Post-Cruise in Port Canaveral?

[MamaBear58]

Any suggestions for a place to stay for 2 nights after getting OFF the Fantasy on 3/26/16? Most of what I read focuses on 1 night stays before cruises and transportation to the ship. My concerns are post cruise.

It will be DH, myself, DS8 and D6.

I am thinking that at that point DH will be "Disneyed Out", plus I can't imagine what Easter weekend will be like at Disney or Universal. We just went to Discovery Cove and Sea World in August. But our kids do not need to be back in school until Tuesday.

Ideally we would disembark, get to a hotel to dump the luggage and then have all day Sat and Sun before flying back on Monday.. If we wanted to do the Kennedy Space Center on Sat is it warm enough to do a beach day on Sunday in Cocoa Beach? I assume we could rent a car at the port so something right on the beach isn't necessary so long as we can get to an area with facilities...chair rentals, bathrooms, food, etc.

Also, any good Easter brunches? I would think we would want to do that given we would have to skip the Easter Bunny unless I can order them something.

I am less concerned with cost than I am with being disappointed that we didn't just end the trip on a high note and fly out on Sat. Are most of the accommodations in this area going to seem lacking after getting off a Disney cruise?

thoughts?

 

[MaleficentRN]

We spent Easter weekend in Cocoa Beach pre cruise a couple of years ago. No way was I going to WDW!
Easter was late April then. Great beach weather, but I imagine it will be cooler for you. Looks like mid 70's. But next to Cocoa Beach Pier they have the Annual Easter Surf Festival that weekend and that is a fun. Many vendors, (Food, clothes, surfing stuff) and surfing events all day long. They also had some Easter events. The only one I remember is an egg hunt where the eggs were buried in the sand. We rented chairs, boogey boards and beach toys from a place a couple of blocks from the beach. I'm pretty sure he also organized fishing excursions if you are interested in that.
We didn't plan on it, but one day was overcast so we went to KSC. We never made it in because I was astounded how much it cost and we weren't all that excited to go inside as we were to see a rocket launch. On our way back to Cocoa Beach we saw people pulled over on the side of the road to see the launch and joined them. Great view and I saved $100. Check the launch schedule as it gets closer to your stay. We were lucky as the one we saw had been delayed almost a month.
If you are interested, sunrise services on the beach was interesting. Chilly, until the sun came up. It was advertised as non denominational, but leaned toward Evangelical IMO. Very crowded if you go. We had to park up the road as the beach lot was full.
We didn't do brunch as we embarked that day.I saw that Grills and Fishlips had Easter Brunch. They are right at the port, so that could be fun. You can see the ships and there are many pleasure crafts sailing around, too.
We stayed at Country Inn and Suites. It is no Disney World, but not a dump. We didn't spend much time in the room. Maybe a resort would work better for you? There is Holiday Inn Vacation Club, formerly known as Ron Jon Resort. Many kid activities, arcade, mini golf and a huge pool with a lazy river.
If one of you can sneak out, there are many grocery and drug stores you can run into to get Easter basket supplies. Or contact Shirley at The Perfect Gift. They did custom baskets that were waiting for us on the ship. They only deliver locally now.
Let me know if I can help you with anything else.

 

[ladypiph]

I plan on staying near Disney Springs post cruise this coming February. I am closely watching prices but so far the Buena Vista palace is walking distance from Disney Springs and by the time you all go all of the construction should be complete. Happy Planning.

 

[SweetSpot]

We did the same thing for many years after a cruise. Beware we fell in love with Cocoa Beach and ended up moving here full time last year. Most of the hotels are on the beach, which is good because unfortunately one thing Cocoa Beach is lacking is public facilities near beach accesses. (They are in the works and coming soon) When our kids were young we stayed at the Holiday Inn Vacation Club in Cape Canaveral (formerly Ron Jons resort). It's a timeshare that rents to the public. Eat room is a complete condo with kitchen and washer and dryer. There's a small water park, mini golf, game room, tennis and other ammenities. You are right outside Cocoa Beach but just a short drive away and a walk or shuttle from the beach. The other advantage is that you are very close to the port restaurants, which are very good and kid friendly. We loved this place after our Disney Cruises. As a disclaimer, I have not stayed there since they switched ownership last year. We've also stayed in downtown Cocoa Beach and loved the Hampton Inn (free hot breakfast) and Doubletree (which offers ocean views). There are many great hotels to choose from, with decent rates, right on the beach.

Hotels are your best bet for renting chairs and umbrellas on the beach. Check with the hotel you choose to see if it's an option. If you are not staying on a beach hotel and need chairs you will have to go to the beach access near Coconuts restaurant in the center of town. There's local parking, outside showers, chair rental, access to food and I believe there are porta potties close by. The beach gets extremely crowded during busy season but it is also one of the few areas that has life guards.

You can't rent a car at the port but there are rental agencies down the road in Cape Canaveral. You grab a shuttle from your rental company to the rental office where you will pick up the car you reserved. We always used Avis and never had a problem but many rental companies are available.

For Easter baskets, Shirley from A Perfect Gift who provided baskets to the ships until ship rules changed is local and will make you anything you want for the kids. There are many great restaurants for an Easter Brunch and I believe several hotels offer special Easter Brunches. They can be pricey. You can do a search closer to Easter to see what local places will be offering brunch.

If you need beach towels or toys there are several places you can pick up inexpensive one's you can leave behind. Our rivers are filled with dolphins and manatees. Several places offer boat tours of the rivers. We've also done the airboat rides to see alligators. There's always many things to do here. Grab a free Beachside Resident magazine and see what is happening while you are here.

I hope you enjoy your trip!