Tips for following a cruise with a visit to WDW?

[cadien]

Soon after completing our first Disney cruise, we took the rather dramatic step of replacing our July 2019 Baltic cruise on NCL with a 4-day Caribbean cruise on the Wonder in February 2019. Not least because it starts in San Juan and we'd like to spend a couple extra days there.

The cruise ends at Port Canaveral on a Thursday morning, so we've just decided to then spend 3 nights at WDW. This will be our first time there (!!).

Any tips for those who have already done this? Especially in terms of packages, transportation, the day of moving from one to the other, etc.

Thanks!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DCL has transport to on-site resorts, but it can be a lot slower than booking private transport, or renting a car. If you rent a car, be aware of any parking fees at whatever near-WDW resort you choose, on or off-site. You will have to transport your own baggage through customs and to your transport.

 

[DisneyDad0427]

Disneys transportation would be the most stress free, but could be slower than private transporation if your intent on getting to the parks ASAP.

 

[FigmentSpark]

First, are you working with a TA? If so, that person should be able to help you book both parts of your trip.

As for your WDW part, you say you've never been? No time like the present to start researching, then. Yes, I know you said 2019, still, get a move on. You've got some catching up to do.

Check out Touring Plans ( https://touringplans.com/ ) for all things WDW. If you buy the membership, you have access to their pre-made plans, as well as the ability to build your own touring plan based on what works for your family.

Also, if you're staying on site, you can book fastpasses 60 days before your trip. You want to do that.

Those are my two huge tips about WDW. I'm sure you'll also find tons of helpful information on the DIS Theme Parks forum, as well:

https://www.disboards.com/forums/theme-parks-attractions-and-strategies.2/

 

[lilsonicfan]

WDW planning was like a job in itself. Dining reservations at 180 days out, fast passes at 30-60 days out (ie you have to know what park you’re going to on which day), I found it exhausting. We stayed offsite though which made it harder. If I had more room in the budget I’d love to stay at one of the Monorail resorts. Seems so convenient.

 

[apathetic]

My best advice for your scenario is stay at a Disney Resort if at all possible. You can store your bags at the bell services and then take a bus to the park. We've gone from ship, to DCL bus to Disney park before 1130am. Plus, if you stay at a Disney resort, you can book fast passes 60 days ahead. This will greatly maximize your time since you will get first crack and the most popular rides. Going from cruise to WDW is great, but be ready of going from relaxation to some seriously long days. Visiting WDW can be very exhausting, especially since you haven't been there before. But it is a great vacation still.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

we've just decided to then spend 3 nights at WDW. This will be our first time there (!!).

Any tips for those who have already done this?

3 days, and you've never been there before. OK.

You will be MUCH happier (IMO) if you start by admitting you CAN NOT see all of WDW in three days. You can't see all 4 parks fully. You might not even want to try to see all 4 parks. Pick the parks you REALLY want to see. Then pick the rides/areas/activities you REALLY want to do. Use fast passes etc. to schedule as many of those as possible then hit the others on your "must" list. Enjoy what you do. Try not to think about what you didn't do. If you enjoy it, you can come back again some day. If you try to do it "all" you will wear yourself out, have less enjoyment of what you do, and still not see it "all." Unless you are one of those who really love 12 hour park days running from attraction to attraction. More power to you, but for my money I found that trying to cram in too much makes what you do less enjoyable.

 

[cadien]

Maybe I should be more specific about our plans. We are definitely staying on site. We are definitely only visiting two parks. And one thing I'm leaning towards is not getting tickets at all for our first day, because by the time we get transferred from the ship and checked in, I'm assuming we wouldn't get our money's worth. It sounds like using Disney transportation from the ship in that case would be fine? It doesn't matter as much if they're slow. And there's definitely no way we're renting a car.

We are probably not using a TA, so experiences with package deals would be very helpful. I know the more general WDW info is on other boards.

