What do you do on debarkation day?

[HHMcG]

Did a search, didn't see any recent threads on this.


Our flight options home are 9am and 9pm. Obviously 9am isn't going to happen, so we are looking at a full day in Orlando without a hotel base. I've deduced that getting a rental car at Port Canaveral seems to be our best choice (someplace to hold the luggage). Some options I'm considering:
- have a relaxing morning onboard and debark late, drive to Disney Springs, shop, do The Void and have a late lunch/early dinner before heading to the airport around 6pm. The Void will cost about $130 and our youngest will not be old enough to do it which will cause problems.
- debark ASAP and drive to MK for 7+ hours of fun, drive to MCO around 6pm. This will cost us $400 to upgrade 5 tickets from 3-day to 4-day
- I guess we could go to Kennedy Space Station but I feel it might be a bust coming at the end of our vacation

What great ideas do you do?

 

[MickeyD]

They will kick you off the ship by 9am.
There is gatorland, your idea of MK is a good option, we drove up to Daytona one time and hung out on the beach and checked out the speedway, you could do an airboat tour. I always check out tripadvisor's top 10 things to do, to get ideas. You could rent a day room at the Hyatt and just hang out at the pool.

 

[darnheather]

If your kids are into science or space at all I say do the space center. Otherwise skip it. My kids had a really hard time enjoying anything the day we disembarked from our first cruise and actually cried for quite some time.

 

[hcox31]

We're probably going to book a day room at the Hyatt, nap, eat and swim until our evening flight when we cruise next March.

 

[DCSWO]

You could get a room, do a bag drop, head to your WDW park(s) of choice, and fly out at 9 the next day. That would give you more hours to get your $500 worth for the ticket upgrade and "getting to the airport" wouldn't be hanging over you all day.

 

[HHMcG]

They will kick you off the ship by 9am.
There is gatorland, your idea of MK is a good option, we drove up to Daytona one time and hung out on the beach and checked out the speedway, you could do an airboat tour. I always check out tripadvisor's top 10 things to do, to get ideas. You could rent a day room at the Hyatt and just hang out at the pool.

Good to know how long we can linger (not too long).
Thanks for the other suggestions.

If your kids are into science or space at all I say do the space center. Otherwise skip it. My kids had a really hard time enjoying anything the day we disembarked from our first cruise and actually cried for quite some time.

This is how I think my kids may be. Normally I think they would enjoy KSC but on debarkation day I imagine some blues unless we do something really amazing.

We're probably going to book a day room at the Hyatt, nap, eat and swim until our evening flight when we cruise next March.

I've seen this option suggested but I really can't imagine this for my family. We are too much of a on-the-go family. My kids would be stir crazy stuck in a hotel room. The goal is to relax on the cruise I don't think they could relax more.

You could get a room, do a bag drop, head to your WDW park(s) of choice, and fly out at 9 the next day. That would give you more hours to get your $500 worth for the ticket upgrade and "getting to the airport" wouldn't be hanging over you all day.

Ooh, I've considered this. Unfortunately the kids do have school so I would really hate to stretch it another day.

 

[Kate_45]

An airboat ride, followed by a nice meal somewhere, last minute souvenir shopping and to the airport?

A paddle on the beach, hike in a state park, food and potter round Disney springs?

Wonderworks science centre followed by a stroll round celebration?

Typhoon lagoon/Blizzard beach/Volcano Bay?

Kayaking, lunch, bike hire?

Never been, but always been intrigued by Fort Williams historical park.

 

[Minnie368]

We had a 10pm flight this past April. We went to Disney Springs and did the Void. It was amazing and we’ll worth the $! We ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. Then we headed to Winter Summerland mini golf which has been a family favorite for over a decade. If your kids like mini golf- even if they don’t particularly- it’s worth going because the theming is so cute and detailed. From there we parked at the TTC and took the monorail to the Polynesian and all got dole whips- real ones, not like the ones on the ship lol. After that we walked around the Poly a little and then took the ferry from there on the loop and got off at the Grand Floridian. My daughter joked that it was our step down boat from the cruise ship. We took the monorail back to where our car was parked and headed to the airport. It really was a wonderful day. My daughter especially had been very sad getting off the ship that morning and having such a fun day really helped. Also, it wasn’t too expensive except the Void. It sounds like a lot but we did have some relaxing times throughout the day. Next cruise we may do the exact same thing.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We have done what Minnie368 has in one form or another. Sounds busy, but not that bad. It is fun way to pass the day.

 

[dclpluto]

I see your from New Jersey what airport you flying into. Must be a small one Atlantic City or Trenton? Because philly has plenty of different times and I’m sure Newark has plenty of times also.

 

[Girl of the South]

I didn't think you could "debark" much later than around 9am???? Maybe I am wrong but it seems like they were pretty anxious to get us off the ship. Orlando is a very cool airport - lots of shops both airside and landside. And the Hyatt is wonderful!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Did a search, didn't see any recent threads on this.


Our flight options home are 9am and 9pm. Obviously 9am isn't going to happen, so we are looking at a full day in Orlando without a hotel base. I've deduced that getting a rental car at Port Canaveral seems to be our best choice (someplace to hold the luggage). Some options I'm considering:
- have a relaxing morning onboard and debark late, drive to Disney Springs, shop, do The Void and have a late lunch/early dinner before heading to the airport around 6pm. The Void will cost about $130 and our youngest will not be old enough to do it which will cause problems.
- debark ASAP and drive to MK for 7+ hours of fun, drive to MCO around 6pm. This will cost us $400 to upgrade 5 tickets from 3-day to 4-day
- I guess we could go to Kennedy Space Station but I feel it might be a bust coming at the end of our vacation

What great ideas do you do?

