WDW before or after cruise??

[amyup]

I am looking into booking a cruise for Nov 2006. Not sure yet on length but was wondering what the preference was for everyone. I was thinking cruise after WDW but I want to enjoy the food and activities on the ship(might be too tired and full from eating at WDW all week). So I was thinking before WDW, that way we can walk off all the food we eat on the ship.... So what do you guys like to do?

Thank you!

 

[soccercruiser87]

before our first cruise we went to wdw first and that was a big mistake. after the cruise we headed home and everyone in the family was so tired because you have to wake up fairly early that morning. So now we have learned from experience that we go to wdw after the cruise

 

[Karel]

Last summer, we went for two nights to WDW before our August cruise. We didn't have park passes but had left over plusses and went to a water park for the day. We swam in the pool, went to Downtown, went to Poly for fireworks.

It was a great relaxing way to start vacation.

I'm glad we didn't wait till after because a mighty hurricane decided to blow through while we were on the cruise. I guess we could have stayed anyway but we were anxious to leave the state of Florida at that point.

I think you have to look at your vacation days too and see how things work out. We were coming back Labor Day weekend just in time for school.

 

[jazstar87]

before ....its so relaxing to go on the cruise after the parks.

 

[lzj21428]

We like to do WDW before the cruise. WDW is fun, but hectic and the cruise really gives us the time to relax and unwind.

 

[minniemouse71]

My vote is..before the cruise. We went after the cruise last year, and after being so spoiled on the cruise, it is quite a shock. My daughter went up to a counter service and ordered a coke and when she came back said, "mom they charged me for it!!" She was REALLY spoiled!!

 

[disneydreamer98]

My DH and I did the Land/Sea combo for our honeymoon and I have to say that it was great following the parks up with the cruise! It was just what we needed to rest and recoup before heading home. Spending our last day on Castaway Cay couldn't have been any better!!!

 

[Drcell01]

We usually go to WDW for a couple of days before the cruise and then return there for a day or so before returning home. This works out even better now with the Magical Express to take us to and from WDW and to MCO.

 

[lbgraves]

We have gone for a few days at WDW before the cruises and that works well allowing us two days to get home & get back to work/school. This time we will be going after the cruise. I'm not sure how well we will do after a busy day/night at CC.

 

[dairyou]

We like going after the cruise so we don't have to worry about flying back home. We can never get the early flight (in case we don't disembark on time) and to us it is depressing to wait for our flight time in the afternoon. We don't want to waste a ticket day when we have to leave at 2 or 3 pm.

We did this the last time and it was nice to go to WDW aftewards. It meant our vacation wasn't over yet!

Deb

 

[tweetsie]

We always go after the cruise. It gives us something to look forward to before returning home. We usually take the three or four day cruise and spend the following week at our timeshare, which is only six miles from disney. It works out great!

 

[westjones]

I like the idea of going to WDW first and then resting on the cruise....BUT...we have to complete our vacation in 1 week (Saturday through the following Sunday). We will be going on Spring break. So for us, what we are going to try is this:

Saturday: Fly in and stay at a WDW resort and go to DTD.
Sunday: Board the Wonder for a 4 night cruise.
Thursday: Head to WDW after leaving the ship
Friday: Spend the day at WDW
Saturday: Fly home
Sunday: A day of rest before going back to the real world


We are also considering the other way around for in the future mostly because of how our DVC points work (less points early in the week):

Sunday: Arrive at a DVC WDW resort
Monday: WDW
Tuesday: WDW
Wednesday: WDW
Thursday: Board te Wonder for a 3 night cruise
Sunday: Fly home and head back to the real world the next day

We are out of points for this year, so it doesn't matter as much when we stay at WDW. We don't mind using points for studios for Friday and Saturday, but the 1 and 2 bedroom points are outrageous on weekend nights.

So anyway, we prefer the first option, but with DVC we will probably find ourselves doing the second option eventually.

DJ

 

[Super Goof]

We're doing a Land/Sea package in January 2006. We have three days booked at WL before the cruise, three days at Poly as part of the package, and then two days at AKL after the cruise. A friend told me it's a good idea to avoid the airport on the end-of-cruise day, so we booked the two AKL days.

 

[S'sMom]

Both, I have done both. I like before cause you can get all the exercise out before the cruise, BUT I did after because I wasnt ready to go home yet!!

 

[taeja71]

We went to WDW after our cruise b/c we thought that would be the best way to start dealing with post DCL cruise blues.

 

[the kabuki]

We decided on doing the parks before the cruise. Flying out of Mich in Jan we could have weather delays so my thinking was if we're delayed the parks aren't going anywhere, but the ship leaves whether you're there or not

 

[BuzzMan]

We go to the parks after the cruise. Just can't stand the thought of getting on a plane and returning to the real world immediately after getting off that wonderful ship. But, we do not go to the parks with the thought that we will be in a hurry to do everything available. We sort of look at it as a mental wind down period where we approach everything with a casual no hurry attitude.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

We've never done the parks and cruise in a single vacation, but have often fantasized about it. LOL!

We now prefer the cruise over the parks (only by a narrow margin,) and would save the best (cruise) for last.

Yes, it's very depressing getting off the ship to go home. But we're definitely not singing happy tunes when we leave WDW either!

Going home after ANY Disney vacation is awful! Best to keep booking so we can experience the roller coasters of emotions every year!