Can I use Disney transportation from WDW to DCL (port canaverel) if I don't book as a package. We are hoping to book the fantasy departing 8/9/2014. I'm thinking that we might try to do WDW for up to a week beforehand if I can get enough OT lol. Do I have to book it as a package in order to use the ME? Will they do a package that long? I know they have packages that are like 3 and 3 days. Thanks. This is our first attempt at DCL and first cruise ever for us. We've done WDW 4 times as a family and just did DLR but I am so lost with this cruise stuff so please bare with me for the next few months.
DCL transfers (not ME) are part of the cruise. If you wish to book them, just contact DCL and have them added to your reservation. There are really not land/sea packages. You can add additional days to a DCL cruise, but it's really less costly to book the two separately. Where ME is free (well, included in your WDW stay) from MCO to WDW resorts, the DCL transfers from WDW to port; port to WDW; port to MCO; MCO to port cost $35.00 per person each way.
You can book Disney transportation from Walt Disney World to Port Canaveral whether or not you have booked a package at WDW. It costs around $35 per person. (This is not the same thing as Magic Express, which is a complimentary service that will bring you from the airport to WDW if you are staying at Disney resort, with or without a package.) There is not much advantage to booking a WDW stay through Disney Cruise -- you are better off booking WDW separately, which allows you to take advantage of any discounts that are or become available. There would be no problem booking a stay for 7 nights before your cruise. Disney use to offer packages that allowed you to check in at a WDW resort and then use the same Key to the World card on the cruise without needing to check in at the port, but those are no longer available. (They weren't usually a good deal even when they were.)
