WDW/package with cruise or separate

[ellian1]

As I have been sitting here waiting for the May 2016 itineraries to come out, my imagination has been expanding. I had planned on jumping on a 7 day cruise on Magic when I see the dates. Now I am wondering if maybe we should go to WDW for about 4 or 5 days and then finish up with a 3 or 4 day cruise. We (Grandma..that's me, my daughter and my then to be 7 year old granddaughter) live on the west coast and went to Disneyland last spring. But I see there is so much more in Orlando than Anaheim has to offer. Not knowing when or if we may get back to the east coast any time soon, I started thinking of maybe expanding the trip beyond the cruise only. We will be taking our 7 year old out of school in May, but for first grade I think that will be ok. What I really want advice on is, are there packages where I can save money booking everything together......hotel, park tickets, and cruise....or should I just jump on our cruise reservations when they are first announced and then build the WDW vacation around that. Don't need airline....have mileage.....don't have to stay at the parks if outside hotels offer easy access. Thanks for any info.............as I sit here aging while waiting for the 2016 cruises to be announced!! : )

[moki'smommy]

There are no longer any "packages." DO NOT book your land portion thru DCL. If you do that, you will pay rack rate for any land stuff you do. There are land packages that include your tickets, hotel, and meal plan often at a discount. Some recent packages have included "free" dining, and a couple of years ago there was a "pay for 4, get 7" night deal.

 

ANYTHING that you can book thru DCL, you can also book on your own. If you use DCL transfers to get to the port, those must be part of your cruise (not land). A good TA who specializes in DCL can put this together for you to get you the best land discounts possible.

 

And my suggestion--don't go shorter than 4 nights on your cruise. 7 is better, but anything less than 4 is just not enough. I would sacrifice days at WDW for a longer cruise, but that's likely because I've done both quite a bit.

 

WDW is a lot different that Disneyland. There are advantages to staying on property--extra magic hours, super Disney service, bus transportation about every 20 minutes, ability to come back to hotel for mid-afternoon rest if desired, etc. Off property hotels cost less, but some that offer "Disney transportation" run only 2 bus times per day! Ouch. Having done it both ways, we like the ease of staying on property. And I'll be "that person." I see no point in a "moderate" hotel. They are minimally bigger/nicer than a value and cost more. We tend to either do a value to save money or a deluxe for the experience. The moderate is a compromise that gives us neither one!

[helenb]

I agree, book both separately. Disney used to sell combo packages, but they were so unwieldy that they were not popular and they have since stopped.

 

FWIW, coming from the West Coast myself, I highly recommend that you do the cruise first. Fly out the day before, and spend the night at the MCO Hyatt. Then take the Disney transfer bus from MCO to the port and board your cruise the next morning. When you disembark, rent a car and drive to Orlando to go to WDW. I know that most people recommend that you do this in reverse order, but you will find the 3 hour time adjustment much easier on the cruise. It is extremely difficult to be at the WDW parks for rope drop when you are 3 hours behind schedule. Imagine getting up at what you think is 3 am to make a 4 am park opening. Then imagine relaxing on the cruise ship and keeping your own hours for a few days as you adjust to East Coast time. This is why we always cruise first when we do Florida trips. ;)

Edited March 15, 2015 by helenb

[ellian1]

Thank you for your informative replies. I have been away for a couple of days and just read them. About the package thing, I guess I was thinking about the kind the travel agent puts together, not Disney. Not an official one. However, I am thinking if we do the two, I will just do each part separately as suggested as I usually do plan our vacations. And, I never thought about that idea of doing the cruise first coming from the west coast. Having been to Disneyland, I know the rigors of the park and can see how doing the cruise first........with at least one full day at sea! is probably a good idea. Right now I am waiting for the May cruise schedule to see just what we want. I think I have decided more on the Magic than the itinerary. When she sails probably will determine whether or not we add the parks. I may just save the parks for another trip and do them all at that time.

[jwalk03]

I agree on NOT doing a 3-day cruise. We did the 3-day Dream cruise last year, and while it was awesome it just wasn't enough time to really enjoy the ship. The extra sea day would have been very very nice to have. In only 3 days we never had time to watch a movie, never made it to Enchanted Garden for a meal, were only able to visit like 2 of the bars/lounges on board, never played putt putt, etc. there is just so much to experience on the Dream, that 3 days barely scratches the surface, and left us yearning for more!

[moki'smommy]

While I can see the advantage of coming from the west coast and cruising first, I normally recommend the parks first. The logic? In the event of an airline delay, lost luggage, etc. I'd rather lose one park day than miss the ship's departure. I'd rather have time for my mis=routed luggage to catch up to me before I get on the ship. Obviously, you have to come in at least one day before the ship leaves, but that's not always enough to get things right.

[cruisingqueen74]

I recommend doing the park first as well. I echo what Moki said plus it's so nice to have a relaxing cruise to look forward to after the hustle and bustle of exploring WDW.

[cb at sea]

5 days is fine...you will pick the things you want to do most...get a book on Disneyworld, so you will have an idea of ALL there is! I agree...go BEFORE the cruise!

Disneyworld rocks!