Magic Kingdom with NCL

[Out to sea!]

You need to either leave earlier from downtown Disney or just take a cab to the grand floridian as they do exist.

 

Book the absolute earliest dinner at 1900 park faire

 

Then if you are done in time, which is doubtful as you will need to wait for the characters to come around, just walk around the resort.

 

The monorail to transportation center

 

By 7 pm latest.

 

Don't recall if its one monorail or 2 to the transport center as we usually stay on property

 

Except for our port stop there in 2013 we rarely need the transport center

 

 

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Actually you can walk the path from GF to the transportation center via the Polynesian if you want. Probably quicker than waiting on the monorail and very scenic.

[Out to sea!]

This is a great idea - along with the boutique. We love Downtown Disney and the Grand Floridian is amazing. I love the shop Basin on the second floor. Good point about the parks hitting capacity. That would be awful to get there but not be able to get in.

 

They also have the main Basin store at Downtown Disney.

[Xpto]

Hi,

 

I’m a little confused with all the suggestions you give me. First I decided not to go to park because of the crowds, now a few suggest staying away from Downtown. I never been in Disney, I don’t know when or if I’ll be again in Florida because we live in Portugal and the flights are very expensive and we are a family of four, and I’ve been in Miami 2 times and never really thought visit Orlando and Disney. But this time my daughter tells me that she loves to go there. So, I want very much to visit Disney, but it’s not a must do before die. I don’t want to spend the money in the park ticket and stay out of the park, so I don’t care if I’ll not be able to see much, that’s ok, only I want it’s to be there and see something that my daughters will not forget the rest years because they were at the Disney.

 

So I’m trying to plan my day to be able to see something in Downtown then go to Grand Floridian and return in time to bus without stress.

 

Someone can tell me when will finish the dinner that started at 5pm.

 

Thanks in advance for all the good advices.

[Out to sea!]

Hi,

 

I’m a little confused with all the suggestions you give me. First I decided not to go to park because of the crowds, now a few suggest staying away from Downtown. I never been in Disney, I don’t know when or if I’ll be again in Florida because we live in Portugal and the flights are very expensive and we are a family of four, and I’ve been in Miami 2 times and never really thought visit Orlando and Disney. But this time my daughter tells me that she loves to go there. So, I want very much to visit Disney, but it’s not a must do before die. I don’t want to spend the money in the park ticket and stay out of the park, so I don’t care if I’ll not be able to see much, that’s ok, only I want it’s to be there and see something that my daughters will not forget the rest years because they were at the Disney.

 

So I’m trying to plan my day to be able to see something in Downtown then go to Grand Floridian and return in time to bus without stress.

 

Someone can tell me when will finish the dinner that started at 5pm.

 

Thanks in advance for all the good advices.

 

If you eat like an American, you'll be finished at 6:00pm.

 

If you eat like a European, you'll be finished at 9:00pm! :D

Edited November 6, 2014 by Out to sea!

[luvtheships]

If you eat like an American, you'll be finished at 6:00pm.

 

If you eat like a European, you'll be finished at 9:00pm! :D

 

Not quite true in this particular case

 

1900 park faire seats an enormous number of diners and it is a buffet with approx 4/5 characters coming around to meet you

 

So if you are at the buffet when Cinderella shows up... Too bad.... You will just have to wait until she makes the rounds again to your table

 

Which could take lots if time depending on pictures autographs and the like

 

Maybe just go to the magic kingdom and walk around and possibly grab a counter service meal and go on 2/3 rides

 

Of course you are there during the busiest time of the year so you could indeed be shut out

 

That is just they way it is

 

So go to downtown Disney and skip the Cinderella meal BUT after downtown Disney DO take the monorail and visit the hotels on it and walk around them if time permits

 

You will get a nice view of Cinderella castle

 

One last thought if you book a meal in the magic kingdom for say 4 pm and you get there at 2 and it is closed to new visitors ..... I believe your dinner ressie will gain you admittance.

 

At least that is what they hinted to

 

Maybe a call to 1 407 wdisney is in order to confirm or deny that

 

 

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Edited November 6, 2014 by luvtheships

[jenny105]

The dinner is a buffet so you can finish it as fast or as slow as you want. You're going to have to wait for the characters to come to your table. And as another poster pointed out, if you miss one, too bad. The time of your meal depends on when the characters come to your table. Sometimes they've come as soon as I've sat down and I didn't go to the buffet until they all visited my table. Other times I finished my meal and waited for them to come around. No one can give you an exact time table.

