Full stay in park vs. Land and Sea package

[rhodefan123]

My family and I are going to visit in 2019 and are debating whether to stay on site for a full week or to decrease our amount of days in park in exchange for a short stay on a Disney Cruise ship. We are very experienced when it comes to WDW, so is it worthwhile to take a 3-4 day cruise and decrease our stay length or should we stay with the full week in park plans?

Much thanks,
Rhodefan123

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

Since you are very experienced with WDW, I say take a cruise and shorten your park stay. DCL customer service is amazing and we enjoy cruising. If you want to relax from the park, do the parks first.

 

[macefamily]

We have been to Disney 21 times in the past 18 years. In 2008 I planned something similar for our family and it worked out well. However, I planned a 3 day Carnival cruise which was much more affordable. We witnessed a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral from the sea on the first night and the kids enjoyed the cruise. 3 or 4 days is perfect because kids quickly lose interest on a boat. We returned and we went to the parks for four more days; three at Disney and one at Universal. It was a packed schedule, but it was a great trip.

 

[belledream]

Take the cruise! DCL is a very different and truly enjoyable way to do Disney. We've done two 4 night cruises and found it to be just the right amount of time (though I wouldn't have complained if we had to stay longer ). A short but action-packed stay at WDW followed by the cruise would be my preference, though there's no right or wrong really.

 

[Minnie Mum]

A land/sea combo is great. It's something we like to do when we cruise (Disney or not). Do the WDW component first, and then rest and recuperate on the cruise. A short 4-5 night cruise is a good introduction to cruising if you've never done it before. 3 nighters are too short to really get a feel for it IMO.

A Disney Cruise may seem like the logical choice, and there's no denying that their service is excellent. Just don't have a heart attack when you see their prices. They're at least twice the price of other lines when comparing comparable cabins and itineraries. We have no complaints about our Disney Cruise, but we were one and done with them, and moved on to other lines. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian also sail out of Port Canaveral.

 

[NelleBelle]

If going for a cruise, I'd recommend a Disney cruise, especially with kids. Our first DCL our kids were 9 and 11 (turned 12 on the cruise), and they loved it! We did not do a land portion with that cruise, opting for a 7-night cruise. Our 2nd cruise we did another 7-night cruise but it was a Halloween cruise and we tacked on a 7-night land portion (we stayed overnight as well at CS pre-cruise) and did MNSSHP on Halloween (so awesome)! We absolutely love DCL, so much that just DH and I have done the 11-night transatlantic crossing for our 15-yr anniversary, sans children, and loved it (almost more than with the kids)!

As for length of cruise, I'd aim for at least 5-nights. All the reviews I've heard of the shorter cruises is that it's extremely busy/chaotic and you don't really get to fully relax like on the longer cruises. You also don't get to experience all the entertainment the ships offer on the longer cruises. I can't tell you how amazing the CM are (puts the park/resort customer service to shame, actually). On board you still get your towel "animals" nightly, chocolates on your pillow, your room attendant and wait staff know your names and preferences. As big a fan of the parks as I am, I'd take a DCL any day over a trip to parks. But the option to have a land AND sea portion...that will be the only way we do it if we sail out of Port Canaveral. BTW, just want to say I'm super jealous at the thought of adding a cruise to a park trip! DH would FLIP if I even suggested it for our June trip