Has anyone here ever done a Disney cruise/park combo vacation?

Tink0102

Tink0102

Well-Known Member
DS and DH really want to try a cruise and I said I am not going all the way to Florida and NOT go to the parks so we are thinking about doing a combo in 2014. I wouldn't even know where to begin to plan something like that or even what questions to ask. Any thoughts,advice,suggestions from those of you who have done it before would be helpful. We would be looking at 8 days total so either a 3 day cruise with 5 days in the parks(on property stay) or 4 day cruise with 4 days in the parks.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
I have done that as have many of my former clients and friends.

As I understand it the Land and Sea packages no longer exist so you will book each section separately, which has been the best wait to do it for quite some time.

The first step is deciding on which cruise you will take. Then it is just a matter of weather you want to go to the parks before or after the cruise.

@Disneyfalcon will be your go to source for Disney Cruise information. She is also one heck of a good travel agent and can book the whole thing for you.
 
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Disneyfalcon

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
I have done that as have many of my former clients and friends.

As I understand it the Land and Sea packages no longer exist so you will book each section separately, which has been the best wait to do it for quite some time.

The first step is deciding on which cruise you will take. Then it is just a matter of weather you want to go to the parks before or after the cruise.

@Disneyfalcon will be your go to source for Disney Cruise information. She is also one heck of a good travel agent and can book the whole thing for you.
Click to expand...

*Blush* :)
I'd recommend a 4 day cruise and 4 days in the parks because the 3 day cruises are so dang short! You can book both parts of the reservation together, but it's almost always better to book them separately. It's a great vacation!
 
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wendysue

wendysue

Well-Known Member
Did one many years ago, maybe mid 90's. It was awful, as we hit very rough seas, sometimes it was difficult to just walk down the hallways without going back and forth. Alot of people were seasick. We were in one of the lower decks, and our porthole was actually underwater sometimes and the bathroom flooded....
I hear the newer ships are better, but you won't get ME on one of them. The park days were wonderful, though.
 
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jkl2000

jkl2000

Well-Known Member
When the cruise line started, wasn't the idea (as they sold it, anyway) to take a cruise to Disney World? That's how I remember it being advertised.
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
We did a cruise/park combo and enjoyed both parts immensely. The dining on board ship was out of this world. The entertainment available was enough to keep us buzy the whole time. Docking time at Castaway Cay was far too short. I would have liked to have had more time there. The Bahamas stop was a let down, less thrilling than I had expected. Actually it was the low point of the trip. Returning to WDW for the park time made it seem like we had two vacations instead of one. But the park time flew by too fast. I wish we had more park days tacked onto the end of the cruise.
 
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
JIMINYCR said:
We did a cruise/park combo and enjoyed both parts immensely. The dining on board ship was out of this world. The entertainment available was enough to keep us buzy the whole time. Docking time at Castaway Cay was far too short. I would have liked to have had more time there. The Bahamas stop was a let down, less thrilling than I had expected. Actually it was the low point of the trip. Returning to WDW for the park time made it seem like we had two vacations instead of one. But the park time flew by too fast. I wish we had more park days tacked onto the end of the cruise.
Click to expand...
I had 11 days tacked to the end of the vaca last time...(the trip I just got back from)

I wish I'd done it in reverse. 11 days at WDW, then 7 on the cruise, then 1.5 at WDW...
 
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
Ok, I just got back from a (much longer) version of this. So, first, I will plug the trip report as I'm mostly done updating the "WDW -> DCL -> WDW" part (I'm stuck with real life eating up time for me to work on the Legoland update, then the rest of the posts will come rather quickly)...

Anyhow, so...shameless plug, here's my report.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/englanddgs-surf-and-turf-experience.870261/

So, if you want to skip all that (it's long, I don't blame you!)...here's my run down.

Yes. Yes, and YES!

I agree with @Disneyfalcon , 4 and 4 is right (4 is gonna seem like a really short time on the ship!).

Just throwing it out there, I'd do it this way...

1 Day Arrive Evening, check into Disney Hotel, use ME from MCO
1 Day Magic Kingdom
1 Day EPCOT
Depart 4 day Cruise
1 Day Animal Kingdom
1 Day Hollywood Studios
.5 day at Magic Kingdom, fly home

If you are staying at a WDW Resort, DCL offers a bus service that will take you to Port Canaveral. It's $60 a person, as I recall. I found this a very relaxing way to get to the Cruise on my last trip.

Outside of the cost, there are advantages and disadvantages to using this service. I'm going off the top of my head, so if I get some of the exact details wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me...but...

Advantages
1) You will not have to pay for rental charges or parking (if you bring your own car) at the port. You also won't have to hassle with picking up or returning a rental.

2) If the bus, for whatever reason, is running late, I am TOLD (not sure how this actually works) that they will hold the ship for you. In any case, since you are on "Disney" transit, even if they don't hold the ship, I'm very sure you can twist their arm if the Bus broke down or got stuck in traffic...if you rent or otherwise arrange transportation, nope, can't do this.

3) You don't have to drive unfamiliar roads (not that it's that difficult a drive, it's not...but, it's still nice to kick back for that hour and a half commute and just let someone else do the driving)

Disadvantages
1) It will limit your mobility during your park stay (unless, you do like I did, and rent a car from the Car Care Center on property)

2) There is a cost ($60 a head, as I recall)...but when you look at rentals, you come close to that anyhow...so...

3) DCL will handle this transition beautifully...WDW will not (at least in my experience). I haven't written about that yet in my report, but I had a royal mess on my hands with ME the final day. Disney made it right, but it would have been a disaster had I not gotten involved a few nights before.

Other advice? Nothing at the moment...except...

YES YES YES! You'll love it!
 
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