Visiting Disney World before or after cruise

[amspatz]

Hi,
We are taking the 5 day Disney Dream out of Florida the first week of August. Any advice on if we should visit Disney World before or after the cruise? We went to Disney in November and loved it! Worried about the hot weather and crowds in August. The cruise could be great..but being so close to Disney World is tempting..Any advice is appreciated!

 

[MagicMe]

I if had to chose I would always go before. That way you run around and then have a great relaxing cruise after.

That said, some people like the idea that they still have something to look forward to after the cruise to help with the cruise let down.

 

[mmouse37]

Hi,
We are taking the 5 day Disney Dream out of Florida the first week of August. Any advice on if we should visit Disney World before or after the cruise? We went to Disney in November and loved it! Worried about the hot weather and crowds in August. The cruise could be great..but being so close to Disney World is tempting..Any advice is appreciated!

No doubt about it that August is hot and crowded but we prefer to do the parks before the cruise just for the reasons you mention....parks are work and the cruise is a great way to unwind after the hectic pace of the parks.

Everyone is different...some like to do the park after cruise. Personal decision....see what days the cruise begins and ends....I would aim for the parks on non weekend days if possible.

MJ

 

[kcashner]

Definitely before. WDW is actually a lot of work; the cruise is total relaxation. If a flight is delayed, an airport closed due to weather, luggage lost, or whatever, it is better to have that happen at WDW/lose a day of WDW than to have it happen on the cruise. My logic is that if I am in Orlando, then SOMEHOW, I'm going to be on that ship. If I'm sitting at my home airport in the snow, I can't say that.

As one who had luggage take a couple of days to catch up with me...yeah, better to have it happen at WDW. And worst case, if I had to miss a day of vacation, I'd rather miss one day of WDW than miss the ship and hope to be able to board at a later port!

 

[slg]

I've done before, but I find the last day on the cruise is a real pain and such a let down as we are flying out the next day. So now we like to split up our trip and book some before and some after. Once we did 4 days before and 3 days after, but our latest cruise (just a couple of weeks ago) we went 6 days before and then one day after. We really enjoyed it as we just threw everything into suitcases and didn't worry too much about making them airplane resistant, I kept out all my bottles and liquids and then just packed them in my carry-on. We were tired from the cruise so rested a bit at the hotel, and then went to the park and came back and repacked what needed to be repacked. I found that really helped us enjoy our final day on the cruise.

 

[pluto1979]

I love going to WDW the day or 2 before to really excite me about the cruise coming up. Then I book a few days after the cruise to go back to WDW to enjoy the parks and think about the cruise instead of having to really end the trip as soon as the ship pulls into port. It makes things seem so much longer and enjoyable!!!

Have a DREAMy cruise!

 

[emullins91]

We just got back from a 7 night cruise a few weeks ago and we added on 7 nights at WDW after the cruise. By the time we got to WDW we were so tired that all we wanted to do was sleep. We spent at least the first 2 days catching up on sleep and taking things slow. I wish we would have done WDW before the cruise cause I dont think we would have missed as much. But this was our first disney cruise so we didnt sleep much during it, so you may have a different experience.

 

[m4travel]

After flying in the day before a cruise and doing the parks afterwards, we now do WDW both before and after the cruise. Our approach to WDW is - we'll be back, so why kill ourselves doing 'the World?' The parks are now a relaxing stay. Don't understand those who go commando in the parks. We pick and choose parks, activities, and restaurants each day, usually managing to end up at Epcot for IllumiNations each evening.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

I couldn't decide back on March 2010 so we did both-- 3 before and 2 after and I really wish we would have just did it all BEFORE cruise. I still had my sea legs for 3-4 days afterwards so I was walking around Epcot feeling like I was drunk. Also, WDW didn't seem too exciting to us after the cruise.

 

[Brandis]

For me, either works. But then, WDW isn't work for me, it's as relaxing as a cruise. However, being DVC members, we don't do the parks commando style anymore. Rather go to a park in the morning, enjoy some select rides but also just sit some place for a while and soak up the atmosphere. Then in the early afternoon, we either pool hop or just enjoy the resorts.

