So when sailing out of Port Canaveral, do you go to WDW

[Masonmj84]

before and/or after the cruise?

I'm an absolute believer in flying in at least a day before a cruise (especially, since I live out west).

So the way I figure it, if I'm going to need to fly in at least a day early, might as well spend it at WDW (as opposed to a boring hotel somewhere).

In addition, all of my Port Canaveral cruises have been 7 night Eastern or Western Caribbean on the Fantasy, which start and end on Saturdays.

So, in this case, where a cruise ends at on a Saturday morning, there's still the better part of a weekend left. So I might as well maximize it and tack on on an additional day to my vacation. And what better way to do it than go back to WDW?

Granted, this does add expense to an already expensive vacation. On top of that, I often find WDW to be somewhat anticlimatic after a cruise. But I'd much rather spend the better part of the weekend there as opposed to going home earlier than necessary to face the real world (especially since I'm already so close to WDW and have gone to the expense of flying myself across the country).

Anyone else think this way?

The reason I ask is that I'm planning a DCL cruise for some extended family and they don't see the value of going to WDW either before or after the cruise. In some ways, this is very understandable, as two of the family members are my parents, who are starting to have some mobility issues and aren't very interested in visiting theme parks (plus, they've already been to WDW many times).

But my plan would not involve theme parks. Instead, I plan to do resort only stays before and after the cruise. Specifically, I plan to stay at the Poly the night before the cruise and have dinner at 'Ohana (and breakfast the next morning at Kona), which I think would be a really fun way to start the vacation for the extended family (and get everyone on the same page, as no one but me has previously been on a DCL cruise).

The night after the cruise, I plan to stay at the Wilderness Lodge and go to the Hoop dee Doo Revue, which no one in my extended family except me has experienced (and I think my parents would particularly enjoy).

Still, my family members think this is kind of a foolish plan because they don't think the experience of staying at WDW resorts for a night before or after the cruise is worth the expense or time (we could stay at cheaper resorts, but at least on the night before the cruise, I like the idea of staying at the Poly if we're going to have dinner at 'Ohana, especially given that some might try to cut it close on flight arrivals - so I don't want to deal with the complication of resort-to-resort travel time - especially given that some of them haven't been to WDW in ages).

 

[dcassetta]

I think this sounds like a great plan. Are you going at a time of year where there is a special ticket event like MNSSHP or MVMCP? Then people could still go the MK if they wanted to.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Like you, we were looking to fly home Sunday instead of Saturday after a week on the Fantasy. Instead of a WDW resort we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. My thinking was that I knew the pools on the ship were small and crowded, so I wanted to give my sons a "pool day" afterwards so that on the ship they wouldn't have to try to cram into the pools. They did enjoy the Aqua Duck, and did some pool time, but with lower expectations, since the pool day was upcoming.

Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress had fantastic swimming pools that were open 24 hours a day (exercise room open 24 hours too), some of them heated, plus a slide, and from 8 AM to 7 PM they had free bicycle (including 2 and 4 person Surry bikes), and free boating options (Canoes, Kayaks, paddle boats, Aquabikes, etc.) Plus, we got a room facing the pool on the 11th floor where we could see the Disney Fireworks. They also let us check into our room at 11:00 AM when we arrived! It was such a relaxing alternative to trying to cram in a day that the theme parks. We swam, we biked, we boated, and we swam at night. Did I mention that we relaxed? We also had a chance to repack our bags, since what goes in your carry-on/checked bag at the cruise ship is very different from what goes into the carry-on/checked bag at the airport. It was about $220 for the night for our family of four.

 

[Sleepyluke]

We dont consider NOT going to at least the resorts. Have done several of the parties before as well, but for us when flying in, I still need my land Disney fix, and resorts and even Downtown Disney can do that.

One year we stayed at Port Orleans I think, rode the bus to downtown Disney, caught the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge, watched the animals, ate a great dinner, did the reverse. It was actually kinda fun playing the Disney transportation game. It is all free (ish).

 

[jdb in AZ]

Since we have to fly to/from Florida, we figure we might as well visit the parks while we're there. It's cheaper than a separate trip. Our extended family cruised together and some had different work schedules than others, so some visited WDW before, some after the cruise. We were lucky enough to do both. To each their own. As for your parents' mobility issues, have they considered renting scooters? I realize they aren't cheap, but they make the parks so much more enjoyable. It's hard to have fun standing in lines when your joints are tired and creaky.