[lelder1]

They also have the main Basin store at Downtown Disney.

Yes, I know :) But oddly, they don't carry the Basin White brand that they carry at the Grand Floridian which I think is strange. No matter - a good excuse to go to the Grand Floridian (especially if its at Xmas to go see the Gingerbread House and decorations).

[Out to sea!]

Not quite true in this particular case

 

1900 park faire seats an enormous number of diners and it is a buffet with approx 4/5 characters coming around to meet you

 

So if you are at the buffet when Cinderella shows up... Too bad.... You will just have to wait until she makes the rounds again to your table

 

Which could take lots if time depending on pictures autographs and the like

 

Maybe just go to the magic kingdom and walk around and possibly grab a counter service meal and go on 2/3 rides

 

Of course you are there during the busiest time of the year so you could indeed be shut out

 

That is just they way it is

 

So go to downtown Disney and skip the Cinderella meal BUT after downtown Disney DO take the monorail and visit the hotels on it and walk around them if time permits

 

You will get a nice view of Cinderella castle

 

One last thought if you book a meal in the magic kingdom for say 4 pm and you get there at 2 and it is closed to new visitors ..... I believe your dinner ressie will gain you admittance.

 

At least that is what they hinted to

 

Maybe a call to 1 407 wdisney is in order to confirm or deny that

 

 

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I've eaten at 1900 Park Fair before for my daughter, we were in and out in about an hour. You don't have to wait for a character to arrive at your table, you can mingle and take pictures with them as they walk from table to table if you like. I did so with no problem.

 

But the main point of my post is that I found after having lived in Europe for 13 years is that Europeans take a lot longer to eat a meal (on average) than Americans do. 2+ hours for dinner was the norm in Germany, try that at Chilis on a busy Friday night and you get a death stare from the employees as they want to turn the table as often as possible.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Out to sea!

[HarpHarp]

I'm going to strongly suggest that you try to avoid the Downtown Disney area completely during your plans for that day.

There is SO much construction in that area, as it is being transformed in Disney Springs, and the traffic is . . . well . . . quite horrible (even for the Disney transportation vehicles).

Have a great cruise!!

 

.

 

I don't know how I forgot to mention that. You won't get much of the Disney experience at Downtown Disney at present. Last month the busses were only stopping at the far east end and it was a real hike through the construction to get to the places on the west side.

It's fine for shopping & eating, but not what your daughter is thinking of when she thinks Disney. So much of it is under construction.

 

I'd take my chances with the Magic Kingdom & you do get priority admission if you have a reservation at a park restaurant. If you make reservations at Chef Mickey at the Contemporary or Park faire at the Grand Floridian, and the park is closed when you get there, you can take the monorail to Epcot & visit Ariel & Crush at The Sea Pavilion. The Ariel ride is usually not very crowded and there are many character opportunities there also. I think The Norway pavilion has the best "Princess' meal of them all, Including the newest, Elsa from Frozen. You can take the Monorail back to the MK & then the other one to the hotel. As others have said, the GF is lovely The monrails are usually the quickest way to get around, unlike the busses are very timely.

[luvtheships]

It's not Ariel it's Nemo

 

 

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[Xpto]

Hi,

 

 

Can anyone that have made the transfer to Disney with NCL tell me the exact time the bus leaves the transportation center to Port Canaveral?

 

 

Like I told in a previous post Disney suggests to give 1h30m to exit the park if using the Disney Train to go to Transportation Center, but where in CC said that 15 min would be enough. I'm trying to plan the exact time of my Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa dinner with Cinderella.

 

 

Thank you all for your great help.

[de2fan]

Hi,

 

Can anyone that have made the transfer to Disney with NCL tell me the exact time the bus leaves the transportation center to Port Canaveral?

 

Like I told in a previous post Disney suggests to give 1h30m to exit the park if using the Disney Train to go to Transportation Center, but where in CC said that 15 min would be enough. I'm trying to plan the exact time of my Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa dinner with Cinderella.

 

The buses leave at 7pm. They stress to be on the bus on time or else it's a $150 cab fare back to port.

 

An hour and a half is a bit excessive. If coming from the GF, then the resort monorail will make a stop at the MK first, then the Contemporary, then the Transportation and Ticket Center. Maybe a 20-25 minute ride if all goes smoothly. The buses are a quick five minute walk from the monorail. I'd play it safe and make sure to be at the monorail station at the GF by 6:15, in case you have to wait for one.

