Thinking of going from 4 to 3 day...HELP!

[Sandyrella]

We are currently booked on the 4 day Wonder Cruise sailing Feb 29th, 2004. We had planned to spend 3 days at WDW after the cruise but the more discussions my family and I have, the more we want to do at WDW. I am worried that we will be trying to cram too much into 3 days.

Here is my question....what exactly will I be missing from the 4 day, that I won't get on the 3 day? I'm starting to think that time spent on our relaxing day at sea would be better spent doing the things at WDW that we want to do.

Please note that we are a very fair skinned family so hanging around the pool on board will not be very wise, especially after a day in Bahamas and a day at CC. More than enough sun for us! I know there are many other activites planned for the day at sea, but would we have more fun at WDW?

Help...I have to present my case to my family tonight so I would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks so much!
Sandy

 

[floridaminnie]

If you haven't been to WDW a lot of times and find a lot of things that appeal to you. I would recommend the 3 day cruise and 4 days at disney. If possible, I would do the four day at WDW first and then the 3 day cruise. It'll be a short cruise, but a cruise is more relaxing than running around WDW. Also, it should be that busy at WDW, so the wait times will be relatively low.

 

[Sandyrella]

I really appreciate your response. If we do the 3 day cruise we will be going to WDW first, which is very appealing to me. If we do the 4 day, it's the other way around as we will be their during our March Break. Unfortunately there is no flexibility in our dates.

Any other opinions.........please?

Thanks again,
Sandy

 

[markºoº]

To see the differences in activites, why don't you compare the 4 day versus 3 day Navigators which detail all the ship activities each day.

The Castawayclub had 3 and 4 day Navigators - here is a direct link to the Navigator page http://www.castawayclub.com/

My personal feeling is with only 3 days on the ship you have little time to really experience the ship. The first day is busy getting on board, unpacking, and getting familar with the ship. The second day is a full day. By late afternoon on the third day you are already thinking about packing since you need your luggage outside by 11:00 or 12:00 that night.

Our experience was that the ship was very relaxing. We did the 4 day cruise followed by 4 days at WDW. The cruise was a nice slow pace. WDW was the usual running around all day and all night. This was a good thing since we could work off some of the extra baggage we added during the cruise. Others prefer the hustle of WDW first followed by a relaxing cruise.

That said, I will add that I think you need 4 days at WDW to be able to see the majority of the 4 major parks. Three days is just not enough time to visit all the major parks and see the major attractions (IMHO).

Have I confused you enough? I guess I don't have an answer, just a few ideas to think about.

 

[nedleycan]

Bonjour!
I thought the 4-day was too short. I would feel that on a 3-day, you would barely know your way around, then you are off the ship. I can't wait until our 7-day. But, I think you need to decide what kind of vacation you really want. 1 or 2 days at DW is enough for me. But, I definitely wouldn't want to be at DW during our Canadian March Break. It will be crazy... maybe that is enough of a reason to switch!
Au Revoir!

 

[Sandyrella]

Again, I really do appreciate the responses but you're really not helping! LOL

I should add that we are big theme park people but we did go on our first trip to WDW last January (2002) so seeing "everything" is not necessary. We had a phenomenal trip but the weather did not cooperate as much as we would have liked (kind of like it is in Florida today and add a few rainy days...brrrr!). Because of the weather, we feel like we missed out on a few attractions that we would have like to have seen otherwise, not to mention that we want to go back and redo our favorites. We really only plan to do 3 out of 4 parks (no names mentioned as I don't want to start a debate on which park is not really worth it during a limited visit )

Oh decisions, decisions!!

Nedleycan....Have you been to WDW during March Break before? Our week is the first week of March which I understand is a little less busy than the rest of the month so hopefully the crowds won't be outrageous.

Sandy

 

[bemily]

If I were you, i would do 4 days at WDW, and the 3 day cruise. Keep in mind, i am a lover of cruises, and could easily do disney myself in a couple of days knowing what i like to see. But, if you are big theme park people, you may enjoy the nice weather and extra day there, and in the future take a longer cruise.

PLUS, my duaghter who is now 5 (we went to WDW summer of 2001), couldnt wait to get off the ship to go on splash mountain, so if i ever did a cruise/wdw again, i would do disney first then the cruise...

