WDW Pre- or Post- Cruise in light of COVID?

[Cyn T]

Hi! My family of 4 (sons 8 and 10) is booked on the 1/22 Star Wars Day at Sea cruise on the Fantasy. I was originally planning to spend the week prior at WDW, and then spend a relaxing week on the ship recuperating.

BUT, spending a week touring WDW carries a greater COVID risk than our usual home-bound activities. Of course we don't want to catch or spread COVID at all, but if we take the calculated risk to visit WDW, should we do so after the cruise to minimize the risk of catching COVID pre-cruise and being denied boarding? Any thoughts?

For some background info: this is our first Disney cruise. we are local to DLR and visit about twice a month. We were at WDW as a family in November 2019, and my husband and I just got back from an Orlando trip (including some WDW time) yesterday.

Thanks!

 

[Cheburashka]

Hi! My family of 4 (sons 8 and 10) is booked on the 1/22 Star Wars Day at Sea cruise on the Fantasy. I was originally planning to spend the week prior at WDW, and then spend a relaxing week on the ship recuperating.

BUT, spending a week touring WDW carries a greater COVID risk than our usual home-bound activities. Of course we don't want to catch or spread COVID at all, but if we take the calculated risk to visit WDW, should we do so after the cruise to minimize the risk of catching COVID pre-cruise and being denied boarding? Any thoughts?

For some background info: this is our first Disney cruise. we are local to DLR and visit about twice a month. We were at WDW as a family in November 2019, and my husband and I just got back from an Orlando trip (including some WDW time) yesterday.

Thanks!

I would definitely go to WDW after the cruise, to lower the risk of contracting Covid at the parks before the cruise. WDW is crowded and does not require vaccination, so it's a lot riskier, in terms of transmission, than a DCL cruise. It's nice to have another destination to go to after the cruise ends, instead of just having to head home.

 

[Kwami]

I took a trip in September where I did the cruise first and the parks second. It's not as good as doing the parks first, though. I guess for two reasons.

1. The cruise is more relaxing, so it's better to do that after the chaos of WDW.

2. The cruise is just... better? It's cleaner, the food is better, the people are nicer, the crowds are lower. Every time I had to wipe crumbs off of my chair before eating at WDW, I missed the cruise. Or when the bathroom wasn't clean, or when I had to wait 30 minutes to get food, or... I love WDW, but it just feels like a downgrade right after a Disney cruise!

But yeah, doing the parks first is a high-risk strategy. I was very worried about failing my pre-boarding Covid test and there's no way I'd spend a week at the parks before cruising right now because of that.

 

[starry_solo]

We went to WDW a week before our cruise and USO for 2 days prior to the cruise.

WDW = everyone was masked appropriately (indoors) that I observed.
USO = no one was masked indoors, even though there was that announcement every 5 minutes about CDC recommendations.

If we could do it again, we probably would have done the cruise first, then WDW, but that would have meant we were flying back over Thanksgiving and not having any time off to recuperate before going back to work.

 

[cvjw]

No way I would go to Disney before a cruise. Shoulder to shoulder with strangers, people so close to you in line they are breathing on you - the perfect way to catch covid. Then, you could be denied boarding on your cruise. And a Disney cruise is 1000 times better than a stay at Disney for us.

 

[Cheburashka]

The cruise is just... better?....the food is better

I have to disagree with this. Imo Disney World's table service meals are often better than DCL's. A much greater variety of food, and often better quality of food. It depends on the restaurant, but a lot of them are better than the DCL MDRs. And as a rule, they are also better at accommodating allergies without compromising flavor.

 

[Cyn T]

I'm so glad I asked! Thanks for the feedback, everyone. It sounds pretty unanimous, and visiting WDW post-cruise isn't too shabby of a Plan B. Also, that gives me a little more time to make those WDW ADRs. THANK YOU!

 

[Cyn T]

We went to WDW a week before our cruise and USO for 2 days prior to the cruise.

WDW = everyone was masked appropriately (indoors) that I observed.
USO = no one was masked indoors, even though there was that announcement every 5 minutes about CDC recommendations.

If we could do it again, we probably would have done the cruise first, then WDW, but that would have meant we were flying back over Thanksgiving and not having any time off to recuperate before going back to work.

We didn't make it to USO this trip, but I noticed very high masking compliance at WDW, too! Although there was one woman in line in front of us for Runaway Railway near closing who made it indoors and all the way to the final interior room before telling a CM that she didn't have a mask. Either she had just arrived at the park, or she was able to go all day without being asked to mask.

 

[lilmc]

Going to WDW first is definitely riskier for testing positive before boarding. The stress of that alone might impact your enjoyment of the parks?

If you do decide to go to the parks first, it most definitely can be done. We have been three times since Labor Day. We wear masks fanatically indoors. Don’t eat indoors. Outdoors leave masks on if there are others around, so most of the time, with occasional breathers when there is a break in the crowd. We’ve tested negative every time we’ve returned home.

