Disney Wonder...plus Disneyland trip?

Hey everyone looking to hear about your experience with the Disney Wonder. We are considering taking a trip in September with our kids who will be almost 5 at the time of travel. The ship goes from Vancouver down to San Diego. What was the cruise like? What was the kids program like? Really would love to hear detailed responses. Would it be a crazy idea to drive North once the cruise is done and go to Disneyland? We are considering a cruise vacation because my husband has always wanted to see Vancouver and San Diego. On the other hand I would love to give our kids the Disney Experience at this very special age especially before we try to have another child. Open to any and all input. Thank you so much!

I was on the Wonder in October for the Halloween at Sea, and it was fabulous. I am a senior, and I took my 48 year old niece with me, so no kids.

However, we saw children all over the ship engaged in ship activities. We registered for Meet the Princesses, had our pictures taken with the characters, went to Pirates Night, and ate ice cream all day !

The restaurants are so much fun, and the food is good.

I live in San Diego and I can say that I love Disneyland. :D

However, if your ship leaves from Vancouver, that's where you have to return.

My son has driven that route a few times, and its a long drive. If the budget allows, I would fly down to LA.

IMO, I would do both the cruise and Disneyland. :)

Sounds like a great holiday.

Patti

I was on the Wonder in October for the Halloween at Sea, and it was fabulous. I am a senior, and I took my 48 year old niece with me, so no kids. However, we saw children all over the ship engaged in ship activities. We registered for Meet the Princesses, had our pictures taken with the characters, went to Pirates Night, and ate ice cream all day ! The restaurants are so much fun, and the food is good. I live in San Diego and I can say that I love Disneyland. :D However, if your ship leaves from Vancouver, that's where you have to return. My son has driven that route a few times, and its a long drive. If the budget allows, I would fly down to LA. IMO, I would do both the cruise and Disneyland. :) Sounds like a great holiday. Patti

I am on the Wonder's Panama Canal cruise in April from Port Canaveral to San Diego. I originally planned to spend several days at Disneyland and Universal Hollywood after the cruise, but decided to fly home from San Diego the day the cruise ends. However, my cruise roommate will still take Amtrak from San Diego to Anaheim and spend time at Disneyland.

When my daughter was about 14, we did our first ever Disneyland trip in conjunction with a Panama Canal trip on the Magic. It was one of our best vacations ever, probably because Disneyland was new to both of us. We lived on the east coast, so WDW was our typical parks trip.

We LOVE the classic ships--the Magic and Wonder, although the Magic is our sentimental favorite. Your kids are at the perfect age to do a cruise. The kid programs are amazing and wonderful, but be sure to allow for family time as well. It sounds like a super vacation. The kids may not be really into Vancouver and their idea of San Diego might be the zoo, but they will love the ship.

The post about returning to Vancouver is totally wrong--one way flights are easy to arrange. You can also opt to fly into Seattle and take the train to Vancouver; price it both ways as this can often be a huge savings, particularly if you fly Southwest.

what's crazy about going to disneyland????????

it makes perfect sense that if you're nearby, you would go there for a visit..

you'll need several days at disneyland (we were there for 4 days and would have enjoyed more)..

and the cruise should certainly be nice as well....

combining the two sounds perfect to me..

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Yes! Allow the time and rent a car, spend a day or two at Disneyland, and fly home from John Wayne (SNA), Bob Hope (BUR) or Los Angeles Airport (LAX). You might find cheaper flights home from LAX that helps offset the cost of doing the extra 2 or 3 days at Disneyland. You should definitely do this!

We did that exact trip in 2015. Once we got off at San Diego, we took Amtrak to Anaheim. The station is right next to the port (although you might want to grab a cab, since it's a long walk with luggage). The train rides up along the Pacific, offering some gorgeous views. From Anaheim, we grabbed a cab to DL. We used the Yellow Cab company. You can call them for pick up. It was only about 46 to the hotel. Stayed at the Grand Californian Adventure Hotel and spent 4 days in the parks. Had a great time.

The cruise itself was wonderful. Don't know what your itinerary is, but we stopped in Victoria, British Columbia and had two days at sea. Victoria is a beautiful city, with a feel of English charm. We visited the Butchart Gardens, which were spectacular.

We went to Disneyland twice when we cruised out of the West Coast. We live on the East Coast. The first time we went to Disneyland after our Seattle cruise. We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel and had a blast. We flew into John Wayne and took the Super Shuttle to the Hotel.

When we were sailing out of San Diego on the EBPC we went to Disneyland first. We flew into John Wayne and also took the Super Shuttle and stayed at the Grand Californian. The day of the cruise we took a cab to the Amtrak station and took Amtrak to San Diego. Its doable. We loved it.

Yes! Allow the time and rent a car, spend a day or two at Disneyland, and fly home from John Wayne (SNA), Bob Hope (BUR) or Los Angeles Airport (LAX). You might find cheaper flights home from LAX that helps offset the cost of doing the extra 2 or 3 days at Disneyland. You should definitely do this!

I love the Burbank airport, but it is a long way from Anaheim. We generally price out all the airports in the LA area (including Long Beach). You can never predict which will be less costly. Jet Blue and Southwest both serve the area, making one way flights easy. And as above, if you are flying into a major airport, the flights can be really cheap.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Vancouver, that's where you have to return." The OP's family can fly one way from LAX to their home airport (wherever that is, but not necessarily Vancouver) after their SoCal visit.

