pros and cons of disney transportation to port

[Charlies_Mommy]

Hi-
Looking for some pros and cons on using the Disney transportation to the cruise port. We are arriving the night before and staying at the Orlando airport hotel. I know they have the luggage pickup option here. There are only 3 of us in the family. I was looking into other options, but am wondering if this is just easier. Also, don't yet have a port arrival time, but would like to get there sooner rather the later. Does the bus go 'early'?
Thank You

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi-
Looking for some pros and cons on using the Disney transportation to the cruise port. We are arriving the night before and staying at the Orlando airport hotel. I know they have the luggage pickup option here. There are only 3 of us in the family. I was looking into other options, but am wondering if this is just easier. Also, don't yet have a port arrival time, but would like to get there sooner rather the later. Does the bus go 'early'?
Thank You

With 3 of you, you're right at the dividing line between whether it's more cost effective to do private transportation vs DCL transportation.

In my opinion, DCL wins.
Pros:
Don't have to deal with rental car pick up/drop off and navigating unfamiliar roads.
Checked bags go directly from your room in the hotel (at the airport) to your room on the ship.
Disney videos for little ones to watch onboard the bus.
You can go whenever you want (transfer buses start running at 9:00 am)
You can enter the terminal at Port Canaveral when the bus arrives, regardless of what your actual Port Arrival Time is.
Cons:
You're on a bus with other people. Although that's not necessarily a negative for some of us.
......That's all I could come up with.

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

Thank you PrincessShmoo! That was my list as well. Making sure I wasn't missing something....

 

[LAX]

The relative ease with DCL transfer is indeed tempting. How much is DCL transfer? How would the equation change for a family of 5? TIA.

LAX

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

The relative ease with DCL transfer is indeed tempting. How much is DCL transfer? How would the equation change for a family of 5? TIA.

LAX

DCL transfer is $35/person each way. If this is your first cruise I highly recommend it, even though you could do it cheaper with other options. The ease way out weighs the cost for your first cruise.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Another perk of using DCL transfers -- if you're flying home on a participating airline (including Delta and American but not Southwest), you can check-in your luggage the last night of your cruise and the next time you see it will be at your home airport. For details, see the "onboard airline check-in" section of the alphabetical FAQ at the top of this forum.

 

[newdeal]

keep in mind though that the cost of those rooms in the airport are almost triple of what you could pay for a room elsewhere (like $399 a night vs a hotel in port Canaveral for $140 a night)

 

[mevelandry]

We love the Hyatt! It is so nice, comfortable and practical. I think you made the right choice. It's going to be very efficient and stress free.

If you take the first shuttles, you are going to get to the port very early, though. If you get there before 11:00 AM, prepare to wait a little.

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

Hyatt was free for us. We both travel for work, so we have tons of points with various chains. This was a no-brainer use of points. Plus, we arrive *late* with 4.5 yr old. Like 10 pm late. No way I am worrying about getting to a hotel at that time! No matter how close. I read reviews of port hotels as we had points to use there a well and just decided Hyatt looked nicer and easier!

 

[justafigment27]

We took one cruise where we arrived the night before, stayed at the MCO Hyatt and then used Disney transport - it was a very relaxing way to vacation! The disadvantages that I noticed were price (more expensive option for us) and no ability to stop and pick up beverages to take on board.


We arrived around 5:00pm, rented a car and stayed at a hotel near MCO for our last cruise and it did save us quite a bit of money, but it was just more of a hassle. I kind of wished we had just stayed at the Hyatt and let Disney do the driving.

 

[Rabb it]

We were trying to decide how to get from WDW to PC for two people. It looks like Disney transport will be the easiest, but some people have said even though they start picking up at 9am they still have to drive around to other hotels picking up families so sometimes you don't get to the port until around 12 or so? Is this true?

