th, and the 22nd if that's what you were asking.

I sure hope this helps. Let me know if you need any WDW tips.

ABN

 

[northernmouse]

If I were in your shoes, this is what I would seriously think about doing. DU can help you.

The land/sea package is specific to your dates of stay. The park days are only good for the specified dates of your land portion. There is no ticket for you to use later -- your admission to the parks is an ultimate park hopper, only for resort guests, and is tied to your resort stay. Since the packages are not the most economical way to book, I'd split it apart, especially since you're losing 30% of the value of the land portion.

Transfer your cruise portion to cruise only. You can keep the same dates and the same stateroom. You should still get a good rate.

You have a couple of choices for admission to the parks. It will vary depending on whether you decide to stay on-site or off, or split between the two. Given your schedule, and depending on what you want to do, you may want to get multi-day Park Hopper Plus tickets. That way, the time you pay for will better match the time you can spend at the parks, and you can buy according to time-frames that match the time people will stay.

Rebook the land portion as room(s) only, at the Poly or whichever other resort you prefer, either on or off site. For WDW resorts, get DU to use one of the recently released codes. IF you stay on-site and if you want unlimited access to the parks for the 2 1/2 days of your stay before the cruise, I would book room only, and only when you get to the resort, have them add unlimited park hoppers to your room. Get them to remove the first day since you will get there after the parks close. That way, you won't pay for admission you can't use.

If you don't have a Disney Club membership, get one. It should pay for itself with your admission media discount.

I, personally, would rent a van. Your time at the parks is short. It's easy to get around in the World, and if you stay on-site, parking is free at the parks. Use an Avis code, and you can pick it up at MCO, drop it off at Port Canaveral, pick it up again at Port Canaveral and drop it at the airport after.

Personally, I love staying on site. But I would caution that the 'great deal' you got on the package will not be so great when you lose 30% of your resort time, especially over two rooms. There are ways for you to get an even better deal overall, and Dreams Unlimited can certainly help you get it. Since your TA knows the specifics of your reservation, tell them where you're at, and they can help you with the whole thing. Contrary to popular belief, it won't cost you any more to book through your TA.

 

[hydster]

I took Northernmouse's idea and decided to just see what I could do on my own basically. Now for 5 of us (not including the inlaws because they pay their own way) to go through the land sea package it was basically 4819.25 total with the park hopper passes included as well as 3 nights at the Poly before we get on the ship. I did the cruise only and granted it wasnt through Dreams (though I am waiting to get a rate from my agent but this is hypothetical) it was $3894.25 for just the room on the ship. Then to stay at the Poly for 3 nights before and 2 nights afterwards it was 1659.50 (OUCH) and then a Park Hopper pass for each of us for 4 days was a total of $840.00 plus that didnt include taxes OR a rental car or transportation. Does anyone know of a hotel at WDW that we could stay in as a family of 5 cheaper and NOT have 2 rooms?? My 3 year old would try to escape if we put the kids in their own room and we really would like to sleep together (hubby and me) so can anyone HELP ME any more?? I really appreciate the help you have given me so far and will wait for my Dreams agent to get back to me!
Thanks again!
Heidi

 

[westjones]

DU just sent info on some great special this fall at WDW. Here is the info that they sent:


Disney has just released a new set of discount codes for travel between 10/3 and 12/25/02! These are some amazing rates with discounts
of up to 40% on both room-only and package reservations. Even if you're NOT planning a trip this year you may want to reconsider when you
see some of the discounts available. Fall and winter are some of the best times to visit the parks, with the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot
from October 19 to November 17 and all of the Disney holiday events from late November through the end of the year.

To check pricing and availability we invite you to submit a no-obligation reservation request form through Dreams Unlimited by CLICKING
HERE:

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/index.htm

Here are the codes currently available; when you submit a request a Dreams representative will automatically try for the best available pricing
for which you are eligible:

The following codes are available to the general public:

CKO
- For travel between 10/03/02 and 12/25/02
- Book by 09/23/02
- May have limited availability
- Room only
CLN
- For travel between 10/03/02 and 12/25/02
- Book by 09/23/02
- May have limited availability
- Includes room AND Ultimate Park Hopper Passes
CLO
- For travel between 10/03/02 and 12/25/02
- Book by 09/23/02
- May have limited availability
- Discount on Discovery Magic Plan


These codes are available to DISNEY CLUB Members Only:

ZWKE
- Basic Plan (includes admission to Wide World of Sports or admission for miniature golf
- For travel between 10/03/02 and 12/25/02
- Book by 09/23/02
- May have limited availability
ZWKF
- Basic Plan with Ultimate Park Hopper Passes
- For travel between 10/03/02 to 12/25/02
- Book by 09/23/02
- May have limited availability


These Codes are available to Certain State and Country Residents:

CQL
- For residents of Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland,
Washington, DC & Minnesota
- For travel between 08/25/02-10/02/02
- Book by 08/08/02
- Availability may be limited to certain resorts
- For room only reservations
- Proof of residency required upon check-in
CVK
- For Florida residents
- For travel between 04/21/02 and 08/24/02
- Book between 03/10/02 and 08/24/02
- Based on availability
- For room only reservations
- Proof of residency required upon check-in
CWH
- For Canada residents only
- For travel 7/4 - 10/2
- Book by 7/31
- Room rates at par with U.S. rates
- Proof of Canada residency required at check-in


These Codes are Available to WDW Annual Passholders Only:

FPZ
- For ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE only
- For travel 6/23 - 8/24
- Proof of AP required at check-in
CFQ
- Annual Passholder discount
- for travel between 04/21/02 - 09/30/02

 

[din]

We are DVC members and I belive that there some of the vacation homes that may be available for outside guest. Not sure about it, but the property have one, two or three bedroom suites.