 

[SkyGuy]

I just came back on Sunday from a week at Disney. Masked up in large crowds and indoors where required, washed hands, sanitized surfaces, the whole shebang. I don’t have Covid, but I did catch something that has me feeling miserable enough that I’ve been tested just to be certain. Granted you can also catch something on a cruise, but it’s more likely in a sea of humanity than on the high seas when everyone’s been vaccinated and tested pre-cruise.

 

[Kwami]

I have to disagree with this. Imo Disney World's table service meals are often better than DCL's. A much greater variety of food, and often better quality of food. It depends on the restaurant, but a lot of them are better than the DCL MDRs. And as a rule, they are also better at accommodating allergies without compromising flavor.

Some of the table service meals at WDW are better, for sure! But many of them aren't great and the non-table service food is just... kind of bad. And the service is vastly inferior to what you get on a cruise. Also, the restaurants on the ships are clean. I don't have to brush food off my chair before eating or wonder what I'm stepping on.

 

[Cheburashka]

Some of the table service meals at WDW are better, for sure! But many of them aren't great and the non-table service food is just... kind of bad.

The counter service food isn't great on DCL, either. I sailed on the Magic last month and was surprised by how bad the chicken tenders & fries were- they must have changed vendors because they just weren't good and I had enjoyed them on prior cruises. And DCL's quick service pizza is nothing to write home about, either. I had corned beef hash from Cabanas at breakfast that tasted like dog food, and I've never been impressed with Cookies barbeque. DCL's table service food is fine, but not great, and it's often outshone by WDW's table service food (depending on the restaurant, and I'm not just talking about signatures). Much better variety, and often better quality.

Also, the restaurants on the ships are clean. I don't have to brush food off my chair before eating or wonder what I'm stepping on.

I've never had to brush food off my chair in a WDW table service restaurant.

And the service is vastly inferior to what you get on a cruise.

I disagree that the meal service is vastly inferior at WDW compared to DCL. I've had indifferent table service and good table service at both. And at WDW, you never have to endure the "excellent" speech.

 

[Kwami]

The counter service food isn't great on DCL, either. I sailed on the Magic last month and was surprised by how bad the chicken tenders & fries were- they must have changed vendors because they just weren't good and I had enjoyed them on prior cruises. And DCL's quick service pizza is nothing to write home about, either. I had corned beef hash from Cabanas at breakfast that tasted like dog food, and I've never been impressed with Cookies barbeque. DCL's table service food is fine, but not great, and it's often outshone by WDW's table service food (depending on the restaurant, and I'm not just talking about signatures). Much better variety, and often better quality.

Yeah, but you don't have to eat quick service food on a cruise. You've already paid for better food and you don't have to worry about getting reservations. Overall, I'd take DCL food over all but a few non-signature WDW restaurants.

I've never had to brush food off my chair in a WDW table service restaurant.

I never did, either, until I visited this past September. I don't know if it's because of the staff shortages or something else, but the restaurants were just not clean. I had to brush food off of my chair at nearly every meal, including at the table service restaurants. It was gross.

 

[Ikaikalani]

We cruise this Feb and booked our week at WDW after the cruise for one reason: the end of a cruise is always a ditch sadder then the end of a park stay. Not by much, but enough to keep the parks at the end

 

[Cyn T]

And at WDW, you never have to endure the "excellent" speech.

Oh, dear. Do I want to know what that is? It sounds ominous.

 

[Kwami]

Oh, dear. Do I want to know what that is? It sounds ominous.

At the end of the cruise, you'll get a paper that lets you rate various parts of the cruise from 1-5. Servers will often remind you about how important the ratings are to them and they'll also remind you that anything less than a 5 is bad, no matter what the paper says. They aren't supposed to do this, but they pretty much always do it. There's actually a question on the evaluation that asks whether anyone pressured you to give high ratings, too!

 

[Cyn T]

At the end of the cruise, you'll get a paper that lets you rate various parts of the cruise from 1-5. Servers will often remind you about how important the ratings are to them and they'll also remind you that anything less than a 5 is bad, no matter what the paper says. They aren't supposed to do this, but they pretty much always do it. There's actually a question on the evaluation that asks whether anyone pressured you to give high ratings, too!

Disney must be aware of the off-script speech, if they included it on the comment card. I wonder what the servers would do if I preemptively asked to hear it. Haha!

 

[Cheburashka]

I wonder what the servers would do if I preemptively asked to hear it.

They would happily give it! I understand why they ask for excellent ratings, because it's so important to them, and I don't think it's fair for them to be under the gun like that and also be held responsible for the quality of the MDR's food, which they do not cook. Still, it's a bit annoying, especially when repeated by multiple people: your server, your assistant server, your head server... Yawn.