 

[GuardMusic]

We were trying to decide how to get from WDW to PC for two people. It looks like Disney transport will be the easiest, but some people have said even though they start picking up at 9am they still have to drive around to other hotels picking up families so sometimes you don't get to the port until around 12 or so? Is this true?

The buses that pickup from the Disney hotels, yes, do go to more than one hotel. However, I've never experienced one that picks up at 9am. I believe our earliest might have been well past 11ish (from AKL that also stopped at both Port Orleans). Our usual (Boardwalk/Beach Club) usually didn't pickup until around 12:30pm. This is Disney's effort to spread out the traffic coming into the port/terminal.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The buses that pickup from the Disney hotels, yes, do go to more than one hotel. However, I've never experienced one that picks up at 9am. I believe our earliest might have been well past 11ish (from AKL that also stopped at both Port Orleans). Our usual (Boardwalk/Beach Club) usually didn't pickup until around 12:30pm. This is Disney's effort to spread out the traffic coming into the port/terminal.

Luggage gets picked up around 9 a.m. Mere mortals have to wait til 11-ish.

 

[Rabb it]

Luggage gets picked up around 9 a.m. Mere mortals have to wait til 11-ish.

So what time can you expect to get to port?

 

[jdb in AZ]

So what time can you expect to get to port?

Around 1 p.m.

 

[lanejudy]

DCL transfers from WDW start pick-up around 10:30/11:00am. It may stop at up to 3 resorts before heading to port. Expect to arrive around 1pm.

DCL transfers from MCO start around 9:15am with the first bus arriving at port before 10:30am. Buses leave approximately every 20 minutes or sooner if filled. There are apt to be 2-3 buses that depart quickly first thing in the morning.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We almost always rented a car one way to the port. For the DVC Member Cruise last week, we were only at WDW for 2 nights, did not think we needed a car, so we booked Disney transportation.

We were not picked up until 11, maybe a bit afterwards and we stopped at 2 or 3 other resorts. I was getting very annoyed at all the delays because although we are Platinum, I had been unable to book us Palo dinner, the one perk we both enjoy.

Well, it was about 2 when we were in line on the ship, and I did get us Palo at a reasonable time for our meal. Whew!

Then my DH told me how much he liked taking Disney transportation because he always gets a bit nervous about the car rental van getting us to the ship in a timely manner. He also likes that you go in a side door where the line for security is much shorter.

So, it worked out fine for us, and in view of what DH said, we may just be taking Disney transportation more often when it is just he and I.

 

[RedStars]

PrincessShmoo said it best.

For us, we're staying at the Hyatt and I like the flexibility of not being locked into a bus time. We're debating a pre-cruise breakfast at Ohana (it's a tradition) and we know we don't HAVE to make a particular bus time. We're not the type of people that need to be on the boat ASAP. I'd rather take my time and get there when our room is available.

We stayed at CR last time: dealing with an ADR and unknown-until-last-minute bus time gave me anxiety. Lol

I also love starting the magic off early AND not having to deal with luggage.

 

[jlemieu1]

PrincessShmoo nailed it.

Another PRO
You can be the first people in the building, excluding B2B'ers. It is a fun challenge for me to get on the first bus. This is really only good if you have a lowish PAT or concierge. But you can get all checked in and get a comfortable spot to sit and wait. Also you can check for upgrades too since they are first come first serve

 

[Ralph&Pam]

DCL transfers from WDW start pick-up around 10:30/11:00am. It may stop at up to 3 resorts before heading to port. Expect to arrive around 1pm.

DCL transfers from MCO start around 9:15am with the first bus arriving at port before 10:30am. Buses leave approximately every 20 minutes or sooner if filled. There are apt to be 2-3 buses that depart quickly first thing in the morning.

Enjoy your cruise!

Remember that the DCL buses picking up passengers at MCO or the resorts will have first moved debarking passengers from PC to either MCO or the resorts, with the first buses departing from PC any time after 8:30 or so. The pick-ups at the resorts will start later because the buses coming from PC have a longer drive than those going to MCO.