WDW two days before our Disney Cruise questions

[kiapepito]

Hello! We just booked our 7 day Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral and since we are flying in from California we would like to take two days before our cruise to visit the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

1. What is a good reasonable hotel to stay that will have shuttles from the airport to the hotel and then transportation to the port?

2. Are all the hotels associated to WDW?

3. We will be flying in on a Thursday. So.. would it be smart to do Epcot or Magic the next day and the following day Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Sunday we would leave for the cruise.

Thank you for your help!

 

[staceyrhood]

Any of the disney resorts (there are a lot) will pick you up at the airport take you to your resort then to the port, after the cruise the disney bus can pick you up from port and take you to the airport.
To find the resort right for you look at the WDW site...there are many to chose from. To set up all of the bus transfers I would call disney to book your resort stay and bus transportation at the same time.

As far as days at the parks it really depends on when you are going...for example December would be different than September.

Hope this helps have a great trip!

 

[Off to Neverland 7]

Kiapepito, I'm in the same boat as you.. and do have questions about this as well.

From what I've researched, if you stay on WDW property the Magical Express will take you from the airport to the resort and vice versa. My concern with the magical express is that you need to provide flight information in order to schedule pick up times and all that (and a person can't walk up to the desk and ask to take the next bus, it must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance).

I purchased the DCL transportation from the airport to take us to the port but am not quite sure how I'm going to work out the Magical express if I don't have a flight.

Does anyone have any advice on this?

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You won't find any hotel other than Disney that will be able to meet your needs.

 

[DVC California]

WDW is about the same distance away from Orlando International Airport (MCO) as Disneyland California is from John Wayne/Orange County (SNA), about 20 miles. It is not practical for any hotel near the Disney parks, other than WDW, to operate a airport shuttle.

However, there are many private car services, taxis and group buses ( Mears) that may meet your needs. Some of the car services can offer MCO-WDW-Port-MCO service.

OP - Were you taking a DCL cruise or another cruise line? If you decide to stay at a WDW resort and are taking a DCL cruise, you may book a DCL transfer that will pick you up at the resort. Or you can do as Neverland and book a transfer from MCO, which is a little cheaper and has a more frequent schedule. Disney does not offer transportation to other cruise lines, so you may keep that it mind. Also, while Disney Magical Express, as the airport shuttle is called, is complimentary for resort guests, there is a charge for Port Canaveral transportation, which is 60 miles from WDW.

If you decide not to stay on WDW property, I recommend just renting a car at MCO with a drop off at Port Canaveral. We usually do this as it is more convenient and ultimately cheaper to rent.

Neverland - You don't need to provide your Flight Info. Just tell them you want to be at the airport at 10:00 am, and they can schedule a pick up time accordingly.

HTH, Steve