How many of you are there, that it will cost $400 for a one day upgrade? Consider that any other places, like Kennedy will also cost, probably similar or more than this upgrade.

Some people will get a day room at MCO Hyatt and just use the (small) pool and room. You could go shopping at Disney Springs or the Orlando mall, which is near the airport (watch the weight of your purchases... they have to be packed in your bags). You could stay in Cocoa Beach and do some beach time. There's always Universal, SeaWorld, or the water parks.

EDIT UPDATE: Sorry, I just ran the numbers for 5 people 3 days vs 4. I'm (stupidly) stunned. I guess we always just buy the 4 days and sometimes go up to 5, which isn't a big deal, but yeah, 3 to 4 days becomes a $75/person cost. Still, if you're considering another park-type thing to do, even Kennedy (which is over $50/person) will cost you. Don't forget to compare, if MK is actually what you think you'd love to do most.

 

[Capt_BJ]

many good options have been presented

I'd add Brevard Zoo and Tree Top Trek (zipline)

and mention one point to consider .... what time of the year are you traveling?

Many of the options are outside activities and let's face it Florida is HOT in the summer months.

Dunno about you but getting on a plane all sweaty and stinky is not my idea of a fun flight .... even something as simple as walking around Disney Springs can be an oven ... An airboat tour can leave you sprayed with river water .....

many beaches in the Canaveral area have outside showers and some simple changing rooms- Jetty Park is one of my favorites ... at least you can clean up kindasorta

 

[YawningDodo]

You could get a room, do a bag drop, head to your WDW park(s) of choice, and fly out at 9 the next day. That would give you more hours to get your $500 worth for the ticket upgrade and "getting to the airport" wouldn't be hanging over you all day.

This is what I'm planning to do on my next trip (assuming I do the cruise rather than just spend the week in WDW). My flight option for debarkation day was 4:00 PM, and I thought--heck with that, spend a day and night at WDW and fly out the next morning.

9:00 PM is a little easier, though, in a way. You could stay in WDW (or wherever you chose to go) as late as 5:00 at that point, so you could get a solid day in wherever you went (and you've already solved the luggage problem). I'd suggest UO, but my experience has been that adding a single day there is more expensive than tacking another day on at WDW even on a short stay. It's too bad Disney's dinner shows are all, well, dinners. I'm wondering if there's somewhere time-consuming you can go for lunch, though if you aim for a big "experience" meal the cost will add up quickly, so I don't know that you're better off doing that than going to MK.

If it were me I'd probably do the park if I could get it to fit in the budget, but I wouldn't necessarily stay overnight another night. I've heard of people getting to the park as soon as 11:00 after debarkation, and you've got a late enough flight to make it worth doing even if you have to leave early to catch your plane.

 

[fhtpdw20]

We always fly home the next day. We do a one night stay at Deluxe Resort instead of a lot of excursions. You could spend the day at Disney Springs, mini-golf, resort hop, or enjoy the pool at the resort. Each resort has activities going on during the day. Spend the day at Fort Wilderness or one of the water parks. AKL you could spend the day animal watching. Lots of options to choose from and it helps ease back to reality.

 

[sptfr97]

I think your plan sounds a heck of a lot better than my usual plan, which is driving the 2 hours home and going in to work. LOL Disney Springs would be fun! You won't have to look for anything to do, you know what I mean? I think that's a great plan. (I have to agree with @Capt_BJ, though, about the heat - if you're coming down here when it's going to be insanely hot and humid? Maybe go see a movie at AMC Disney Springs. Yay, air conditioning!)

 

[hardis5]

We've done Kennedy SC, Cocoa Beach beach time with a visit to Ron Jon's, or shopping in the Orlando area and when flying out of Tampa on a late flight the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. I find the day is a downer to start with having to disembark and we never look to overfill a day to pass the time and then fret about getting to the airport in time but try and plan a non-time sensitive activity to relax and enjoy the day before leaving.

 

[Shanti]

If the weather is warm, a waterpark could be a great way to end the trip.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

If the weather is warm, a waterpark could be a great way to end the trip.

We have done this and it is a fantastic way to end a cruise. Everyone in our family said it was one of the most memorable

 

[mevelandry]

Did a search, didn't see any recent threads on this.


Our flight options home are 9am and 9pm. Obviously 9am isn't going to happen, so we are looking at a full day in Orlando without a hotel base. I've deduced that getting a rental car at Port Canaveral seems to be our best choice (someplace to hold the luggage). Some options I'm considering:
- have a relaxing morning onboard and debark late, drive to Disney Springs, shop, do The Void and have a late lunch/early dinner before heading to the airport around 6pm. The Void will cost about $130 and our youngest will not be old enough to do it which will cause problems.
- debark ASAP and drive to MK for 7+ hours of fun, drive to MCO around 6pm. This will cost us $400 to upgrade 5 tickets from 3-day to 4-day
- I guess we could go to Kennedy Space Station but I feel it might be a bust coming at the end of our vacation

What great ideas do you do?

Universal Parks.

Aquatica by Seaworld is very nice (about 50$/pp if you buy in advance) too. I like it better than the WDW Waterparks.