Parks or Cruise?

[mypaulie]

I've always wondered if children enjoy the Disney Cruise as much as the Disney Parks. I would think that because the Parks offer rides, they would find it more fun. Does anyone have info on this? Thanks!

 

[CruiseBoundnKY]

My kids are 13 and 9 and we have been cruising Disney since 2007. So they were 9 and 5 on their first cruise. They enjoyed it then, but they LOVE it now. And we do Disney on years we don't cruise. Heck, we do Disney when we do cruise.

They love them both for different reasons. You're right the World has rides, but the cruise has focused entertainment just for them. The kids clubs are the best in the industry. There are planned activities for them to do such as pajama parties with characters, making flubber and a graduation at the end of the cruise that will bring tears to your eyes.

You may come back late one night to find your youngest pooped out on a cot or I came back and found my dd bonding with the girl counselors and painting her nails. Often she would tell me to leave her longer and come back much later. lol

They make crafts that they can take home too.

Now the my dd is a teen, she just can't wait to try out their teen only areas. They even have a teen only spa on the Dream.

The World is great, it's just GREAT in a very different way. I would suggest the 7 day cruise or at least the 5. Anything less and you'll just be getting settled when it's time to get off. I highly suggest going over to the meet & greet threads once you decide on a cruise. Tons of families with kids of similar ages are on there and they can make friends even before you sail. I also suggest doing at least 2 days before or after your cruise to do a few of your fav must do's at the park.

I think thats all of my advice. I gotta go pack, I leave this afternoon for Orlando and our Dream cruise/the World vacation

Hope I helped shed some light on your question.

Karen

 

[dISNEYlOveer]

We always go to the parks, but last year we went on the Dream in Feb. and we loved it!!!! and the cruise staff is the best for all ages......

 

[a742246]

I did a cruise 20+ years ago 3 day park 3 day cruise. My 5 year old son got sea sick for the 3 days on a cruise and I felt terrible the whole time.
Granted that was 24 years ago and the cruise ship are probably better stabilized today. But I would not take children on an extended cruise unless they have some experience on boats whether its 4 hours or 1 day.

 

[Lumiere Lover]

We did a Disney cruise in 2008. At that time the kids were 17 and 13. They enjoyed the cruise. I knew I would be an issue-I can't relax. I kept thinking about all the rides I would have been able to do at WDW in the same timeframe. I would never consider cruising with any other cruise line than WDW. The private island is gorgeous, and I think your kids would love it. Disney does a great job of kids areas, adult areas, and family areas. It all depends on the type of activities that your kids like to do. Our son is now 16, and is waiting for his senior year trip on DCL. That has good to be a good sign!

 

[vacation_junkie]

My kids are 13 and 9 and we have been cruising Disney since 2007. So they were 9 and 5 on their first cruise. They enjoyed it then, but they LOVE it now. And we do Disney on years we don't cruise. Heck, we do Disney when we do cruise.

They love them both for different reasons. You're right the World has rides, but the cruise has focused entertainment just for them. The kids clubs are the best in the industry. There are planned activities for them to do such as pajama parties with characters, making flubber and a graduation at the end of the cruise that will bring tears to your eyes.

You may come back late one night to find your youngest pooped out on a cot or I came back and found my dd bonding with the girl counselors and painting her nails. Often she would tell me to leave her longer and come back much later. lol

They make crafts that they can take home too.

Now the my dd is a teen, she just can't wait to try out their teen only areas. They even have a teen only spa on the Dream.

The World is great, it's just GREAT in a very different way. I would suggest the 7 day cruise or at least the 5. Anything less and you'll just be getting settled when it's time to get off. I highly suggest going over to the meet & greet threads once you decide on a cruise. Tons of families with kids of similar ages are on there and they can make friends even before you sail. I also suggest doing at least 2 days before or after your cruise to do a few of your fav must do's at the park.

I think thats all of my advice. I gotta go pack, I leave this afternoon for Orlando and our Dream cruise/the World vacation

Hope I helped shed some light on your question.

Karen

We do the same thing....the past few years we have been alternating between cruising and the World. I will NEVER ever do a Disney Cruise again (last one wasn't as good as previous) after cruising some other lines !!!!!! .

My son is 11 and he's a platinum cruiser already on Carnival! We seem to end up at Disney World when we don't find an itinirary we like!

They are 2 totally different experiences! Both wonderful!

 

[DOOM1001]

I'm an adult and I'll always be happier doing the parks but an occasional cruise is always good.I've never done a Disney cruise but I've seen many photo trip reports on them and honestly I know I might be getting some Disney people angry,but the Disney ships just don't quite do it for me.It might be that they look too traditional or even fancy in places which is far from my style but either way I'm in no rush to do a Disney cruise.Compare them to a ship like the Allure of the Seas which just has a more modern,even theme park'ish atmosphere and at least for me there's no comparison.