 

[mimmi]

As the only possible flight for us leaves in the evening, it makes sense to spend a few nights at WDW afterwards.

 

[NancyIL]

I like going to a theme park before and after a cruise. In 2011 we went to IOA/Universal 2 days pre-cruise, and to WDW 6 days post-cruise.

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I also say before, but not more than a couple of days. If you are like my family, you will try to do so much on the cruise that it can be tiring also. Our first cruise was a 4-nighter and we were really tired by time we were done. Our second was 11 nights and we were able to pace ourselves much better So if you do go to WDW before, still take it easy so you're not exhausted before your cruise even starts!

 

[DLW8]

I am another vote for before. We don't do "commando" really, but the parks are definitely more tiring for us than the cruise.

While I am always sad to leave Disney, for me, it wasn't as bad leaving the cruise as I was relaxed and happy. We are fortunate to have an early afternoon flight home, so we get home at a decent hour. When we do the parks, we usually take the last flight home to have one more day in the parks...which makes for a very long and tiring day.

The first time we cruised, we did 5 nights in the park and a 3 night cruise. I didn't think I could be that close to WDW and not go to the parks. I was entirely wrong! My family would rather do a 7 night cruise than go to the parks..and we still love the parks (just went there in September). but hands down, if we had to choose one over the other, we would choose the cruise. Even my 10 year olds!

Whatever you do, it will be a blast. Enjoy!

 

[redsonja76]

Hi,
We are taking the 5 day Disney Dream out of Florida the first week of August. Any advice on if we should visit Disney World before or after the cruise? We went to Disney in November and loved it! Worried about the hot weather and crowds in August. The cruise could be great..but being so close to Disney World is tempting..Any advice is appreciated!

I'll be on the same cruise as you!! We are doing 3 days at the parks before just because that's what works for us. We always go in before anyway to prevent any misshaps with luggage/flights/etc so we went in a few days before and are doing the parks.

 

[amspatz]

Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[flybone89]

I don't mean to side track the thread, but have a similar question to the OP. We will be in Orlando the day prior and staying overnight prior to our cruise - as some mentioned as "travel insurance." As such we have most if not all of the day prior available for a park. But a 1 Day ticket just seems so expensive relative to the 5 and 7 night passes we usually get - but I know the cost per day goes down considerably for the longer stays.

So is it worth it for just 1 day to do Disney World - obviously just 1 park? Are there ways to get deeply discounted 1 Day tickets?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Brandis]

So is it worth it for just 1 day to do Disney World - obviously just 1 park? Are there ways to get deeply discounted 1 Day tickets?

I'd say it's better than nothing.

Though I don't think you will find much of a discount for 1 day tickets. For example, Undercover Tourist, who usually has some of the best deals on Disney tickets (especially with the Mousesavers Newsletter link) out there, but they don't sell 1 or 2 day tickets.

And the 3 day base ticket is less than a dollar cheaper at UT than if bought direct from Disney, the 4 day base is a better deal already, with a $9.13 discount over Disney's price.

Another possibility would be to buy 10 day hoppers with the waterparks and no expiration option. Those tickets you then could use over several visits and while you will have to invest a lot up front, it still might save you money in the long run, seeing how Disney usually raises their ticket prices each year lately.

At UT, the 10 day hopper with waterparks and no expirations options costs $572.95 vs. $620.90 direct from Disney, so you save $47.95 right away and each visit then only would cost around $57 (incl. 10 free waterpark visits)

 

[princessjadesmom]

We wanted to start our Disney vacation before our cruise, so I booked 2 days at WDW. Then I couldn't stand the thought of getting off the cruise and heading straight home, so I booked 3 days at WDW after the cruise.

 

[networktek]

we did it a couple of years 1 week cruise than 1 week at wdw it was great to do the cruise first and than get to enjoy the park after wards