Port Canaveral Port, Ways to get to Disney without the carnival excursion?

[Cop J]

The carnival excursion is pretty expensive, $160 a person. My girlfriend and I are trying to find a way to get to disney (Epcot or Magic Kingdom) without going through carnival. We are looking for transportation and we can pay for the tickets through disney. Is there any cheaper way that others have found? A bus or shuttle?

 

BTW we are going on Carnival Pride 1/02/2011. CANT WAIT!!!

[firefly333]

Most of the rental car places there will come to the port and pick you up if you rent their car. Several there that will do it. Cheapest way.

[jaxkai]

are you going to spend the night at disney?

[serene56]

The carnival excursion is pretty expensive, $160 a person. My girlfriend and I are trying to find a way to get to disney (Epcot or Magic Kingdom) without going through carnival. We are looking for transportation and we can pay for the tickets through disney. Is there any cheaper way that others have found? A bus or shuttle?

 

BTW we are going on Carnival Pride 1/02/2011. CANT WAIT!!!

 

a one day ticket to disney is like 85.00 pp

 

We are doing the excursion through the cruiselines. It takes 1 hour to get there-and an hour to get back.

 

Doing it with a rental car--you will have to go rent the car and leave time for returning it.

Parking is 15.00.

 

Doing it with the cruiselines at least you will make the ship.

(i thought it was 149.00pp)

 

 

 

http://www.portcanaveral.com/cruising/groundtransport.php

 

 

If you decide to do it yourself-- buy your ticket BEFOrE you leave so you will not waste time standing in line for your ticket.

Magic Kingdom will be crowded still this week--so have a plan of action

[travelntreats]

OP... please RETHINK a Disney shore excursion.... Disney is a 2 - 3 day (or longer) "event" and not a port of call "excursion" !!!

[serene56]

For a first timer I would hve to agree-- as only 6 hours in the parks one would only get less then 1/2 of it done.

 

But with a plan of action it can be done. Just dont expect to do it all. And do NOT expect an amusement park day.

 

We are doing seaworld and had to cut a lot out to get "things" done-like NO rides for us. Grand daughter had to decide between rides and feeding the dolphins-

[golfadj]

IMHO very expensive way to see Disney and you will not have much time to see it anyway.

 

Better to do Orlando as a separate destination.

[PaulMedik]

..........as only 6 hours in the parks one would only get less then 1/2 of it done.

 

...............

 

Half of Disney in six hours? :confused: If they run real fast and encounter no lines then maybe, but :eek:

[Kingisacruiser]

I rented a car from Thrifty when my family and I went from NY and Cape Carnaveral was a Port of Call. Thrifty comes and picks you up and when you return the car they shuttle will bring you back to the port. We did this during Thanksgiving but we went to Animal Kingdom. The lines weren't that long and we did everything we wanted to do and back on the ship with time to spare (This with 3 little ones...5, 4 and 18 months at the time). We bought our tickets at the gate, no line, it moved quickly.

 

I don't know if Magic Kingdom is doable, have never done it in less than a day and a half, but Epcot may be. Just plan your must do itinerary ahead of time. There are also websites that you can check if the park will be a green day, red day, or yellow day before you go (it costs though) and you can plan out your day, post it and die hard Disney fans will tell you if it is doable or not and tweak it for you if need be.

 

Lastly, plan to be one of the first off the ship. Although they say those with Carnival excursions will be first off, I lined up with everyone else and my family were like the 2nd passengers of the ship. No one checked.

 

Anything you decide, have fun!

[uffdafla]

OP... please RETHINK a Disney shore excursion.... Disney is a 2 - 3 day (or longer) "event" and not a port of call "excursion" !!!

PLEASE Listen to Travelntreats. Too much travel to and from, not to mention parking and walking into and out of the park. As a port of call, 12 hours will get maybe 6-7 hour of quality inside the park time.

[DarthGrady]

If you can get a rental car for cheaper I would go that route. I hate being herded onto a bus like cattle and then told where and when to do things. Its not hard to get from the port to Disney. Google Earth puts the trip at about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Just give yourself plenty of time to get back as Orlando traffic can be nasty.

 

If you only have six hours I would definitely not try to do Magic Kingdom, the lines are outrageous and the walkways are clogged with strollers.