Just my opinion

 

[westjones]

We are doing a 3 day with 4 days at the park before this year (but we have been on the cruise 3 times already and have done the 3 and 4 and 7 day cruise).

On the plus side, the resorts at WDW are less expensive Sunday-Thursday, so that works good with a 3 day cruise (which runs during the more expensive weekend nights).

You won't miss any of the 'neat' activities on the 3 versus the 4. They seem to be able get in all the main highlights. I would suggest not getting off the ship at Nassau and just using that day to really enjoy the ship!

The 4 day cruise does give you one more day to just relax and enjoy the ship, but again, none of the main activities will be missed. With the 3 day cruise, you probably won't relax much, but you will have a wonderful time!

We are DVC members, and because of the difference in cost/points for the WDW resorts from Sun-Thurs. to the Fri/Sat. rates, we are probably going to look at the 3 day cruises more in the future. It just makes more economic sense (although, I do have my heart set on another 7 day cruise in 2005).

Have a great time!
DJ

 

[westjones]

We are doing a 3 day with 4 days at the park before this year (but we have been on the cruise 3 times already and have done the 3 and 4 and 7 day cruise).

On the plus side, the resorts at WDW are less expensive Sunday-Thursday, so that works good with a 3 day cruise (which runs during the more expensive weekend nights).

You won't miss any of the 'neat' activities on the 3 versus the 4. They seem to be able get in all the main highlights. I would suggest not getting off the ship at Nassau and just using that day to really enjoy the ship!

The 4 day cruise does give you one more day to just relax and enjoy the ship, but again, none of the main activities will be missed. With the 3 day cruise, you probably won't relax much, but you will have a wonderful time!

We are DVC members, and because of the difference in cost/points for the WDW resorts from Sun-Thurs. to the Fri/Sat. rates, we are probably going to look at the 3 day cruises more in the future. It just makes more economic sense (although, I do have my heart set on another 7 day cruise in 2005).

Have a great time!
DJ

 

[Dukesfamily]

Go on the 3-day. The day at sea on the 4-day is fun but you will enjoy the parks better.

 

[Sandyrella]

Thanks again to everyone who replied.

It looks like, after much deliberation and many discussions, we've made a decision that should keep everyone happy!

We are going to keep to our original 4 day cruise but have also decided to add another day onto our time at WDW so we will have 4 days in both places. I will have to keep the kids out of school for one day which is really not an issue for me (although it is for the ex which is why I was trying to avoid that possibility) and go home a day later.

Woo hoo I feel like a big weight has been lifted now that the decision has been made.

On another bright note, we are planning to buy 7 day PHP and will only be using 4 days. You do know what that means don't you? We HAVE to go back again!!!

(An even brighter note, I just noticed that my countdown finally broke 400!)

Cheers,
Sandy

 

[Wishing on a star]

4 days cruise - 4 days land...

Good decision!

 

[markºoº]

Great compromise. We did 4 day cruise followed by 4 days at WDW. We thought that schedule worked out very well for us.

BTW, we also bought 7 day PHP for our trip last year. Guess what, DS and I are going back this year in October because we just have to use up some of those extra days!

 

[quidam]

Sandyrella,

You made a wise decision!

Like you, we live in Quebec and we will be doing this year (leaving in 33 days... woo hoo!) the trip that you are planning for next year. Our schedule will be a bit different than yours however. We will be spending the first two nites at WDW, then going on the 4-day cruise and spending the last two nites at WDW.

In answer to your question about the March break, we went to Disney on our March break four years ago and had a terrific time, although we wish the weather would have been warmer. We were able to see everything that we had planned without too much waiting. And I can tell you that we were not the only folks from Quebec as we heard more French on that week than any other time we've been to Disney (7 times for me and 4 for my DH and DS).

Look forward to your trip! You made a wise choice!

 

[Sandyrella]

I hope you both have a great trip! I appreciate all the comments and the encouragement. My trip seems a long way off right now but once we get through winter, time should pass a little faster. Meanwhile, I'll just continue lurking here and posting occasionally when I need advice.

Sandy