Disney - before or after?

[thegrahams6]

We are considering doing a week of Disney before our cruise in December. Would love some input from those of you who have done Disney either before or after their cruise. My husband says we should do Disney before so we will be relaxed to handle the hustle of Disney. I'm thinking after would be better, because I would be tired and enjoy the relaxation of a cruise. Anyone?

[ckrobyn]

We are doing Disney before our February 13th cruise. We decided to do this because Disney is often chaotic and feel we will need a restfull cruise afterwards! Plus, even when Disney is over, we (and our 8 year old daughter) will still have the cruise to look forward to!

[over the edge]

We have not done a cruise and Disney b/b, but we have done both. I highly recommend that you do Disney first! If you are anything like us, you are going to want to see as much of Disney as possible when you are there, some things are even good enough to see and do twice!! You will be tired and near the end of your Disney stay, will look forward to the cruise and some relaxation. I don't know the age of your children, but it is possible that if you save Disney for the end, the kids may start asking "how much longer before we see Mickey Mouse?". Let them get their fill of Mickey and then they will enjoy every aspect of the cruise!! ;)

[shelbylook]

Hi! We're doing Disney after our March 6 Mariner cruise. Because we're driving to FL from MI, it's going to be easier that way. I didn't want to have to get off the ship and head straight home (which would be the case if we did Disney before). Rather, we're staying in Orlando from Sunday to Friday and then take our time getting home. We're going to do 2 days at WDW and a day at SeaWorld which leaves us Sunday (the day we disembark) and another day to do nothing if we want (or give us an extra travel day if Mother Nature decides to plant a joke on us). It's just the DH and I so we do as much as we can at Disney during the day and then poop out in the evenings so it really isn't all that bad. Unlike the cruise when we're going full blast about 19/7!

 

Cathy

[lojill]

My family and I are going on a Western cruise with RCCL Enchantment. Visiting sites such as Key West,Cozumel, and Belize in Feb 2006. We will be sailing from Monday thru Friday. We took this Western cruise instead of the one with Grand Cayman, Jamica and I forgot the other port. Someone tell me we made the right choice

[cprofits]

I leave day after tomorrow for 5-6 days at Disney then we drive to Miami to board the Radiance of the Seas. To relax a bit after all this vacationing, we're staying in Miami for 3 days after the cruise. We're traveling with a 4 and 1 year old and my 23 year old niece as 'Nanny/Helper.' I'm so tired/ overwhelmed trying to pack everything for this trip that I really need a vacation. Maybe it wouldn't seem so overwhelming if it wasn't so close to Christmas and both my children's birthdays. There has just been TOO much going on lately. I guess there are worse things to be stressed about. ;) In my opinion, Disney really needs to be tackled first. The cruise part is 'mindless.' Disney takes some planning, coordination and much more daily on the go. It's kind of like when you have two tasks to do and you do the hard one first. You save the easiest and best for last.

[Sea Island Lady]

We have done both. Disney before the cruise was the way to go as we were exhausted by the time the cruise came up and were able to relax.

Last July, we went to Universal before and then Disney for one day after the cruise. We were so tired from all the fun and excitement of two days at Universal and the 7 day cruise (we were on the Mariner also) by the time our Disney day came up that it was a let down and we left early afternoon. We had planned to do an entire day and stay until closing but just couldn't make it. Our children were 23, 20 and 17.

[windjamming]

Another vote for before the cruise! Disney around the holidays may require some running around at night, with the Candlelight Processional at Epcot and Osborne Lights at MGM, so the cruise seems like a nice, calm finisher to the vacation. Not sure if this is a factor for you (and not sure when you are going on the cruise), but I also suspect the crowds at Disney get larger the closer it gets to Christmas.

 

Have a wonderful time - sounds like the PERFECT 2 weeks!!

[42trvl]

For the same reasons already stated, I would also highly recommend Disney before the cruise. We have done Disney many times, and cannot imagine fully enjoying it after a cruise. Even with the best of planning and with low crowds, it's still a "tiring" trip. Judging by our last two cruises, we have always wished that we were flying home the day the cruise ended, rather than spending additional time on the road, and doubt we would enjoy Disney as much afterwards, especially if there are kids involved. In fact, we are planning a couple of days in Disney ourselves before our April Mariner cruise.

[Rubia_Boricua_PR]

Did you see the program on the Travel Chanel about the Disney Cruises, they look awesome but it would drive me insane having so many kids around me now that mine are big (er). No offense...

[PTarbay]

Definitely Disney first!!!!

[Jacquelyn11]

Disney has a lot of planning and walking, the cruise is restfull and relaxing (unless you plan to do a lot of walking on the ship!) :cool:

 

Jacquelyn :D

[koolcruiser43]

We just got back from a six night cruise on the Voyager followed by a 5 night stay in Disney. We were traveling with our 2 DD 9, and 14. I thought this worked out fine. We didn't have the blues we normally feel when the cruise is over because we still had disney to look forward to. I did make Priority dinning arrangements in advance so we wouldn't be running around looking for a place to eat. We were there during Christmas week which is spactular but it is very busy so prior arrangement were a must. We have been to Disney many times before so we are very relaxed walking around the parks. They also have Fast Past now so between visiting the Parks early in the morning and using Fast Past we never waited more than 10 minutes for any ride even though it was Christmas week. My husband said going to Disney after the cruise was like slowly getting back to reality before returning home. After our 5 days at Disney we were ready to go home feeling we had a great vacation.

[olectric]

Disney first if you want to relax after all the walking.

 

Cruise first if you need to walk to lose all the weight you will gain on the cruise.

[Anngeojes]

We did Disney first last year when we wnet on the Mariner. The day we got off the ship, we went back to Downtown Disney to have lunch and kill a few hours.

 

Thank goodness we went to Disney first, I was so relaxed from the cruise, I couldn't face the crowds and frenzied pace of Disney.

 

I wanted to leave Downtown Disney as soon as I got there!

 

Anngeojes

[thegrahams6]

Thank you all for your help. We would really like to do Disney first then cruise, but the dilemma is our three year old. She is coming to Disney but not on the cruise. We were thinking it would be easier to go on the cruise then pick her up for Disney, rather than go to Disney and immediately send her home while we head to Port Canaveral. We've done Disney many times, so we don't feel like we have to "see" every thing or be frenzied. I think I'm trying to gauge what her reactions would be. I would LOVE to cruise after for the relaxation part; but feel like it would be better for her to come to Disney and see us and then go home with us.

[Sea Island Lady]

I'm not sure of your situation (who is taking care of your DD), but I do know that 3 year olds love going to visit grandparents or having a little vacation of their own. This may work for her if you do Disney first...play it up!

 

Also, if your DD is spending time away from you the week before (while you are cruising), she may be a different person when you see her again (cranky, clingy, or not wanting to have anything to do with you, etc. and this may make your Disney visit a little difficult at first.) I know my children have been like that when we have vacationed and then come back to them.:rolleyes: Their routine has been changed for a week and then they are thrown into another different routine. My sisters child takes a full week to straighten out when she has been visiting her grandpaerents or father (lots of spoiling :D .)