Post Cruise One Night - Worth It?

[sillysully]

Trying to decide what to do post-Disney cruise. We are in port at 9 am on a Sat. in mid-Nov and depart MCO at noon on Sun. Thought about doing US for one day and staying at Portofino (2A, 3C - 11, 10 and 7). Any comments? Also considering staying in Cocoa Beach and going to KSC....

 

[dsmom]

We love PB and stay all the time - you can't go wrong there.

We live close to Cocoa Beach and to Kennedy all the time (my husband is a space fanatic) It is worth a try also.

Either way - I think it you will enjoy it!

 

[webray]

Portofino and US/IOA would be a wonderful way to end a Disney cruise.

Make sure if you only want one park when you purchase your ticket, because I believe they do offer a one day two park pass. Your kids are great ages for Islands of Adventure as well.

 

[keishashadow]

we've done it pre-cruise , think it's a great idea

KSC is very enjoyable too, if u decide to tour it; try & work in one of the backstage tours

(i'd be thinking about moving my departure to a later flight...just the way i roll )

good luck

 

[happymommy]

Ditto about making the flight home later in the day. Then you could have two days at Universal.

You definitely will be off the ship early, so you'll have that whole day.

If you are like we were, though, we were pooped! The last day of packing and stuff was a bit tiring. If we ever did another cruise, Disney or otherwise, we wouldn't have brought so much stuff! We ended up not dressing up much, and one little dress doesn't take up much space. Didn't do any of those photo shoots or anything, and my kids would rather eat by the pool than dress for dinner (or one outfit could be fine all week really). I wouldn't bother with our snorkels either, they take up so much space and the water wasn't clear enough. Plus if you booked an excursion through the cruiseline, I guess they'd give you the snorkels to use on the excursion. I would just bring a small carry-on type suitcase like we do to Orlando, and then carry it off with me when I left the ship. We each have our own ones, we're bringing them tomorrow to US.

So, if you have a lot of energy, I'd do it. We were just tired and ready to get home - wish we had booked an early flight from MCO but had an afternoon one. Hung out at the airport, and were tired!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Our 1st (but won't be our last) trip to Universal was for 2 nights after a Mariner cruise. With front of the line we really got to see a lot of the attractions. I am looking forward to going back with a little more time to go a little slower but it really was a nice overview of what Universal has to offer.

Once you are on the ship request an early departure ( even if you don't they will have you off by 8:30 ish) It is only about a 40 minute drive to Universal. We were checked in and in the park by noon.

It was also a great way to begin walking off the extra pounds I found on board the ship!

The space center is also a nice way to spend the day. It will cost about the same to do either one as the Space Center is expensive!

 

[happymommy]

We slept in and were still off the ship very early - they are pretty quick.

You could easily be at Universal by 10:00 I would guess.

I'd pack light and just carry your stuff off - it'd be quicker maybe. That's just me though. Sounds fun!

Oh, I forgot - we went to Downtown Disney after our cruise - shopped, walked around and had a nice lunch. And we were still back at the airport by 2 or so.

 

[sillysully]

Thanks for everyone's input. We did the cruise last year, so we know what to anticipate regarding getting off boat; we weren't too tired, so I doubt that will be a problem, but we would be after US or IOA probably. I'm overwhelmed trying to make a decision. Kids would prefer the park, but I don't know when we'd get to KSC again - as this will probably be our last cruise (famous last words, right?). We can't change flight (sun at 12 pm) - it was already changed once. Wish DH had an opinion....