This will obviously be less relaxing than doing the cruise after the parks, but that isn't an option with our schedule.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We did that... we had a rental, mind you. We stayed in the Contemporary, as we were doing Magic Kingdom the next day.

So the first day we drove over to Disney Springs after disembarking. We spent the rest of the morning there and had some lunch. Then we went to check in. Lovely room (and I splurged for theme park view). My DH was sick, so he slept all afternoon. My older DS decided finally having wifi to chat with his friends was a great way to spend the afternoon and my younger DS and I went down to the pool. We then went to Narcossee's for dinner (loved taking the monorail from our hotel to get there.) and watched the fireworks from our balcony that night. The next morning, yeah, we were up in plenty of time for rope drop. We had a great day at MK and then had to head off to our hotel (Hyatt) before our flight home. It was a perfect way to wind up the trip.

Some people say that they'd rather do WDW before their cruise as they use the cruise as time to relax. I found, as I teared up, getting off the ship, that being able to look forward to WDW made it feel like one last excursion and that things weren't quite over yet. I enjoyed it a lot, as did my kids.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

If staying on site, and not going to parks on arrival day, absolutely take Disney transport.

I would recommend Hoop de Doo review for dinner on arrival night. It's at Fort Wilderness, and an AMAZING show.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Maybe I should be more specific about our plans. We are definitely staying on site. We are definitely only visiting two parks. And one thing I'm leaning towards is not getting tickets at all for our first day, because by the time we get transferred from the ship and checked in, I'm assuming we wouldn't get our money's worth. It sounds like using Disney transportation from the ship in that case would be fine? It doesn't matter as much if they're slow. And there's definitely no way we're renting a car.

We are probably not using a TA, so experiences with package deals would be very helpful. I know the more general WDW info is on other boards.

This will obviously be less relaxing than doing the cruise after the parks, but that isn't an option with our schedule.

Good. Much more realistic now that I understand your plan.

I don't believe there are any "package deals" if you mean like discounts on WDW hotels or tickets if you book it along with DCL cruise. That used to be a thing, but I think it isn't any longer. A lot of people here book the two things separately for convenience since there would be no price break.

Someone on the other board can talk about the difference in price between 2 and 3 day tickets, but I can tell you that some people here rush off the ship, take non-DCL transport, and report being in the parks by like 10 AM or so. Granted, that depends on the ship debarking on time, and other factors, but if you are interested in more park time, don't write off the first day right away. It might be worth your while. On the other hand, plenty of Disney things to do other than the parks on that first day, as others have mentioned. Just thinking if you did even a half day at a part the first day, it might make day 2 or day 3 less hectic.

 

[cadien]

What can we do with our bags if we get to the park early enough?

I was originally thinking we could do a water park on the first day but it looks like they're always closed for annual maintenance during that time (mid-February).

 

[MaleficentRN]

I would use private transport. If you are more than 2 people it will likely cost less money to get a town car and it will get you there faster. For instance we got off the ship at about 9 am, met our private transport, stopped at Publix and check into Bay Lake and then were in Hollywood Studios by 11 am.
And arriving at a park in the early afternoon is hardly a throw away. Find the park that has late Extra Magic Hours and go there. And a three day ticket is less per day than a two day when you break it down.

 

[mmmears]

We've done this a few times. We chose to hire a town car simply because we could control our schedule and because, depending on the number of people who are traveling, we actually saved money. We ate an early breakfast and did express walk off from the ship. We were at our WDW resort early (maybe like a bit before 10am?). You can check in, leave your luggage with bell services, and go have fun.

As for the resorts, there are great threads over on the resorts board of this website - ask questions if you aren't sure where to stay. As for food, same goes for the restaurants page. Attractions and parks as well. You can definitely get park time on that first day if it's something you are interested in doing.

Also, ask away here if you prefer. There aren't any packages with the cruise and WDW, but it's really easy to do both in one trip. As for choosing parks, rides, etc. my personal favorite is the Unofficial Guide to WDW.

