There are so many variables that go into the questions you are asking. As Barbydoll said, the majority of folks will advise that you do the parks first and then relax on the cruise. We are combining a WDW trip and a 7-day
Disney cruise this upcoming January/February. We are actually doing the cruise first. We are going to stay at the Wilderness Lodge the night before our cruise, but our park time will come after our cruise. The main reason for this is to take advantage of the fast pass system. We will be able to book our fast passes about 68 days out from our trip.
There are lots of new attractions coming to WDW and should be open by your planned dates. It will be quite a challenge to figure out what park and which rides to venture onto and when. For me, figuring all of that out is part of the fun of the Disney experience. It may be helpful to have the edge on fastpasses.
As for the parks, I use the same formula that Disney advises -- (if you are staying on property -- which I would encourage) I plan on going to the parks that use the EMH in the morning (DW and DD12 are not late night types). I am always surprised that Disney opens most of the big attractions for the EMH. You can figure on going on at least two of these during EMH and then secondary rides as time permits. You then can schedule your fast passes for the remaining big attractions during the rest of the morning/afternoon. Of course, it will become much more challenging as Disney expands each venue by offering whole new lands to explore.
If you do not want to miss out on the evening fireworks/shows, schedule these visits with a down day at the resort the next day. These days we do things like minature golf/Disney Springs/riding the surrey bikes on the boardwalk/etc.
I highly recommend the Hoop-de-doo revue dinner show. It never gets old for us. It is definitely one of our favorite things at Disney.
As for the tour, I would also recommend the MK tour. There is more Disney history/Disney magic tied into the MK. Of course, if you love animals, the AK tour may be right up your alley. If the cost is not prohibitive, I would heartily concur on doing this.
As for the TA, if this was my first Disney Cruise, I probably would use the TA. You certainly will not lose anything, and it would be nice to have someone who can help you with decisons about early or later dining options -- what excursions (if any) to go on. You may end up getting an onboard credit out of it to boot. As for the WDW side of things, I would schedule those myself. You can schedule meal reservations 180 days out of your stay at a booked Disney resort. You can schedule fast passes 60 days out (if you are staying on property -- or even earlier if you have a split stay like I mentioned above (staying one night on property -- then going on the cruise -- then going to WDW)). From my point of view, you are spending way to much to not make the attempt to make this a perfect vacation. I will always be online on the MY Disney APP booking exactly to the minute -- my fast passes and/or my meal reservations when they first come open.
I would not take a day off in between your cruise and your park experience unless of course you are referring to your transition day. Whichever comes first, you are going to be hard pressed to do much in the park on the day you transition.
This January, we will eat a leasurely 9:00 am breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Cafe on the day of our cruise. We are using the
DCL bus service. Our bags get picked up at 8:00 am from the room, and the bus will come for us at the Wilderness Lodge at 11:30 am.
Other things to consider -- we use the Garden Grocer -- they deliver to your resort and have very reasonable prices for groceries. We eat breakfast in the room and eat most of our lunches and dinners on property.
Make sure to let Disney know that it will be your daughter's 16th birthday. She will get a pin to wear and a lot of Disney cast members will wish her a happy birthday.
There are so many sites and so many things to do and see -- go explore them online. This site is a great place to start and end your research. Good luck and have fun.
That gives me a enough time to plan and save! We're going to do a Disney Cruise and some days in the parks as well. This will be our 1st Disney Cruise and I'm not sure if I should use a TA. I'm used to doing all of the planning for our usual Disney trips, but I'm afraid that I'm going to forget/miss something. Some things I need advice on:
