What to do - Late Flight after Disembarking

[ameliahyde]

Hi, we have a 6 p.m. flight on the day we arrive back in port after our 3-night cruise on the Disney Dream. Prior to our cruise we will be spending two days in the Parks. I am debating what the best thing to do will be. I have considered the option of getting a day room at the hotel at the airport. However, I just read that we will be off the ship around 8:15 a.m. on the morning that we get back into port. We will have our own car at the Port, so I assume that will we we will be able to leave Port Canaveral fairly quickly. I am also curious about the option of buying another ticket and spending one more day in the Parks. Assuming we got off the boat at 8:15, and arrived at the parks around 9:30 or 10 a.m., we could have about 5 hours before we have to head to the airport period I am curious what other people have done who have had this stretch of time to spare before their flight home. Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi, we have a 6 p.m. flight on the day we arrive back in port after our 3-night cruise on the Disney Dream. Prior to our cruise we will be spending two days in the Parks. I am debating what the best thing to do will be. I have considered the option of getting a day room at the hotel at the airport. However, I just read that we will be off the ship around 8:15 a.m. on the morning that we get back into port. We will have our own car at the Port, so I assume that will we we will be able to leave Port Canaveral fairly quickly. I am also curious about the option of buying another ticket and spending one more day in the Parks. Assuming we got off the boat at 8:15, and arrived at the parks around 9:30 or 10 a.m., we could have about 5 hours before we have to head to the airport period I am curious what other people have done who have had this stretch of time to spare before their flight home. Thanks!

Well, we went to Animal Kingdom after one of our cruises (had a late flight). We got to AK around 9:30 and left around 2:00. That was plenty of time for us. Of course, we had free passes to the park, so didn't have that expense to add on.

If we had to buy tickets to the park, I'd either just hang out at Disney Springs, or get a day room at the airport. Yes, I know it costs for the day room, but, after the early get up time and having to get off the ship, I think the down time of just re-entering "real" life is much easier that way.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We have a late flight this year- 7:00pm. We will hit our favorite breakfast place in downtown Cocoa beach for brunch after picking up rental car. The we will head over to Polynesian for shopping and a dole whip before we bring the rental back to the airport. It may not use up all the time, but we love to resort hop a bit so we don't have to buy a ticket to the parks for just a few hours.

 

[sonocruiser]

So everyone is off by 815am? When does the last Disney Bus to MCO leave the ship? Was hoping for more in the 9am range

 

[DisneyMom111]

So everyone is off by 815am? When does the last Disney Bus to MCO leave the ship? Was hoping for more in the 9am range

I was wondering the same thing, our flight is at 12:30 and when we checked in online I got a warning that we might not make the flight. But if we are off the ship by 8:15 I don't see why we wouldn't make it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So everyone is off by 815am? When does the last Disney Bus to MCO leave the ship? Was hoping for more in the 9am range

DCL starts encouraging the stragglers toward the door by about 9:00. So, it's possible to stay on until then.

Remember they have to clean up before allowing all those pesky new cruisers (who want to be on "as soon as possible") onboard.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

If you have anything close to a 6 day pass or something where it costs only a few dollars to add another day, then go for it, but if you have to pay more than that for just a few hours it's not really worth it. We love booking a Character lunch after the cruise as a fabulous goodbye. We are off the ship by 8 and head back to WDW and do lunch and then shopping within the resort that we booked lunch at. We try to make it a monorail resort, so that we can hope on the monorail to check out the other resort gift shops.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We love booking a Character lunch after the cruise as a fabulous goodbye. We are off the ship by 8 and head back to WDW and do lunch and then shopping within the resort that we booked lunch at. We try to make it a monorail resort, so that we can hope on the monorail to check out the other resort gift shops.

I love this idea, especially brunch at Chef Mickeys, shop, Monorail to Polynesian, Dole Whip at the pool, monorail to GF, shop and another snack, monorail back to Contemporary and off to MCO.

I may actually book a late flight after next cruise just to do this!

 

[Lizzards]

We did the day room at the Hyatt, and it worked out perfectly for us! Our flight left at the same time as yours. However, we were traveling with small children and had just gotten off the 7 day cruise. So they were tired and running around a park would have created melt down central! It was nice to just lounge around the room, which was very large, and then give the kids baths to put into pjs before flight time. Enjoy your trip!

