Our first Disney Cruise!!

[AJ1983]

Hey all! We have decided to take a Disney Cruise as part of our next vacation- very exciting, as our boys will be 5 and 7! My hisband and I did a Carnival Cruise before we got married but I understand there is just no comparison between them and Disney.

We are combining this trip with a week on site at Disney (with 4 or 5 park days) and just wondering if we should do the World before or after the cruise?

One part of me thinks get the "busy" part of the parks done before the cruise. On the other hand, we just did 3 weeks in Orlando doing all the parks, and my biys loved it. I am just concerned thag regardless of how amazing it is, they might find the cruise a little boring compared to the parks.

Any input is appreciated!

 

[o&smom]

Hey all! We have decided to take a Disney Cruise as part of our next vacation- very exciting, as our boys will be 5 and 7! My hisband and I did a Carnival Cruise before we got married but I understand there is just no comparison between them and Disney.

We are combining this trip with a week on site at Disney (with 4 or 5 park days) and just wondering if we should do the World before or after the cruise?

One part of me thinks get the "busy" part of the parks done before the cruise. On the other hand, we just did 3 weeks in Orlando doing all the parks, and my biys loved it. I am just concerned thag regardless of how amazing it is, they might find the cruise a little boring compared to the parks.

Any input is appreciated!

I vote for parks first. We have done both. With all of the craziness of the parks afterwards, it almost made you forget you had taken a cruise! Enjoy your cruise!

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

Hey all! We have decided to take a Disney Cruise as part of our next vacation- very exciting, as our boys will be 5 and 7! My hisband and I did a Carnival Cruise before we got married but I understand there is just no comparison between them and Disney.

We are combining this trip with a week on site at Disney (with 4 or 5 park days) and just wondering if we should do the World before or after the cruise?

One part of me thinks get the "busy" part of the parks done before the cruise. On the other hand, we just did 3 weeks in Orlando doing all the parks, and my biys loved it. I am just concerned thag regardless of how amazing it is, they might find the cruise a little boring compared to the parks.

Any input is appreciated!

Definitely do WDW before, in my opinion. The relaxation level of the cruise is such that it is the perfect complement to the hustle and bustle of park days at WDW.

 

[auntlynne]

What the others said.

Have a great time!

 

[goofy4prez]

Here's another who says park first. We have been to WDW many times, but we did our first cruise with Disney in 2019. We spent 4 nights in WDW and then a 7 night cruise on the Fantasy afterwards. Turns out we loved the cruise more than the parks. Another subject for another day and thread, but not so sure we will ever go back to the parks. However, we have another Disney Cruise in December and doubt it will be our last.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Parks first. The cruise and kids clubs are great fun - you will all have a great time.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

Parks 1st, cruise 2nd!!

 

[Cruising Girl]

So I guess someone has to be the flip side!!! Not sure when your vacay is planned for or the vaccination status of your children but as of right now you will have to have unvaccinated children pretested 1-3 days before cruise. And I would personally hate to have one of my littles test positive and not be able to cruise! Also know that you can contract while on your cruise which would affect your DW stay!! So guess it would just be whichever is most important to you to do first! But know that you will LOVE your cruise! Enjoy both!

 

[CamColt]

Welcome to the world of cruising!

I have done it both ways, parks before and after and they both work fine. I'd go with what fits my schedule best. But I guess if I had to choose I would say parks first. Not only does this get you to the area so you know you wont have any last minute flight issues (assuming you are traveling to get there), but it also lets you relax after the craziness of the parks.

 

[AJ1983]

Welcome to the world of cruising!

I have done it both ways, parks before and after and they both work fine. I'd go with what fits my schedule best. But I guess if I had to choose I would say parks first. Not only does this get you to the area so you know you wont have any last minute flight issues (assuming you are traveling to get there), but it also lets you relax after the craziness of the parks.

Yes, we would fly in the day before the cruise if we end up doing the parks last. That is another "pro" for doing the parks first- we wont have to check into a hotel for just one night pre cruise

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

There are so many variables, but I agree with the turf portion before the surf portion when doing Disney Surf and Turf. We fly about 15 hours…total travel time closer to 19 hours…just to get to Orlando. Doing the parks first helps us through jet lag so we can enjoy our time on-board more.

 

[iuki]

Hey all! We have decided to take a Disney Cruise as part of our next vacation- very exciting, as our boys will be 5 and 7! My hisband and I did a Carnival Cruise before we got married but I understand there is just no comparison between them and Disney.

We are combining this trip with a week on site at Disney (with 4 or 5 park days) and just wondering if we should do the World before or after the cruise?

One part of me thinks get the "busy" part of the parks done before the cruise. On the other hand, we just did 3 weeks in Orlando doing all the parks, and my biys loved it. I am just concerned thag regardless of how amazing it is, they might find the cruise a little boring compared to the parks.

Any input is appreciated!

Do the cruise first. Then you can walk off the weight you gained on the cruise.

 

[Cupcakesmum]

I think a park after trip would also be awesome. When we got off the ship we didn’t want the magic to end and I do think disembarment day is pretty depressing. We did a park day after one of our cruises and it was so much fun to have it to look forward to!

 

[AJ1983]

I think a park after trip would also be awesome. When we got off the ship we didn’t want the magic to end and I do think disembarment day is pretty depressing. We did a park day after one of our cruises and it was so much fun to have it to look forward to!

I would prefer to bookend and do 5 days at Disney before cruise and a couple afterwards but it is cheaper to do a 7 day disney pass than a 5 day and a 2 day unfortunately.

 

[Cheburashka]

Either way is fine. I'd base it on convenience of other aspects of scheduling: flights, hotel availability, etc. If the kids tend to be squirrely and easily bored, it would be good to do the parks first and get that out of their system. On the other hand, when you cruise first, you get to go to the parks after disembarkation, which makes the end of the cruise much less depressing than when you're just headed to the airport. Also, cruise ship staterooms are smaller than hotel rooms, so it's kind of nice to go from small to spacious rather than vice versa.