Night before cruise at WDW

[CindyandBrice]

Cruising January 7-11, 2019 and decided to fly in from Pittsburgh the day before because you never know how weather may come into play that time of year. Is there any WDW room discount if i book a night stay through the cruise line or is it same price as if I booked on website or on my own?

 

[squirk]

I do not believe there are any cruise-specific discounts. Jan. 6th counts as "regular" season, but there still might be discounts/promotions going on.

Still, unless you really wanted to be in a WDW resort that night, you might do better looking at a room in Cocoa Beach.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Cruising January 7-11, 2019 and decided to fly in from Pittsburgh the day before because you never know how weather may come into play that time of year. Is there any WDW room discount if i book a night stay through the cruise line or is it same price as if I booked on website or on my own?

Unfortunately, no discount. On occasion (but not always), I have found slightly better rates for wdw hotels on expedia. We do the same thing (stay in a wdw hotel night before cruise), except we usually drive.

 

[CindyandBrice]

Thanks. Wanted to avoid a car rental. Taking advantage of free magical express to WDW and then pay for cruise line transfers WDW to port(which we would have had anyway flying in same day MCO-port

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Thanks. Wanted to avoid a car rental. Taking advantage of free magical express to WDW and then pay for cruise line transfers WDW to port(which we would have had anyway flying in same day MCO-port

Unless the timing for arrival at the port is an issue, you can also take the cruise line transfer from your WDW resort hotel for the same $35 pp as it will cost from the airport. Your checked bags will be transported directly from your room to the ship so you would not have to manage it between the resort and the airport. The disadvantage might be a later port arrival than you can manage by using Magical Express to airport plus DCL transfer from airport to port.

 

[squirk]

Thanks. Wanted to avoid a car rental. Taking advantage of free magical express to WDW and then pay for cruise line transfers WDW to port(which we would have had anyway flying in same day MCO-port

Depending on how many people you have in your party and how much luggage you have, Lyft might not be a bad deal from MCO to Cocoa Beach. Absent surge pricing, I think "regular" Lyft is ~$55 per car, which can hold up to 4 people (vs. DCL's $35 per person each way).

And many Cocoa Beach hotels offer free shuttle service to the port.

 

[lanejudy]

You might find a lower-cost hotel room in the airport area. Many have free shuttles to/from MCO and some offer free breakfast as well. You can take DCL bus from MCO in the morning.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[DCLPrincess]

We always stay in a disney resort the night before our cruise. I wait until discounts are released before I book and pick what's on sale. They have room discounts most of the year.

 

[mmouse37]

Book your WDW room and your cruise separately. This way you can take advantage of any promos or discounts on your WDW room if they become available. If you book your WDW room through DCL and a deal comes up on rooms you can't take advantage of it.

MJ

 

[Corwin]

We usually do three nights at WDW before a cruise. We do this for two reasons: (1) we like going to WDW ; and (2) if our flight is cancelled, we have enough time to drive to Orlando in a pinch.

This actually paid off on our very first cruise in February 2010. A blizzard that blanketed the northeast cancelled our scheduled Thursday morning flight before a DCL cruise that was supposed to sail on Sunday. The earliest the airline could get us to Orlando was Monday.

I promptly made arrangements for a one-way car rental from Connecticut to Orlando (which would be covered by our trip insurance). This would not have been an option if we didn't have a few days' cushion before sailing.

(As it turns out, we only had to drive as far as Norfolk, and got on a flight from Norfolk to Orlando on Thursday evening.)

P.S. We always book the WDW stay separately from the cruise.

P.P.S. If I were sailing from Jan 7-11, I would fly in on Friday (1/4) and stay three nights at WDW before the cruise. The cruise arrives back in port on Friday morning, so I would then head back to WDW for 2-3 more nights!

 

[RAD]

You might find a lower-cost hotel room in the airport area. Many have free shuttles to/from MCO and some offer free breakfast as well. You can take DCL bus from MCO in the morning.

Enjoy your cruise!

I like doing this option since it’s cheaper then staying at WDW, plus you can jump on one of the first busses from MCO getting to the port a few hours then the busses coming from WDW. And if you stay at the Hyatt Regency at the airport terminal they will take your luggage from the room and next time you see it is outside your cabin.

 

[lorimay]

You may get a good price on a room on the 6th, thats after all the holiday crowds die down, just keep your eye out for deals on their website.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

While you may be able to get a room only discount (nothing to do with land/sea), I would consider how many hours you'll be spending at the resort. If your plane gets in earlier in the day (say 11am), then I could see enjoying a WDW resort the night before the cruise (you could use the pool, have dinner, ride the monorail, maybe catch fireworks from outside the park). If your flight gets in later (say 7pm), I'd stay closer to the airport at a hotel with a free airport shuttle - sort of a sleep and go situation.

Back in 2011, I flew in 2 days before our cruise - our flight was to land around 6pm but there was a bit of delay and we landed about 8pm - by the time we got to the resort on Magical express it was 9:30pm. Thankfully we still had a full park day the next day but if it had been the day before the cruise, I would have been kicking myself for spending the extra to basically just eat and sleep (and of course no free breakfast at WDW like many of the airport hotels).

 

[krlilienthal]

I have never used Uber/Lyft, so question being, if we used that service from WDW to the port, once back to the port after the cruise are there Uber/Lyft drivers hanging around in the area to provide service back to WDW or the airport?

 

[Harryo]

Is it possible to use Disney Transport from MCO to port then port to a WDW hotel instead of back to the airport? We're thinking of doing a few park days after the cruise.

 

[MomOTwins]

While you may be able to get a room only discount (nothing to do with land/sea), I would consider how many hours you'll be spending at the resort. If your plane gets in earlier in the day (say 11am), then I could see enjoying a WDW resort the night before the cruise (you could use the pool, have dinner, ride the monorail, maybe catch fireworks from outside the park). If your flight gets in later (say 7pm), I'd stay closer to the airport at a hotel with a free airport shuttle - sort of a sleep and go situation.

Back in 2011, I flew in 2 days before our cruise - our flight was to land around 6pm but there was a bit of delay and we landed about 8pm - by the time we got to the resort on Magical express it was 9:30pm. Thankfully we still had a full park day the next day but if it had been the day before the cruise, I would have been kicking myself for spending the extra to basically just eat and sleep (and of course no free breakfast at WDW like many of the airport hotels).

We got in two days earlier last time for the same reason (wanted one full park day), but I could see how it would be worth even just for the night. Even if there is a risk of getting in late, you could still do a character breakfast the next morning and swim in the hotel before the transfer bus arrives (which is what we did on the day we transferred to the cruise).

 

[Dug720]

Is it possible to use Disney Transport from MCO to port then port to a WDW hotel instead of back to the airport? We're thinking of doing a few park days after the cruise.

Pretty sure the answer is yes. The price is the same.

 

[Lilsia]

Is it possible to use Disney Transport from MCO to port then port to a WDW hotel instead of back to the airport? We're thinking of doing a few park days after the cruise.

Yes, I do this every trip. I fly in the evening before the cruise and stay at the Hyatt at MCO. Then after the cruise I go to WDW. When you book your transfers you just let them know your plans. Also if you book online it gives you the option to put in where you are going. Don't forget to sign up for Magical Express after your WDW stay. It is always a good idea to fly in the day before a cruise. If there is any kind of delay of your flight and you miss the cruise then you are pretty much SOL.

 

[ScooterScott44]

You may get a good price on a room on the 6th, thats after all the holiday crowds die down, just keep your eye out for deals on their website.

It may be a good deal. Since Jan 6th is the very end of the holiday week and the start of the week of the WDW marathon (Jan 9-13) week, it might not be as cheap and there could be tighter inventory. Since the marathon registration open up this week you might want to grab your room soon