I just booked my excursions this morning... I was able to book starting at 12am on the day I was entitled to book on.
@Scoutn757 - we drove last time as well.. and wasn't sure which way we'd go this year.. but at nearly $1500 to fly the family.. even with the abysmal MPG my truck gets it's still cheaper by a large margin (almost half) to drive, hotel,+parking than fly and pay for transfers. Plus, I'm leary of flying down on departure day.. and if you fly other days, you need to deal with transportation, etc.
If you aren't opposed to the hours, I really liked how our drive itinerary worked out last time (minus our car break down...). I stayed at the Hampton Inn Cocoa Beach last time and it was great for our needs.. but this trip I've setup a ressie for a Holiday Inn in Cocoa (not on the beach) for $99 vs the $135 for being near the beach.
If you stay overnight, hit Ron Jon Surfshop before you goto the port to get your last minute pool clothes, etc
Last time we finished the trip with 3 days at UNI to round out the week. We were off the boat and in UNI by like 10am that day. This upcoming one will be a 7 day cruise.. so already too many days out of school for the kids to add additional parks to the trip
Will not be staying overnight as of yet for the Fall RC Cruise. Probably will for the DCL one; KSC will be getting a visit for sure. I do not think I will be able to see Atlantis (see Avatar) for the Fall one. Visiting that exhibit has top billing for me over any theme park currently. Engineers up here at Langley I am acquainted with have been teasing me nonstop about having not been there yet. KSC has the best collection of next to anything there is out there. Udvar loses out because no Saturn V.
I will look into the Hampton for sure! We have a house in Nag's Head NC so staying over water is certainly no big deal for us.
What area are you driving from? I am conditioned to doing the 11/12 hours from Hampton Roads solo, the drive does not scare me. 35mpg with two people it is by far much cheaper. When you tack in two additional bodies that will be in Orlando in the Fall while we are on the boat driving is a no brainer.