 

[rosaciri]

Hi - travelling from Australia to do our second Disney Cruise in early 2017. We will be doing WDW for a week before our cruise but on return I havent thought about a day room at the airport which sounds like a great idea. What hotels are at Orlando International Airport to be able to do this? Was thinking of doing this and then a 2 nite stopover in LA to break up the long haul flight back home. TIA

 

[DizneyNutz]

The earlier you are prepared to get off the ship, the quicker you will move once the all clear is announced. The later you are towards 9:00, the larger crowd you will be disembarking with. We recommend visiting Disney Springs also, especially if it would require you to buy a one day ticket at the new price. We love to visit the 365 Days of Christmas Shop as well as several others at Disney Springs. Have a great trip.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Hi - travelling from Australia to do our second Disney Cruise in early 2017. We will be doing WDW for a week before our cruise but on return I havent thought about a day room at the airport which sounds like a great idea. What hotels are at Orlando International Airport to be able to do this? Was thinking of doing this and then a 2 nite stopover in LA to break up the long haul flight back home. TIA

The Hyatt is actually built into the Orlando MCO airport, super convenient for doing a day room.

 

[scubamomma]

You could easily add another day to your 2 day park pass. The ticket doesn't expire until 14 days after the first use. You can add the third day now or anytime before you leave the parks on the second day and it will only cost you the upgrade fee from 2 days to 3 days. It doesn't cost you a whole one day pass.

We are trying to find something else to do ourselves and I am looking at Gatorland, Legoland or Kennedy Space center as options. I like the character meal or just wandering around some of the hotels.

 

[ajo]

Can you do the airline check in even if you don't take the Disney transfers to the airport? I'd hate to have to keep our luggage while we tried to hit Disney Springs or one of the resorts.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can you do the airline check in even if you don't take the Disney transfers to the airport? I'd hate to have to keep our luggage while we tried to hit Disney Springs or one of the resorts.

To participate in the Onboard Airline Check In, you must have purchased EITHER your airfare through DCL or DCL transfers.

 

[cruzinsuzin]

Do you get a day room in Cape Canaveral or Orlando?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you get a day room in Cape Canaveral or Orlando?

I'd get it at the airport (MCO Hyatt).

 

[ajo]

To participate in the Onboard Airline Check In, you must have purchased EITHER your airfare through DCL or DCL transfers.

Thanks! I guess we'll have to figure out what to do with our luggage.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Hi, we have a 6 p.m. flight on the day we arrive back in port after our 3-night cruise on the Disney Dream. Prior to our cruise we will be spending two days in the Parks. I am debating what the best thing to do will be. I have considered the option of getting a day room at the hotel at the airport. However, I just read that we will be off the ship around 8:15 a.m. on the morning that we get back into port. We will have our own car at the Port, so I assume that will we we will be able to leave Port Canaveral fairly quickly. I am also curious about the option of buying another ticket and spending one more day in the Parks. Assuming we got off the boat at 8:15, and arrived at the parks around 9:30 or 10 a.m., we could have about 5 hours before we have to head to the airport period I am curious what other people have done who have had this stretch of time to spare before their flight home. Thanks!

You could always stop at the two Disney outlet stores within driving distance of the park. Then head back to the downtown area which I believe is called Disney Springs now and have a meal at Earl of Sandwich. There are also amphibious cars which she would be able to take him to the lake area. Not sure if they were by reservation or walk up.

Can you do the airline check in even if you don't take the Disney transfers to the airport? I'd hate to have to keep our luggage while we tried to hit Disney Springs or one of the resorts.

I had checked into this for my last trip. I was told you could not check in your luggage before four hours prior to boarding time. At least that's the way it was for my airline you could check with yours.

 

[jacknsally19]

We were literally just in this position! We disembarked by 8:30am and our flight wasn't until 9:30 at night. We have annual passes to WDW so we were considering doing a day at the parks. However, we were exhausted after waking up early for disembarking so we just took our rental car to Cocoa Beach pier and enjoyed an extra day at the beach. It was a lot more relaxing for us. We were traveling with a 4 yr old and I think rushing to the park after the hassle of disembarking would not have worked well. Cocoa beach was pretty nice and we were able to rent chairs & umbrella. I think it ended up costing about $100 for everything - renting a full size car, beach parking, and the chair & umbrella rentals for the three of us. (Which was less than it would have cost for the DCL transfers)

I looked into the hotel at the airport and it was $100 for a day rental. It had an outdoor pool but I was worried if the weather was crappy, we would regret it. The other option we were toying with was SeaWorld since it's fairly close to the Orlando airport and there are a lot of discounts for tickets. We would love to do Legoland but it's pretty far and not really worth it. My husband and I were thinking for our next cruise, we would do a day or two at Legoland and then head to our cruise. (Yes already planning the next one !)