[clean1owner]

we did magic kingdom excursion last december from breakaway. got to the park about 1:30 and were told that the first bus back leaves about 7pm. the park was crowded, but we were able to ride about 5 rides and enjoyed every second. it is very pricey but we feel it's worth it. don't waste yr time with sit down meals, takes a long time. just eat anywhere quick service. in this way you can enjoy more rides/experiences. just mho. in any case, enjoy it all!!

 

 

To me $179 a head for 5 rides is not even close to being worth the money. WCW is an all day (open to close) affair. We have always visited off season, and even then it was hard to see everything we wanTed to do in the Magic Kingdom in a single day.

 

Keep in mind you are there during a major spring break week. There is always a chance the Magic Kingdom could reach maximum capacity by the time you arrive , which would make you have to pick one of the other parks.

 

In my opinion, you would be better served doing something else in Canaveral and plan a WCW only trip sometime in the future .

 

If you do decide to do the excursion, forget all the sit down dining suggestions , they will just burn up time better served doing rides. Remember what you are paying for.

[Xpto]

To me $179 a head for 5 rides is not even close to being worth the money. WCW is an all day (open to close) affair. We have always visited off season, and even then it was hard to see everything we wanTed to do in the Magic Kingdom in a single day.

 

Keep in mind you are there during a major spring break week. There is always a chance the Magic Kingdom could reach maximum capacity by the time you arrive , which would make you have to pick one of the other parks.

 

In my opinion, you would be better served doing something else in Canaveral and plan a WCW only trip sometime in the future .

 

If you do decide to do the excursion, forget all the sit down dining suggestions , they will just burn up time better served doing rides. Remember what you are paying for.

 

Hi,

 

Sorry I didn't remember that someone had answer that question. Due to Easter week and Spring Break I've decided no to ego inside Magic Kingdom, instead I will pay the transfer with NCL to Transportation center and then have dinner with Cinderella at 4:30pm in Grand Floridian because my daughter wants to take pictures with Cinderella. During our free time maybe we go to Downtown to "see" the place (I know it's under construction!) because I never been there.

 

After dinner I return to TC with the train or the Bus! I feel sorry not going to MK but I don't want to spend all that money and don't be able to have fun in the park because of the crowds.

[camp85]

Not to hijack but I have a question. Neither one of us are Disney fans and a Disney vacation is just not going to happen. However, we would like to go see the Animal Kingdom park and thought this would be a good opportunity although I realize its overly expensive it's also probably the only way we are ever going to go. I know time will be short. I'm buying tickets ahead of time to set up fastpass. My only real concern is what time to leave the park to catch the NCL transport back. And what am I riding between the transpiration center and Animal Kingdom. Monorail or something else.

 

 

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[m-dfromjersey]

Hi,

 

Sorry I didn't remember that someone had answer that question. Due to Easter week and Spring Break I've decided no to ego inside Magic Kingdom, instead I will pay the transfer with NCL to Transportation center and then have dinner with Cinderella at 4:30pm in Grand Floridian because my daughter wants to take pictures with Cinderella. During our free time maybe we go to Downtown to "see" the place (I know it's under construction!) because I never been there.

 

After dinner I return to TC with the train or the Bus! I feel sorry not going to MK but I don't want to spend all that money and don't be able to have fun in the park because of the crowds.

I'm in agreement with some of the others suggesting that you skip Downtown Disney right now. With all of the construction, there's not a lot to 'see' right now (unless you like cranes and construction equipment, in which case...). Even when there's no construction, DTD is really just a Disney-themed shopping and dining hub; sure, you can buy park merchandise without going into the parks, but if you're not going to spend money, you're not really going to get much out of the experience.

 

My wife and I were on Breakaway over New Years Week - knowing that there's a "dress rehearsal" of the NYE fireworks at MK on 12/30 (our day in port), we knew that MK would EASILY be at a phase 2 closure by the time we arrived, so we didn't even attempt it. Rather than using the NCL transport, we rented a car from the Avis in Cape Canaveral ($65 for the day, including taxes and fees, plus another ~$5 each way in tolls) and drove to the Old Key West resort for a late lunch with friends. From there we were able to take the ferry boat over to DTD, but it was somewhat surprising to see the condition of the place. Add in the sheer mass of people and we pretty much got right back on the ferry to return to OKW and the car.

 

I understand that your daughter is excited about the notion of Disney, and if you can get the character dinner at Grand Floridian, it may be worth your while, but I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into if you go over to DTD.