 

[lanejudy]

Your WDW resorts will hold your bags at Bell Services if your room isn’t ready when you arrive.

One of the water parks should be open in a February, weather pending of course.

Discounts haven’t been released yet for February. You can book a “package” of room+tickets(+dining) or room only and purchase tickets separately. Neither is necessarily better, you can crunch numbers and decide what fits your needs and budget best.

When in mid-February? If around Presidents Day you’ll want to take that into consideration and possibly plan for parks on arrival day. Even with DCL transportation, you can be in a park before lunch. And if you pick a park that is open late, that could be 8-10 hourif park time. We rarely do such long days in the parks; it depends on your style.

Tips about resorts and discounts and park-planning are best found on the other forums. You *can* book snd land&sea package, but I recommend booking the WDW part separate from DCL.

Enjoy your cruise and parks vacation!

 

[mevelandry]

Maybe I should be more specific about our plans. We are definitely staying on site. We are definitely only visiting two parks. And one thing I'm leaning towards is not getting tickets at all for our first day, because by the time we get transferred from the ship and checked in, I'm assuming we wouldn't get our money's worth. It sounds like using Disney transportation from the ship in that case would be fine? It doesn't matter as much if they're slow. And there's definitely no way we're renting a car.

We are probably not using a TA, so experiences with package deals would be very helpful. I know the more general WDW info is on other boards.

This will obviously be less relaxing than doing the cruise after the parks, but that isn't an option with our schedule.

Smart planning.

 

[DCSWO]

I wouldn't discount the first day. I don't know if we were just lucky the day we did it, but we skipped breakfast on debarkation day and got off the ship as early as we could, rode Disney transport, dropped our bags off at Animal Kingdom lodge and were in our first park at 1030. Good luck!

 

[Goldys4]

What a fun trip! I don't know your budget, but if it allows, I would look into staying at Port Orleans Riverside. They have a ferry boat to Disney Springs. Your first day there you can leisurely check out the resort (and Port Orleans French Quarter) and then take the ferry to the Springs. Shopping is great there and they have some fun entertainment and restaurants too. Then parks the next couple days. I agree- don't try to do everything at the parks. Oh- and when scheduling fast passes keep in mind the layout of the park. It will most likely take you longer to get from one side of the park to the other than you realize. Try not to zigzag- stay in one area until you've done everything you want to do there and then move on. That will save a lot of time and walking!

 

[cadien]

This has been helpful! After doing some more research and discussing it, we're going to get tickets for that first day as well. Although right now we still want to stick to the two parks and just get more time out of them.

It also sounds like we'll do private transportation to be on the safe side. Silly me assumed that the Disney transfer would be complementary, like a regular hotel shuttle.

It will be Feb 7-9, so we'll have cheerleaders but no holiday.

We're definitely staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Too bad about them closing the kids clubs.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

This has been helpful! After doing some more research and discussing it, we're going to get tickets for that first day as well. Although right now we still want to stick to the two parks and just get more time out of them.

It also sounds like we'll do private transportation to be on the safe side. Silly me assumed that the Disney transfer would be complementary, like a regular hotel shuttle.

It will be Feb 7-9, so we'll have cheerleaders but no holiday.

We're definitely staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Too bad about them closing the kids clubs.

Great plan! I think it is great to keep it to two parks even with three days. This will really allow you to do more in the park you go to twice, as well as making your much less rushed on both days. Plus, you can get the Fast passes for that park twice, so you can ride your favorites again, or reduce the lines on the biggest 6. This too will make you less rushed.

I agree with the private transport. Remember Port Canaveral is a lot farther from WDW than the airports are, so it isn't surprising that they charge for the buses to/from Port Canaveral, but private transport is nice, and convenient. Definately consider having them stop somewhere if you need any supplies, food, alcohol, etc. I nearly ran out of sunscreen on a 7 day cruise, even though I brought what I thought was extra.