 

EPCOT would be my choice, you could probably get a lot done in 6 hours if you plan your day right. Here is what I would do:

 

Upon entering the park, immediately go to The Land pavilion and get a Soarin FastPass. Its' line is always long and moves SLOW. Hopefully the return time will be before you have to leave, if not I would just skip it. I have rode it several times, but I certainly don't think its worth the usual 90+ minute waits. You can always do the Living with the Land boat ride while you're in there, never much of a wait.

 

The Seas and Imagination pavilions are right next to The Land, so you could do both of them. Their lines constantly move, so wait times are generally light. If The Seas has a long wait I would skip it. Its kind of a kiddie ride since they put the Finding Nemo crap in it.

 

I would then take in World Showcase. Starting with Canada and working around to Mexico. The only two with rides are Norway and Mexico. Norway's is usually around twenty minutes. The boat ride in Mexico is about the same or less.

 

That would bring you to Test Track. It has a single rider line that I highly recommend. As long as you and your GF wouldn't mind being not being next to each other (or possibly in different cars) you will skip a long wait. Most times the single rider line has been quicker than FastPass!

 

Mission Space may or may not have a long wait, just depends on the crowd and the day. No way to save time there unless you did not get a FastPass at Soarin. This would be my second choice to FastPass, since Mission Space is very cool (the orange side that spins, not the wussy no-spin green side).

 

This should just leave you with a possible trip back to The Land for Soarin, or a ride on Universe of Energy. UoE is a neat ride and all, but its 45 minutes long! A huge time eater. So unless you really like Ellen Degeneres or animatronic dinosaurs I would skip it unless time permits.

 

I would save Spaceship Earth (the big ball) for last since it's line is usually short, and constantly moves. Its at the entrance/exit, so you can hit it on the way out. It only takes app. 15 minutes.

[dcedar]

If this will be your only chance ever to see Disney then go ahead and do it but be prepared to be disappointed.

 

I spent an entire day there and did not get to see it all and did not do many rides. Even getting food took a long time. I would not go again unless I stay on property and get the hopper passes and stay longer than a day.

 

I really hated it! I can't imagine adding the stress of clock-watching to get back to the ship:(

[gatormama]

My son has special needs, so we get to bypass the lines on most rides. Even with that perk, we usually spend about 14 hours at Disney and never see/do all the things we want. I would seriously rethink Disney. NASA is right there, and it is very interesting. If you really want to do Disney, rent a car, tour the hotels and hit the market place, all free.

[sjcruiser]

If this is your first time at Disney, I would not recommend the excursion, as you probably wont have time to do everything. Now, if you've been to Disney before, know what your interested in doing, or just want to enjoy the park itslef, I would go for it. We went last Thanksgiving doing the excursion from the Explorer via their shuttles, and buying the tickets at the gate. Since we had been there numerous times, we werent trying to get on every ride, and enjoyed just being in the park (Magic Kingdom) with all the Christmas decorations, parades, shows, etc. It was well worth the price paid!!!!

[serene56]

Half of Disney in six hours? :confused: If they run real fast and encounter no lines then maybe, but :eek:

 

 

(ahem- i said less then half and that is knowing what you are doing.

 

We were able to knock out Adventureland,Frontierland and some shows before 3pm-but had a fast pass runner and was able to ride those rides with no wait.

 

Would I use a cruise excursion to any disney park being a first timer--Heck no--no way.

[glentally]

go to kennedy space center

[friedshrimp]

I agree. NASA would be a better choice for the day. Disney on the Beeline (I don't like the change to Beachline so I still use the old name) will take at least 1.25 hours with normal traffic (hope for no accidents). In 6 hours, I can't see half of the Magic Kingdom and I know Disney inside out (I even know how to park for free at the Magic Kingdom!=save $15!!). Epcot, you could do all the rides in 6 hours if you know the order and don't stop to look at ANYTHING else.....what kind of fun is that? And then the traffic on the way back will be worse in the afternoon, you start speeding to try and get back in time and then a state trooper says "howdy, license and insurance papers" and you're now having a really bad day! Stick with an excursion so at least you won't have to deal with time constraints and if you want a leisurely excursion to an interesting location, NASA would fit the bill.