 

One other thing - even if you're not planning on going into MK, you may still want to doublecheck the park's closing time. Depending on when the park closes for the night, the transportation system may get choked by guests leaving to get back to the Ticket & Transportation Center*, and that's going to slow monorail service, - the resort monorail is a one-way loop (from Grand Floridian, the train stops at the Magic Kingdom and the Contempory Resort before you reach the TTS), and if there is a delay at MK due to long boarding times, it could affect how quickly you can get back to TTS to catch the NCL bus. Forewarned is forearmed.

 

*yes, I know there's a dedicated MK-TTS monorail route that runs counter-clockwise to the report monorail, but lots of guests will jump on the resport monorail at park close, knowing it'll take about as long to get to TTS.

Edited January 15, 2015 by m-dfromjersey

[ClarkBHM]

Not to hijack but I have a question. Neither one of us are Disney fans and a Disney vacation is just not going to happen. However, we would like to go see the Animal Kingdom park and thought this would be a good opportunity although I realize its overly expensive it's also probably the only way we are ever going to go. I know time will be short. I'm buying tickets ahead of time to set up fastpass. My only real concern is what time to leave the park to catch the NCL transport back. And what am I riding between the transpiration center and Animal Kingdom. Monorail or something else.

 

 

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Do yourself a favor and check what time Animal Kingdom closes (you can find the schedule online at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/ ). Many days, it closes at 5 PM. You would catch a bus at the TTC to the Animal Kingdom and back.

 

Honestly, I didn't feel like I had enough time when I went to the Magic Kingdom and it closed after we left. I'd hate to be in the Animal Kingdom for an even shorter amount of time, have it close, and have me stuck with nothing to do but go home.

[camp85]

We will be there 8/8/15. The calendar does not go that far but the same day a year ago it was open until 7pm. Trying to figure a game plan for the day. Trying to do 4 rides plus see different animal exhibits. .

 

 

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[Out to sea!]

Not to hijack but I have a question. Neither one of us are Disney fans and a Disney vacation is just not going to happen. However, we would like to go see the Animal Kingdom park and thought this would be a good opportunity although I realize its overly expensive it's also probably the only way we are ever going to go. I know time will be short. I'm buying tickets ahead of time to set up fastpass. My only real concern is what time to leave the park to catch the NCL transport back. And what am I riding between the transpiration center and Animal Kingdom. Monorail or something else.

 

 

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I don't know what time you need to leave but the monorail does not go from the transportation center to Animal Kingdom. You need to take the Disney Bus Line over there. If NCL drops you off at the Transportation Center, go to the right and you will see the buses. Find the one that goes to AK and hop on. If it's a direct bus with no other stops it will take about 15-20 minutes to get over there. Expect a direct bus back to take the same amount of time. If the bus stops at hotels along the way and a bit more time to that.

[Out to sea!]

We will be there 8/8/15. The calendar does not go that far but the same day a year ago it was open until 7pm. Trying to figure a game plan for the day. Trying to do 4 rides plus see different animal exhibits. .

 

 

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Which 4 rides?

[zdcatc12]

We will be there 8/8/15. The calendar does not go that far but the same day a year ago it was open until 7pm. Trying to figure a game plan for the day. Trying to do 4 rides plus see different animal exhibits. .

 

 

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They're adding lights now. Eventually, it will be opened after dark, but not sure when it will be done.

[camp85]

Which 4 rides?

 

Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur, and the safari ride

 

 

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[Out to sea!]

Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur, and the safari ride

 

 

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I would go for the Safari ride first without a fast pass and then use your 3 fast passes on the other rides.

[LrgPizza]

FYI, Animal Kingdom is hot, hot, hot. In August it tends to be excruciating. When we are there park hopping, we often leave by 1PM to go to other parks where there is shade and air movement that AK seems to lack. Also, there is as far as you can get between the safari ride and Exp Everest. If walking at a very brisk pace without stopping or crowds, it's a good 20 minute hike. Plan accordingly.

[de2fan]

Just note that if you are going to Animal Kingdom, the buses NOW run from the Magic Kingdom bus depot to Animal Kingdom. There are no buses to the other theme parks from the Transportation and Ticket Center and vice-versa anymore. So when you get off the NCL bus you will have to go to Magic Kingdom first to catch the bus. I'd take a taxi from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the park, honestly. Much quicker. Buses are slow and Animal Kingdom is really far from your starting point.

 

And don't forget to be BACK at the Transportation Center by 7pm or you will be left there and will have to find taxi transport back to Port Canaveral.