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Land and Sea -- In What Order?
- Thread starter Tom P.
- Start date
lostpro9het
Well-Known Member
For us, we like to bookend it. The recipe we like is a few days at the parks leading up to the boat as an opening act, hit the seas for a few days of fun, and finally come back to the resort for just a day or two max to recoup before traveling home. We drive down each trip too so that probably needs to be considered. We found traveling straight home after the cruise was exhausting and having a day to bounce back a bit was nice.
MotherofaPrincessLover
Well-Known Member
I think having the parks/WDW to look forward to after a cruise is nice. I was really sad when our cruise was over so it was nice having something to look forward to instead of going home.
JamieLee18
Active Member
If you're flying, I would look at flight times and base it off your return flight. I'm doing the cruise last and I had a heck of a time finding a flight back home that left before 9pm. Next time If I were to do it again, I would likely book the cruise first.
Tom
Beta Return
I don't like the chance of missing the ship because of flight delays, so we will always go to WDW first, then to the port. And then, as others have said, it's nice to transition back to real life, so we typically have a day afterwards too.
In fact, we'll be doing this exact scenario in 16 days. 2 nights at Riverside, 3-night on DCL, then back for 1 night at Grand Floridian before flying home.
In fact, we'll be doing this exact scenario in 16 days. 2 nights at Riverside, 3-night on DCL, then back for 1 night at Grand Floridian before flying home.
jme
Well-Known Member
We've done it both ways. I personally prefer hitting the parks before the cruise. The parks (at least for us) tend to be a lot of rushing around and a very high energy time. It's nice to have the cruise afterwards to just kick back and relax.
That being said, transitioning back to reality can be rough, and having the parks afterwards can offer a nice buffer.
If you can swing it, as others have mentioned, do the parks for a few nights, then cruise, and cap it off with 1-2 more nights in the parks before wrapping up your trip. Obviously this isn't for everybody, financially or time-wise...but if it can be done, it's probably the best choice
That being said, transitioning back to reality can be rough, and having the parks afterwards can offer a nice buffer.
If you can swing it, as others have mentioned, do the parks for a few nights, then cruise, and cap it off with 1-2 more nights in the parks before wrapping up your trip. Obviously this isn't for everybody, financially or time-wise...but if it can be done, it's probably the best choice
EOD K9
Well-Known Member
I've done the bookend thing and also departing for MCO right off the boat. It is kind of disheartening to leave the ship and jump into reality. If you don't want to go to the parks after the cruise, why not just spend a night on property to ease you back to normal. You would still have the continuing feel of the vacation, still have the magic, but not still be rushing around the parks. After the calming effect of the cruise, it is kind of tough to go running around the parks again to unwind.
tmitch
Well-Known Member
We've done a land/sea combo once. We (as always for a cruise) flew in the day before, and stayed at port Orleans. We didn't do any parks, but we took the boat to downtown Disney, and then later on went to Boardwalk. Then we went on the cruise, and came back and did the parks after. I couldn't be happier with that schedule
polynesiangirl
Well-Known Member
Both times we did a longish stint at WDW first (4-5 days) and then followed it up with a single extra day at the end of the cruise. In each case, the extra day at the end wasn't in the original plan but just happened due to our flight schedule. That said, I'd recommend it if you can swing it. It was really nice to have just one more day to chill out before going back to the real world. We had Disney handle all of our transportation for every part of the trip, too, so the back and forth was pretty seamless.
Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
My last trip was a busy week at WDW followed by a 7-night Disney cruise.
It didn't bother me going straight to the airport. I personally don't want the extra time, hassle, and expense of splitting up the land portion. It can also be nice to end a trip with the all-inclusive cruise portion. Who wants to pay for expensive theme park food after a week where it was all included?
Trying to think of some downsides to doing the cruise second:
After a week of eating theme park food, generally being less healthy than eating at home, I felt a bit bloated and didn't enjoy the buffets and endless food options of the cruise line as much as might have otherwise as a result. This can of course be mitigated by making better food choices than I did while in the parks.