As far as resort hopping to visit Ohana, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and had reservations at Ohana. We started out at a reasonable time, but with the bus schedules (they had to send a special handicap-accessible bus for DMIL because she couldn't climb the stairs onto a regular bus) we ended up being quite late. Fortunately the restaurant was able to accommodate our large group, but if we were to do it again we'd either stay at a resort on the monorail, or take a taxi.

 

[lilsonicfan]

we made a long trip of it and did a few days at WDW before the cruise and then a few days at Universal afterward. I sort of preferred Universal

 

[anomamatt]

Of course! We like doing the parks pre-cruise.

We are headed to Miami in two days (for DCL/Magic) and it seems so weird to be going to Florida but not doing WDW...

 

[FigmentSpark]

We couldn't get decent flights out of MCO last year on the Sat or the Sun after our cruise, so we disembarked, then went over to the World, checked in, did Disney Springs on the Sat and then MK on the Sun. Then we stayed at the Hyatt for an early morning flight out, which, while much cheaper than the Sat or Sun flights, ended up costing the price of a room at the Contemporary, 4 one day park passes, dinner at GF and a room at the Hyatt. For some people, that cost would be a vacation in itself, so you have to balance that extra perk of doing the park with the cost. This year, we skipped it and saved a lot of money, but I did miss my fix of Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain, et. al.

 

[fhtpdw20]

Our plan for this year is staying day before at Beach Club for pool in afternoon with Illuminations Fireworks Cruise and ALK with Starlight Safari after cruise for Animal Kingdom fix. Your plan is perfect. Relax at hotel and have choice of fireworks and Electric Water Parade in the evening for Poly. There is tons to do at Wilderness Lodge for all ages during the day. If you do Hoop De Doo first seating, you can head over to campfire and movie in the evening. Then there is always Disney Springs too.

 

[Chemist]

We generally don't.

Flying in from the west coast, our flight doesn't get in until after 8 pm on Friday.
(Getting in earlier requires a VERY early flight.)
There's no point in going to WDW when we get in that late, really. Plus, I don't want to deal with transport, I want to walk into the Hyatt, eat dinner and start getting the kids into bed.

The first year we cruised, we went to Kennedy upon disembarkation, then flew home early the next morning. Stayed at the Hyatt again as we had a 9 am flight.

This year we are going straight home. We are doing an 11 night, so get off on a Wednesday and we have to work the next day, the kids have camp the next day...

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We prefer to do WDW after our cruise whenever possible, but now have two cruises booked with pre-cruise resort stays at the BWV. In November, we'll stay for four nights prior to the Western Caribbean. Doing the resort post-cruise would push it too close to Thanksgiving. Next February, we're doing the WBPC on the Wonder, so we sail from Port Canaveral to San Diego. No option to do WDW post-cruise on that one, although we did consider adding a Disneyland stay. Decided against it, since the combination of the WDW pre-cruise and the 14-night cruise itself makes for a long vacation already.

We've also sailed b2b cruises on the Magic out of Miami in January of last year and again this year. We fly to Miami the day prior to the cruise, and then after the cruise we rent a car in Miami, drive to the BoardWalk for some park time, and then spend a few more days at Vero Beach. There's nothing like being away from the midwestern winter in January.

 

[Intr3pid]

Our kids prefer Universal, but we generally do a day at each - max two days total, maybe less - and spend any extra time on the cruise. We prefer doing the parks before the cruise - so all the energy can be matched with the exhaustion - and the relaxation and wanderlust on the cruise follow as a reward.

 

[ciahanna]

When we did our cruise in 2016 we did 3 days pre-cruise at WDW. Our daughter was 3 and it was her first time at Disney so we didn't know how she'd react. Now we have a cruise planned for 2019 and are already planning to try and do 5 days pre-cruise at the parks. DD will be 6 next year and has been going to the parks yearly since our first cruise for at least 9 days each time so I think she'd miss it if we just did the cruise. (We would too!) Plud, we enjoy just relaxing on the ship after the hectic "go,go,go" of the parks.
Your plan sounds good to me so I hope you enjoy!