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Maybe I misunderstood the OP. Sorry..

I thought her cruise originated in Vancouver and it was a RT.

 

Patti

I'm not sure what you mean by "Vancouver, that's where you have to return." The OP's family can fly one way from LAX to their home airport (wherever that is, but not necessarily Vancouver) after their SoCal visit.

quote]

 

Maybe I misunderstood the OP. Sorry..

I thought her cruise originated in Vancouver and it was a RT.

 

Patti

I think she's on a one way cruise from Vancouver to San Diego and then they plan to play a bit in SoCal. One way flights are quite easy to arrange, and depending on the airline, can cost the same as the two legs of a round trip. Other airlines really increase the fares for one way flights (we try to not use those airlines!)

There are plenty of "Good Neighbor" hotels/motels right next to DL. You don't have to spend a lot at a Disney hotel to be close to the action. It can save you a lot of money. We like the Howard Johnson's. It has a small water park that's great for kids. (Not that we have any little ones now.) You can walk to the parks.

There are plenty of "Good Neighbor" hotels/motels right next to DL. You don't have to spend a lot at a Disney hotel to be close to the action. It can save you a lot of money. We like the Howard Johnson's. It has a small water park that's great for kids. (Not that we have any little ones now.) You can walk to the parks.

Absolutely--Disneyland is nothing like WDW in that regard. The Disneyland resort hotels are no closer to the parks than some of the hotels across the street like the Howard Johnson's. Other hotels offer complimentary shuttles when they are a mile away. There is also no reason that you have to eat inside the parks--you can leave and literally across the street (ok, a little to the left) is a McDonald's, a Mimi's, etc. I don't remember seeing anything fancy there, but Mimi's is a nice casual dining place.

We made the mistake of staying at Paradise Pier on our first Disneyland trip....there is nothing special about it, and the cost was three times some of the nearby off-property places.

At WDW, we are totally "on property" people for the various perks and the convenience. This is totally NOT necessary at Disneyland.

Our first trip to Disneyland was years ago, in the mid-80s when I was in ANaheim for a conference. Flew my wife and son out with me. Stayed the week of the conference in a MArriott on the company's dime, then switched to a Best Western near the park entrance when it was on my dime. Of course in those days, all you had was the Disneyland Hotel. That's the big difference between Disney World and Diisneyland, the latter is smack dab in the middle of the residential area and totally accessible.

We did that exact trip in 2015. Once we got off at San Diego, we took Amtrak to Anaheim. The station is right next to the port (although you might want to grab a cab, since it's a long walk with luggage). The train rides up along the Pacific, offering some gorgeous views. From Anaheim, we grabbed a cab to DL. We used the Yellow Cab company. You can call them for pick up. It was only about 46 to the hotel. Stayed at the Grand Californian Adventure Hotel and spent 4 days in the parks. Had a great time.

 

The cruise itself was wonderful. Don't know what your itinerary is, but we stopped in Victoria, British Columbia and had two days at sea. Victoria is a beautiful city, with a feel of English charm. We visited the Butchart Gardens, which were spectacular.

How many people were in your taxi? Hopefully Uber for 2 would cost less than Yellow Cab.

I have had a change of plans, and booked Amtrak from San Diego to Anaheim after next month's Panama Canal cruise ends. Unfortunately, the train isn't running that weekend between San Diego and Irvine due to track work, so we'll have to bus to Irvine and take the train from there to Anaheim. Meanwhile, I reserved a rental car for the drive from the San Diego airport to Anaheim, which costs about the same as the train for 2, but without the hassle of the bus/train transfer. I figure the taxi from port to San Diego airport can't be any more (and quite possibly a lot less) than the taxi fare from the Anaheim station to our off-site hotel.

*Just Googled the Anaheim Amtrak Station on East Katella to our hotel on West Katella, and it is 2.2 miles. Surely that can't cost too much.

How many people were in your taxi? Hopefully Uber for 2 would cost less than Yellow Cab.

 

I have had a change of plans, and booked Amtrak from San Diego to Anaheim after next month's Panama Canal cruise ends. Unfortunately, the train isn't running that weekend between San Diego and Irvine due to track work, so we'll have to bus to Irvine and take the train from there to Anaheim. Meanwhile, I reserved a rental car for the drive from the San Diego airport to Anaheim, which costs about the same as the train for 2, but without the hassle of the bus/train transfer. I figure the taxi from port to San Diego airport can't be any more (and quite possibly a lot less) than the taxi fare from the Anaheim station to our off-site hotel.

 

*Just Googled the Anaheim Amtrak Station on East Katella to our hotel on West Katella, and it is 2.2 miles. Surely that can't cost too much.

Sorry, just realized that there was a typo. Must have forgotten the shift key. That was supposed to be $6.

Sorry, just realized that there was a typo. Must have forgotten the shift key. That was supposed to be $6.

Thank you...that makes a BIG difference! :cool:

Having kid's you should enjoy it---both would be bit much for us, but hey do whats best for you and your family.

Defiantly do it. Last September we sailed out of Long Beach and flew right home. This August we will cruise from Long Beach again and this time we are going to Disneyland. We are going to stay outside the park in one of the many hotels within walking distance to the main gate. One of my bucket list things to do since I was a young kid was to go to Disneyland and now Im going.

We were in Vancouver for a port day, you will love the city. It’s beautiful, and easy to get around.

San Diego is another great destination, and the ride up the coast to Anaheim is picturesque.

Have a great Disney Cruise.