I got a cold while at WDW, not uncommon for me when on vacation. As a result was feeling slightly under the weather when the cruise started. Perhaps there is a greater risk of this happening when doing the parks first?
Some of the cruise offerings might feel less exciting (characters, fireworks, shows) when you've already had all of that at the parks.
A relaxing cruise can be wonderful after a week of running around the theme parks for sure. On the other hand, vacation is a break from the stresses of everyday life. I can see the appeal of a relaxing cruise to recharge from the daily grind, and then having time in the parks afterwards after you've had some downtime and recharged your batteries.
It didn't bother me going straight to the airport. I personally don't want the extra time, hassle, and expense of splitting up the land portion. It can also be nice to end a trip with the all-inclusive cruise portion. Who wants to pay for expensive theme park food after a week where it was all included?
Trying to think of some downsides to doing the cruise second:
After a week of eating theme park food, generally being less healthy than eating at home, I felt a bit bloated and didn't enjoy the buffets and endless food options of the cruise line as much as might have otherwise as a result. This can of course be mitigated by making better food choices than I did while in the parks.
I got a cold while at WDW, not uncommon for me when on vacation. As a result was feeling slightly under the weather when the cruise started. Perhaps there is a greater risk of this happening when doing the parks first?
Some of the cruise offerings might feel less exciting (characters, fireworks, shows) when you've already had all of that at the parks.
A relaxing cruise can be wonderful after a week of running around the theme parks for sure. On the other hand, vacation is a break from the stresses of everyday life. I can see the appeal of a relaxing cruise to recharge from the daily grind, and then having time in the parks afterwards after you've had some downtime and recharged your batteries.
KCL
Active Member
We've done (will be doing) it both ways.
For our first cruise (seven nights) on the Fantasy, we flew in the night before and stayed at the Hyatt at MCO. Left after work and we just wanted to make sure we didn't cut it too close with flights by flying down the day of. Afterwards we spent two days at the park (we had just been a few months before) because you can't be that close and not go! I'm so glad we did because after all that luxury and relaxation in the bubble, getting kicked off the ship so early in the morning is a real downer. Having the parks to look forward to makes that way more bearable. I wouldn't do it any other way. Plus, when you're flying especially, all the travel once you're there can be taken care of by Disney.
This spring we're doing four nights on the Magic and will start the trip off with a night at the Polynesian and then following it with three days in the parks before driving home.
The only negative with the cruise first and parks second is that there's so much free, good food that it's a bit shocking to still be in a "Disney bubble" and have to pay for food all of a sudden!
Perfect scenario will always be: parks, cruise, parks.
For our first cruise (seven nights) on the Fantasy, we flew in the night before and stayed at the Hyatt at MCO. Left after work and we just wanted to make sure we didn't cut it too close with flights by flying down the day of. Afterwards we spent two days at the park (we had just been a few months before) because you can't be that close and not go! I'm so glad we did because after all that luxury and relaxation in the bubble, getting kicked off the ship so early in the morning is a real downer. Having the parks to look forward to makes that way more bearable. I wouldn't do it any other way. Plus, when you're flying especially, all the travel once you're there can be taken care of by Disney.
This spring we're doing four nights on the Magic and will start the trip off with a night at the Polynesian and then following it with three days in the parks before driving home.
The only negative with the cruise first and parks second is that there's so much free, good food that it's a bit shocking to still be in a "Disney bubble" and have to pay for food all of a sudden!
Perfect scenario will always be: parks, cruise, parks.
jme
Well-Known Member
Let's not kid ourselves... it's definitely too rich for my blood too.
Maaaaybe.. if I book as far out as possible for a GTY inside room, with the on-board discount (for one of them). And my wife books the same for the other... and then we book a value resort with a 20% room discount...
jme
Well-Known Member
Indeed - I still don't quite get why DCL recycles MagicBands instead of letting guests link their own (or providing one of the loaners for anyone who doesn't wish to do so)