Outside the WDW property there is a Marriott vacation club resort also simlilar the DVC vacation homes. There is always the Embassy Suites, out favorite for travelling non-Disney.

 

[hydster]

I think we are going to keep the land/sea portion of the trip as it is because to book it seperate would end up costing us over 7000.00 and doesnt include tickets or transportation. At least this way we get the Polynesian for the first 3 nights, get park hopper passes although we wont be able to use the first day since we get in so late but still have 2 days paid for. We would have to cancel and rebook the cruise and it is only 500 dollars less to cancel and book just the sea portion and then we have to add on hotel costs and other things and it seemed to end up costing us almost 1000 more than it would if we keep the land/sea and book our own hotel for 2 nights afterwards. At that rate we could find a car rental for 100 dollars and a cheap hotel, buy some tickets into WDW and still be less off than we are booking them seperate so now....

I need ideas on hotels close to WDW that are not on property that you have stayed in and we are debating the rental car issue so if you can say if they have a shuttle to the park or not that would be great as well. Since we have never been there we have no idea of good off site properties to stay at so any other recommendations other than the one I got from myfairygodmother (thank you by the way) and the recommendation from mcnuss about the Vistana. Anyone else have any favorite properties??? I have found some rates for the Orlando Hyatt for 89 a night...is that a nice hotel? It says it is 1.5 miles from WDW is that true? Is that an ok place to be??? What about staying in Radisson Resort Parkway or Howard Johnsons Maingate East??? The Radisson I can get for $ 89.50 a night, the kids eat free at the Court Restaurant, room tax and parking is included, free scheduled shuttle to the park and it looks like it is only 1.5 miles from WDW as well and the HoJo I can get for $ 64.50 a night and the kids eat free at IHOP supposedly. It is supposed to be 2 miles from WDW and room tax, parking and a free shuttle is included. Anyone know anything about these hotels????

If anyone has any other off property hotels that they have stayed at besides the ones mentioned by myfairgodmother and mcnuss I would love to hear about it or if you have stayed in the hotels I have listed I would love to hear about those hotels as well!!
Thanks!
Heidi

 

[westjones]

We really liked this one:

http://www.hifamilysuites.com/

We used the Kids Suite (because we have kids), but they have some other nice options depending on what you want.

Here are their different suites:
http://www.hifamilysuites.com/suites.html

They have a very nice breakfast in the mornings. It was right by WDW, only took a few minutes to get over there.

DJ

 

[mcnuss]

Here are a few I forgot, and I checked on Expedia for your dates and they are very reasonable:

Summerfield Suites - $99 for 2 br. suite. $79 for a 1 br. but 6 miles from WDW. This chain is super! There is one closer but it's a bit more $$.

Caribe Royale - stayed there on a business trip once, very pink! But nice... It's closer but more $$ at $139.

Marriott Ctyard - $75 for a regular room. Very close. (ALmost next to Vistana, actually.)

Vistana is showing up as $132.

Personally, I do not like the Radisson or HoJo. Hyatt is ok. Anything within 5-6 miles is fine w/a car. It is really easy to get around. I never do the shuttle bc I want the freedom to come & go as I please.

 

[Familyof6]

forgive me if I repeat what someone else has said or contradict someone.

We just returned from a "trip of a lifetime" in May...we had to stick with the Land/Sea since we had booked that to begin with and to get the suites on the 4 day cruise, you have to go with the pkg. For us, I believe it would have been far cheaper to book separately.

I think you will find that you will be very happy if you book a car service to transport you from MCO to WDW and WDW to Port. We did this and Dh was very skeptical. He thought it was too much of an indulgence. Well, on the limo ride to the GF he mentioned seeing a line at MCO...I informed him that it was the line for Disney transportation. Then I pointed out all the hotels that we'd be stopping at along the way if we were on Disney's busses, as we drove to the grocery store. Dh agreed with me that for our family of 6, a limo is the best way to go. It did cost a bit more but was well worth our time!

This May trip was technically our first trip to WDW and so we can be included in the novice group. We LOVED being on site! It really made sense for us. We could just hop on the monorail and go. (or the buses to AK, we skipped MGM since our time was short) It certainly saved us a lot of commuting time. We'd do it again in a minute, but probably it'll have to be All-Stars instead of GF!
At the Polynesian, you can have 5 people in a room as long as you have a daybed. No need for two rooms when you return.

Oh, and we also flew in one day early so we could have all 3 days at the parks. The first day was nice to just get settled in and aclimated to being at WDW. We rode the monorail all the way around and then asked to ride up front for another time around. Dinner at Ohana's was ok, and helped to get us in the Disney frame of mind. Is it at all possible for you to arrive the previous day? It really would be a benefit.

I can't really help with off-site lodging. I just did a little research the other night and found the Holiday Inn Kidsuites to be a fabulous deal, but I don't know personally what they are like.

I hope this has helped a little. If you have any other questions, you KNOW that all these lovely people on the boards are willing to give you their "opinion". Look at all the suggestions and then do what is right for your family!

Have a "wonder"ful trip!

Lisa