 

[karibritt01]

We are big "park people" but we decided to do a Disney cruise a few years ago. It was incredible! We had plenty to see and do, but also really got to relax in a way that never happens when you are in the parks. I wouldn't want to cruise every vacation, but definitely plan to do another one at some point. We got our park fix by doing the 2 for 1 Sea World ticket, and went before and after the cruise. Sea World is one of those parks we always want to do, but can't justify that money when it is so much cheaper to just add extra Disney days. This way we didn't feel we were wasting the money!

 

[nonzerosum]

Parks for sure! We did a 7 day Disney cruise and our kids have never asked to go back. On the other hand, they regularly ask to go back to WDW. The cruise was nice, but I don't think any of us are cruise people. Parks all the way for us!!

 

[sophshel]

If you have never been to any of he parks or cruise, I would definitely choose the parks for first time visitors. It really lets you experience all the magic of Disney. If you're REEEALY nice you could take your kids to WDW and the cruise haha.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've done one Disney cruise and 45 park trips......my take on our first cruise...fantastic......the ship was amazing and that was about 5 years ago and the newer ships are even better, but.......I just didn't care for the port of calls.....total waste of my time, I'd rather just stayed on the ship or better yet, just cruise to Castaway Cay and stay there for 5 days and return to port.....

We're park people, we can choose what experience we like for the day by the park we pick.....just more to see and do on land.....another cruise for us...maybe in a bunch of years but it's WDW every years and sometimes more for us.....

 

[ChristyG180]

I think I'm sold... I will take the kids on the cruise! WDW on land will always hold a special place in our hearts and I plan to visit again soon! Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Dizney73]

Congrats on your decision! We are DVC members and visit The World 2-3 times a year...about 5-8 nights each time. Last year we did our second Disney Cruise after 8 nights at the parks. I was afraid my kids, age 2 and 5, would be Disneyed out with all the characters, rides and meals at the parks. But it was quite the opposite! They loved the cruise, still were super excited to see the characters and really enjoyed being able to order anything they wanted in the dining rooms (instead of what was on the mealplan at WDW)! They loved the broadway style shows... yes, even my 2 year old! We made the cruise all about the kids... we didn't force them into the nursery or kids club but instead spent our time together as a family. We ate pizza and ice cream each time we passed it(so it seemed). It was great to do the cruise after the parks because it was way more relaxing!

And my 2 year old (3 next week) is soi excited that we are going again this summer!

 

[jbuckent]

When our oldest DD was turning 1 we took a chance on a Disney Cruise. Didn't expect much out of it, just wanted a nice get away where we could have our DD with us. In a few weeks we are heading out on our 5th Disney cruise. WE LOVED IT! The kids love it too now almost 8 and 4.5. There is tons of entertainment and its very relaxing all at the same time. There are all kinds of family activities along with things for just the kids and just the adults. We do a little with our own ages and a lot together.

This year we are trying the parks but we were nervous we wouldn't like it as much as the cruise and not ready to give up the cruise just yet so we added a 3 day cruise to the end of our park visit!

 

[rexalite]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned that I really enjoyed about the cruises, is that the kids club allowed us as parents to have a bit of alone time. Our son averaged a couple hours a day in the Kids' Club, and we loved the chance to have a quiet cocktail, or play pub trivia, and not do something kid focussed for a minute. Not sure that the parks offer anything equivalent.

 

[Kintx]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned that I really enjoyed about the cruises, is that the kids club allowed us as parents to have a bit of alone time. Our son averaged a couple hours a day in the Kids' Club, and we loved the chance to have a quiet cocktail, or play pub trivia, and not do something kid focussed for a minute. Not sure that the parks offer anything equivalent.

We haven't been to WDW yet but did take a 11 day disney cruise in 2010. Kids loved the lab/club and it was just a great way for us parents to decompress. Ths year we're going to the parks for the first time (and will try to be at every rope drop) then cap it with a relaxing cruise.

 

[k3chantal]

We have been to Disneyland over 40 times, Disney World five times and we just finished our first Disney cruise. The first thing my eight year old said as we disbarked was "I would rather go on a Disney cruise than any Disney park". A week later, my 12 year old said (as I talked to him about our upcoming Disney World trip in May), "Can we cancel that trip and use our points (we are DVC members) to go on a Disney Cruise?"

The parks are always fun but the cruise is a special, unique experience.

 

[turtlepondkid]

Here's the odd part. BOTH will leave you super happy...but equally as exhausted.