 

[Erintx7]

We didn’t do parks or resorts last cruise and it was tough because we cruised another line. It was a let down to be in Orlando w no WDW trip planned.

For our upcoming DCL, we are doing Hilton Bonnet Creek for a full on pool/relax day before we embark and then Poly when we return. Planning some special dinners/outings but no park visits because it will be peak summer holiday (too hot and too crowded!!) and I have bad memories of WDW overheated and sick waiting hours to ride Space Mountain as a kid (which I have of course fixed in my adult years with many magical family Disney trips w my husband and kiddos!!!).

I think Disney Springs, or just dinner & walking/strolling around a resort or two (Poly, AKL, WL) could fit the bill for your needs. Just a thought, and I’m guilty of this, but it could be your own love of Disney driving the trip and the expectations for others. While your extensive experience is wonderful, I know from our last trip that everyone brings their own high expectations on a WDW trip, myself included. That can be a recipe for someone to be disappointed. In my case, I planned out the whole vacation for our family and my inlaws and had saved a character dinner as a surprise for our Hollywood Studios day (3rd park day...) And by 3rd day... everyone was irritable with the meeting up and park pace with three kids that want to go, go, go (the reality of the actual theme parking!!) and my inlaws got a little fussy and split off within the first hour at HS and didn’t even attend the special Star Wars dinner w us that I had worked so hard to schedule. I was bummed and annoyed and had to totally regroup so I could move past it and have fun. Like you, I was the tour director and you just can’t please everyone. In this case you risk being the one disappointed when not everyone else is feeling the magic quite as fully as you, or, your expectations of everyone’s reactions don’t happen.

Of course I hope you get your WDW fix so maybe you can find a good middle ground, good luck!!

 

[martikus]

Honestly? Nope sounds exhausting. I want to get home and have at least a day to do laundry and rest up for work and school.

And paying Disney resort prices and not be in parks? Double nope. Maybe day before as we fly in day early too but I can totally understand those in your group who are “meh” about it. Staying close to port and a walk on beach with a relaxing dinner would be just as good.

Just wanted to throw a different perspective out there.

 

[christmasmagic]

I haven't done a cruise yet, but we are planning on a 4 day in 2019 that is Monday to Friday. My plan is to arrive at WDW Saturday, Sunday spend a day in HS, leave for the cruise on Monday. Friday night we get back to Orlando and we will splurge for mod or Deluxe hotel and go to MNSSHP. Flights and resort costs will determine if we tack on a resort day or not for Saturday.

 

[MomOTwins]

We stayed at AKL before the cruise and loved it. We ate a fantastic dinner at Jiko, watched the animals with night vision and from our balcony in the morning, had brunch at Boma, swam at the pools and hot tubs. It was heaven.

 

[MelSpees]

Being from WA state, I can't imagine flying all the way to Florida and not doing WDW. We hardly ever get to the east coast and I want to take advantage of the opportunity. Of course, being retired makes it a lot easier to spend the time there.

 

[smiths02]

We are driving about 8 hours (with stops and everything), our cruise leaves on a Wednesday and comes back on a Sunday. We can't really do after the cruise because of obligations that Monday.

We are going with my in-laws who are not going to be able to do the parks in June...not to mention the cost of tickets for 5 "adults" and 2 kids.

As we are taking my in-laws and sailing peak season with 7 people, cost is a big factor. Also we are driving, so the additional outlay is big. It's not like this is our only chance to go to WDW so I should spend the extra $3K while we are already there instead of just planning another trip later and "wasting" maybe $200 in gas

Since we are spending the extra on a Disney cruise where I believe we will get food, characters, and Disney feel...I don't see the point in paying so much to stay at a Disney resort pre-cruise. If we ever Disney cruise again, I would consider adding on Universal or if we go with another cruise line out of Port Canaveral, I would consider a few days at WDW in the future.

We are staying at a Fairfield Inn Sun-Wed and planning on KSC and maybe a few other attractions (law enforcement museum) or time in the pool.

 

[oakleycat]

We fly from the west coast too, and do parks for a few days. We do Universal because its so much more relaxing (no advance planning needed) and split our time between the parks and relaxing at the resort pools. Fun start to the vacation and we get used to the time change. We always do the parks before because the cruise is so much better it would be a let down to do them afterward!